I'm interested in hearing from those experienced with bushbuck hunts about what techniques were favored. Especially on the ground stalking, setting up drives, etc. I plan to be right in the Limpopo River thickets on this hunt. A couple other questions: When is their rut and do they ever vocalize? If so has anyone ever thought about calling them in with a mimic or setting up a decoy?
Rich i hunt them in the Limpopo and Eastern Cape, i have tried to Call them without any luck, i have rattle horns ( on demand of a client from Houston no luck ) the only time you hear them is when they bark but then it is normally to late. My best bushbuck hunts is early mornings when the fog just clear the water of the Limpopo if you hunt very thick brush then the best is to wait, they also walk footpaths a big Maroela or wildfig tree can be used as a tree stand. I did hunt a number of Bushbuck out of a tree stand. The area i hunt next to the Limpopo is thick very thick with 8 feet reeds nothing like to walk this reeds but the bushbuck does. One time we did see the tracks of a good male up and down a footpath we did check the track and found that he uses this route to get to the water and back to a hideout or feeding area, we were lucky as we had a very small opening on one side of the footpath, using heavy cammo we waited him out.
Good busgbuck hunting to me compares to the big ones lots of people dream about .
Good luck .
Johan
Then sometimes it just happen!!!
I found on my hunting areas the best way is to locate a ram with trail cameras and then to ambush him or to place a saltlick in the area with a blind or treestand. its fun hunting! beware they can be dangerous when wounded!
I'm interested in hearing from those experienced with bushbuck hunts about what techniques were favored. Especially on the ground stalking, setting up drives, etc. :
Thanks to all for your input. I do like the idea of setting up some trail cameras to locate the ram I would be interested in hunting per each available area and set up some tree stands. My outfitter has suggested doing some drives in the area which has been successful in the past. However, I hope my outfitter has some cameras and tree stands to set up.
I just wanted to ask those of you who hunted them regularly if you could give me some advice around their habits. Here are a number of questions which might help me. If you can think of anything else that is most relevant, please add-on.
-Do they herd up at all or are they mostly solitary?
-What month does their rut occur and are rams easier to spot then?
-Are they mostly nocturnal, being active early morning and/or dusk, or are they more active midday?
-How dense are their populations? In good habitat are they generally spread out pretty thin?
-What is the best habitat/vegetation varieties to look for them in?
-What is their favored food- plant variety?
-What fills your idea of a trophy Limpopo bushbuck ram? probable length (avg, definate shooter and exceptional)?
-Do they mingle well with other game species? If so which ones?
I know these are numerous Qs but it should be a great help to prepare for July's hunt.
-Do they herd up at all or are they mostly solitary? Often the males can be solitary but do not necessarily defend a territory. It is common to find ewes alone, with other ewes and/or with males. Most I have seen together is 2 males and 5 ewes.
-What month does their rut occur and are rams easier to spot then? The rams will mate in our winter months (June, July, August) with ewes dropping their lambs from October up until as late as May. I believe condition of the animal and feed availability has a big role to play in this.
-Are they mostly nocturnal, being active early morning and/or dusk, or are they more active midday? Weather dependent. If hunted regularly they will become mostly nocturnal or active very early in the morning/evening. They are not a fan of the heat and tend to rest up in thick foliage during the day. They are creatures of habit. The bushbuck in our area, you could set your watch by them. During the day they stay deep in the valleys, come just after 5pm they make their out of the valleys on the grazing areas.
-How dense are their populations? In good habitat are they generally spread out pretty thin? Again this is down to availability of feed. Good areas will hold higher populations of buck compared to poorer areas. This for me is when males can actually become territorial when feed is more scarce. After good rains I have often seen 3 mature rams feeding along side each other. Pressure from hunting (including predation) will also have an impact.
-What is the best habitat/vegetation varieties to look for them in? By nature they are very flighty/nervous animals that will look will for cover instead of running long distances. South Africa is very varied in its biomes and yet Bushbuck can be found in various biomes. So I would say look at habitats with thick foliage/bush that provides good browsing material, with suitable water sources. Especially those bush areas that fringe good flat grass areas. If the area has deep valleys with thick vegetation, your in the game!
-What is their favored food- plant variety? Our area is predominantly Fynbos biome, which is characteristic of short stubby bushes that are unpalatable and tough, an area completely different to say Limpopo, KZN, or the highveld. Their feeding spectrum is 10% Grass and Forbs with 90% Browse and Fruit. For grass species they would consume Panicum maximum (buffalo grass) Cynodon dactylon (Couch grass) and Eragrostis superba (Sawtooth love grass). For the browse one could expect Combretum mossambicense (Knobbly creeper) Capparis tomentosa (Wooly caper-brush) almost all Acacia thorn tree species.
-What fills your idea of a trophy Limpopo bushbuck ram? probable length (avg, definate shooter and exceptional)? In the east cape I look for a well matured ram with a dark almost black coat. Horns play an obvious role. A strong neck with well defined spots and white chevrons across the front of his neck.
-Do they mingle well with other game species? If so which ones? Monkeys! The bushbuck tend to hang around either baboons or vervet monkeys, using them as an early alarm system. Which makes stalking a bushbuck very difficult as its often the monkey up a tree that spots you first. Bushbuck will tend to do well with most species as long as they do not compete directly with browsing material. Unfortunately Nyala browse at the same height and even higher than the bushbuck, causing a problem. Some guys have told me that as their Nyala herds increase, the bushbuck numbers tend to decrease.
About 3 years to late with my answers, but that was fun anyway.
Because of some clients having to move their dates I have 2 prime time slots open if anyone is interested to do a hunt
5-15 May
or 5-15 June is open!
shoot me a message for a good deal!
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