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First hunt of the year happened during mid March. We specifically chose these dates due still having high temperatures in the lowveld of Limpopo since we would be pursuing Cape Buffalo. The dates were chosen over the dark moon, with the idea to catch old bulls wallowing in the mud or lying in the water over the midday heat.
What we had not anticipated, was the extraordinary amount of rain that fell during the rain season. Some parts of the Kruger National Park closed some of their camps, Land Cruisers overturned by the water.
The bush was incredibly thick, but I had confidence that we would be able to get close.I have hunted this area for the past 13 years. We focused on following the tracks of lone bulls, or groups up to three, deciding that any effort on the cow herd would be futile. We probably bumped 12 or so different bulls. Over the first 3.5 days, we managed to close the distance to 10,12 and 15 yards of bulls lying down. At these ranges, it was so thick, that no shots were offered.
After day 3, I made the call to relocate to a different area where I thought vegetation would not be as much of a factor. We hunted the new area, looking over probably another 12 bulls. None which peaked our interest. As we were checking some ravines, we exited the dry river bed, cresting around the side of a hill when I noticed what looked like a Buffalo staring at us. Light was fading fast. I got the spotting scope out, and decided that the bull ticked the bosses for us, however, he was already aware of us. We decided to let him be for the night, and try to be out first light and look for him in the valley.
The next morning, the bull had disappeared out of the valley. We glassed for roughly an hour, hoping that the bull would show himself, this time, unaware of our presence. We left the valley to look over some bulls we had spotted at almost a mile, feeding down towards the plains. As we tried to get around them to find some height, we managed to spot another lone bull at roughly 600 yards or so, feeding at the bottom of a basin. A quick look through the spotting scope, and it was the bull we had left the previous evening. After making a big loop in order to get some eyes on him, we managed to close the distance to roughly 400 yards from a position of height when the bull decided to bed in a thicket. We used this time to have lunch on top of the hill. This also allowed me to leave someone with a radio, in order to guide us from a vantage point.
I took some time, evaluating approaches, and made a decision on where I wanted us to be. We stalked down into position, and located the bull in the thicket. We had barely sat down to wait for him to get up, when the we heard him smashing trees. A quick peek around the brush, confirmed our suspicion. The bull was up feeding. A quick confirmation from my side from a little bit closer, and we made the decision to take him. He was feeding broadside a mere 35 yards away. I slowly opened the shootings sticks and instructed my hunter to wait for the bull to swing his head away from us as he weas feeding, before making his move onto the sticks. Movement was textbook, and the 400H&H barked hitting the bull on the shoulder. He rode the shot, and ran roughly 20 yards, swinging around in a haste. By the time he lifted his head after noticing the movement, the next 400gr Nork Fork was on its way. The bull simply could not handle the energy of the second shot, and simply folded forward. Not even a death bellow.
Here our hunter sits proudly with his bull that he worked so hard for. Never complaining. Always high in spirits. Until the next one.
What we had not anticipated, was the extraordinary amount of rain that fell during the rain season. Some parts of the Kruger National Park closed some of their camps, Land Cruisers overturned by the water.
The bush was incredibly thick, but I had confidence that we would be able to get close.I have hunted this area for the past 13 years. We focused on following the tracks of lone bulls, or groups up to three, deciding that any effort on the cow herd would be futile. We probably bumped 12 or so different bulls. Over the first 3.5 days, we managed to close the distance to 10,12 and 15 yards of bulls lying down. At these ranges, it was so thick, that no shots were offered.
After day 3, I made the call to relocate to a different area where I thought vegetation would not be as much of a factor. We hunted the new area, looking over probably another 12 bulls. None which peaked our interest. As we were checking some ravines, we exited the dry river bed, cresting around the side of a hill when I noticed what looked like a Buffalo staring at us. Light was fading fast. I got the spotting scope out, and decided that the bull ticked the bosses for us, however, he was already aware of us. We decided to let him be for the night, and try to be out first light and look for him in the valley.
The next morning, the bull had disappeared out of the valley. We glassed for roughly an hour, hoping that the bull would show himself, this time, unaware of our presence. We left the valley to look over some bulls we had spotted at almost a mile, feeding down towards the plains. As we tried to get around them to find some height, we managed to spot another lone bull at roughly 600 yards or so, feeding at the bottom of a basin. A quick look through the spotting scope, and it was the bull we had left the previous evening. After making a big loop in order to get some eyes on him, we managed to close the distance to roughly 400 yards from a position of height when the bull decided to bed in a thicket. We used this time to have lunch on top of the hill. This also allowed me to leave someone with a radio, in order to guide us from a vantage point.
I took some time, evaluating approaches, and made a decision on where I wanted us to be. We stalked down into position, and located the bull in the thicket. We had barely sat down to wait for him to get up, when the we heard him smashing trees. A quick peek around the brush, confirmed our suspicion. The bull was up feeding. A quick confirmation from my side from a little bit closer, and we made the decision to take him. He was feeding broadside a mere 35 yards away. I slowly opened the shootings sticks and instructed my hunter to wait for the bull to swing his head away from us as he weas feeding, before making his move onto the sticks. Movement was textbook, and the 400H&H barked hitting the bull on the shoulder. He rode the shot, and ran roughly 20 yards, swinging around in a haste. By the time he lifted his head after noticing the movement, the next 400gr Nork Fork was on its way. The bull simply could not handle the energy of the second shot, and simply folded forward. Not even a death bellow.
Here our hunter sits proudly with his bull that he worked so hard for. Never complaining. Always high in spirits. Until the next one.
