Environ
AH veteran
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2012
- Messages
- 219
- Reaction score
- 337
- Media
- 1
- Member of
- Magnum hut club,SCI,BASC,BDS
- Hunted
- Zambia,Zimbawex3,C.A.R,Congo,CameroonX2,Beninx2,Botswana,South Africax2,Namibiax2,Tanzania,Krgyzstan,Canada,USA,Italy,France,Finland,Ireland,Spain,Czech Republic,Scotland,England,
I attempted an unguided Cameroon hunt for Eland in 2014 and although I did get a Buffalo I failed to find an Eland, the quest was not over..
Day 4: After 5 hours of tracking a good bull we were getting very close, the tracks fresh ,droppings shiny and wet ,fallen leaves soft to the touch.The sweat stung my eyes and the tsetse stung everywhere else.
A Hartebeest suddenly stood in our way, we froze.Please don't run I thought , he ran...busted, no doubt startling the wary eland.
The bull would not stop running for hours, the trackers shook there heads in mutual disappointment.We took a break l, drank greedily from the canteen.
Suddenly another Eland appeared to our left through the Savannah gallery his dulap swinging and walking parallel to our position.We ran 50 yards to the right to set up the sticks and hopefully intercept the bull.It was the right move as we now had the bull in our view and we anticipated his approach through a gap in the trees and brush.I blocked out everything around me and got settled on my sticks, the .375 tight to the shoulder and looked through the reticle of the scope.The head came first( ignore the horns concentrate), the neck and then the shoulder came into view.Squeeze.A twitch on the shoulder, almost a nervous tick and silence after the roar of the rifle. The bush was silent, the PH was silent, trackers silent.We walked forward looking for blood, not a drop,100 yards later Francois my PH turned to me " he's down".I looked forward and saw a giant blur of yellow and collapsed on my knees and wept.
The tracker asked the PH why I cried, wasn't I happy?!
The quest for the Lord of the Savannah was over and he was magnificent.I have been told he was the biggest this season from the hunting block, it wasn't important he was old and it was an incredible hunt.
Day 4: After 5 hours of tracking a good bull we were getting very close, the tracks fresh ,droppings shiny and wet ,fallen leaves soft to the touch.The sweat stung my eyes and the tsetse stung everywhere else.
A Hartebeest suddenly stood in our way, we froze.Please don't run I thought , he ran...busted, no doubt startling the wary eland.
The bull would not stop running for hours, the trackers shook there heads in mutual disappointment.We took a break l, drank greedily from the canteen.
Suddenly another Eland appeared to our left through the Savannah gallery his dulap swinging and walking parallel to our position.We ran 50 yards to the right to set up the sticks and hopefully intercept the bull.It was the right move as we now had the bull in our view and we anticipated his approach through a gap in the trees and brush.I blocked out everything around me and got settled on my sticks, the .375 tight to the shoulder and looked through the reticle of the scope.The head came first( ignore the horns concentrate), the neck and then the shoulder came into view.Squeeze.A twitch on the shoulder, almost a nervous tick and silence after the roar of the rifle. The bush was silent, the PH was silent, trackers silent.We walked forward looking for blood, not a drop,100 yards later Francois my PH turned to me " he's down".I looked forward and saw a giant blur of yellow and collapsed on my knees and wept.
The tracker asked the PH why I cried, wasn't I happy?!
The quest for the Lord of the Savannah was over and he was magnificent.I have been told he was the biggest this season from the hunting block, it wasn't important he was old and it was an incredible hunt.
