SOUTH AFRICA: Tiny 10 In East Cape

[Green Chile]

Ok, it’s day 3 of the hunt and we only have the oribi down so far. This day was my roughest in Africa and one of the worst days I’ve had in the field…just getting you ready for it!

We took the baakie up into the mountains above the lodge to begin looking for Vaal rhebok. On the way up, we glassed for bushbuck but saw very little and nothing worth pursuing. I was pleased to be the first one to see vaalies up high but that’s just because everyone else was looking in a different direction…but you take the little wins where you get them. I had never seen one in the field but they are very distinctive with their long necks, thin tall horns, bulbous nose and a coat that is really more like a rabbit than anything else I can think of. They are like a box of left over parts but their vision is outstanding and they have ZERO tolerance for intrusion on their mountain. We would learn that the hard way this day.

The mountain was very steep but once you got up high, it flattened out like a rolling mesa top. You could see quite far but there were some folds that you couldn’t see into. It reminded me of pronghorn hunting but on top of a mountain. It wasn’t particularly hard to find the rhebok but it would either be a solitary male or a male with a group of females. We didn’t see bachelor groups of males but perhaps that’s a seasonal thing…anyone know? I have a lot to learn about Vaal rhebok.

We found a male with a group of females and crab walked into place. They were below us and we had the wind and what should have been an easy shot. I got prone and the range call was 210 meters. The rifle was sighted for 200 meters and I had made the easy shot the day before at that distance on the oribi. I carefully held behind the shoulder (didn’t want an explosion from the 300 WSM) and touched it off. I was shocked not to hear an impact and the tracker said you shot just over his back. I asked if the range call had been correct and they said yes. Everyone has their opinion of course but with the steep downward angle, it felt shorter than 200 to me but at least it was a clean miss. Of course, the rheboks didn’t put up with the noise and were long gone. Ugh…I missed a close shot at an important goal of mine. We continued on.

That began a series of long stalks at other groups of rhebok. We would climb down or climb up or do a long sidehill stalk to get to the next group. Each time they would wind us or see us before any shot could be taken.

Then a group of mountain reedbuck were seen and the PH said there was a big one in the group. They ran below us and paused long enough for me to get on the sticks and once again, around 200 meters between us. At the shot, I heard the impact and he fell on the run within a few seconds. I was out of breath and the guys climbed down and pulled him back up the hill. This was my first mountain reedbuck and both PHs said it was the largest they had seen. I was thrilled to connect again after the missed shot.

 

[Green Chile]

 

[Green Chile]

We spent the rest of the morning climbing up and down and sideways all over that mountain. The footing was very unusual and worth mentioning. It was a combination of grass tussocks that were round along with round rocks. The effect was that nothing was level and everything tried to roll your ankle downhill. I’ve never felt the need for different boots than my Russells in Africa but in this case, I needed a much stiffer shank. My feet got so sore from flexing downhill that they swelled up in my boots. Also, the elevation is worth mentioning….above 6k feet. It’s not the highest but it’s a lot more than living at 600 feet like I do.

We ended up chasing one group up and down across one mountain onto another mountain. They climbed way up into a steep pitch above us and stopped in some trees. The PHs wanted to try a shot from our location as we couldn’t get closer. I thought come on…that’s too far on these small animals. The shot would be taken from a steep angle upwards at 520+ meters. I just couldn’t get comfortable on the sticks…they were sliding…I couldn’t get prone and had to try an awkward sitting shot upwards. I cranked the scope up to 18x and watched the small circle of movement of the reticle with frustration. I took a shot…just over his back. I readjusted without much improvement and took another shot…just over him again! At this point, I wanted to back out and they said try one more time…same results 3x. Wow…I’ve never missed an animal 3x before. I was tired and irritated and wisely, we called it a morning and went downhill to have lunch.

That afternoon we spent looking for the big springbok and moving around a lot with the herd. Luke saw the big ram but I never had an opportunity. That ended the most frustrating day I’ve had in Africa but I was thankful for the old mountain reedbuck and ready for some rest and a new day to try again. Sometimes it’s a mental game and I remind myself of that…rest, eat and come back with a clear head.

 

[slam8031]

My experience on Vaal is a male takes a harem and they stay together. Some satellite rams may group together as well. I watched the herd ram run off some adversaries in June. I can vouch for the tough terrain on that property!!!!

 

[AZDAVE]

With Vallie's you have two truths, you will do some hard climbs and your wind reading skills better be up to the task. I was lucky in I remembered to take a pair of mountain hikers for that hunt, saved the feet on that uneven ground. That was my 3rd hunt in the EC.

It is also hard to shoot distance with a rifle you don't have a fair bit of time shooting. Those tough days really make you appreciate the animals hunted.

 

[Hunt anything]

I talked to a PH friend that has some experience with Vaalies, he said that rams tend to kill one another once they mature. This is why they have resisted any efforts to farm them unlike just about everything else in RSA.
Not sure if true or not but it wouldn’t take too many sticks with those ice pick horns to discourage other rams or even deliver a fatal stick.

 

[Green Chile]

With Vallie's you have two truths, you will do some hard climbs and your wind reading skills better be up to the task. I was lucky in I remembered to take a pair of mountain hikers for that hunt, saved the feet on that uneven ground. That was my 3rd hunt in the EC.

It is also hard to shoot distance with a rifle you don't have a fair bit of time shooting. Those tough days really make you appreciate the animals hunted.

I definitely could have used some traditional hiking boots that day. Interesting point on the wind…they were above and across from us in the shade that hadn’t seen sun yet. There could easily have been an updraft thermal working that we couldn’t see and which wasn’t on our side to feel as we were in the sun. That could explain 3x shooting over. I didn’t mention the shooting sticks but they were miserable on that slope. None of these are excuses just all part of the shooting problem to solve. That day I didn’t get it done.

 

[Green Chile]

Now we are on the 4th day of the hunt. This would turn out to be the longest day of the hunt with 20 hours of effort. The outfitter meets us as we are leaving at 4:30 am and says I’m coming with you today. He says I know these rhebok and their habits so let’s go get one! It’s always nice to have the landowner with you when looking for game and I always feel a little luckier with the owner present. We get in his truck and he heads straight to the top of the mountain.

We are at the top by 5am and we quickly find a single male vaalie in a favorable location. We run and crawl a bit and find him across from us on another hill. Prone doesn’t have the right angle so we switch to a sitting shot on sticks. I’ve been thinking about what went wrong yesterday and remember that I didn’t have any support for my back elbow (shooting hand). I ask a PH to sit behind me and now I have a backrest and my reticle settles down. I ask the range and it’s 387 meters and no measurable wind yet this early. I take a couple of breaths to settle and ease the trigger back. The shot feels good and we hear the hit. Everyone starts yelling before the recoil finishes and the ram is down! Wow, the sun is barely up and we have success on the mountain already. We run down the hill and back up and there he is….I sit there for a minute before touching him. He is special and wonderful! By the way, a mature vaalie's horns are longer than his ears. This one is a good bit longer than that. Rowland Ward for sure.

As we are taking photos, the outfitter looks further down the mountain and says, there is a big warthog down there….let’s go look at him. We go down and down and down and 600 meters later we are on the sticks. The pig is across the stream from us on the opposite side at about 150 meters. I can see his tusks sticking up above a bush that he is behind. I wait for him to clear the bush and at the shot, he drops. I reload but he isn’t moving. So we move across and find him expired. For some reason, I have never had a shot at a nice, older warthog. I always see females or immature males so I finally have taken an older warthog after many trips. Two prime animals down in 30 min and it’s not even 6am yet. What a difference a day makes! More to come on this long day.

 

[Hunt anything]

Wow!!! Great ram and the pig ain’t too shabby either.

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks. I will probably do a pedestal of the mountain reedbuck and vaalie together. They were neighbors after all.

 

[Datchew]

Something tells me this hunt report is going to include a lot of pics.

Yes plz.

 

[PARA45]

What a great experience so far. You have taken some fine animals. Can’t wait to read the rest.

The EC mountains kicked my rear end both times I’ve been there. The part of GA I live is flat so any elevation was felt. This year I took a pair of Crispi boots, and they made a huge difference in those mountains.

 

[Green Chile]

What a great experience so far. You have taken some fine animals. Can’t wait to read the rest.

The EC mountains kicked my rear end both times I’ve been there. The part of GA I live is flat so any elevation was felt. This year I took a pair of Crispi boots, and they made a huge difference in those mountains.

Thanks my friend. More to come.

If someone reads these comments and decides to take a proper pair of hiking boots to EC, it will be a better trip for them.