Walk and stalk

[Primo661]

I'm very much a walk and stalk type of hunter, but I'm also a rifle hunter who's recently bought a bow. I don't mind working for it, on the contrary the challenge is why I choose to walk and stalk. My rifle and I have taken animals at 300+m but the vast majority have been under 50m and some inside of 15m after a good deal of time crawling around, digging in with my eyelids so to speak because its more enjoyable and rewarding. This is simple enough when I can slowly bring my rifle to my shoulder in the prone but a bow requires me to atleast be kneeling to take the shot.


Am I likely going to have to break my no camo rule to make it achievable? I wear camo all day in barracks and know how to disappear with a ghillie suit thanks to my line of work but part of me feels it is unsporting.
Does ones strategy have to change when stalking with a bow compared to a rifle? I assume a bow hunter needs to find atleast some vegetation to come out from behind to take the shot rather than popping up and kneeling in knee high veld?
Am I being too optimistic to think I can walk and stalk plains game like impala and warthog in fairly open country with a bow?

I wouldn't normally post up such a stupid question but I've never tried it before and seeing as I don't live in South Africa anymore my time in the bush is severely limited and I'd rather not have to learn the hard way.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[BRICKBURN]

Andrew, I have been able to walk right up on top of Warthogs, well within Bow range. But the cover was excellent.
Not short grass. Long tall grass.

In the trees I think it can be done.

Herd animals are much tougher all round.


It is a much harder task with the bow than with a rifle obviously.

Bow vs Rifle stalking; basics are the same but you need much more patience.
Also, when to setup for the shot. Animal can't be watching etc.
Obviously there is also no 200 yard margin for error in the stalk.

Good luck.

 

[observe]

Am I being too optimistic to think I can walk and stalk plains game like impala and warthog in fairly open country with a bow?

Cheers,
Andrew

Andrew,I think part of your answer lay in this statement of yours.
Like brickburn said, it depends on your type of cover available and the distance of the stalk.
How far do you intend to stalk in open terrain?

I would say that in open veldt with sparse cover and short grass as you described, to try a combination of ambush till the animal is nearer to you and then maybe stalk for the final distance.

Stalking impala for a 100 m in open terrain like a bushman is really much more difficult,but then again it depends on what your objective is---the stalk or the kill?[obviously if you come all the way to africa it will include the kill,but if you are hell-bend on the kill,the stalking become sometimes secondary,which is a pity]

I like the way you are thinking though.

In fairly open terrain [where you want to hunt] I would advice reading the land[animal movement],choose some or other structure already there [tree,rock,some higher grass etc] as a 'waiting' or 'ambush' point and take the cammo stalk from there if possible.

If you are initially concealed and the warthog is 'calm' ,then its possible to stalk even in open terrain to within say 20 m for a bow shot. [I managed once to come within 7 m with my spear].
Patients and the animal's senses is very important here [smell.hear,sight and their '6th sense' as it sometimes seem if they can just 'feel' your presence. ]
Also,if there are some 'koppies' hills nearby,the wind direction sometimes tend to change and swirl as the day heats up.[again,this will have an influence on your movement[stalk] in open terrain]

Impala as a herd animal is a different ballgame in open country as Bric said, but nothing is impossible!
Good luck and tell us all about it afterwards!

 

[bluey]

gday primo

if you want to stalk with your bow ,without see me no more(camo)
I would be wear earthy colors .
stalk in bare feet or socks.
practice drawing and shooting your bow sitting ,twisted at the hips tippy toes ,on uneven ground maybe even one foot off the ground .
try putting your self in shooting positions where your normal stance is compromised .
because when stalking plains game with archery equipemnet ,your windows of opportunity open and close in a flash .
be prepared for some excited tension and some unexplained failed attempts .
every tree will work both for and against you , the tree your using as a screen will snag you in its thorns and warn your quarry in a hart beat .
its going to be hard, man.
the stalk and expirence will be as bigger thrill as the kill .
every animal taking, stalking with archery ,is both big game and a trophy .not always in size but in hard fought (stature)
if you are wanting to bring home more than a few trophies ,consider some time in a blind ,
or as a friend of mine does a trip every year ,he wont use a tree stand or a blind , die hard l call him .
l would also go in april ,may when the foliage is the thickest .
walking and stalking solely, will be an absolute blast and a true show of character.
l wish you well ,mate
good skill Andrew , l hope it works out well

 

[Norwegianwoods]

I think this very much depends on what terrain you hunt in, when you hunt, what animal and if it is a bow hunting only area or not.

If you hunt in areas where rifle hunting is done and the vegetation and foliage is not thick, you really need full camo of the ghillie or leafy type plus face mask and thin gloves or camo paint.
Without it they will bust you.
I saw clear proves of that when I hunted walk and stalk with my bow in Eastern Cape in July last year.

Next time I go I will most likely book my hunt for April or at the start of May.

 

[Primo661]

Thanks for the replies!

By the sounds of it, it is going to be just as tough as I imagined it would be! When I fly home to SA next I'll take my camo and ghillie with me incase I need it. Its going to be an August hunt so the game will be sharp, vegetation will be dry and very noisy which will add to the difficulty. Its just going to be down to me using my all my skill and patience to make the most of what I have available to me. The more I think about it, the more the difficulty motivates and excites me!

The area I'm going to be hunting is KZN grassland with some natural bush hand railing a river through the property. The impala are actually less skittish than the warthog who are under heavy hunting pressure from the surrounding commercial farmers which makes them a massive challenge to get close to. It just means I'll have to be up in time to get into position as the pig move into the sun to warm up after a cold night and hunt hard through midday when the pigs are in their wallows, and into the evening.

Does anyone have any particular strategy when it comes to hunting warthog? Is what I say above a reasonable tactic? We've always just done the strategy I mentioned above which has been fairly hit or miss for the most part. The literature also seems fairly thin on how to target warthog specifically, it sometimes seems there is more out there about hunting the elusive bushpig than warthog! I think its rather sad in fact that most times people refer to warthog as something you get when you're hunting your other species rather than targeting them specifically. They're a fantastic challenge and bring plenty excitement when you take a shot and have to follow him into the nearest thicket half an hour later with a shotgun just in case your shot wasn't as clean as you thought! They've become somewhat an obsession of mine over the last few seasons.

I'll post up here and let you know how it goes!

 

[observe]

They've become somewhat of an obsession of mine.......

Aaaah, Primo661, welcome to the club!

 

[Diamondhitch]

It is certainly possible but you need to put any thoughts of "unfair advantage" out of your mind with regards to camo. You have no advantage at any time, whatsoever, when trying to slip in that close. It is great fun and very rewarding when it works.

 

[Primo661]

It is certainly possible but you need to put any thoughts of "unfair advantage" out of your mind with regards to camo. You have no advantage at any time, whatsoever, when trying to slip in that close. It is great fun and very rewarding when it works.

Thats how I've always seen it, as an unfair advantage. I've always thought, I can get within 50m with khaki so why cheat, get lazy and use camo? I'm slowly coming around though. By my reckoning, getting in close enough to a heard of impala so that you can minimise string jump isn't something that's going to happen very often without a lot of skill, camo and indeed luck!

 

[Diamondhitch]

Thats how I've always seen it, as an unfair advantage. I've always thought, I can get within 50m with khaki so why cheat, get lazy and use camo? I'm slowly coming around though. By my reckoning, getting in close enough to a heard of impala so that you can minimise string jump isn't something that's going to happen very often without a lot of skill, camo and indeed luck!

Camo is 10% of what is required to get within bow range. Movement while getting in range is 30%, Wind is 30% and Movement while drawing a bow is 30%. Your ghillie suit actually becomes a liability when dealing with the last obsticle, drawing your bow.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

Thanks for the replies!

By the sounds of it, it is going to be just as tough as I imagined it would be! When I fly home to SA next I'll take my camo and ghillie with me incase I need it. Its going to be an August hunt so the game will be sharp, vegetation will be dry and very noisy which will add to the difficulty. Its just going to be down to me using my all my skill and patience to make the most of what I have available to me. The more I think about it, the more the difficulty motivates and excites me!

The area I'm going to be hunting is KZN grassland with some natural bush hand railing a river through the property. The impala are actually less skittish than the warthog who are under heavy hunting pressure from the surrounding commercial farmers which makes them a massive challenge to get close to. It just means I'll have to be up in time to get into position as the pig move into the sun to warm up after a cold night and hunt hard through midday when the pigs are in their wallows, and into the evening.

Does anyone have any particular strategy when it comes to hunting warthog? Is what I say above a reasonable tactic? We've always just done the strategy I mentioned above which has been fairly hit or miss for the most part. The literature also seems fairly thin on how to target warthog specifically, it sometimes seems there is more out there about hunting the elusive bushpig than warthog! I think its rather sad in fact that most times people refer to warthog as something you get when you're hunting your other species rather than targeting them specifically. They're a fantastic challenge and bring plenty excitement when you take a shot and have to follow him into the nearest thicket half an hour later with a shotgun just in case your shot wasn't as clean as you thought! They've become somewhat an obsession of mine over the last few seasons.

I'll post up here and let you know how it goes!

Try crawling into a 6-8 meter deep Warthog den after one that is still alive
I will for sure stalk more Warthogs with my bow next time I go.

 

[Primo661]

Camo is 10% of what is required to get within bow range. Movement while getting in range is 30%, Wind is 30% and Movement while drawing a bow is 30%. Your ghillie suit actually becomes a liability when dealing with the last obsticle, drawing your bow.

I agree completely. I've never used camo so I don't know how much it helps but I'm going to take it just incase, it cant harm me if I have the option to change the khaki for camo if I do find I need that edge. I do agree completely though that there is no and will never be a substitutes for skill and patience when it comes to the stalk. I'm certainly not in favour of wearing camo let alone a ghillie suit due to the difficulty drawing(in the case of the ghillie) as you mentioned or the feeling that its cheating and overkill on some level.

Try crawling into a 6-8 meter deep Warthog den after one that is still alive
I will for sure stalk more Warthogs with my bow next time I go.

That is most definitely not my cup of tea!