Archive Archives - Page 6 of 17

Searching for Sable

May 5, 2023 | Archive, Hunting Stories

By Darrell Sterling

I have always admired the regal appearance of the jet-black sable with its long sweeping horns. They are one of the most iconic and majestic plains-game animals in all of Africa. A dozen years ago they used to be very expensive to hunt. And I wasn’t sure if I would ever get that chance…

I had lined up a safari with Monkane Safaris. Owner Kerneels Viljoen had asked if I was interested in hunting for a sable. Of course I was, but said it was a little out of my price range. However, he was kind enough to work with me to make this hunt possible. Thankfully, the price has gone done over the years as more and more farms have been raising sables, and I was now fortunate because my outfitter had made it impossible for me to say no.

My safari had been going extremely well. I had taken a couple of animals that will surely qualify for the record books, a beautiful nyala, and an extremely large eland, and much as I had enjoyed the challenge of hunting these animals, my focus was on getting a magnificent sable. That day finally came. We were going to a farm that had plenty of nice sables. I should get my chance to fill my tag of my dream animal.

I slept little that night, looking forward to the next day. My daughter Misty Sterling who had been hunting with me every day of the safari also had little sleep from excitement. We both were extremely anxious to start this hunt.

We rolled into this new hunting area at first light and hunted hard, driving for miles. We found some fresh tracks next to one of the many dirt roads we had been crisscrossing and grabbed the shooting sticks to see if we could catch up with the sable that had made the tracks. We started out slowly, but as the tracks become fresher our pace picked up. The wind was in our favor as well, so my PH Gerhard Smit wanted to take advantage of the tactical edge.

My guide pushed through the thick brush, avoiding the thorny bushes that were everywhere. My daughter and I were not so fortunate. We seemed to get stuck in one thornbush after the next. We tried to keep up, but the fast pace was not helping, and I had blood running down my legs and sweat pouring down my back as I struggled to keep close to the guide. I was afraid he would stop and throw up the shooting sticks only to find that I was 30 yards behind him. I turned around many times to check on my daughter – she was also getting beaten up pretty good by the dense bush.

I decided that we needed to slow down, or we were going to be a real mess if the pace kept up. We had already gone about three miles and Gerhard showed no sign of slowing down. I caught up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. I told him we could walk all day through the bush as we had done on previous days but not at the pace he was on. I showed him my legs and told him we needed to slow down at least a little. But Gerhard explained that with the wind and the sign in tracks, he felt the need to push our advantage. I understood, and as much as I wanted a big sable, it would be hard for me to take an accurate shot if I was out of breath and bleeding from a million cuts.

Gerhard understood and slowed down the pursuit of the fresh tracks. We went another mile or so when the track mixed in with more sable tracks. He signaled for the truck to swing by and pick us up. We checked round the area for another hour till past noon and saw hardly any animals, let alone a sable, so the decision was made to try another farm.

We drove over to the new area and on the way, I ate my packed lunch. We did not stop for the usual safari siesta but it seemed as if we might just push through, so I decided to fill up knowing we could be in for a long day. It was a good thing that I did.

We arrived at the new farm that displayed a sable on their sign, which I thought had to be a good omen. We saw animals, including a steenbok, as soon as we entered the property, but it was almost the heat of the day before we finally saw our first sable. I was beginning to tire as we had not stopped since first light. My daughter looked a little weary, but I could tell she was still excited, which only helped to lift my spirits.

The day wore on. Generally, when hunting, one goes for the largest animal possible, and the cost does not change with size, but it is different with sable. It works similarly with whitetail deer – the larger the animal, the higher the price. The first sable we had seen in six hours of hard hunting was a giant and was too big and expensive for this old cowboy to shoot. It was a little depressing having to pass on a massive old bull. I did see my first ever roan and was really impressed with the animal, and it is now on my list.

We drove further only to find five sable bulls milling about. Quickly, three pairs of binoculars went up, studying the group. A couple where brownish which meant they were not fully mature, but three were midnight black with long sweeping horns. I was worried that they all might be too big, but one bull caught my eye. He looked to be the right size and age. I asked my PH about it, and he replied that was the one that they were really looking over. I was happy to have spotted the correct bull.

I heard the magic words, “Lets get down to take a closer look.” Instantly my heart started pounding. We slowly exited the vehicle and made our way around the small herd to take an even closer look.

We had a representative from the farm with us and my guide chatted with him trying to decide if that bull was the right one for me. He was a very big bull, and my guide could get into trouble if I shot a one over the size limit that I was contracted to hunt.

There was much discussion. I reminded my guide that when we stopped in town a couple of days ago that I had bought him a carton of cigarettes and some candy and I was more than willing to bribe him with more smokes and candy! I was joking and having fun, but I had also told him that if the bull was the wrong size, then we would keep looking or go to another farm. Anyway, he still wanted to take a better look, so we stalked even closer to the herd. At one point he put the sticks up and told me to get ready. I got my Ruger .30-06 up on the sticks, my pulse hammering away. I was told to hold steady while they made the final decision.

Then the herd quickly moved away. We were now in catch-up mode and took off on foot. My adrenaline was really going now. We moved along silently through the brush to catch up to where the small group of bulls had settled down. I was sweating heavily now and trying to calm my nerves. My PH chatted again with the farmhand, and they decided it was a go. The sticks went up!

It was extremely difficult to identify the bull we needed as the animals milled about and changing places. It was tough getting a bead on which one was which. We finally figured out which bull was to be mine when the wind shifted, sending the herd off in a sprint.

We had to head quickly to the truck if we were going to get catch up and try to outflank them. We got ahead of them and jumped out of the truck moving through the brush trying to get in front of them, anticipating where they might go. The problem again was trying to pick the right bull from a small herd of animals that all looked very similar. The two guides conferred, figuring which one was the chosen one.

The sticks again went up. I was worn out as my emotions had ebbed and flowed numerous times in the last thirty minutes. I got my gun up but was half expecting us to have to move yet again, but instead I was told which bull to aim at. I tried to follow the bull as he weaved in and out of the pack. Then he pulled slightly away, and I told my guide I was going to take him. He verified which one I had zeroed in on, and once that was confirmed he told me to take the shot. I had been dragged through thorns, dense bush, and emotionally put through the ringer, but once given the green light I snapped off a shot that smacked the bull hard. He bucked and ran but only went about 25 yards before piling up in a bush. We got the binoculars and saw the bull tangled up in a very large bush. He wasn’t moving much but his ears were up still, so I was told to take another shot.

We moved closer and my gun went back up on the sticks. Another round went into the downed bull. The first shot had been a double-lung shot and some follow-up shots ensured the old sable was mine.

We dragged him out from under the bush marveling at his size and mass. My guide looked at me, smiled and said, “I might be in trouble, he is a big one.” My search for a sable was over. Nothing is quite as satisfying as a dream being realized. I would like to thank my PH Gerhard Smit and Monkane Safaris for a terrific old sable bull.

Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 16

Apr 5, 2023 | Archive, News, News

Written by Neil Harmse

Chapter 17. Why Wingshooting

I think there are as many reasons hunters pursue game as there are hunters – and those who hunt feathered game are no exception. When I decided to sell off my rifles and, instead, take up my sport of ‘shooting flying’, I had to seriously consider this change in my hunting options.

I have always enjoyed and thrilled in the challenge of tracking and following game animals in their natural habitat, studying their habits and their ways of eluding a hunter. The kill was simply an end to the challenge.

I have also always enjoyed the challenge of wingshooting, especially with a well-made and well-balanced shotgun. My shotguns are mostly of a vintage variety and I feel there is nothing as satisfying as stepping out into the veld in pursuit of either terrestrial game birds or waterfowl with a gun made over 100 years ago, knowing that it will do the work it was designed for the day it left the maker’s bench. The beauty and balance of these old English guns are a joy to behold.

Another reason I decided to take up wingshooting, as opposed to game hunting, was that because I was advancing in years, this sport was less strenuous and could be shared with a good companion or two for an enjoyable day’s outing, whereas game hunting was a more solitary pursuit. My good friend and hunting ‘buddy’ of about 45 years, Terry Murfin, was always ready to join in a shoot and many a day or weekend was spent walking behind a well-trained pointer, letting the dog work out where the birds were and holding them in position for a point while Terry and I strolled along, chatting about mutual interests and past experiences. Once the dogs were showing the point, we would take turns having the first shot, the way gentlemen hunters and friends should. This made for a really great day’s outing and a thoroughly enjoyable shoot. We would never worry about shooting a lot of birds and were quite satisfied with a brace or two for the pot, taken in an ethical and sporting way.

Unfortunately, Terry has now passed away and is sorely missed when I am in the veld on a shoot. I am fortunate that my son, Craig, and grandson, Kyle, also enjoy the sport and – having been brought up to respect the idea of ethical hunting – will hopefully also be my companions in the years ahead.

I have mentioned how good it is to hunt with a well-trained dog and would like to add a few thoughts on this topic. Whatever breed of dog you decide will suit your type of shooting, you will experience a lot of pride and pleasure in having one that helps to find the birds and add to the bag. My choice has always been for the pointing breeds, with the German short-haired pointer being a favourite. For more than 12 years, my trusted four-legged companion has been my GSP, ‘Storm’. When I first saw her, I was sitting on the veranda of my friend Dave Fowler’s clubhouse. Dave was a breeder and trainer of hunting dogs. I noticed a scrawny, young pup trying to scramble and climb over a mesh wire fence to reach us. After a few attempts, she managed to get over the fence and, with a proud wave of her stumpy tail, came to join us. I said to Dave that this dog showed guts and determination and would make a great hunting dog. He asked whether I would like to have her and I agreed with pleasure. Storm became one of my best four-legged companions and together we shared many enjoyable hunts. She passed away about two years ago and now rests in the veld on one of our favourite shooting farms near Koster in North West Province.

In Storm’s later years, I bought a young GSP to work with her and be trained by her. His name is Rocky and although he shows great promise, I am not sure whether he will be able to live up to Storm’s reputation. Only time will tell.

It is the companionship of a good friend and a good dog that make wingshooting the enjoyable sport it is reputed to be.

To order Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences – the complete book with illustrations (US $15 excluding S&H), contact Andrew Meyer at andrewisikhova@icloud.com

World’s Longest Buffalo Hunt!

Apr 5, 2023 | Archive, Hunting Stories, News

By Jim Thorn

I hunted with Monterra Safaris in May 2021. On that hunt I had an opportunity to take a Cape buffalo that was giving them some problems. Of course, my only bad shot of the entire hunt was on this buffalo. Not nervous, not in a bad position, the PHs set me up perfectly – I just flat out pulled it to the right. I felt terrible as the PHs had put me in the perfect spot at the right time, and I blew it. On top of that, I felt bad for the animal that was now wounded and hurt. My shot went too far forward, entering and exiting his brisket. He bled enough, though finally it was down to very small droplets that stopped all together, but we were able to track him for three days until the blood trail quit. We bumped him twice, but no shots were taken as he ran away instead of towards us. I even hired a helicopter for half a day to try to find him. My time ran out and I had to leave with him still out there.

The PHs and I decided that if the lions or hyenas hadn’t taken him, or they found him hurting, that they would shoot him. Or, if they found his skull, they would let me know. About two months later I received a call from Almayne Hughes (PH), and Ross Hare (PH and owner of the property) that they found the buff. Alive! And thriving! They recognized the distinct bosses and horns, and the oxpeckers on the entry and exit wound sites confirmed. He had rejoined the herd and was fat and sassy. Their question to me was: “Shall we shoot him for you or do you want to shoot him?” Now my budget was stretched with my first trip in May, but he was thriving and not in pain and I was obsessed with having left him there, so I said I would go shoot him! (I have a most understanding wife).

Arrangements were made and I made the trip the first two weeks of October. It took about three days, but we found him crossing a large plain. After our squat running and then sneaking from bush to bush, the buff came into range. At about the 50-yard mark Almayne set up the sticks and I brought the .458 Win Mag to bear. I didn’t pull to the right this time. The bullet hit his shoulder and both lungs. He ran about 30 yards and turned to face us, but he was dead on his feet. Another opposite shoulder shot knocked him down and then the finishing spine shot brought the final bellow. Close inspection showed the healed scars from my errant shot months before. It was an emotional close to the world’s longest buffalo hunt.

He green-scored 42”. Because I was there, the guys put me on a really nice 51” kudu for icing on the cake.

I can’t speak highly enough of the way Monterra Safaris treated me on this odyssey of mine. Not only in their hunting knowledge and professionalism but in their kindness and compassion towards me and their conservation ideals.

Sixty-three-year-old Jim lives with his wife of 40 years in southwest Louisiana, about 60 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and 30 miles from Texas, in the path of several natural disasters. He has hunted unguided in Louisiana, Texas, and Kentucky and in the USA, and taken guided hunts for bear and wolf in Alberta, Canada. Jim dreamed of hunting Africa for decades, researched and planned for years, packed for months, and then lived his dream for 23 days. The tattoo on his arm is the motto of the East African Professional Hunter’s Association: “Neither fear nor foolhardiness”

Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature

Apr 5, 2023 | Archive, News

Cries of the Savanna

Sue Tidwell (Circle T Publishing Company, 2021, 426 pages.)

Reviewed by Ken Bailey

Sue Tidwell knew little about hunting in Africa or the complexities of game management, hunting ethics and human-wildlife interactions when she accompanied her husband on a 21-day hunt for leopard, buffalo and plains game in Tanzania. She returned home with her eyes and mind expanded, and spent the next three years researching, compiling and, eventually, capturing in words what she’d discovered. Cries of the Savanna is the result of those efforts.

Other than Ruark’s renowned Horn of the Hunter, I can’t think of a book that distills the myriad thoughts a first-time, or even experienced, hunter visiting Africa experiences on safari. In a well-organized manner she touches on everything from the emotions associated with killing hard-won, revered and charismatic animals like leopards and buffalo, to the at-times life and death challenges indigenous African people face on a daily basis living with these animals. To complement this, her in-depth research on the life history and current status of many of the species she encountered, from vultures to hippopotamus, ensures that her thoughts and emotions are balanced with science.

Tidwell is clearly an emotional woman, in the best sense of the word, and willingly shares with the reader her near-paranoid fear of snakes, her frequent tears of sadness and elation whenever her husband takes an animal, and her self-effacing response to ending up arse-first in a pile of eland entrails. She laughs, she cries and she finds herself immersed in deep, confounding thought as her safari unfolds; you’ll surely experience the same emotions as you read of her experiences.

A theme throughout Cries of the Savanna is the author’s growing relationships with the safari staff, especially Lilian, a young female game scout with whom she develops a deep bond. It’s through the lenses of these locals that Sue truly comes to understand that the harsh truths of hunting in Africa are far more complex that most visiting western hunters imagine. In fact, the heart of this book is her coming to terms with how to reconcile those differences.

To be honest, my expectations were muted when I purchased this book from Sue at the most recent SCI convention – I was just doing my part to support a fellow writer. But with the turn of every page I became increasing engrossed and captivated. Sue has very effectively accomplished the goal to which most writers aspire – putting into easy-to-understand language the full range of thoughts and emotions that many of us experience, but have difficulty articulating.

I used to tell every first-time hunter to Africa that they should read Horn of the Hunter before they embark on their safari. Move over Mr. Ruark. While your words are as compelling as ever, Cries of the Savanna offers something that Ruark simply cannot – a contemporary commentary on the African hunting experience and all its touchpoints in a world that is concurrently becoming both smaller, yet more complicated.

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GPO’s SPECTRA 6X 4.5-27x50i SFP

Mar 22, 2023 | Archive, Product News

Designed as the ultimate long-range, high-performance riflescope, the German Precision Optics (GPO) SPECTRA 6X 4.5-27x50i SFP has been built to give premium performance for those who hunt game in environments where shooting at extended ranges is often required.

With a second focal plane riflescope, the reticle is placed behind the magnification lenses on the erector tube assembly, and the reticle remains the same size as the scope’s variable power is turned up or down, making a fine subtension ballistic reticle with an illuminated center micro-dot for longer shots.

The SPECTRA™ 4.5-27x50i SFP’s large 50mm objective lens system transmits a great deal of light to your eye, while the 4.5-27X variable power range gives you ample magnification for both close and the longest-range shots. Throw in the proprietary iCONTROL™ microdot illumination and shot placement on dark targets will make you a believer. This scope comes standard with DoubleHD™ objective lens technology with fully-multi coated lenses, iCONTROL illumination, PASSIONtrac™ ZERO-STOP-LOCK turrets to assist your shooting scenario. The turrets provide +/- 30 inches/MOA of adjustment range at 100 yards.

Features

GPObright: A proprietary coating process that maximizes light transmission through each surface of an optical element. As light hits an optical surface, normal uncoated high-performance glass can reflect up to 5 percent of that light, redirecting this light so it does not transmit through the optical system. However, when these high-performance lenses are vacuum coated with GPObright lens coatings, up to 99.7 percent of the available light passes through each optical surface. Furthermore, when every surface of the entire optical system is properly coated, total light transmission can reach up to more than 92 percent, making the optical image of a GPO binocular or riflescope “bright,” even in the lowest light conditions.

Double HD Objective Lens Technology: This is the final product, created when multiple extra-low dispersion lenses are chemically laminated to make a single, multilayer high-performance optical lens. Laminating multiple lenses minimizes light reflection on the surface of multiple lenses, creates enhanced resolution and color contrast images, and minimizes chromatic aberrations. This benefit is clearly visible with all GPO products supporting this feature. This high-performance process is routinely found in the photographic market and with the highest-quality photographic lens manufacturers but has now transitioned into premium sporting optics.

iControl Illumination: This assures users always have a live battery by automatically powering down the illumination when the electronic module has been stationary for more than 3 hours, and alerts users when the battery has only 15 percent remaining battery life.

This scope is crafted from a one-piece 30mm anodized, nitrogen-filled aluminum main tube that has zero-stop locking turrets, precise ¼ MOA click adjustments, CCW click rotation, removable magnification throw lever, 3rd turret parallax adjustment, fast focus ocular, and multiple rotation engraving.

Maven’s New RS3.2 Riflescope

Mar 13, 2023 | Archive, Product News

Maven Outdoor Equipment Company has expanded its award-winning line of premium riflescopes to introduce the RS3.2. Based on the brand’s popular RS.3, the new RS3.2 has expanded upon the original model’s design to broaden its offering within the RS Series line-up.

The RS3.2 features a 5-30x magnification range on a 50mm objective lens and introduces a larger, more tactile elevation turret in addition to an internal and toolless zero-stop to offer precise dialing and adjustment capabilities. Maven also incorporated end-user feedback to include a new capped windage turret.

Like all riflescopes in the brand’s premium RS Series, RS3.2 also features crystal clear ED glass for tack-sharp clarity in addition to a silky focus mechanism, precision-milled adjustments, solid click detents, and durable anodizing to resist heavy use.

With an expansive magnification range, detailed MOA or MIL reticles, side parallax adjustment, and custom turret options, the RS3.2 is a robust first focal plane scope designed for long-range hunters and shooters. Thanks to Maven’s direct-to-consumer business model, it offers great value on a scope that provides precision, accuracy, and reliability for long-range performance, all qualities Maven is known for.