Oct 12, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F98-99||target:%20_blank|”][vc_column_text]World Record Kafue Lechwe?
by Strang Middleton
The alarm went off at 4 a.m., long after the first cup of coffee. We were up, packed and ready to go. It was a six-hour road trip from Lusaka into Blue Lagoon on awful roads, but we were so amped for our hunt that though only we got into our camping spot about mid-day, we still had time to check our bows and then get an evening hunt in.
The Kafue River splits into two blocks, the last natural remaining habitat of the Kafue lechwe – the north bank (Blue Lagoon) and the south bank (Lochinvar). The hunting areas border the Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon national parks where there are great numbers of lechwe, zebra, oribi and even buffalo. The birdlife in these natural wetlands is world-famous. But both these areas are under huge pressure from population encroachment and, therefore, poaching. However, I have been fortunate to have hunted both blocks in their prime.
Our main target was the Kafue lechwe. I was looking for a better than 31” specimen, and my friend Ras was after any “good bull”- it was his first time out here. The drive was bumpy and windy and slow, but it seemed to go by very quickly, what with all the talk about bows, arrows, ranges, broadheads, cammo, camp plans, and how on earth we would get close enough with a bow!
The Kafue lechwe Kobus leche kafuensis, is indigenous to Zambia and is the only place where you can get them, and the Kafue habitat is probably where the biggest of the lechwes are found, with males weighing in over 100kg. They live off the nutritious grasses associated with low and often flooded areas. It is not uncommon to find lechwes up to their necks feeding, and they will readily swim from A to B. They like to get their feet dry, so will normally forage in the water from early evening for a few hours into dark, and then from early hours into the mid-morning where they will then move back to higher and dry ground.
Ras and I reached my “favorite tree” at about 1 p.m. This was after our stop at the government scout entrance gate where all our documents and licenses were checked before we were issued the green light and given an accompanying national parks scout. My tree was a single Acacia albida which would throw enough shade to cover our tent and camp table and chairs! My tracker Ovi, and Fred the scout had a similar tree for their tent.
It was December, hot and muggy – we were fully expecting to get very wet as the rains were around. Not today it seemed. The kit was offloaded, and as Ovi prepared camp we got the “boys’ toys” out and set up. The camp was simple, and our three-day trip did not require the kitchen sink to come along. It was definitely a boys’ trip – basic food, beer, dry bed, and a tin tub to have a good bath in every evening! Our water was from a well dug 50 yards from camp, with the water level being less than two yards from the surface.
We were both using compound bows and were confidently shooting our arrows out to 80 yards with lethal consistency. Months of practise makes this very possible with today’s modern bows. I like to shoot GrizzlyStik arrows with Silver Flame Broadheads. This gives me awesome down-range energy and, with the heavy forward of center arrows and two-bladed broadhead, great momentum and penetration.
With bows set, range finders and binos strapped on, arrows tipped and checked with new broadheads and quivers fitted, it was time for a sandwich before we hit the plains hoping to catch some rutting action.
December is a tough time to hunt because you could get totally rained out. I had never hunted this late and really wanted to catch the rut if we were lucky. We had fine salt to rub and wrap and roll the capes before storing them in plastic barrels out of the rain if need be. The meat would all be taken off the bone and put into our freezer. Lechwe is one of my favorite meats to eat. Anything left over would be salted for the game scout and his family at the end of the trip.
The rut for the Kafue happens December/January, and bulls of five years or older are in their prime. Females will carry a calf seven to eight months before giving birth in August/September. We were coming into full moon, and this is known for extraordinary lechwe activity. Could we be lucky to witness a real strong bit of rutting? Lechwe generally are not aggressive rutters, but if you catch it right like we did – WOW!
As we hit the open plains it was very clear to me this was going to be an awesome hunt. The grass was cropped to stubble and the water was miles away in the distance. It is so flat there that you can literally travel at 60 km per hour and not have to hold the steering, so off we went in a south-east direction with open plains for as far as the eye could see. It was stunning.
Not long, and the scout tapped and pointed out the first “mirage” of lechwe in the distance. We headed over to them and saw it was a large herd of some 500 animals, but very few bulls. It was a nursing herd and the males in there were either old, OK-ish, or young – not what we were after. Onward we headed. Always bear in mind that this type of hunting takes you far from camp and there are no landmarks. Be sure to have a GPS unless you want to sleep on a truly mosquito-infested flood plain!
The plan to hunt a Kafue lechwe in 360 degrees of open nothingness is simple – get it right! As I mentioned, they will stay on high ground and then move to the water’s edge or swamp in the afternoons to feed. Over the year there have been huge worn travel routes, and along these you will find the odd anthill or mound with cover on it, or a patch of crocodile reeds. This is where you have to set yourself up. A cammo net is always useful. When the herd moves towards feeding grounds, you need to be there in the right place and ready to take a shot.
When using a rifle it is a lot easier. All you need is a good pair of binoculars, sturdy shooting sticks, and a rifle that will reach out there 300 yards or so. Also, a decent guide to tell you which animal to safely shoot.
The next herd of lechwe was much better-looking. It was probably 700 strong and spread over a wide area. As we got closer I stopped and climbed on top of my truck to glass. There were a lot of good bulls. And I quickly noticed the several breeding leks (areas) that had good mature bulls. And…wait for it…they were chasing and fighting and snorting everywhere! It was on! The lechwe have a really strange and characteristic run – head down, haunches in the air with the nose extended… unique to watch. Ras and I just sat and enjoyed the flow of the natural order.
It was mid-afternoon, time to start setting up if we were to get lucky. As we skirted the herd, between them and the swamp, we studied the terrain and trails, searching for the perfect spot. In the distance were some water pans with a fair bit of reed cover around them. Near to one of these were two bulls going at each other hammer and tongs! It was an unusual, aggressive battle. Both bulls looked very big. Because it was Ras up for his first flats lechwe, I had him get his stuff together. I skirted the herd and drove in toward the pools so he could use the reeds as cover to move in on the fighting bulls. I quickly went past, and he dropped out into the weeds as I drove on. We parked some 500 yards away and got the optics out to watch the show. At this stage the bulls were still locked and going at it!
We watched as Ras got to the selected patch of weeds about 75 yards away. The bulls were still hammering each other. He stood up and crossed the gap to the next patch of reeds which was only 35 yards from the bulls. They did not even look up! Now I was seeing what a rut-time hunt could be like – so exciting! Ras’s arrow went right through the lechwe, and only then did the bull break, with his pursuer hot on his tail! Ras literally had to chase off the other victor.
The moon was up and almost full. Ras had a 34” first-time lechwe hunted in the most awesome way. That was a big one, and taken with a bow. Could I really be this lucky tomorrow?
The campfire mood was jubilant, and the lechwe tenderloins were awesome. A few beers and a couple whiskeys later we hit the sack to be ready for the next day. Ras was snoring pretty quickly, but visions of great-horned, fighting studs kept me lingering at the edge of darkness for quite a while.
We were up at sparrows again with coffee, the cooler full of drinks, water, and lunch for the day. I was on a mission for a big boy.
The whole morning was spent finding the right herd with a decent setup. I found a herd with a few good bulls and one of about 35” coming back from the water. So I set myself up on a trail in a pretty awesome spot and the wait began. The lechwes came on pretty quickly, but unfortunately the wind was not being my friend, and the lead animals had the herd turned and splashing away at 200 yards, leaving me with that sunken feeling of failure after so much euphoria.
It was getting late and it was time to find a bit of shade under a lone tree, have some lunch, replenish the liquid levels, then the traditional nap.
The afternoon was spent trying to find a good bull. We saw plenty, but all the setups just would not work. It was a long way to camp and it was time to make our way back for a couple cold ones and a lechwe braai.
Our last day we were up early. The morning was tough with no chances. Fears of failure were creeping into my mind. It was close to lunch and we had a potjie with pap cooking at camp. As we trundled back I noticed a small herd of lechwe in the distance – they were a long way from water and way up the floodplain. This was where the animals get hammered by the city weekend warriors. I decide to look at some 30 lechwe out of interest. When I put my binos on them, one head stood out quite a bit. His horns were heavy and the spread tight. Not a great-looking bull – until he turned his head!
Right where we stopped there were two large trails about 100 yards apart, and not far was a nice clump of weed between them. Perfect. Now I needed some luck.
I suggested that Ras and the guys head right round with the truck and park the other side of the lechwe. They would see the car and instantly move toward the water. The weekend warriors had trained them well. The guys went about 3000 yards round them and came to a stop about 800 yards the other side of the herd which was already moving in my direction. I was tucked away nicely in the reeds with a chance to shoot to either trail to my left or right.
I hoped they would come right because the wind was better. They came left. There were three females in front followed by big boy – who now looked HUGE! Lots of control breathing was taking place in those weeds! As the females got past they obviously got a whiff. Noses up, they paused. Big boy stopped, quartering toward at 80 yards – no shot for me. The girls started to trot off and big boy came on at a brisk walk, meanwhile diverting off the trail, putting him at 67 yards. I had to try.
I drew my bow , settled my breathing , locked my 70-yard pin just under the lechwe’s elbow and started thinking of how much to lead him. Then he paused to look at the gap between him and his lead ladies. Well, before the P in pause was done, my arrow was launched. He ducked the arrow and started to turn away. It clipped the shoulder blade and continued through to hit the spine, which poleaxed the magnificent bull. I ran up, fumbling another arrow onto the string. He was as good as done, but I shot him once more, in the heart, to end it quicker. This magnificent and really old bull deserved an honorable death.
The feelings were elation, quivering emotion from the adrenaline, and then a sombering humbleness that could draw a tear. This warrior had survived so many years out here, avoided hundreds of rifle hunters and PHs with clients, and now here he was. And with my bow! Wow, wow, wow.
The guys arrived, and we just had to measure him. I’m not an inches guy, but perhaps he deserved it. My bull measured 37” green score, and I have still to measure him officially, though enough friends have convinced me that a bull that could be a new #1 – after decades of hunting and with a bow – just had to be entered and recognized.
After all, he was THE King of the Plains.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F98-99||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17633,17634,17635,17636″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 12, 2018 | News
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PH Petrie Boshoff – Buffaloes, Baloo and Boshoff!
African Hunting Gazette: Tell us about you and your family. When and where were you born?
Petrie Boshoff: I was born in August 1981 in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. I am married to Janine and I have a Jack Russell called Baloo.
AHG: How did you become a PH? How did it all begin?
PB: It all began when I was about 10 years old, accompanying some of my friends to their farms on weekends. When I was about 15 I had my first meeting with overseas clients, and at age 17 I decided, “this is what I want to do for a living.”
AHG: Which countries have you hunted and where are you hunting these days?
PB: I have hunted alone in Namibia, but with clients only in South Africa.
AHG: If you could return to any time or place in Africa, where would it be?
PB: I would have loved to hunt East Africa, with Bell and those guys, or in the Sudan for big elephants.
AHG: Which guns and ammo are you using to back-up on dangerous or wounded game?
PB: I use a Winchester model 70 chambered in .416 Remington Magnum. The ammo I like is Soft Barnes-X 400gr, and solids are also Barnes Solids 400 grain.
AHG: What are your recommendations on guns and ammo – for dangerous game and for plains game – to your hunting clients?
PB: For plains game I recommend .30-06 with 180-gr good quality soft-nose bullets, or .338 Win Mag. with 225-gr or 250-gr soft-nose bullets. On dangerous game I recommend .375 H&H with 300-gr bullets, or any of the .416 calibers with 400-gr bullets.
AHG: What is your favorite animal to hunt and why?
PB: Cape buffalo! I just love tracking them and getting a client into a good shooting position to make a good shot. And the danger factor surrounding a wounded buffalo might have something to do with it as well.
AHG: Looking back, which was your greatest trophy and why?
PB: It was a mountain zebra that I hunted myself in the Khomas Hochland in Namibia. Telling the farm owner I would like to try to walk and stalk it, and seeing the expression on his face was priceless. Just for some of the readers that don’t know the Khomas Hochland, it is a very mountainous area and the mountain zebra is a very wary animal, that will run for miles once spooked. At last he agreed, and off I went. It took me a day and a half to get a zebra standing still within shooting range. I eventually shot one at 288m up in the mountains, and it took a loooooooong time to recover it. It was still one of the toughest hunts I ever did.
AHG: What was your closest brush with death? Looking back: Anything you should have done differently?
PB: So far, I’ve only had one close encounter with a Cape Buffalo. We were tracking a herd of seven buffalo bulls from sunrise, and eventually caught up with them at about 11 o’ clock, when they were making their way down to the river for a drink. We decided to get between them and the river, and see if we could ambush them on one of the gametrails leading to the river. We set up in some thick ravine area and could see two game trails, one at 17m and one 44 metres. My client was shooting a .458 Win.Mag. with open sights and wanted a shot closer than 50metres. The local tracker told me the buffaloes always use the game trail at 44m, so everything should work out perfect…
Well, the seven buffalo bulls came out on the 17m trail. I told my client to shoot the second bull from the front, but as I stepped out next to my client, the lead bull stopped, turned towards us and started to drop its head. I told my client, “it’s gonna charge” and that he should shoot him.
He gave the buffalo a perfect top of the heart/double lung shot, but he still came charging. I tried to brainshoot him at 14m, but he stumbled over a dead stump and it resulted in him picking up his head and me shooting too low, only stunning him momentarily. My client shot him again in the heart/lung area while he was stunned. He continued the charge, and at about 3m my client shot him through the right horn and grazing his neck. At about 2m he was starting to drop his head to hook me and I spined him by shooting him where the neck joins the body. He ended up about 3 feet in front of me.
Not much I could or would have done differently.
AHG: How has the hunting industry changed over the years? And the hunting clients themselves?
PB: The industry got a lot more competitive. Everybody wants to have a piece of the pie. And clients? The average hunter is a lot older then say 10 years back.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a successful PH and or a successful hunting company?
PB: Patience, and being a people’s person. Also, you have to know how to communicate with your clients.
AHG: And which qualities go into making a good safari client?
PB: Trust and patience. Trust your PH’s judgement and wait till he tells you when and where to shoot.
AHG: If you should suggest one thing to your hunting clients to improve their experience of their safari, what would it be?
PB: Plenty of practise shooting fast off shooting sticks – sitting, kneeling and standing up. You never know what shot is going to present itself, so be ready for anything.
AHG: Based on your recent experience in the field, do you think that any species should be upgraded to Appendix I or downgraded to Appendix II or closed all together?
PB: I think the ban should be lifted on the hunting of leopard in South Africa. Every day we see more and more leopard activity. Leopards are going to lose at the end of the day, because cattle farmers are going to start poisoning or shooting them illegally for killing their livestock.
What can the hunting industry do to contribute to the long-term conservation of Africa’s wildlife?
PB: We have to look at the image we are putting out there. Photos of any animal covered in blood with guts hanging out, is not a good advertisement for the hunting industry. Look after the animals, and keep poaching in your specific area under control.
AHG: Ask your wife, if she could do it all over again, would she still….? What is her advice to future wives of PHs?
Janine: Yes, I would do it all over again. The downside is long times away from home, but to share his passion for hunting makes up for it. My advice for future wives of PHs? Support your husband in his work and let him live out his dream and passion for hunting.
AHG: Anyone you want to say thanks to? Or to GTH (Go to Hell)?
PB:To all the bunny- and tree-huggers out there. Remember that my food, poops on your food.
AHG: Any Last Words of Wisdom?
PB: Shoot straight and always use enough gun![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F120-121||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17762,17763,17764,17765,17766,17767″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 12, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F106-107||target:%20_blank|”][vc_column_text]Guileless Guinea Fowl? Not a Chance!
By Ken Bailey
The guinea fowl is often dismissed as the simpleton of Africa’s gamebird world. They are, by all accounts, an odd-looking creature, sporting a weird horny helmet atop a red and blue bald head. Preferring to walk, or run, rather than fly, they have a peculiar bouncing gait that contributes to the impression that they’re less brain than birdbrain. They’re also remarkably common across southern Africa, further leading to the belief that guineas can’t be much of a sportsman’s quarry.
For those who’ve taken on the challenge, however, the reality is diametrically opposed to this impression. Guinea fowl are a classic example of why you should never judge a book by its cover, for lurking within that strange head is the mind of a cunning survivor, and if you’re going to best a guinea, you’d better bring your A game.
I’m not talking potting guineas on the ground, a popular pastime when hunting big game in an unabashed effort to put some meat in the stew pot. I’ve done that myself in Zimbabwe, plinking away from a distance with a .22. It was a simple and effective way to collect our dinner. Getting within shotgun range of guinea fowl, however, is a whole different story. You’re up against a foe that seemingly has the eyes of a falcon and the hearing of an elephant, and will bolt for cover at the first whiff of danger. And trust me, you’ll never catch up to a guinea on the run; I’d put my money on a guinea fowl in a 100-metre race with a wild turkey, and not think twice about spotting the turkey 20 metres.
There are two distinct methods for successfully wingshooting guinea fowl, with each having its pros and cons. No matter which you choose, it’s important to think through your strategy before you begin your hunt. To some extent guineas are creatures of habit – they have preferred locations for feeding and watering, and even for routes to escape cover. A little pre-hunt investment in time to discover the likely locations and preferences of the flocks you’ll be hunting can go a long way to increasing your success.
Mike Tyson once said that everybody has a fight plan until they get punched in the face. This is worth keeping in mind when hunting guineas, because just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they’ll do something totally unexpected. You need to be able and willing to adapt or risk going home frustrated.
Driven guinea fowl
Driving guinea fowl is akin to herding cats. For every time it unfolds as planned there are two times it all goes a little astray. The basic formula is to watch as guineas toddle into cover, plan a route for pushing them out, spread your shooters along the anticipated escape route, then send beaters into the cover to move the birds towards the gunners. The birds will run at first, but eventually they’ll lose their nerve or become annoyed (who knows how a guinea fowl thinks?) and flush. Hopefully they fly towards where your shooters are positioned. It all sounds simple enough but, as Mike Tyson forewarned, you must be prepared to adjust on the fly. Literally.
Hunting South Africa’s Limpopo province last year with outfitter/guides Mark Haldane, Robbie Stretton and Dylan Homes, I discovered that driving guinea fowl is a game of persistence and perseverance. There was no shortage of guineas in the area and we worked flocks as small as a couple dozen birds to more than 70. Over two days we planned and executed a dozen drives or so, some as short as a couple hundred yards, others extending a half mile or more. Despite having lots of manpower and dogpower helping out, those cagey guineas ensured it was a see-saw battle. We’d win one, then they’d win one.
On one particular drive we had nearly 75 guinea fowl trapped in a mixture of dense grass and acacia. I was in the group of gunners positioned in a shallow “U” along the anticipated escape route. Once we were all in place, the team of pushers and dogs moved forward in a quick march, eager to unsettle the unsuspecting guineas. A holler alerted us to the first flush, and in a matter of seconds the air was alive with rising guinea fowl. Unfortunately, they hadn’t read the same script we were following, and squirted through our line with near telepathic insight, between our last shooter and where we’d parked the trucks. Final tally – two guinea fowl down, and a bunch of frustrated beaters and gunners.
But you can’t give in with guineas, so after a quick refreshment for dogs and hunters alike, we regrouped, drove 10 minutes to another area and watched a flock of guineas scuttle across the trail and into the grass. Not having seen the entire flock before the first birds were safely into cover, we weren’t sure exactly how many were there, but it was definitely enough to make a drive worthwhile.
We repeated the routine of reading the cover and planning our strategy. Again I was on the shooting crew, and my expectation was eerily high as I listened to the dogs and beaters begin to work through the cover. This time our strategy worked.
Often the birds rise en masse, but on this occasion it was a series of flushes. I listened as down the line a series of pops told me the shooting had begun, then watched as dark-plumed birds intermittently fell from the sky. Soon enough I saw a flight of about 10 birds swing my way, trading off between furious flapping and peaceful gliding as they searched for distant safety. I raised my double and crunched the first bird as it passed overhead, then swung onto another, pulling it down too. With more birds headed my way, I quickly reloaded. This time I wing-tipped a bird and had to follow-up with a second shot to anchor it. Around me I heard the others continuing to shoot – we’d fooled ‘em this time. I reloaded again, but as suddenly as the barrage began it ended, and we each picked up our birds and reassembled at the trucks. It was all smiles as we admired the growing pile of guinea fowl at our feet. Not only did the plan and execution work to a “T”, but we’d be eating well that night.
Walk-up hunting
It’s difficult to hunt large flocks of guineas by walking up on them; you simply have too many eyes and ears to overcome. No matter how stealthily you sneak up on them, invariably a bird will bust you and, in a New York minute, the whole flock will be hell-bent for safe cover.
You can enjoy success on smaller flocks however, whether stand-alone groups or when following up dispersed birds after you’ve flushed a larger flock. On a hunt in Namibia a few years ago my outfitter and I tried unsuccessfully to close the distance on a flock of about 20 birds. As might be expected, our efforts were fruitless, as the birds simply ran ahead of us each time we got even remotely close. Eventually, however, they ran out of available cover and flushed. That was our cue to become more aggressive, and we hustled towards where we’d seen the now scattered flock resettle. Before they could re-covey we walked quickly but quietly through the grass to where we’d last seen individual and paired birds land. Rather than run as we got close, the still nervous guineas opted to flush again, this time within shooting range. We ended up taking four out of the group before we were done.
It certainly helps to have pointers when walking up guinea fowl. Pointing dog handlers I’ve spoken to tell me that guineas won’t hold well for pointers in sparse cover, like thin grasslands or crops where there’s little base cover, but they have success in dense grass and thornbush where the birds feel more secure.
Whether hunting with or without dogs, you must always be alert. As is typical for guinea fowl they are anything but consistent, and will flush as suddenly as a broken shoelace when you least expect it.
At the end of the day, guinea fowl hunting is among the more underrated shotgunning experiences available to African wingshooters. Those who’ve hunted them with any regularity both loathe and love these curious and unique birds. Either way, if you believe the road to redemption is paved with suffering and frustration, you should put guinea fowl hunting on your must-do list.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F106-107||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17792,17793,17794,17795,17796,17797,17798,17799″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 12, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F8-9||target:%20_blank|”][vc_column_text]Flushing Africa…
Again I am sitting on my patio a few metres from the Sand River. Ducks are paddling in the slow-moving pools, and Egyptian geese are flying up and down raucously calling – the birdlife is magic…
The history of bird hunting – wingshooting – can go back to one of the greatest names in hunting: Frederick Courteney Selous. We see him in that classic picture, ensconced in a deck chair with an open book, and hung next to him is a recently shot Kori bustard. This majestic African bird is actually the world’s heaviest flying bird, weighing up to 40 pounds. Of course the ostrich is also the largest bird, but it can’t fly. However, it can run – and run fast! So while the ostrich does not belong in the wingshooting category, it is still a huntable bird and is featured in the issue.
Africa offers a diversity of game birds and, like her game, the birds are varied, colorful, and numerous – and also a challenge to he (and she) with the gun. We have run features on wingshooting, even featured some with the legendary Rovos Rail, but have not made it much of a focus. That is about to change. And to herald the change, we thought it was time that a bird should adorn the front cover.
My family has always been interested in wildlife – and birds in particular. Ever since I can remember. I was making catapults (some call them sling shots) from the time I was a little boy. Shooting at birds in the back yard and bushveld around our home was something that I just did. My bedroom walls were covered in pressed and dried birds’ wings. I did projects on birds in junior school, and my interest evolved to keeping waxbills in aviaries. I really loved the small seed eaters and today they are still my favorite bird family.
Getting back to the cover. The iconic guinea fowl is probably Africa’s most recognised game bird, be it the white spotted plumage, the shape of it flying, or the wonderful cackle the birds make at dusk and dawn. It’s Africa calling.
Wingshooting seems to be less offensive to the crazy antis. No soulful eyes, no names that they are called by, no collaring for tracking and scientific reasons. Oddly, birds seem to be lower on the totem pole of importance. Maybe it is the calm before the storm, who knows. For now, let’s capitalise on the fact that wingshooting is widely practised, is a hugely traditional sport, and is right here in Africa! We have the ingredients to attract and open up a new sector in a big way. And then to a good friend, Dieter Krieghoff, who I have been telling I will be moving to cover this – I can finally get that monkey off my back and say – at last – we have delivered!
Wingshooting will be receiving its due respect as we regularly bring you content from Ken Bailey with whom I recently went on a tremendous tour around South Africa, hosted by Bird Hunters Africa, with me being initiated into the “world of wing shooting” – to quote the title of a great book, published some 30 years back. Ken’s the hunting Editor of Outdoor Canada, and if we can get a fraction of the fanatic wingshooters from the northern hemisphere to experience the opportunities for feather-based hunting in Africa – things will be just fine.
Until then – brace yourself.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F8-9||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17641,17642,17640″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 10, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F110-111||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Africa will never be the same…but there’s plenty of good with the bad.
By
Craig Boddington
Sometimes history is easy to pin down. We define the Victorian era by Queen Victoria’s long reign (1837-1901). We can generally determine when wars start and end, though not everybody gets the word right away. Other times it’s a bit squishier. As far as Westerners were concerned, Africa’s age of exploration started before recorded history with the Phoenicians, then the Greeks and Romans, followed centuries later by Dutch and Portuguese seafarers. It’s more difficult to put a precise date when the last blank spots were inked in on the map of the Dark Continent. To this day, knowledge of D.R.C.’s vast forests is sketchy, and major species like the giant forest hog, mountain nyala, and okapi weren’t identified until well into the Twentieth Century.
We like to say that the history and tradition of the African safari began with the Roosevelt expedition in 1909-10; the epic nine-month Roosevelt expedition was for neither conquest nor exploration. It wasn’t entirely for fun, with the majority of the profligate “collecting” under the banner of science, but it created Africa’s sport-hunting industry, and most of the guides engaged by the Roosevelts conducted safaris for decades to come. Phillip Percival, one of the youngest, remained active until his death in 1966 and, as founder and perennial president of the East African Professional Hunters Association, became known as “the dean of professional hunters.”
The Roosevelt safari makes a good beginning, but the golden age of safari hunting probably didn’t start until after World War I…coincidental with the coming of vehicles, which simplified logistics, extended range, and foreshortened the time required to traverse Ruark’s MMBA (Miles and Miles of Bloody Africa). There was another hiatus during World War II, but safari hunting and the safari industry, centered in East Africa, and continued with minimal changes from 1920 through the Sixties.
Kenya was the most popular destination, but Tanganyika was also important. From the Sixties, Uganda was a player, and some safaris wandered up into Sudan. This is the Africa most English speakers know about. Far to the west the French sphere of influence was also important. The enormous colony of Oubangui-Chari that became Chad and C.A.R. was an important safari destination in the postwar years…but few Americans or Brits hunted there. This is, of course, oversimplification. Ethiopia and Somalia were possible, along with various West African countries. Angola became a popular destination after World War II, and Mozambique opened in 1959, but through the Sixties and into the Seventies the major safari industry remained in East Africa, with Nairobi the epicenter.
Nairobi served as base for my first safari in 1977. Kenya was pretty much the last of the “block” system. The outfitter reserved hunting blocks, no long-term concessions and no permanent camps; everything went into the “lorry,” a 2 ½-ton truck, followed by the hunting party in a Land Rover. We hunted first on the slopes of Mount Kenya above Nanyuki. After a week or so the lorry was packed and sent ahead. We overnighted in Nairobi, then drove southeast to Voi, then south along the eastern edge of Tsavo, spending our last two weeks on the Tanzanian border. Today exclusive concessions and at least semi-permanent camps are the norm across Africa.
In my entire African experience I have seen a completely self-contained roving safari just one more time. That was nearly a quarter-century later, in Chad in 2001. It wasn’t exactly the same because, in that desert climate, we used lightweight backpack tents…but in three weeks we roved more than a thousand kilometres, hunting for specific animals in several areas.
That first safari in Kenya was both magic and bittersweet. Certainly it started an African addiction that I’ve not been able to kick. We failed to get the lion I wanted so desperately, but we heard them roar, and at the tail end I turned down my choice of two young males. Not shooting one of those lions was clearly the right thing to do, but one of the hardest hunting decisions I’ve ever made. Though Kenya was nearer to the end than anyone knew, game was plentiful; I took a full complement of East African plains game, and some of the trophies hold up well to this day.
A few weeks later Kenya closed hunting with no warning; safaris in the field were ordered to cease via radio. “Closed” is an all-pervasive word; it wasn’t completely true in Kenya, and it is not true in Botswana. Bird shooting is open in Kenya, and there is culling and problem animal control ongoing…but in 42 years no nonresident big game licenses have been issued. Every few years rumors surface of Kenya reopening, but after all these years I doubt it. Kenya’s Parks are magnificent, but I don’t believe wildlife exists outside her Parks to make even a token safari industry sustainable. But that’s now. In May of 1977 Kenya’s closure hit the hunting community like a nuclear strike. The Nairobi-based safari industry was destroyed, and the outlook was so bleak that the venerable East African Professional Hunters Association ceased operations.
In that year of 1977 the classic East African safari was indeed finished. There were good reasons for gloom and doom, but Kenya’s sudden closure was just one of several coffin nails in a very bad decade for African hunting. We remember Kenya’s closure, but we forget that Tanzania closed hunting in 1973, not to reopen for eight years. We forget, too, that in 1973 Kenya closed elephant hunting, though all other species remained open for another four years.
These were the only full-out closures, but continent-wide the entire safari industry took a beating. The Portuguese pullout in both Angola and Mozambique was hasty and messy. Hunting didn’t exactly close, but ground to a halt because of civil unrest. The last Mozambique safaris were probably in 1975. At about the same time, and for the same reasons, hunting in Idi Amin’s Uganda ground to a halt. Chad followed a couple years later. Some Kenya hunters continued in Sudan for a few seasons, and Ethiopia was open and producing some of the continent’s last big tuskers. Revolution in both countries would soon end sport hunting. Southern Sudan (now South Sudan) has not been hunted since 1983. Ethiopia would reopen in the early 90s, would close again, and now seems solidly open.
So, between 1973 and the mid-Eighties the hunting map of Africa shrank dramatically and alarmingly. There were reasons to believe the end of the game was near, but there were bright spots. In those days few of us understood that East Africa was no longer the epicenter. In 1963 Harry Selby and other East African hunters pioneered newly independent Botswana. By 1977 Botswana was a popular and successful safari destination. Before 1965 Malawi, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) were loosely joined in Federation. Under Federation there was no safari hunting because no legal facility existed to issue licenses or export trophies. Malawi has never opened safari hunting, but after Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) Ian Smith’s government fixed this, as did newly independent Zambia’s President Kenneth Kaunda. Rhodesia’s long bush war greatly inhibited safari hunting (and everything else!), but by 1977 both Rhodesia and Zambia were well-established safari countries. After hostilities ended and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, her safari industry blossomed; in the 1980s she became Africa’s third-most-popular safari destination. Zambia has had a couple of brief suspensions of hunting but remains open. Tanzania officially reopened in 1981 and remains a committed hunting country.
Then we have what might be called “recycled” hunting countries. Mozambique’s civil war was long and brutal, hard on both her people and her wildlife…but the shooting had barely stopped when new outfitters started up in the late Eighties. Thanks to their conservation efforts many areas have recovered well, and Mozambique is again a fine and growing safari destination. Uganda’s game was similarly ravaged, left only in pockets—but those pockets were good and are expanding. Uganda reopened in 2009, and although her hunting industry is still small her game is increasing and the potential is marvelous. Much of Chad’s wildlife was destroyed during the Libyan invasion. Today Chad is a highly specialized destination, offering several species not found elsewhere. Chad reopened briefly in the Nineties and is open again.
Elsewhere around the continent there are several other hunting countries not yet mentioned. Cameroon and C.A.R. have long been the most reliable destinations for some of Africa’s great prizes, Derby eland in the north and bongo in the south. Hunting in C.A.R. has been on-again, off-again, but is technically open as conditions allow. Congo (Brazzaville) and Gabon have also been episodic, but at this writing both are open, Congo for the major forest species, and Gabon for forest duikers. Hosting the greatest variety of pygmy antelopes and great prizes such as water chevrotain and zebra duiker, Liberia has been open for nearly ten years, with hunting more successful every year. Ghana has been open, with her great prize the tiny royal antelope. Morocco and Tunisia host driven hunts for Barbary wild boar, plus bird shooting. Benin and Burkina Faso are open with small but reliable safari industries, both holding good populations of western species such as savanna buffalo, western roan, harnessed bushbuck, and more. There are a few countries that do not offer organized safari hunting, but where it is possible for intrepid do-it-yourselfers to obtain hunting licenses and pursue limited species. These include Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
Altogether more than 20 African nations allow legal and licensed sport hunting by foreign nationals. This is much more opportunity than existed in the darkest days following Kenya’s closure. I suppose it depends on whether your glass is half-full or half-empty. Back in 1977 it seemed an impossible dream that I might someday hunt Chad, Mozambique, Uganda, and so many other places. My glass is more than half-full! Although in many cases hunting is limited, today the vast majority of Africa’s diverse game species are available, certainly many more species than was the case in 1977. Continent-wide the only major losses have been the great desert game: Addax and scimitar oryx are gone, aerial gunned to feed opposing armies. Neither Barbary sheep nor Nubian ibex are currently huntable, but have been in recent years and could be again. I will never hunt a black rhino but I think it’s wonderful that permits are available, and their great value contributes hugely to the survival of the species.
The cornucopia available in today’s Africa reflects the reality that well-regulated sport hunting places value on wildlife, and that visiting hunters and outfitters, area by area, are performing effective anti-poaching, and funding community projects. In Third World economies, regulated sport-hunting works
This is not universal, though certainly not applicable only on the African continent. Today we know that Kenya’s closure was fostered by the Kenyatta government so the poaching gangs could have full sway…and they did. Botswana is not “closed.” Private land hunting remains open, but hunting on government concessions has been suspended. Somewhat similar to the disastrous Kenya model, it is known that Botswana’s suspension has much to do with government ties to the lucrative photo-safari industry. Ecotourism is important, but central Botswana is not the Okavango, lacking in both natural beauty and species diversity…and this is common throughout Africa. Ecotourism is highly profitable, but focuses on special areas: Kenya’s manicured Parks, the Okavango, even Kruger (the continent’s first protected Park).
We can argue to hunt or not to hunt, but Botswana’s real problem is her overpopulation of elephants. By recent survey Botswana hosts a quarter-million elephants. This could be a third of the entire continent’s remaining total…or it might be half. The entire Chobe region is like a nuclear blast zone, and all other species are suffering from inability to compete. Long-nurtured sable and roan antelopes are now scarce…even buffaloes are nowhere near as common as 20 years ago. Botswana has more of a management problem than a hunting problem.
Across the hunting map of Africa few blank spots remain. I believe Botswana will reopen safari hunting but, unfortunately, hunting cannot solve her elephant problem. Disaster looms. Despite numerous efforts, no one has been able to crack the code to open hunting in huge Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, former Zaire). Too big, too corrupt. There is potential in Angola, and huge opportunity in South Sudan. So I expect the hunting map of Africa to continue to change.
There are two more hunting countries that have become the epicenters of today’s now far-flung safari industry. In 1977 South West Africa (SWA), now Namibia, was a sleepy backwater. Long ago a German colony, it was a popular destination for European hunters, and was the site of Jack and Eleanor O’Connor’s last safari, but the American market had little interest. Still, hunting was good, primarily on private ranches.
In 1977 I think it’s fair to say that SWA had more hunting going on than South Africa. Pioneering outfitters like Norman Deane’s Zululand Safaris and Bowker and Scott in the Eastern Cape were getting things going, but after a century of rapacious farm development game was scarce, and hunting opportunities were few. I hunted both countries in 1979. Both were good, but nothing like today. Serious game ranching began in South Africa in the 1970s and blossomed in the Eighties. SWA became Namibia in 1990, and her wildlife industry also exploded.
My, have things changed! It is estimated that South Africa’s wildlife has increased about thirty-fold since 1970, and that country holds some 9000 registered game ranches. The increase in Namibia is similar, and both countries now offer untold acreage in game. Both nations are the only two countries in Africa where the Big Five (and/or Dangerous Seven) may be hunted. That said, both Namibia and South Africa are primarily plains game destinations…and this has been their greatest gift to the hunting world. The short, inexpensive, and incredibly productive safari for a variety of non-dangerous species hardly existed in 1977. Today the plains game safari owns the lion’s share of the market. Annually thousands of hunters flock to both Namibia and South Africa, right now in similar numbers. Altogether Africa hosts about 20,000 hunting safaris annually. Namibia and South Africa together account for between 75 and 80 percent of the entire continent’s total. They have no close competitors.
This was unimaginable in 1977, and also unthinkable that the safari industry could ever be as large as it is today. This is a direct result of the short, inexpensive plains game safari that makes the dream of Africa come true for so many sportsmen and women from around the world. And, as we know, once one sees even a small slice of Africa one is almost certain to return. So, the plains game safari whets the appetite, creating dreams of a return engagement to hunt buffalo, perhaps other dangerous game, or one of the great antelope prizes. We can all lament the loss of the East African safari of yesteryear, when the average safari was three or four weeks and included three, four, or even all of the Big Five.
Those days are over, but what we have now is in some ways better, a bigger Africa and a bigger industry, shared by more. What really happened in those dark days of the 1970s, is safari moved south. Today’s primary epicenter is Johannesburg, jumping off point not just for South African safaris, but many Namibian safaris, and a major share of hunters bound for Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. At this writing the game is far from over, and my glass remains much more than half-full.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17662,17663,17664,17665,17666,17667,17668,17669,17670,17671,17672,17673,17674,17675,17676,17677,17678,17679,17680,17681,17682,17683,17684,17686,17687″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F110-111||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 10, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F18-19||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]NEW SHOTSHELLS FROM NAMIBIA…NOW
By
Craig Boddington
As a lifelong U.S. citizen, it’s difficult to avoid an American perspective! We’ve had ammo shortages in recent years, but common types of ammunition are readily available in sporting goods stores, “big box” stores, hardware stores, and in small towns, sometimes in gas station convenience stores. This is probably amazing to hunters and shooters in many parts of the world, but I find it equally amazing that, until now, not a single self-contained cartridge has been produced in Namibia! It is, after all, a country much larger than France or Texas. It is also very much a hunting country, with the second-largest safari industry on the African continent. Ammunition is required, and in a farming and ranching society, a necessity for pests and snakes and such. But, until now, all available ammunition is either imported or hand-loaded.
Hanns-Louis Lamprecht of Namibia’s new Lamprecht Shotshell Company told me that when he went to the appropriate government agencies to obtain the necessary permit they were supportive, but uncertain…it had never been done before so what, exactly, was needed? It took nearly five years before everything was in place!
Hanns-Louis Lamprecht is 30-something, but perhaps he will forgive me for thinking of him as “young” because I became friends with his parents before he was born! His late father, Joof Lamprecht, was a farmer and well-known outfitter and PH, and for some years owned a gunshop in Windhoek. His mother, Marina, has always been equally involved in the business and has been a leader in NAPHA (Namibia’s professional hunter association). His older brother, Jofie, is also a well-respected outfitter and PH. Hanns-Louis wanted to try something slightly different…but, at the outset, I don’t think he guessed it would take five long years! It did, but that’s past history, and Lamprecht shotshells are now hitting the market in southern Africa.
I was in Namibia in July ’18 and I knew the shotshell project was coming to fruition, so I spent a few days on the Lamprecht home farm, Rooikraal, and got a quick tour of the factory. Understanding production was just starting, I guess I’d expected to see a production line of progressive loading machines. Uh, no, this is a serious and professional venture, using an automated and sophisticated European loading machine. At this time cases, primers, plastic wads, and propellant are imported from Europe. Shot is locally made Lamprecht “L” shot; that apparatus occupies an entire building. A short indoor range houses a pressure barrel linked to a computer, tracking velocity, ignition, and pressure curve. Starting from zero, initial production capacity if five million rounds per year, with pallets of ammunition being delivered.
Shotshells are manufactured in myriad array, but at the start it makes sense to keep things simple. At this time all shells are 12-gauge 2.75-inch, which is surely the most common in southern Africa. Initially Lamprecht is offering three loads. Target loads are Fiocchi, manufactured under license with versatile U.S. No. 7 ½ shot. The box is the familiar blue-and-white, the primary difference being the notation “made in Namibia.” Target load hulls are Fiocchi blue. Two game loads are currently offered under the new Lamprecht brand. Using U.S. No. 5 shot, this load is intended for tougher birds such as guinea fowl and ducks. Yes, I know, No. 6 is more popular, and some hunters prefer the coarser No. 4 shot…but No. 5, right in the middle, is extremely effective, to me a great choice. Then there’s a “mini-buckshot” load using lead T shot, deadly on geese and effective for close-range work on smaller antelopes and predators. This load has a clear plastic hull. Other loads will be added over time, but what a great start!
I had a chance to do some excellent sand grouse shooting with the Fiocchi (“made in Namibia!”) target loads, and we shot a few guinea fowl with the red-hulled No. 5s. When I did my part birds fell, and when I didn’t get the lead right nothing happened. The sand grouse is perhaps the most humbling of all gamebirds. Nobody hits them all, but I had the impression these were very good shells. Crimps are consistent and even, and both the target loads and game loads were noticeably clean-burning, with little powder residue in the barrel and no blow-back in a semiauto. Here in the States we have lots of choices in shotshells; in southern Africa you don’t have that luxury, but now there’s another option, locally made and it is good stuff! Check out Lamprecht Shotshells at www.facebook.com/lamprechtshotshell.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F18-19||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17599,17600,17601,17602,17603,17604,17605,17606″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
