SOUTH AFRICA: Improvise, Adapt & Overcome With JKO HUNTING SAFARIS

[BeeMaa]

With the PH and tracker in front of me, we stalk toward an area where we’ve seen a very old bull. There are other PG animals in the area as well, lots of eyes to see what we are doing. We creep along…very slowly and hunched over until we spot him and pause at some thorny bushes to further investigate the bull. He’s old, very old. White on his face, bosses are worn smooth and his body condition is not good. The perfect trophy in my opinion. We creep and crawl as quietly as possible in the tall grass for the last 50 yard to close the distance. One of the kudu who’s near the bull senses something is wrong, but thankfully just walks away instead of running. My heart is beating in my chest as the PH and I whisper how we want to take the shot. This is the moment…this right here is what I’ve been preparing for. We stand, my rifle finds the sticks, the bull sees us and turns to run. Just before he enters the brush, he turns back to look at us. My rifle finds the spot at the center of the chest and I squeeze the trigger as the rifle barks and the bull hunches up.

This is the beginning of my first buffalo hunt. Sounds pretty good ehh? Stay tuned for the details, because this is not the hunt report you may be expecting. There are some of you who know what happened and I’d only ask that you allow me to tell the story.

 

[BeeMaa]

We are in the Free State of South Africa hunting with @JKO HUNTING SAFARIS. My wife has accompanied me on this trip but has been sidelined with a blocked tear duct in one of her eyes. Not the ideal vacation for her, but she does get out in the afternoons when not doing hot compress to relieve the pain. Traveling there was made a little more comfortable by flying business class and I seriously doubt that my bride will fly coach for that length of time again.

We are staying at a beautiful lodge with all the amenities that would be expected in RSA. After meet & greet is over, we verify zero on the rifle so we can hunt in the afternoon. Several buffalo were spotted that day, and one in particular had a track that looked very promising. He was dragging his feet in the sand as he walked and the tracks were bigger than most. The sun is getting low and we would like to get a good look at this bull so we pick up the pace to a fast walk. Then, the tracker STOPS! And so do we. There he is…15 yards away on our right…he’s now standing and facing us. It seems that we ran up on him just as he laid down. The PH and I both have our rifles up with the safeties off, waiting for him to make a move. Thankfully he doesn’t choose violence but turns and runs. It’s a good thing too, because neither of us had any kind of shot if he decided to charge. This is my very first encounter with a Cape buffalo…and I’m hooked.

It was hard to get a good look at the bull through the branches & thorns, and the PH and I discuss it on the way to the bakkie. We can’t rule this bull out, but there are also others and the PH is confident we will find an old one for me. I snap a picture of the track before we head to the lodge for drinks and a meal. It’s been a good day and I’m excited for what’s to come.

 

[BeeMaa]

While driving from the airport, the PH and I had extensive conversations about everything hunting. From guns & gear to methods and trophy expectations…we covered it all. He’s a really good guy, newly married and looking to start a family. He and I just seemed to ‘CLICK’ and it was like he knew what I was thinking by looking at my face. Same with me. It was seamless communication with him from the start.

The following day is our first full day of hunting and we are up early. Tea and rusk for me while the PH and tracker get the bakkie ready. It’s rather cold and I bundle up and ride in the front until we reach the hunting grounds. We did run into a few buffalo that morning, but they were in a bachelor group deep in the thorns. It was unnerving to have a 10-minute standoff with a buffalo at less than 15 yards as he stared at me…and I stared back through my scope. His right eye shooting a piercing glare through the bush the entire time. It was a close call but after he turned and ran, we could see that he wasn’t what I was looking for.

Those kinds of encounters happened numerous times. Most of them occurring at much safer distances and always on bulls that didn’t seem to fit what I was looking for. But that’s hunting and that’s one of the great things about the whole experience.

 

[BeeMaa]

So now I go back to the stalk from the first post. The shot. The hunch. The bull turns and runs as I reload. The rifle is coming down and suddenly goes off again. I must have touched the trigger. I look at the PH for a split second and reload again…only to see the buffalo disappear into the blackthorn. My hands are shaking, partly because I just shot a buffalo and partly because I have no idea of what just happened with my second shot.

My heart starts to sink, I only got one shot into him, if it was misplaced…I just put the entire hunting party at risk. I shake it off and try to be positive, “it will be OK” I tell myself. We pick up the track and there’s not a lot of blood. He was trotting but then walking…I have no idea how the trackers can determine this but they seem to know.

An hour goes by and another tracker is called in. I’m now completely useless out there. I can’t track an animal over dry grass, I can’t reload my rifle properly, I can’t shoot straight to save my life, I’ve wounded an animal and everyone around me is working their butt off to fix what I so gracefully have screwed up. To say that I’m at a low point in my life (not just my hunting carrier, my LIFE) would be an understatement.

The day goes on and my nightmare continues. I’ll save you the details but suffice to say I’m not in the best place mentally and emotionally. There is hope that a new day will bring better news.

 

[BeeMaa]

Obviously, the shot was misplaced. Of course it was. If I had hit directly at the center the chest, it would have been recovered less than 100 yards away. Today is a new day and I’m doing my level best to be positive. We circle the area again looking for tracks. The PH and I have several conversations as we look. He understands my frustration and does a great job of being remaining positive. My mood today is better than it was yesterday, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach is bad.

Another wrinkle to this safari. My PH will be changing at the end of the day. Scheduling and shuffling had occurred and my PH was brought in temporarily (only does free-lance work for JKO Safaris) but has other commitments. Another PH who’s full time at JKO will be arriving late tonight and taking over duties in the morning. It doesn’t make me uneasy when things like this happen, it’s Africa and things sometimes go sideways. Make adjustments, stay positive and move on.

I’d like to do the same with this buffalo hunt. We go the entire day without seeing this guy. We had moved in an ever-expanding circle to try to find him with no trace. Checking watering holes at last light showed a single drop of blood at one of them. It’s unlikely to be from my buffalo base on distance, but anything is possible at this point.

After dinner, I spent a long time at the fire on my own. My wife knows I need some time by myself to process. The PH joined me after a while to talk about the day, the buffalo, possibilities for tomorrow and the oncoming PH. With a new plan sorted out, I head to bed while the new PH is just getting into camp. I’ll meet him in the morning as these two have a lot to discuss about how the hunt is going so far.

 

[BeeMaa]

There will be two PH’s and two trackers working with me today. I’m introduced to the new PH (I’ll call him PH2) and his tracker over tea & rusk. It takes a little longer than usual to get things situated with more people, but the sun is bright and we have new sets of eyes to look for the buffalo today. I’m feeling refreshed and optimistic despite very little sleep the past two nights.

We have one tracker on the front of the bakkie looking at tracks and everyone else in the back. The front tracker holds his hand up and we come to a stop. Everyone hops out. There is a track…a big track. It could be THE track we are looking for. The PH’s and I run back to the truck for our rifles and the pursuit is on.

I’m third in line behind the tracker and PH when I see the buffalo walking away from us, unaware of our presence. We know it’s the right one because he has a broken spot in his tail that was seen by the PH when I shot him. We stalk closer and I move to the front. The tracker sets up the sticks and I rest the rifle on them with not much of a shot as the bull continues to walk away. The tracker then cow calls and the buffalo slowly turns giving me a quartering away shot at his right side.

I never thought I’d see this guy again and here he is. Right in front of me. Ironically the same view I had of him two days earlier as he disappeared into the scrub. The difference today is that I’m calm, completely calm and measured. I wait for the right sight picture and squeeze the trigger. The bull bucks and turns, I reload and fire again as he runs to my left…again I shoot. If he’s moving, I’m shooting. It feels like a lifetime but is over in mere seconds. The bull falls over and gives a death bellow. I walk to within 10 yards for a chest shot between the legs as he lays on his side. It’s over and I can finally breathe again. If you have hunted long enough, you know this feeling of recovering an animal once thought to be lost.

 

[jbirdwell]

Great story and congratulations

 

[Quest#1]

Happy to hear it turned out well and no one was hurt. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and bullets don’t hit the mark. I understand the emotional roller coaster…. Just had that happen a couple weeks ago. Took 12 miles and 9 hrs to finish it. Congrats on an old warrior!

 

[Firebird]

Glad you were able to find, finish and recover him. Nice old bull

 

[SCHUNTER73]

Great story and hunt, congratulations. The frustration and heartache over a less than perfect shot is agonizing. I had a similar experience with a gemsbok, which took us on a tour of the bush after I shot him a little further back than I wanted. Beautiful old bull. He looks like a warrior.

 

[BJH65]

Congratulations on a nice bull. Some of us have been exactly where you have been but very few write about it. Hunting, as in life doesn’t always go the way we may planned, but you persevered and that’s what matters. Great hunt!

 

[Tra3]

Wow! That was a rollercoaster! Fantastic buffalo.

 

[Mekaniks]

WOW! Congratulations You stayed on him and closed it. Great story thanks for sharing

 

[dchum]

Wow that is a cool bull. Nice story!

Where was the first shot on the bull?

 

[BeeMaa]

The range of emotions over the past few days has been dizzying and in the moments following the death bellow they come rushing to the surface. It takes several minutes before I’m able to stand up and compose myself. It’s 7:15 am and probably the earliest I’ve been offered a beer in more than 30 years. The two PH’s and I have a toast while we radio back to the lodge for the recovery crew.

Pictures follow, but my real concern is where that first bullet landed. When we move him the entry wound is found, three inches left of where it should have been. Did I pull the shot? Buck (or buffalo) fever? Lack of preparation? Improper equipment? I’ve replayed that initial shot over in my head a thousand times the past couple of days and if I had to come to one thing that made me miss…it was nerves. First time pulling a trigger on an animal like this is an experience. I imagine it will be a high I’ll be chasing the rest of my life, hopefully with better results. Several of the bullets are recovered, all but one still weigh 300 grains. The dark one was recovered from the stomach, no doubt from one of the running shots.

 

[BeeMaa]

PH1 provided a picture of the bull I shot from two years earlier when he was on the property. Even at this age he looks like a bull I would take.

And for comparison with PH1.

 

[russ473]

Well done glad everything worked out safely

 

[BeeMaa]

We decide to take the day to relax a little bit and recover from the miles we’ve been walking over the past couple of days, not to mention the emotional recovery. Now that the buffalo is in the salt, PH1 feels much better about having to leave. He packs his things and is on his way shortly after lunch. My first buffalo hunt was special in a lot of ways but sharing it with him was a pleasure. He will be missed.

By the time dinner rolls around PH2 is has already been in touch with his boss on a price for another buffalo. Another buffalo? Of course another buffalo and with some negotiations with the Department of Finance (my wife) a price is agreed on. While searching for my injured buffalo, we had come across another old warrior. This one has a broken left horn and we had spotted him a couple of different times in various locations. The plan is set for the morning hunt while we sit around the fire.

The following morning comes cool and crisp. We ride in the bakkie looking for tracks and checking watering holes. I’d love to spin you a wonderful tale of how exciting it is to spend all day looking for something and not finding it, but I’ll save you the anguish. Suffice to say, we now know where this broken horned bull isn’t. That’s how hunting goes sometimes. I’m thankful for the day in the bush, seeing game, checking tracks, enjoying time with my wife and new friends. Another conference around the fire to decipher what we know (or don’t know) and the plan is set for tomorrow. Hope springs eternal in a hunter’s heart.

 

[BeeMaa]

Another cool morning and the tracker tells me he has a good feeling about today. The tracker that came with PH2 seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to game. I’m not sure if he’s speaking to a higher power, but it’s like he knows what’s going to happen before it does. We load up and head out at first light to check for tracks at a watering hole.

I lag behind as the two trackers and PH walk around and decode the messages left in the silty dirt and mud. There were several buffalo here not long ago and headed west when they left. One group is about four buffalo and the other is alone…that’s the one we want. We go to the bakkie to see if we can get in front of him while still having the wind right.

A buffalo is spotted…and it’s the one with the broken horn. We dismount and start the stalk. The wind is less than perfect as it seems to be blowing parallel between us and the buff. We try to take a long way around but after a couple of miles decide to backout and regroup. Sometimes it’s better to just slow down and think a bit. We don’t want to push him and we don’t want him to wind us either. He’s calm and walking, we will find him soon enough.

After a short break we finally have the wind right. PH2 and I stay at the bakkie and let the two trackers do what they do best…track. 20 minutes later the radio crackles with their location and where the buffalo is. We grab the rifles and head out at a light jog. We had lost him in the tall grass and low bushes, but he didn’t go far and he didn’t wind us either. We meet up with the trackers and they explain where he is, laying down behind a small blackthorn bush. The final stalk is on.

 

[DieJager]

Great buffalo, Waidmannsheil! Looking for the next installments.