Everyone please excuse my grammatical errors as this is being done from my phone and not MacBook.
Day 4: We started early at 6 AM as we were off to Terra Rossa. This is a neighboring farm owned by a very nice man by the name of Thomas. On arrival to the farm we picked up Thomas’s man and off we went. We travelled down into a valley, bypassing cattle pens and stock tanks, the smell of cattle on the wind. We drove for several kilometers winding through hills and canyons, up on the adjacent mountain where we watched the sun rise. The sun illuminating the surrounding hills immediately gave away a lone Gemsbok traversing left to right through the camel and black thorn. We slipped around the scrub paralleling the bull until he stopped giving us a good look. Isaak immediately put up the sticks and said “280 meters.” I slid the 375 between the leather wrapped sticks immediately finding the bull in my scope. I was steady, holding high on the shoulder when I squeezed off the first round. The bull buckled and disappeared into the adjacent canyon. We then gained sight of him around 400 meters away, blood pouring from his shoulder as he again slipped out of view into the canyon. Isaak radioed for Lucky, a older Airedale to help with the tracking. Lucky was very enthusiastic to say the least as he immediately passed us, hot on the trail of my Gemsbok. We didn’t see lucky again for several hours….
I look at my watch, it’s 7:20 AM as we start to track. We followed spore for the next several hours. Traversing the rocky mountainous terrain was difficult, especially as the sun rose simultaneously raising the temps to near 90 degrees. After several kilometers, Isaak paused; saying “lucky.” He moved faster over the next hill and through a dry creek bed up into another cliff. We could all hear lucky barking at this point. As we crept up to the edge, we spotted the Gembsok below, bayed by Lucky. Isaak attempting to place the sticks, alerted the bull. He then retreated right to left at a gallop, Lucky behind him. I hop Up onto a rock ledge shouldering my 375 again finding the bull in my scope, I fire! The bull continues without any evidence of a hit…. For some reason, the bull again turns back toward us approaching from left to right. At about 70 meters, I fire again. The bull continues to move without no hesitation in his movements as he continues into the canyon below us out of view. Isaak his moving down the hill and to our right in effort to establish the bull’s position. Isaak calls for me, quickly motioning me to his side. The bull again stops at 100 meters, the sticks go up, the bull swaying from weakness is obvious in the scope, I place one last shot onto his shoulder dropping him on the creek bank.
The feeling in that exact moment cannot be explained. I was exhausted from the track (no water in that heat), the nauseous/nervous feeling due to thinking I would lose this animal to a bad shot, while also being elated to have finished the job.
We hiked down the hill to where the bull was lying. Lucky was lapping some blood and super excited to see us when we approached. On examination of the bull, he was hit 4x. Obviously my two shots off the cliff has found their marks. The final shot, definitively ending the matter.
Now, was this a bad shot? Isaak says no and that Oryx are just tough. I felt like the shot was low. That’s just my opinion and not something I would let happen again.
Isaak and Afex are two of the best trackers anyone could ever have the pleasure of working with. Without them and Lucky, I’m not certain I would have recovered the bull.
