Off to see Steenbok and chase Eland at first light.
Check Leopard baits later.
We head to the south side and look for Eland in the thick stuff again. I am looking forward to this. At some point I have to get lucky. Well, more lucky than I have already been.
As we come around a curve in the road A sees some Eland ahead crossing a road about 800 meters ahead.
We stop. They are all cows. But it is a larger group and there should be Bull in here somewhere.
Time to do some stalking. Walk and stalk the Eland herd. Get out and start making our way into the wind. It appears good, but I know it will swirl.
We get within 90 yards and they do not have a clue we are there. It took forever, stop and go, kneeling down, checking the wind...
I see another portion of the large herd. Fifteen animals that appear to be split off. We get closer to them and they are all cows and calves.
To stalk in close with so many eyes is a challenge and we finally get in close. We freeze like statues and stay close to the ground, presenting no real threat. One young bull spots us and the group moves off slowly to follow him.
Just as we set this group off we look ahead and to the left and see a pair of very good bulls bringing up the rear of a larger group that are making up the main part of this herd. Lot of eyes.
They have no idea we are there as we move closer. Very slowly, the wind is still right we should be able to get close enough. We get so focused on the bulls we forget we are in the middle of a much larger herd. They are all around us.
That is it. We stalk right into a small group of cows and they are off at a good clip. Damn!
It sets the entire group off and they are heading out with a thick dust cloud being raised to cover their escape.
I start to run in hopes of cutting them off or at least getting some angle on the bulls.
We catch them at the next road just as they rest momentarily looking at their back trail.
I try one last attempt to stalk. It is delusional. They know what I am up to and now they make a certain escape. I want to follow when A stops. We are about to walk into an area being hunted by the only other hunter here who is chasing a Cheetah. We have to steer clear. I do not want to screw another hunter up, even though we have put in a huge investment of energy and a logged a lot of miles.
Awesome effort. Almost closed but the wind was swirling and I made a mistake where there were too many eyes.
Busted after and hours of stalking.
That is hunting. This is a great type of hunting.
As we circle back we come upon an ancient Eland Bull who is heading to water and he just stands there, even after he spotted us. What!? The hunting gods are on my side after all.
Something had to be wrong with him and that was all it took for me to decide to take him.
I took one steady shot into the top of the heart and he was down within forty yards.
This old bull was totally grey. There was no brown color on him anywhere.
He was also emaciated. No neck muscle, ribs, hips everything.
I must have shot the oldest Eland on record anywhere.
He is a very good trophy and I am glad I got to take him and not leave him to some Hyena.
Pictures with the boys and we were on our way again.
Saw a cull one horn Oryx and tried for him but it was too fast and spooky.
The boys now know if they see one horn while we are driving, Stop.
Time to head in for lunch.
Checked the east Leopard bait and found no tracks and nothing worthy on the camera. It is apparent that a curious Giraffe has bumped the camera askew. There are three pictures of the tree itself. Great.
Just west of the east bait Manuel ran into another Leopard track and drag mark.
There is enough game they are hunting for themselves beside the baits!!!
How do you beat that?
We followed this one out to its bed about 400 yards into the bush.
It is determined to be a Female with cubs, small scat and no carcass.
Manuel and A say it is a female with young. He says "Very dangerous" No kidding! It is time to get out of here. I have no rifle and afterward wonder about myself heading into the bush on a Leopard track without a firearm again. Not bright.
Another lesson learned, I hope.
A few more wounds from the bush. I am donating blood regularly.
This afternoon. Check the grass blind bait and camera and see what we will do.
I took the east camera down. I am not going to hunt where a female and cubs are making a home base.
In for lunch we go.
The boys are ready to go at 3:00.
Eland guts in a barrel, extra bait ready to go.
Check grass blind and see pictures.
On the way there at high plains I see an Oryx with a broken horn.
A thinks I am shooting at a female and I tell him no it is not. I point out the certain proof and A is now convinced and proceeds to whistle to stop the Oryx and I send a 300WM on its way.
We hear the hit and A says; "It has a bullet, but I no not where"
Hmmm. Must have been a bit off. S**t.
It bolts like a heart shot.
No blood again and we head to the edge of the bush where it disappeared. Manuel starts working the track and A starts working the track and I am wondering what is going on.
M shows me a drop of red blood. Proof of a hit but the volume is not good.
Feeling bad as we head into the bush. Thick nasty Sicle bos, etc.
We are following the track and I am hoping the boys don't lose it.
Just then I look into some very thick crap and see parts of an Oryx and just at the same moment a comment from M: "It is there"
A immediately cautions me and says "Danger!" Close cover with a wounded Oryx. It deserves due caution.
I walk past they guys and jokingly point to my rifle and say to A; "I'm danger". I am not getting any closer and I'm keeping bush between me and that very sharp horn tip. I just wanted to make sure that all the humans were behind me before I shot again. I blast another round through the thickest crap I have encountered. I mean blast, I pointed, I did not aim.
When we circle the bush I can see that the bullet hole going in the Oryx is better than two inches wide.
The Barnes key holed at less than six yards. The deflection off the bush was amazing.
Confirmation that I am using bullets, not bulldozers.
Now comes the road building. Damn, we have to cut a road into the site.
It is 180 yards into the bush. No roads.
I crab the Panga and start hacking, being careful not to kill myself or the boys.
I have to help, it's my shitty shot that got us here. I feel bad.
We are done after a half an hour of the three of us hacking our way in.
Photos, etc.
I ask the boys to pose and they are not smiling!
Why would they be. I say; "Why are you guys not smiling, it is not like some asshole just made you build a road into the bush or something with his crappy shooting!"
They broke into a smile and I caught it.
Great guys to work with and both have a great sense of humour.
We are loaded and on our way to the Leopard bait.
The wind is wrong and the blind would be useless. There are no tracks and the bait has not been touched at all. It would be a great sign if I could sit in the blind. I unload the pictures from the camera and do not do anything with them.
Not sitting there, which is what I wanted to do.
Oh well, there is always Eland and Steenbok.
We head to the final bait site.
As we pass the dam the Eland are leaving the area at a pace as though the devil is chasing them.
They are soon to be right in that conclusion.
We check the bait, the camera. I see nothing. Change the bait out.
No dragging. Enough of that!
Hyena bait time, so we dump the guts in the middle of the pan.
We'll see what eats it later on.
I say we will skip the Leopard sitting. This bait is not touched at all.
Not sure what to make of all this new information.
Off we go after Eland.
Shortly we find some good tracks crossing a road and out we jump and we are now in hot pursuit.
We are going along slowly and silently several hundred yards on to the Eland spoor when I spot a decent Steenbok. I have been passing on them or blowing stalks for days and I have had enough of that.
This one is approaching and getting closer. I think it is a fine trophy. I move up behind a bush and wait.
At twenty five yards I off hand it with the 300WM. He jumps in the air like a gymnast doing a back flip and he dies on the spot.
I knew I should have shot further but I instinctively aim for the heart. Through cover I made a perfect heart shot and create an exit that would scare Dracula. S**t. Euro mount for sure.
He is a great trophy. Walk and Stalk Steenbok.
High five A and shake hands and he picks up the Steenbok in a package that looks like a suitcase and we head to the road.
"No more Eland here." Fair enough conclusion.
Trophy pictures and we are off before the sun has a chance to set.
A has a plan, with one more place to stalk where he thinks those tracks were heading.
We end up sneaking on 5 bulls, no cows present. So few eyes that I actually feel fortunate, until I see the Impala, Zebra and Wildebeest. I guess the Bulls are not alone.
We work ever so slowly closer and are within 100 yards and I sit down. Crouching or sitting on my knees is not going to work for me.
Thick cover and a few spots to look through and evaluate. Two are blue and have decent horns. The light is fading and I don't know.
The cover hinders comparison, as you cannot get the two big ones to show at the same time.
An Impala comes right down the trail I am sitting on and freezes at fifty yards, when it sees me. Thankfully, the wind is in my favor still. He watches me for minutes and finally he blows and heads off away from the other animals. More good luck.
Finally two Eland heads appear at once. I am looking at the shoulders and mass and I am pleased to say I am able to decide on one big monster.
I am now sitting on my butt to look under the cover to get any sight of them.
I slide forward five yards to get to another more open spot, he passes before I feel confident. After the Gemsbok earlier and the time of day, I do not want a botch job on my end again. Now he starts leaving, slowly walking away?
I shuffle over left and forward one more time and see what I have available, Nothing! I wait a few seconds, which feels like an age. He finally clears the bush and shows himself in the only pathway I have to shoot down. It is a narrow window, literally looking down a trail through the bush. He is quartering away and now moving at a good walking pace.
I wrapped the sling around my arm, and am sitting with my feet spread properly, I find the opposing shoulder to aim and let one go.
I hear the bullet hit. I am certain it is a good shot. The Eland bolts off out of sight. There is no chance for any follow up shot.
Instead of waiting as I would normally like to do, we head out as there will be no light very soon.
No blood, no tracks, the ground is hard as concrete. I have left my headlamp in the Baakie. I did not think I would be sitting on the ground waiting for an Eland to show himself past sunset.
We call Manuel up and all head into the area of the Elands egress from sight. I have my headlamp on and do not have to use it quite yet.
Shooting at animals in thick cover sure makes follow up more interesting.
We eventually snake our way through the cover to where he fell. Luckily at the point he fell it was open enough that he could be seen from thirty yards. Manuel saw him first and it was a great relief to hear the call.
Hand shakes, another crew called in. Godfreid, A's son, is out with two others from the skinning crew. Good thing, Eland are not small animals.
Pictures, moving the critter, jokes all round and finally loaded and away we go.
I run into a Porcupine on the high plains and decide to take him right then and there.
I whiff the head shot and have to shoot it again. More bullets for a Porcupine than an Eland. Very nice trophy animal and I never thought I would see one.
There is a great array of animals here.
Two decent Kudu bulls while Eland hunting and watching them fade into the bush.
They are a tough beast to hunt.
The last client got a 52 inch bull. He should be thrilled with that result.
I have not targeted Kudu here, I had other things to do. But if I were to do so, this is quite the property to hunt Kudu on as there is nothing gimme about it. Fences be damned. Beyond seeing the gates when you come in and out there is nothing these Kudu have to do with fences. They can walk 100 yards in any direction and be gone. Try and follow them.
Walk and stalk Kudu and walk and stalk Eland here is an incredible opportunity.
It's coming down to the wire on this Leopard hunt.
We have trail cam pictures and photo evidence of at least 8 different cats.
One male that I would cry for and one other that is pretty damn good for certain.
This is a great place to hunt Leopard.
But, it is hunting.
