ILDRHNTR
AH veteran
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2023
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- 241
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- Location
- Central Illinois
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- P&Y, B&C, RMEF, NWTF
Tuesday, June 20th -
This morning it was nice to sleep in until the ripe ole time of 6:00. Breakfast was at 7:00 and we headed out at 7:30 to go after springbuck. After breakfast we stepped out to get our gear and was greeted by giraffes on the far hillside from camp (little white specks in the first pic - trust me they are there, LOL).
We loaded up in the HiLux and headed out for a 1 1/2 hr drive to a new farm. Did I ever say how much I love those HiLuxes? I sure wish Toyota offered a similar diesel truck here in the states, left side steering of course.
Some of the beautiful aloe vera plants we saw along the way:
We hit it right with most of them in full bloom during our trip. My son wanted to harvest some aloe to take home with us. We did some research and attempted to gather some in a spare shampoo bottle we had brought. It turned out to be a lot of work for very little and gave up after an hour or two.
You also do not see these here in the states:
On we went until we arrived at this farm in the middle of nowhere. It looked like the plains of Wyoming or Nebraska. Open flat land with little coulees scattered throughout. It sure did not look like much but boy the springbuck were thick. Today was also very very windy. Winds of 25+ mph with gusts over 40. Not the best for hunting but it did push a lot of game into those coulees out of the wind and allowed for some interesting (and close) stalks. Unfortunately, most of the larger males of each species stayed out in the open. We eventually found a single male feeding and we made a stalk on him but he knew we were there and get his distance to about 250-300 yds at all times. We finally got him in a position were he was upwind and no crosswind. My son got on the sticks and settled in. He took the shot and the thing dropped to the ground and was right back up in an instant. He took off at a slow trot, stopping occasionally, always with his head hanging. My son kept on him but now we had that terrible crosswind against us. Remember at the beginning when I said there would be more to the story with the springbuck? Well, too many shots later (we have very little experience shooting long distance with these types of winds - normally we simply do not go out if its this windy) and he finally connected once more and dropped him perfectly. The first shot had actually knocked a chunk out of the back of one horn and but a gash in his head. Nothing severe but enough to make him act a little goofy. The final shot was the only other one that hit him. Not what we had wanted but it was down for good. What a relief!
One thing that we had been told (thanks @Ridge Runner) was to be on the lookout for the back hair and scent gland release shortly after death. Luckily, we were able to get on the springbuck immediately and had the cameras ready. Sure enough, soon after the hair started raising up on the back end and we smelled the almost vanilla scent coming from the back gland. Just as quickly as it raised, it withdrew and was gone. It was very neat to witness.
A few pics of the raised hair and the pheromone release from the scent gland (yellowish coloration):
Now that my son had his springbuck (my they are beautiful animals as well), we headed out to look for a giant warthog that Pete had seen here recently. He said it was as big of one as he has seen in several years. Unfortunately, the wind and cooler weather did not allow for a sighting of the big guy. We did however spot a group of mountain reedbucks but they were all female. We spent most of the afternoon looking for the warthog with no luck. Right about the end of the day, we glassed one more area and spotted a good impala ram with a herd of females. I told Pete I would like to take an impala before we left and so we headed out for a stalk. We closed the distance and eventually I was presented with a beautiful quartering away shot at 214 yds. One shot and he ran about 30yds and piled up.
Once we got the impala loaded up we headed back towards camp. We felt very fortunate to have harvested two animals in the windy and cold conditions today. We made it back to camp and met up with the couple from Denmark for our last dinner together as they would be heading home on Wednesday. They had a very successful trip and I hope to meet them again one day, a very nice couple.
Tally to date: 7 animals in 3 days! Unbelievable in our minds. We had hoped we would average an animal a day. Remember, our package was for 6 animals and here we already had more. One simply cannot comprehend the amount of game without experiencing it first hand. Such an amazing opportunity. My son and I were just floating in the clouds for days. He went to bed every night saying it was his best day ever. Plus, he woke up every morning easier than ever, LOL!
This morning it was nice to sleep in until the ripe ole time of 6:00. Breakfast was at 7:00 and we headed out at 7:30 to go after springbuck. After breakfast we stepped out to get our gear and was greeted by giraffes on the far hillside from camp (little white specks in the first pic - trust me they are there, LOL).
We loaded up in the HiLux and headed out for a 1 1/2 hr drive to a new farm. Did I ever say how much I love those HiLuxes? I sure wish Toyota offered a similar diesel truck here in the states, left side steering of course.
Some of the beautiful aloe vera plants we saw along the way:
We hit it right with most of them in full bloom during our trip. My son wanted to harvest some aloe to take home with us. We did some research and attempted to gather some in a spare shampoo bottle we had brought. It turned out to be a lot of work for very little and gave up after an hour or two.
You also do not see these here in the states:
On we went until we arrived at this farm in the middle of nowhere. It looked like the plains of Wyoming or Nebraska. Open flat land with little coulees scattered throughout. It sure did not look like much but boy the springbuck were thick. Today was also very very windy. Winds of 25+ mph with gusts over 40. Not the best for hunting but it did push a lot of game into those coulees out of the wind and allowed for some interesting (and close) stalks. Unfortunately, most of the larger males of each species stayed out in the open. We eventually found a single male feeding and we made a stalk on him but he knew we were there and get his distance to about 250-300 yds at all times. We finally got him in a position were he was upwind and no crosswind. My son got on the sticks and settled in. He took the shot and the thing dropped to the ground and was right back up in an instant. He took off at a slow trot, stopping occasionally, always with his head hanging. My son kept on him but now we had that terrible crosswind against us. Remember at the beginning when I said there would be more to the story with the springbuck? Well, too many shots later (we have very little experience shooting long distance with these types of winds - normally we simply do not go out if its this windy) and he finally connected once more and dropped him perfectly. The first shot had actually knocked a chunk out of the back of one horn and but a gash in his head. Nothing severe but enough to make him act a little goofy. The final shot was the only other one that hit him. Not what we had wanted but it was down for good. What a relief!
One thing that we had been told (thanks @Ridge Runner) was to be on the lookout for the back hair and scent gland release shortly after death. Luckily, we were able to get on the springbuck immediately and had the cameras ready. Sure enough, soon after the hair started raising up on the back end and we smelled the almost vanilla scent coming from the back gland. Just as quickly as it raised, it withdrew and was gone. It was very neat to witness.
A few pics of the raised hair and the pheromone release from the scent gland (yellowish coloration):
Now that my son had his springbuck (my they are beautiful animals as well), we headed out to look for a giant warthog that Pete had seen here recently. He said it was as big of one as he has seen in several years. Unfortunately, the wind and cooler weather did not allow for a sighting of the big guy. We did however spot a group of mountain reedbucks but they were all female. We spent most of the afternoon looking for the warthog with no luck. Right about the end of the day, we glassed one more area and spotted a good impala ram with a herd of females. I told Pete I would like to take an impala before we left and so we headed out for a stalk. We closed the distance and eventually I was presented with a beautiful quartering away shot at 214 yds. One shot and he ran about 30yds and piled up.
Once we got the impala loaded up we headed back towards camp. We felt very fortunate to have harvested two animals in the windy and cold conditions today. We made it back to camp and met up with the couple from Denmark for our last dinner together as they would be heading home on Wednesday. They had a very successful trip and I hope to meet them again one day, a very nice couple.
Tally to date: 7 animals in 3 days! Unbelievable in our minds. We had hoped we would average an animal a day. Remember, our package was for 6 animals and here we already had more. One simply cannot comprehend the amount of game without experiencing it first hand. Such an amazing opportunity. My son and I were just floating in the clouds for days. He went to bed every night saying it was his best day ever. Plus, he woke up every morning easier than ever, LOL!