archerman
AH senior member
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2012
- Messages
- 94
- Reaction score
- 112
- Location
- Sacramento, California USA
- Website
- www.africasafarihunts.com
- Media
- 56
- Member of
- Safari Club Int'l, Maya Archery Club
- Hunted
- Canada, USA, South Africa
Tom,
Here is my story of the Spot and Stalk me and FC put on that Red Hartabeest (see pic above) .....we were hunting at The Wild Fig concession:
November, 2016
This is the way I like to Hunt Plains game
We jumped out of the Toyota truck as Punge, our tracker skidded the vehicle to a stop. FC, my
PH here in Limpopo province of South Africa had spotted movement in the forest ahead
and jumped out of the back of the truck. He indicated the same for me as I handed him my
rifle. We were ready to pursue our Red-coated prey. FC signaled to Punge to wait
for our return. I was hunting with Bushman’s Quiver Outfitters and the Red Hartebeest was the
target. We could see the pair of animals ahead at the edge of a clearing about 80 yards away.
FC whispered to me to be especially quiet as they were on alert. The wind changed and the
hartebeest trotted off ahead. I stayed close behind FC as he slowly moved on. The air was
cool in this early morning of my second day hunting Plains game.
My wife and I had just arrived here the day before from the Free State, SA where I had
harvested a nice Trophy Black Wildebeest on my first day of the Safari. I was shooting a
nice M1903 Custom Griffin and Howe Springfield 30.06 rife with a G&H double lever side
mount cradling a Redfield Revolution 2x-7x variable scope. I had refitted the rifle with an
English Walnut stock with side panels and a schnabel for-end in the style of the famous turn
of the century American writer and African hunter Stewart Edward White’s Springfield. I did
the finish in Birchwood Casey True Oil hand rubbed oil finish.
This was the first day we were using the stalking method on Plains game.
I was excited as we continued to follow our two
bulls. They had moved off about 100 yds as we slowly crept closer. We caught them at the
edge of another clearing tucked in some trees. Both of us stopped in hopes of an opportunity
for a shot, but the hartebeest moved off again. Keeping the wind in our favor, FC and I moved
oh so quietly to close the distance but the bulls kept moving farther ahead of us. Following
their tracks in the soft red savannah dirt we were able to keep on the trail. FC was sure one of
the two was a really good bull, so we persisted in the cat and mouse game. As the morning
drew on it got hotter so we stopped to rest and quench our thirst.
The bulls were still ahead as we spotted glimpses every now and then. We would move
along and FC would set up the shooting sticks for me to rest on, but the hartebeests would
quickly trot off without availing me a shot. I couldn’t help admiring how alert and cautious
they were. During this hunt I was wearing my RailRiders “insect shield” khaki clothes which I
have used in Africa in the past. They are very comfortable, made of cotton and are durable but
light weight which helps to keep me cooler during the heat of the day. I was also wearing my
favorite Selous style two tone buffalo leather boots from the Courteney Boot Company of
Zimbabwe. They have an optional soft ripple soul which made for quiet walking. The ankle high
uppers gave good support while walking on uneven ground.
FC and I would stop on occasion so as not to push these critters too hard. There were many
times when I thought we may never get a chance for a good shot. I was using my Nikon
Monarch M711 10x30 binoculars which helped to pick out the red coats of the hartebeest,
especially when they were standing in thick wooded edges. At one point I could see an
area where the foliage gave way to a large open plain well over 200 Yds across. We
approached very slowly and deliberately to the edge of cover. There was a long log spread out
before me. We stopped just behind this log and glassed the opening and there they were way
across the field looking straight toward us. I could see the one on the right was the bigger of
the two. FC instructed me to get comfortable behind the log and use it for a rest. We watched
the expanse of the plains and stayed as quiet and motionless as possible. I checked the view
in my scope and saw that I had a clear shot on that bull. It seemed like a really far distance
but, in reality it was just over 200 Yds, well within my rifle/bullet range and my
comfort zone.
I waited patiently for FC to confirm that this was the one to shoot. When he gave
the signal, I released the safety, took aim through the scope, used the log as a
steady rest and squeezed off a shot. At the muzzle sound I could see the bull was still
standing with blood coming from the wound. A heart/Lung shot. FC indicated it was a good
hit, so we waited as the bull walked slowly to the right and laid down about 50 yds from
where I hit him. The other bull, which was to his left and farther behind, took off at the report of
the rifle. My bull was still sitting upright. I chambered another round and looked over at FC
who was smiling and indicated that another shot was not necessary. In a short time the bull
rolled on its side and laid still. It was over for him. We paced off the distance to the spot where
the bull was standing at my shot and it measured just over 206yds. We approached the bull
and I was elated at the great specimen that he was. Thick heavy bases and tips that swept
back to form that heart shape, that is their namesake. We smiled with delight.
With a pat on the back from FC, we took photos and waited for Punge to return with the truck.
The lodge was not too far a drive, so we loaded the bull, hopped in the back, and continued
down to the the meat locker where we unloaded the trophy to the skinners for preparation of
meat and hide and to fetch some back-straps for the meal our cook, Johan was going to
prepare that evening.
All in all it was a great Spot and Stalk on a nice trophy that will be relived in my memory
for many moons to come. I could not have been more happy with the event’s of this hunt.
Here is my story of the Spot and Stalk me and FC put on that Red Hartabeest (see pic above) .....we were hunting at The Wild Fig concession:
November, 2016
This is the way I like to Hunt Plains game
We jumped out of the Toyota truck as Punge, our tracker skidded the vehicle to a stop. FC, my
PH here in Limpopo province of South Africa had spotted movement in the forest ahead
and jumped out of the back of the truck. He indicated the same for me as I handed him my
rifle. We were ready to pursue our Red-coated prey. FC signaled to Punge to wait
for our return. I was hunting with Bushman’s Quiver Outfitters and the Red Hartebeest was the
target. We could see the pair of animals ahead at the edge of a clearing about 80 yards away.
FC whispered to me to be especially quiet as they were on alert. The wind changed and the
hartebeest trotted off ahead. I stayed close behind FC as he slowly moved on. The air was
cool in this early morning of my second day hunting Plains game.
My wife and I had just arrived here the day before from the Free State, SA where I had
harvested a nice Trophy Black Wildebeest on my first day of the Safari. I was shooting a
nice M1903 Custom Griffin and Howe Springfield 30.06 rife with a G&H double lever side
mount cradling a Redfield Revolution 2x-7x variable scope. I had refitted the rifle with an
English Walnut stock with side panels and a schnabel for-end in the style of the famous turn
of the century American writer and African hunter Stewart Edward White’s Springfield. I did
the finish in Birchwood Casey True Oil hand rubbed oil finish.
This was the first day we were using the stalking method on Plains game.
I was excited as we continued to follow our two
bulls. They had moved off about 100 yds as we slowly crept closer. We caught them at the
edge of another clearing tucked in some trees. Both of us stopped in hopes of an opportunity
for a shot, but the hartebeest moved off again. Keeping the wind in our favor, FC and I moved
oh so quietly to close the distance but the bulls kept moving farther ahead of us. Following
their tracks in the soft red savannah dirt we were able to keep on the trail. FC was sure one of
the two was a really good bull, so we persisted in the cat and mouse game. As the morning
drew on it got hotter so we stopped to rest and quench our thirst.
The bulls were still ahead as we spotted glimpses every now and then. We would move
along and FC would set up the shooting sticks for me to rest on, but the hartebeests would
quickly trot off without availing me a shot. I couldn’t help admiring how alert and cautious
they were. During this hunt I was wearing my RailRiders “insect shield” khaki clothes which I
have used in Africa in the past. They are very comfortable, made of cotton and are durable but
light weight which helps to keep me cooler during the heat of the day. I was also wearing my
favorite Selous style two tone buffalo leather boots from the Courteney Boot Company of
Zimbabwe. They have an optional soft ripple soul which made for quiet walking. The ankle high
uppers gave good support while walking on uneven ground.
FC and I would stop on occasion so as not to push these critters too hard. There were many
times when I thought we may never get a chance for a good shot. I was using my Nikon
Monarch M711 10x30 binoculars which helped to pick out the red coats of the hartebeest,
especially when they were standing in thick wooded edges. At one point I could see an
area where the foliage gave way to a large open plain well over 200 Yds across. We
approached very slowly and deliberately to the edge of cover. There was a long log spread out
before me. We stopped just behind this log and glassed the opening and there they were way
across the field looking straight toward us. I could see the one on the right was the bigger of
the two. FC instructed me to get comfortable behind the log and use it for a rest. We watched
the expanse of the plains and stayed as quiet and motionless as possible. I checked the view
in my scope and saw that I had a clear shot on that bull. It seemed like a really far distance
but, in reality it was just over 200 Yds, well within my rifle/bullet range and my
comfort zone.
I waited patiently for FC to confirm that this was the one to shoot. When he gave
the signal, I released the safety, took aim through the scope, used the log as a
steady rest and squeezed off a shot. At the muzzle sound I could see the bull was still
standing with blood coming from the wound. A heart/Lung shot. FC indicated it was a good
hit, so we waited as the bull walked slowly to the right and laid down about 50 yds from
where I hit him. The other bull, which was to his left and farther behind, took off at the report of
the rifle. My bull was still sitting upright. I chambered another round and looked over at FC
who was smiling and indicated that another shot was not necessary. In a short time the bull
rolled on its side and laid still. It was over for him. We paced off the distance to the spot where
the bull was standing at my shot and it measured just over 206yds. We approached the bull
and I was elated at the great specimen that he was. Thick heavy bases and tips that swept
back to form that heart shape, that is their namesake. We smiled with delight.
With a pat on the back from FC, we took photos and waited for Punge to return with the truck.
The lodge was not too far a drive, so we loaded the bull, hopped in the back, and continued
down to the the meat locker where we unloaded the trophy to the skinners for preparation of
meat and hide and to fetch some back-straps for the meal our cook, Johan was going to
prepare that evening.
All in all it was a great Spot and Stalk on a nice trophy that will be relived in my memory
for many moons to come. I could not have been more happy with the event’s of this hunt.
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