The bull didn't go too far from the waterhole, and all that I can think of, was that he wasn't too sure what disturbance he had seen. He knew something was wrong, but still had not actually identified us. I found him with two other bulls roughly 100 yards away from the waterhole. They weren't feeding, but weren't standing around either. Almost like they were looking for a place to settle down under some shade from the midday sun.
I kept some cover between us, and managed to sneak up to them. Left my shoes in the road.
I never had a range but the bulls were moving, and I still had not identified my bull out of the bull that I could see through the thick brush.
I saw one bull clear a gap, then another, and expected my bull to follow them. Instead, my bull walked out from nowhere, roughly 7 yards in front of me. Now, I don't know many bow hunters with a 7 yard pin, but I drew my bow, and still trying to be completely silent, leant around the bush and tried get a low aimed shot off. At that range, you are almost looking through your peep, and trying to look down your arrow shaft at the same time. He carried on walking away from me, only offering a Texas Heart shot, and did this until he melted into the next clump of bushes.
Still in my socks, I sneaked closer. It was one of those moments where you spot an animal, and you actually surprise yourself. All that I could pick up in the shadows, was a change in the texture through my binoculars. I got to a range of 22 yards, and could see a swoosh of a tail which confirmed my suspicions. No shot.
I picked up two bulls roughly 5 yards apart, and then one that was in the thickest of places. With the mid day heat, came swirling winds, and I imagine they must have caught a scent or saw something that they didn't like. One bull lead the way on a hasty walk, with the others following. Again, they only went another 100 yards or so. At this stage, it was close to 100 deg F. They didn't want to expend too much energy, and was preferring the shade created by the canopies.
I found the bulls once again, and after some observation, I could see that they would almost mill around. Stand in one spot, then rotate. Sometimes there was a shot presented, other times there was brush in the way roughly 5 yards or so in front of the target animal. With the rifle, one could thread it through. With my bow shooting ever so slightly flatter than a 9,3 x 62
, it was a difficult feat. With the target still 5 yards away, the the arrow would still be a couple of inches above point of aim on its way to the target. Some patience was required. Eventually my target bull moved, and was facing in our direction. Range was 30 yards. Shooting with the setup I am using, penetration was never an issue. Now or never.
