Day 4 on PG (Day 12 of hunt)
With Mark's awesome Bushpig boar in the salt next to his big Warthog, it was back on the trail of Kudu bulls.
Again we travelled with Nick and the Kiwis to the same big property as Day 3, we'd seen ample cows, the bulls had to be there somewhere!
Again we walked a lot and glassed even more, in some simply incredible country!
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But again, it seemed the bulls were staying well hidden! We lunched again by meeting up with the whole crew atop the hill under our Wattles, a hasty braii and some kudu borewors was a hit!
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We worked hard all afternoon but for no result. As we were driving out on last light, all of a sudden there he was, the massive curls of 50"+ of Cape Kudu bull, standing in the open at 70 yards!!
Unfortunately, he was 20 yards the opposite side of the neighbours 4' cattle fence! We retreated back up the hill a little and got set in a seated position over the short sticks, hoping the bull might jump onto our side. But unfortunately, we watched him till it was too dark to see, and he never budged...
The following morning was Day 5 on PG, my 13th and final day hunting. My wife Nikki came out with us this morning, as she put it, "Just go shoot a kudu and let's get back for lunch!"
We headed to a different free-range property just north of home base. It was a beautiful crisp morning, we drove to a high vantage point and commenced glassing, Mart instantly finding Kudu cows. Him and the trackers moved down the hill slightly to set up the spotter, while Mark, Nikki and I continued glassing from the top.
After a while, Thandi came back up and waved me down the hill. Settling in behind the spotting scope, Marty explained they had found a bull. I had a look and his width and shape struck me instantly. He looked like a classic, East Cape Bull. "He's not the biggest bull on the hill inch-wise", Marty explained. "But I guarantee you he is old." His well-rubbed, white ivory tips were testament to that.
He gave me the choice to make a play for him, or to move on and keep looking. I replied that I would never measure him anyway, and that OLD is just what I liked! Let's go!
We drove back down the gully in the truck, and crossed to the other side before setting out on foot. We stopped on a ledge, still well below him looking up. The wind was no good, and we were worried if we got right up on the same face as him, we'd probably struggle to see him in the thick cover, and regardless he'd most definitely smell us.
Glassing again, we could see the bushes the bull had moved in to, but couldn't see him yet. So backing up a little to clear some undergrowth, I got set up prone over the bipod with Martys .300 and waited.
Finally he moved into a small gap. He took some finding in the scope, but at Martys description, I picked him up and zoomed the scope in to 14x. I could just see his head and horns, he'd need to step forwards for a clear shot. Marty called the range as 378 metres.
The bull slowly moved forward through the cover until his shoulder was just visible. I tried to line up, but was wobbling - given the range I needed a rock or something under the rear of the butt. Hang on, my bino pack is the perfect height!
I settled again, picked up his shoulder and squeezed. A definite thud floated back on the breeze, but Marty called the shot low and the bull ran to the right. He took some finding again, but there he stood, front-on.
I held on the centre of his big neck and fired again. Another solid hit and the bull disappeared down the gully in the thick stuff below us.
We gave him some time and then headed in, with Marty's dogs Rocky and Muffin leading the way. There was no blood and it took a nervous little while to find his running marks. But soon enough we heard a Kudu grunt and the dogs increase their volume, we raced downhill and happily no further shots were required. After 5 long days of effort, we had our bull.
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I was over the moon, I now had every species I'd come for, and they were all beautiful old trophies. The bull was old indeed, with ivory running down the front of each horn tip, and well worn, solid bases. One very happy hunter!!
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Between myself, Marty, two trackers, and a lot of effort, we were able to carry him out whole back to the Toyota, then back to the skinning shed for caping and processing. And like Nikki said, we were back for lunch!
