“I'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend” – Gene Autry
We start day six by checking Sable Springs and, sure enough, two buffalo have watered. We follow the dugga boys. I have my “this is dangerous” moment but continue. The tracks are fresh and we see in the sand where both have urinated. Twice they go to the road but don’t cross. They are pretty much paralleling the road that also doubles as the boundary. I can tell they are near because Tinie and the trackers have slowed. Tinie is also glassing ahead.
We follow to the road once more and confirm by tracks on the other side that they have crossed. We pick up litter on the roadside, put in the bed of the cruiser and head back to camp for lunch.
After lunch we head toward Tower to check for dugga boy sign. Not far from the blacktop we hear tap, tap, tap on the roof. Tinie slows the cruiser, talks with the trackers, then turns to me and asks, “you wouldn’t want to shoot a 50-inch kudu would you?” Figuring I could send a message that I’m not tire-kicking and knowing that a little blood and guts might be good for company moral, I answer, “yeah, I’ll shoot a kudu.”
Tinie stops the cruiser, I load up and he and I double back on the road. It is not long before we spot him. He is approximately 55 yards away but standing behind a forked tree where his vitals are covered by a wall of green leaves. I am on the sticks but Tinie says to wait. “I can punch it through those green leaves,” I tell him. “No, wait,” he replies. “I can punch it through those green leaves,” I tell him again. “Well, if you can do it, do it,” he answers.
Tinie cries “smoked” at the shot. The kudu runs up the hill but is quickly out of gas. He turns and starts walking - too proud to die. He crumbles not far in front of us as we have already begun heading his way. “Freaking proper lung blood, aye,” Tinie exclaims as we cross his trail. I am filming the recovery. We approach the downed animal where Tinie stands on his toes on leans for a better view. “You couldn’t have hit him in a freaking better place,” he says more to himself than anyone.
The kudu is a turning point in our relationship and I go from client to friend at 2400 feet per second. On the way back to the skinning shed, I can only imagine that Tine is thinking something to the effect of, “wow, he actually has been on the butt end of a gun before.”
We drop the kudu off with the skinner and head back to Tower where we strike out on buffalo sign.
