We make a big circle around the farm in the truck looking for any thing we might have missed in days earlier. We cover lots of pastures and camps and pans and watering areas and see a multitude of game. I am still in the mood to take a warthog and/or an oryx. Dax is ready for almost anything we can find. Hans Peter takes us to a high point where we can see some oryx and kudu grazing in the distance with our binoculars. They are about 2 kilometers away in a lower part of the hilly section we are in. We calculate a stalk and work our way to within reasonable range. The kudu have grazed off and are out of sight. The oryx are grazing back and forth across a two track road.
The oryx have trees on both sides of the two track and can easily get invisible in the dense brush and trees within one step from either side of the road way. There is a fence on the right hand side of the road way as we look down the semi-"tunnel" in the trees concurrent with the two track road. Peter says we can set up on the sticks here and wait for a good meat oryx to come out. The wind is cross wise and I worry it will change or swirl and poof -- the oryx are gone. I am in position on the sticks and watching as oryx come under the fence and across the two track road. They seem to move quickly across the road. I laser the distance and it is 180 yards to the place where the oryx are most actively moving. The oryx seem to cross the road from the fence to the cover of the brush in about one to two seconds. I tell Hans Peter I need to know in advance if the oryx coming is going to be a shooter. He says he will tell me and is watching from a different angle behind me to my right as the oryx come one by one up to the fence and go under. He tells me wait not this one too small, not this one, and finally after 5 or 6 oryx come and go so quickly he says the next one is a strong one. I am ready and I see the beautiful multicolored head and horns come into the road way. The bull oryx is walking briskly to my left across the road. I take aim at his heart and press the trigger on the .338 Win. Mag. The boom of the rifle going off is magnified by the tunnel effect of the trees. The oryx jumps and disappears in the trees on the left side of the road. Dax says did you hit him? I say lets go see. I really had such a short window of aim and trigger control I have my doubts. I do remember hearing the slap of the bullet hit something though. I have Dax go up 35 yards or so on the small hill to the left so he can see if the oryx is wounded and limping away from a higher vantage point. Dax can finish him if he is trying to get away.
Tobis and I go down the road quickly to where the oryx disappeared into the thick brush and trees and we find blood. A very good sign. I walk about 10 yards to the left of where we found blood and there he is -- almost dead. I shoot another round through his lungs and it is over. Dax comes to us at the shot. Dax pays me a big compliment and says "I don't think I could have made that first shot dad." I am more than please with this whole oryx adventure. We take some photos and congratulate each other on another successful hunt. Waidmannsheil, etc. Peter is really a pal.
Location 23º05.211 S 17º38.104 E
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| Darth Maul and Dax's rifle both Ruger .338 Win. Mag. |
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Where it all happened
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After the nap and the coffee break we head over to the Valley of Death area. We see some oryx, springbok, and two kudu bulls. Nothing to shoot at though as they are all younger animals. We drive to various locales and Dax with Hans Peter go on a kudu stalk but don't find a suitable animal. We travel more to the east and see what we think are wildebeest. Craig and Tobis go for a stalk on them as the sun is going down. It gets dark real fast in Namibia. As Tobis and I get close to the wildebeest the darkness has enveloped us all, maybe 250 yards. Dax and Hans Peter can see us due to their angle and Dax is using his laser range finder to calculate how close we get to the wildebeest before we shoot. Tobis and I get very close, like 100 yards, and Tobis says can you shoot now. I look through my scope and can't pick out an aiming point on the larger of the two wildebeest it is so dark. Tobis and I take note of the wind and stalk even closer. I try to see to shoot and it is just so dark all I can see is black with hints of light in the upper half in my scope. Tobis is not mad just sincere in his desire to get me a shot so we stalk even closer. I laser the animals and we are 38.7 yards from the wildebeest and I still cannot get a sight picture on the game. I tell Tobis it is just too dark and I don't want to wound one. I respect the game too much to try a blind shot. There is no heavenly light due to hardly any moon light and significant cloud cover. I have to use my flash light to walk safely back to Dax and Hans Peter. Dax and Hans Peter had watched the whole stalk from about 1000 yards and were surprised I didn't shoot. We got a big laugh together when I didn't shoot. I guess I am getting very old. I think Tobis could see well enough, I however was "in the dark".
We head back to the farm house for dinner. Dinner is sausages, ham, cheeses, great breads, water, olives, and lots of jokes. We sit around the fire and tell jokes for some time.
Frauke is back at Farm Garib and we all get together at the main house to watch Germany play France in the Eurocup soccer tournament. I meet Heinrick and Uma the son and daughter-in-law of Hans Peter and Frauke. They are really nice people too. I go off to bed at half time.
Wed. 8 July 2016 we are to head home. In the morning Dax and I offer to make chocolate eclairs for the host group before we leave to the airport. They have never had eclairs so we get after it and make a fine batch of eclairs with home made custard filling and chocolate topping fabricated from chocolate chips and yogurt and a small shot of Tabasco.
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| Work in progress |
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