Up at 5 a.m. to head to hunt on Reiner’s place. It is about 40 miles away, I think, and about a 1.5 hour drive. We are after black wildebeest, warthog, baboon, and whatever?
Dax and Sigi see a black wildebeest and head out on foot once we arrive at the other farm. About 45 minutes later we heard a shot. Dax got one!
 |
So. 22º40.210 E 17º27.562’ elevation 5,712 |
Black wildebeest are called the clowns of the veldt. They run away from the hunter when spooked then if the hunter stays put and very still they come back running to see if you are really a hunter. Dax had a textbook hunt on these clowns -- he waited patiently and they came back. He made a good shot and took one for a trophy. ?Crazy?
We go to eat a field lunch near a man made pond 3-4 kilometers from Reiner‘s house. Sigi and the trackers build a small fire and cook some sausages. We have pre-made sandwiches on delicious bread. The sandwich filling is cream cheese, ham, pickles, cheddar cheese. They are pretty good but I am not into pickles. I say nothing and eat it anyway as I am hungry. We sit around in the shade after we eat waiting for the medio-dia to pass. As we talk, eat, and laugh a warthog comes out of the veldt and starts to drink across the pond from us. We were talking loud and laughing but he came anyway. After his drink he wallows a bit in the mud and plays around in plain sight. Ben Sorensen grabs the guide's rifle, a suppressed .30-06, and sits down to shoot at the wart hog. The hog is about 145 yards away and Ben nails him with one shot. We go over and take photos and then haul him back to our lunch camp. The trackers start the skinning process by hanging him from his hocks in a tree.
 |
| So. 22º40.979' E 17º27.500' elevation 5,815 |
We continue to laugh and talk about how dumb the warthog was. In about 10 minutes some baboons climb the trees on the opposite side of the pond from us and start to howl at us. They are trying to tell us to get lost as it is their water spot I assume. They make a lot of noise. Sigi says “Craig shoot one of those baboons”. I can see 2 of them across the pond and up on a hill in a taller tree. I laser them at 388 yards. Jim Sorensen starts to make book on my shot. He says I can’t make the shot. Sigi says I can and so people put up bets. I am the whole time trying to get steady on my bi-pod and calculate in my head how far to hold over at the distance, maybe 24”. I also feel a wind from left to right so I figure to hold 2-3 inches to the left. I take my time as the baboons continue all the time howling at us. I gently squeeze the trigger and the .338 Win Mag goes boom. The baboon falls from the tree. I am about as surprised as the baboon was. The group of lunching hunters erupts in raucous laughter. Sigi collects the bets and offers me ½ of the cash, I say “no thanks it is blood money.” Again there are a lot of laughs. Sigi pockets the cash. Jim later tells me a few times, “that was the shot of the hunt“. Days later the "shot” is still talked about at meals in the evening. I am glad I got lucky.
We travel around Reiner’s farm kind of all over, again. We spot a large kudu bull and we call on the cel phone to the other hunters giving them the location. They hurry over and Ben and Jorn make a stalk that ends with a nice kudu trophy being taken. We are looking for a black wildebeest for me. We only find females and calves all afternoon. Just at sundown we spot a group of several black wildebeest. Sigi, Dax, and I make a quick 2 kilometer stalk across a wide valley toward the animals. We have to keep the brush between them and us so as not to spook them. The wind is right and they move little as we close the distance. We finally catch up as the sun goes behind the mountain to the west. It is dim out, but I turn on my Leupold VXR red dot scope reticle and I am ready. An average sized bull kind of wonders toward the hill to our south grazing and I have a good broadside shot at 155 yards. On the sticks, I bring the rifle up, take aim, put the illuminated red dot just over the point where the front leg joins into the chest cavity (the heart) and squeeze the trigger. The rifle report seems really loud and the group of wildebeest take off on the full run. The fellow I shot staggers about 5 yards and drops over DRT.
 |
| So. 22º42.361' E17º27.562' elevation 5,712 |
At the processing barns we hang the black wildebeest up by the hocks and William starts the skinning procedure. It has been a very long day. No complaint from William he is glad for the work. Helmut, Reiners’ dad, comes out with a beer in his hand. He offers excessively one to Sigi, Dax and me. Only Sigi accepts. I met him before and I think he is a great guy. He wears Wrangler pants from the USA. He is about 6’7” and it is unusual for me to talk up to someone. He says he is 67 years old. We have a nice conversation while William does his work.
Finally we load up and head back to Farm Garib. When we arrive the food is ready for dinner -- fettuccini, meat sauce, tossed salad, great breads and cheeses. I add a dash of Tabasco for extra flavor perfection. Ken is already in bed, kind of dissatisfied I think -- not enough attention syndrome plus way too much hiking/walking.
I have a very sore knee, the start of a staph infection in my left middle toe and I am old and worn out. THIS IS STILL . . . . . . .REALLY REALLY FUN!
No comments:
Post a Comment