Expect the unexpected.

The day started with myself and a good client heading up the mountains in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in search of an eland bull. We had already bagged one fantastic trophy on this hunt but eland was to the client a special animal and if he could, he would hunt them every day instead of any other quarry.
The road up was rough but worth it. The views from the top were magnificent and on this particular morning the cloud cover was low so we were going to be hunting above it where the air was fresh and clean.
The plateaus at the top were home to a number of species such as black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou), blesbuck (damaliscus pygargus), springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) and mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula). The eland (Taurotragus oryx) were often up there grazing on the thick grasses which covered the surface of the high ground.
We reached the top of the steep road and climbed out to check what was about. All of the above species were in view except for the eland. We walked on checking over the ridges but saw no sign of them. Sitting and glassing the far hills there was still nothing. After an hour or so of scanning and seeing nothing we decided to head back down and check other areas.
As we made our way down my tracker whose name is Cocoa tapped on the roof. I looked up at him in the side mirror where I saw him gesturing for me to come out. I got out and moved slowly to the back of the vehicle.
High up on the side of a ridge stood a herd, possibly 20 in number. We looked through them with our binoculars but didn’t see any bulls with the attributes of a fully mature bull. If you are wondering what I mean by this, I look for a bull dark in colour ( almost blue), a big dewlap, thick horns and a tuft of thick hair (kaif) on the front of his forehead.
We continued on down the rough road until the tap tap came on the roof again. I stopped and Cocoa was pointing in front of us. There stood a dark black figure under a tree about 350 meters away. I raised my Steiner binoculars and looked to see what it was. A sable (Hippotragus niger) bull with long sweeping back horns stood relaxing in the shade. I told my client to have a look which he did but then informed me he would rather have another couple of eland.
Then he spoke again and said that his hunting companion in camp would definitely not turn such a magnificent specimen down.
We slowly moved off in the direction of camp as this opportunity was one I was not going to let go. On arriving in camp the client hunting with myself quickly informed his friend of our sighting. From where I was I could see a large smile appear on the clients face. He came quickly over to my vehicle and asked if I thought the bull would still be there. I explained that he looked quite relaxed when we left him and that we had not disturbed him at all.
He then asked what we were waiting for.
He climbed in with his friend and we headed back to the area. He was gone. We climbed a high vantage point to see if there was any sight of him but nothing. The bush was thick but there was no sign of him at all.
That evening we sat and discussed the following morning. We agreed that the bull was probably still in the area and that we should give it another scan after breakfast.
The following morning on sunrise we were heading out. We reached the area and soon we saw the glint of this magnificent animals horns as he lay catching the first rays of warm African sun. Myself and the client left the vehicle and the rest of the crew and made our move.
We would cross over a dry river bed and climb the opposite ridge to get a good view on the bull. We did this keeping our eyes peeled for any other animals which would certainly give the game away. Slowly we edged up the ridge and every now and then we would catch a glimpse of our bull still in the same place. We were now within 120 meters of his position. His sixth sense told him something was wrong. The wind was perfect and we had not made a sound but he was staring straight at us.
I positioned the shooting sticks and the client steadied his 30-06 on them. He found the bull in his scope and fired. The bull reacted by jumping in the air and started to run. Another shot quickly rang out and I saw the bull go down. It looked like the second shot had taken him a little far back but had possibly broken the spine.
We made our way over to him and found him lying under a bush. I could see he wasn’t dead so informed the client to put another round into him. He did and the bull didn’t move.
I congratulated the client on a magnificent trophy which would most certainly take pride of place in his house. He agreed and I moved towards the bull. As I slowly moved around the bush towards what we thought was a now dead sable, armed with my shooting sticks and a holstered 9mm.
The bull got up. I was only about 3 meters from him and I had no chance of getting away. He was set on getting his revenge on whatever was closest to him and that was me. Completely by reaction I drew my handgun and fired. Within the split second it took I remember it going through my head not to shoot the bull in the head. Both bullets struck home in the chest and then there was a boom from my left. The client had realised and fired as well. The bull fell.
We watched him to make sure it was all over which it now was. I asked the client to unload his rifle which he had not realised he had done after the shot. We admired the bull and contemplated between us how close we had actually been to a bit of a pickle. We both agreed to thank each other and that we would certainly enjoy a beer this evening in the lodge.
I am not sure why I was wearing my 9mm that day but I know one thing. I have worn it on every hunt since that day. If I never have to use it again it has done its job as I would certainly have come off in second place without it.
When you walk up on any animal which you believe is dead just be awake as it may just save your life.