THE HUNT BEFORE THE WORLD CLOSED DOWN.

2020 will be remembered for a couple of reason but the main one being Corvid-19 closing the world down.
The season was set and looked good. I had had my first clients from Austria in January where we had hunted a number of unusual species. From porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) to bontebuck (Damaliscus pygargus) and a number of predators in between.
My second hunt was with a client from Montana. His first time in Africa and a bucket list which changed regularly as he viewed new species. There were a couple of species which never fell off the original list. These being impala (Philantomba monticola), zebra (Equus quagga), black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnu) and of course the Eastern Cape kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros).
The weather was not perfect as it would rain on every single day of the safari. You won’t hear us complaining as in the first week of the safari we received more rain than the previous year in total. We would just battle on and change socks and boots when we came back to camp. The roads were wet and the tops of the mountains were always going to be a risky option, even though this we would have to do as the black wildebeest only live at the top on this particular property.
My client had come with his buddy who of coarse shot his kudu bull on the first evening so the pressure was there from the start.
We would go out and scan the deep valleys for big bulls. Nothing, only young bulls and cows but no shooters. This was his number one animal on his list and really wanted one to go home with.
I suggested that we carry on hunting all the other species on the list and if we came across a quality bull while on a stalk we would deviate away and go after it. He agreed, even though you could see the concern in his face over not giving 100% of the time to a kudu. He understood better when I explained I didn’t want to get to a position where he had nothing to go home with by day five of his safari. Pressure would then be on him and I which neither of us needed as it would just interfere with a holiday of a lifetime.
So we headed to the flats where the grass has now gone into seed and is two and a half feet tall. Here we would look for a springbok to start the skinners on. As we headed to the plain a springbok, obviously a ram by the thickness of his neck ran at full tilt from our left towards the area we would be looking. We left the vehicle and slowly walked in the direction he had headed. Not too far I noticed the top of his horns. Getting the sticks up, we got ready. He walked away but then stopped, turned broadside to us if inviting his demise. The 300 Remington ultra mag announced its presence and the ram dropped in the grass.
After this an impala quickly followed and this made for good cheer in the lodge that evening. A couple of beers were had in celebration of a client’s first African animals.
The next day we looked for a zebra which were known to be a bit skittish and nothing had changed. They had seen hunters before and would quickly move away. Eventually we got in a herd after a good long walk. Which also included a couple of hills to climb. They were intermingled with a herd of red hartebeest who almost gave the game away. Even though they had not seen us moved off for no reason. The zebra slowly moved up the mountain zig zagging through the thick acacia bush. Eventually we got on them again and the opportunity arose for a frontal shot. The zebra reared up and ran off in a complete death run. We quickly found the blood and followed it to where we found a good mature animal lying dead with a perfect shot.
Again the evening was spent discussing the day and that we were still in need of a kudu bull. We discussed plans for the following day and decided as it would be clear at the top of the mountain we would head up there first thing in search of the black wildebeest and if we were lucky could spend some time glassing from there for the kudus below.
Up early we headed up the mountain. We quickly saw wildebeest but nothing worth shooting. I knew of a spot where a territorial bull often lay up if the wind picked up. We approached the edge of the cliff slowly and keeping as low as we could, peered over. There about 140 meters away stood the bull. Nice bosses and fully mature. I gestured to the client to join me at the edge. He moved up next to me, keeping low. I pointed the bull out and told him he could take him. As he got ready the bull lay down. I told him to take the shot and the result was impressive. The bull just rolled over not even knowing what had just hit him.
After this we glassed the valleys from above and saw some younger kudu but again no shooters. We headed back down the mountain for lunch and on the way we decided we would just head to the end valley and wait to see what came out before dark.
15:00 hours arrived and we headed to our spot. Leaving the hunting vehicle we walked in. Slowly moving to the opening of the valley. Anything which came out we would be able to see. Slowly coming to our observation position the bush erupted. Four mature Cape buffalo (Syncerus kaffer) bulls burst out of the bush in front of us. They had been laid up in the spot we would watch from chewing on their cud. The smell of buffalo was all around. It certainly made the afternoon more exciting.
We sat in the shade scanning the sides of the valley. Every now and then we would catch a glimpse of movement only to find a bull not ready to be hunted. As the sun got lower and knowing that the buffalo were still in the area we started slowly heading back to the vehicle.
Suddenly I saw movement. Raising my binoculars I looked through the bush. Only to find a waterbuck bull. We moved slowly forward and I stopped just to check him out again as I knew There would be clients coming in for waterbuck so would be interested in his quality. As we stopped the unmistakeable bark of a kudu rang out. It was a bull and I caught a glimpse of the tips of his wide horns above the bush. He wasn’t too spooked and instead of running away he moved around in front of us. I got the client ready on the sticks and told him to get ready just in case the bull gave us an opportunity.
He did. Stopping for a split second with only his vital triangle visible through a gap in the trees. I said shoot. Again the loud bark of the 300 rang out. The bull ran but I had seen the bullet strike. We moved forward but there was no blood. Some deep footprints showed the route the bull had gone. We followed them and soon, under a thicket of bush I saw the bull lying motionless. I pointed him out to the client whose face changed the moment he set eyes on his prize.
Photographs were taken before the light was gone and the recovery team set to work. We headed back to camp with only one thing claiming all the conversation. The last chance kudu and a dream come true for a cowboy from Montana.