The Magical Fifty (part two)

I had cleaned the skull of my kudu (Tregelaphus strepsiceros) and was waiting for a chance to get into town to drop it off at the taxidermy. I was going to have a European skull mount on a shield done, as I already have a shoulder mount of my first ever kudu bull. The bull was too good not to do anything with and of course he was my first fifty inch bull.
A couple of days later my friend, Will, sent me a message and asked if I would like to join him again one morning for another hunt on his property.
I happily accepted his offer as I knew we would have a great morning, even if we were not lucky to get anything. Just being out on his property is a blessing and better than sitting in an office like most would be at the time. If covid-19 had not closed the world down like it had.
Due to the nationwide lockdown, my daughter, Michaela, was doing school from home, which offered us the great opportunity to get out in the bush together. Of course as long as she was up to date with all her school work.
On asking her if she would like to get up before dawn on Monday morning and join Will and myself on a hunt, she quickly accepted.
The weather was the same as the previous hunt. Unusually warm with a slight breeze. The bulls were still being seen following the cow herds as the rut was still undergo. So hopefully the bulls would be easy to find again.
Monday morning quickly came along and we were up well before dawn and meeting with Will on his farm. He said he had thought about what we should do and suggested that he would go and sit at the entrance of the big valleys behind the farm house. He alone on one and Michaela and I should go to the entrance of another along the ridge. We agreed on this and headed off to pick our spots and wait for the sun to rise. Hopefully bringing with it some kudu heading back to their daytime resting areas.
It was still dark so we slowly moved through the shrubs up the side of the rocky hill to a position where we could observe anything coming into the bottom of the valley. We were also able to see the flats below where the kudu would be most likely coming from and therefore had time to get ready or warn Will of anything heading in his direction.
Michaela and I sat taking in the first rays of sunshine coming over our heads and lighting up another beautiful day. We sat with our backs against a small tree with good visibility of the bottom and the opposite side of the valley. I had chosen this spot because in the back of my mind I had decided that if a bull or an old cow came within 200 meters I would let Michaela take it as she had not shot a kudu yet. When I explained my idea to her she was more than keen, as long as it was not over 200 meters.
Starting to scan the flats with my binoculars to see what was moving I soon found some black backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) walking along a distant track heading back to their safe spot after a night of hunting. Unfortunately choosing a valley on the other side of the flats as a rest place and not giving me any opportunity to reduce their numbers in the area. Even though there are only cattle on this particular property, which are not under any threat from the jackal, we still try to control their numbers for the sake of the smaller game species such as duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) and steenbok (Raphicerus campestris), which are on the jackals menu if they come across them. They also travel through to neighbouring properties where they predate on the farmer’s sheep and goats if they get a chance.
A couple of kudu cows in the distance with what looked like a decent bull slowly made their way out of the riverbed and followed the same route as the jackal. There was no chance these kudu would turn in our direction and I thought to myself “have we sat in the wrong place?”. Never the less, we sat and continued to scan for an appropriate animal to take if it came past.
On the opposite side of the valley some young cows appeared and slowly made their way across in front of us. They were not what we were looking for. We left them to continue on their way and hopefully producing quality animals for the future.
I sent Will a message to see if he had seen anything from his side. He replied shortly after saying a couple of immature bulls had passed him but nothing to shoot.
The sun continued to lighten up the side of the valley in front of us, but it was still quiet with nothing coming past us.
Suddenly Michaela tapped me on the shoulder and whispered to me that she could hear something moving over the loose rocks behind us. We slowly turned and looked to investigate.
She was right and we soon saw what was moving behind us. It was a group of five mature kudu cows being followed by two mature kudu bulls as well as a couple of younger bulls. There was an opportunity here.
The kudu had pulled a fast one, entering the valley higher than we had anticipated and cutting behind us.
We got up and moved in behind a bush where I extended the shooting sticks for a standing shot rather than the expected sitting shot. I chambered a round which again is the trusty 155grain Kriek monolithic copper hollow point, which has given me great results thus far.
I looked at the two mature bulls and decided that the one looked older and slightly smaller in horn length than the other. This was going to be the one we would take.
Moving Michaela into a shooting position we waited for the bull to present a broadside shot. The bull continued to climb away from us and increased the distance between us.
Then suddenly the herd stopped. The wind had slightly changed and took our scent straight to them. Luckily enough we were still in the shadows so they had not seen us but knew there was something around, which they didn’t like.
Unfortunately the bull was not giving us the angle for a shot. He again started moving away from us up the slope.
Michaela then said she was not happy to take the shot anymore as the distance had increased much further 200 meters. Her next comment showed her understanding for what we were there to do though. Saying that I must take the shot as we were there to do a job, which was to take a mature bull.
We swopped places and I took the rifle.
I started to follow the bull in my scope and let out a whistle to try to get the bull to stop. It worked and the bull stopped and looked straight back at us. He stayed quartering away and in my scope I quickly worked out where I would have to place the bullet for a clean kill. Squeezing the trigger, the bull jumped as the bullet struck him.
Michaela celebrated: “you’ve hit him, his tail went up and I heard the thud of the impact!”.
The bull only went about thirty meters before succumbing to the bullet. Falling backwards over some rocks and lying motionless above us on the slope.
We made our way up to where he lay following a very obvious blood trail, which anyone could have followed.
I stood over him and took in what had just happened. He was certainly an old bull, with his teeth worn down and passed his prime. Two things which were not worn down though were the magnificent spiralled horns on his head. Both with ivory tips and deep long curls. One horn slightly deeper than the other but both showing everything you want in a kudu bull.
The thought crossed my mind that this bull was possibly as long as the magnificent bull I had hunted only seven days previously.
Sending Will a message to say we had been successful, the recovery team was dispatched to come and help. The bull was placed carefully on the stretcher and carried down over the rocks to the vehicle.
Photographs were taken and we discussed what the possibility was of this bull also cracking the fifty inch mark. Surely I couldn’t have taken two fifty inch bulls in such a short space of time.
When we got back to the skinning shed we got the tape and followed the curls. Both horns were fifty-one inches. Slightly longer than the last bull.
The two sets of horns would be taken in to the taxidermy on my way home so that their trophies would be forever on view in my house. Hopefully there to inspire others to manage their kudu populations like Will has done over the past few years to produce such great trophies.
The carcass was weighed and came in at 142.2kg on the hook. Of which everything would be processed for the farm. I am looking forward to seeing his horns on their return home from the taxidermy and to enjoy one of the steaks on the fire sometime soon.
Just in case you are wondering, Michaela is still on for a kudu. We will get one for her and let you know how that hunt goes in the near future.
Thank you to my host and friend, Will, for so many great days out in the bush and for the chance to bag some trophies of a lifetime.