July 22nd; our last day. It was cool and raining on the morning of our last day. Louis decided to hunt Mountain Reedbuck and I would pursue Duiker. We left around 7:30am and drove about 30 minutes away. It was good Duiker country (open grass areas with brushy draws and ravines nearby.) We saw several nice Mountain Reedbuck, Steenbok and Springbok. Finally, we jumped a good Gray Duiker, but as per usual, he took off in a flash and we never found him again. Meanwhile, Meyrick spotted a good Mountain Reedbuck, so we decided to pursue him. I took my .223 and we headed off. These animals are not big. Maybe half the size of a Springbok, but very wary. They were on to us every time we tried to pull a stalk. Finally, we found a small group with a nice buck. The range was 327 yards but he was in an area that we could see for a long way. I shot three times at him and he just scampered from one spot to another, offering a standing still, broadside shot each time. My .223 was shooting flatter than I anticipated, so each shot brought my point of impact lower. The fog and misting rain started up again but my next shot connected. I did not hear the shot, nor did I notice anything wrong with the buck when he ran down into a creek bottom, but Meyrick did. He calmly told me to get ready and wait; we'll see the buck again. I didn't take lens covers for my scope on this gun (don't leave home without them)! so I covered both ends with my gloves. Within 5-6 minutes, Meyrick caught movement in the bush; then I saw it. The diminutive buck was moving right to left and when he came into a clearing he stopped. I squeezed the trigger and he bolted forward. Again, I didn't hear anything other than the rifle, but Meyrick assured me is was a good hit. He went about 30 yards. Interesting animals. They remind me of Whitetail Deer and an Antelope cross. I'll hunt them again and maybe their larger cousin, the Common Reedbuck. This concluded my hunt. The time was 12:10pm and I was hunted out. I wanted to rest up before our flight out the next morning and spend some time getting to know the rest of the family. The Bowkers are some of the most friendly people you could meet anywhere. I guess years of dealing with hunters from all over the world will make you either very friendly or crazy
My only regret is that I didn't start hunting in Africa a long time ago. But I'm going to make up for lost time. If I can help anyone pertaining to Taxidermy; rules/regulations on shipping trophies into the US, just send me an email. My direct addy is:
dixiedetectors@aol.com/ Thanks to all of you for reading my posts. I know many of you have been and can laugh at my excitement, but you know where I'm coming from. Stay safe this fall and good hunting, grayghost
P.S.: My friend Louis took 12 animals: A huge Black Wildebeast, 38" Gemsbok, Impala, Black Springbok, Common Springbok (2), a big Waterbuck, Hartebeast, Blesbok, Kudu, Red Lecwhe, Bushbuck and Fallow Deer. He had a great hunt as well. We're going back next year and I'm looking forward to hunting waterfowl and upland birds in the eastern cape.