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| Sunrise at our ground blind at the water hole |
Day 2 continued. As I mentioned in the previous post, Michelle and I would seperate from my Dad, Joe, and Heather to sit in a blind at a water source with our guide Daniel. We would head back to the same blind that we sat yesterday afternoon in the hopes of finding a shooter amongst the myriad of plains game available. My game plan for the safari was to hunt 4 or 5 days with my bow then, based on how far down my list I'd made it, I would switch over to the 30.06. I was not completely sold on hunting only with my bow but made plans to give it a few days. Even though I would concentrate on hunting with a bow, I always kept the rifle in our blind for follow up shots or if a true monster would not commit to bow range, I would simply switch over to plan B (short for BOOM!!).
As Michelle, Daniel, and I made our way to the water, we were able to see many species on the drive out. We caught our first glimpse of the tiny duiker that we would later spend several days hunting. These little critters love the brush and can be a tough trophy to harvest. As we settled in to the blind for the day, I can't help but think of the many birthday gifts I would love to harvest today. I feel like a kid in a candy store and although Daniel is patient and relaxes until the animals commit to water, I can't stand it and I am constantly peeking out of the blind trying to get the first glimpse of any animals headed our way. I spend hours glassing and watching zebra, gemsbuck, wildebeest, and other animals that are over 500 yards away working their way through the plains. With my gear double and triple checked, I begin anxiously glassing during the morning hours. I am shooting the same Mathews Z7 the the Gila Outdoors crew set up for me last year. My 125 grain G5 Montec broadheads sit atop an Easton Axis arrow. My set up has been finely tuned in anticipation of the moments ahead. Although I was told that most shots would be under 30 yards, my hunting experience here in the states led my to believe that just in case its needed, I have practiced and am extremely comfortable with an 80 yard shot on an animal that isn't on full alert.
At 1000 am, I happen to poke my head out the front window and glass to our left. I can't quite spit the words out to Daniel but somehow, I let him know I just glassed up a kudu. It's over a mile away but in the short few seconds, I can see his spiraling horns. As I switch spots with Daniel, the kudu slips back into the brush and is gone. Daniel says the kudu typically water in the evening so maybe he'll head our way. What a rush! It tooks some time to calm down but fortunately we had other species moving in and out so that help me re-focus. About an hour later, I happen to look back towards the place I first seen the kudu and there he is again. All I can see is his head and horns but this time, Michelle catches a glimpse. Of course, before Daniel can get a look, the kudu is back in the bush. I'm sure Daniel now thinks I'm full of it but at least I now know the kudu are heading our way.
Around 100 pm, we had just finished our lunch and the mid-day warmth brought on that sleepy feeling. Just then, I see Daniel duck his head back in the blind quickly. THE KUDU ARE COMING TO THE WATER!! I'll never forget those words as long as I live. I step over and get my bow ready. Daniel whispers to not shoot until he gets a look at all the kudu. The one bull I seen turned into 3 bulls and several cows. The kudu are much more timid than others so they hang back at 60 yards for several minutes. This was enough time for Daniel to let me know there was only 1 mature bull and if I liked him, I could take him if I got a good shot. As with Dad, it didn't take me more than a heartbeat to know this bull was in trouble. The bull finally committed to the water and as Michelle had the video cameral rolling I began to focus on my impact point. At 9 yards the bull just began to drink when the waterbuck that were also at the water spooked. This caused several of the kudu to run off. The bull was looking around to see what was going on as I came to full draw. The bull now stood at 12 yards quartering towards me. I could see the indecision in the bull as he looked at the cows that had run off. I slowly settled my pins and released. The arrow buried deep into the bulls chest and angled in through his chest cavity. The entire herd sprinted off but the bull slowed quickly. We could tell he was hurt bad but since he was still standing, I hung my bow and grabbed the rifle. Not wanting the bull to get away I asked Daniel if I should follow up with the rifle. Daniel assured me that it was a heart shot and sure enough, the bull never took another step. In just a few seconds and within 60 yards the bull fell over and was done!! Now, every joint in my body began shaking violently. What a rush!! A kudu with my bow, almost had a hard time even dreaming of how this would feel and now that it just happened, the surreal feeling was undescribable.
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| Michelle captured this photo seconds after I shot the bull |
Unfortunately, as the bull step to the left when the herd spooked, Michelle didn't have an angle to get the shot on video. Being a hard core photographer, she quickly put the video camera down and began capturing photos with her camera before the herd left. We climbed out of the blind and spent some time admiring the beauty of these animals. The horns, the stripes, and color, the long legs, everything about these animals shouts beauty! Since Dad was in between hunts, we called them up on the radio and they came out to take photos with us and haul the bull back for skinning, caping, and quartering. After our photo session, we climbed back in the blind to hunt the rest of the day. We had plenty of animals come in but no shooters. Even though I didn't release another arrow that day, I still had memories that will stay with me forever.
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| Archery kudu, 12 yard shot. Mathews Z7 set at 62 lbs, G5 Montec 125 gr broadheads, Easton Axis arrows |
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| All of our trophies were that much more special having our family along. |
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| This bull had the battle scars of a true warrior |
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| Daniel and I with the first of many trophies to come |
Amazingly, mine and Dad's harvest on Day 2 wasn't even half of our harvest for Day 2. I'll post the rest of Day 2's harvest in the next post and capture Joe and Heather's pursuit of the springbucks. Enjoy
As Michelle, Daniel, and I made our way to the water, we were able to see many species on the drive out. We caught our first glimpse of the tiny duiker that we would later spend several days hunting. These little critters love the brush and can be a tough trophy to harvest. As we settled in to the blind for the day, I can't help but think of the many birthday gifts I would love to harvest today. I feel like a kid in a candy store and although Daniel is patient and relaxes until the animals commit to water, I can't stand it and I am constantly peeking out of the blind trying to get the first glimpse of any animals headed our way. I spend hours glassing and watching zebra, gemsbuck, wildebeest, and other animals that are over 500 yards away working their way through the plains. With my gear double and triple checked, I begin anxiously glassing during the morning hours. I am shooting the same Mathews Z7 the the Gila Outdoors crew set up for me last year. My 125 grain G5 Montec broadheads sit atop an Easton Axis arrow. My set up has been finely tuned in anticipation of the moments ahead. Although I was told that most shots would be under 30 yards, my hunting experience here in the states led my to believe that just in case its needed, I have practiced and am extremely comfortable with an 80 yard shot on an animal that isn't on full alert.
Around 100 pm, we had just finished our lunch and the mid-day warmth brought on that sleepy feeling. Just then, I see Daniel duck his head back in the blind quickly. THE KUDU ARE COMING TO THE WATER!! I'll never forget those words as long as I live. I step over and get my bow ready. Daniel whispers to not shoot until he gets a look at all the kudu. The one bull I seen turned into 3 bulls and several cows. The kudu are much more timid than others so they hang back at 60 yards for several minutes. This was enough time for Daniel to let me know there was only 1 mature bull and if I liked him, I could take him if I got a good shot. As with Dad, it didn't take me more than a heartbeat to know this bull was in trouble. The bull finally committed to the water and as Michelle had the video cameral rolling I began to focus on my impact point. At 9 yards the bull just began to drink when the waterbuck that were also at the water spooked. This caused several of the kudu to run off. The bull was looking around to see what was going on as I came to full draw. The bull now stood at 12 yards quartering towards me. I could see the indecision in the bull as he looked at the cows that had run off. I slowly settled my pins and released. The arrow buried deep into the bulls chest and angled in through his chest cavity. The entire herd sprinted off but the bull slowed quickly. We could tell he was hurt bad but since he was still standing, I hung my bow and grabbed the rifle. Not wanting the bull to get away I asked Daniel if I should follow up with the rifle. Daniel assured me that it was a heart shot and sure enough, the bull never took another step. In just a few seconds and within 60 yards the bull fell over and was done!! Now, every joint in my body began shaking violently. What a rush!! A kudu with my bow, almost had a hard time even dreaming of how this would feel and now that it just happened, the surreal feeling was undescribable. 
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