I was given the opportunity to have a day of this and I'm planning to take a day or two next time I go over to RSA. Apparently 15+ animals in a day is quite normal.

Has anyone ever tried it before and if so, what did you think?

Rgds,
FB

What do you mean by "15+ animals in a day is quite normal"?

Do you mean you were you told would see that many, or that you could shoot that many?

Gras Ranch in Namibia has a cull hunt available for under $5K to shoot 30 springbok over a six day period. That's a lot of shooting. 15 in a day would become work very quickly.

I observed a driven hunt in South Africa about 12 years ago. It was a bunch of guys from Spain. They shot at everything that came by them. Male, female, young, old, trophy, nontrophy. They shots lots of animals. I seem to recall one guy killing 42. Lots of wounded animals as virtually all were shot while running.

While it might have been great fun to shoot at a running animal, this was pretty much indiscriminate slaughter. If they were in sight, they got shot at.

Not my thing.

I am not a big fan of driven hunts. I prefer to get up close and make it personal. For me there is no ethics in a driven hunt. The animals does not have a fair chance, they do not have any means of escaping the waiting rifles.

It is usually a very messy thing with lots of wounded and suffering animals. Not all the wounded animals are always taken care of. That animal will suffer and eventually die a horrible death. Not the way I want to do a hunt.

But this is just my opinion

I have only ever been on one driven springbok hunt.

Most are used to cull animals in one short session, high stress and get it done.
On the other hand, they are done by hunters who want to fill the freezer and not hunt too hard or long either.

It was interesting and between I think about 5 or 6 of us we shot 34 in morning.

Jaco is right, we put down 2 wounded animals at our station. Some guys get pressed into taking a shot when the animals pass their station, as they feel they must..

If you go, you might even get given a 'voorsit stoel'!

Its can be an effective culling technique, although not as stress free as night culls.

Not really my scene, as Jaco said, not really a hunt, a cull shoot, thats it.

I guess that answers my question. Thanks, guys. Not for me either.

WPN....are you in the restaurant business by any chance? If so then I think we have matched before on SSBB...Janek.

Yes this was very much labelled as a cull not a hunt. The ide was to sit up in stands and take your shot as the herd comes in and stops.

I guessed it would be fast shooting at long ranges.

Out of curiosity if someone offered you the chance (regardless of trophy fees) to go to Poland or Spain and participate in a driven boar hunt as is traditional in those countries would thatreceive the same reaction? Still looking at a group of guns shooting upwards of 20-30 pigs in a day...

Regards,
FB

I did a monteria (driven hunt) in Spain. Dogs were used.It was far different that the driven sprinkbok hunt I witnessed. There were severe restrictions on where one could shoot and what one could shoot. There were financial penalties for shooting something which was not on the list. For example a spike red stag. Multiple sets of shooting sticks were set up to allow you to have a rest to shoot from. Two people were with you to assist.

We certainly did a lot of shooting.However,we passed on many shots that would not hav been passed on in the driven springbok shoot. I shot 4 male red stags, 6 female red stags, a couple of fallow deer and a serious wild boar. The boar happened to be chasing the dogs. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Not a single wounded animal.

quote:

Originally posted by UKhunter:
WPN....are you in the restaurant business by any chance? If so then I think we have matched before on SSBB...Janek.

Hi Janek! Yes, it's me.

Wayne

Wayne,

This seems to be the perfect opportunity to try slugs in your matched pair. With a good loader, I bet you could handle 34 all by your self.

Just kidding.

Regards,
Mario

I have a place near Colesberg in the Northern Cape of SA where I offer these cull hunts/ driven hunts to mostly local, but also some foreign hunters. Although I'd prefer walk and stalk, I see nothing wrong with these type of shoots, as big numbers has to be taken off, and the return is higher than with night culls. So far this year we have taken over 250 springbok this way, and only 3 were lost due to wounding. these were all from one group, with a very indiscriminate shooter in, who i believe wounded all 3. When I met him the night before, I knew trouble were coming, as he introduced him as follows: "Hi I am XYZ, I am aslo a PH..."
I normally circle the camp with a 4x4, and so does 3-4 horsemen, and a wounded one is quickly spotted and dispatched.

I've participated in a Spanish monteria and a South African driven springbok hunt.

In Spain's Toledo Mountains we were positioned along firebreaks in thick brush, and although we could hear the animals being pushed to us with dogs, shooting them was extremely difficult because they'd stop just out of sight at the edge of the break, wait a minute or more, then suddenly dash across the 30-foot opening. The only thing to come my way was a boar and I didn't react fast enough to shoot it. My Spanish host thought monterias were the "purest" form of hunting, for some reason. I have no idea why.

In South Africa, blacks on horseback and motorbikes slowly "pushed" small groups of springbok toward where we waited. The springbok didn't run until we started shooting. I think I shot five or six that morning with a borrowed .223. Altogether, our group of about a dozen shooters may have shot 30-40.

Both the monteria and the SA hunt were social events, with a lot of camraderie and good food and drink. Although I enjoyed both, it was shooting and not hunting.

Bill Quimby

Voorsit-jag (driven hunting) is the generally accepted method for shooting springbok in the karoo. Done properly it is highly enjoyable. I kit myself out with a primus stove and other goodies and me and my son make a day of it, taking turns. If you conceal yourself well they come quite close and head and neck shots are required if you want the meat.

Some days they don't come near at all or they won't stand still. Then you go home empty handed.

The secret is to pick your shots, not to shoot when they are running. 10 to 15 in a day is fair to middling. Any more than that it becomes work because you have to gut the animal after you've shot it.

It is required that you take off all wounded buck as they come past, people try for a headshot and hit the jaw. I have shot 4 animals in 10 years that had neat holes through the ears and one with the horns blown away.

It's not hunting in the generally accepted definition of the term but it is the only effective means of taking off a lot of springbok.

A rangefinder is a must, as is a bipod.

Best rifle/calibre combo is a nice heavy-barrelled 25-06 with a good scope.

Cheers

pete

Billrquimby, your host probably refers to monterias as 'pure' hunting as it is the oldest method of hunting in much of Continental Europe.

It may not be the most aethetically pleasing hunt with animals being herded with vehicles, but it is effective in removing the excess population and must make for difficult shots.

I would definitely give this a go Kiri. A bit of volume shooting now and then can be a great experience!

quote:

Voorsit-jag (driven hunting) is the generally accepted method for shooting springbok in the karoo. Done properly it is highly enjoyable. I kit myself out with a primus stove and other goodies and me and my son make a day of it, taking turns.

Now that sounds blerrie lekker!!!!!

Its true waht BogH, Karl and pete allude to, in the right compnay of ethical shooters it can be a great social (like bird shoot) and sitting in cover, a ditch etc with your thoughts can be cool too

The I attended one that was very social and we ate liver in bacon braaied in a kloof afterwards....damn fine!

Bog,

I definately plan to take a day and make my own mind up on it.

After all like you say, it's always good to try something different every now and then.

FB