During the first week of July I got to visit Africa again and spent a week of great hunting with my boys and a few friends.

My youngest son, Pieter, got a very nice impala with his .223, loaded with 60 g Nosler Partitions.

We saw a group of five rams feeding on the slope of a mountain. Eventually they cleared the summit and we sneaked to the top of the mountain. Reaching the plateau, we found the rams sunning themselves in a clearing, about 500 yards from our position. Given the direction of the wind, we had no option but to go on all fours and crawl. It took us about an hour to cover 280 yards on our bellies. Anything closer and we would have been spotted.

The best ram kept presenting poor shot opportunities and we decided to wait it out. We lay spread over broken rocks for about 50 minutes before the ram stepped clear of obstructions and Pieter took his shot at 220 yards. The ram reacted as if heart shot and dashed 70 yards to clear a ridge line behind him.

We went to the spot where we’d last seen him and found some frothy blood, but much less than I had expected of a heart/lung shot. We followed the trail, finding some blood for the first 400 yards, after which the blood trail ended. Pieter was determined not to give up on finding the animal (although he later admitted that he seriously began doubting that we would find the animal after two hours of fruitless searching).

With no visible trace of the animal after two hours, we had to devise a plan. We brain stormed what a wounded impala could be expected to do. Wounded impala can be very cunning and tend to seek close cover rather than distance when wounded. We identified a number of likely hiding places on the map and started searching them one by one.

Four hours after Pieter’s initial shot we found the ram in some thick stuff in a little ravine. We were on our way to search the clump of brush in the ravine when an unsuspecting warthog came trotting up the ravine, heading for the brush. The warthog spooked the impala, which flew out on the other side of the thicket, passing diagonally at 50 yards from us. A full tilt running shot put the impala down for good, and saved the day for Pieter.

Closer inspection revealed that the initial bullet struck just a tad too low. Although the bullet did enter the chest cavity, and clipped the bottom part of one lung, it missed the heart, and did not cause sufficient bleeding to bring the animal down. Half an inch higher and we would have taken pictures four hours sooner – but it ended well and Pieter made me proud with his persistence.

Very nice ram,congrats to you and your son.how old is your son?

Thanks Matt, that impala was taken one week before he turned 10.

A resounding "Well Done" and Weidmannsheil to the skillful and fortunate young hunter!

Quite an educational experience, all the highs and lows of hunting packed into one!

- mike

Nicely done. Congratulations.

That's a very nice impala. Congratulations to a young hunter and also to the persisitence displayed by his dad and friends to help him recover his trophy. Well Done!

Congratulations
very nice Impala


TeryR

Congrats Pieter.

Uithou en aanhou jong man!!!!!

What a way to get your 1st Impala at 10 years!!!

Riaan where are you guys living now?

That kid is a hunter!!!!! Congratulations to him for sticking with a tough situation and congratulations to you for a job well done as a father. You must have been ready to burst with pride.

Perry

Riaan,

Well done and congratulations to both of you!

Do you want to know which single word I liked most in your posting? Guess! The single word "youngest"! Fathers like you should have lots of sons! Congratulations again!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

Hi Gents, thanks for the kind words.

Jakkals, my wife and boys still live a little way out of Bloemfontein, but I now call Kandahar, Afghanistan, home. I pass through Dubai every couple of months; maybe we should get together one day and share some hunting stories and pictures.

Andrew, I wish I had more, but I’m blessed with two. At least once a year, we dedicate a hunting trip to my sons’ buddies, many of whom don’t get the opportunity to get out of town. This is usually a great experience, and more than often ends up being one big father & son event. Here’s a picture of my two boys (left & second from right) with two buddies joining us on the recent hunting trip.



My eldest is also a keen hunter. He got his first kudu bull on this trip – that was another great moment!

Riaan,

Good for you on teaching the kids the right ways. We also have an annual "Family Hunt" at which I'm sort of the general "hunting instructor" for all the nephews and nieces and other novices.

Why don't you bring your sons and your dogs to my place this weekend to show what those dogs can do on Swainsons, Orange Rivers and Guinea Fowl?

In good hunting.

Andrew

quote:

Originally posted by Riaan:
Hi Gents, thanks for the kind words.

Jakkals, my wife and boys still live a little way out of Bloemfontein, but I now call Kandahar, Afghanistan, home. I pass through Dubai every couple of months; maybe we should get together one day and share some hunting stories and pictures.

Andrew, I wish I had more, but I’m blessed with two. At least once a year, we dedicate a hunting trip to my sons’ buddies, many of whom don’t get the opportunity to get out of town. This is usually a great experience, and more than often ends up being one big father & son event. Here’s a picture of my two boys (left & second from right) with two buddies joining us on the recent hunting trip.



My eldest is also a keen hunter. He got his first kudu bull on this trip – that was another great moment!

Riaan,

Let me know when you are passing trough....

I realy hope is not so warm and sandy as it is here in Dubai

Luckely I am going home in August for 3 weeks vacation. Cant wait to cool down a bit...

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the invitation, that is very kind of you. You have a PM.

Riaan