Hi,

One week sure goes fast! This is a short version of the hunt -short and dirty- you'll get details and pics when I get home in April.

Days 1-4, went for watewrbuck and eland, located animals but could not get a shot.

Days 5-7, decided to take what comes along and shot three wildebeest! A lot of fun but also complications: shooting badly, two animals were semi-clean kills, one we found inte the morning and a fourth we haven't yet found. Don't ask me what went wrong cause I don't know. Tino is nice about it but I'm ashamed of trying shots I'd normally leave untaken.

Just going to Africa doesn't make one a bwana sharpshooter.

I'll now rest my leg a few days (the osteotomy worked nicely) and get back to my writing.

Cewe

7 days of hunting and only 3 wildebeests? I do not understand . Wrong time wrong place?

cewe

Sorry to hear that you came up a bit short this time, guess your medical condition might have contributed and I also know that sometimes when a trophy presents itself in the bush one might be hesistant and say NO lets hold out for a bigger specimen, as if in fact that was the case it can often reflect upon the final bag in the end.

Where exactly were you hunting with Tino, anywhere near my brothers Banderlierkop ranch at all.

Apparantly it has been very dry in our regional area and quite hot as well, just recently the rains have belted down so I dont know if weather was a contributing factor as you were what we call hunting early season in our region ..

take care

Peter

The first four days I could have shot a very nice kudu, impala, blesbuck etc but for two days I held out for a good (not great) waterbuck but could not find the bulls. We then changed areas and went for eland and can those animals walk! My leg played in a bit but it wasn't a deciding factor. Second day on eland (I walked between 15-20 km:s, climbed two hills etc) I was ready for anything.

I love hunting wildebeest and since we'd seen a lot of big bulls I was happy going for these -but now my shooting was off. Pulling shots to the back etc.

I'm in recovery now. Might do some more hunting but I'll just rest a bit and see what happens.

I'm sorry to hear that you had some bad luck.

Will you continue to be in RSA until april, or are you going somewhere else in africa until then?

ErikD: My luck wasn't bad, hunting is sometimes like this. My shooting was bad though, I think I let time get to me ie started to panic that "I won't get anything" which is really immature

I'll be staying here at the ranch for another couple of weeks. I'm writing an article for a hunting mag and working on a book -at least I work well here.

Hi cewe!
I wish you the best for the rest of the hunt/vacation/work.
I`m impressed by your honesty, though. Not many hunters who are willing to tell about mistakes like you do!
The honest guys will win in the end..

Thanks for the support Anders (even though I don't belive that honesty will win..just never seems to happen). We might take another go for the watewrbuck and I saw some nice zebra up on the hills...

Maybe next week. Two or three more days would really do me good.

cewe,

I have seen shooting skills seemingly desert people (including me!), and people who were generally very good shots, from time to time. You take a shot you have made time and time again, and miss or wound. It can be bewildering and more than a little depressing, too.

In baseball, it happens to hitters and it's called a slump. There is nothing to do about it but keep on keeping on.

Someone once asked Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams, perhaps the greatest hitter of all time (and an accomplished hunter and outdoorsman, too) what it took to cure a slump. His answer: "About two weeks."

Don't let it get you down.

Bottom line is bad shooting happens to us all at one time or another, I learned that the hard way, never thought it would happen to me, and it did....

Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate it.

I'd be lying if I said that this was my first slump ever, just feels worse (if possible) because I'm only here for a short time.

Did some birds this morning, got a few guineas and a francolin and would would have shot more if we'd started earlier...