I am going to be in the Cape Town area for 10 days in late April and am thinking of hunting there for a few days. If you have hunted for Vaal Rhebok I would love to hear about your experience. Thanks Robert at jjohnson@alaska.net

Robert - The Vaal is one of the most challenging animals to hunt in Africa. Their eyesight is supernatural and their ability to run for days is amazing. Just when you think you have outsmarted them, they are one jump a head.

Vaal hunting calls for a lot of sneaking, a lot of glass�ing from afar, and quick shooting at extreme distances. You generally do not have a lot of time to set up the shot. If they are in range (300 - 400 yards) you pick the largest and let the lead fly.

What Zero Drift said!

I spent a day hunting them about 50 miles from Craddock (sp?) RSA in September 2001. It was windy, cold, and they are very wary. A fun and worthwhile hunt.

Vaal Rhebok, and Mt. Reedbuck seperate the men from the boys, there is no more challanging animal in Africa to hunt IMO......

I hunted them about 4 years ago with Bowker's Safari Company. I think it was probably the hardest small antelope to bring to bag that I've gone after to date. They run at the slightest reason. And when they run, they flat out move. Their eyesight is very good and they blend into the cover very well.

I shot mine at about 320 yards with a 7mm Rem Mag. The wind was blowing so hard I held over a fotr into it. They only live in the highest elevation around and use the terrain to their advantage. If you get the chance to hunt them, don't pass on it.

I also believe if you get one, they should be mounted life size. It is the only way to do their beauty justice.

Mac

If you are going to hunt the Cape, then by all means you should attempt to take a Vaal Rhebok and Mt Reedbuck. These are two of the indigenous species of the Cape and are very challenging.

The Vaal Rhebok (Grey buck) is the only antelope with fur. It is much more like rabbit than other antelopes' hair. The Mt Reedbuck is to Afrikaners what a white tail is to a Southern boy: venison. The Vaal Rhebok is not favored to eat because of a burrowing parasite that gives the meat an off-taste according to Marilyn Scott, and when it comes to cooking native venison I'd bow to her expertise.

The hunting is mountain hunting. I have taken my Mt Reedbucks and Vaal Rhebok in the Winterberg Mountains near Taarkastad at about 5500 to 6000 feet. Hunting? Just breathing is an effort. You will work for either trophy. Go for it, you will not regret it. As mentioned above, the distances are huge and the conditions windy. The 7mmRemMag is a great choice. Ku-dude

DO you only find these two together in the Cape or can you find them further North?

I spent my time getting a nice one, but never again. Find the highest mountian you can find, climb to the top, and look for them on the next mountain looking at you.

Bpth Vaal Rhebok and Mountain Reedbuck occur not only in the "old" Cape province, but also in mountain regions further north.

Definately both of these can be very challenging hunting by ethical walk-and-stalk methods. Don't pass up a chance to hunt either!

Andrew McLaren

I was hunting on a 87,000 acre concession near Kimberly in August 2003. We were near a river one afternoon looking for warthog. The PH was busy looking in the reeds for hogsand I spotted a slender frisky little antelope up in the rocks about 300 ft. above us. I casually asked what it was and the PH nearly jumped out of the cruiser with excitement: "That's a mountain reedbuck, and a big one! Grab your rifle!" We ran up through the rocks and got within 100 yards of him...I had just pushed the safety off and was squeezing the trigger when he just vanished behind a big boulder. We followed for another 1/2 mile, but he was way out there when we crested the ridge far above the river. I got a good look through my scope, but that was all. The PH was really bummed out, said it was the biggest one he had ever seen and didn't know they were that close to the river. Not a very big antelope, but quite impressive...

Vaal Rhebok--major trophy! Many consider them the most difficult antelope in Africa to get. My PH on a recent hunt estimated that the average time spent to get one was about 3 days, and many folks simply fail. Some people put in 5 days on them and finally throw in the towel--of course, as with any hunting, you may get one in the first 30 minutes, but don't count on it. As mentioned, it is worth considering a full mount if you get one. It is going to be my only full body mount, and I have trophies from 3 safaries, plus other worldwide locations. Perhaps that says something about it's uniqueness. Hunting them is a lot like mountain hunting for sheep, though not at as high of elevation. Expect a shot of 300+ yards and be thrilled if you get a chance at inside 200, but you may have to take a shot at 400+, if you get a shot at all. If you get one, you deserve to be very proud of it, especially a good one. Which is another factor--because of the distances involved and they being stationary so little, then add in the very thin horns they have, they are real hard to judge. Look about, see how many photos you can find of live Vaal Rhebok--damn few. There is a reason, and it's not that photographers don't want to photograph them.

This is the other reason why I love hunting Vaal...

I guess I was extremely lucky to have taken my Mt. Reedbuck on the morning of the first try and saw at least a two hundred of them throughout my hunt before the PH convinced me to even try to shoot one! I also saw plenty of Rhebok as well but was not interested. Both were plentiful where I hunted in Molteno.

Robert,

I think Vaal Rhebok is one of the most challenging animals to hunt in Africa. As various posters have stated, Vaal Rhebok have all the odd on their side during the hunt. When you hunt them, expect to do a lot of walking, climbing, glassing, crawling, and very little shooting. When you hunt them on a good weather day, you should expect the shots to be one the longer side. A rifle zeroed at 200 � 250 yards would be in order.

It is best to hunt them in bad weather, with temperatures below 50 F, and a steady wind blowing at 15 + mph. In these conditions they like to bed down in little ravines and kloofs, thereby limiting their ability to see and scent the approaching hunters. In these conditions you�ll be stalking/crawling from ravine to ravine, looking for bedded groups of rhebok. Use camo clothing on yourself & your gun. Shots here could be anything from 40 � 120 yards. You�d obviously not be able to cover lots of ground when hunting in this manner, but since rhebok are highly territorial, it is a productive style when you�re in an area with a known population.

The only advantage that you might have when hunting vaal rhebok in pleasant weather, is fore knowledge about their habits and preferences. As mentioned they are highly territorial. I would say that the average family group moves in an area of 100 � 200 acres. They will obviously leave this range when pushed hard, but will mostly flee and stay within this home range at the mere sighting of danger.

Vaal rhebok likes to take a siesta somewhere between noon and 14:00. They bed down for 45 � 90 minutes during this time. On a nice day it might be worth your while to glass an area during the early morning, locate a promising looking family group, mark the spot they bed down in, and try to get within shooting distance while they are bedded down. If the wind is in your favor, and you�ve succeeded to get to within shooting distance of the bedded group, resist the temptation to shoot at a bedded ram. Rather wait for them to start the next feeding session. Getting up is usually a process of one getting up & stretching, walking a few yards and lying down again, with the next one repeating the sequence.

Depending on the area that you�ll be hunting & the seasonal conditions, you might still be lucky enough to find them in rut during the end of April. They are still as weary during the rut, but move a little more to court the ladies and to defend their territories. This helps with the initial location of the animals.

It is usually more productive to stalk family groups than to focus on a lone ram. Lone rams tend to be younger and therefore not fully developed trophy-wise. If you can determine that a lone ram has a good set of horns, then it could be worthwhile to pursue him � at least in theory. In practice, I�ve never found a lone ram that did any good trophy-wise.

When you�re looking for a PH to specifically hunt vaal rhebok with, search for a guy that has a passion to hunt them. Most vaal rhebok are taken as �incidental trophies�, because you need to dedicated so much time & effort to find a good one when you hunt for them specifically. Few PH�s �specialize� in hunting vaal rhebok.

If you are going to hunt in the Cape Town area, you might also consider hunting for Cape grysbok and klipspringer. You can also find some decent steenbok down that way.

I agree with Ray that hunting vaal rhebok & mountain reedbuck separates the boys from the men, but we need a third category here as well. Where do you class a person that starts a mountain reedbuck hunt with a sprained ankle � and then finishes the hunt with a Rowland Ward trophy? Should they be classed as �men with no brains�, or would �men with big b*lls� be more appropriate? I�ve known many men to come down a mountain with a sprained ankle after an m reedbuck hunt, but Steve Holder is the only person I know that willingly started & finished an m reedbuck hunt with a badly sprained ankle.

Well, as long as it�s not men without b@lls�



Actually it was all a ruse to get you to take me to the spot where the reedbucks were right away.



As we were hiking up the mountain Riaan turned to me and asked if I wanted to continue. I thought about it for a moment and told him I�d keep going. After all it would be easier for him to carry me down the mountain than up. He gave me a look and said, �No problem. I have staff for that��



Here�s a picture of the reedbuck:









In all seriousness, if anyone is looking for mt. reedbuck, you should put Riaan on your short list. It was free ranging and a bunch of fun.



I didn�t see any vaal rhebok (we weren�t looking for them), but if Riaan says they�re there, he�ll get you on them. Even if he has to haul your sorry ass up the hill�





-Steve

Steve,

This is incedible! How did you know I had a sorry ass??!! What a gift! You need to go public with this and make the big bucks!

Nice Mt. Reedbuck, I especially like the pose. Is that the position he was in when he died or was that an artistic touch by your PH?

All attempted humor aside, that must have been the hunt of a lifetime...do you plan to give the Vaal R. a try?

RHS,



If you don't have one going up, you'll have one coming back down. In reality I was describing my own ass... I wouldn't think to comment on someone elses.



The reedbuck was actually part klipspringer. He dropped as you see him.



We were looking for a spot to kind of show off the sceenery. The whole area was quite striking and was very simliar to Eastern Oregon.



I'd LOVE to hunt vaal rhebok. That's on my short list for next time. Maybe 2006? But I have to start saving my nickles and dimes again. The old change jar was emptied on this last trip.



I've got a buddy who's in a wheelchair and is one of my hunting buddies. I'm going to try and talk him into going and hunting mt. reedbuck with Riaan.



(Riaan, better get Topi and Tsorami started on doing wind sprints up the hills while carrying you)



Take Care,



-Steve

Steve, congratulations! Lovely country, a wonderful trophy, and a great trophy photo as well.....

AD

Steve,

He looked like that's where he dropped... Don't know if I could dedicate too many days to one animal, but then again it would depend on the animal. Any DG requires quite an investment in time...

I had a close encounter with a Mt. Reedbuck near Kimberley, RSA in '03 as I mentioned in an earlier post, and was quite impressed with his ability to cover rough terrain a whole lot faster than I can. Was a split second from a shot, but he had things figured out too well.

I just might have to take up the challenge. Have a Browning A-bolt in 7mmWSM that can reach out there a piece, might have to get in better shape and just do it...

Thanks for a great pic and post!

Allen,



Thanks! We should get together again. I'll send you an e-mail or PM.



-Steve

RHS,

In reality he ran about 70 yrds up the hill with me shooting the whole time. I hit him three times out of three.

Topi and Tsorami hauled him back down to where the photo was taken.

Like any hunt it can all go right or all wrong. As luck would have it, in this case I only had to go up and down the mountain once. Not sure if I would have been able to do it again. It was getting hard to walk by the end of the trip.

From my personal experience getting the mt. reedbuck was easy. Gemsbok, now those are a bitch. We spent at least five days hunting those.

Take Care,

-Steve

A few years ago when the show Under Wild Skies Africa was in South Africa on a safari, one of the hunters was after eland in a mountainous area. While moving either on a stalk or in an attempt to perform a cutoff manuveur, they came upon a group of vaal rhebok that looked close enough to hit with a rock. Realistically they were well under 100 yards away. The PH said the male was a good one but that they could try for them later and that they should keep after the eland. I yelled at the TV, "screw him shoot the damn thing!" and off they went after the eland. I'm pretty sure vaal rhebok was not part of the bag they were after.

I have not hunted Vaal Rhebok, but I've seen how tough they could be to hunt. We surprised a few when stalking Mt. Reedbuck, and they were indeed gone in a flash. Speaking of Mt. Reedbuck, my wife stalked them for 2 full days in the Free State, missing one long shot; these were all day mountain hunts coming down at dark. The descents were a little hairy, and I was the only one with a flashlight.

She finally got her Mt. Reedbuck last year, less than 100 yds. from the Bakkie.

We got off from the original question about Vaal Rhebok a bit and onto Mtn. Reedbuck, but my personal experience is that while Mtn. Reedbuck are certainly challenging, they are a piece of cake, a walk in the park, when compared to the Vaal Rhebok.