Bushbuck Addiction

I had the good fortune to be one of the six hunters on the most recent AR group hunt with Thor Kirchner and Andrew Baldry at Thor’s beautiful Munyamadzi Game reserve on the banks of the Luangwa River, Zambia.

You’ve already been introduced to the team on Andrew’s thread. http://forums.accuratereloadin...1411043/m/9101049512 Travelling with me on Emirates from Brisbane via Dubai was my friend GBE (and you may recall our adventure last year hunting Buffalo with Andrew at Royal Kafue).

We were both hunting again with our Blaser R93’s – this time mine was wearing the .270 barrel shooting 140 grain Barnes TSX in front of 53 grains of ADI AR2209 and GBE’s in 300 Win Mag shooting 181 grain Brenneke TUG bullets ahead of 80.5 grains of AR2217. Thanks again to GBE for all his work with load development and construction.

On arrival we met Tom and Faisal, with the rest of the team due to assemble the next day.

The charter flight into Munyamadzi afforded us all some great views of wilderness Zambia. Andrew reckoned he had such a great year that he’d started his own airline!!!

Despite representing a diverse range of ages and geographical origins we all shared the common bonds of a love of animals and hunting. It was especially pleasant to have the two ladies – Jyette and her daughter, Julia, hunting with us. We all had many experiences to share and learn from each other.

Although my priority animal was a Hyena we would be patient in that pursuit until some good baits became available. Tom was chasing Hippo and Jyette needed baits for her Crocodile the soonest. Luckily, Tom was called on to despatch a wounded, suffering Hippo that had holed up in a drying mud pool.

Being a confessed Bushbuck-aholic I had plenty to keep myself amused while the others searched for Roan, Kudu and Puku.

Munyamadzi is Bushbuck paradise with more than 20 km’s of riverine thickets along one boundary.

I’m sure many of you probably have similar feelings for Bushbuck hunting, or another pet quarry. I love stalking the edges of the thick stuff at first light – eyes peeled and all senses on high alert. The graceful but ever alert females always ready to spoil the approach and the sharp warning barks as the spooked animals move off. But, often as not, another one - or a pair - could be within the next fifty metres or so as they feed or peer out from the shadows. I enjoy just observing them as they flit about on delicate legs capable of incredible bursts of speed or total freeze frame.

The afternoon of day one found all of us walking game trails near the river – flushing game ahead of us as the swirling hot wind repeatedly betrayed our presence. We all suffered the heat a little that afternoon as we acclimatised to the temperature. November in this neighbourhood is decidedly warm!

Unanimously we elected to retire to camp for rehydration and dinner.

Day # 2 began with our group scouting the river at first light before Andrew dropped off myself and Cosmos (one of Thor’s excellent local trackers) to foot hunt through some likely habitat. We encountered males and females with a frequency we were to become accustomed to for every hunt. It was good for me to learn and appreciate the beauty and majesty of a mature ram. Andrew collected us later along the track and we made off to another spot where I had the pleasure of hunting with Eliam Njobvu who has been on Munyamadzi for 19 years and has a lovely home in the middle of the property. We hunt around a large dry swamp area and despite the uncooperative wind shifts getting the better of us we glimpse a good number of Bushbuck and I’m on the sticks twice, although both rams prove to be smaller than the standard we had set ourselves.

Later that day Eliam takes Faisal and myself on a stalk through a good area of fertile country on a shelf next to the river that contains a great mix of open ground and tight thickets. We come upon a fine ram sitting down not more than fifty metres away from us. It must be the English blood that we both share because we engage in a most polite and jolly decent conversation over who should take the shot. A couple of rounds of this tattle and the ram gets up and buggers off. He was a bloody good ram too – I went back looking for him – twice!

Day # 3. Faisal and I have established rules of engagement. Today, he has first right of refusal. Out again at first light we start back in the area where we left off the previous evening and get onto buck straight away. The third ram we stalk up on is a ripper. Eliam and Faisal stalk forward and take him, Faisal’s shot drops him in his tracks. He’s a beautiful heavy horned trophy with flaring ivory tips.

That afternoon, at the suggestion of Thor and Andrew, I take Cosmos with me for a stalk further down river. After crossing the dry stream bed of a drainage we immediately encounter buck. However, the swirling breeze keeps giving us away and we are barked at every 30 to 50 metres. We cut away and try approaching from a better angle but the wind betrays us more often than not. Fortunately, Cosmos never tires of this game and we use the wind to zig zag in and out of thicket areas spotting many animals. We have a game plan that gives us about an hour of stalking away from the vehicle and the same to return before the fading light would defeat us.

At just over the hour we emerge into lighter cover and decide to use this opportunity to cut away from the river and stalk new ground back to the vehicle. Given the openness of the terrain we were now in we had stepped down from the intense, alert, tip toe approach needed to get up on Bushbuck undetected.

Not more than 50 metres into this plan we both spot a big ram feeding away from us on the thicket edge. A quick check through the binos confirms he has the flaring horn tips that I desired most in a trophy. With a nod to Cosmos he has the sticks up and I settle into the shot. He’s quartering away to my left so I place the crosshairs behind his front leg looking to angle the bullet into his engine room. At the shot he rears high in the air on his hind legs, pivots around and hits the ground coming straight at us! At 15 metres out he veers away to his left, crashes into a clump of bamboo and falls dead. I turn to look at Cosmos – I’m sure his smile is even bigger than mine. We embrace then move forward to honour the trophy. Needless to say – I was ecstatic.

We quickly fire off a few photos then set about getting back to the vehicle. Cosmos knows of a rough track that will help us bring the Nissan to within metres of our trophy. We load up and in fading light we head to the skinning shed.
I’m now addicted!

Day # 4. GBE has elected to have a break from his search for a Kudu and stalk the early morning in the area of Faisal’s success. Cosmos, GBE and I get onto animals quickly and glass a number of both sex as we work the edges of cover. A nice ram is spotted standing in the shadows of a big tree. GBE decides to take the shot and after a short stalk forward he’s on the sticks. The ram doesn’t move a step. Another magnificent Munyamadzi bushbuck is on his way to the skinning shed.

That evening we all meet up atop high ground overlooking the old Miombo woodlands that give way to mature Mopani forest as the hill country slopes down to the valley floor and the river. We enjoy sunset drinks and good company as we discuss our days’ adventures.

Day # 5. There is one unassigned Bushbuck tag remaining – I put my hand up immediately.

Day # 6. I’m happy to feed my addiction, spending the afternoon hunting Bushbuck again in the same area as Faisal and GBEs’ success but this time, due to wind direction, I can begin my hunt from the other direction. IMHO Bushbuck have an entirely different “pattern” later in the day and afternoon stalking is often on animals moving quickly in the open as they move to feeding areas from their beds. Again we are regularly spotting animals. A small mob of the rare Thornicroft’s giraffe force us to skirt wide across open ground.

After an hour or so Cosmos focusses my attention on an animal moving away from us perhaps 100 metres out. I get a quick glimpse of a tall horned buck with the characteristic grey rubbed neck and heavy body of an old ram. Cosmos has us skirting around trees and cover but keeping the distance – this was one very wary old boy. Finally, he points him out standing in thick cover with his female companion. We are stuck behind a big tree with no other cover as I glass the pair and beckon Cosmos to try and put up the sticks without unduly alarming them. I have to try for the shot and search for a gap in the branches that would give my bullet passage. I take the shot. It’s a miss – and we glimpse both animals run off in opposite directions. I couldn’t thread that needle. We spend the next forty minutes following both spores for several hundred metres to be absolutely sure I have not wounded him. So with no sign of blood, nor any sign of a wounded animal on the move for a considerable distance we call it a miss and report accordingly to Thor that night back at camp.

Day # 7 Cosmos and I leave camp early with a driver – Kenny - to a drop off point further down river than previously. We resume our tactic of moving with the wind shifts, again regularly spotting animals. As before we sweep wide out of the thick stuff to work the wind and re-enter the thickets about 500 metres later. Cosmos spots an animal moving ahead. I glass him and decide to move closer. We stalk forward and put the sticks up as he weaves in and out of the thick stuff. As we wait we notice a female about 50 metres away, standing rock still and looking in our direction. She’s not spooked but she’s not taking her eyes off us. Cosmos says he’s coming and I prime the Blaser. I see a shape moving towards the female – I’m ready.

It’s an Impala – where the hell did she come from? She stands right next to the doe and doesn’t move. Cosmos can see the ram from his position. Seconds later the ram steps out – I wait for one more step forward but it’s a turning one taking him back towards more cover. Again – another raking shot tucked in through his ribs and forward to his boiler room. It anchors him in his tracks.

I share a moment with Cosmos that I will never forget. We cannot believe our luck and share huge grins, hugs and handshakes before we walk forward to pay our respects to a dream Bushbuck.
Thanks Cosmos.

My name is Ridgeman.

I am a Bushbuck addict.

It’s been eight weeks since I last hunted one.

Posts: 465 | Location: New Zealand, Australia, Zambia | Registered: 25 May 2009

Charlie64

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