Young Memories

18 July 2016, 16:58

Cliffordmykiwamyers

Young Memories

I have recently had the pleasure of guiding a young man on his first hunt in the Free State Province of South Africa, 8 year old Bryan Bryant from Bloemfontein.

Accompanied by his Dad and Grand father i was told that this young man had been practicing day in and day out on his "Oupas" 243 and that his excitement was likely to get the better of him..
His aim was to hunt a Springbuck for his first hunt and it surely did not have to be a monster as "He was shooting this animal for the pot".

We had spent some time at the range before starting the chase to get an idea of how this boys shooting was, which, in my mind was perfect but as we all know shooting a piece of paper and shooting an animal are two different things and at some point the old buck fever was sure to set in...
it was not long until we came a cross a small bachelor group of springbuck about 300 yards away and after having a look at them we decided that we would take a walk. At 150 yards we had a shot on a young ram and decided to take him.
Seeing the nerves run off the end of the barrel the rifle went off and so did the boys cabellas cap but as fate would have it the animal went down no more than 15 yards from were he was standing and to my surprise, a perfect heart lung shot was taken and the smile grew on the lads face with every pace taken towards the animal...

Traditions were had after the animals recovery and everyone was happy with telephone calls going out to Ouma and mom with pictures being sent to and from loved ones showing off this young mans first kill.

It was an absolute pleasure guiding Bryan on his first Hunt and seeing the look of both achievement and respect on this young boys face, having him share this legacy with his Dad and Grandfather and it is without a doubt hunts like these that make me remember why I do what i do. Its hunts and little hunters like these that keep the fire burning and that will look after a legacy and tradition for years to come and one day look back on their first hunt when taking out his or her little boy or girl on their first hunt.

Great job Bryan and what an amazing shot.