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First animal with a Bow

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    Posted: July/07/2009 at 03:46
Well I finally made it on the second attempt, my first animal with a Bow.

I had 2 misses on my first hunt in May, 1 at 38m and 1 at 34m. Anyone who thinks Bow hunting is easy should give it a try; it’s not just about sitting at a water hole and killing animals.

We were hunting in Natal just outside Pongola on the farm Zeekoepan; we have hunted here for the last 3 years. I had arranged to take my bow with in May, but unfortunately had the 2 misses. Not a good introduction to bow hunting, but heh that’s how we learn. It’s been a big learning curve for me, especially being confined to a wheelchair. Well I got another chance last weekend; a friend of mine invited me on their trip to the same farm. I arranged with Willem (the farm owner) to take the bow again, I only got there late Thursday. So I only had Friday and Saturday morning to hunt, Friday was a bust. Full of lessons learnt, I did see 7 Nyala bulls. Though they are far beyond my meagre pension, but still amazingly exciting to see. This just left Saturday morning, as the 2nd test between the Springbucks and British Lions was that afternoon. This meant I had about till 2 o’clock too hunt, as we were all going to Willems farm house to watch the game.

 On the way to the blind I was going to sit at (same one I sat with the 2 misses I had in May), we seen a large herd of Impala moving closer. My first thought was to get in the blind as soon as possible, yet Willem suggested we check out another blind close by. As he said it would be a while before they got to the dam, (large pond) well one of his workers had closed the water feed at the 2nd dam, so there was no point in sitting there. As we drove around the corner to the first blind, my heart sank as I could see the Impala had beaten us there. Yet I could see that they had just got there, so they hadn’t had chance to drink. I was dropped off and settled in as quickly as I could, I used my Swarovski rangefinder to range different points around the dam as well as trees just behind the dam. Well it couldn’t have been 15 minutes before I seen movement.  A large trophy ram moved in, but only gave me quartering towards shot at 30m. Which I was extremely hesitant to take, with my extremely limited bow experience. I passed on the shot and sat with my range finder, trying to see if there where anymore Impala in the area. It wasn’t long before a few Warthogs sneaked in and sat playing in the mud, I chose to ignore them. As I knew there were still Impala in the area, well my patience paid off.

A lone Impala male came walking down the road towards the dam; I kept wishing him to come to this side of the dam which meant an easy 15m shot. Well he must have been listening to me because here he came, 15m from me he stopped and turned his head to look around. I drew my DXT put the pin on him, but before I could do anything he started walking. Well he kept walking past me until he was out of sight (once I’ve drawn the bow I can’t move my position) As I released a herd of Impala females came running in, well this male had seen them coming. It’s rutting season so of he goes around the dam to them, well by now I have a bunch of Warthogs, Impala ewes and a couple of Kudu cows all closing in. Next thing I hear is an Impala male barking, and this mature male comes charging at this intruder to his harem. My heart sank again as I watched them run off about 60m, luckily for me the herd ram came wandering back. I sat quietly watching for an opportunity to draw, as by now I had about 30 pairs of eyes and ears all on the lookout for trouble. I had a small window of opportunity to draw when a Warthog splashed in the water and they all looked in his direction. The pin just seemed to draw it’s self towards a point on the heart just above the leg bone, everything felt right. I fired and watched my arrow track straight, perfect heart shot at 35m. Well I really had a case of buck fever after all that excitement just couldn’t stop shaking, but I must say WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE. We booked a trip at Zeekoepan for the end of August, after our other bow outfitter fell through. I can’t wait to get there and try again; bow hunting in Africa is a truly wonderful experience. 

I was on a course with our local Mathews importer and John DuMars from Mathews the day before we left to go hunting, he was telling me how much more forward our animals vitals sit. Here is a picture of an Impala’s vitals so you can compare.

Makes sense to me now, as when I watch hunting videos of Whitetails. I keep thinking the shots are too far back. You just assume it’s all in the same place, not that I can afford to come Whitetail hunting though.
 
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 07:14
Very nice Chris, congratulations!  That is a great start for sure, good looking horns.
 
What type of broadhead were you using.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 300S&W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 07:38
 
  Thunbs Up  VERY GOOD way to start out!!!!!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote helo18 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 07:48
Excellent  Very nice animal!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 08:42
Hi Dogger the arrow is a Carbon Express Rebel Hunter and the broadhead is a NAP Razorcap 125gr, total weight is 528gr. That hole is the entry wound.
 
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 09:11
I thought that was a bodkin style head.   My son-in-law uses a similar 125 grain broadhead made by Snuffer.  Very effective head and flies true.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SD Dog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 10:20
That's great Chris!!  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ick Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 10:46
That is great!
 
Originally posted by Glock Glock wrote:

Fellas, can we assume that Ed is "fully mature" by this definition?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mike650 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 12:36
Thunbs Up    Thunbs Up

Very nice!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 14:54
Thanks Guys, must honestly say i didnt think i'd like bow hunting. But I'm definately hooked
 
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 300S&W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/07/2009 at 15:07
 
 For me,there's not much that compares to sitting in a treestand from dark to dark in bow season.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/08/2009 at 11:57
Good job, Chris!Excellent
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tahqua Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 12:14
That's a fine write up and great picture.
Thanks Chris, and congratulations.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 13:07
Thanks Tahqua appreciate it.
 
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mwyates Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 13:16
I bow hunted several years before I had any success.  The more you do it, the more you'll like it.  Only thing is it takes a lot of the fun out of rifle hunting.  Too easy Sleep
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Glock Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 13:33
Must agree Mwyates, after my experience with a bow i think rifle hunting is to easy as well.
 
Regards Chris
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 14:00
the only thing i hate about bow hunting is the fact that you cant automatically shoot an animal, just because you can see it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 14:16
That's what bow hunters love though;  stalking and hunting become much more important.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 14:21
i hunt out of a fixed stand, so i dont rely on stalking, so its tough. when i see a deer it may be 60 yards away and i cant shoot it, and it may take an hour before the deer walks into a shooting alley.
They call me "Boots"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 300S&W Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/11/2009 at 14:38
  That's where a mobile stand comes in handy. Sometimes ya gotta fine tune your position.
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