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An African Hunt with the Flying Dutchmen |
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8shots
Optics Jedi Knight Lord Of The Flies Joined: March/14/2007 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 6253 |
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Posted: December/18/2009 at 09:41 |
During the year 1652 a Dutch seafarer by name of Jan van Riebeek landed at the Cape of Good Hope. He established a colony which since has become South Africa. On 7 Dec2009, two of his countrymen flew in to SouthAfrica to see what has transpired since those far away days.
Well, not wanting to let the side down, I decided to pull all the stops. This is the story:
First up was some target practise to see if my guests were up to the task of hunting:
Both Sander and Arja shot surprisingly well. I had them first sight in a 100m, then put them on the 8 inch gongs at 200, 250, 300 and 350 yds. Despite the near gale force wind they hit all the targets. Just for fun I put Sander onto a gong at 500 m and he scored a hit!
To calm the nerves a bit we then went to Cape Point, a place their forefather must have sailed past:
My two good friends motored down to Port Alfred, a small coastal town about 1000km east. Five days later I followed by plane, only to find we could not land due to heavy fog. I had to return to Cape Town and could only fly at 12 that night. They picked me up and we then stayed at my PH friend Rory Gailey from Fairgame Safaris. We got to bed at 4 am and were up at 7am, but emotionally charged for the day.
This is his place on the river estoury:
We had a quick breakfast and then headed to the farm.
We used two rifles, both fitted with supressors, a 243 Rem and a 300Win Rem. The trigger pull on the 243 was terrible, so I had both Arja and Sander hunt with the 300 Win. Fitted with the suppresor it was as tame as a puppy. The 300 Win was also very accurate. As in all hunts, we checked the zeroes. I also wanted to have another look at their shooting skills.
And then off the sticks....
and finally the pro!!!
I need not have feared, after a little bit of coaching both were on paper and ready to hunt.
Game animals were plentifull .....
Sander showing his newly aquired tracking skills!!!
To break the ice I took the first animal, a Warthog,with a 100m heartshot.
Arja followed with a nice impala, taken at 120 yds with a shot behind the shoulder. ,Sander was up next, with another impala taken with a neck shot at about 75 m.
I tried to put Arja onto a blesbuck, but they stayed out of range. Running out of daylight, I eventually took the next ram that gave us a shot. I took the ram at about 250m with a low frontal chestshot, also through the heart.
We offloaded at the abbatoir:
That evening we took our host for dinner in Port Alfred.
Ok, so how do you top a day like that? Well easy if you live near the coast. I had the guys up at five for a bit of ski-boat fishing!!!!
And just to make one a bit green!!!!
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ckk1106
Optics Master Joined: December/14/2007 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 1439 |
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Excellent
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pyro6999
Optics Retard OT TITAN Joined: December/22/2006 Location: North Dakota Status: Offline Points: 22034 |
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as usual wouter great story and pictures to go with it.
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They call me "Boots"
375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead" 343 we will never forget God Bless Chris Ledoux "good ride cowboy" |
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mike650
Optics God Joined: May/14/2006 Location: West of Rockies Status: Offline Points: 14569 |
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I love this time of year when Wouter shares his hunting and fishing excursions, simply amazing, thanks buddy!!!
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“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear
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pyro6999
Optics Retard OT TITAN Joined: December/22/2006 Location: North Dakota Status: Offline Points: 22034 |
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yeah no doubt mike, he ought get a nomination for entertainer of the year
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They call me "Boots"
375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead" 343 we will never forget God Bless Chris Ledoux "good ride cowboy" |
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Kickboxer
MODERATOR Moderator Joined: February/13/2008 Status: Offline Points: 23679 |
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When I retire, I'm moving there. You certainly awaken the "wandering spirit", Wouter. What a marvelous tale...
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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.
There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living |
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RifleDude
MODERATOR EVIL OPPRESSOR Joined: October/13/2006 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 16337 |
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I truly envy you for all the adventures you get to take and the variety of game you have an opportunity to go after, Wouter!
I'm glad you're here to share your adventures with us, buddy!
Great job and nice pictures, as usual!
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Ted
Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle. |
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SD Dog
Optics Master Extraordinaire OT Scratching Post Joined: February/28/2008 Status: Offline Points: 4177 |
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Wouter, thank-you so very much for sharing. Seeing all the different animals is truly amazing. Oh to see it in person, what a treat that would be. Thanks again.
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If nobody ever said anything unless he knew what he was talking about, a ghastly hush would descend upon the earth. AP Herbert
Stupidity & ignorance have been the foundation for many certainties. |
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Dogger
Optics Jedi Master Joined: January/02/2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Online Points: 8906 |
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Great adventures as always Wouter - thanks!
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God save the Empire!
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BeltFed
Optics Retard Joined: February/12/2008 Location: Ky Status: Offline Points: 22284 |
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Great pictures and a wonderful story Wouter.
Thanks for sharing.
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Life's concerns should be about the 120lb pack your trying to get to the top of the mountain, and not the rock in your boot.
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Average Joe
Optics Master Joined: April/24/2008 Status: Offline Points: 2178 |
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Thanks for the story and pictures.
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I'm classic shag nasty type.
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Urimaginaryfrnd
MODERATOR Resident Redneck Joined: June/20/2005 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 14964 |
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Lovely Photos. I really enjoyed the story. I have several friends who have had the pleasure of hunting Africa however I have never had a chance to do that. I love seeing the photos of the game.
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"Always do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do". Bobby Paul Doherty Texas Ranger |
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Ed Connelly
Optics Retard God of no Chihuahua Joined: December/16/2007 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 24225 |
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Hubba! uhh ( you look good, too, Wouter....)
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bugsNbows
Optics God bowsNbugs Joined: March/10/2008 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 11200 |
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Great story, wonderful pics. Thank you.
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If we're not suppose to eat animals...how come they're made of meat?
Anomymous |
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cyborg
Optics God Gaseous Clay Joined: August/24/2007 Location: North Georgia Status: Offline Points: 12288 |
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Damnit man...... You live the life my friend. I am very proud that we have you here with us. If life was fair we'd all have the very same blessings. Alas, you are there, and we are here. Thanks for the story, and the pics my friend.
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With Freedom comes great responsibility, you cannot have one without the other
An armed public are citizens. A disarmed public are subjects. OATH KEEPER #8233 Support us, and join our cause. Cyborg |
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budperm
Optics Retard show me your sheep!! Joined: January/01/2009 Location: Pennsylvania Status: Offline Points: 31710 |
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Its ironic! He has the game and we have t he guns!
Great story and pictures Wouter please keep on sharing... I am buying another lottery ticket!
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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".
--Thomas Jefferson |
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jonoMT
Optics Master Extraordinaire Joined: November/13/2008 Location: Montana Status: Offline Points: 4853 |
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Nice story. Out of curiosity, is it usual to wait to gut the animals after getting back (as the picture in the abattoir seems to show)?
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Reaction time is a factor...
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8shots
Optics Jedi Knight Lord Of The Flies Joined: March/14/2007 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 6253 |
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jonoMT,
Yes, we do not allways gut the animal in the field. If recovery time is going to be several hours then we will bleed and gut the animal in the field. Also if recovery is difficult, then we will gut to reduce weight.
We tend to gut in the abbatoir, where it is cleaner and less grass and dirt gets onto the carcass.
But it is not a hard and fast rule.
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