By Jerry Long, November 08, 2010
In Part 10, Hunt Day 8, of the African Archery Safari series with Dries Visser Safaris in the Republic of South Africa I enjoy my last day of hunting to its fullest.
23 August 2010 – Hunt Day 8
We met for breakfast at 7:00 and headed out close to 7:20 or 7:30. Kerneels explained that he was going to drop me at one blind until 11:00 am and he’d go pick up some blinds at another property. Then I would go to the blind for warthog culls after lunch at camp. I didn’t like that idea as I wanted to be in place by 11:00 at the warthog cull blind. I decided to spend all day in the warthog cull blind alone. He got me a lunch and we headed out.
After settling in for some time the horn bills started to arrive. I wanted to try to blunt one on video early in the morning and let things settle down again and hopefully do the same with a guinea or two. After a few false starts setting up the camera I finally managed to accomplish the deed and I got it on video. It wasn’t long, though, before some creature carried it off.
At about 9:45 am kudu started to arrive to drink at the waterhole. Skittish at first they settled in and I enjoyed the viewing. Nyalas arrived shortly after. At some point what seemed like a lone monkey stumbled in. They are very wary creatures who seem to be able to stare right into the blind. Four warthog sows came into the water, but I couldn’t get the camera on them to shoot and they mostly offered only quartering-to shots.
The wind started to shift about a little which led to many animals departing. I worked my fingers to the bone attempting to light some zebra dung as a cover scent. On my last of six matches I succeeded. Not being an experienced dung burner I had flame shooting out of the pile when a stiff breeze came though the blind and my eyes were close to tearing up. Dries states that one can get zebra cancer from the dung burning… I was more moderate in my burning after that.
At about 1:30 the guineas came in. Nyala were still feeding on one side so I didn’t want to shoot there although I would have liked to scare the monkeys. I set up the camera and gave them a whack. The shot looked good, but both ran away. I think I hit the camera with the stabilizer though. Now I had to settle back in and wait for everything to return to normal – hopefully to see some warthogs. It was good to push the reset button at the waterhole.
Later in the afternoon I saw a warthog out in the bush headed obliquely towards the water. I never saw her again. Later, one more warthog female came to the water. I couldn’t get a shot at the water and she circled out. Then she circled back in to an old stone feeder that was there. She climbed up into the feeder at about 16 yards, but wouldn’t offer a shot. She spooked and ran off, but then returned jumping up into the feeder and offering a broad side shot. I made a conscious decision to forego the video recording, took aim one inch low and one inch forward of the sweet spot in case she jumped the string and let fly.
I’d previously decided to use a 100 grain, 3-blade, 1 ¾” cut Wasp JakHammer mechanical broadhead for this shot. Not something I would have used on the bigger game, especially the Wildebeest, but a head I have confidence in. At the impact I immediately saw a blood pattern on the entrance side in the shape and size of a rugby ball. She exploded and ran off. There was blood covering the end of the feeder.
I called in to the PH and thirty minutes later Kerneels and Ben, a tracker and PH, arrived. Kerneels could see the large blood splatter from the truck and said sarcastically, “Jerry, did you shoot something?” There was blood everywhere. Kerneels quickly found my arrow and the rest of the seventy yard blood trail was easy to follow to my sow. That JakHammer performed marvelously. To say I was happy is an understatement. I’d had a great time and this warthog was the culmination of a great hunt. We headed back to the camp.
The offside of a Wasp JakHammer shot on a female warthog.
My final trophy of the trip – a female warthog.
I began the tedious process of packing. I picked one of the many warthog tusks Stephan had traded me for a pack of broadheads knowing it would likely be confiscated. I wasn’t worried as I knew I’d declare it and if they took it, they took it.
After packing I met Duane and Kerneels in the lodge. They convinced me to try a Richelieu Brandy and Coke. Holy smokes was that good! Kerneels described it as “mother’s milk.” I had to agree. I’m glad I didn’t try that earlier in the hunt. We had dinner which I believe Duane called “carrion over rice” (very similar to the filling in our Shepherd’s pie) with some sort of appetizer I wasn’t familiar with and a dessert I can’t remember. The carrion was so hot, temperature wise, that a tear formed in my eye.
I tried to e-mail Mrs. dustyvarmint once more, but we couldn’t get connected to the internet. Then it was time to turn in.
happy hunting, dv
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