“You’re our solely bowhunter this 12 months, so let’s get you to a blind,” stated Jamy Traut, my host for a bowhunting safari in Central Namibia. This was my first time in Namibia, and I used to be excited to get began regardless of the early afternoon timeframe. Earlier than departing, I practiced on bales of straw behind camp to make sure that all of my gear survived the lengthy journey, and I used to be delighted to see my shafts flying straight and true.
Rampant Drought
“This little waterhole doesn’t seem like a lot, but it surely hasn’t rained in six months, and it is best to see a number of animals,” stated Traut. The blind adjoining to the water was an expanded foxhole buried into the sand, bolstered with poles, with a single capturing window. Traut gave me a radio with directions to contact camp if I took a shot, and his trackers would assist retrieve the animal.
Fast Motion
The car was barely out of sight when a male warthog got here to discover the water. Both the wind was flawed, or it smelled the car as a result of it rapidly left the scene. African animals are sometimes lively within the afternoon, and the remoteness of this waterhole blind boosted my optimism. Instantly, I noticed motion within the brush as a herd of darkish animals headed towards the water.
First Success
In a cloud of mud, a herd of blue wildebeest got here to drink. Happily, the herd bull was rapidly acknowledged by its larger measurement and reluctance to strategy the blind. Ultimately, it got here inside vary, and I drew my bow and launched. I had been coached to intention low within the shoulder on this species, and I rapidly reached for the radio. “The trackers are fairly a methods from the blind. “Be affected person, and you might even see one other animal earlier than darkish,” I used to be instructed.
Fundamental Whitetail Gear
This was my third African safari, and I nonetheless experimented with gear. As you possibly can see, I shot a Mathews Solocam with a 27-inch draw at 60#. My arrows have been carbon shafts tipped with Meat Seeker, three-blade, mechanical broadheads- primarily whitetail gear. I watched the wildebeest go down and walked over to it, discovering half of my arrow alongside the blood path. After a silent prayer of thanks for the harvest, I headed again to the blind.
Lone Kudu Bull
Delaying the departure till darkish was a good suggestion as a result of a lone kudu bull got here to drink inside half an hour. Though my foxhole blind was primitive, it was very darkish inside, which allowed me to make use of binoculars to guage animals and determine the intercourse since women and men of some species have horns. When an previous kudu bull steps from the comb and also you watch it stroll towards you for 50 yards, your coronary heart practically jumps out of your chest. At first, the animal confronted me however ultimately turned broadside, and I launched it. Because the animal raced away, I noticed half of the shaft break, adopted by a cloud of mud because it crashed. As you possibly can see within the above picture, every arrow penetrated practically the identical distance.
Loads of Penetration
African antelope are physiologically completely different than whitetail deer. The vitals of the antelope are between the shoulders, which suggests a deadly arrow should cross via one set of shoulder muscle mass, pierce the vitals, and exit via the far-side shoulder. By the conclusion of this safari, I’d take 5 animals, every with the identical outcomes. As a result of the arrow was pinned between the 2 shoulders of the animal, the operating movement broke the shaft. This was the proper demonstration of how whitetail gear could be very profitable on African sport, even the big animals.
Why Africa is Such a Fantastic Hunt
A hunt in America’s West can be a powerful success with only one animal of this measurement, but I took two within the first afternoon. In between goal animals, I might take a whole bunch of nice images, just like the one of many elusive warthog. Particular because of Jamy Traut and his glorious hospitality. Traut now operates a number of concessions in Namibia and could be reached at his web site: https://jamyhunts.com
