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  1. #1
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    Default A surprise Waterbuck

    A little on 2 weeks back I got a call from Willie Barnard to come shoot a wildebeest that has broken into his cattle farm from one of his neighbors, in short he didn’t want his cattle catching the “snot siekte” they carry and asked if id like to come hunt the wildebeest – interestingly this "snot siekte" is a herpes virus that is fatal to cattle and is transmitted via a fly that inadvertently lays it eggs in the eyes and sinuses of cattle, wildebeest are immune, but to cattle & the farmer its devastating. The neighbor had agreed that it wasn’t worth the effort to try catch it and that it can be shot and meat shared. Unfortunately I was only able to get away this last weekend. I left Pretoria early Saturday morning for Ellisras, not having been to his farm before, and last visiting Ellisras about 15yrs back I enjoyed the drive and the scenery between Nylstroom and Ellisras is particularly pretty with the big trees dotting the landscape, the veld was lush and green and Vervet monkeys and Chacma baboons were to be seen in the Maroela Trees munching on fruit as I drove past.

    Doc’s farm is officially labeled at 303a in the district. So in proper style he called it Leemetford and this is where he has built Knapskoot Skietbaan and has previously hosted the Ellisras Firearms Festival. I reached the farm around 10 and met Doc at the shooting range where the local hunters group was holding their monthly shoot. I spent the morning chatting to the shooters, zeroing my 308 and finally getting to shoot my 300WM that I got last year. After the last of the hunters had left I grabbed the 308 and stuffed a handful of 180gr ProAmm’s into my pocket and jumped into his bakkie. Doc was to drop me off at the one end of the farm where the wildebeest has been seen. Patrys Willies GSP-come-Boerbul hound came with for the ride. Some on the forum have met Patrys, if a dog could smile you would say she is forever smiling, and the GSP in her has made her like Velcro, likable like only dogs and young children can be, and very amicable with all who come to visit. Where Doc goes, she goes especially if there is a chance of an outing!!!

    We chatted about the farm, the animals that break through, the proliferation of predators such as Brown Hyena, Lynx, Leopard and Cheetah and how the chaps with the thick glasses and white coats in Universities don’t seem to translate this proliferation into their writing when they publish papers and books on these animals and their natural standing. As we drove along we bumped into heard of kudu cows with about 4 calves in tow and watched them amble off into the bush. The bush in this 400ha camp was dense, the idea was to walk the boundary road where the wildebeest & his spoor had been seen hope for an opportunity to shoot him. We had just got to that section of the farm when we spotted a lone waterbuck heifer. She had also broken into the farm and the decision was made to remove her as she really was going to spend a lonesome existence on Leemetford, her lot was now rations. Doc stopped the bakkie with her standing approx 200m facing us. It was close to a full frontal target with a sight quarter towards us. I lined up where the left shoulder, neck and chest meet and squeezed off the shot. The effect was dramatic, she reared up and took off at right angles to the road, into the bush. We waited a few minutes then followed suite, with Patrys leading the way on the scent, she was off like a flash to where the waterbuck was standing then into the bush, within a minute she was back on the road all wiggles and excitement, now Patrys will track live game, but if its dead she ignores it flat. Eish the bush was thick, either the buck was dead or gone. My heart sank at the thought of the latter.

    We spent the next 30min or so walking overlapping semi circles in about a 100m, radius from where the waterbuck was shot, nothing, not even a drop of blood. Further sank my heart. Doc Willie being the gentleman he is made the very practical suggestion that I should get going on the Wildebeest hunt and he will look for the waterbuck, he wanted to bring the tractor and “mow the lawn” on one of the feeder roads near to where the buck was shot so he’ll do that, as he said, if the buck is to be found it will be.

    With that I shouldered by backpack, rifle and pride and set off. The late afternoon was quite pleasant with temperatures around 30C and a light breeze, I spent the next 2hours tracing the outline of the farm, spooked a steenbuck and came close to young kudu bull (but on the wrong side of the fence). The bird life on the farm is great, Drongos, Rollers, Guinea Fowl, Francolin and a number of Korhaan were spotted along with the ubiquitous Yellow Billed Hornbill and Cape Turtle Doves calling in the background (that evening we even heard a Black Headed Oriole calling). After a long, but very pleasant walk I found myself back at the farmhouse sans wildebeest. I had seen spoor but nothing was fresh, we postulated that it might well have broken back into the original farm. Ah well c’est la chasse.

    Doc hadn’t been able to go back to look for the waterbuck as the grass-cutter had stripped a bolt and he had spent the time fixing that. But there was enough daylight to make it worth a trip, so with the final nut in place we mounted the tractor and bounced off to go have a look…

    Not wanting to waste time we took the road that Doc wanted to mow and headed for the fence, both of us scanning the surrounding bush and Patrys weaving herself in and around the trees, next thing Doc called out “daar is die waterbok!!” by chance she was lying under some low trees about 3m from the road we were on, and about 20m from where she was shot, stone cold dead. Both of us has probably walked past her about 3 times and due to the thick bush missed her, but when seated on the tractor (about 2m above the ground) she was plain as day to see. My heart lifted out of my boots and settled firmly back in my chest. Patrys didn’t seem to understand out jubilation, she had the look of someone who known the secret long before we did.

    Back at the farmhouse we got ready for the dressing, Doc who had hunted and eaten waterbuck before was prepared, with surgical gloves on we set about to skin the carcass, with me pulling and holding back the skin and Doc working the knife. The Lore on waterbuck is the oils on the skin make the meat unpalatable if brought into contact so this was to be avoided. The coat does have a very oily feel to is and a distinct odor – not pungent but none the less noticeable. Once skinned the carcass smelled just like any other game animal.

    But back to the post mortem: To my astonishment there was little external bleeding, a smudge of blood on the coat where the bullet had entered, everything else happened inside the chest cavity. My shot had been true, had entered the chest, penetrated the left atrium and completely severed the aorta resulting in rapid internal bleeding. Doc discussed the maths on blood capacity, incapacitation at what level of blood loss a mammal will enter shock and lie down. Basically, a mammal should have 700ml of blood per 10kg of body weight. A mammal will collapse after 20% of their blood has left the vascular system. So, for example, if you shoot a Wildebeest weighing in at 150kg, they will have roughly 10.5lt of blood. They need to shed 2lts before they go lie down. This explains why we hunters sometime follow blood spoor for quite a distance. The flecks we see on grass and leaves probably don’t get near a quarter of what is needed. The bullet had penetrated all the way into into the rumen and during the gutting we heard it fall, but as it was dark, and we were under a tree we couldn’t find the spent projectile to see how well it held up to it task, but suffice to say I suspect it did well as there was a notable “clunk” sound as it hit the metal bed of the grass cutter. The bullet has passed through ribs, scapula and much of the internal organs. Based on the sound alone I suspect the ProAmm 180gr held up better than the brown box PMP 180gr ammo I shot a wildebeest with last year.

    With the waterbuck skinned, gutted, washed, quartered and hung in the cool room, we rinsed up and spent the rest of the evening under a tree, beside the fire, deep in conversation about topics that only a good scotch can get you too, notably hunting, history, dogs, farming and life in general, admittedly we only missed seeing in Sunday by a few minutes.

    In the morning we set up the kitchen in the farm house. The quarters were brought in and we set about to cut it down. Biltong cuts and mincemeat for the rest, my potion of meat was blocked and set to be taken home to be turned into wors, drywors and some stewing meat. Doc also has some sheep and specifically tinkered with some breeds to get one that has a high fat content, nice fatty tails were added to the mince.
    Doc was kind enough to give me a nice fatty tail to take home for my wors.

    There were a lot of lessons to be learnt, much on tracking, taking note of where the animal was when shot (this I forgot to do – Doc did), perseverance when it comes to finding shot game and lastly perspective. The perspective from the top of the tractor was different from that on the ground – this of course can be applied anywhere in life, it pays to look at things differently. I cannot thank Doc Willie enough for not only the invite but also the hospitality and great conversation. It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. Oh and guess who is having waterbuck wors for lunch…
    Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck


  3. #3
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    I know, on this one I never took any pics , sorry...
    Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

  4. #4

    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Well written !!! I enjoyed reading that. And well done on the WB.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Nice story mate, dankie vir die deel!

  6. #6
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Thank you
    Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Nice story Cordite. Please your heart is no longer in your boots. BTDT :-)

    Thanks for sharing.
    Recent studies show that 1 out of every 3 liberals are just as dumb as the other 2

  8. #8
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Thank you, that was well worth a read on this Monday afternoon. I hope you got invited back for the wildebeest.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Quote Originally Posted by Proudprado View Post
    Thank you, that was well worth a read on this Monday afternoon. I hope you got invited back for the wildebeest.
    We'll I'll be joining Willie and Gert on the Black Powder hunt in May
    Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: A surprise Waterbuck

    Quote Originally Posted by camouflage762 View Post
    Nice story Cordite. Please your heart is no longer in your boots. BTDT :-)
    Relief like no other
    Don’t take life too seriously, no one gets out alive.

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