Kudu the spell is broken!!!!

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H&Hhunter

H&Hhunter

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Hey guys just got back from Africa. I've had bad luck with kudu in the past well the spell is broken!!:)

Besides being the first nice kudu I've ever killed this is the first big game animal I've ever taken with a bow. I shot him from a blind over a water hole at 17 yards. i hit him behind the shoulder with a carbon 6575 arrow tipped with a 125 gr G-5 montech broadhead.

At the shot the bull trotted off for about 40 yards and layed down never to get up again I saw him go down from the blind.

As i was waiting for him to expire a troop of baboons came in to the water and noticed the kudu down. They went over to him and started to taunt the dying kudu. That was an amazing thing to see! After about twenty minute I got out of the blind which spooked to baboons.

Being my first bow kill my first good kudu and the first day of the trip it was a great day!!

Needless to say we had a bit of a celibration in camp that night!!
 
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Kudu #2

On day 3 I went to different ranch with my PH Johan Herman. I wasn't really in the market for another kudu however.......I was given permission to shoot another but only if it was a BIG one.

I spent the morning in a blind on a water hole and saw some very nice impala a great water buck and a jackle. But didn't shoot anything.

Later we decided to drive around and see what we could see. In the early afternoon we tried another waterhole with no succsess.

Driving out of the ranch we stopped to look at a fine eland bull and some bluewildebeast. When back in the tree line I spotted an ear twitch which materilazed into a kudu. I tapped Johan on the shoulder and clamly said BYGOLLY LOOK AT THAT ENORMOUS KUDU!! (text edited for profanity).

In was definatley back in the market for another kudu at this point. We quickly made a plan and the hunt was on!

Johan sliped the truck out of sight and down wind several hundred yards back into the veld where I was dropped off. the kudu was slowly feeding towards a water hole so I quietly snuck into the wind parrallel to the kudu and set up in a thorn thicket. After what seemed an eternity the bull came into sight and started to feed right towards me.

I had ranged all of the surrounding trees and picked out my best shooting lane. The hunting gods were with us that day as the kudu walked into the open and started browsing on a tree that I had ranged at 32 yards.

Waiting for the kudu to look away from my position was a torturous wait and while it probably only took a minute or two it seemed hours if not days. When the kudu finally looked away I came to full draw and placed my 30 yard pin on the kudus slightly forward quartering shoulder.

At the release the arrow flew right of my intended aiming spot and much to my disconcertion hit him too far forward. I thought at the time it stuck him in the shoulder bone.
:eek: :eek:

I even imagined that that the arrow only penetrated about 3 inches in fact I was sure that that was what I had seen as the bull crashed off into the bushveld. I was sick with despare.

As I raised from my hiding spot with shaking hands I figured that we'd never find this poor wounded kudu and that the jackles would feed well tonight. I dejectedly walked towards the sopt that the kudu had dissapeared into the thorn and started to look for blood. Much to my surprise as I looked through the first thorn thicket not 50 yards away I was given the most beatifull sight on earth a shinny unbeliavably long kudu horn sticking out of the grass with an extremely dead huge bull kudu attached to it.

The Arrow while forward of my intended spot had hit right behind the kudus shoulder bone and had gotten full penetration through the top of the heart. The kudu didn't make it 60 yards.

As you can imagine I was beside myself with joy. The bull is 54" on his long horn and 52" on his digger. What a bull if I say so myself. And what a hunt I kinda like this bow hunting stuff.
 
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At the end of day three I was feeling a little under the weather by night fall I was having trouble breathing my bones were aching and I was starting to cook with fever. I was sweating shivering and generally feeling like the walking dead. By that next morning I was in need of medical care. Johan drove me to the nearest medical clinic several hours away I think. I was so sick with fever that I really don't remember much about the ride. In any case a very professonal staff looked me over and gave me a shot and some pills and some cough syrup. The whole next two days I spent in bed reading capsticks "A man called lion".

I've got to tell you that reading Capstick while in africa looking out the flap of your tent and actually breathing the same air and seeing the same sights that he was writting about is an unbeleavable experience. It was a near religious experience for me. I am still in awe over it.

In any case by the afternoon of the the third day my fever broke enough to do a little frankolin and dove shooting.

By the next day I was strong enough to pull my bow and shoot at a target. While still a bit shakey I was able to make the 70lb Mattews bow sing it's song and place arrows where they needed to go.

The next and last morning I was up with the sun for a hunt. That morning I made a great heart shot on a warthog killing it before it could run 20 feet. (unfortunatley I forgot to take pictures of the warthog I was still pretty sick I guess.)

That afternoon I went to another waterhole to see if I could collect a nice impala or some such minor game to finish the hunt on a good note. As Johan was dropping me off he told me that several months ago a hunter had made a poor shot on an old zebra stallion and it had never been recovered If a saw an old darkly shadowed striped zebra with a bum leg to please shoot it.

After about an hour several young eland bulls came to water along with a herd of giraffe and soon after a herd of impala with one outstanding ram. As I waited for the ram to present a shot I noticed a disturbance back in the bush. As I put the binos on the scene I was able to make out a herd of zebra and on the left and another coming from the opposite direction.

As the zebras came to water the opposing stallions began to fight. I now let things be for a while to see if I could make out the wounded stallion. Sure enough the victor fit the discription of the the zebra in question and I watched as he came into water.

Now I was thinking do I shoot the perfectly possing impala standing at less than 15yards or do I wait and take a chance on the zebra.

I waited and let the impala wander away. The zebra and several mares cautiously came into water. the stallion let the mares water first and then very timidly came into water possing broadside momentarily at 30 yards. I let the arrrow fly and watched it track into a perfect double lung shot.

Even perfectly shot and leaving moor of a blood highway than a blood trail the zebra went nearly a half mile where we found him dead about an hour after the shot. Yet another very awesome experience that I'll never forget. And a fine old zebra to boot. And the best part is that when we skinned him we found the broadhead from the previous wound stuck in the satllions shoulder. What a great way to end a great hunt.
 
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Makes me homesick just looking at the scenery... and that second kudu is a MONSTER! I don't think I've ever seen one with horns that large. Rare to find them that big, these days. Well done, sir! Waidmann's Heil!
 
Rare to find them that big, these days. Well done, sir! Waidmann's Heil!
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Preacherman,
I believe that the correct response is Dankmannsheil!

In any case I'll try it in Afrikanns

Danke Man vie laka.

In any language thanks that is a beatifull bull.;) He actually makes the Roland and Ward book and is way up in SCI if I ever wanted to regesiter him. Not really my style but nice to know I guess.

I've always thought the kudu was right in there for some of the prettiest horns of all the antelope.
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Art I agree,

I've always wnated a nice kudu as I find them quite attractive myself. It's really unbelievable luck to get two nice ones on one trip and with a bow makes the it all that much sweeter.

You make me want to pack my bags...
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Doc with the prices being what they are now in all of Africa you can't afford not to!!...;)
The full price on this hunt including trophy fees for 7 animals tranportation everything, with this PH is cheaper and I mean way cheaper than a guided 7 day public land hunt for elk!!!!!
 
H&H,

Very nice Kudu, where exactly did you hunt, looks like the thorny veldt in the North West province.

I hope you checked yourself thoroughly for ticks, this year was the worst I have ever experienced, in fact my father in-law developed tick bite fever. (8 -10 Days incubation)

I shot this old Askari about three weeks ago, we estimated his age at about 11/12, pulled the scale to 300kg’s

Regards
Jacques

P.S "Baie Lekker"
 
Wow

H&H
I've always said there's nothing in this world that would make me want to leave the good old USA, even for a vacation. Those pictures and some of your old stories are starting to make me think there might just maybe.....just maybe.....be one reason for a couple days excursion ;)

Course, Art has shown us some mighty nice country from down there in his desert too.
I guess I'll just have to saddle up the horses someday and go for it, an if I get my fill here I'll know where I'm goin next :D
 
That is one BIG kudu.

< Note to self, get loads of money, call H&H, GO.

Will finally get to see my best friend's Africa pics this week.
 
Very nice Kudu, where exactly did you hunt, looks like the thorny veldt in the North West province.
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Raggiejack,

Northern Traansval up by Beeteskraal.

Nice bull!!!!

And Baie Lekker for the correct spelling.
 
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