Laurel Ridge Farm: South Africa Hunt 2024 - Part 4 - Springbuck, Blesbuck and Impala

Thursday, August 15, 2024

South Africa Hunt 2024 - Part 4 - Springbuck, Blesbuck and Impala

Day 5 - Sunday July 14

We left early to drive to another property for Eric to hunt springbuck, blesbuck and/or impala. This property is owned by Arnold and his brother. It is a relatively recent acquisition and management practices are still being implemented. Arnold had visited my farm in Ohio so it was kind of cool to go see his farm.

It was a long drive out an unpaved road. The terrain got steeper and the cover thinned out a bit. It was pretty dry country. We got there fairly early and immediately took a drive to spot for game. As we went up a steep slope, both springbuck and blesbuck were spotted up near the top.

We got out and started hiking up. We hiked up to the highest point and started down the other side.

Eric got on the sticks three times but they always moved before a shot could be taken.

At one point, Arnold sent Henry back for the truck and we continued the hike all the way to the bottom and the road where Henry picked us up.

We went into the farmhouse and met Arnold's parents who were just packing up to head back to town. We had a coffee and a nice chat with them. As we were sitting there, Arnold spotted some springbuck across the farmyard. Arnold sent Henry down to the valley with the truck and the rest of us took off on foot after the springbuck.

We caught up with them before long and Eric got on the sticks and got a shot off. Springbuck shot

One shot and down at 125 yard. We repositioned for the photos.

Nice representative of the South African national symbol.

Arnold handles the recovery himself by throwing him over his shoulders and carrying him to the truck in the road at the bottom.

We mount up in the truck and start rolling again. I spot blesbuck on the top of the opposite ridge. We drive around and up so that we can approach them down the ridge with the wind in our favor. Eric gets on the sticks, they move, we chase. Blesbuck on the move

We repeat this 4 times chasing them down from the top to the bottom. Henry meets us with the truck.

It's obvious that I'm slowing Arnold and Eric down in the pursuit of these blesbuck so I join Henry in the truck and we do some spotting as Arnold and Eric pursue them the entire length of the property. A couple more set ups but no shots fired.

We break for lunch. Arnold grills us some of his Dad's venison/warthog sausages - awesome. A short nap is in order.

Refreshed and refueled, we head out again. Almost immediately we spot blesbuck near the highest spot on the property - near where we first saw them in the morning. We drive most of the way up the backside of the mountain and I decide to wait at the truck. Arnold, Henry and Eric retrace our footsteps from the first stalk in the morning. They get to the top, peek over, and there they stand 60 yards below. Eric gets on the sticks and with one shot and he's down.

Blesbuck is bigger than springbuck but eventually Arnold decides to extract him the same way - on his shoulders.

But he had to take him over the top and back down to the truck.

Then we loaded him up, went to the skinning shed, finished gutting and then loaded the truck for the drive back to our lodge.

I skipped a couple of the long stalks and hung out at the truck but I had 18,120 steps and the equivalent of 271 flights of stairs. Lots of contour on this property.

Day 6 - Monday July 15

Last day of the hunt. All Eric has left on his list is an impala. I wouldn't mind (but didn't really need to have) a nyala. Based on these targets, Arnold selects some properties near the citrus orchards in his hometown of Kirkwood.

These orchards in the valley back up to the mountainsides that hold a lot of game. We drive for awhile, get to some overlooks and glass.

Eventually Arnold spots an awesome impala, Eric gets on the sticks and takes one shot at 150 yards. We walk in and it's not hard to track.

He didn't go 50 yards.

We loaded him up to move to a good spot for the photo-op.

And Eric's list is covered. He's a fine impala.

We took him to the skinning shed at Arnold's house in town and then went to a restaurant for lunch. This city hunting has its advantages.

After lunch we're looking for a nyala for me. We spot some way up the mountainside and drive up a hairy switchback road to get to the same elevation as them. We hike cross hill but they are still two mountains over and virtually unreachable. So we descend to hike and glass some more. We check two different properties and as the day is ending, we pull up to an overlook and Arnold spots a nice one standing below us at 160 yards. It's a perfect set up and he's unaware of us. I rush from the truck, get on the sticks, put the crosshairs on the chest, squeeze the trigger and send one over his back. It's my prairie dog head pop up again. Embarrassing.

We go check and there's no blood. We try to pick him out in the heavy cover making an exit but he's gone. Not the way I wanted to end a great hunt but at least it was a clean miss.