Tuesday July 16
As mentioned previously, Eric's family was touring along the Garden Route while we were hunting. We made arrangements to meet up with Jeni, Tommy and Elliott at the taxidermy shop in Port Elizabeth where we planned to drop off skins and skulls before heading to the airport. We were all flying together to Joburg to meet up with the rest of the family coming in from Cape Town.
But first, one of Arnold's traditions is to get some shots with the skulls. Here we are with the skulls from 6 days of hunting.
1.) I should mention that this is my first time hunting dangerous game and my first time hunting with a 375 H&H. It wasn't always pretty. I got the rifle more than a year before the trip. I practiced with it a lot. I didn't shoot off the bench much - the recoil isn't enjoyable there and it doesn't simulate the field activity. I practiced shooting off sticks and I thought that I was shooting pretty well. Certainly well enough to reliably hit the center of buffalo lungs inside 100 yards. I was caught off guard by this "prairie dog pop up" reflex that I developed during the hunt. I don't know why I started popping up out of the scope - I wasn't doing that in practice. The recoil on the 375 makes it impossible to watch your impacts in the scope and I think that I was just so anxious to know what was going on that I started bailing out to look a nanosecond too soon. It was worse when I was rushed or excited. I'm not sure how I'm going to break that habit without a live animal in the crosshairs. It doesn't happen in practice. But I'll work on it somehow.
2.) My objective is always a quick and ethical harvest. I didn't accomplish that a few times on this trip. I need to do better. Eric is a relatively inexperienced hunter but he has been a good shot. This was his first African safari. I've told him before that his time for a "shit-show" will come. It does for every hunter. We didn't recover the zebra and that is a disappointment for all involved. It wasn't due to lack of effort. All of his other shots were good - most were one shot kills. And I don't think the zebra shot was off by much based on the blood seen on the ground and on its shoulder.
3.) This is the first time that I have travelled internationally with my rifles. I've been a member of Safari Club International (SCI) for a number of years but I really haven't participated - I've just read their magazine. I haven't attended meetings or conventions or utilized their member services. For this trip, due to my insecurities about what to expect traveling with rifles, I reached out to the Hunter Information Service at SCI and Barbara Crown was an immense help. I phoned and emailed multiple times over the weeks and months leading up to the trip. She walked me through what to expect, what to do, how to avoid problems, why things are done the way that they are, what the rules are, etc. In short, she helped me avoid any problems while traveling with rifles and it helped to reduce stress.
4.) On travelling with firearms, I tolerated most of the bureaucracy and hassle pretty well. But I have to whine a little bit about re-entering the U.S. in Atlanta - I assume it is the same in other ports of entry. On arrival, you recover your bags and go to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the baggage claim area to recover your firearms. CBP is part of the Homeland Security Department. You wait in line and get called in one at a time to open your case, present your forms, verify your serial numbers, etc, The Agriculture Department tags on to this process and asks for your hunting boots at the same time to kill any seeds that you might inadvertently bring home. When you're done, you lock your guns back up, collect your bags, leave the baggage claim area to go over to recheck your bags for connecting flights. There you are met by another Homeland Security Department agency, TSA. Here you wait in line again, get called up to the agent, unlock your gun case, and watch a confused TSA employee with no urgency stare at your guns. Eventually she wipes them and puts the wipe thru a mass spectrometer - looking for explosives (ie gunpowder residue)? Then you stand there for ages while she is apparently waiting for somebody else to give her a thumbs up so that you can relock the case and recheck it. It is really hard to see what has been accomplished at this TSA checkpoint. It appears like wasted time and effort. What threat has been averted by this checkpoint? At a minimum, you would think that the two Homeland Security Department agencies could consolidate into one process (one line, one case unlocking, one paperwork check, etc). Agriculture, which isn't even part of Homeland Security, figured out how to consolidate their inspection into the CBP check. Is it asking too much for TSA to do the same? Could one agent do both TSA and CBP inspections? Anyway, when a flight arrives from Joburg with lots of hunters, you can easily spend an extra hour on these processes above and beyond passengers without firearms. And it doesn't appear to accomplish much.
5.) We had Global Rescue coverage for this trip. When Joan broke her femur in Cape Town, we contacted them and they really were of no help or assistance. Maybe it was because it happened in Cape Town and not rural Botswana. We found medical care, made travel arrangements, and got home on our own. When we talked to them, they said to get back in touch when we had a doctor's note that said she was able to fly. My impression was that if we did that, they would have told us she was able to fly commercial and make our own arrangements. I guess this coverage may have some benefit if you're injured so badly that you can't fly commercial. Or if you're injured somewhere remote and need to be evacuated to get care. It really was of no assistance or benefit in this case.
6.) Before and after the hunt, we used the Afton Safari Lodge in Joburg Afton Safari Lodge. They were extremely convenient and helpful - especially Elize and the Mr X service to assist with the rifle formalities at the airport.
7.) We had great support and hospitality from everyone involved in the hunt. Arnold, Shelly, and African Select Hunting Safaris are awesome African Select Hunting Safaris. As mentioned previously, Otterkloof Private Game Reserve is a game rich and gorgeous piece of hunting property Otterskloof Reserve. Ricardo and Koosie were great tracker/skinners. Bosnes Lodge was awesome also and we appreciated the time that Henry spent with us. Arnold did the cooking there and we liked it better than the gourmet fare at the previous stop. It was my second time in the Kirkwood area and I'm developing a real appreciation for Arnold's hometown.
Eric and I are not marathon runners or triathletes. We're also relatively inexperienced hunters and certainly not dead-eye shots. We truly enjoy the adventure and love being out in the natural world. We've got a lot to learn and enjoy learning it. It takes a patient PH to deal with hunters like us. Arnold did a great job for us. I think he's able to adjust to the skill, fitness, and disposition of his hunters. He's knowledgeable, hardworking and rolls with the punches. And you feel a part of the family when hunting near Kirkwood.
That's it for the hunt posts. I plan to write one more for the family safari tour.
Related Posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment