The author and his fist kill

By Johan Smit

Hunting with traditional equipment for the first time is a serious matter and takes months of preparation. Believe it or not, but back in 1998 I had to make sure the necessary documentation was in place, and even had to apply for a permit that would allow me to hunt with a traditional bow. I still have that permit. Do not think that the current tumult over the new legislation is something new. It has always been there, but I guess more focus from Government lately is inevitable, especially with the tremendous upswing in bowhunting.

I got up early each morning, put on my full camo gear and sneaked outside to practise for the hunt. On one morning I had to explain to my neighbour that I was not part of some special force. Some mornings he liked to watch, which obviously made it more difficult to practise. After some weeks I figured I was ready and arranged with my brother’s father-in-law, Oom Diedericks to hunt for blesbok or springbok on his farm.

Very early one Saturday morning I was on my way to a farm about 40 km outside Koster in the Swartrigens district. The plan was to meet my brother Nic there, from where we would strategise our stalk. Of course, we first had coffee before making our first attempt for the day. The frost lay white on the plains and in my heart I knew this would not be an easy hunt.
To cut a long story short, at about 13:00 we were back at the house for more coffee and other refreshments, important encouragement for the second shift. I was struggling to figure out why the hunt was so difficult. I had all the necessary gadgets and with all the knowledge I had gained from books and articles, it should have been much easier. I must admit, I did get close, but not close enough – 35 yards to shoot at a springbok sounded too optimistic to me.

After a few more attempts we both realised that a different strategy was required. No blinds or tree stands were available and we had to make ourselves invisible under a “Rosyntiebos”, approximately 15 yards from a waterhole.

It was late in the afternoon and some activities around the waterhole made the hunt even more interesting. A “rooimeerkat” sniffed the air and after a while decided it was safe to take a drink. A gracious kudu bull passed a mere 10 metres from us on his way to the waterhole. Approximately 80 yards away we could see some springbuck grazing towards the waterhole. At once springbuck were all around us, but unfortunately only ewes. I was only allowed a springbok ram. It was getting late and the only ram was 35 yards away and not showing any interest in drinking. After a while, which felt like an eternity, he moved closer to about 25 yards.

My brother will shoot at something nine out of ten times, even if it wasn’t his initial intention. After some pressure from him, my snapshooting style came into action and in seconds the arrow passed through the animal.

At first I did not feel at ease, but Nic congratulated me on a perfect quartering-away shot.

“ He’s down!” he uttered excitedly.
“ How far?” I asked, since I had lost sight of the animal in all the excitement. We immediately began to follow the spoor, not knowing any better, and within 70 yards found my first bowhunt kill. Hunting isn’t always easy when someone accompanies you, but I am glad Nic was there to share in my excitement.

Is there a better and more satisfactory way to hunt than with a traditional bow? I do not think so. If we constantly return to our initial passion for bow hunting, I reckon the wound rate would be drastically reduced. May we always nurse that initial passion, whether it be bowhunting or that which is more important than life.