The author’s Scythian recurve, made by Lukas Navotny from Saluki Bows.

The author with the kudu bull he brought down with a Scythian recurve.

A shot through the heart brought the kudu bull down quickly.

During the 2009 hunting season Rean Steenkamp hunted much, but to little avail. However, he says, the two animals he did kill made up for the many times he had no success.

I think the kudu is probably one of the most beautiful antelopes in God’s creation. It is surely a monarch in the animal kingdom – an animal with strength, poise and lots of cunning.

Who among hunters would not like to bag one of these wary creatures? Surely, it is the dream of all hunters who visit Africa to shoot a kudu bull sporting horns 50 inches or longer – be it with a rifle or a bow. In any hunter’s trophy hall, does not this beast have a place of honour?
Early in this year’s hunting season I decided I would hunt only with my 50-pound Scythian recurve – a beautiful bow made for me by Lukas Navotny from Saluki Bows. This little design is everything I want in a traditional bow. It is pretty looking and pretty short, and it launches an arrow pretty fast. Even though it is short and very light, it is forgiving and has no hand shock. So, with this fine bow in the hand, I decided if any killing is to be done, it will be done with this here bow.

I imagined how I would stalk many an animal with my new Scythian this year, or how I would hide in a bush, taking advantage of the shortness of my bow. I was very happy with the fact that the short bow would make it possible to shoot from blinds designed for compound bows, and I was sure many an animal would fall by arrows flung from this wicked little bow this winter.

Alas, it was not to be. I stalked, but the animals were too clever for me, or I fumbled at the last moment. I sat in blinds, but not a single animal came. At times many came but I could not shoot. The problem was that I was hunting for meat, and thus the many zebra and waterbuck that nearly blocked my view at a hide I could not shoot, neither the huge kudu bull that proudly pranced in front of me on another occasion. I wanted a kudu cow or a blue wildebeest cow, or else an impala ewe. What walked in were gemsbok, eland, waterbuck, trophy kudu, or blue wildebeest.

On two occasions the right animal walked in at the right time. And on both occasions it was a kudu. Well, I must hurry to qualify my statement – by “right” I mean right at the particular moment – since both times I was hoping for a kudu cow. When a fine kudu bull walk in, it is pretty hard to resist – not to be mesmerized by the animal’s beautiful horns. Not to want to take it. One thing I advise you not to do – do not draw on the animal if you do not plan on shooting it, because should you have it in your sights, you are sure to send an arrow towards its vitals.

On one such occasion I was sitting in a small pop-up blind when a huge kudu walked in. The horns were near the 60-inch bracket – way, way over my budget. I had been in the blind for several hours with nothing coming in that I could shoot, so “wrong” suddenly changed to “right” – and I drew my Scythian back. Fortunately the arrow made a sharp sound against my arrow shelf, which startled the kudu and sent him off to greener pastures to grow even longer horns.

The first kudu bull I bagged with the Saluki Scythian was at Weiter Raum. I wrote about this hunt earlier this year. I was blessed. The animal stood at 15 yards and the arrow struck the heart. It was a great experience and a fine kudu bull. And I made a good friend in Franco Joubert, the owner of the ranch.

Mid-August found me hunting at Moselesele and Ibhala-bhala, Pieter McCord’s twin farms. I had little luck on the first day of the hunt, but early on the second day a group of kudu cows walked in. Unfortunately they chose to feed at the farthest feeding spot, quite out of range of my traditional bow. Only a very young bull came within bow range – which to me is between eight and 15 yards.
Oh, how this little kudu begged me to shoot him, staying in bow range for more than an hour. He was chased off by a huge kudu bull that I longed to shoot, but fortunately had the common sense to leave alone. The little bull came back when the big bull had left, just to be disturbed again by a group of waterbuck. All the time the kudu cows were happily feeding out of bow range.

After what felt like a week, the little kudu walked in again. At this stage I was close to giving up hope and prayed fervently for a kudu or a blue wildebeest that would suit my pocket. It was my last day at Moselesele and probably my last hunting day for this season.

When I looked out of the left-side window, I saw him approaching the blind. I knew this was my chance, this would be the one. This kudu bull had fine horns and a bulky body – but he wasn’t trophy size. And sure enough, he walked right into bow range.

I decided to use a Zwickey Delta broadhead on the Carbon Impact Stealth XP 6500, since a two-blader would penetrate better than a three-blader. The arrow weighed 525 grains in total. As usual, while I waited for the kudu to present his flank, my heart pounded like an African drum. As he turned slightly quartering-away, I waited for him to move his leg a little forward. Then I drew the bow, focusing on a tuft of hair on his side. I imagined the arrow path – a trajectory entering the one side of the lungs and exiting on the opposite side in line with where I could see the leg on the other side of the animal. And then I released the arrow.

When the arrow hit, the kudu started and ran off. I rushed to the opening to follow his path. As he ran off I could see him faltering and then he disappeared behind a bush. I knew he was down!
I called the kill in and an hour later Pieter and his team arrived. As they drove in toward the blind, they saw the kudu on his side about 40 yards from where I shot it. The arrow penetrated the top of the heart. It went right through the kudu, with the Zwickey lodged in the ribs on the opposite side, and the point just beneath the skin.

I may not have taken as many animals as I did during previous hunting seasons, but I will still remember this season as one of the best – the two-kudu season.

pdated: Thursday, December 10, 2009 11:45 AM