•••
• •
O N TA R G E T • •
Hunting season ended...
until next year
JAN-LODEWYK SERFONTEIN
AND, IN THE BLINK OF AN
EYE, THE 2017 HUNTING
SEASON IS A THING OF
THE PAST. WHERE AND
WHAT DID YOU HUNT
THIS YEAR AND HOW DID
IT GO? THE ANIMALS YOU
HUNTED, YOUR SHOTS,
THE STORIES AROUND
THE CAMP FIRE AND ALL
THE LOVELY MEMORIES!
WHY DO WE RETURN
TO THE HUNTING FIELD
EVERY YEAR?
M
ost hunters’ reasons
for going back to the
hunting field differ from one to
the other. They don’t all enjoy
the same successes. Your hunting
season could have been one big
success story, but perhaps you
experienced firearm problems.
Maybe you realised that your cal
ibre choice is not suitable for the
terrain where you hunted. Maybe
the bullets which you used did
not give the desired outcome. The
trophy which you seek every year
may have eluded you again. For
this reason you will return again
next year to try again.
I concluded my hunt in the bush
veld near Swartwater. After good
rainfall the grass was long and the
bush was dense. It was clear from
the beginning that we would have
to shoot over short distances and
that it would not be easy shots.
The standing position would be
the obvious position with grass
and bushes in the way. For this
reason we shot in at 70m, from
the standing position, to make
sure that we are comfortable with
the position and the distance.
The first antelope in my sights
was an impala, late afternoon after
a long day’s walking. All I could
see of the impala at 60m was its
head, and only when it lifted its
head to ruminate, amongst the
grass, branches and leaves. After
I took up my position on the
shooting sticks, I was sure of my
shot over the short distance. I
shoot with the right calibre for
the bushveld, my position is com
fortable and my gun is set in for
the short distance. Now all I have
to do is shoot accurately.
I will return again next year. But
I want to change and test my
equipment first. I want to make
sure that it will work better than
it did this year. Hopefully I will
encounter another impala at 60m.
And hopefully I will have another
opportunity for the head shot.
But next year I want to use a dif
ferent calibre. I want a different
bullet in my rifle and I want to
see if the other bullet works better
than the one I used this year.
My planning for next year’s hunt
has already started. Where I want
to hunt and what I would like
to hunt. My calibre and bullet
that I want to use next year must
be decided upon and tested.
Before I leave for the bushveld, I
must make sure that my planned
changes will be for the better.
But why will I dust my rifles and
sharpen my knives next year?
Test my equipment in the veld
and check whether the marketing
of the manufacturers is correct?
Surely your favourite rifle and the
shot which you will fire must be
part of the reason. But the follow
ing few experiences are the reason
why I love the bushveld and why
I will return next year.
A fire under the moonlight and
stars is a feeling that you cannot
put in words. To wake up at night
with the jackals calling and to see
the stars are more than just some
thing you see and hear. Morning
coffee on the fire, griddle cakes
and fresh liver on the coals. And
to sit quietly next to an antelope,
realising that you have the power
to decide over life and death.
Such moments cannot be put into
words. You can only experience it.
For this reason I will be back in
the hunting field next year.
SENWES Scenario • OCT/NOV 2017
49