Harkerville Hike

 One of the most beautiful hikes, but also one with the most extreme hill climb at the end of day one.

Vicky Wes - Unplugged

 When I bought my .243 Rifle for springbuck hunting back in 2012, I had serious intentions of doing some on-foot hunting and therefore selected a rifle with low weight and the least add-ons. Even the silencer, a Hunt-Buddy from Silent Hunter, was selected for it's small size and low weight.

Me and Jors talked a lot about this and planned trips for doing just this - hunting springbuck on foot. As life goes, such a trip never took place at that time unfortunately.

To be honest, in the past 9 years, there were several occasions where I regretted my choice, for example the thin barrel of the rifle that heats up very quickly and starts throwing around lead all over the place after 5 to 6 closely consecutive shots. This was mainly at shooting comps where me and Tiaan (my son) had to shoot with the same rifle and had to fire 10 shots in under 5 minutes. The person shooting second, always got  a bit of a raw deal, missing the gongs on 300 and 350 meters unintentionally.

Well, I finally got my on-foot-springbuck hunt, thanks to my friend Ruhan who organized this for us with Danny in Victoria West. I rode with the bike up to Uniondale where we met and drove the rest of the way with Ruhan's bakkie.

The "Fat Lady" - fully loaded

Stopped at Joubertina for a quick coffee:

Driving  through the harsh and barren Karoo with good music.

Ready for the hunt on foot.

The Blesbok Saga:

Saturday Night Galjoen braai:

Mission: Chocolate Springbuck:

Visiting Caveman building site from the past:

 

Passing on the skills to the next generation.

 Pest control can be more difficult than normal hunting, but it can be a good introduction to hunting as it may offer more opportunities.
Teaching the next generation how to shoot is important and it starts with target practice. When they are proficient and the moment comes they should be given the opportunity.
She spotted this troublemaker first and therefore earned the right to take it out. Shot placement was perfect and it took only one shot for an immediate kill. The shot taken at 120m.

This was part of a troupe that got into the electric fence and causes havoc for several weeks before she managed to get them with the .22Hornet , shots ranged between 80m and 160m

I managed to get some meat for the freezer as hunting is difficult this year despite all the difficulties.
A good sized cow taken with a headshot at 200m

A young bull that had to be culled.