African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.

Walking & stalking Africa's plains-dwelling antelope - Johan van Wyk

I was born and bred in Africa's bushveld country. I shot my first big-game animal, a huge old warthog boar, amidst the Northern Transvaal's thorn bushes and we had to carefully snake the old Land Rover through southern Zimbabwe's mopane trees to retrieve my first kudu. To this day, my favourite pastime is still-hunting for kudu and impala in thick bush, one step at a time. Even so, I have to admit that hunting on Africa's open plains offer a whole different dimension to hunting.

I suspect the majority of blesbuck and springbuck shot annually in South Africa are killed either from vehicles or by the voorsit method. The open areas of our country like the Kalahari, Karoo and Free State quite often offer very little in the way of cover for stalking and, as most hunters are usually pressed for time, alternative methods are often used to get a bit of meat in the cold room. During the past few hunting seasons, however, I made time on a few occasions to deliberately hunt in the traditional walk-and-stalk method for gemsbuck, blesbuck and springbuck. In spite of the fact that my wobbly knees and ample backside have gained a new respect for the Karoo's broken ridges and stony ground, the results have been surprising and hugely enjoyable, to say the least.

The fist attempt was in the Eastern Cape's Oviston Nature Reserve. The reserve consists for the most part of open grasslands, broken by steep and rocky ridges offering good spots to glass for game from. I spent many long hours on the first morning slogging after a herd of elusive gemsbuck, totally confusing the guides. They were more used to visiting hunters shooting game from vehicles (and this includes almost all of the overseas hunters who hunt on parts of the reserve when guided by local PHs ...) and were less than enthusiastic at my suggestion that we leave the comfort of the Land Cruiser and brave the early morning chill in search of my gemsbuck. All worked out fine in the end, though, and I shot a beautiful gemsbuck out of a small herd, but not before earning him the hard way!

The first herd we encountered contained a truly spectacular bull with long, wide and symmetrical horns and we spent at least two hours trying to get close enough for a shot. I came close once: lying flat on my stomach with my rifle resting on a convenient ant heap, I could only watch helplessly as the bull kept pacing up and down at the back of the herd. I shifted around to keep track of him a few times, but to no avail. Eventually, my tired, confused and footsore guide gave the game away by raising himself into a crouch behind me to get a better look at the herd. For a fleeting moment the huge gemsbuck bull looked right at me with his beautiful horns skylighted behind him before breaking into a gallop and disappearing over a distant ridge with his companions in tow ... Thus I learned another lesson: better to hunt alone on the open plains, game will be less likely to spot you. Also, a little patience is a wonderful virtue.

By day three the guides were resigned to doing things the hard way and the only animal remaining on my quota was a springbuck ram. Early on the last morning, we climbed a steep hill overlooking a huge plain and had only gone about a third of the way up when I saw the sun glint off a pair of springbuck horns. It was a lone ram that had probably been soaking up the early morning sunshine when we spooked him. He didn't see us though, and he stood in typical fashion with ears forward and eyes straining no more than 20 metres in front of us. The problem was that I would have to turn around almost completely to bring my rifle to my shoulder, and by the time I managed that and had the bolt closed on a cartridge he had seen and heard us and disappeared over a ridge. The day was still young, though, and we continued on our way to the top where we spent an hour or so glassing for springbuck. I spied a number of loan rams in the distance, down below us on the open plains and closer to the water's edge.

They were very far away and when I pointed them out to my guide he grimaced and was clearly not very happy at the long walk facing us. Forty minutes or so later, though, we were nearly halfway across the plain and nearing the spot where I had seen the first lone ram. As if on cue, I saw a springbuck raise its head a few hundred metres in front of us and as I looked through the scope I saw a pair of horns resembling the handlebars of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. They were beautiful, and I immediately made up my mind that we would hunt this springbuck for the rest of the day. Well, to make a long story short, we tried every trick in the book to get the ram but he apparently had a degree in evading hunters as the closest we managed to get to him was about 200 metres – too far to shoot without a proper rest. By about 12h00 I had to admit defeat and we started walking in the direction of the Land Cruiser.

We were passing a small ridge to our left when I saw a female springbuck canter past, followed by a reasonable ram, no further away from us than 100 metres. In front of me was a convenient anthill and I rested the rifle over it and closed the bolt. As I found the female in the scope she suddenly stopped and turned to look in our direction. The ram did likewise but it was too late as the 165-grain bullet from my .30-06 put him down a second or so later. He was a fine ram, certainly not the big fellow from earlier, but quite an acceptable consolation prize nonetheless, and I was well pleased.

The 2007 hunting season found me again hunting in the Eastern Cape, this time not far from Aliwal-North (at times so close that you could spot the town from a certain ridge on the farm – you'll recognise the place immediately if you are ever unfortunate enough to hunt there ...). In spite of wonderful assurances of plentiful game, the five hunters in our party travelled many miles to see only the occasional game animal. At first, I had wanted to shoot a nice mountain reedbuck, something I've been searching for for quite a while. The farmer assured us he had plenty of them and that it shouldn't be a problem. When a member of our party managed to shoot a very respectable ram on the first morning the farmer's son haughtily informed us the next morning that their quota for mountain reedbuck rams were suddenly full. We were welcome to shoot as many females as we wanted to, though...Seemingly the only blesbuck on the farm was a herd of about 60 animals that started running the moment they saw any sign of either man or vehicle. To say that they were in a permanent state of readiness would be a vast understatement!

To make a long story short, I did manage to shoot a blesbuck on the last afternoon. I spent the best part of three hours crawling through rocks and long grass to get a clear shot. At the end I was rewarded with a clean kill on an ancient old blesbuck ewe, so old the ridges on her horns were nearly worn smooth. She was in excellent condition, though, and I was well satisfied at the result. Again, as I nursed my bruised feet that evening in front of the fire with something to douse the pain in my weary fist, I felt nothing but satisfaction at the outcome of the hunt. The very jittery animals and the extremely rough terrain made it a most challenging hunt and I felt I had really earned that old blesbuck.

In my opinion, a number of things will make life a little easier if you decide to tackle that elusive herd of springbuck on foot during your next visit to the Karoo. The first and foremost piece of kit is a good set of boots. In my opinion, too many people arrive with boots that are perhaps comfortable enough but make far too much noise for my liking, and many of the new-fangled hiking boots are guilty of this particular sin. A bit of ankle support is essential, especially if you will be hunting hilly or rocky terrain, and it goes without saying that your chosen hunting boots should be comfortable and well broken in. Next is a good set of binoculars. I use a pair of compact Steiner 8x22's and, for such a small set of binoculars, they offer superb optical clarity. They are very reasonably priced compared to other German or Austrian-made binoculars and their small size ensures that they fit into the top pocket of my hunting vest. They are an indispensable part of my hunting couture.

Also, if you plan on doing things the old-fashioned way a high-magnification scope is not essential. I carried a borrowed Nikon rangefinder during the last trip to the Eastern Cape and constantly measured the distance to various game animals during the course of my hunt on foot. Not a single animal was further away than 150 metres during the whole time, and eventually I shot the blesbuck from a distance of 133 metres, resting the rifle over my camera bag perched on a fallen fence post. If your rifle is fitted with a fixed 4-magnification scope, my feeling is that you will be just fine. A friend even uses an open-sighted .416 Rigby for the very same purpose, so don't be fooled by the sight of high-magnification scopes on heavy-barrelled rifles. What you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts and a heavy scope is both more awkward and heavier to carry along.

For a hunt of this kind, I'm sure a set of three-legged shooting sticks would come in just perfectly handy. However, as you will almost certainly be carrying everything you intend to use yourself and most decent shooting sticks are a bit awkward to transport at the best of times, they won't always be handy when you need them. If a guide or tracker is provided, I'm usually only too willing to let him carry the shooting sticks. On a recent hunt I saw the longest face ever on a guide – my friend hauled a heavy beanbag out of his Land Cruiser and handed it with a smile to the tracker. The poor man's face dropped as he hefted the bag's 10-kilogram weight and he kept struggling with its awkward shape as they disappeared into the hills. My friend shot a beautiful springbuck over that very same bag an hour later, but all my sympathy went to the guide. I would not have carried that bag in those steep hills even for a very considerable tip! Shooting sticks and beanbags aside, I have found another alternative that works very well for me: a small, square-shaped camera bag. The particular model I use, a small black number made from canvas or nylon or something like similar, is fitted with a long sling and is light and small enough not to be a hassle. In addition to the comfort of having your camera handy when you want it, the bag is sturdy enough to support the fore-end of my .30-06 and I have shot more than a few animals whilst resting my rifle over it. I'm sure there are other alternatives as well, but for me my little camera bag works just perfect.

If you have not hunted animals that traditionally prefer the open spaces according to old fashioned ways, I can heartily recommend it as a new and surprisingly difficult challenge. The lack of cover combined with the animals' inherent alertness (after all, their only defence mechanism is to put as much distance between them selves and the danger source – they don't have the luxury of plentiful cover as the bush-dwelling antelopes do) requires a completely different set of tactics to bring home the venison, so if you are ever on the open plains with a spare afternoon on your hands, take my advice and head for the hills without skietstoel or Land Cruiser. You will not be disappointed, I promise!