Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

30 SPORTING GUN M AY 2019 http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

sentences.Owenrecalledpursuingone
determinedpoacherover7kmofbush.“He
hadliterallyruntheclothesoffhimselfinthe
bush.Wefoundhisdogswheretheyhadbeen
leftexhaustedalong the way, but we never
caughthim.”
Asfarascostgoes,youmaybesurprised
athowaffordablea safaricanbe.If trophies
arewantedit canincrease,buteventhenby
lessthanyoumightexpect—a bigwarthog,
matureimpalaramora goodkudubullcost
€175,€300and€850respectively.Gudfinnur

transporttoandfromtheairportandfull

board.Youcouldcompareit toa dayofdriven

grousewithlunchthrownin,a handfulofbig

daysofmixedgameshootingora comparable

periodofhindstalkingintheHighlands.It ’s

a bigexperienceandworthsavingupfor.And

if youdecidethatyouwanta specialtrophy to

take home, you can always add it in.

Conservation

Huntingisdirectlyresponsibleforthe

increasingabundanceandwidedistribution

IN THE FIELD

Ourshoot

hasdisappearedinthefaceofa land-hungry

humanpopulationandrampantpoaching.

Asweglasseda groupofmagnificentkudu

bullsa fewdayslaterI jokedthatoneseemed

tohavea limp.I knewinmyheartthatI had

neitherthefundsnorthespaceforsuch

a largetrophy.Buthalfanhourlater,following

a heart-stoppingstalk,wewereinpositionfor

a shotatoneofthem.It maynothavebeen

limpingbutit wasinpoorcondition... Maybe

I hadthespaceafterall...

InHornoftheHunter, Ruarkwrotethat

huntingisallaboutfeedingyourpeople

andyourmemories.I certainlyboarded

thereturnflightatPortElizabeth with

some truly special ones.

andI hadeachchosena cullpackageofup
to 14 animalsfroma varietyofspeciesacross
eighthuntingdays.Thesewouldbeselected
byourprofessionalhunterstobalancegame
populationsandfocusonold,injuredor
excessbreedinganimals.Therewouldbe
notrophyfeesbutanoptiontokeepskinsor
horns. The price of €2,950 (£2,500) included

ofgameinSouthAfrica,whereit isworth
$100milliona yeartotheeconomy.Thewild
gamepopulationofthecountryisestimated
atwellover 20 millionhead,comparedwith
justhalfa million 50 yearsago.Speciessuchas
thesable,bontebok,Capemountainzebraand
blackwildebeesthavebeenbroughtbackfrom
thebrinkofextinction,andthewhiterhino
hasgrownfromaroundlessthan 100 animals
intheearly1900stoover21,000today.
SouthAfricanowholdsaround 90 percent
oftheworld’swhiterhinos.Thisgrowthhas
beenalmostentirelyenabledbysustainable
hunting.Butit istruetosaythat,despitethe
protestsofprotectionistswhocontribute
plentyofrhetoricbutverylittlemoney,
anythingthatdoesnotpayforitselfissoon
gone.InKenya,wherehuntingwasbanned
On track: the team at Lanka Safaris in the 1970s, 85 per cent of the wild game

Afemalekudu

andtherifle

that killed her

Successfulsafaritips

• Behonestaboutyourshootingability.
  Ifyouareuncomfortableaboutshooting
  overlongerrangesmakesurethatyour
  professionalhunterisawaresothathe
  doesn’tasktoomuchofyou.


• Behonestaboutyourfitnessand
  anyphysicallimitationssothatdays
  canbetailoredtosuityourabilities.


• Spendsometimeontherangebefore
  youtravel.Shootingcanbeatlonger
  rangesthanintheUKand,if youarenot
  usedtoshootingoffsticks,practiceis
  essentialasthickbushoftenprevents
  moreconventionalshootingpositions.


• Thereisnoneedtotakeyourown
  rifle.Youroutfittershouldbeable
  toprovidefirearmsinappropriate
  calibresandyourstaywillinvariably
  startwithazeroingsession.


• Ifyoudowanttouseyourownrifle,
  checkbeforehandwiththeoutfitter
  thatthecalibreissuitable.Alsocheck
  thatyourchosenairlinewilltransport
  firearms.Unlikemanycountries,South
  Africaallowstheuseofmoderators.


• Suitablefootwearwithankle
  supportandgoodgrippingsoles
  isrequiredbutavoidheavyboots
  thataremoresuitedtocolderand
  wetterBritishconditions.


• Africandaysbecomeveryhotbut
  morningsandeveningscanbechilly,
  sotakea fleeceorwarmjacket.Most
  outfi tterswillprovidea comprehensive
  list of what you need.

Behonestabout

yourfitnessand

shooting ability

“Iheldthecross-hairsonher

shoulder,steadied myself,let

mybreathoutgently and

squeezed the trigger”