On Shooting
A herdof blesbokintheRiemlanddistrictof theFreeStateinSouthAfrica.A riemis a pieceof rawhide,commonlyusedinfarming
indaysgoneby.Theareagotthisnamefromthehundredsof thousandsof blesbokshotfortheirskinstomakeriems.It almostledto
theexterminationoftheblesbokinthe19thcentury.It is easy to execute them from the kopje in the far distance, but hunting them
on foot with only the longish grass is a real challenge.AHG1045Hunting is more than that. It is about
connectingwithnatureonanintimatelevel–
connectingyourhuntingsoul.It is aboutthe
smellsandsoundsofthebush.It is aboutthe
reactionof animalsandtheinteractionbetween
man orwoman,the animal,andnature asa
whole.Andmostly,it is aboutpittingyourskills
againsta creature thatwas bornto fightfor
survivalandhavea senseofself-preservationfar
superiortoours.Thatis realhunting...
I amof theopinionthatexecutingananimal
from 1000 yards is disrespectful to both the
animal and hunting itself. Why prove long-
rangemarksmanshipona liveanimalwhenthe
riskofwoundingit is somuchhigher? I have
heard fromseveralcloseacquaintances, allof
themeitherprofessionalhuntersoroutfitters,
that they have had numerous requests from
both local South African as well as foreign
hunterstoactuallyincreasethedistance from
the animal they targeted when first spotted.
Apparentlythesehunterswerenotsatisfiedthat
theywere 300 orsoyardsawayandinsistedthe
hunting vehicle (from which they shot) movefurtheraway...
Weliveinanagewheresocialacceptanceor
rejectionof certainpracticescanreachsnowball
proportionsina day– justthinkofthesocial
mediafurorthateruptedwith“CeciltheLion”.
Rightorwrong,thenegativeimpactthishas
onhuntingas a wholeis immense,andposting
picturesandvideosoflong-rangeshootingof
animalsis theproverbial jetfuelonthefire.
Wesimplycannotaffordthis.Inanagewhere
huntingandshootingis underseverepressure
weneedtokeepouractionsabovereproach,
period. I amfullyaware ofthe calls notto
dividethehuntingcommunityasit givesthe
antismoreammunitiontoconquer,butwhere
dowedrawtheline?Havewereacheda stage
where“everythinggoes”?I hopenot.
Is it nowacceptableorwillwebetaughta
lessoninfuture? I donotknowtheanswerto
thisbutI wouldlikeyoutothinkaboutit.Let’s
talkaboutit,andmostof all,let’skeepit real.
Francois van Emmenes has been hunting
sincechildhood,andhashuntedmostplains
game species in his native South Africa.
Hehas written numerousarticles for local
and international magazines on a wide
varietyofhunting,shooting,reloadingand
conservation matters. He has an extensive
huntingbooklibraryandhasa passionfor
“pre-64”model 70 Winchesterrifles,which
he collects. He reloads for all his rifles,
shotgunsandhandguns.Youcancontact him
on [email protected]