It was 3 years ago today I took the sequence of photographs in this entry. That day I watched my son achieve a goal he had set out to achieve nearly a year before. When I first told him I was taking him to Africa to hunt with a good friend of mine Richard Leonard, the only animal he was interested in was a Red Hartebeest. I still to this day have no Idea why he was so entranced by the Hartebeest, but it was the only animal he truly wanted to hunt. So began a weekly journey to the rifle range where I taught him to shoot from sticks with a .222 rifle. When he was proficient with the .222 I had him graduate to a .243 then to a 45-70 as I knew there was a possibility he would be using a .375 and wanted him to be comfortable with a bit or recoil. He did well and was soon shooting the 45-70 out to 200 metres from a set of sticks.
When we arrived in Africa and he was given the use of a .308 he was more than comfortable with the rifle. I watched him spend the next 10 days fixated on a Hartebeest, whenever we encountered one we would stalk in and see if it was a worthy trophy but something always got in the way. Some days it was birds others it was an unseen Impala,Springbok or Blessbuck but it was always something. Nearing the end of our hunt he spent a day with a PH and a group of veterinary students, where they darted and live captured 4 Cape Buffalo Bulls, what an experience for the young lad. He later commented to me that it was weird to feel the Bulls Horn Boss and find they were soft when he was expecting them to be hard, so I explained that they harden up as the animals age.
We had a day long lesson in tracking from a Kalahari Bushman named Klaus and he learnt more than I could teach him in a lifetime and I learnt more than I thought I could absorb. But still no Hartebeest was forthcoming and he continued to hunt with the same enthusiasm as he had the first day. All too soon the last day of our hunt was upon us and he was still without his trophy, I took him aside at lunch and had a quiet word, preparing him in the event he failed to secure a Hartebeest, but still he was determined. We had 3 stalks that afternoon and all ended in vain, The PH offered him any other animal we came across, but he politely refused the offer. Then with the sun just about set and us making our way back to the Vehicle the PH spotted a lone Hartebeest Bull, His exact words were" That is a Big Bull" we must get him for you.
 |
| The Bull, moments before the shot |
Quickly we moved about 50 meters through the brush and set up the sticks, the bull stood between some thorn bushes some 150 meters away. Jack took his time and at the sound of the shot the Bull just dropped. A perfect high shoulder shot, Immediately he was overcome with emotion and tears welled in his eyes as we made our way to the Bull. It was a combination of relief, sadness, exhaustion and achievement. He was relieved to have placed a perfect shot and the Bull died instantly, he was sad that his hunt was over, he was mentally and physically exhausted and he was secretly proud he achieved what he set out to.
The series of photographs below document the full range of emotions he experienced, and I was there to share it with him as a Father.
\
Later that night as we sat around the campfire and talked I impressed upon him what I believe to be the ethics of a good hunter. To be thankful you have the opportunity to hunt, to feel some sadness at taking the animal, to always strive to take the animal as cleanly as possible and to enjoy the success of the hunt, be it yours or another hunters success. My son has grown up now and matured into a well balanced independent young man, he has struck out and is making a life of his own, and I am immensely proud of him. I can only hope now that one day we get the chance to hunt again together in Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment