This blog is written by 15-year-old Logan van Wyk, sharing the thrills and spills of African plains game hunting in the Karoo. Logan is a keen conservationist and hunting enthusiast.

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An Early Start

This trip started off as usual, I was up extremely early to face the dreaded car ride for a family holiday. Luckily on this car ride to the hunting safari destination, it wasn’t all five of us cramped up together with no leg room in a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Instead, it was the guys in the Cruiser and the girls in the Hilux. We were up early and left at around 4 am and arrived on the farm at around 1 pm. We stayed in an old house with some cool trophies, that perfectly set the scene for our game hunting safari. We were greeted by a large group of Ankole cows that freely roamed the concession.

The Destination: Vidarust

The farm’s name was Vidarust and was home to some animals that were considered “feral” and other animals that all freely roamed on the 3,000 hectares. We were not planning on doing a large amount of hunting as we had already done plenty of meat hunting for the year, but we did not stay true to that.

My brother Slade had broken his shoulder two months prior while playing rugby, he had pulled the AC joint and fractured two different bones which meant that I had done all of the family’s hunting, but on this hunting safari his shoulder had almost fully healed, and he was keen to do a lot of hunting. Although not having shot in over three months and unsure of what damage the recoil could do, it seemed as if it was time for him to shoot again. The recoil didn’t hurt, and the recovery timing was perfect. The fact that I had injured the tendons in my foot a week before the trip also meant that Slade could’ve potentially done a lot more hunting than me. With my foot aching constantly, I did not plan on doing any major walking.

South African hunting is either done in thick bush, tall grass, or long shots in large plains. At this specific farm, long and accurate shots were the only key to success. But before going out and hunting we had to stop at the shooting range and sight in our rifles from the appropriate distances. After a couple of shots later we had sighted in Tam’s 300 Win Mag and her CZ 7x62x39 (AK47 round) for 200 yards. Unfortunately, we were recommended that all our hunting was done from the vehicle, with the flat terrain combined with the fact that we were one of the last groups of the season, the animals were constantly on high alert which is always an added challenge while plains game hunting in Africa. The fact that we weren’t hunting on foot did help us, the chances of finding animals on foot are arguably a lot lower due to the size of the concession. If we were to eventually find some it would be tough to get close to them because of the flat terrain. All these factors add up which makes South African hunting unique and entertaining because other challenges are also faced by the vehicle.

African Plains Game Hunting

After the range, it was time for the real thrill of the hunting safari to kick in by going to take a quick drive around to see what we could find. We were at first hoping to get three or four Springboks in the freezers and maybe a feral animal they had to offer. Driving around for an hour or so we ran into two herds of Springbok, and both herds started to run at over 350 yards away. The only animals we could get reasonably close to were Black Wildebeest and Blesbok. The Wildebeest have incredibly unique defense styles, with them being in such large herds and almost nowhere for them to run and hide, they will run in consistent circles around one another, always moving around and rarely standing still. This gives a hunter and predator the difficult task of keeping an eye on the specific one that they want to hunt. Another problem with these animals is that there were also Kings Wildebeest that walked with them.

These animals are triple the value and the farmer had said that he did not want them shot. The only way to identify the difference between the two was that the Kings Wildebeest had a small white patch near the base of its horns.  Seeing that little spot isn’t easy while plains game hunting in Africa because of the distance we were shooting at.

While driving around and searching for a Wildebeest to shoot we stumbled along a herd with some very nice bulls and cows.  Following this herd was a Blesbok, which surprised me because Blesbuck will generally stick to their own species.

A Welcome Surprise: An Expected Blesbok Trophy

With the wildebeest running around in circles, the hunters must follow their progress and choose one to zone in on. After doing this for a little while there was finally a nice-sized bull that stopped. I quickly aligned my crosshairs and aimed just in front of the shoulder as it was quartering towards me. Having misjudged the distance, and not properly thinking about the effects of the bullet drop, the shot that I had taken went straight below the animal! Being nervous at that distance, combined with completely missing that shot, led to my confidence being at a low. After the shot the animals were all spooked and were running around, a couple of seconds passed after the shot and a shot on the Blesbok presented itself at around 220 yards. By the time I had asked my father if I was allowed to shoot, the ram had taken off once again. Luckily for me, he had stopped again after running only around 20 yards or so. I aimed a little higher than the top of the shoulder and sure enough it was a perfect shot. A little overcompensation but still found in the middle of both lungs, bringing the ram down in a matter of seconds. I finally understood what Blesbok hunting was like as it was the first time I had done it.  More importantly, Blesbok hunting provided food for the family and everyone would enjoy the meals.

After the second shot taken it was safe to say that all the nearby animals were spooked and had bolted. So far, our hunting safari was off to a good start, it’s always a good thing to have meat in the freezer on the first day because when you are plains game hunting in Africa anything can happen! We continued driving around, only stress-free because we knew we wouldn’t leave without anything and hoped that our luck while African plains game hunting would continue.

The Black Wildebeest: A Tough African Plains Game Adversary!

We stumbled into another herd of Wildebeest, that immediately started running continuously, which wasn’t much of a surprise. I looked around through the scope and then laid eyes on a huge bull with no others behind him. With my finger near the trigger, I asked the PH if I could take the shot, with my heart pounding I heard the devastating answer of no. It was apparently the breeding bull of that herd and they did not want him shot. I wasn’t upset with that because we were hunting mainly for meat and I was quite sure that I would be afforded another opportunity.

After waiting a few minutes, the herd started to calm down and wasn’t so energetic. During this process, there was a nice, bodied cow who presented herself with the same shot that I had previously missed. Typically, the female Black Wildebeest weighs around 130 -145kg (286–320 pounds).  I had gained my confidence again and aimed three to four inches higher than my previous target. The shot could not have been any more perfect, it sank right down into the heart which killed the animal very quickly. I could not have been more grateful for the animal to have gone down so quickly, as wildebeest are some of the toughest animals worldwide which is why they are such an attraction for plains game hunting in Africa. If it isn’t a good shot, the animal’s sheer willpower will have a hunter tracking them all over the countryside before they decide to die! They are exceptionally tough antelopes, and are known to “eat lead.”

By the time we had taken photos and loaded the Wildebeest, the sun was starting to set. We made a quick stop at the skinning location to drop the animals off and then headed back to the house. The braai area was enclosed, which helped keep in the warmth of the fire and protected the area from cold winds. After a typical South African braai, which is always good, everybody headed to bed early, in anticipation of a great day’s hunting!

After a good cup of hot coffee, we were ready to get started with some great hunting adventures! I wanted to give my brother Slade a chance to shoot because I had already harvested two trophies on this hunting safari and had been hunting the whole year. So, he was up with the 300 Win Mag, because it hits harder and flies faster than the other rifle we had. We were hoping to get more opportunities on some Springbok and maybe another Black Wildebeest, if we had the opportunity.

Springbok Hunting Safaris

Not long after we left the house we ran into a herd of Springbok. Knowing how quick we had to be based on yesterday’s hunting, there was no time to waste. When hunting game in Africa you will sometimes only be given a second or two to shoot. I did not waste any of that precious time and I squeezed the trigger. The shot was around 260 yards, and the bullet drop got the better of me, with my line perfectly straight I had not shot this far with the smaller caliber rifles and had underestimated how much the bullet would drop.

The line was straight, but the shot was low, I had unfortunately shot the Springbok through its two knees. Although it wasn’t a good shot, I was lucky enough for the Springbok to not be able to run as both knees had been hit.  The Springbok dropped down on the spot but was hidden behind some brush, we drove forward to see if we could get a shot but were stopped by the cattle fences. For a second, I could see the horns through the brush and tried to estimate the bullet drop. Unlike the previous shot, I aimed too high and shot in between the horns of the Springbok and just over its head. Luckily, I had my brother quickly helped by popping one last pull in the neck to get the Springbok out of its misery as quickly as possible.

Hunting in South Africa: New Terrain,  Experiences, and Memories

We were lucky enough to enjoy yet another successful hunting safari, with this being the third one of the year. There have been plenty of animals harvested and there is more than enough food in the freezers for us all. South African hunting is always surprising in different ways, whether it be a new terrain it has to offer or suddenly throwing different species at you it never fails to provide. The animals being on constant alert and spooking from such distances will test the hunter’s speed and accuracy when shooting so far. It will show you how familiar you are with your rifle and will leave you feeling even more confident for closer distances when you leave. It was another remarkable hunting safari that gave me many experiences that I’ve eleven had before.

Author: Logan van Wyk (Age 15 years)