SPRINGBOK

Springboks is the name of the South African National Rugby Union's team. Bokkie, the springbok, is the star of a very cute and funny South African cartoon. I loved watching Bokkie get himself in trouble on the flights over and back. This small but beautiful creature is one of the strongest images linked with South Africa. That is why I wanted to make sure a springbok would be on the trophy list this trip. They have a soft white face with black stripes on the side of the nose. A trophy male will have horns that are thick at the base that curve inward towards each other at the tip. The hunt would take place on Eric's ranch which was the same place I had taken my gemsbok earlier in the day. We saw plenty of springboks over the first couple of hours but never really got a good chance at a shot. Plus, Frikkie wanted to find a "really good" male. I am used to hunting thickets back home in Jefferson, Clearfield, and Clarion Counties. To shoot 150-250 yards in most of the places that I usually hunt, it would go something like this...Fire a shot. Go dig the lead out of tree. Reload it into the cartridge and fire it again at least once. Maybe twice? Deep in the back of my mind I was worried about another long shot. After all, I had already misjudged, to me what was a long shot on blesbok the day before.  We finally found two very nice rams feeding in the open grasslands as we came out of the thorn bush. Frikkie told me the better ram was the one of the right. I thought I had done my homework but in the excitement of the moment, when looking through the scope, I reverted to what I know best-Whitetail. I forgot that springbok is a much smaller animal making me think he was further than he really was. When I shot it felt good but my aim was not true...DARN another warning shot. The pair took off in high gear. A springbok that just had a 30-06 round wizz over his back can really motor. When we caught up to them it was basically the same shot again. When I shot this time a strange thing happened. When the shot hit my springbok the second ram reacted by lowering his head and chasing him trying to use his horns as a weapon. I have seen other turkeys attack a dead or wounded gobbler after the shot but  I never expected that with the African plains. On the follow up, a herd of at least 30 wildebeest crossed the tracks we were on. I thought we were in trouble now. At that moment, Esok proved his outstanding skills as a tracker. In no time at all, he had some how sorted things out and had us back on the track. It was nothing short of amazing to me. When a springbok passes the hair on its back stands up but only for a very short time. It is called pronking. It gives off a very sweet smell too. For the record, of all the game I have tried over the years, hands down springbok is by far the best tasting.

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