The Perfect Hunt

 “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Sylas and his parents (my daughter and her husband) got to “The (Soon To Be) World Famous Meirelles Deer Camp” Thanksgiving night after I had shot my buck. On Black  Friday morning the ladies went to town while the gentlemen had more pressing priorities, specially sighting in or getting used to rifles, in Sylas case a brand new Ruger American chambered in 350 Legend.

For some reason Sylas was very afraid of the potential recoil from his new rifle and it was a battle, involving tears and whining and other unpleasantries, to have him shoot the very mildly recoiling gun a couple times in order to get ready for the afternoon hunt.

Food and time riding my ATV erased any bad feelings from the morning target shooting session and by 3:30 PM we were leaving the more than comfortable club house with a lot of hunter-orange to provide both legal compliance and an extra measure of safety, even if we were hunting private property from an enclosed elevated blind.

Either by design or accident there is a concealed parking spot just yards from the blind and transporting the gear upstairs was no chore at all. Once we were properly and comfortably installed I loaded Sylas’s rifle and placed it securely against a corner and got my most indispensable piece of gear: a pair of binoculars. I will not even touch my rifle before I have identified a potential target through binoculars and assure that a shot would be safe.

But I digress, this story is about Sylas. No more than a handful of minutes after we arrived, a pair of very young deer, probably buck fawns came out from the wood line just west of us and started browsing the late fall vegetation and Sylas asked if he could shoot one of them. My answer was that he could shoot either of them, but should he? They were very young and small deer that would result in very little, but delicious, venison. Was one of those young deer the trophy he was looking for? Besides, while some people use artificial decoys to attract deer, we could just wait and let those fawns be our live decoys. Their presence would provide confidence for other animals that could potentially come into the clearing.

Nothing reinforces a lesson as well as real life practice. I had barely ended my lecture when I saw a brown shape moving rapidly inside the wood line about a hundred yards away. I told Sylas to pay attention as an animal much larger than the ones in front of us was just inside the woods, although I couldn’t tell wether it was a buck or a doe.

Things started to pick up pace as a buck emerged from the woods and slowly walked straight to the blind! I passed the binoculars to Sylas so he could evaluate the buck and the inevitable question came: “Can I shoot him?”

“Of course you can, but he is a bit far away and facing us. Why don’t you wait a little for him to get closer and turn broadside.” 

From that point on it was like if the buck was being remotely controlled. At 54 yards the buck stopped and turned left, showing his right side to us. At this point I handled Sylas his rifle and he rested it on the window rail. The Leupold VX-R was already turned on and the little red dot provided an accurate reference for the young hunter. “Fufu I can’t take the shot. There is brush in front of the deer and at Hunter Safety they said that it is not safe to shoot an animal behind vegetation.”

I asked him to wait until the buck took a step forward and to make sure to aim at a spot directly up from the front leg and about the middle of the shoulder. Again, like by remote control the buck took that important step forward.

After the shot rang and the buck bolted towards the woods Sylas was positive. “I know I hit! The tail went down and he crunched downwards. Only deer that are hit react like that.” Not a bad observation for a ten year old boy.

During the next several minutes we put away our gear, I took off my bibs and heavier coat and got ready for the tracking job. After making sure that the rifle was ready but safe we climbed down and walked towards the spot the buck stood when shot and put nose to the grind stone looking for that magical first drop of blood eventually spotted by the young hunter himself.

Before moving forward we talked about how, if we lost the trail, coming back to first blood was important and that he should mark it, which he did using his red ear muffs. We slowly charged ahead, found more blood and came to inevitable split of the trail. Did the buck kept going west or turned southwards? We discussed the possibilities and found that ferns on the south side looked disturbed like by a running animal.

At this point I told Sylas that we would maybe look for another yard or two and get back to the blind so we wouldn’t risking jumping the wounded buck. It is always safer to let the animal lay down and get weaker than keeping the adrenaline up and trying to escape. But the lesson was almost pointless; as I raised my eyes, fifteen or twenty yards ahead of us was a very dead nine-pointer buck.

I called Trevor who was hunting in the cornfield across the road to help load the buck on the ATV and before taking any pictures made sure that Sylas placed the letzebissen (last bite) in the bucks mouth. This European tradition places a sprig of vegetation, as both a symbol of respect and gratitude, in the animal’s mouth. Immediately afterwards I removed my hat and shaking his hand said “Weidmanssheil” and explained to him that the proper answer is “Weidmannsdank.” 

While hunting is very different than killing, the finality of the kill is what makes hunting real. Taking a life is a very serious action, and in my view the animal should be commemorated with more formality and respect than a high-five. In our rather convoluted times a bit of tradition and propriety goes a long away to make an hour spent in the woods between grandson and grandfather an even more unforgettable experience.

Maturity?

The grey ghost comes into the light

In my opinion the kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is the greatest of Africa's "plains game" trophies, and after reading Ernest Hemingway's "Green Hills of Africa" and Robert Ruark's "The Horn of the Hunter" the desire to hunt kudu took me to Africa on my first safari in 2005.

I got a beautiful Southern Cape Kudu during that safari, and I vividly remember each moment of that trip, especially when my kudu materialized from the bush into the lens of my scope.

Last year I had the opportunity to once again hunt in Africa, even if it was for a very brief  weekend. My friend Fanie Venter made arrangements to have me invited to hunt at Falmouth, a private bow hunting preserve in the Limpopo. The goal was to hunt an impala or warthog, and I already told you that story before (see "The Best Blind I Ever Hunted From").

While hunting at Falmouth I saw a great amount and variety of game, which just served to remind me why Africa is the most desired hunting destination in the world, and early in the afternoon I noticed that a large shadow fluctuated inside a mopane bush, a short distance from the property's only water hole.

I focused at that shadow and tried to be even quieter than I had been before, and then, suddenly, the shadow came out in the clear and became a marvelous kudu bull. What a magnificent site!

The kudu is a very shy animal, and he stood still a long time, not trusting the apparent peace of the water hole. After what could have been an eternity he started to approach, danced around and before he started drinking he lowered and raised his head three times, always ready to bolt away in case of any danger.

When he finally relaxed, if kudus ever do that, and started drinking the tepid water he presented a perfect broadside shot, and I had a knocked arrow at a range of eighteen yards!

I just had to draw my bow and release the arrow. But I did not do that.

Although fully grow in body size, this kudu was not yet a mature trophy. Its horns did not have that last curve that make them "point forward", and the ivory tip was just beginning to show in one side.

I admired that wonderful animal for a long time and never even raised my bow. I had no desire to just kill such a gorgeous animal before he could become an unforgettable trophy that would forever live in the hunter's memory.

Yes, I will hunt kudu again. I will pursue them with all my energy and soul, but I have no intention of pulling the trigger unless I have earned that right. Have I matured as a hunter?

One Shot, One...

Today while shooting SKRAP (trying to hit wobble trap targets from skeet stations) with friends at the Southern Michigan Gun Club, I was listening to some rather “intense” rapid fire coming from one of the rifle ranges and started thinking about the benefits (or lack of) of rapid fire.

On the occasion that I got my first whitetail deer (Opening Day or November 15^th of 2003) someone was just blasting away with what I believe was an extended magazine shotgun, and from first light to 9:00 AM I heard this person shoot at least two strings of eight shots from it.

That was at least a bit unnerving, and today I wonder if that person was a card-carrying member of PETA just trying to keep deer out of harms way!

Anyhow, I just continued to consider the benefits of rapid fire versus deliberate or precise shooting, and remembered a scene from the film “River of No Return”, which besides featuring a wonderfully beautiful Marilyn Monroe, has one of the best dialogues on proper rifleman ship that I ever heard.

Matt Calder (Robert Mitchum) is teaching his son Mark (Tommy Rettig) how to shoot, and before Mark takes the first shot they have the following conversation:

Matt:    “What is important?”

Mark:   “To hit the target.”

Matt:    “When?”

Mark:   “The first shot.”

Matt:    “Why?”

Mark:   “Because I might not get another.”

If that is not the best and most concise lesson on rifleman ship ever, I don’t know where to find a better one.

To continue to pursue the point of accurate shooting versus “spray and pray” I also looked for some for some data on military snipers. Several years ago I read (don’t remember where) that during the Vietnam War on average 12,000 (that is right, twelve thousand) shots of small arms ammunition were required to cause an enemy casualty, while snipers had an average of 1.42 shots per “kill”, or 70% hit ratio.

Finally, I tried to recall my own record of big game hunting (which is not particularly extensive), and if memory serves me, I shot to date twenty-four animals from multiple species, at ranges varying from less than ten feet (alligator which I shot with a .38 Special revolver) to over 300 yards (a Kudu shot with a .30-06 rifle). The total number of shots that I fired at game was twenty-nine, which would result on average of 1.20 shots per kill, or 83% hit ratio.

In no way I want to compare myself favorably against military snipers. First, my shots are at much shorter distance; second, animals are not shooting back at me.

In the 1993 Gun Digest (47^th Annual Edition), Ken Warner, the editor at the time, made “A Modest Proposal” (page 6). Basically he proposed that the sportsmen should limit the amount of ammunition they bring afield as a way to either cure or prevent slob hunters.

The point is that we hunters, shooters and sportsmen are probably much better if we concentrate in being better shots than just increasing the amount of lead and other metals that we pour in our woods, fields and mountains.

This is not only safer and good for the environment, but also easier on our wallets and brings more game to our ladders.

Becoming a Hunter...In Germany

Wild Boar at the entrance of the Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum

We all know how hard it is to become a new hunter around here (here being Southwest Michigan, USA). If you were born after January 1^st, 1960, you will need to get a hold of Greg Anderson or other Hunter Safety instructor and sign-up for a course that may consume two full Saturdays and cost you ten dollars. Greg will feed you very well on those two days, but most people will complain about the price. Then you will have to take a test that most children twelve and older will pass, but again, you may complain.

After that you will receive a Hunter’s Safety Card, and you can go to any of the thousands of retailers that sell Hunting & Fishing licenses and complain again for paying fifteen dollars for a “small game” or the same amount for a deer or turkey license. For waterfowl you also need to buy a Federal Duck Stamp for the princely sum of twenty dollars.

Finally, if you don’t have access to a private property, you may have to call the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to receive, free of charge, maps for thousands of acres of public land all over the state. But again you will complain that public land is too crowded and there is no good hunting there.

Well, in order to make us Michigan (or most American) hunters feel less miserable I had a long conversation with my friend Thomas Fritz, who lives in Southern Germany, and is currently in the process of becoming a hunter, which off course includes getting his first German hunting license.

The odyssey is more or less like this: first you decide that you want to become a hunter, and then you find a way of setting time aside for the four to six months required to complete the course.

A minimum of one hundred and thirty hours of theory are administered on Mondays and Thursdays (two hours each evening), and on Saturdays you will have field activities, shooting lessons and veterinary training in order to identify potential illnesses in the game animals or its meat.

After that you will take a written test on the following subjects: animal natural history & health, hunting practice, forestry & farming, hunting dogs, and hunting & firearm laws.

Then you will take a shooting test that includes:

·         Handguns (although German law prohibits hunting with handguns, they may be used for “coupe de grace” or dispatching wounded or trapped animals);

·         Shotguns: a minimum of 150 clay pigeons (but not shot on a single day), and 10 rabbit targets. The hunter must hit at least half of the targets;

·         Rifles: five shots from bench at 100 meters (must hit 9-ring or better) and five shots off-hand at “running game” (must hit 5-ring or better). In both cases, the three best shots count for score.

Finally there is an interview or oral test during which the “hunter-to-be” must be able to identify several animal “parts” and if approved in all tests the person can now apply for a hunting (and also trapping) license. The cost up to this point is about three thousand Euros or about four thousand dollars.

At some time during the process, it is necessary to become a member of a hunting club or society, and along the duration of the course, the “hunter-to-be” can be a beater on drives or even gut animals under the supervision of a licensed hunter, but he cannot handle firearms. Actually he cannot purchase firearms or ammunition without the hunting license.

The cost of the hunting license is ninety Euros (about one hundred and twenty dollars) and is valid for three years; however there is no public land available for hunting, and therefore it is pay to play. Either the hunting club has a leasing, or the hunter pays for each animal. A deer typical cost is three thousand Euros (four thousand dollars), while boars are much less due to overpopulation.

One of the alternatives to make hunting costs more manageable is to sell the game meet, which is legal in most of Europe, and this is one of reasons that animal health is one of the required subjects of the hunting course.

Similar to the United States, Germany is facing a declining on the number of hunters and the complexity and cost associated with new hunting licenses is probably one of the reasons. One of the consequences is that ungulate wildlife (deer and boars) is on the rise throughout Germany with associated damage to the environment (over browsing) and crop depredation, and foresters are requesting hunters to shoot as many deer and boars as possible.

If you are willing to volunteer to control the Germany wildlife population, foreign hunters can apply for a limited term (14 days) license, but Thomas was not aware of the specific rules. But even as volunteer you may have to pay your own way.

Different countries have diverse and very particular culture, and one is not inherently better than the other, but just different. The point is that many times it is difficult to appreciate what we have without parameters for comparison.

From what I could learn while traveling the world, talking with friends and researching the subject, the North American wildlife conservation model is the most inclusive and affordable in the world. Let’s cherish that.