Volume 2, Issue 2

HUNTING

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celebrating the hunting lifestyle

Volume 2, Issue 2

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jocelyn Engel PRODUCTION EDITOR Gerdi Fullard CONSERVATION EDITOR Ivan Carter

Volume 2, Issue 2

CONTENTS

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PUBLISHER Huntersinc.com LLC POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 7920 Waco,Texas 76714 USA All copyright of the contents herein is held by the publisher, Huntersinc.com LLC. No part of the publication may be reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the publisher.

The publisher accepts no responsibility for the content of advertisements. Editorial opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.

The editor reserves the right to change, edit and/or shorten articles submitted to it by contributors.

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Editorial contributions must be directed to the editor via email: editor@huntersinc.com

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94 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Jocelyn Engel CONSERVATION CHRONICLES

12 Ivan Carter

THE LAST BREATH

18 Lydia Smith IRELAND

34 Kevin Lynch

WHITETAIL WARFARE

72 Jackson Engel

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

94 Reinhardt Bronner

WILD GAME BASED

128 Tony Caggiano

BOWHUNTING THE IMPALA RUT

134 Russ de la Harpe

RETURN TO THE FOREST

56 Frank Vannier

Cover artwork by Lydia Smith

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am a firm believer that art reflects life and that showcasing our hunting passion in as many mediums as possible contributes to its correct representation. In so doing, we preserve the hunting lifestyle within our tribe and help to convey our values to those outside our tribe who do not understand but are willing to listen.

At WE ARE HUNTING we believe that art stirs the soul and keeps us from stagnating. We use the art of words, photography and other mediums to describe the thrill of the hunt--freezing moments of inspiration for many to enjoy. In a time in which we continue to be hindered from experiencing those tangible aspects of the hunt that connect us to nature this becomes all the more important. To that end, this issue is full of captivating stories bursting with the beauty and hope of the outdoors as we wait just a little while longer for life to imitate art once again.

In this fourth issue of WE ARE HUNTING, Kevin Lynch, a scion of Ireland, reflects on the privilege of growing up hunting with his father and the many hunting opportunities the ‘Emerald Isle’ offers us today. Frank Vannier regales us once more with his ethereal style--this time about the majestic and mysterious bongo of the rainforest. Three generations of the Vannier family have hunted Cameroon and still fight passionately to conserve

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its natural beauty into the twenty-first century.

Woven through the pages of this issue is the thread of a younger generation carrying the torch into the next. You’ll find these generational echoes as a burgeoning videographer describes his life journey in Professional Perspective, and again in The Last Breath where I am thrilled to feature young artist Lydia Smith’s stunning drawings and thoughtful words. In Whitetail Warfare, you’ll ride the bumpy road of adversity as a young and determined bow hunter finally takes his first trophy whitetail. Each of these young men and women have a true appreciation for the hunting lifestyle and a commitment to the inimitable value hunters share for the world’s wild places.

“A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.”

Elton Trueblood

Our Conservation Editor, Ivan Carter, describes this same value through the eyes of his own children and introduces us to their newest project Kids in Conservation currently airing on EarthxTV. Please enjoy reading about these epic adventures and as always— keep hunting.

Jocelyn Engel Editor-in-Chief

Andalusian Roe deer Artwork by Jose A. Fernández de Álava

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CONSERVATION CHRONICLES ™

with IVAN CARTER

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he world of conservation is truly changing at a very rapid pace. Some of these changes are excellent and some of them are downright awful and threaten the very ecosystems we all love so much. With almost 8 billion people on earth, priorities for most folk do not rest with preserving natural systems. The billions of acres required to feed and house this explosion of the most successful mammal on the planet should not be underestimated!

To start on a positive note, we are seeing cutting edge technology coming into conservation solutions--new communications networks that allow rangers and equipment to be tracked from state-of-the-art control rooms. Systems such as Earth Ranger that monitor in real time everything from ranger location to collared animals, so poacher incursions are instantly communicated add tremendously to the efficiency of these protective measures. Also very positively, we are more and more utilizing science to inform our conservation decisions: quota setting, carrying capacities, landscape utilization and biodiversity. Many of these phrases seldom entered into the discussion 50 years ago yet today they are passionately measured. The conservation actions that are informed by the analysis of these mountains of data are truly more balanced and ensure that the landscapes and ecosystems that these measurements inform are responsibly utilized.

On a negative note, we are seeing the uninformed public through social media platforms voicing their opinions. This has never been easier, and everyone has a voice. The ability of these voices to gather momentum and influence policy change is frightening. We are seeing “influencers” often completely uninformed but with massive followings, playing an important role in everything from politics to conservation. General public opinion is significantly influenced by these “internet phenomenons”. These opinions have a heavy impact on closures of imports of important species. Species

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like the bontebok whose bounce back from almost extinction was driven 100% by trade and trophy income.

We are seeing key hunting areas that protect vast tracts of important ecosystems completely collapse with no protection. Rhino have largely lost their value and as a result hundreds of landowners in control of millions of acres have removed their rhinos given that the liability of keeping them is too high and the reward without open trade or trophy hunting is too low. When I was a child, we had just a single TV channel. Most kids spent their life outdoors and wildlife documentaries featured strongly in the program lineup. Today, even channels such as National Geographic and Discovery get far better ratings from manufactured reality. This is a sad indicator that much of the world has lost interest in wildlife and ecosystems. Yet at the same time they claim to care!

CONSERVATION CHRONICLES ™

So, what can we do about this? By virtue of the fact that you are on this site and reading this article I would bet you enjoy the outdoors. You have probably had some wonderful moments watching or pursuing or learning about wildlife in its many intricate forms. But what are you doing to influence the people you know and the friends you have? Are you making the most of your circle of influence to share what you know? To enthusiastically share what you love and have your own impact? Remember a tsunami is a wave. It’s one of the most powerful forces we know and yet it’s made up of hundreds of billions of water droplets. For my part, I try hard to have a positive impact.

I speak about that on my social media channel every day. And seeing that there is little to no conservation teaching in schools, my daughter Brooke has started creating her own TV shows appealing to young people. Check it out at this link: https://video.earthxtv.com/shows/kids-conservation/ season/1/episode/1-0. Yes, indeed if the people who care could influence the people who don’t know enough to care, we would see a greater focus on conservation. We would see the positive effect that public awareness, coupled with the exceptional impact of modern tech, can have when used properly. This would give our remaining wild areas great hope.

In conservation and until next time, IMC Conservation Editor

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"There may be a day I cannot make a difference, but there will never be a day that I do not try."

- Ivan Carter

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I n v e s t W i t h U s A n d W e P r o m i s e M o r e W i l d l i f e I n H e a lt h i e r E c o s y s t e m s WE

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w w w. i v a n c a r t e r w c a .o r g | i n f o @ i v a n c a r t e r.c o m

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The Last Breath

by Lydia Smith

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ince getting into hunting, I've been able to see and experience some pretty incredible things—some very humbling and gratifying things. Some moments, like the one I describe here, are so special they are not often experienced or completely understood. To me, hunting has been an ongoing mental, physical, emotional and spiritual journey. It's one of the many reasons why I continue to do it.

An experience I had back in September of 2020 has really stuck with me. I was out hunting alone in the mountains of my home state of Idaho when I learned a big storm was scheduled to hit all across the western states.

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I remember deciding to hike back to camp around 4 p.m. as those big, dark storm clouds began to swallow up the sky. The wind was the first thing to pick up, followed by the rain and thunder. I made it back to camp just as the downpour began. Lightning flashes became hectic and I continually had to press on the roof of my tent as the water pooled on top causing it to collapse. All night trees fell left and right of where I slept, and the sound of thunder echoed in my head. It was quite exciting since I actually enjoy crazy storms, however it was also a little daunting.

The next morning, I woke up and got ready to trek back out in the mountains. I left the tent just as the sky was beginning to take color. The clouds were beginning to break, and the atmosphere was calm. The mountains above me were blanketed in snow and everything below me was soaked in water. Almost right off the bat, the sound of a bugle came from the timber line and I made my way toward it. I couldn't believe the amount of water the leaves and underbrush held. Within the first ten minutes I was soaking wet. I think jumping in a lake would have left me less drenched!

The higher in elevation I got, the more snow I ran into.

The elk were bugling, and the action was pretty decent. I played cat and mouse with a young bull. We bugled back and forth for a good 20 minutes, but he never had the confidence to show himself and emerge from the thicket. By the time 9:30 rolled around, the woods began to silence. So, to avoid pushing the elk out of their comfortable spots, I gained even more elevation to follow the thermals as they changed upwards and I found a nice little opening to take a break and dry out. It was impossible to find a piece of dry ground, so I pulled out my rain pants that I had stuffed in my pack and laid them on the ground to sit on. I wasn't wearing them because the fabric made too much noise. I

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proceeded to take off my gators, then my boots, then my socks, then I stripped off my pants, leaving my thermal layer on. The amount of water I wrung from my pants and socks would have supplied a family of four for a week in a desert. It was quite chilly outside; I believe on the higher end of 30 degrees. After hanging my clothes to dry in various trees, I sat down on my rain pants in a small pocket of sunshine that pushed its way through the pines.

It was hard to get comfortably warm, but thankfully I wasn't cold enough that I was shivering. I figured I'd hang out for a while, so, just for precautionary measures, I ranged some of the trees around where I was to see how far away they were. Then I pulled out some snacks and started playing with my phone.

After about 30 minutes or so, a bugle blared from behind me.

I didn't think much of it figuring the bull would catch my smell.

So, I ignored it and continued to mess with my phone. Not even 5 minutes later, he bugled again coming almost directly to my right. My adrenaline spiked and I quickly grabbed my boots, not even bothering to grab my socks. Just as soon as I was about to tie up the first one, I saw antlers peaking over the horizon to my right. I slowly looked over as he walked the ridge line. As I kept a very close eye on the bull, I grabbed my bow which was by my side and waited for the bull to look away. He moved down just below me and looked directly away from me. I stood up as I drew my bow back. Having already ranged the trees, I knew he was now standing close to a tree that I had ranged at 45 yards. At this point the bull’s vitals were not very visible so I could only hope he would give me a shot opportunity. Either he could turn around and go back up the hill on the same path where he came from or continue downward and I'd lose my chance. As luck would have it, the bull turned right around and followed his tracks back up the hill. As soon as his vitals were clearly visible, I let out a soft cow call with my voice which stopped the bull in his tracks. He looked straight at me standing broadside. I found my mark through the peep of my bow and pressed on the trigger of my release. There was a loud thump of impact as the bull pivoted, crashing through the underbrush around the ridge. I stood there with only one boot on, in disbelief. I couldn't believe that just happened. I replayed the scene in my head as a wave of uncertainty began to take over. I gave myself a few minutes to get my emotions together

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as I grabbed what clothes I had hanging in the trees and put them back on even though they were far from dry.

After about 10 minutes I walked over to where the bull had been standing and found where the dirt was turned up from when he took off running. I followed the tracks for about 20 yards without any sign of blood and stood there, re-playing the shot in my head again. I could've sworn I’d hit lungs but trying to pinpoint where an arrow goes as the animal runs off is quite difficult. I sat for a few minutes deciding if I should go a little further or give it more time. I gave it another 10 minutes and followed the tracks again.

Finally, I found the first spot of blood and it was a good color. I kept following the signs and began to find bigger pools of blood.

Then bubbly pools of blood appeared indicating lungs were hit.

This sign brought relief and the uncertainty started to turn into excitement.

I continued following his trail and started to catch whiffs of the musky smell of a rutted-up bull. I was on a steep thick face of the mountain and was constantly looking up trying to spot the bull while at the same time looking down to follow the tracks and trying not to slip and fall. I paused on the hillside and looked around.

I knew he was close by. Then I caught a glimpse of something about 40 yards below me tucked up under a pine. It was him.

So much relief came upon me. I carefully made my way down to where he lay, soon realizing that the bull had not yet expired.

Immediately my mood went from excited to concerned. I couldn't tell where my arrow hit since the bull was in an awkward position with his top line facing me. I also did not have a good angle to put another arrow in him. There was nothing I could do but watch the bull fight against his failing organs. I was uneasy and began to pray that the bull would move just enough for me to put a follow up shot on him. It was so hard to watch him struggle. A hunter's whole goal is to perform the most ethical shot they can on an animal and it's the worst feeling when that fails. I continued to pray and talk to the bull just wishing he'd flip to one side or the other. To my relief he moved just enough to get another arrow right in his heart. At a close 5 yards I took my follow up shot. The bull began to fade quickly. After he moved, I noticed I did get full penetration through his lungs with my first shot. It was a good

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shot. This bull’s will to survive was just so strong. I was blown away by the amount of resistance he showed to not give up.

I sat my bow on the ground and carefully walked up to the bull. I remember sitting right by him as he took his last breaths. I couldn't help but shed tears as an overwhelming flow of emotions took over. I carefully stroked his neck as he finally left the world. That was a feeling of another sort. I could feel his spirit in his body move on. I just sat there, soaked from head to toe, and honored him. What an amazing opportunity to be able to harvest such a resilient animal. He would now become a part of my life; not only food for my family and me, but a memory that I'll remember forever. I began to admire the beauty of him. The contrast in his hair, the old scars and wounds from his life’s journey, and the beautifully textured antlers that were covered in mud and grass from tearing up the woods. He was absolutely stunning. I was beyond grateful to harvest this bull and proceeded to break his body down getting the quarters and extra meat put into game bags before the sun set. Then it was onto making multiple trips off and on the mountain to bring him back to camp. That bull ended up having some of the best meat I've had off an elk and he left my freezer very full. To be able to get some of the cleanest and leanest protein there is, knowing exactly where it came from is a pretty incredible experience. It's even more incredible that I was able to work for it and have such a fond memory to show for it.

Each hunt is unique and has its own lessons and obstacles which continue to strengthen me as a person in more ways than one. Hunting is a way of life for me. It keeps me alive and makes me feel alive. Not only that, but I feel a connection with my heritage and my ancestors who went out and did the same thing. I cannot wait to have more experiences like this on my future hunting journeys.

Lydia is a bowhunter, wildlife artist and hunting guide in her home state of Idaho.

Her motto is: Hunt to live. Live to inspire.

Find her on Instagram @lydiasmith00

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THE MAKINGS OF A HUNTER I’ve been hunting and fishing since I can remember.

From the days when my father and grandfather took me as a wide-eyed child, my first independent hunting adventures involved snaring foxes for the fur industry and much needed income in what we called the ‘good old days’.

On one such morning I was checking my snare round when I heard fearsome roaring nearby. My inquisitive side got the better of the little sense I had, so I ventured further into the woods and started to close in on the terrible sound. Suddenly I saw what was to my eyes the biggest Red stag I had ever seen. The roaring continued from no more than 20-30 yards away when two more stags appeared. My curiosity then turned into total fear as I realized I should be anywhere else in the world—but not here! So, I did what any scared lad would do and got my arse out of there as fast as I could.

That is how my infatuation with deer hunting began.

Nowadays, having spent a lot of time and money hunting since my boyhood encounter and having shot a great many stags, I get my thrills by putting clients in front of these mighty animals. My childhood dreams have turned into a decent livelihood, which is just as well because when the hunting bug got hold of me it never let me go.

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BIG GAME SPECIES Hunting in Ireland has reached a new maturity in recent decades. When I was growing up as a young lad, the only deer you would find in Ireland, with the exception of a few native Red deer herds like those in the encounter mentioned already, were some scattered Fallow deer which were confined for the most part to native woodland. But alas it’s been quite a while since I was growing up! In the intervening years there has been an aggressive drive to plant Sitka Spruce forest.

These plantations have provided the perfect habitat and ducts for what has become well-established Fallow and Red deer herds to go forth and multiply, so much so in certain areas that they now appear prominently on one our local Munster Rugby team’s crests. But there’s more to the story.

In the early eighties our Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charles Haughey, who was a keen game breeder himself, set up an incentive to breed Red deer for the European meat market. Suddenly deer farms started to appear all over Ireland, but by the early nineties with Haughey’s tenure over and venison markets all but dead, the farm gates were left ajar and these escapees didn’t delay in making their way to the covers. They have since proved beyond all doubt that they’re here for the long haul— happy days for us stalkers! But the story doesn’t end

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there. During the time that the Reds were being farmed for profit, a few enthusiasts had started to breed Sika deer and now they too are starting to make their presence felt in abundance. In a short space of time our deer stalking opportunities in Ireland have tripled. With that said about the advent of modern deer herds, it’s helpful to look back deeper into history to understand the origins of our big game species. Our only truly native deer in modern history are the Irish Red deer herds. Through active game breeding these herds have been infused by numerous other Red breeds from all over Europe and can be found in many locations on the West coast of Ireland. Long before the intensive breeding of the past several decades, Fallow deer were first introduced by the Normans following their invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century. They can be found nationwide and in many areas are over-populated.

The Normans are also responsible for the introduction of hybrid ibex dating back to the same period. Our Sika deer are the Japanese variety and were introduced in 1860 by the 7th Viscount of Powers. He introduced one stag and three hinds and today this small herd is responsible for every Sika present in the British Isles.

Our large feral goat herds date back to introductions by Neolithic farmers some 3000 years ago or more. They were once widespread across Ireland, but today they can be found in select pockets of the country and we still boast the biggest wild herd in all of the British Isles.

During World War 1 when Ireland was still under British

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rule, the British army shot over 250,000 feral goats in Ireland to feed their army.

Today, some of the finest feral goat hunting takes place on the outskirts of The Burren in our home area of County Clare. The Burren is a unique, rugged landscape comprised of glaciated karst, or limestone, with its western edge stretching to the Atlantic coast.

This stunning area is rich in biodiversity and home to our largest herds of feral goats, providing the hunter an unmatched opportunity at these tough and challenging animals.

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STALKING TODAY Back in the days when I was growing up, if a stalker could boast ownership of a .22-250, he was a very lucky, if not a privileged stalker. To be honest, it was a great rifle that was both flatshooting and effective. Today the rifles are much more advanced and typical stalking calibers include .243, .270, .308, and .30-06—not to mention all the other wildcat calibers.

Now, I know everyone has their own slant on firearms and it really is each to their own, but my personal preference is the time-tested .3006. My reasoning for this has as much to do with the topography of the land as it does the round being fired and the quarry one pursues—my own preferred specie being the Red stag. This is a magnificent beast and prior to the rut he takes some knocking down for sure. A pre-rut Red stag can weigh up to 200 kilos and typically has between 12-18 points. Fallow stags prior to the rut can weigh up to 75 kilos. Sika stags can weigh as much as 60 kilos. So, my way of thinking is that a little extra thump can save a lot of tears.

All too often in fading light a slightly stricken stag can make it back to cover and be lost—a result that no one wants. That’s the reason I use my Mauser .30-06 mounted with a Swarovski

3-12x56. The rifle and scope are both senior in age, but they have always done ‘what it says on the tin’ with the optics being as clear as the day of purchase and in my opinion the best light gathering scope one could wish for.

Believe me when I tell you, a good light gathering scope is of the utmost importance in fading Autumn light for every stalker.

You will hear of some super long shots being taken at three hundred yards plus, but it’s very rare to have a vista in these parts that affords the hunter such an opportunity.

Two hundred yards is a bit more realistic, not to mention good practice, as wounding deer is not the objective of good stalking practice. One good tip a friend gave me a long time ago is to get to know your weapon inside and out. Know at what distance you are comfortable shooting and above all know how your bullet performs—i.e., drop and drift. The shooting range is the best place to get to know your gun. At our company, Game Hunting Ireland, we welcome all levels of stalker enthusiasts and we provide high seat, open hillside and woodland stalking for all three deer species as well as for the hybrid ibex and feral goats.

For those hunters with less experience there are a couple of things to keep in mind as you prepare for your hunt.

The roar of the Red stag will set your pulse racing, so now is a good time to have a little chat with yourself because the end result will depend on how you perform under pressure.

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WING SHOOTING AT ITS FINEST As wonderful as our big game stalking is, Ireland also boasts some incredible wing shooting which shouldn’t be missed. Similar to our neighbors in England and Scotland we offer some fantastic opportunities for multiple species of birds. Non-driven upland pheasant and partridge shooting is done over pointing dogs with no bag limits for cock and hen birds. This makes for an excellent day’s shooting which can even be bookend-ed with morning and evening duck flights which also have no bag limit. Our driven days for pheasant and partridge are wall-to-wall entertainment with excellent hospitality in beautiful surroundings. These hunts take place on private estates that specialize in this kind of shooting and for the discerning traveler, accommodation at historic manor houses and castles are the order of the day.

We also provide excellent woodcock shooting but be warned that a good level of fitness is required for this rigorous hunt. Snipe hunting is done over pointing dogs and is a true test of shooting skills. In the upcoming hunting season, we will also be offering ‘bolting rabbit’ hunts which utilize trained ferrets to flush the rabbits from hiding. This makes for an exciting day’s shooting and is a unique experience one can’t find too often. Whatever your choice of hunt is, know that we professionals endeavor to get you the best trip possible. It will always be done in a relaxed atmosphere that complies with best practice guidelines—all of which ensures that it’s an enjoyable experience and hopefully one you will want to repeat and tell your hunting friends about. Our rugged and beautiful landscapes make Irish stalking 100% free range and is a true test for any hunter. In my opinion this is what sets it apart from hunting anywhere else in the British Isles. A trophy harvested in the West of Ireland is a trophy to be cherished.

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HUNTING SEASONS: Red stag, Sika stag, and Fallow buck season opens on September 1 and closes December 31 Hind and doe season for all deer species opens on November 1 and closes December 31 The Rut:

o Red deer: +/- 25 September – 18 October o Sika deer: +/- mid-September – mid-November o Fallow deer: +/- 10 October – 1 November

Feral goat and Hybrid ibex hunting can be done year-round

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by Frank Vannier

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omewhere deep in the Cameroon equatorial forest…

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T "...this magical environment exceeds all expectations..."

he beginning of the rainy season unleashes a fury of elements. Towering treetops bend under the fuming rage of wind. Gigantic arboreal trunks break and fall across the narrow dirt roads that snake through the jungle. The chainsaws roar and free us from the sudden roadblocks. And then the storm vanishes just as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a warm tropical sun. The contrast between lateritic red soils and the lush green hues of the dense flora offers surreal panoramas.

The forest tracks enable us to spot fresh footprints of the animals living in this large primordial forest. Elephants, bongos, dwarf buffaloes, sitatungas, gorillas, chimpanzees, giant forest hogs, red river hogs, duikers—all abound. I am delighted by so many signs of their presence. This first day of hunting fully immersed in this magical environment exceeds all expectations.

As we progress along the dirt road, we notice several sets of bongo footprints when one of them catches our attention.

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Our Baka Pygmy trackers decipher every piece of evidence left by this particular bongo, allowing us to follow the solitary bull. They dissect, flip dead leaves, lie down on the humus to examine the different color tones, and rummage in the underbrush like pointing dogs chasing woodcocks.

Our Baka Pygmy trackers decipher every piece of evidence left by this particular bongo. They dissect, flip dead leaves, lie down on the humus to examine the different color tones, and rummage in the underbrush like pointing dogs chasing woodcocks.

The large spoor convinces us that the bull is mature. He forces us to walk according to his desire, zigzagging in between the undergrowth and passing through inextricable bushes we deflower with machetes.

Vines and lianas thwart our efforts at every turn. We shake ourselves free only to be forced again to step over, to bend, and to belly crawl through the stems whipping back at us.

The final clues of the puzzle materialize and testify to the proximity of our quarry.

We realize that we are very close now. Our bongo had been resting in a clearing only moments before.

The deeply gouged tracks are evidence that he probably heard our approach and began to run. From experience we know

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he is likely to be standing stock-still behind a wall of thick bush and listening for danger.

With alacrity we eliminate the remaining lianas obstructing our path and meticulously cover the final meters before making contact.

Our lead tracker points his wizened finger at a rust-red shape visible in the light. A wide ear wards off an irritating fly and betrays the bull’s location. The majestic antelope stares at us, ready to leap away at any moment.

I give my client the final signal. He raises his rifle in slow motion, confirming the posture of the animal as he adjusts his shot.

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The bongo is poised to take cover behind a thick shield of leaves when the bullet strikes true.

Hornbills in the canopy above screech with fear. White-eyed mangabeys vociferate. Then, silence reclaims its possession over the setting.

The bull is down and breathes his last. Our Baka friends break into wide smiles revealing their sharpened teeth, in line with their ancestral traditions.

Experiencing immeasurable jubilation, we thank the animist forest gods for allowing us to sacrifice such a splendid creature. Our deep, visceral desires of the hunt are now sated.

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Hunting & Wildlife Conservation

A N INEVITABLE PARADOX "Thanks to our comprehensive knowledge, our field experience, our rigorous protection and our strong management in addition to our boundless passion, we are the keepers of a great diversity of wildlife. We alone know what we can take without harming native animal species. In Cameroon, our longterm monitored sanctuaries are the last refuges of a world wildlife heritage. With all due respect to our governance, no one in Africa will ever save wildlife without our close collaboration.", Frank Vannier, FARO SAFARIS "Maguida, Chronicles of a White Tracker" is a predominantly photographic publication of 304 pages, prepared by Frank & Xavier Vannier, professional hunters in Cameroon. This project is the achievement of nearly 30 years of writing. It chronicles the story of their passions: Hunting, Conservation & Photography.

The theatre of these chronicles is a hunting concession in Cameroon, protected by Frank and his family since 1971.

Contact to place an order: contact@farosafaris.com

Available in French - Shipping across Europe included, contact us for other destinations

> Premium Edition: 450 copies - €165 > Prestige Edition: Luxurious box & finish, very limited and numbered edition - €520

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All the profits associated with the sale of this book will be dedicated to the Wildlife Conservation Programmes driven by their organisation.

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W hitetail When I first started hunting whitetails in October of 2017 as a young, enthusiastic, African-raised bow hunter, never in a million years could I have foreseen the journey that was to ensue. Very few things in my life have challenged and broken me like whitetail hunting has. I’ve been driven to the point of insanity more times than I can count. I’ve doubted myself more times than I’ve believed in myself. I’ve laughed, smiled, cried, screamed, sulked, prayed, hoped, and despaired.

But when I finally laid hands on my first buck, what was overwhelmingly clear was the magnitude of change that had occurred within me—both as a hunter, and a man— throughout my taxing journey of becoming a whitetail hunter.

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4 seasons. 3 years. 70 days. 87 sits.

That’s how long it took for me to harvest my first whitetail buck with a bow.

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Photo by Corey O'Connell

a r f a r e

by Jackson Engel

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For much of my life I have had the privilege of calling Namibia, Africa my home. My bow hunting career began at the tender age of 10 soon after my family’s move to Namibia.

Although my experience of maturing as a bow hunter was far from easy and included many, many mistakes, the vast array of hunting opportunities that arose while living in Africa provided me with the chance to expedite my growth curve in a way that wouldn’t have been possible elsewhere.

By the time I graduated from high school, I was fortunate enough to have spent more time bow hunting and harvested more animals than many people get the chance to do in their lifetime. Again, I made mistakes that still haunt my thoughts today, and I’ll make more of those mistakes in years to come but hunting in Africa has always been more instinctual than intellectual for me.

" for much of my life i have had the privilege of calling namibia, africa my home. my bow hunting career began at the tender age of 10 ... "

The African bush was all I had known for 18 years. I came to know the animals like I know myself—I know where to find them, I know how to get close to them, I know how to think like them. Hunting is always hard work, but the pursuit of African game had become second nature. When I stepped into the whitetail woods for the first time, I made the mistake of assuming that things would be the same.

In August of 2017, I made the move back to my “hometown” of Waco, Texas to spend four years studying at Baylor University. A part of me was devastated to leave behind the amazing bow hunting opportunities that I had become accustomed to in Namibia, but I was also excited to become more in touch with my American hunting roots. I had no idea where I was going to hunt, or how much I was going to hunt, but I knew that I wanted to explore the whitetail hunting world. To my pleasant surprise, a good family friend, whom I affectionately refer to as “Uncle Rick”, had

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recently purchased a property a mere 20-minute drive from Baylor’s campus. Compared to the large properties and concessions that I was used to hunting in Africa, this small 200-acre piece of land didn’t sound like much at first. However, the beautiful oak and pecan forests along the meandering Middle Bosque River captured my heart as soon as I set foot on the ranch. Uncle Rick warned me that hunting wasn’t easy, and he had only ever rifle hunted on it, but there were deer to be hunted. In retrospect, I didn’t listen to his warnings as closely as I should have.

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Of course, things never go according to plan, but what I didn’t realize was the impact that I made each time I entered the woods. Access paths to my stands were difficult with the open fields and thin strips of bedding areas along the edges. It took me far too long to realize that the deer would often bed in view of my routine paths and silently watch me walk to my stand.

Even if they didn’t catch me on the way in, all it took was leaving a little too much ground scent or sitting in a questionable wind one too many times to push the deer into survival mode and almost completely nocturnal movement. They were playing chess, and I was playing checkers.

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Photo by Bowen Parrish

When he said hunting " the beautiful oak and pecan forests wasn’t easy, he wasn’t along the meandering middle bosque kidding. Although the deer density increased a little bit river captured my heart as soon as i with each passing season, set foot on the ranch." a property that size with many clear-cut fields and limited bedding areas could only hold so many deer. It also quickly became apparent that the property held virtually no mature bucks from the spring to early fall. It was a one-hit wonder during the rut and it was impossible to predict what would happen during that window. Furthermore, I learned over time that it was remarkably easy to pressure and educate deer on property of that size. Every season began with a flood of trail camera pictures showing plenty of activity from does, and each year I made the same false assumption that shooting one in the first week of the season would be easy.

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Over time, however, I slowly began to learn from my mistakes and adapt my tactics. I shot my first doe six weeks into my first season, and it was a small one at that. The next season played out the same way, but it was a more mature doe—I was making progress.

When my third season rolled around, my focus on shooting a doe had diminished. I went out a few times early in the season, but I wanted to save my energy for the pursuit of my first buck—I was determined to make it happen. I ended that season without filling a single tag, but I had finally begun to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We had more bucks on the property than ever before, and for the first time I was hot on their heels. I had multiple encounters with a couple of my target bucks during the rut, and although I could never get them within bow range, the lightbulb in my head began flickering. The intellectual battle of thinking like a whitetail began to shift toward "I PRACTICED SHOOTING MY BOW instinct, and I went into the next season with a newRELIGIOUSLY, I SPENT HOURS RESEARCHING found perspective.

With the onset of the worldwide pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions in 2020, I was unable to go home to Namibia for my annual visit during my summer break. Although this was heartbreaking for many reasons, it allowed me to apply myself to deer hunting with more vigor than ever before. By missing out on all of my regular hunting opportunities in Namibia, I was left even more motivated and determined to be successful during deer season. I also found myself with an entire summer to plan, prepare, and strategize. I practiced shooting my bow religiously, I spent hours researching new tactics and information on whitetails and invested considerably more time into scouting and preparing for the upcoming season. With creative access paths cleared, new blinds built, and stands hung in more strategic locations, I was set up for success like never before.

My strategy for this season was to hunt smarter, not harder. One of the biggest common denominators in my lack of success during previous

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Photos by Corey O'Connell

NEW TACTICS AND INFORMATION ON WHITETAILS ..."

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years was over hunting, which led to over pressuring the deer, and an unnecessary depletion of my energy, time, and resources on days when it didn’t count. My plan was to be extremely selective and only hunt days where the conditions and odds of success seemed reasonable. It was painful to sit at home on a Saturday morning and not go hunting on some of the few days when I had time to, but I knew that hunting unfavorable days was futile, and that my patience would likely pay off in the end.

This was my last season to hunt the ranch before graduating from college and moving out-of-state, and I was willing to do whatever it took to defy the odds and shoot my first buck, regardless of the nagging sense of urgency in the back of my mind.

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When Thanksgiving rolled around in late November, my hope had begun to wane. It was an extremely warm fall, and we were now down to only two resident shooter bucks, with movement being completely nocturnal, and sporadic at that. However, all it took was one cell-camera picture to offer me another glimmer of hope. A new buck had showed up on one of our cameras during daylight early on Thanksgiving morning. I was in Dallas spending the weekend with my girlfriend and her family, but I knew I had to get back before my window of opportunity on this buck closed. It was the peak of the rut, and there was a small cold front blowing in with heavy

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Photos by Corey O'Connell

" ... I WAS WILLING TO DO WHATEVER IT Throughout the season, my strategy proved to be TOOK TO DEFY THE ODDS AND SHOOT MY effective. I decided to try FIRST BUCK, REGARDLESS OF THE NAGGING and shoot a doe earlier in SENSE OF URGENCY IN THE BACK OF MY the season before bucks started showing up on the MIND." property, but the same patience still applied. If the conditions weren’t right, and the cellular cameras weren’t showing activity, I would wait. It took more sits than I would have liked to finally get a doe on the ground, but I was able to take a beautiful old doe just in time for the rut to kick off. With my freezer full and the monkey off of my back, the waiting game began.

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" after methodically finding my way through the woods in the moonlight to a stand that i had never hunted, i got settled in for what i planned on being an all-day sit."

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At first light, I spotted a young buck crossing a nearby field in the distance, and minutes later, another young buck was headed directly for my stand —they were moving. After hitting a fresh scrape, 10 yards from the base of my tree, the second buck slowly milled around and fed below me. After watching the youngster for a while, I heard footsteps approaching behind my stand, followed by flashes of antlers moving through the brush below me. It was one of my target bucks—a 3 1⁄2-year-old 8 point that I had gotten pictures of all year. He wasn’t the biggest buck ever, but a definite shooter for this property. He had somehow chosen to traverse through the thick patch of brush in the tiny strip between me and the steep bank of the river and was headed directly downwind. I grabbed my bow, but part of me knew it was futile. As expected, the buck emerged in the worst possible spot and immediately caught a whiff of me. He didn’t spook too badly—not even enough to disturb the young buck who was still below me—but before I could even think of shooting, he was trotting off into the distance. I was absolutely devastated. Out of four seasons of hunting this property, this was only the second time that a shooter buck had been within bow range, and he was gone. Self-pity began to well up inside of me as I grieved the loss of this opportunity, but it wouldn’t last long.

Photo by Bowen Parrish

Despite the years of intense disappointment, frustration, and despair, something felt different on this morning. The picture had come from an area that I had left untouched for the previous two months while waiting for the right conditions and intel. It was finally time for me to make my debut.

At 5:30AM, I began the long, slow walk into the stand. After methodically finding my way through the woods in the moonlight to a stand that I had never hunted, I got settled in for what I planned on being an all-day sit.

As always, the wind was different than it was forecasted to be—about 45 degrees less favorable— but there was nothing I could do at this point. My stand was 10 yards from the drop-off down to the river and faced a big, open pecan bottom that formed a perfect travel corridor for rutting bucks.

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rainstorms for the next couple of days. I was willing to bet a lot of money on buck movement on the morning after the rain ended, so I left Dallas earlier than planned and got ready to head out hunting early the next day.

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No more than 5 minutes later, the young buck near my stand suddenly picked up his head and stared intently behind me. I could see fear in his eyes, and submission in his posture—I knew a mature buck was approaching. I slowly turned my head as the footsteps drew nearer. By the time I could make out the ghostly shape, he was walking out 6 yards below my stand.

It only took a second to realize it was a big, old buck. He was heading directly downwind to the exact same spot where the previous buck had smelled me, and all I could do was pray that the result would be different.

I waited to grab my bow until he was far enough past me to not catch my movement in his peripheral vision. When he stepped behind some cover, I carefully drew back. The wind was holding, and he slowly stepped out.

Seconds later, he was "Seconds later, he was crashing in crashing in the dry creek bottom 50 yards from the dry creek bottom 50 yards from my stand after a wellmy stand after a well-placed arrow. placed arrow. I have never I have never experienced such utter experienced such utter shock and disbelief after a shock and disbelief after a shot." shot. I went from not laying eyes on a mature buck all season to having not one, but two shooter bucks in front of my stand a few minutes apart, and then watching the bigger of the two go down right in front of me. I stood there for a few minutes struggling to wrap my head around what had happened. I called my Dad and when he picked up the phone all of the emotions came flooding at once. With tears in my eyes, I simply repeated: “It’s finished Dad. It’s finished.”

To have worked so hard for something for such a long time takes a serious toll. It had broken me to my core. I experienced physical and emotional exhaustion like no other, and self-doubt that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. But in the end, it molded me into a better hunter, and man. When I got out of the stand and laid hands on that beautiful Texas 9-pointer, I was certainly thinking about the pain of reaching that point, but it came from

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After taking pictures with my buck, I just sat there and took it all in for over an hour. I humbly reminded myself of everything that had brought me to that moment, and how important the life of that buck was to me. I know I’m not the best hunter in the world, and certainly not the best deer hunter in the world. I know that there are many things I could have done differently over the previous few seasons. But I also know that I’m a different person than I was at the beginning of this journey—I’m more grounded, more humble, more in touch with my instincts. I have a better understanding of what it means to be alive, and ultimately, that’s why I hunt.

Born American, but a son of Africa, Jackson is an avid bow hunter and photographer with a passion for wildlife conservation.

Find him on Instagram @jackson__engel

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a position of gratitude. I was grateful for the struggle because it had changed me. I was grateful to have hunted a property that’s highly pressured, extremely difficult to bow hunt, and has a very low buck density. I’ve blessed it and I’ve cursed it, but in the end, I couldn’t have imagined a better place to cut my teeth as a deer hunter. Hunting a low-odds chunk of land like this has taught me things that might otherwise have taken me 10 years to learn.

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"i was grateful for the struggle because it had changed me. I was grateful to have hunted a property that’s highly pressured, extremely difficult to bow hunt, and has a very low buck density.

I’ve blessed it and I’ve cursed it, but in the end, I couldn’t have imagined a better place to cut my teeth as a deer hunter."

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THE SHOP FOR THE DISCERNING HUNTER & OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST Nr 23 Newcastle Str, Northern Industrial area , Whk megerer@afol.com.na | +264 81 1500416

HUNTING AND OUTDOOR APPAREL, ACCESSORIES, GIFTS AND GOODIES FOR ALL AGES.

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Reinhardt BRONNER

Reinhardt Bronner is a professional hunting videographer and owner of Red Sand Films based in Windhoek, Namibia. Reinhardt grew up in the African bush hunting with his father and has turned his love for the outdoors and his creative passion for filmmaking into a successful career.

In my early years I grew up in a little town in South Africa’s Western Cape province called Bredasdorp. I learned to hunt with my dad who is an avid hunter himself. We hunted in South Africa and in Namibia where we would frequently go during my school holidays. I still remember taking my first springbok with Dad at the age of seven and how we spent Saturday mornings reloading ammunition together.

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1

Tell us a bit about your background growing up and how you got into filming hunts professionally:

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y film career started when I was quite young during the time when my dad was doing his biggame professional hunting license in South Africa.

For that he needed a certain number of days hunting big game in order to qualify to write his exams. One also needs some kind of proof to document that you actually completed these hunting days. So, dad bought a little JVC HD camcorder—a cheap little handheld thing. He said, “Right, there you go Reinhardt, you’re gonna film our hunts so that we have proof.” We started with some plains game hunting so I could get the hang of it and then we moved on to big game. I developed a real love for film at a young age through that process of being part of the hunting experience. I’ve always been a creative person I think, and I have a love for the creative arts. With filming it’s the best of both worlds—a mixture between filming and hunting which allows me to still be part of the hunting experience while filming at the same time. I realized that I don’t need to be pulling the trigger myself to enjoy and experience the hunt. So, that’s how hunting videography all started for me.

One holiday we went up to Namibia while my dad was still getting his big game days under his belt—that was 10 years ago now in 2011—and I filmed my first elephant hunt with him and a client. At the end of the hunt the client asked me if I’d be willing to edit a little video for him. I said “Yeah, sure I will!”

So, I edited my first hunting video at the tender age of 14.

Back in those days I sent the finished hard copy to him via the regular post and after he got it, he asked if he could pay me for it. I wasn’t expecting anything, but I told him that if he felt in his heart he wanted to pay me a little something then, “Ok, I could always use a bit of pocket money.” So, he did and it was something like $300 or $350 dollars (laughing). That was pretty good money for a kid at 14 for making a little video and I thought, “Wow, I did what I love and got paid for it.” The rest is history.

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I registered my first company at the age I ALWAYS SAY, ONCE YOU WALK of 16 in South Africa. Early on I was doing BAREFOOT IN both hunting and non-hunting corporate THE RED SAND OF work, but then when we moved up to NAMIBIA YOU’LL BE Namibia I realized I needed to split HOOKED. those two up. Unfortunately, in this day and age it’s really hard to do both. So, about 2 years ago I decided to start a new company which is when the name Red Sand Films was born. We were actually on safari and I was thinking of possible names for the new company. As we were looking for tracks on the hunt I looked down at the red sand all around me and I thought, when someone thinks of Namibia they think of this beautiful red sand and the dunes that Namibia is famous for. I decided right there that the best way to actually express the essence of the company would be to call it Red Sand Films. I always say, once you walk barefoot in the red sand of Namibia you’ll be hooked.

There’s a lot of meaning behind the name for me and that’s how my current company, Red Sand Films, was born in 2019.

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You get to experience a lot of different types of hunts in some unique environments. What are your favorite species to hunt and film?

I would definitely say my favorite category of species to hunt is big game and out of the big-game animals my favorite would have to be Cape buffalo hands down. Buffalo hunts are very unique in the sense that it’s a potentially dangerous hunt. A lot of things can happen—it can go very well or very, very bad quickly. I’ve done about 30 or 40 buffalo hunts in the last 2-3 years and I’ve gotta say I love hunting those animals. There’s always something interesting happening. It’s difficult hunting—hard hunting—and at the end of the day it’s very rewarding. I have to admit that I really enjoy elephant hunting too, but I still say buffalo are my true favorite to film.

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Besides hunting, what other types of videography do you do in the off-season or when things are slow?

2020 was a really tough year as we all know and it would’ve been a record year for Red Sand Films, but COVID hit us hard. In early 2020 I had the privilege to go to the US for three of the biggest hunting conventions and already had a lot of hunts on the books in Namibia and South Africa. Things were looking really good, then COVID hit. This forced my hand to go into some corporate work to help take up the slack. I was blessed to do some work for excellent companies like the Gondwana Collection which is a real powerhouse in Namibia. They own about 24 properties which consist of lodges and camping areas all across Namibia from the southern border to the northern border. In the South they have the beautiful desert landscapes with several stunning lodges and up North they have lodges in the Caprivi on the Kavango, Kwando, Zambezi, and Chobe rivers and on the Kunene River in the northwest. I was privileged enough to be sub-contracted to go film all of these lodges which was really, really a nice experience.

It built our portfolio and grew the company in a different direction.

With the main hunting season only being about 6 months out of the year, we need to have some diversity to make a living in the non-hunting season. Since I love being outdoors and I love being in wilderness areas, it was a great way to keep busy and do what I love in the off-season.

That kind of corporate work all falls under my second company, Reinhardt Bronner Productions. As I mentioned earlier, it’s very important to keep the hunting films separate from the corporate work. Not so much for the hunters’ sake, but for the other clients, just to avoid any negative comments or negative feelings and to avoid conflict. So, Reinhardt Bronner Productions focuses on lodges and corporate videos while Red Sand Films is dedicated to hunting only.

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If COVID hadn’t hit us last year I would’ve traveled to 3 or 4 different countries for filming, and to Alaska which would’ve been a new and exciting experience for me. As of right now I’ve done all my professional filming in Namibia and South Africa.

I’ve been to quite a few other countries, but not for professional filming.

It’s definitely a goal to film in other places like Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Zambia. Obviously, Botswana is open for hunting again, so we will probably be going there too in the near future. I’m really excited to see what the future holds for Red Sand Films in that sense.

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Where do you do most of your videography?

What countries have you traveled to professionally?

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I mainly focus on personal hunts for clients—it’s what we specialize in—but I also do promo videos for outfitters from time to time, although this happens rarely. When it does happen it’s normally in conjunction with filming for a client. In that scenario I get hired by the client and when I arrive in the hunting area the outfitter might ask me to do some filming for him while I’m there as an add-on. It’s normally not worth it for the outfitter to hire me to come out and film for three days for instance, because not a lot happens in such a short time. Red Sand Films also does game capture filming— from darting rhinos, to capturing specialized species like sable or roan, or mass game capture projects where they’re capturing 100 – 120 animals per day in a boma. I’ve recently been contracted

by Super Game Dealers Namibia to film large game capturing for them which is very interesting and exciting work. I think a dream for us at Red Sand Films is also to get more into conservation filming, so a goal in the future would be to make short films and documentaries in Africa.

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You have to trust that if things go south the PH will do the job and put the animal down. It’s funny, when a situation does go upside down,

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I’ll tell you a couple of stories that happened on the same hunt in 2019 with my good friend Jacques Strauss of Khowas Hunting Adventures. We were in the Mahango Core Area, part of the Bwabwata National Park in the Caprivi strip. It’s a great, great place to hunt with really beautiful, high-quality trophies. We had clients coming in soon who were going to hunt a few buffalo. Just before that Jacques got a call from the game department and we were asked to shoot one or two “own use” buffalo for the local community who needed the meat for an upcoming festival. So,

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That is something we talk about often—the relationship you have with the PH and the trust that you have to put in him and the client— actually all the people that are along on a hunt. Let’s take a buffalo hunt for example. You’re at least 5-6 people walking together in the bush. You’ve got the tracker and PH in front and then the client, then the cameraman, and you’ll probably have a government game scout if you’re in a big game area. You have 5 people in the group and only 2 of them have guns. It’s a bit nerve-wracking for me at times, but I shoot in a different way—I shoot with a lens! It’s important to have good relationships all around—between the client and PH, the PH and cameraman, the PH and his trackers and so on.

the first thing they do is look back at the cameraman and say ,“Did you get the shot?” (laughing). So, yeah when things go upside down you’ve gotta stand there and film everything and trust them to shoot whatever is coming. For the second part of the question about dangerous encounters, yes definitely! I don’t think it’s something you hope for, but you always have it in the back of your mind and think, “When is it going to happen to me?” You hear a lot of stories about people being charged by wounded animals, so it seems inevitable at some point.

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As an unarmed videographer, you have to rely on the Professional Hunter and hunting clients to do the shooting. Have you had any experiences with dangerous game when things went upside down?

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BUFFALO ARE Jacques and I headed out into the veld VERY, VERY TOUGH to look for buffalo and we saw a small ANIMALS. YOU CAN group of bulls which we approached.

PUT 3 OR 4 WELLThere was an old buffalo bull in there PLACED SHOTS which was a perfect animal to take.

INTO THE VITALS Jacques had his .470 NE double rifle AND THEY'LL STILL and he was the only one carrying a gun.

GO FOR HUNDREDS It was just three of us—me, Jacques OF METERS. and the game scout. Jacques pulls off the shot and it looked to be perfect. Then he takes a second shot which hits as well, but the buffalo runs into the thick brush. Buffalo are very, very tough animals. You can put 3 or 4 well-placed shots into the vitals and they’ll still go for hundreds of meters. Looking back, we probably didn’t give the buffalo enough time to settle and die. We pretty quickly followed the bull into the thick shrub and were crawling on our hands and knees when all of a sudden I felt a tug from behind. It was the game scout pulling at my leg. When I looked back at him I could see the game scout pointing to our right and when I looked that way I saw our wounded buffalo bull just standing there with blood dripping out of its nose and looking right at us from not far away. I grabbed Jacques to show him the buffalo and whispered to him, “Look man, you’ve gotta shoot this buffalo now!” Jacques pivoted so that he could sit and then luckily shot the buffalo right between the eyes and it dropped. The interesting thing is that 3 or 4 meters in front of where we had stopped there was a small open corridor in the bush and this bull was standing there just waiting for us to hit that corridor before he attacked. When you’re in a situation like that with only one guy having a rifle, things could’ve easily gone really bad!

Now, that was the nice story, but let me get to another one where my heart was in my throat! The clients had arrived and we were hunting with Doug Turnbull from Turnbull Restorations, a gun manufacturer in the US. He was looking take a nice old buffalo bull. We set out driving early in the morning to a spot where there

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were almost always buffalo. We drove there and stopped and then started walking. We walked about an hour or an hour and a half and then got into this little patch of dense shrub thinking that the buffalos might be in there. Lo and behold the tracker spotted a buffalo—a single bull, a nice old boy—standing at the other side of this thick shrub patch.

The only way to approach the buffalo without him seeing us was through the thick stuff. So, we set out—the tracker, then Jacques, the client and then me and we were crawling on our hands and knees. We went as far as we could and got to an area where we had to get on our knees to get the shot off. Doug had his Model 1886 in .475 Turnbull I started (the camera) rolling and then “boom” the shot goes off. It was a good shot, but you can actually see on the video that the bullet hit a big twig right in front of the buffalo and the bullet shattered. This bull started running hard and more follow-up shots went off. But, unfortunately the buffalo saw us right away. I think if he hadn’t seen us he would’ve kept on running away, but instead he turned and came straight towards us. The client kept shooting and Jacques fired his first barrel at about 15 meters, but the buffalo kept coming and didn’t go down. Looking back everything was a blur and everything happened within a couple of seconds. Right as this buffalo hit a little three-meterwide opening in front of us, Jacques fired his second barrel and shot it between the eyes. It dropped him like a bag of potatoes.

We measured the distance later and it was just a couple of yards in front of us where he fell. My heart was sitting in my throat at that point and I was really, really shaking. It was the first time I’d had a charge while I was filming. It was a great feeling to be alive and to be able to pat Jacques on the back and say, “well done.” It happened so fast and Jacques only had a split-second to decide when to fire that last shot. I think if Jacques hadn’t put him down on that shot, someone would really have gotten hurt on that hunt.

"THE BUFFALO SAW US RIGHT AWAY...

IF HE HADN'T SEEN US HE WOULD'VE KEPT ON RUNNING AWAY, BUT INSTEAD HE TURNED AND CAME STRAIGHT TOWARDS US."

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They say buffalo hunting is not for the faint of heart and I truly believe that. I have a lot of respect for buffalo which is why it’s also my favorite animal to hunt.

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For those readers who are into gear and tech, tell us a bit about what equipment you use:

(Laughing) Alright, but I won’t go into too much detail since I have some trade secrets that I believe puts Red Sand Films ahead of some other companies! I use Sony and I’m a very big fan of Sony cameras in general. I use a Sony FS5. The reason for that is because I love slow-motion kill shots. I love the vapor trail and I love capturing the impact of the shot on film. Using the Sony allows me to film in 120 fps. I think the average videographer shoots in 60 fps, so I’m shooting double that frame-rate for my slo-mo impact shots. I really love it. I also use the latest GoPro 9.

I have one of them now and am getting a second one soon—I love those things. They’re great for little action shots while driving or if you have a quick hike up a mountain and don’t want to carry a big camera.

For my drone work I use a DJI Mavic Pro which is incredible. I’m investing in new equipment now that will be ready for the rest of the 2021 season and for the 2022 season. That’s about all I can say now!

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Everyone knows that the hunting videographer logs very long days. What does a typical day on safari look like for you?

On safari I’m always up early up at 4:00 – 4:30 in the morning for a quick cup of coffee. I think a lot of people don’t realize that as a cameraman you don’t just tag along for the hunt, you’re constantly

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How much editing time goes into the final production of a client’s film?

I think it depends on videographer to videographer. For me, let’s use a 10-day hunt as an example. It’ll take me about 5-6 full days of editing for a finished production. Later in the season, as things start flowing, I probably do it a bit quicker. My normal turn-around time for clients is 90 days to complete their videos. The reason being is that in the peak of season, which is June, July, and August for me, I’m in the bush filming for 21-25 days in a month and then only home for 5-6 days in between before going out again for another

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In closing, what do you think makes your work at Red Sands Films unique and sets you apart in the industry?

That’s a great question. I think the number one thing for me is that when someone hires Red Sand Films to capture their hunt, they’re not just getting a videographer—they’re getting a hunter and a videographer. A lot of times you’ll have a cameraman following you in the bush, but he’s not a hunter himself so he doesn’t understand all the nuances of hunting and he can sometimes get in the way. More than anything, the client is focused on making the shot. With me I absolutely want that hunter to get his animal— that’s my first priority. Having grown up hunting, I understand how to work around everything so that the client is successful. It’s a combination of both—getting that once-in-a-lifetime creative film shot while at the same time being part of the hunting experience so that the client gets his animal.

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As a cameraman I log really long days. If you’re lucky you’ll go back to camp for lunch, but if not, you stay out all day hunting until dark. Then you drive back to camp and everyone has a cold beer and dinner. When the PH and clients go off to bed, this is when it gets interesting for me. Everyone else goes to sleep except for the videographer. I go back to my room or tent and I back up all of my footage. Then I log the events of the day in my notebook so that when I sit in my editing studio later I remember what happened that particular day. All the footage gets backed-up to an external hard drive just in case something happens to the SD card. I make sure my equipment is working properly and put my batteries on charge. Then it’s a quick 3-4 hours of sleep and the day begins again. Some guys actually start editing on safari, but I like to spend more time with my clients and get to know them better, so I save the editing for after the safari when I’m back at my studio. More on that later.

three weeks or so. It’s very difficult to find editing time during or between those safaris.

Another thing is that I like to personally edit my hunts. So, when I film a hunt I’m the one editing that hunt. I know exactly what happened on that safari because I was there.

If I have to give that footage to someone else, they go through all that video and they’re not sure what the storyline looks like.

That’s why I have a 90-day turnaround time because I do it myself and it’s not a mix-match of clips, but it tells the story as it actually happened.

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filming everything. I film everything from the sunrise to getting into the truck, driving off and then getting onto the first tracks of the day. I’m constantly building a story in my head and I’m constantly filming all these little things happening. So, I have to be ready and prepared to capture everything as it happens.

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Another thing that’s very important to me is forming a personal relationship with the clients. Normally it starts off over a simple email from the client, but when the safari ends we walk away as friends. The bonding and forming of that lasting relationship is very important to me.

I think another reason Red Sand Films is unique is that I’ve been doing this since I was 14 years old—that’s over 10 years now and it makes a difference. At Red Sand Films we’re always pushing the boundaries and constantly trying new ideas and doing things to stay on top of the game. We want to have that “X” factor which makes all the difference. It’s really our passion and we never want to get stagnant. Improving the way we tell stories of the hunt is our bottom-line goal. When you hire Red Sand Films to film your safari, the quality will speak for itself.

Find Reinhardt and Red Sand Films on: Instagram: @redsandfilms Email: info@redsandfilms.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UC9wjzN7H8AjalGPpXGJB6uw

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IT WON’T LET YOU DOWN

MICRO H-2™ The Aimpoint® Micro H-2 is a small and lightweight sight built for extreme hunting and shooting conditions. The rugged housing it is equipped with transparent protecting flip-up covers. The Micro H-2 has an outstanding optical performance and is available in three different MOA sizes; 2, 4 and 6 MOA. It offers 50 000 hours of operation on a single battery.

The Micro H-2 combines simplicity, speed, ruggedness, accuracy and reliability - it won’t let you down.

Read more on www.aimpoint.com

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As soon as my ‘Maui Nui’ Hawaiian Axis deer shipment arrived, I knew I needed to do something special with it--something that honored the roots and the origin of this incredible venison. While I realize that Axis deer are not native to Hawaii, I believe they have become an integral part of the island culture since they were introduced in 1959. So many of my native Hawaiian friends hunt them and the meat comprises a large part of their everyday diet. These friends are raising their families on this wild, introduced meat and for that reason I wanted to find a special recipe as a way of sharing in that history and culinary culture. I was introduced to ‘Loco Moco’ some years back, it is as simple as it is delicious! The recipe has a number of steps to it since it is comprised of several different items which combine to create an incredible meal. I also managed to get my hands on some Maui onions, which are incredibly sweet and flavorful. If you cannot get them near you, any sweet onion will work well. I also used duck eggs to finish off the plate, another delicious alternative if you can get your hands on them, a bit richer than chicken eggs, but the later will certainly serve you well in this recipe.

Give it a try and let me know your thoughts.

Enjoy!

Tony Caggiano @tonycagg_outdoors

#WildGameBased is about the lifestyle we live and love. A lifestyle in which cooking wild game provides our family and friends with healthy sustenance. A lifestyle of knowing where your food comes from, who has touched it, what is in it, and perhaps above all, taking accountability for your decision to hunt wild game and be a meat eater. #MauiNuiVenison is on a mission to help balance Axis deer populations for the good of their environment, communities and food systems.

Learn more about ordering mindfully sourced high-quality protein and the true impact of invasive Axis deer on Maui and why they are so committed to their mission at www.mauinuivenison.com

MAUI NUI LOCO MOCO Ingredients: • 2 cups rice (I use Jasmine rice for this recipe) • 3 1/2 cups water • pinch of sea salt Burgers: • 1 pound ground ‘Maui Nui’ Axis deer venison • 1/4 cup Maui onion - diced (any sweet onion will substitute well) • 1 tbsp soy sauce • fresh black pepper • avocado oil (canola works as well) Gravy: • 1 tablespoon butter • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil • 1 cup sliced mushrooms • 1 Maui onion - sliced thinly • 2 cloves garlic - diced • 2 cups game or beef broth • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce • 1 tbsp soy sauce • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika • black pepper to taste • 1 tablespoon cornstarch • canola oil

Eggs: • 4 large eggs • 1 tbsp butter Garnish: • chopped scallions and sesame seeds Instructions: For the rice: 1. Place water and pinch of salt into a medium saucepan, on high heat, and bring to a boil.

2. Add the rice, stir once and cover.

3. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the burgers: 1. Mix the venison, onions, soy sauce and black pepper to taste in a mixing bowl.

2. Form the meat into 4 patties and set on plate, wrap plate with plastic wrap.

3. Place patties in refrigerator for at least an hour to set up nicely.

4. Place a cast-iron pan over high heat.

5. Add a drizzle of avocado oil and set the patties in the pan.

6. Cover pan with a lid (will help keep in moisture) 7. Cook burgers for 3-4 minutes, until browned.

8. Flip burgers and continue cooking to desired doneness (about 3 more minutes for medium-rare) 9. Remove the burger, place on a plate and cover to keep them warm.

For the gravy: 1. Put the butter and sesame oil in pan with the meat drippings.

2. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic, sauté́ until golden brown.

3. Add the broth, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, sprinkle paprika in slowly while stirring.

4. Bring to a boil and then allow to reduce for 3-4 minutes.

5. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water to make a slurry.

6. Slowly add slurry into the gravy, stirring constantly until thickened.

7. Season black pepper.

8. Cover and keep warm until ready for use.

For the eggs: 1. Add butter to a nonstick pan on medium heat.

2. Crack in the eggs and cook sunny-side up.

3. Remove eggs from pan.

To serve: 1. Place a scoop of the cooked rice on a plate.

2. Put a burger on top of the rice.

3. Top with the mushroom & onion gravy.

4. Put an egg on top.

5. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Artwork courtesy of Maui Nui WE

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BOWHUNTING

the Impala Rut

by Russ de la Harpe

In the 1960´s, the famous game warden Joe McGregor Brooks wrote in his book Siatwinda about the myriad of big game encounters he had working on this part of the famous Lake Kariba in Zambia. He describes the Siatwinda peninsula as a hotspot of activity and the setting for stories of man-eating lion, crop raiding elephant and the ever-dangerous hippo and crocodile sending chills down ones back.

Sadly, however, time has not been kind to the Siatwinda from a conservation perspective. Now walking in the bush here is free of concerns over any wildlife whatsoever. All that remains of the dangerous game that once roamed here are the odd pile of elephant bones and old scars on baobab trees from leopards scaling their slippery trunks either to stash their kills or more likely to take a midday nap.

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The bounties of Lake Kariba fishery have brought a large influx of people to its shores. This has resulted in the unregulated and wholesale plundering of the area’s natural resources. Wildlife and fish populations have been decimated and the habitat has suffered hugely.

Woodlands have been wiped out and open areas have been overgrazed to the point of extreme erosion. Domestic dogs, goats, cattle and people now take up the habitat where all of the ‘big 5’ and a myriad of plains game once roamed free.

They don't really possess a weakness that a bowhunter can consistently prey on.

Photos by Slots Media

However, it is not all doom and gloom! Thanks to stakeholders in the area being passionate about wildlife and conservation, a chain of islands off the mainland at Siatwinda remains a stronghold for wildlife.

A thriving population of plains game, hippo, crocodile and a small nomadic herd of elephant call this chain of islands home.

This unique location and habitat make for a challenging and exciting playground for hunters wishing to put their skills to the test against the ever-sensitive wit of plains game animals found on these islands.

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The Quarry The most common species here, and thus one of the most frequently targeted, is impala.

Often not given enough attention due to their prevalence across the continent, impala is a quarry seemingly made for bowhunting.

They are well and truly at the bottom of the food chain in most of the regions where they exist and they don´t really possess a weakness that a bowhunter can consistently prey on.

However, for a few months of the year, the impala males go into a rutting mode that definitely exhibits some of the most high-octane and consistent rutting behavior of any other species in Africa and which, when it fires off, can be quite a spectacle. Much like elk and Red deer, impala males have a host of peculiar noises made up of grunts, snorts and other sounds I cannot even describe.

Through displays of dominance, and fairly often fights, males compete for the right to control the territory and to eventually pass on genes to the females the victor may have won over. All of this results in a large focus shift which can sway the odds of success in favor of bowhunters wishing to target them on foot.

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The most challenging aspect of hunting on this island is managing your movements in relation to the wind which has a nasty reputation for swirling and changing direction, often at the most critical time.

Many who have hunted here already know this all too well.

Getting into position in the right area early in the morning is a good way to avoid such situations and so hunters will often leave the mainland before first light in our speed boat known as “The Pelican”.

Being on the water as the sun rises is an awesome experience.

Playing the wind as best as possible, hunters slowly make their way along boulder strewn shorelines and dense Zambezi Valley thicket, attempting to achieve only one thing--spot them before they spot you! With the impala’s tremendous eyesight, coupled with dense scrub in some areas, this can be tricky. There is always an element of luck involved.

However, from time to time one will catch a swish of a tail or a flash of vibrant orange in a patch of sunlight which gives the prize away instantly. When the rut is in full swing one can hear them snorting, bleating and thrashing bushes from a few hundred meters away. This is your best chance, don´t mess it up.

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Photos by Slots Media

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Guides from Backcountry Africa have learned that slow going is the best way to approach these wary animals. This gives you the best chance of spotting them in good time as well as detecting any other animals that may be nearby. Tunnel vision here can be a stalk killer.

One needs to take everything into account: the animals’ behavior, any other animals around, birds, wind, sun--it all needs to line up. The impala’s keen vision will catch even the smallest movement if you are not careful. Even something as discreet as reaching for your release or lifting your optics at 70-80 yards can spell disaster for your stalk if done at the wrong time. Large herds made up of mostly females are not worth approaching unless you are really desperate. Even though it is possible, 8 times out of 10 it ends with one of the females seeing you from 80 yards away and the stalk is over.

Getting Close As with most bow hunts, closing the gap from 100 to 60 or so yards can be relatively doable, especially here where there is so much cover. Getting from 60 yards to under the magical 30-yard mark can be a painstakingly slow process which takes immense patience and is often a case of gaining 5 yards and losing 3 as the animals move.

We can only approach when they are moving or better still when they are feeding. On occasion of course one can get lucky and find them feeding in your direction – a golden opportunity!

All of this being said, in this area in particular but in many others as well, the abundance of impala lets you pick and choose your stalks depending on each situation and not waste precious time with opportunities with a low chance of success--a luxury not often afforded when pursuing other species.

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Should you manage to close the gap to under 30 yards it becomes a crucial decision time: do I simply wait for a shooting lane or do I try and get even closer? With the impala´s unbelievable ability to “string jump” and completely remove themselves from any danger of getting hit by a flying arrow--closer is better! Forty yards is a common shot distance on any other species but on impala it is border line unethical.

It’s a shot with considerable risks of either missing entirely or hitting the animal poorly–which of course goes against our objective of making a quick, clean kill. This is where a good quality arrow setup is incredibly important as impala can change their body angle drastically between the arrow being released and hitting its mark. An arrow and broadhead that first of all flies silently and second of all penetrates fully is vital.

When this all comes together it is not uncommon--with some skill, patience and, as always, some luck--to get into the 20-yard range or even closer. Especially when they are feeding or seriously rutting. Your shot opportunity may be brief since a window in the cover may only present itself for a few seconds. As long as you are ready for it, there will be enough time to make a clean and controlled shot on an animal that is unaware of your presence, which we feel is the pinnacle of a bowhunting experience, regardless of the quarry.

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Once the shot breaks it is in most cases impossible to see what happens since it all happens incredibly quickly. Even though they are a small-framed animal, if not hit well, they can go long distances before slowing up. Fortunately, when the shots are close in this doesn’t happen often.

In addition to their natural beauty on the hoof, impala make for some of the best table fare of all the game animals in Africa, making the hunt for them even more rewarding. Put all of this together and you have an incredibly exciting hunt with many factors at play and, fortunately for us, loads of opportunities to hunt and learn from these often-overlooked animals. Bowhunting on foot in Africa is not that common but believe it or not it is very possible and an excellent opportunity to intimately immerse yourself in some of the last remaining wilderness areas on the planet.

You can find more of Russ de la Harpe's adventures guiding, exploring and documenting hunting and fishing conservation in Africa’s untouched wildernesses on Instagram @ backcountryafrica

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Hunting Photography ... Because memories fade

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