THE BIG 40 X 40 HUNT

The open grasslands of the great Karoo.

As narrated by Greg Sykes

As any hunter knows, that first hunt is an experience that will never be forgotten. For Ludy Starke, that first hunt took place many many years ago on a farm just north east of Victoria West in the heart of the Karoo. Ludy as a teenager, went with his father to inspect some dams that they had built and taking his .22 hornet with just in case, was rewarded with permission to hunt a Springbok. While that first hunt did not produce any biltong, the hunting bug bit deeply and since then nearly every year Ludy has been out in the hunting fields across South Africa and Namibia. Of course nearly no mention goes to the long suffering spouses of hunters as they keep the home fires burning year after year while hubby is off hunting. Well, coincidently in 2020, Ludy and his wife Petri celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and at the same time Petri decided that after 40 years of being a hunting widow every winter, enough was enough and the time was ripe that she too should join the ranks of the hunter. There and then they decided to make this their 40 x 40 hunt. Petri is an accomplished shot, not only in practical pistol, a discipline in which she has Springbok colours, but also with a rifle. Petri has for years competed in Silhouette shooting, .22 competitions and the CHASA hunting shoots hosted by her local club. Petri’s weapon of choice is her trusty Sako A II .243 Win with a Leupold 12X Turret Scope. Normally for competitions she uses match grade bullets, but to prepare for the hunt, Ludy dug up an old box of ammunition that he had hand loaded in their first year of marriage. The old box of ammo was Sako .243 cases 44gr of IMR 4831, CCI 250 magnum primers and Norma 100grn Soft Points. Just for interest, the IMR powder was bought at Field and Stream for the exorbitant price of R9.00 a tin back in 1978. At the range, the idea was to shoot the old ammo out in order to use the brass for load development for the hunt, but the accuracy of the 40 year old ammo so impressed them and the Norma 100grn Soft Point were ideal for hunting. The decision was made to stick to a winning recipe no matter how old it was. These old rounds that were still loaded with that old powder and primers still grouped well under the magical MOA at 100m. The hunt was arranged at Klipfontein hunting lodge which is located a little north west of Hanover. By chance this special hunt would take place less than 60 km as the crow flies from the farm where Ludy so many years before took that first step into hunting. With Covid throwing our lives into turmoil, the hunt was on, then off then on again and eventually a gap in the ever changing regulations allowing hunting, the family

took advantage and at short notice set off for the open reaches of the great Karoo. (Regulations shut down hunting again the day after they left but by then they were on the farm and out of touch with the mixed up world).

The hunting on Klipfontein is conducted in the traditional Karoo voorsit manner. The farmer really knows his stuff and positions the hunters out so well that there is no need to have the animals driven at all. The disturbance made by a hunter shooting naturally pushed the herds towards the next hunter and the layout of the farm does not allow the buck to hide away and stall the hunting. There is enough distance between the hunters that the buck are not stressed. It is more a case of them feeding in and out of the positions where the hunter is sitting and waiting.

Ludy and Petri would be hunting together and were dropped off at one of the only reasonably sized bushes on an otherwise open plane. The duo got positioned in the sparse shade of the bush and while quietly sitting waiting for the buck to appear, tested their shooting positions and made themselves comfortable. It was not a long wait until the first herd arrived, a nice ram was identified and range estimation done. Petri lined up on the buck using her long legged Harris bipod and broke the shot. Dust kicked up a few meters on the far side of the buck. The shot was low. Petri was pretty sure the shot had broken smoothly so instead of taking a chance with a rifle that may be out of zero, they decided that Ludy would hunt a bit and then they would recheck the rifle at the range near the lodge. After Ludy had shot a springbok and they recovered it to see that the shot had only just nicked the bottom of the heart did they realise that the problem was not with the rifle but lay in the fact that on these sparsely vegetated plains, a springbok stands out as the largest feature and as such one’s brain is tricked into thinking that the buck is standing much closer than it actually was. As the sun was slowly sinking towards the western horizon once Ludy had recovered and gutted his buck, they decided to call it a day and go enjoy the luxury of the lodge a bit. Klipfontein traditionally caters for overseas hunters and as such is a five star lodge. It is beautifully built in a horse shoe shape with rooms around the edges and well equipped facilities down one side. The owner had allowed the group to self cater for the hunt which was a pleasure as all amenities were well kept and stocked. For more information about Klipfontein you can visit their web page at https://www. klipfonteinhunting.farm/about

The following morning by sunrise the couple already setup next to the same bush where they had hunted from the previous day. This time however they had learned the lesson of the deceptive terrain and Ludy had his range

Ludy waiting for the spring buck to show up

Petri displaying the correct position of sitting in the shadow of the cover, in the background is the Springbok that Ludy shot with a low heart shot.

A happy hunter proudly showing off her rifle and blood marked face finder with him. The eastern sun had only just begun to cast a shadow from the bush and was still too weak to chase away the Karoo cold when the first herd of springbok came trotting past. Not expecting to see the buck this early caught them off guard and the eagle eyed springbok caught the movement of the couple as they tried to get into position for a shot and decided that there were safer areas on the farm and departed hastily towards the east. An hour later while enjoying a cup of hot coffee from the Stanley flask that had been prepared that morning, a herd meandered onto the plain in front of them. This time, Petri was determined to do everything right. Petri slowly lowered her coffee to the ground and inched the stock of her rifle up to her shoulder. Ludy ranged the dominant ram of the herd at 214 meters and whispered the distance to Petri. The previous day, Petri was calm and was able to shoot without stress at all, but today, possibly because the pressure was increased a bit with all the other hunters having bagged their buck, things were very different. With the adrenaline coursing through her veins, Petri slipped the safety off the rifle, the little click it made as it went into the fire position sounded like a gunshot in the still morning to her ears, but of course the buck 200 metres away did not hear a thing. The years of high end competition had prepared Petri for the adrenaline and pressure of competition and she thought that hunting would be the same, but this was a whole new ball game. Buck fever had her heart pounding against her chest wall. She took a few deep breaths, focused on the task at hand and once she was happy that the crosshairs has stopped their maniacal dance and settled on the shoulder of the ram, she broke the shot. Those few seconds between squeezing the trigger and seeing the buck fall can seem like a lifetime. The build-up of adrenaline and stress is suddenly gone and emotions run high. It is always a sad moment when a hunter sees the dead animal and the full implications of ones actions falls on one. Ludy had the good sense to leave Petri alone for a while to process all of this and then once she looked up still with tears running down her cheeck, gave her a hug and welcomed her into the fraternity of the hunter. As all hunters know, once

the buck is down the work begins. Petri insisted on gutting her buck and cutting off the scrotum to prevent the meat from becoming tainted. Ludy, in the tradition of South African hunters anointed Petri with the fresh blood of the Springbok, while some don’t agree with this practice, to me it is a sign of respect to the buck and a right of passage for the new hunter.

The rest of the trip was spent in the veld enjoying the nature and relaxedly hunting of a few more springbok. The family also hunted successfully and it is worth mentioning that not only did Petri shoot her first buck but her daughter inlaw also was welcomed into the realms of the huntress. The peace of the Karoo creeps into your soul and it is always difficult when the hunt is over, but as with all good things, eventually they must end and the couple bid farewell to the rest of the hunting team and embarked on the long trip back to the Cape. What an experience. 40 years waiting to hunt, a successful hunt in the year of your 40th wedding anniversary. Who could ask for more. While not their 40th year on earth, it is definitely a case of life begins at 40. We are thankful for the privilege of being able to hunt in this great country. Petri with her beautiful ram shot with a clean heart shot at 214m with her .243 rifle.

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BUCK & BASS TAXIDERMY WOULD LIKE TO SAY……

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WHO SUPPORTED US THROUGH THESE CHALLENGING TIMES

Mariandahl Farm, Adderley Road, Durbanville, Cape Town Tel: 021 972-1441 Mobile: 060 560-0681 Email: bucknbass@mweb.co.za 33° 43´55.02”S 18° 38´18.06”E