Simple Man’s Dreams

Africa, Africa… the institution solution for me. Every step in my nine-dollar tennis shoes was a good one. The morning hunt was slow with few animals moving. We came in for lunch. I went to visit a village near the camp then came back for a swim. We left out at 3 p.m., saw a few animals now and then. So we started stopping and walking through brush several hundred yards to waterholes glassing them over. After about three waterholes we spotted a waterbuck barely before it spotted us. We got closer and I got in a sitting position for a shot, after about 15 minutes. He was staying under a large camel thorn tree. With the scope on him waiting for him to move, I grew tired and laid down. This time he moved only to lay down leaving me virtually no shot at all. We’d debated on me trying to make a neck shot but decided against it. We decided to get closer so we crawled on our bellies and managed to get closer and hid behind a thorn bush. He spotted us but did not spook. He knew something was there, so the stare down was on. Finally in about 15 minutes he stood up and turned his head to look back so I took three steps to the right of the bush right out in the open with my gun up. Another stare down was on until my arm was about to break all along with ten bugs biting me. Then he started to break and run and I made my shot. He was gone, but so was I behind him in full sprint trying to get another shot but there was no need, he went down. I have made a perfect shot leaving me four one-shot kills. And a few mercy shots after finding them. Let me say, this was a hell of a hunt! He was a Safari Club scorer, Dolby Boone & Crockett. Today I wasn’t even wearing my watch. Who cared what time it was! I was not living by a timepiece.