We got up way before sunrise, got dressed and packed, loaded up the Landcruiser, grabbed an egg, bacon, and cheese breakfast sandwich and an iced coffee at the pub, and headed for the billabong. As we got within a half mile of the water, Rocque spotted a herd of buffalo out in the slightly wooded plains not too far from the road, so he stopped the vehicle, told Doug to grab the bow, and off they went to put on a stalk in the early dawn.
I got my binos and headed for the roof rack to get a high perch to view the action. It is not often that hunting becomes a spectator sport, but I was really liking this situation where I had tagged out on both a buff and a boar and could watch my best friend playing catch up on some great animals. The grass was high, and Doug and Rocque had to stay hunkered down; however, I had a bird's eye view of everything that was taking place and only wished I could have been whispering in Doug's ear and telling him what was happening that he couldn't see.
The biggest problem with the stalk was the wind. It was blowing from Doug's and Rocque's direction toward the buffaloes and there was no way to circle down wind without being spotted. The only real bull was a medium sized one, but good enough to shoot if Doug got the chance. I love the way the bulls normally do things, which is to approach you when they are curious as to what you are. They come straight at you with their heads low so there is rarely a shot, and almost never a good shot. Mick told us that some guys like the frontal shot which can penetrate the heart or sever the arteries just above the heart, but most of the folks who take that shot are compound archers who use sights for pinpoint accuracy. I'm not saying a trad archer couldn't make the shot (obviously we could) but it is not a high percentage shot to begin with, and most of us are not as accurate as our brethren who have high-tech gadgets including cables, cams, sights, mechanical releases, range finders, and weight let off that promote great accuracy with relatively little effort or skill. I'm not putting down the guys with wheels, just noting that the technological aspects of the equipment require far less of the archer than using trad gear.
Back to the story. Doug and Roque crept through the high grass towards the buffalo bull in the dim light, but their scent was drifting -- no, BLOWING -- in his direction. You could see the reaction of the entire herd when the human scent reached them. There really are no natural predators of the buffalo in Oz, so they don't react like cape buffalo in Africa who are regularly eaten by lions and hyenas. Most of the herd started retreating slowly, while the bull turned in Doug's direction as Doug continued forward with Rocque hanging back. Finally, Doug could see the bull through the grass and stopped. The bull slowly advanced directly towards Doug, holding its head low and its nose forward to test the wind and stare at the strange shape partially hidden in the grass. I know Doug was thinking about that frontal shot, because we had discussed it with Mick and Andy on several occasions, but Doug simply was not going to take a poor shot, particularly because he was not being backed up with any rifle, much less a .416 Ruger like Mick and Andy carried. None of us wanted Doug returning to Oklahoma in a box! Finally, the bull had enough and quickly swapped ends and headed off to join the retreating herd. Doug and Rocque stood up and returned to the truck to head off to the billabong for our second morning in the boat.
We got to the boat, loaded up our gear, put the boat in the water, and off we went. I am going to work momentarily, but I wanted to leave you as we started out the morning on the billabong. The temperatures in the morning were fairly cool. In fact we got pretty cold at times scooting across the water at high speeds with the cool air coming off the water and chilling us. Here is a picture of Doug staying comfy in some of the great new clothing we got from Kuiu. If anyone wants to know what we think of the Kuiu products, they are GREAT. Jason Hairston's former company that he started, Sitka, puts out wonderful stuff, and I have spent a small fortune on it, but the Kuiu line that Jason has now created is even better, at least to the extent he has produced clothing that competes with his former company. This picture is Doug wearing the Kuiu Cap and the Guide Jacket, both in the Vias camo pattern that Jason himself created. The jacket is compact, light and warm, and repels water extremely well without being rain gear. The cap is nice, especially the camo, but it is really just a well made cotton baseball style cap and is not a whole lot different than what you could buy off the shelf, except for the excellent Vias camo look and the Kuiu logo. I did wear my Kuiu cap part of the time, but while hunting I wore an Outdoor Research Radar Cadet cap with a short, folding brim that is great for bow hunting. I wish Jason made a similar cap with his camo pattern, but I think that will be coming in the future. The Guide Jacket that Doug is wearing here is incomparable in quality and function. We will both be wearing our Kuiu clothing throughout the fall hunting season and are very glad to have it.
It was going to be a great day, and Doug was going to be able to continue putting that wonderful camo clothing to work doing more than just keeping him warm and helping hide him from the buffalo. (Hint, hint!!) Stay tuned this evening for the wrap up on Chapter Two.
Allan
Topic: Somewhere over the rainbow -- back from the land of Oz (Chapter TWO) (Read 2531 times)
