AHC#3 Speaking Terms | african-hunter

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Speaking Terms

By Pungubwe

At latest count, there are over 2.5 million members in the American National Rifle Association, and an equal number of members in other similar groups around the world. Within these governing bodies of shooters there are a number of approved shooting disciplines; e.g., small bore, high power, bulls eye pistol, police pistol, action pistol, skeet, trap and on and on.

Each of these entities, of course has its own specific rules and regulations, not the least of which is a published list of standardized range commands and gun handling protocol. I have, over the years had a somewhat diverse career within these various competitive disciplines, but, my most in-depth and extended experience lies generally within the sphere of professional outfitting and sport hunting. I have now been on both the receiving and providing end of this business for 40 years. During this period it has been my more than casual observation, that very little of the aforementioned standardized communications and protocol (with the exception of gun safety) have seeped into the recreational hunting industry.

During my first 30 years of hunting, whether pursuing Coues deer in Arizona or Caribou on the Alaskan Peninsula, I cannot remember receiving but perhaps one or two in-depth pre-hunt briefings. Oh yeah, occasionally Old Luke, with the pointed toed boots and raggedy hat, would saunter up to the campfire and casually announce “ok, we're hunting elk in the morning, see you at 0500”.

Very rarely indeed, during these times, was there ever a discourse on calibres, bullet weights, optics or gun safety. Only once during this period did a North American guide/outfitter, actually drag me out to the range and watch me shoot. In the past 10 years, the northern hemisphere outfitters have done a great deal to professionalize and standardize some of their business. But, trust me, the opportunity for misunderstanding is still alive and thriving.

The safari business in Africa is a totally different issue. Some Americans may even think their African bush experience was, perhaps, over-controlled. Within my five or six favorite hunting destinations in Africa, each and every one has a well-organized PH infrastructure. Each of these organizations has well-established training and evaluation criteria that each prospective PH must complete. This includes both a formal academic curriculum, and a hands-on practical field test requirement. The average length of these professional schools is two weeks. In Zimbabwe, the training requirements, after completion of the formal school, can continue for up to three years of practical field application. I assure you that any African PH worth his biltong is going to be well-trained and highly perceptive to your needs. I can further assure you that he or she will, upon your arrival in camp, whisk you away to the shooting bench before you even have a chance to see your first warthog. Does all this training and practical testing nullify the need for better communications? Not hardly.

Joe Coogan, well-known African PH and journalist recently wrote a very quotable paragraph in his article “Lost in Translation”. This entire thesis was based on the need for clear and concise communication between PH and client. Mr. Coogan had, previously in the story, enumerated some of the more basic needs for non-verbal communication but went even further when addressing the urgent need for clear and concise messages when hunting dangerous game: “When it comes to hunting dangerous game, verbal or spoken communications are often necessary, if not critical, to the success and safety of the hunt. When an experienced hunter is guiding an inexperienced client, many aspects of the hunt require discussion and explanation before, during and after the hunt. This is especially true when moving in close to an animal that is dangerous enough to kill or maim you in an instant.” I agree completely with Mr. Coogan, but would go even further, in that this requirement extends to the most experienced of hunters and includes the pursuit of even the most docile of game.

Since 1959 I have obsessively hung on every word of the master hunters of yesteryear. It is quite obvious from these writings that even way back during the Great Safari Renaissance of the 1950's, frequent trips to the range were mandated by Maestro Ruark's world famous PH and mentor Harry Selby. During these leisurely and less frantic days, clients would often arrive 2 or 3 days ahead of the hunt and then have a further few days to actually spend getting into the hunt area. This provided lots of time to get acquainted and allowed for thorough discussions on who, what, when, where and how far.

Considering today's hectic schedules, fast food and the slam dunk, it has become quite normal for the sports to arrive at 6 pm the night before they are to start hunting. This type of schedule barely allows you enough time to figure out where you're sleeping and what time breakfast is. Of course, when your hunting among long-time buddies, good comms have usually evolved over the years and everyone has an intuitive picture of what their buddies are doing. But even among life-long hunting friends I have personally observed the “hey Charley there's a buck” syndrome.For example, Paul Van Acker and I have been hunting together for longer than most people have been alive. In 1999, Paul and I had travelled via car, jet liner, multi-engine prop planes and single engine puddle jumpers, in order to be smack in the middle of the forever moving, 1½ million strong Mulchatna Caribou herd. On our third day out, Paul and I split up and I was hunting solo with our local guide. After about four hours of sloshing, spotting and stalking, we saw a group of about 30 Caribou heading somewhat in our direction. After a quarter mile sprint, we were comfortably hidden behind two 18-wheeler sized boulders. My trusty guide had declared before the sprint “there are four very large bulls in that bunch.”

After taking one in the brisket, this bull was skillfully hiding in the herd and very difficult to identify. The alert PH saw an ox-pecker land on his back and so identified it to the shooter. Without good comms this would have been a lost bull.

At about ten o’clock that night, after 9 ½ hours of searching under every bush on the mountain, we had decided that one of our heroes was indeed lost, abducted, unconscious or deceased. Talk about your cold blankets. I was one truly upset and frantically worried guide. We were about to give up and call the search and rescue posse when Paul had a sudden flash of brilliance and suggested we drive to the main gate and see if anyone has left a note. Sounded crazy to me, but I acquiesced as Paul is bigger than I am. Can you believe it? Three-quarters-of-an-hour later we were reading a message from my wife that all is well and our Hero is back at the lodge having a beer. How in the sam hell could this happen? Easy - just remember old Murphy is alive and well at all times and he is always lying in wait to bite you in the butt. When I had let our hero out of the truck at 0500 that morning, my last words were an admonition not to cross any roads. His perception, somewhat different, was that he was preparing to disembark from an improved tar road and in his minds eye, stomp the bush for the next four or five hours whereupon he would come upon another improved tar road. He would then wait until transportation arrived. This guy is 6'1” and has extremely long legs and can walk quite fast if need be. He marched off the mountain at a dead run, came to the dirt road in about an hour and kept right on marching. All in all he crossed six fences, three dirt roads, the Salmon river and a major highway. He was then picked up by a motorist in a Volkswagen, and driven to the lodge, which is 33 miles from his departure point.

About eight or nine years ago my friend and PH, Allan Shearing, and I were hunting buffalo along the Angwa river in Zimbabwe's Zambezi Valley. The first morning out we had been on a herd of the black beasts for about two hours, when suddenly they decided to take their midmorning siesta. Allen and I, plus trackers and another hunter decided to wait them out.

We found a good observation point in a bit of shade and settled in for the wait.

Several times, a couple of the herd bulls stood up and stretched their legs and promptly plopped back down. Four hours later, with absolutely no preamble, the entire herd leaped up as if they had been spooked by the devil himself. Luckily, rather than spreading out across the veld, they were moving off in single file and would pass within shooting distance of our hiding place. The evening before, Allen and I had gone to the range and wrung the guns out pretty good, so he was well aware of what both the gun and I were (or were not) capable of.

Not being one to take anything for granted, he also took a good deal of time querying me as to what type of bull I would be happy with. When the herd got up and started moving the next day would definitely not have been a good time to have a discussion on the merits of various buffalo characteristics. As a consequence of our previous discussion , when the herd moved past our location Allen was up and ready to call out the position of suitable bulls. “OK, get ready! That fourth one back is a really great old dagga boy. Wait…Wait, let him turn. OK now take him.” At the shot, instead of bolting, they all started to mill about in a huge dusty mass of black. Allen steadfastly continued to study the herd with his 8X50s.

“OK. OK. That's him turning towards us. An oxpecker just landed on his back.”

The oxpecker was clearly visible in my scope and I managed to finish off the critter with a quick shoulder shot. Without clear and concise instructions from Allen I would probably have lost that bull.

The very next day was somewhat similar to the previous. It was now Paul's turn. Again we were lucky and got onto a herd early on. After an hour-and-a-half of marvellous tracking, we had them grazing about a hundred yards below us, in a lush riverine area. Our elevation above the herd gave us a slight advantage but it was going to be difficult to pick out a good bull and stay with him, as the hundred or so grazing animals moved to and fro. Once again, clear and concise communications saved the day. Allen immediately started picking out the good bulls and Paul found himself a good rest up against a handy tree. Allen continued whispering instructions as the herd milled about. As the herd continued to move, Allen gave out excellent instruction as to which bulls were which, and when they were clear of other animals for a safe shot.

Without good comms from PH Allen Shearing, Paul Van Acker would never have gotten this wise old bull.

“Alright, there's a really good bull. He's the third one back from that lead cow. Do you see him? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. There's a cow right behind him. OK, that's him just stepping clear of that scrub acacia.”

This type of concise communication can often make the difference between success and failure.

The best advice I can give any hunter with limited experience is to quote the old cliché, “The only stupid question is the one that went unasked.” Always, when you're booked with an outfitter or merely going hunting with your best friend, insist on a discussion of some sort on any subject with which you are in doubt. Special emphasis should be added to the what, where and how of gun safety. Trust me on this one; other riflemen from various parts of this planet have opinions that are diverse in the extreme regarding gun handling. In Idaho it is perfectly legal to travel about in a pick-up, with a fully loaded rifle in the cab, even in town. In some other states you would immediately be arrested and deported to Camp X-ray for two life sentences. Know what the rules are and if there aren't any, impose your own. As an example, when to be loaded and when not to be loaded often makes for a good topic of discussion.

If you think this subject doesn't need to be aired among hunters, ask HHK's Zimbabwean PH, Steve Brewer what it feels like to be shot in the head by an imbecile of a hunter, that didn't know when to load and unload.

I will end this little treatise with a quote from my favourite African curmudgeon of days gone by, John “Pondoro” Taylor:

“Safety precautions should not be carried to such an extreme that they defeat their object and become a positive danger”. This is precisely what they have become. Take for example that incident related by Jim Corbett in one of his books. Jim and an acquaintance wounded a tiger one evening and after following the blood spoor for a while, had to quit when the light failed. The following morning the sportsman went out to pick up the spoor, where he'd left it the previous evening. He was accompanied by the local shikari leading the group, and carrying the sportsman's empty rifle.When still half-a-mile or so from where they had quit the previous evening, the shikari almost stumbled over the wounded tiger, which promptly clawed him down and killed him. Now, I ask you, what kind of absurdly exaggerated safety precautions are they which cost a man his life? But it would seem that in India at any rate, and to a somewhat lesser extent in Africa, it's quite customary for men to omit to load their rifles until just before they expect to need them. If a man can't trust himself to carry a loaded rifle out of camp without risk of shooting somebody, then he has no business ever handling a rifle at all and should take up golf or tennis instead.”

“Which one should I take?” Queried I.

“Doesn't matter, they are all big,” says he.

Five minutes of complete silence behind the rock then, “here they come!”

Six cows pass into my vision, then four or five calves, and then one of the bulls appeared. My .280 Ackley broke the silence.

“My Gawd, you shot the little one!”,

“What little one?”

Often, overlooked briefing components are merely a mild irritation, but they can also be critical to the hunt and perhaps even life-threatening. About seven years ago, three clients and I were planning an organized assault on a rather nice bevy of elk that were residing on the upper reaches of our hunting area. Opening morning we were out of the lodge 1 ½ hours before daylight and after a 45 minute pick-up ride, I dropped off my clients one at a time and spaced them about a mile apart, along a paved road that bordered our prime elk habitat.

Their briefing instructions clearly stated (or so I thought) for them to wait twenty minutes until first light and then proceed down the hill for a couple of miles.

They were then to hunt the pockets and ridges to the bottom. They were instructed not to cross any roads. When they came to the road they were to stop and wait to be picked up. This should have been about a four-hour soiree. Simple says you (and me)?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pungubwe is the nom d' plum of Edd S. Woslum, White Bird, Idaho. He is the president of the custom firearms firm of Evolution USA and has an extensive background in various firearms competitions, long-range sniper matches being his number one forte. Edd and Leanne Woslum are also owners and operators of Yellow Wolf Ranch, an Idaho hunting destination for deer, elk, mountain lion and bears. He considers Zimbabwe to be his adopted country and spends considerable time there each year.