| "Can
I bowhunt?" is a question I am often asked... and my
reply is usually "what do you want to hunt and what
type of bow do you have?"
Here
are some very basic pointers and recommendations for hunting
African game with a bow. Now bowhunting is a sport that
has so many many angles, far more than rifle shooting and
so I am sure there will be lots of opinions that I have
here that will go against what people think, but I have
had a degree of success with bowhunters and while I may
not have tried everything...not by a long way, I have seen
what doesn’t work and a few things that do!!!
The
first question I am usually asked is "how big a bow
do I need?"
For general plains game, I have successfully taken
a wide variety with a 70# bow shooting 400 – 450 grain
arrows. bigger bows are fine and will mean that you can
shoot a bit further as you will have heavier arrows that
retain their energy for longer, but anything upwards of
that you will be fine. I recommend staying away from mechanical
broadheads, again there may be some great ones out there,
but good old thunderheads and g5 broadheads do an excellent
job on African plains game.
If
you are wanting to shoot hippo, elephant or buffalo, I would
recommend nothing less than 100# and nothing less than 950
grain arrows. Some may say you can go lighter, but better
be safe than sorry, you will want a narrow two blade broadhead
and be sure that you choose one that has a rounded tip when
looked at through a magnifying glass, pointed tips will
often bend or even break off on contact with heavy bond
seriously affecting your penetration. I have a contact in
south Africa who will build custom arrows for you if necessary,
he has a gold medal at the all Africa games, and has personally
shot plenty of bug game, something not many archery vendors
can say.
On
elephant or buff with the heavier bow you wont be shooting
closer than 25 yards, with those stiff arrows, much closer
and they haven’t finished their yaw cycle yet and
they absolutely need to hit at right angles in case of a
solid bone hit . one of the issues is getting out of the
way to avoid having to shoot with the rifle and spoiling
the bow trophy!!!
Hunting
will be walk and stalk on the big game and a combination
of walk and stalk and tree and ground stands for the plains
game.
Be
well prepared and bring a cable bowpress and extra string.
I
would also say at least two dozen arrows and 30 broadheads,
if you are a serious bowhunter, I have had a guy shoot 7
animals in the same day before, and even if its just warthogs
and impala its heartbreaking to run short of arrows when
there is so much opportunity.
Other
vital equipment:
•
Facemask
• Rangefinder
• Tuning and sighting equipment , allen wrenches etc.
• Extra fletching , fletchtite and a jig
My
recommended broadheads:
I
realize there are hundreds to choose from, but the list
below is a simplified list of what I have seen work with
devastating effect on all manner of game...in order...
•
G5 montec and tekan 9 tekans with the mechanical part removed
• Thunderheads
• Zwickeys
As
I said in opening , all of this is just my opinion and you
ae most welcome to seek other counsel from your local proshop
, please do me a favour and be sure that if they recommend
something , that they have seen someone successfully use
what they recommend on what you are going to hunt …
Shoot
straight !!!
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