bowhunterafric

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MAY 2014VOL 15 - ISSUE 05SOUTH AFRICAR34.00 [incl VAT]USA $ 6.50OTHER COUNTRIES R29.82 [Tax excl]

The art of patience – making the first shot count

The privilege of hunting My eerste sukses met

die boog

That indescribable adrenalin rush!Twee blesbokke en ’n blouwildebees

Bow test: Hoyt's Factor TurboUnderstanding animal behaviour

– a key to hunting success

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CONTENTS

5 A hunter worthy of the name

7 From our readers

8 Understanding animal behaviour – a key to hunting success

12 Testing Hoyt’s Factor Turbo

17 That indescribable adrenalin rush!

18 Twee blesbokke en ‘n blouwildebees

21 Ranging and aiming on a walk-and-stalk hunt – part 4

24 The privilege of hunting

27 The art of patience – making the first shot count

31 The way I see it

33 ABO news

35 Product information: Martin Archery sold

37 Product showcase: GamePlan Gear - BowBat XL Sling Pack

39 Product showcase: The Toxic broadhead

39 Product showcase: Treezyn launced in South Africa!

41 SABA news

43 Readers' trophies

51 Subscribe

53 My eerste sukses met die boog

58 Barky’s notebook

62 Bowhunting opportunities

63 Bows for sale

64 Letter from the rookie

Cover image: Seppie Cilliers holding a Hoyt Factor Turbo. Photographer – Marina Maree

5MAY 2014 AFRICA’S BOWHUNTER

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Each season has a magic of its own. Autumn with its beautiful changing colours of greens to umber, orange, pale yellows and

browns resonates well with hunters for it ushers in the long antici-pated, saved and practiced for hunting season. May it be one in which you are successful, grow wiser and appreciate more the wonders of Creation. Hunt ethically, responsibly and without waste. Never hunt with a callous heart. Let the excitement of having hunt-ed an animal successfully always be tempered by a sense of

remorse, sadness and regret. Treat your slain quarry with dignity and respect – do these things and you will be a hunter worthy of the name.

This autumn also ushers in a new season for me personally. After close on 40 years of formally working in the African bush the time has come to (semi-) retire. My wife’s and my decision to finally call it a day has been motivated by a growing irritation and discontent with red tape, officialdom and an ever increasing bureaucracy in what used to be one of the professions least encumbered by these pains. Enough was enough. At our farewell I summed it all up by saying “the system has made me redundant”. So be it.

Now a whole new season has opened up for my wife Bernice and myself. We have moved down to the beautiful farming town of Villiersdorp in the Western Cape and can get down to doing things we really enjoy doing without having to be dictated to by irksome bureaucrats and officials. Don’t get me wrong, we were so privileged and immensely enjoyed the time we spent working in the bush, but times have changed – they are not what they used to be.

Whereas in the past I was a part-time employee of Africa’s Bowhunter, I am now pleased to say that I will be working full-time with Bowhunter, Rean and the team. I have been with and contributed to the magazine since its inception, but have now been kindly invited onto the team full time by Rean. I am very thankful for this and trust that I will serve the magazine and all bowhunters faithfully and with diligence. I have the big shoes of Tom Cairncross to fill – a very challenging task and if I end up doing half as well as he did it will be good enough.

It was very demanding up until now holding down a full-time job and writing for Bowhunter and other magazines and often had to burn the candle at both ends. Now that I have more time on my hands I hope to get more involved with experimental and testing work with things relating to archery in general and bowhunting in particular. Once we have found our feet I also hope to present bowhunting and tracking courses on a more regular basis.

Rean has become a very good friend of mine over the years. He is one of the few people I know who’s word and handshake is as good as a written contract. Thank you for inviting me onto the team – I trust that with the Father’s help I will serve you well.

Cleve Cheney

AFRICA’S BOWHUNTERAfrica’s Bowhunter [ABH] is an independent monthly publication for the archer, bow hunter, game farm owner and nature lover. Copyright on all articles and material published in ABH resides with the publisher. No part of ABH may be copied or reproduced without permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in articles or advertisements do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, editorial committee or publishers. Submission of articles for publication is welcome, but although care is taken, the publisher can accept no responsibility for loss or damage to any material submitted.

Africa’s Bowhunter Magazine cc[CK/] 96/32848/23PO Box 31688Waverley, 0135South AfricaTel: 012 330 3464 Fax: +27 86 615 7044E-mail: editor@africasbowhunter.co.zaWebsite: www.africasbowhunter.co.zaOffice address: 880A Crots Street, Rietfontein, Pretoria .

PUBLISHERRean SteenkampE-mail: editor@africanarcher.com

EDITORRean SteenkampE-mail: editor@africasbowhunter.co.za

HUNTING/ENVIRONMENTAL EDITORCleve CheneyCell: 082 922 5547E-mail: cleve@africasbowhunter.co.za

COPY EDITORMariette KrielEmmerentia Steyn

DESIGN AND LAYOUTAndré van SchaikE-mail: repro@africasbowhunter.co.za

REPRODUCTION & PRINTINGImpress Printers for Sheetfed, Web, Digital and Packaging printingTelephone: 031 263 2755

DISTRIBUTIONRNA DistributionHazel LuüsTel: 011 248 3639

SUBSCRIPTIONS / ADVERTISEMENTSSantie LiebenbergE-mail: santie@africasbowhunter.co.za

A hunter worthy of the name

6 AFRICA’S BOWHUNTER MAY 2014

BOWTECHArchery.com

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