Fieldsports Britain - Hunting oryx and a leopard in the (episode 130)

AngbangtiddlyiddlyumptyFieldsportsBritain
That is right Rieky. Welcome to Fieldsports Britain. Coming to you this week from Namibia.
Coming up:
Teesoureray
That is my line. It is cheaper than stalking stags in Scotland. It is cheaper than shooting
pheasants in England. What is it Rieky?
OwagdidumdididdlyNamibiadoraray
Big game hunting in Namibia.
First it is Test Splat Special.
Welcome to our weekly look at bangs and splashes. Now, we know fizzy drinks can do crazy things
to our children. And this week's Test Splat Special is pure science. Seeking to find out
which of the three combinations of sugar and bubbles from the Coca-Cola Company is least
likely to make your child do this.
[Archie runs round in circles]
We are of course in Namibia. With the benefit of Norma Oryx softpoint ammunition, we can
shoot cans of Coke, Coke Light, Sprite and (for science's sake) water to see which one
is bubbliest and splashes the furthest. That is the one not to give your kids, right?
So we are shaking the cans, putting them on a post exactly 22.8 centimetres (no idea why
we picked that number) from a large white piece of paper. Shoot each drink with a .30-06
round and see whether it splashes just the paper, splashes the ground around, or even
splashes the camera six feet away.
First up is full fat Coca-Cola. It gets the shaking Stevens treatment. Our tame target
shooter applies the finger to the trigger and there's brown sweet stuff all over the
paper. But it goes no further than that.
Next we go for Sprite. Also contains 35 grams of sugar. That is like having a cuppa with
seven teaspoons of sugar in it. Off goes the round. Don not forget these bullets cost more
than these drinks. And its splash goes beyond the paper and on to the ground around. Is
it a winner?
Finally, Coke Light, still called Diet Coke in the UK, which uses the horrifyingly named
Nutra-Sweet instead of sugar. It might not have the jungle juice content of proper Coke
but we want to know what it is like as a launch vehicle. Does it deliver all that Cokey loveliness
to your child quickly with its bubbles? Bang goes the cartridge and - yes my goodness - it
is a camera splatterer. Diet Coke passes the fizzical for fizziest of the three drinks.
Now how about water. We are expecting this one to put a dampener on things and, oh dear,
what a wash-out. It certainly does.
So, the message to mums is this: if you have to buy your child a fizzy drink, choose bright
red Coca Cola. It is the least fizzy of the three sodas we tested and will obviously therefore
do your child less harm. Well done if you chose it - nothing proved nothing gained.
Next week, we send a big game hunter to the Large Hadron Collider to knock down a Higg's
Boson.
Well that is enough mucking around with fizzy drinks. It is time for the real deal. We are
going big game hunting.
[Music intro]
There really is something special about hunting in Africa. We are lucky enough to have been
invited to join a group of Zeiss dealers on the trips of their lifetimes to Blaser's ranch
in Namibia.
They are being offered the chance to hunt oryx trophies and, if they have the funds,
red hartebeest, zebra, wildebeest and kudu are all on offer.
As well as top high-transmission glasswear perched on top of quality Blaser R8 rifles
we are also using Norma Oryx softpoint ammunition. Before the Spanish party get a chance to hunt
they need to prove themselves on the range.
They have to show they are competent off sticks. If you are considering a hunting safari to Africa, speed,
confidence and stable shooting off sticks is crucial. The professional hunter is there
to add extra stability.
Afterwards, as a big treat, we head up to one of the highest points on the 24,000 hectare
range for a sundowner. There is nothing quite like an African sunset - with all it's visual
delights. It is a moment to relax and enjoy before an early start after those oryx.
We join Alejandro and his wife Patricia. They are both experienced hunters and to add extra
spice to the hunt it is Alejandro's 38th birthday. Our first port of call is a rocky outcrop
called a koppie. Just like in the Scottish Highlands, the guides find a vantage point
and glass the surrounding area.
We return to ground level and head off on foot. The tracker is on constant look out
for fresh droppings and tracks - literally following in the footsteps of our game.
A half an hour walk brings us to another koppie. There is a group of wildebeest below us. We
get a glimpse and then we climb to a higher position to get a better view. They move off,
but we are close behind.
There is always a sense of purpose with these trackers, which gives confidence to a shooter
in an unfamiliar environment.
We get close, but not close enough.Wildlife crosses our path but unfortunately not the
variety we want. After two-and-a-half hours we get a look at our first oryx.
She stays still enough for Patricia to get steady - and she drops her where she stands.There
is immense relief and happiness.
Exciting, it is marvellous.
Patricia is the only woman in the group. Is it rare in Spain for women to hunt?
All the time, more and more women are going hunting. The first time they go with their
husband or a friend, and later they get themselves involved with hunting. But to be honest it
still not common. Still many more male hunters.
Would she recommend it?
Yes. It is a marvellous experience. It is part of my heart. It is very emotional. It
increases the adrenalin and I can recommend it totally.
It is certainly a moment to be cherished and recorded. The Zeiss scope, Blaser R8 rifle
and Norma ammunition have all played their roles.
For African hunting Zeiss recommends a 50mm objective lense, giving flatter shooting while
still performing in low light.
The 50 is very interesting for Africa, because you go out very early in the morning. So this
morning we started at 6 o'clock and it was nearly dark. And when we were on the first
stand for oryx it was 6.30. It was still not really day light. Therefore the 50 objective
lense really gets you the extra 5 minutes. In Europe people use the 56, but here in Africa
they use the 50. It has a big advantage. You can mount the scope lower on the rifle, because
here we have not as much space.
Norma ammunition has a strong association with African game. With its 100-plus calibres
there is something for all shapes and sizes. Jörgen Sandström from the company is hunting
with us. And having spoken to the professional hunters here, they are all in agreement that
big is best.
They are saying the bigger the better, because if you have a shot which is not properly positioned
on the animal, the chance to get the animal and find it is better if you have a bigger
calibre. So shoot as big calibre as you can handle. Of course you have the recoil that
is the bad side of a big calibre. If you can handle the recoil, then use a big gun.
All the Spanish hunters are using Blaser rifles. The innovative gun manufacturer has produced
a system which allows you to shoot foxes in Felixstowe one day and elephant in Africa
the next.
It is a very versatile rifle and it is what we say one rifle for around the world. Because
of the interchangability of the rifle you can change the barrels, you can change the
bolt head, which means changing calibre groups. You can go from a miniature calibre group
up to a magnum. So that equates to a 222 Remington up to a 500 Jeffery. So I can literally hunt
in today 222 fox hunting. Tomorrow 9.3 by 62 for wild boar in Germany and the day after
that I can go to Africa and use a 500 Jeffrey.
While Alejandro and Patricia are out in one part of the 60,000-acre ranch, Zak and Rafael
are out in another. It is their first day hunting and they are excited.
It is an early start, but this is the best time of day for hunting. Hunting guide Karel
keeps his eyes peeled.
He suddenly stops the engine and we are off in to the bush. We make a wide circle before
Karel decides we are out of luck. Maybe the wind is not being kind, maybe the animals
heard us coming, but they are off.
What happened was, he was running. He already knew we were here. So he started running off,
so we tried walking behind him. The wind is bad as well. The wind is from behind us. We
will try and walk through and see if he stopped may be. This one got away.
Suddenly stopping the car because he has seen something indistinguishable to the ordinary
human eye but blindingly obvious to the hunting guide's eye becomes a pattern for the morning.
After a few of the attempts, the Spanish start to play games.
We reach a koppie with views across the thorny scrub. We spot oryx and they are close enough
for a shot. The shot is good, but the animal runs.
It was very emotional. We saw the oryx leaving the bushes into the open area, but we were
too noisy, stones moved and we failed to get close.
I could not see anything. But we are just going to go down and make sure there is no
blood. If there is blood because it is down in the valley it is difficult to hear. So
we are just going to do that quickly.
With frothy red blood on the ground, the shot is true. But this beast will need tracking.
Time to let slip the Westphalian Terrier, Biene. The only trouble is the trail. Our
oryx appears to have evaporated.
It got darker and darker. Which means it is coming from somewhere else. It is not lung
tissue blood. We started walking and after a while it stopped. We did not find any more
drops. Which is bad, with the long grass it is difficult to see the drop. As soon as it
starts getting smaller drops it is difficult to see.
The thorns here are incredible, and Zak has shot his oryx in one of the thorniest parts
of the ranch. These are not ordinary thorns. These are the stuff of horror movies.
One of the thorns here is called Wait-a-Bit. Another one has the local latin name of Landrovia
Flatwheelia. They make tracking hard. Biene comes back with nothing. Less Westphalia terrier,
more failure terrier.
As a guide, how do you feel about the situation where you have got a wounded animal, but you
cannot find it? How do you personally feel about that?
Very bad. The animal was shot. The animal was wounded. We found blood. So the next thing
we have to do is find it.
Back to our hunting couple on the other side of the range, and we leave Patricia being
congratulated in the traditional German way. While our birthday boy Alejandro heads off
into the distance with guide Erifrisse. We only have half an hour before it gets too
hot. The animals stop moving and before we need to head back to the lodge for a cooling
beer.
In complete contrast to the marathon we have just survived we spot another oryx within
10 minutes. Alejandro doesn't mess about. He shoots and he is confident he has hit the
large antelope hard.
Still, as is the case with a lot of African game, our oryx has managed to put some distance
between us and it.
The 300-calibre Norma Oryx round has probably killed the animal, but our guide needs to
take his time to follow the tracks. He finds the Oryx 50 yards deeper into the bush.
The shot is excellent. Our Spanish hunter has been shooting since he was a boy. So is
it is first taste of Africa?
Yes, it is my first time in Africa and, to be honest, it is an experience you will never
forget. It is a dream for every hunter. It is something every hunter would like to do
at least once in his lifetime. And the truth is, I thought the hunt would be different.
But it is a pure and authentic hunt.
We are soon joined by Patricia and Stefan. It is another successful hunt and what is
more the animal appears to be a gold medal.
It is a very old female. The 2 horns are approximately 95cm. Both very nicely big here. So that is
most probably a gold medal for the Alejandro and as it is his birthday he just owned it.
It is a really nice one.
It is incredible how he walked about 10 kilometres and then walked about 500 metres and got one.
Yes sometimes it takes hours and then sometimes a couple of minutes. So yes, you have to work
until you get it.
Do you have to be quite fit to do African safaris?
Yes, sure. You have to climb up on the Koppies you have to go through the bush. Like this
morning, 2 ½ hours when it was 12 or 14 degrees, but now we are having round about 28 degrees.
So it gets hot. You need to drink a lot. And then continue walking.
Unlike a roebuck this oryx can not be thrown over the shoulder and walked out. The guides
have a well choreographed routine and the two animals are on board the Land Cruiser
in no time at all.
It may have taken a few more man hours, but we are happy to report that Karel and guide
Gabriel eventually found Zak's oryx. They really don not like losing animals here.
Now from the great beasts of the African grasslands to the other end of the scale. It is David
on the Fieldsports Channel News Stump.
[Music]
This is Fieldsports Britain News.
A shooting shop in the North-East of England was surprised when Barclaycard turned it down
for a credit card machine. Rob Walecki runs Emma Custom Rifles in Darlington. Barclaycard
told him that "selling guns and firearms is not something that Barclaycard support". We
contacted Barclaycard, who climbed down a bit. A spokesman said: "Barclaycard do occasionally
place restrictions on the businesses we process transactions on behalf of and the details
of this case are currently being reviewed."
We are now just a few weeks away from National Shooting Week 2012, which will take place
between 2nd and 10th June. During the week, shooting clubs and grounds across the UK are
offering discounted lessons to all newcomers. Absolutely no experience is necessary and
lessons can cater for people of all ages. To take part in an event over the half term,
simply visit www.nationalshootingweek.co.uk
Airguns could be banned in Scotland, according to Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill.
He has pledged to the parents of toddler Andrew Morton, who was murdered by an airgun shooter
taking potshots at passers-by from a window, that airguns would be banned. His campaign
is backed by former Scottish parliament member Tommy Sheridan, who is currently serving three
years in jail for perjury. MacAskill - the justice secretary who released the Lockerbie
bomber from jail - has to get his plans past the Scottish Government first.
And finally, big bird news. While Charlie swans around Africa, perhaps he should watch
out for this traffic problem filmed in Saudi Arabia. The ostrich was filmed running through
busy lanes of traffic, bringing cars to a standstill and almost causing accidents in
Saudi Arabia's southern town of Abha.
You are now up to date with Fieldsports Britain News. Stalking the stories. Fishing for facts.
[Music]
Anything can happen in Africa. We were having dinner in here last night when somebody rang
to say there was a leopard in their laundry.
Basically what has happened is, one of my employees told me yesterday, they heard something
last night. The dogs started barking. They did not think anything of it. But this morning
when they got up they saw in the wash room there was a small little grey duiker killed
by a certain predator which they thought was a lynx at that stage. So they thought they
would try and find out what it was. They have set a trap. I have just had a call now to
say the lynx has turned into a young leopard. Now I just want to see the age of the leopard.
Then we are going to try and release it back into the wild. It is a little bit dangerous,
but let us have a look and see what happens.
It is a young leopard. I am just going to walk up. It looks like a female. It is definitely
a youngster. That is a small one making that noise. So now you can imagine what a big does.
Nothing too serious, just a little leopard.
Do you often have such things in your back garden.
No this is the first time. We have not been here long.
2 weeks ago it was a porcupine and today it is a leopard. May be in 3 days we will have
a baby elephant in the cage.
So how are we going to be fast enough to open the gate and then all run back to the car,
so she does not attack us?
Charlie that is your job.
Is it my job, very good.
Let us see what we can do here, without getting hurt.
Have you got a rope?
I have got a rope.
Is it a long one?
Not that long. I definitely do not want anybody at the back of the vehicle.
Could we all be inside the vehicle?
One guy into the vehicle no problem and one guy into the house, because on the back it
is too dangerous.
Where would you like to be David.
I will go in the car.
Tie that around. I will....just put it on top.
Put it around that and see if we can pull it like that.
It is a female.
We want to release you. Calm down.
The decision is made to move the leopard to a position where we can release her. Even
knowing there's a lot of metal work between me and her, every bone in my body is saying
keep away, but I need to lend a helping hand.
We are confident that Marc knows what he's doing. He has been dealing with dangerous
game all his professional life.
Sensibly, we take cover in the house and leave the camera to capture the leopard's run for
freedom. A few slippers are thrown as encouragement and finally she is off. Once she's disappeared
into the night we are bold enough to venture out, but Marc decides to end the evening by
giving me a heart attack.
Hey she's coming!!
I don't know why I didn't panic, but you did.
I don't know why, but I am going to have to kill you!
[laughter]
I hate you.
Quite a successful release.
That is the most frightening thing. When that cat comes straight at you. Made me swear,
terrible.
I may have got out on the gullible side of the bed this morning!
Marc's farm manager shows us the washroom where he found the duiker.
Something fell over so I came and had a look and found a duiker in here.
We have badgers in the back room, but we don't have duikers with leopards on them. Extraordinary.
Definitely the first time for me also.
Good.
I just want to find out about your shoes. If you could just zoom in on those shoes.
They are definitely leopard proof shoes.
I am quite fast in these ones.
The leopard skin is underneath his pants.
A leopard is not really something you would want around when there are children about.
Happily no one is hurt. This leopard gets to fight another day and will hopefully now
know to keep her distance.
Of course Namibia is a country famous for hunting leopard. There is a great respect
for them here. However, in certain quarters farmers are keen to see them poisoned, or
shot to protect livestock.
Mark and the Blaser ranch carefully manage the animals that pass through their range.
A leopard hunter has just arrived at the lodge and is going to pay handsomely for the chance
of shooting one. But first you have to get close enough.
So you have got a leopard hunter coming haven't you Mark.
Correct, he is arriving today.
And what have you got ready for him?
Well we have pre-bated. Pre-bated means basically we have scouted around. Checked for tracks
of big male leopards and hung meat up into specific trees which think he would like to
climb up on to, to eat the meat.
You have got this thing where farmers want all the leopards shot, but the Namibian government
is very careful about which leopards can be shot. Is that right?
Correct, they have implemented very strict rules on leopard hunting. There is a minimum
size that a leopard has to be to be exported as well as .... have only issued 250 tags
a year for leopards.
The hunting may be cheap, but the lodge is luxurious. Let us have a quick look around.
Safari lodges can be so comfortable you sometimes wonder who would really want to get all dusty
and go hunting. Well, quite a few of us actually.
The accommodation here at Blaser's Sney River Lodge is 5 star, with stunning views, private
pools, fabulous food, and dancing - but only on special occasions.
This exclusive destination prides itself on delivering great service whether hunting hard
or chilling hard.
We try and sell a 5 Star service throughout. So obviously what you see here is not your
normal hunting farm. Not your normal hunting lodge. The food we serve, the people we have
working here are of a certain level. That is what we try to get.
This is of course the top end. There are safaris to fit all budgets and this is what we are
keen to impress upon you, the viewer. There are plenty of options for people from all
over the globe to go to Africa for the African experience. For a traditional UK stalker the
costs are not prohibitive, especially when you consider what you can pay for our deer.
In Africa, you can get so much more hunting for your money if you know what to ask for,
plus you might get a sun tan.
Not only in Namibia, but in southern Africa with the increasing number of game farms around,
there is a surplus amount of animals around, not all trophy animals. Often females need
to be shot younger often younger male animals need to be shot . It is an ideal way for a
beginner or somebody who has hunted everything, to come out and just enjoy a shooting holiday,
or a hunting holiday is the right word. He can come, he can shoot with us here in Namibia.
You can shoot oryx for 150 euros. You can shoot 10 oryx for 1,500 euros where in Scotland
or in Hungary you shoot one animal for that price over 3 days. Whereas here you come for
the whole week. You are hunting every day. You are experiencing the hunt for not a lot
of money.
For more information about Sney River Lodge in Namibia go www.blaser-safaris.com
Now for our weekly roundup of what is hot on YouTube
It is Hunting YouTube, showing the best hunting, shooting and fishing videos that YouTube has
to offer, and this week with an African slant.
There are lots of where-it-all-goes wrong videos on Youtube but none so dramatic as
lion hunting going wrong. Here's one of them called 'Lion attack hunting safari Africa'
that's been watched more than 8 million times. You can not argue with numbers like that.
There are nearly 1,000 Cape buffalo hunts to look at on YouTube. This one shows a close
call with a buff that is down - but gets up. Sometimes called the closest Cape Buffalo
charge ever caught on film, this was filmed in Tanzania in 1990.
African fishing is worth crossing continents for. Chris Bailey catches a 106lb Nile perch
on Lake Nasser in Egypt in this film. Tiddler - locals pulled a 500lber out of Lake Victoria.
One of the most prolific Africa hunting channels on YouTube is AfricaHunting. It has a variety
of videos including shot placement on various big game animals, bowhunting exploits and
this film about unusual quarry in Namibia that could be a late entrant to the Big Five.
Elephant hunting films produce more hatred from antis on YouTube than any other hunting
subject. Ignore the vitriol and watch this film of a superbly professional professional
hunter at work. It takes six minutes to get there on the film but it is an elephant hunt
and a half.
White men with rifles are not the only hunters in Africa and this clip from the BBC shows
San Bushmen engaged in what is called 'persistence' hunting - literally running down their game.
Must remember to try this at home with deer.
FourSeasonsUK, the YouTube channel for the UK-based hunting agent of the same name, has
films about hunting all sorts across Africa, from jackal on the ground to birds up above.
When they go dove shooting in South Africa, the skies literally darken.
Rhinos are leading the charge when it comes to being poached in Africa. With rhino horn
now more expensive than gold. Many countries are meeting fire with fire and shooting down
poachers on sight. Ted Riley from Swaziland is a pioneer of this policy and this film
from 2004 profiles him - and his single minded approach to catching up wildlife in order
to restock his farm.
You can click on any of these films to watch them. If you have a YouTube film you would
like us to pop in to the weekly top eight, send it in via YouTube, or email me the link
charlie@fieldsportschannel.tv
Now, we all know there is no camouflage like real tree camouflage and this week Team Wild
TV is hunting boar and deer in Germany. Click on the angry buck which has appeared in the
sky up there and you can watch that film.
Well, we are back next week.
Diddlydiddlydumptydum
Got that. It is our usual stuff about constant contact, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This
has been Fieldsports Britain, Rieky...
DiddlydiddlydumptydumNamibia
That is right. We love Namibia.
[Music]