The way I see it

What does it cost to shoot an animal?

Up until very recently I was very aware of what arrows were costing and what our pathetic currency was doing on the international market. The end result was that arrows and good broadheads were costing the proverbial arm and a leg. I looked on the internet and phoned all my old buddies at Easton and Golden Key Futura and sourced all the aluminium arrows I could get my hands on. Ten years ago this resulted in me getting 36 dozen 2220s for R900 – a bargain, you would say! I agree. Best deal I ever made. However, Golden Key got signature once-of arrows made for them in Black Forest camo. I loved those arrows but they ran out, so I phoned Greg Easton and asked him if I could order a run of my own signature arrows and he said sure. I wanted a 2424, as that to me would have been the perfect arrow ...

page 27 in our February 2012 issue

Whatever it takes...

Dr Adrian de Villiers has finished his second book on bow hunting and it should be available by the time this book is on the shelves. This is his second bow hunting book. The first, “Bowhunting in Southern Africa”, was sold out. Only a few copies remain in his private book collection.
Adrian started bow hunting in 1983 after having handgun-hunted for nearly ten years. He has bow hunted well over 1 800 documented animals plus many more not documented. For thirty years he supplied all his staff’s meat requirements on his game farm with bow and arrow. He was the first South African to legally hunt the big six with bow and arrow. He has shot 26 buffalo of six different species on three continents ...

Read more on page 31 of our Januaray 2012 issue

Amazing new HD camera: Nikon Coolpix AW100!

The ultimate hunting camera is here: Nikon Coolpix AW100!

Key features:
Three finish options: black, orange and camo colours
Robust build: water, shock and freeze-proof.
Waterproof to depths of 10 metres, shockproof from heights of up to 1,5 m and freeze-proof for temperatures down to -10° Celsius.
16-megapixel back illuminated CMOS image sensor increases the amount of light that each pixel receives, improving sensitivity and reducing noise for superb performance in any light.
NIKKOR wide-angle 5x zoom lens offers outstanding precision and sharp resolution (35mm equivalent: 28-140mm). 5x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom ...

page 44 of the February 2012 issue

Letter from the rookie

Dear Mr PH sir
They say that Africa is not for sissies (French for the more delicately inclined among us), and that growing old is not an exercise to be taken lightly. Growing old in Africa is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Living in the big city, or any city or rural town for that matter, is dangerous in itself. One has to have quite a few security measures in place at home. In fact one needs to have a security system that watches over your security systems. In addition to that, you have to approach your own front gate with vigilance akin to a military operation in order not to be the victim of a hijacking or something of the sort. It stands to reason then that one is prone to a mild “attack” of careless relaxation when one enters the wilderness (promotion-talk for game farm, game reserve or areas where wild animals have right of way). One tends not to be as vigilant as one normally is when one is at home. This is a viewpoint that will soon prove unfortunate to the holder of such opinion, should he or she indeed then enter such said wilderness with the intent of hunting, hiking, game viewing or any such activity.
But let me not get too technical. Let’s just say that being thus relaxed in Africa is not always conducive to enjoying the fresh air, being revitalised, lifted-of-spirit and generally having a happy and joyful countenance. On the contrary, one could end up being frightfully surprised and be desperately looking for one’s… but let me explain ...

Read the rest of the story on page 64 in the February 2012 issue

Hearing like an animal

Animals have a much better sense of smell than we do and they have excellent hearing. Rean Steenkamp recently tested a unit that brings the hunter’s hearing ability closer to the hearing level of an animal. He reports on how it helped during a hunt.

In truth, these “hearing aids” are hearing protectors. They work fantastically if you are shooting a rifle, since they block out all sounds over 85 decibels. Thus, when you are wearing it, it sits tightly in your ear, like a hearing aid for people with a hearing disability. Only the whole unit fits perfectly into the ear lobe, with no extension behind the ear. It allows you to hear everything until a rifle shot goes off  ....

Read the rest on page 39 of our October 2011 issue

Jan Wahl hand made knives (Visit our online shop)

The following is included in the standard knife

Knife steel:
12c27 or 19c27 stainless, thickness is 3mm
Bolster steel:
303, 304 or 316 stainless
Handel material on standard knife:
Hard woods like: olive, tambotie, rooibos,  hardekool, kierieklaper, rosewood, rodeasian teak, patrys, iron wood and the list goes on. Or synthetic materials like diamond wood.
Sheath:
Each knife gets n leather sheath Except the Biltong knife that gets a leather bag