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Craig Boddington's Adventure Blog
Shoot Now!
. . . or forever hold your peace.
The morning was still fresh and cool when we left the road started down a steep ridge. Our destination was a pristine, well-watered grassy valley that might hold fresh elephant tracks. I doubt we were halfway down the ridge before our lead tracker froze and pointed. There, not fifty yards below us, was a beautiful sable bull, coal black and glossy with wonderful curving horns. We were in southern Tanzania, and we had sable on license and on quota. This was a Roosevelt’s sable, and I hoped to take one on this trip. The opportunity was perfect, but we had never been in the valley that stretched away below us, and we had high hopes. We stood for a few moments until the sable had enough and crashed away up the far ridge.
That was the second day of the safari. In the nineteen days of the safari that followed we never saw another mature sable bull. We also found no fresh elephant spoor in that valley. Hindsight suggests we should have taken the opportunity when it knocked. This is a seductive thought, and perhaps yields the correct answer. But how do you know? The answer is you don’t. Sable weren’t particularly uncommon and we saw quite a few cows and some young bulls. We should have seen another “shooter” somewhere along the way, but we didn’t. A good bull elephant was the main quarry, and although that valley was barren, you can’t go around shooting willy-nilly if you want a good tusker. In this case, on the second day, it wasn’t even a carefully weighed decision. We never considered shooting, and only in gifted hindsight nearly three weeks later did it seem a good idea.
Africa is a marvelous continent holding the greatest variety of game on Earth. On any given safari there are usually primary goals, key animals that are high on the wish list. On down the list there are probably others that you might like to take, time and opportunity permitting, and in any given area there are probably other species present that you haven’t given much thought to. The challenge in Africa is that, as you leave camp on any given day, you have no idea exactly what you might encounter. Usually you and your professional hunter have some kind of game plan for the day based around one of your primary trophies. You might find it and you might not, but you will probably run into other game along the way. So, unlike most parts of the world less blessed with diversity of species, decisions must frequently be made.
If you take a shot at something other than your key prize you are abandoning your game plan, at least temporarily. If you take the animal you must then take whatever time is needed to recover it and care for it—which often means heading straight back to camp. Even if you miss (which, trust me, does happen!) you are running the risk of spooking your greatest prize lurking just around the corner. It’s a tough call and there isn’t necessarily a right—or wrong—answer.
The old adage about a “bird in the hand” applies—sometimes. Other adages about “going the distance” also apply—sometimes. To some extent it depends on how difficult and how rare your primary quarry is. If, for instance, your primary trophy is a good greater kudu, you’re in good country in southern Africa, and you have a few days remaining, you’re on pretty solid ground if you take any opportunity at any other good trophy you encounter and desire. On the other hand, if you’re hunting something really difficult and sensitive, like an elephant (or a bongo, or a Derby eland) you need to think hard about where you are and where you are in your safari before you take a shot at anything other than your primary quarry.
 That Tanzania safari yields a couple more good examples. A day or so after the sable we walked down yet long, beautiful, grassy, well-watered valley. We were near the end, close to a track where the truck would meet us, and although we’d seen elephant sign, we’d seen no fresh bull tracks. A particularly monstrous bush duiker sprang up in front of us, ran a few dozen yards, and stopped almost hidden in some grass. We all saw how big he was, and PH Michel Mantheakis instantly ordered me to shoot him. I complied. Under no circumstances would I trade a bush duiker for an elephant, but Mantheakis judged, probably correctly (how do you ever know for sure?) that we weren’t going to find an elephant bull or his tracks, and the shot would do no harm.
Such opportunities can often happen along the way, and if you’re heading back to camp there is rarely any harm in taking advantage. On the way to your chosen hunting area, or during the actual hunt, it’s a different story. To a great extent the decision to shoot or keep hunting depends on how rare the opportunity. On that same Tanzania hunt my partner, Jim Crawford, and I pretty much held the course (Jim better than I), searching for elephant with very little indiscriminate shooting. I got my bull on the seventeenth day, Jim on the twentieth. There wasn’t much time left for the other hunting we might have liked to do, but who cares? We got our elephant, and that was the goal. Late in the hunt, however, both of got sidetracked and took very good kudu. While very common in southern Africa, greater kudu are spotty in distribution and generally fairly rare in East Africa. If you see a really good bull you should probably take him if you can. Each us saw a kudu bull we shouldn’t pass, and each of us did business.
As fledgling African hunter you won’t always know a really rare opportunity when you see one. It’s a good idea to read up on exactly what animals are found in the area you’re hunting, and in the planning stages—or, at a minimum, early in the safari—it’s an equally good idea to play the “what if” game with your professional hunter. At any time, it’s a good idea to take his advice, because he will know a lightning bolt of luck when it strikes. If he tells you to shoot you shouldn’t second-guess him—unless it’s an animal you really don’t want carrying a trophy fee you don’t want to pay.
On almost any African hunt there will be a surprise opportunity or two. If you’ve done your homework and “prepped the ground” when you booked your hunt there should be no questions about what you can do when an unexpected animal appears. Some animals aren’t on license, and quota may not be available. If available, the trophy fee may be more than you’re willing to pay. These things can be determined long before a chance encounter, so when the unexpected happens you should already know if the animal is available to you and how much it will cost. Then the decision is whether you should deviate from your game plan and take the shot, or hold your course.
 Again, there is no right or wrong answer. You don’t know what lies around the next bend, and if you take the shot you will never know. But if it’s a really great specimen of an animal that is rarely encountered then the decision should be simple. Better put, when Mother Nature smiles it isn’t polite to kick sand in her face. I’ve done it both ways. On my first Lord Derby eland hunt I was determined concentrate solely on the eland until successful. I never got an eland, so I shot almost nothing—but along the way I passed good specimens of almost every animal found in northeastern C.A.R. On my first bongo hunt I never got a bongo, but along the way I had chances at other great prizes such as yellowback duiker and giant forest hog. Both of these animals, though not as high profile, are generally harder to come by than bongo. Had I not taken either animal would I have gotten a bongo? I’ll never know, but I’ve never regretted the decision to shoot.
Do I regret not shooting that sable I mentioned at the beginning of the story? Not really. When such an opportunity comes along you must make the best decision possible based on the information you have. That information will be incomplete, because no one has a crystal ball, and the decision must be made quickly. We had beautiful elephant country in front of us, and it seemed likely we’d have other chances at sable. This didn’t happen, but it was still a good call. Ultimately you should trust your professional hunter. If he tells you, “Shoot, quickly!” then he has already weighed the factors. Unless it’s an animal you really don’t want or can’t afford, don’t argue. Just shoot straight.
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