Universal Hunter - November 2014

M AG A Z I N E

U N I V E R S A LU N I V E R S A L

M AG A Z I N E

D E S E R T D R E A M I N GBIGHORN

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/CongoHunting

Animals to be hunted:Bongo

Forest BuffaloSitatunga

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76 UNIVERSAL HUNTERUNIVERSAL HUNTER November / December 2014November / December 2014

It is only with the contribution of Universal Hunter’s readers that we can make a success of this magazine. Please feel free to send in your trophy photos, hunting experiences, hunting tips, products and any article or contribution you might consider a benefit to fellow hunters or the hunting industry in general.

To improve the chances of having your photo or article published, please keep the following in mind: make sure you submit high quality and high resolution digital pictures, preferably taken with a camera with a minimum of five megapixels. When possible or appropriate try not to take a picture with things like fences, vehicles, buildings or other man-made objects in the background. Never hold a small animal by the head or feet so that it hangs down. Rather put it on an anthill or a log. If you have to take a photo in the dark, let a vehicle shine its headlights (on dim) on you and the trophy. Position the animal so that the hunter looks into

the sun. Wash off or hide all blood that is on the animal or on the ground that might show in the photo. Balance the head so that it shows the animal in a relaxed way. Try not to sit directly behind the focus point of the animal — the head. Rather sit by the back legs. The idea is for the hunter to show only his/her upper body from behind the animal. If the trophy is small, lie down behind it and put it up in front of you holding the head up with your hand under the chin. The camera must be as low as possible. Remove all grass, rocks etc. in front of the animal. Do not put your foot or yourself on an animal in a disrespectful way. Always check that the tongue of the animal is not protruding. Cut it off or put it back in the mouth.

We prefer submissions by email, but you are welcome to send CDs or written articles if you do not have a computer available. In this situation, printed photos may also be submitted. Please send all submissions to [email protected].

Submit your photo, article or hunting story

Letter ........................................................ 6

Desert Bighorn Dreaming ........................ 8

Unexpected: Coyotes ...............................16

South Africa: High Country Hunting ......18

Bowhunting: Western Speed Goats ........ 29

Brown Bear Dilemma ..............................35

Glen Dene Station: Aiming to Please ..... 40

More Than Dust ..................................... 46

Product Reviews ................................ 54-63Swarovski Z6i 2-12x50 BT ........................54Russell Moccasins .....................................59Boresmith Brushes and Patches ...............60Bear and Son Cutlery ................................61Stone River Knife ...................................... 61 Traditions Muzzleloader ...........................62MINOX Riflescopes ..................................63

Agagia ..................................................... 68

Stalking the Buck ....................................74

Hooked For Life: An Introspective ......... 79

Contents Heaven on eartH Guesthouse • Spa • Hunting

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Editors Note:

Keeping Up With Change And Technology

You know, when it comes to finding out what’s happening around the hunting industry, there’s nothing quite like hanging out at the campfire and shooting the breeze

with your hunting companions.It’s just hard to beat getting the latest news from a

trusted hunting buddy.

Many of us have grown up during a time when news was more of a monologue. Now, thanks to the interactive communication made available by advancing technology, there’s been a real shift toward dialogue, and many may prefer to see the latest products and hunting stories in our online digital version of Universal Hunter Magazine, which we’re constantly upgrading to be just what you, the reader, would expect from our magazine. But, an attractive, printed magazine with the purpose of showcasing the excellence of the hunt and its products is still the preferred medium for many hunters.

This current version of our Universal Hunter Magazine voice is a good example of that, and now with some fresh blood in our company, we’re bringing some positive changes.

Our next issue will be upgraded to a quarterly magazine that is not only thicker and classier, but will allow our team to put more work in to every issue and bring you more magazine than in the past.

Universal Hunter Magazine will be more stylish, luxuriant, and rich with color and texture. It’s designed not only to be read, but also to be absorbed. Perfect when you’re ready to relax, kick off your shoes, and curl up on the sofa or to enjoy some down time after the hunt. That’s why we think you’re going to like the new version of our magazine. So, look out for it and enjoy reading about what’s happening in the universal word of hunting.

Your thoughts and ideas are always welcome.

We’ll meet you at the campfire.

UNIVERSAL HUNTERUNIVERSAL HUNTER (UHM) is an indepen dent bi-monthly publication for the hunter and nature lover. Copyright on all articles and material published in UHM resides with the publisher. No part of UHM may be copied or reproduced without permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in ar ticles or ad-vertisements do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, editorial com mittee or publishers. Submission of articles for publication is welcome, but although care is taken, the publisher can accept no responsi-bility for loss of or damage to any material submitted.

EDITORIAL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & PUBLISHEREmaneul Kapp “Kappie”Hennie van der Walt

MANAGER USA, CANADA, SOUTH AMERICA AND SOUTH PACIFICEmaneul Kapp “Kappie”[email protected]

MANAGER AFRICA, EUROPE AND ASIAHennie van der [email protected]

EDITORChantelle [email protected]

FIELD EDITORSJames and Mary ClaryTim HeraldTony MartinsMagnus PelzRobert ZaiglinJenifer AdamsNorissa HarmanChris Parker

DESIGN AND LAYOUTEric Taylor

LANGUAGE EDITINGKristin Jensen

MARKETING AND ADVERTISINGUSA, Canada, South America and South PacificEmaneul Kapp “Kappie”[email protected]+1-307-679-9006

Africa, Asia and EuropeHennie van der [email protected]+27-83-452-2145

SUBSCRIPTIONSE-mail: [email protected] phone: +1-971-373-3166Website electronic subscriptions:www.universalhunter.com

UNIVERSAL HUNTER MAGAZINEPublisher’s Address:318 The HuillsideLynwood 0081PO Box 35299Menlo Park 0102Tel: 307-679-9006; 971-373-3166Email: [email protected]: www.universalhunter.com

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Excited? I could hardly con-trol myself. Finally, I had my hands on a desert bighorn ram! Holding onto the ram, my arm was wrapped around his neck, right behind his curling horns. I reached for my radio. I nearly dropped it, but then pressed the “talk” button. “I’ve got him. Hurry send the trailer!” Desert bighorn ram??? Trailer???

A few minutes later, the game hauling trailer arrived. I grabbed the ram and carried him to the trailer; there we gave him several “shots” . . . of antibiotics and vitamins, then shoved him into the trailer.

Hours later, we pulled into Texas’ Sierra Diablos Wildlife Management Area, and there released the ram we “had taken” on the Black Gap Wildlife Man-agement Area. I remember telling those present, “I may never shoot a desert bighorn, but by golly, I’ve raised them from lambs, and now, even shot one with a tranquilizer gun!”

That was back in the early 1970s when I worked as a wildlife biologist for the State of Texas. I was living a dream. I was working with desert bighorn sheep. While working with the then Texas Wildlife Disease Project, my wife, Mary Anne, and I raised three desert lambs to adult-hood for disease research I was involved in. It was “bluetongue,” essentially the same as EHD (Epizootic Hem-orrhagic Disease — common in whitetails these days) that pretty well wiped out bighorn sheep in Texas. The disease was brought to western Texas with the intro-duction of domestic sheep from South Africa.

I had first read about hunting desert bighorn sheep through ar-ticles by Jack O’Connor about his exploits in Sonora, Mexico, when I was a youngster. From that time forward, my dream was to some-day take a desert ram! For many years, I applied for desert bighorn

HE’S HIT PERFECTLY…” I SAID OUT LOUD, BUT THERE WAS NO ONE THERE TO RESPOND! The desert bighorn staggered but did not go down. I took off running, jumped over a doghouse-sized boulder, and caught the ram as he was about to fall. He was not going to get away from

me! I had spent too many days trying to get a close, clear shot. Finally . . . it had happened. The ram suddenly realized I had grabbed him. He kicked and bucked, but I held on for dear life! No way was I going to let go. By Larry Weishuhn

DESERT BIGHORN DREAMINGHunting desert bighorns is done with eyes, legs and lungs and the more you use your eyes and your optics, the less strain you put on your lungs and legs!

12 UNIVERSAL HUNTER November / December 2014 13UNIVERSAL HUNTERNovember / December 2014

sheep permits in every state that offered desert sheep hunts. But, lady luck seemed to frown upon me rather than smile. Finally, I quit applying.

In time, I started hunting Sonora, Mexico, for Coues deer, much like hunting desert bighorns and my substitute for sheep hunting. It was there I met Ariel Trevino, a biologist who works with landowners through-out Mexico setting up quality wildlife management programs and helping with their hunting programs.

During the summer of 2012, I was visiting with Ariel about hunting Coues whitetail. “Larry, I’ve been talking to Raul Cordova who owns Sonora Dark Horn Adventures (www.sonoradarkhorn.com). I told him about you, and he wants you to hunt deer with him. Let’s call him.” We did, and I quickly worked an agreement for hunting Coues deer. As I was about to hang up, Raul asked, “Have you ever hunted desert bighorn?” I quickly explained my experiences with desert sheep and “No!” I had not hunted desert sheep. A couple of weeks later Raul called.

“I have a couple of desert bighorn per-mits left to sell. Are you interested in hunting sheep? I’ll make you a special deal!” Moments later, I committed to a desert sheep hunt.

As fall arrived, Sonora Dark Horn Adventures helped me prepare paper-work to “import” into Mexico two Ru-ger American Rifles. Both were topped with Zeiss scopes; my .30-06 with a Zeiss Conquest variable with external turrets and my .270 with a Zeiss Dura-lyt. I chose these two guns because of their accuracy and light weight and my love of Ruger firearms.

Prior to heading to Mexico for a December Coues whitetail hunt, I headed to the FTW Ranch/SAAM (Sportsman All Weather All Terrain Marksmanship, www.ftwoutfitters.com) for a “tune-up” as I have often done when preparing for a hunt. I sighted in both rifles using Hornady’s American Whitetail ammo; the .270 using 130 grain Interbond. Both rifles put 5 shots at 100 yards into one small, ragged hole. Then I shot at ranges out to 750 yards.

I used my .30-06 Ruger American Rifle topped with the Zeiss Conquest variable for my Coues hunt. It helped me take an outstanding non-typical Coues whitetail that officially scored 127 4/8 B&C, placing it in the top 25 ever taken. We filmed the hunt for the first of a three part series about hunting in Sonora, Mexico (Coues whitetail, desert mule deer, and desert bighorn sheep) for the first season of “DSC’s Trailing the Hunter’s Moon” which appears on The Sportsman Channel.

I hardly slept the weeks before my desert sheep hunt. I could not think of anything else. Finally, the day arrived for cameraman, Derek Harris, and me to fly to Hermosillo, Sonora. Quickly clearing Mexican customs, we were met by Chapo Juvera, who had been my guide for my Coues hunt. After a quick “Hello,” we were on our way.

We drove a couple of hours in a southwesterly direction, passed through several gates and arrived at a ranch headquarters. As we stowed our gear, I was introduced to the ranch’s owner and his vaqueros, who spend

“Have you ever hunted desert

bighorn?”

a lot of time looking for sheep. After supper, we headed to the rifle range. Two Hornady 130 grain Interbond American Whitetail from my .270 Ruger American Rifle went into the same hole a half inch above the “X” at 100 yards.

I was dressed and ready to go at least two hours before anyone else got out of bed! After breakfast, we headed to the distant north part of the ranch. There, we set up our Zeiss spotting scopes and glassed the rough and rocky terrain. Immediately, we spotted two rams about 800 yards away. Both were really nice. I looked at Chapo who peered through the scope. “Shooters? The one on the right looks to be the bigger of the two; what do you think?” I queried.

“I think we can do better. They’re both probably right at thirty. One is more massive than the other,” Chapo replied. “They’re some more rams far to the right, just on the lower edge of the shadow of the deep canyon on the reddish mountain.” I turned to glass the canyon and spotted the rams. All looked good to me, but I did notice there were some rams smaller than the

ones just seen. I counted 8 rams, and it looked like there might be some more in the tall brush. I “marked” the spot, then switched to the spotting scope. I cranked it up to 40x. Two were about the same size as the earlier rams. But, to me they were all extremely good looking rams even the smaller half-curls.

Chapo suggested we move to anoth-er area. We walked back to the pickup and headed deeper into sheep country. During the next several hours, we spotted 37 different sheep, including 17 rams, 18 ewes, and 2 small lambs. Three of the rams were definitely older and had massive horns. The sheep

were about a mile and a half away. Mid-afternoon one of the ranch hands suggested we move again and head to the other side of the ridges we were glassing to take advantage of the after-noon sun. We again walked back to the pickup and started the long drive. In route, we spotted a couple of very nice mule deer bucks, as well as one dandy Coues buck.

We parked on the west side of the slope and from there walked three miles to a spot where we could glass an expansive area. No sooner had we set up than, we spotted nine rams a little over a mile away. Then, we saw three rams about 700 yards away. Next, we saw a small herd of ewes and half-grown lambs. Again, all the rams looked good to me, and I said as much. Chapo simply smiled, “Let’s keep looking!”

Upon spotting a sheep, I spent a lot of time simply watching bighorns. I wanted to learn all I could, including what they fed on and how they inter-acted with each other.

When the sun dropped behind distant, rugged peaks, we headed back to camp. I was tired that night, but

No sooner had we set up than, we

spotted nine rams a little over a mile

away.

Sonora Dark Horn Adventures guide, Chapo Juvera glasses distant ridges in search of desert bighorn sheep.

Larry Weishuhn takes exact measurements of his desert ram and will later provide those to The Wildlife Gallery for a full body mount.

Red sky in the morning? What a way to start the day hunting desert bighorn sheep!


so excited that I slept but very little. Early the next morning after break-fast, we headed back to the rugged mountains. We drove to where we had parked the day before. The morning was considerably cooler than the day before. About mid-morning, we spot-ted distant rams. Through my Zeiss spotting scope, we determined they were mostly young rams, three and four-year-olds. More glassing . . .

Mid-afternoon, we walked deeper into a huge, broad, rimrock valley. Just as we came around a bend, we saw two sheep. One was young. But the other one was a massive horned, mature ram. As soon as the older ram spotted us, he ran.

A couple of hours later, we glassed the big ram again, far down the ridge. We decided to hike back to the vehicle then drive to the other side of the ridge — a very long drive around the mountain range. Two vaqueros decid-ed to follow the ram and “put him to bed,” so we would know where to start in the morning.

We again hiked three miles to where we hoped to be able to see the ram seen earlier. We spotted other sheep, but we did not see him. We met the two vaqueros as we walked back to the pickup. They told us they had bedded the ram.

No sleep that night! Everyone was up early. A quick breakfast and we were off in search of the bedded ram. At the base of the mountain where the ram was reputed to be bedded, Chapo, the ranch owner, and Juan, the ranch’s guide, who had been in on over 200 desert bighorn sheep kills conferred. They formulated a plan.

Moments later, Chapo, Juan (who according to the ranch owner would make the final decision regarding what sheep to shoot), Derek, and I headed toward the ridge where the ram was bedded. Ascending the steep slope, we confronted two rams about 150 yards away. Both were nice and looked mighty interesting to me. But Juan shook his head, and we skirted them heading farther up the ridge. No sooner had we crawled around them, than we spotted several more rams to our right about 800 yards away. We glassed them quickly. I could see there were several mature rams in the Weishuhn inspects a tree desert bighorn rams have been butting their horns against.

Larry and his guide Chapo glass distant ridges, and while doing so enjoy an in-the-field meal.

Exclusively owned and operated byJaco & Magdel Oosthuizen

Email: [email protected] / Ph: +264 81 481 9222 / +255 756 441 25Email: [email protected] / Ph: +264 81 146 9982 / +27 82 905 1366

Skype: ondjamba. Gametrackersafrica / Website: www.gametrackersafrica.com

NAMIBIA | CAMEROON | SOUTH AFRICA | BOTSWANA

TANZANIA

1716 UNIVERSAL HUNTER November / December 2014

group. I questioned Chapo about these rams. In turn, he questioned Juan. Juan shook his head and pointed up the ridge. I really wanted to go after those rams!

We crawled nearly straight up toward the saddle. The ram we were after was supposedly just beyond the ridge we were scaling. As we neared the saddle, Juan and Chapo eased ever so carefully upward to peer through the notch in the rugged rocks. A few moments later, I heard Chapo ask Juan in Spanish if the ram they were look-ing at was the one we wanted. “Si!” he replied. Chapo asked him a second time, and again Juan said, “Si!”

Chapo motioned me to crawl to the edge of the notch. I did and then set up my BOG Pod shooting sticks, wedging them in place creating a rock solid rest. As I got into position, cranked the Zeiss Duralyt scope to full 8 power. I spotted the ram about 200 yards away. Actually, there were two rams — a less than half curl and the one Juan wanted me to shoot. Chapo questioned Juan a third

time to be certain this was the ram we wanted to take. Again, Juan said, “Si!”

I put the crosshairs on the bigger ram and asked Derek if he was ready with his camera. “Yes” came his reply. I pushed the rifle’s tang safety to fire, took a deep breath, let it all out, and then jerked the trigger! I had forgot-ten all I had learned in many years of hunting, as well as my SAAM training. I had blown an easy shot!

Desert bighorn fever had hit me hard! Thankfully, I quickly recov-ered.

Immediately, I bolted in another round. As I did, the ram moved down-ward, but then again turned up slope. I followed him with my crosshairs and waited for him to turn broadside. He did! This time, I remembered to gently pull the trigger. My ram stumbled. I automatically bolted in another round and again got the crosshairs on target. I was just about to shoot again when Chapo said, “He’s going down!” I watched my ram fall through my Zeiss scope, and I kept the crosshairs on him

for at least a minute. I wanted to make certain he wasn’t going to get up again. Convinced finally he was really down, I turned and accepted congratulations from Chapo and Juan.

Moments later, we slid down the steep, rotten rock slope, then crawled up to where my ram lay. At his side, I marveled at MY desert bighorn sheep!. Finally, not only was I a sheep hunter, I was a successful sheep hunter!

He was gorgeous! I ran my fingers over his horns several times, recalling all the many years I had dreamed of just this moment. I looked skyward and offered a prayer of thanks. Then, I simply sat there with my ram. A dream of many years had finally been real-ized!

Larry Weishuhn is the owner/host of “DSC’s Trailing the Hunter’s Moon” which appears on The Sportsman Chan-nel from July thru December. To learn more about his show, please go to www.trailingthehuntersmoon.com, and visit him on Facebook at “Larry Weishuhn” and also at “Trailing the Hunter’s Moon”.

Weishuhn is all smiles...a life-long dream come true!

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Universal Hunter - November 2014