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Does Mattaniah
cater for bow hunting?
Your host, Gustav is an experienced bow hunter and has setup
the hides taking wind direction, shot placement, functionality and
various factors in to consideration. All the professional hunters in
this team are avid bow hunters. All these factors will
contribute to success and a great hunting experience. They will be
able to give you advice and assistance with target shooting
before you hunt.
 " Neal Swanepoel and
owner Gustav Collins, with a Blue Wildebeest taken at 19 yards with
a Hoyt Vectrix set at 70 pounds"
What type of bow should I bring and what draw
weight should I use?
For plains game hunting, you should bring your normal big game set
up you would use for whitetail or any other type deer. You don't
need to buy a special 80 lb bow set up just to shoot plains game. We
have archers who use compound, recurve and long bows as well as
crossbows. The most important aspect of your hunt will be that you
are very familiar with and extremely proficient shooting the bow you
bring. Buying a brand new bow just before you start your safari is
not recommended.
What type of broadhead should I use?
Again, whatever you use on similar sized big game such as whitetail,
elk or any other type deer works fine on plains game animals.
"Bow hunters on their way to the
hides"
What kind of blinds and hides do you have?
We have pit blinds that are set into the ground. Hides on top of the
ground, as well as tree hides. We also use pop up ground blinds,
tree stands, elevated blinds and natural brush blinds depending on
what animal you are hunting and the set up for the area.
"A tree hide at one of
the water holes."
What type of shooting practice should I do to get ready for my
safari?
Shooting on level ground, from tree stands and from inside pop up
blinds would all be very good practice. You need to be very
proficient from 40 yards and closer. Most shots take place from 20
yards and in, but you may get a second shot on an animal a little
further away so practice and be very proficient.
How long will the shots be?
Most of your shots will be 20 yards or less. It doesn’t always work
that way, and longer shots are taken, but typically, 20 yards or
less is the normal shot. We work very hard to keep all shots to 20
yards or less as we don’t want to spend your valuable hunting time
chasing a wounded animal through the bush.
" Impala taken
at 24 yards"
When is the best time to bow hunt in South Africa?
We prefer our guests to come between May 1st and Sept 30th . This is
late fall, winter and early spring for us, so the weather is quite
nice. The two best months for bow hunting are August and September.
By this time, all of the small, scattered water holes have dried up
so animals come to water daily. Also, almost 100% of the cover is
gone from the trees so you can see the animals coming in from a good
distance. This gives you time to study them to see trophy quality.
Can I hunt dangerous game with my bow?
Absolutely! The regulations require a minimum draw weight of 80 lbs
to hunt Cape buffalo. You would need a fixed, heavy two blade
broadhead that is sharp to the tip for this fun affair as well to
make sure you get maximum penetration on these big brutes. Total
arrow weight should be in the 750-900 grain class.
Do I need to do anything special for shipping my bow?
You will need a very sturdy bow case that is impact resistant. The
stronger, the better. Best results will come from the higher end
models of bow cases available. The cheaper, every day bows you see
sold for $50 will not protect your bow on the long trip as well as a
case such as the SKB or similar models can.
Is it difficult to get my bow into South Africa?
No, not at all. Unlike rifle hunters, bows are currently not
regulated coming into South Africa. You would simply pick up your
bow at the oversized luggage area and proceed through the customs
area. |
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