Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Predation Management
If you operate efficiently, your team works well together, and you’re comfortable, you are almost bound to produce good results as a hunter. But getting all these factors right involves planning and discipline.
Experience has taught me that the more comfortable you are on a hunt, the better the results. And it all starts with working with a good team.
Everyone in the team needs to know exactly what’s expected of him or her. One person will be the caller and call placer; another will be in charge of setting up the bakkie at the stand; a third will be the scanner/shooter. The roles can be switched every now and again, if you like, but all must be clear about their ‘job descriptions’.
This is particularly important if you use the ‘drop-and-go’ technique, where two hunters are dropped off with their kits.
trust and focus
Communication between the two must be excellent because of the need for safety at night, and good communication can take place only if the hunters know and trust each other and work well together.
I can’t emphasise this enough: your crew needs to gel. You need dedicated team members who know what they’re doing and who can stay focused and give it their all every time.
Get this right and few will be able to match your success at predator control.
Here are other useful tips to help ensure a successful hunt:
• Check your equipment
Ensure that your rifle is checked for accuracy and all mounting screws are tight. No matter how expensive they are, a rifle and scope are only as good as the mountings and screws that hold everything together.
Check the rest of your equipment too; this should include the batteries.
• Don’t be a DJ
Avoid collecting sounds, even if you are told they ‘work every time’. Stick with what you know and don’t carry piles of CDs. You won’t need more than 15 sounds at most. I use about six sounds a night.
• Travel light
Too many hunters haul along loads of equipment, most of which will never be touched. Keep it simple. Forget the dimmers, 12V batteries, the huge halogen spotlights and the like.
I keep a checklist on a sheet of paper of what I need to take along on a hunt. Keeping a written list in your hand (as opposed to having it on a tablet, for example) helps focus your mind, and in this way I don’t forget anything at home or bring along unnecessary items. Here is what is on my list (in addition to my rifle, of course):
– Rifle light;
– Batteries, including two spare 3,7V batteries; – Caller and hand caller;
– Head-mounted light;
– Knife;
– Garmin eTrex GPS;
– Spare ammunition;
– Warm clothes;
– Toilet paper. In a box under the seat in the bakkie, I keep a spare red light and mount, as well as other small items that could be needed, just in case.
Make sure that your equipment is functioning 100%, and everything you do and use at night is as compact as possible. Don’t take anything that is unnecessary; the more things you take with you, the more can get lost or damaged in the dark. I’ve lost a lot of items over the years.
• Lighting
As the shooter, all you really need is a small 3,7V light (with one of the spares, which easily fits into your pocket) and a rifle-mounted 3,7V red LED light. This also means no annoying wires, which makes things easier if you have to move out on foot.
As they say, ‘move with times or get left behind’. There is no longer any need to struggle with bulky lights and batteries, not to mention those pesky wires!
There’s no longer any need to struggle with bulky lights and batt eries, not to mention pesky wires!