Dr CHAD NELSON,UTAH
Chad arrived at Blaauwkrantz with his Dad,Reed and Brother Travis after making the long trip from Salt Lake City as the moon was waxing nicely in the evenings.Thanks to this blog Chad was aware that he would be here in prime bushpig hunting time:THE WAXING MOON PHASE.
On their arrival Chad indicated that he would be interested in hunting one of these ghosts.Chad was already pursuing many of the other fantastic species available too,but I assured him and his PH, Francois, that I was always prepared for bushpig hunters especially when the moon was good...
According to their tight schedule we decide that Wednesday the 28Th would be the night, it was the night of full moon and the second last night that would be available in this months' moon cycle to attempt a moonlit hunt.
The weather forecast indicated cloud cover and a possibility of rain, I had two specific baits that were getting regular hits from big pigs, and as the afternoon progressed we noticed the heavy clouds rolling in, things were looking dicey..
I eventually decided to send them to the Bloustoot Bait site that was further away from the coast than the other good one, as the inclement weather was coming in from the ocean and maybe this would give them time to hunt before the rain set in making visibility at night even harder.
Francois and Chad settled into the blind just before dark which is at 6:15 pm this time of the year. At approximately 7:15 pm a single pig appeared from the thick brush, according to Francois and Chad it seemed very nervous ,darting around the bait and disappearing into the bush again.
They were getting very excited and anxious at the same time as it appeared and disappeared,not sure if it winded them or whether it would return.Eventually at 7:30pm it reappeared and started feeding cautiously,Chad decided to shoot as it didn't seem like there was another pig with it.
Chad levelled the 300 WSM topped with a Trijicon scope on the pig,he could just make out the body through the scope in what was fast becoming a very dark night as the clouds were rolling in. The illuminated reticule indicated where to aim on the shape of the bushpig as Chad squeezed the trigger and the pig dropped dead in its tracks.Chad made a fantastic and unique shot: a bushpig in the moonlight!
The big sow tipped the scale at 67 kg or 147,4 lbs.Congratulations Chad and welcome to the Bushpig Hall of Fame!(see the picture)
Happy Hunting..
(See the rest of Chad and his Family's fantastic trophies on the Blaauwkrantz website at http://www.blaauwkrantz.com/ )
