2009 Bushpig Report

John Wood from Texas with his bushpig shot in just the moonlight.Its longest tusk measured 8 14/16", a new Blaauwkrantz record and SCI possible top twenty entrant.

Dr Terry Witzu from Canada with "Ultra Daddy" the heaviest bushpig shot on Blaauwkrantz yet.(191lbs or 87kg)Terry shot this monster in just the moonlight as well. A fantastic effort!

Clanton Wood with a bushpig sow that weighed 86,5kg or 190lbs.The second heaviest pig ever weighed at Blaauwkrantz.Clanton also made an excellent shot in the full moon using my Hill Country Rifles 300 win mag fitted with the Zeiss Diavari 3-12X56 illuminated reticule scope.An ideal combination for this type of hunt that help produce these fine trophies.

2009 reflected a slight decrease in the number of trophy bushpigs taken mostly due to 25 % less hunters coming to Blaauwkrantz as compared to 2008. In 2008 we harvested 16 trophy bushpigs and in 2009 we totalled 13.It must be added that there were a few misses too by clients who ended up leaving without a bushpig. So the figure could've been slightly more although their shots were taken in spotlight and this makes things very tricky. I have been hard at work building better blinds in the last couple months so as to try eliminate as many misses as possible.My strategy of trying to hunt baited bushpigs on moonlit nights is by far the best way and certainly goes a long way in giving the shooter more time to aim and make the shot at the right pig.

When using the spotlight at the baitsite,the already skittish bushpigs,start moving around when the light comes on making it difficult for the shooter to identify and lock onto the target,many of them who have never even seen a bushpig.

So prospective bushpig hunters need to try book their safaris during the waxing phase of the moon.A generation three night vision scope will eventually be the answer though so that we wont have to rely on just the moon.There are only about 12 nights every month where the moonlight is sufficient for this extraordinary hunt.

I have also been hard at work during the year getting the bushpigs to take on sour corn at the various bait sites.It is not easy to train these wary animals to eat something they are not familiar with although once they have taken on the "pap" they cant get enough and return regularly to the baitsite albeit in a very nervous,excitable manner.I have even setup a American self-timed feeder from a tree where the warthogs,guineas and kudu have also learnt to eat the bait.I have set the time to go off just after dark,eliminating the warthogs and guineas who are diurnal.

Bushpigs run the kudu off the baits taking care of them themselves.Using sour corn instead of carcasses is a lot more flexible and allows the baiting process to be timed a lot better.

Generally the sizes of the bushpigs shot were relatively large this past year.2009 saw the heaviest bushpig taken yet on Blaauwkrantz.It weighed 87kg's(191lbs) and was shot by Dr Terry Witzu from Canada in June.

The second heaviest was taken by Clanton Wood from Houston and weighed 86,5kg's(190lbs),it incidentally was a sow taken in August.

A few nights earlier at the end of July,Clanton's Dad, John , shot a boar weighing 82kg's with a Blaauwkrantz record length tusk length of 7 14/16".

There have been some reports of certain bushpigs killing domestic goats again, so my quest to elimate the goat killers continues.Last year I managed to take out 5 of these goat killing pigs.It is very difficult and time consuming to target individual bushpigs taking into account that bushpigs are territorial yet their home ranges can overlap with other bushpigs.

2010 will hopefully be another interesting year in the dynamic and constantly evolving sport of bushpig hunting at Blaauwkrantz.