“Death by Bungie” is one of the most popular crossbow channels today. Rich Wilson has been talking about his Excalibur crossbow for years and sharing crossbow adventures. I saw yesterday that he went to Africa for the first time this summer, shooting a Ravin R29. His goal was to see if a modern crossbow could handle African plains game, ironically, the same thing I experimented with in 2015.
My Story
Just like Wilson, I had the same questions back in 2015 as I began hunting exclusively with a crossbow. I had two friends who also were crossbow hunters and proposed an experiment of sorts. Could we use three different brands of crossbows on a 5-animal plains game safari successfully? I pitched the idea to three manufacturers and was able to borrow three brands of crossbows and AimPoint red dot scopes to top them. Since most of the hunting would be from blinds at waterholes, the use of a point-and-shoot red dot scope had great promise.
Opening Day- WOW!
We hunted with Rassie Erasmus on his bowhunting-only concession in northern South Africa from his camp, a converted cave used by Africans for a thousand years until his grandfather bought it many years ago. Today, the camp has showers and modern conveniences while maintaining a unique African vibe, accentuated by meals over leadwood fires each evening. Erasmus offers management hunts for animals that are too old to breed or have some defect that most hunters don’t want. Don Wilson encountered an old eland bull that had one eye, a condition that placed it in the management category. The beast weighed nearly 2,000 pounds and went down from one arrow from Wilson at 40 yards.
A Dentist- Oh No!
2015 was the year of Cecil the lion, who was shot by a Dentist from the USA with a crossbow. Ed Beachley, my dentist, was the third member of our group, and one month after Cecil made world headlines, he joined us on the safari amongst lots of kidding about the situation. Ed also hunted with a compound bow, but chose to use a crossbow exclusively on this one. Shown here in orange shirts, the three of us each brought our wives, who enjoyed the event equally.
Modern Day Vs. Old School
My Excalibur crossbow was slow by today’s standards, launching a 16-inch arrow at 305 fps, tipped with a 150-grain, three-blade fixed head. The animal I wanted most was a kudu, and Erasmus had an old bull that met his management criteria, yet it often drank with other breeding bulls since the rut was over and animals were in bachelor groups. in late afternoon, he checked on me to see if the old creature had shown up to drink. “I think it has shown up, but you haven’t recognized it,” he said. The animal has white dots on its face and the horns have white tips.” With that information, I was able to make an accurate shot and down the beast within 100 yards.
A Unique Challenge
One aspect of African hunting is very different than our North American game animals. African Antelope have their vitals between, not behind, the shoulder. If you shoot an animal behind the shoulder, the result is a long, long trail and perhaps a lost animal. Part of the challenge of the crossbow is the ability to pass through several inches of shoulder muscle just to reach the vitals. I often take first-time hunters to Africa, and I constantly reinforce this aiming solution. “Aim 1/3 up the shoulder, not behind it, unless the animal is quartering away.
100% Results
The results of our “experiment hunt” were amazing. We took 15 animals with 15 arrows, for a perfect recovery score, including animals ranging from nearly one ton, Wilson’s cyclopse Eland bull, to a bushbuck, deer-sized, and warthogs, which are always difficult to bring down. I attribute part of the success to our AimPoint red dot scopes, which created precise aiming solutions. The results were so impressive that one of our Professional Hunters asked his clients on trophy kudu safaris to use crossbows at waterholes instead of rifles in spot-and-stalk situations.
Good Luck Bungie
Rich Wilson’s YouTube video series is just beginning to appear, and I have every confidence that Wilson and his friends will do well. He will be using the latest technology and equipment, and it should make a great performance comparison for US hunters this fall. Here’s the first episode of what should be an exciting series.
