African Small Game Hunt

A few weeks ago my blog post was focused on hunting larger game with airguns in South Africa, and I mentioned an upcoming trip. While using big bores to take plains game is the stuff that grabs attention, it is only part of the story. I spend more time on each of these trips hunting small game, and it is about the most hunting action I’ve ever had at one time.

A small game hunter can take several species of birds and mammals, and some in huge number. The birds we hunt are Guinea fowl, ducks and Egyptian geese, crows, many types of starlings and small pest birds. Mammals include hyrax, rabbits, springhare, porcupines, vervets, mongoose, jackals, caracals and others. The point is that between these and the plains game, hunters can be shooting from the time they get up in the mornings until they go to sleep at night (late at night if you want to hunt then as well).

I always take a t least one small bore gun along, either a .22 or .25 caliber, as a matter of fact one year I  shipped over small bores and only had one big bore for the trip. If I only take one small bore, it will be a .25 caliber as  guns in this caliber is probably the most versatile and can handle all of the small game species encountered.

This year, I am planning to bring my Daystate Huntsman Classic or the FX Royale with me, as these are a couple of my favorite guns. I’ve thought about the FX Verminator which is another favorite small game gun, though I’m a little worried about the logistics of travelling with the airtank, as TSA in this country sometimes insists on a visual assessment of the tank before it can be checked.

In terms of the quarry, the Guinea fowl is perhaps my favorite of the birds. They are incredibly wary and travel in large coveys, so there are many sets of eyes looking out for danger. I like to spot and stalk the birds, and when in range shoot at the base of the neck. In my book, this is the small game trophy that represents airgunning in the Dark Continent.

As far as mammals, the hyrax is an animal that can be shot nowhere else in the world, so represents another trophy for the airgunner. This animal lives in the kloofs and is a hard earned trophy that takes hard work and lots of climbing in the rough and rugged rock formations dotting the landscape.

The beautiful and very large African porcupine is another animal I consider a must have for the airgunner wanting to achieve a representative bag. These are hunted at night, and the action is fast when one is found as they start off on a run as soon as a light finds them.

Pigeons are the deal when it comes to nonstop shooting, the action can be almost nonstop. Flocks with hundreds of birds will sometimes come in almost continuous flights. Well shoot a few and ley them out as decoys, and after the first few are down the action gets fast and furious.

Between the plains game, small game, and predators, I have never hunted an area where I get so much hunting and shooting in a single week! We’ve got five hunters lined up for out hunt in September of this year, and room for a couple more. If you want a hunt of a lifetime, give AoA a call to get more information!