We receive great articles every month, but every now and again we get that special one that tugs at the heartstrings. “How to make a dad cry…” tells how Mark van der Linde goes out of his way to make it possible for his son, Connor, who suffers from a debilitating physical condition, to realise his dream of hunting. This brave boy has the heart of a real hunter indeed – an example to all hunters out there.
Die spesie waarop ons vandeesmaand fokus is die eland – menige jagter se droomtrofee. Jaco Zeeman was in sy element toe die bod vir ’n nietrofee-elandbul op BASA se jaarlikse fondsinsamelingsveiling op hom toegeslaan is. Hy het sy spogbul by Thaba Lesodi in Limpopo gaan jag.
Laurence Jennings travelled all the way to the Stormberg mountains in the Eastern Cape where he harvested a magnificent blue eland bull with a neck the size of an oil drum – a once-in-a-lifetime trophy hunted in a very special place with very special people. Read all about it in “Eland hunting – the sleeping giants of the Stormberg mountains”. If the eland is on your hunting list, make sure to read Prof J du P Bothma’s insightful article on the species. Two other great hunting stories not to be missed are “The real Midlands Meander – a reedbuck odyssey” by Michael Vigne and adventure bowhunter Tom Miranda’s “Old-world deer”.
As jy ’n paar ekstra rande in die sak het, blaai gerus na die verslae oor Franchi se nuwe grendelaksiegewere, die Horizon Black Synt en Horizon Elite Gray, asook Leupold se nuwe Mark 4 HD-reeks geweerteleskope.
Aan die ekonomiese front berig dr Flippie Cloete in “Live game-auction price trends” dat die bedryf steeds voortbou op die momentum van die laaste drie seisoene. Dit geld veral vir die meeste vlaktewildspesies, terwyl die mark vir hoërwaarde-wild effens onder druk is. Oorsese jagters dra aansienlik by tot die plaaslike ekonomie, maar ons moet glad nie ons eie biltongjagters onderskat nie. Prof Peet van der Merwe en prof Andrea Saayman deel interessante bevindinge hieroor in “How much does the South African hunter contribute to the local economy?”.
Onthou om julle jagfoto’s in te stuur vir “Jagfotogalery”. Die maandelikse wenner ontvang ʼn oulike Skullies-miniatuurskedel van dieselfde spesie as in sy of haar wenfoto.
Tot volgende keer, lekker lees en jag!

Wildbedryfgroete
Game industry greetings