Frio y tiros largos / Long shot in the cold

Frio y tiros largos 

Despues de llegar a España, para pasar unas vacaciones con la familia y cambiar los aires Africanos, tocaba organizar los planes cinegeticos para las vacaciones. Joaquin y yo estuvimos hablando, y entre todos los planes surgio la idea de llamar a Daniel, buen amigo y cliente desde hace muchos años que vive en Murcia. Despues de hablar un rato de familia y los estudios, Daniel me propuso el plan de acercarme con Joaquin a Murcia y intentar cazar un Arrui. Le dije que si casi al instante y quedamos en que llegariamos la tarde siguiente.

 

Nos pusimos rumbo a Murcia el dia siguiente. El viaje se hizo corto entre las conversaciones y la musica. Llegamos tarde a casa de Daniel, donde nos esperaba una cena caliente, una cerveza fria y una cama, vamos como en casa. Despues de la cena tratamos el plan del dia siguiente, iriamos a la finca de un amigo de Daniel que tenia Muflones y Arruis en cantidad para intentar cazar un Arrui representativo.

La mañana se desperto fria y con viento, algo muy diferente a lo que estamos acostumbrados en Sudafrica, conversamos de camino a la finca que consistia de pinares, vallecitos y alguna montañita. Entramos y pusimos rumbo a la solana. Dejamos el coche un par de kilometros despues y nos pusimos a andar, Daniel delante, seguido por Joaquin y yo. Hacia mucho frio, pero como dice mi padre "sarna con gusto no pica". Hicimos una asomada a un valle y no vimos nada, aunque mas adelante se veia mas sol y seguimos con la esperanza de ver algun bicho. La siguiente asomada fue mas fructifera y vimos un grupo de Arruis muy lejos tumbados al sol y mas cerca habia 2 mufloncetes de media vuelta con un par de ciervas. Seguimos cautelosamente para intentar acercarnos a los Arruis, aunque no podriamos acercarnos mucho debido a los muflones.  

 
Llegamos a una roca grande desde donde teniamos los muflones muy cerca y no nos podiamos acercar mas a los arruis sin asustarlos. Nos tumbamos y medimos la distancia, 350 metros. Un tiro muy muy largo, pero si habia un macho tirable habia que intentarlo. Me tumbe, puse el bipode Harris y me encare el rifle de Daniel, un 30-378 Weatherby. Con los 20 aumentos yo buscaba un macho tirable cuando me dijo Joaquin que el animal que estaba mas bajo era el mejor. Daniel estaba de acuerdo y me dijero que cuando se cruzara lo intentara. Miraba al macho, que al sol era precioso con su larga barba y casi sin darme cuenta se cruzo. Joaquin me dijo que tirase, y yo como buen mandado puse la cruz en la parte alta de la paletilla y suavemente aprete el gatillo. Parecio pasar una eternidad entre el tiro y la reaccion del animal, que acuso el tiro y apenas se movio un par de metros hasta que cayo. Yo miraba a joaquin incredulo, acababamos de cazar un animal que siempre habia soñado con un tiro que me gustaria decir que no fue suerte. 

 
Nos acercamos al animal con prisa, tanta que nos pasamos de largo y cuando lo encontramos me parecio mas precioso aun. No era oro ni plata, pero la barba era preciosa y los cuernos curvados y simetricos, era todo lo que podia esperar. Despues de sacar las fotos pelamos el animal, y di las gracias a Daniel ya que sin el no hubiera sido posible. Pusimos rumbo al coche para intentar buscar un muflon, pero esa historia es para otro momento. 

Long shot in the cold 


After arriving in Spain, in order to spend the holidays with family and change the African air, it was time to organise the hunting trips for the holiday. Joaquin and I spent a long time on the phone, and one of the ideas that arose was to call Daniel, a good friend and client for many years who lives in Murcia. We spoke for a while about family and studies. Daniel suggested that me and Joaquin come down to Murcia to hunt a Barbary sheep, an animal I had always wanted to hunt.


We drove to Murcia the very next day. The trip was made short due to the many conversations and music. We arrived at Daniels house, where there was a warm dinner, a cold beer, and a bed waiting for us, it felt like being at home. After dinner we spoke about the plans for the following day. We would be going to the farm of one of Daniel`s friends, that had many mouflons and barbary sheep, and the main objective was to find a good representative barbary sheep.


The following morning awoke cold and windy, something very different to what we are accustomed to in South Africa, we spoke the whole way to the farm. The farm had, pines, a few valleys and some mountains that weren't too high. We arrived and after driving about two kilometres, we left the car and proceeded on foot. Daniel in front followed by me and Joaquin. It was freezing cold. We came to a vantage point from where we could see a small valley but we saw nothing. Ahead however we could see a little hill which was bathed in sunlight and hopefully some animals would be there trying to catch the early morning rays. We walked on, hoping to see something. We came to another rise from where we could view the sunny hillside, from here we saw a group of about 20 barbary sheep high on the hill side a long way off, and half way between them and us were 2 mouflons, of about half a curl and a few female red deer. This meant we wouldn't be able to get as close to the barbary sheep as we wanted and that the shot if we got the chance, would be a very long one. 


We got to a rock, directly above the mouflons. We could move no further without alarming them and chasing the Barbary sheep off. We sat down and ranged the distance, 350 metres. A very very long shot, but if there was a shootable ram I would have to try and make the shot. I lay down, set up the Harris bipod, cushioned Daniels rifle, a 30-378 weatherby, and peered through the scope which I put on 20x. I scanned the group looking for a shootable ram when Joaquin told me that the biggest ram was the one at the bottom of the group. Daniel agreed and said that when he turned broadside and stopped I should shoot. I followed the ram through the scope, he looked beautiful in the sunlight, and suddenly he stopped broadside. Joaquin told me to shoot, I nestled the crosshairs high on the ram`s shoulder and squeezed the shot off. It seemed as if an eternity had passed between the shot and the animals reaction, he put his head down and slowly walked about five steps before collapsing. I looked at Joaquin perplexed, we had just hunted an animal I had always dreamt of hunting, with a shot I wish I could say was not lucky. 


We walked up to the animal hurriedly, so much so that we walked right past it, but when we found it he was even more stunning. He wasn`t a gold or silver medal, but his beard was long and his horns curved and symmetrical, he was everything I had wished for. After taking pictures we skinned the animal, and I thanked Daniel, without him it wouldn`t have been possible. We started the walk back to the car, and then we would try look for a mouflon, but that is a story for another time.