Springbok hunting
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Where to hunt Springbok
Springbok is a small, graceful antelope with lyre-shaped horns, which is one of the symbols of South Africa. Three subspecies are recognized: the common, or South African, springbok, the Western, or Kalahari, springbok, and the Angolan Springbok. SCI trophy books also have different entries for South African (common) and Southern or Cape springbok, as well as for any of the color phase variants: copper, or solid dark brown, black, and white springbok. Springbok is the classic hunting quarry in South Africa and Namibia.
Price distribution
The price of a springbok hunt depends on what subspecies or color phase you want to target. The common, Cape and Kalahari springbok shooting fee can be as low as $250, although most outfitters charge between $350 and $500. Rarer color phase variants will cost more, with black springbok starting at about $500 in South Africa to $1000 in Namibia, and white and copper color phases in the $800-$900 range in South Africa and $1,000-$1,200 in Namibia. A “springbok slam”, an opportunity to harvest all color phase variants during one hunt, is usually priced in the $5,000-$7,000 range.
Learn more from our blog story
“I beheld the boundless plains, and even the hill sides which stretched away on every side of me, thickly covered, not with" herds," but with " one vast herd" of springboks; far as the eye could strain the landscape was alive with them, until they softened down into a dim red mass of living creatures.” wrote Rouaelyn Gordon-Cumming of the springbok “trek-bokken”, or migration, he witnessed in 1843. How did they hunt springbok back then, and how have things changed since?
24 Mar 2019 Good Times, Bad Times: Springbok hunting in Gordon-Cumming’s “Five Years in South Africa” and todayWhen to hunt Springbok?
It’s not easy to pinpoint the best times for springbok hunting. In many areas of South Africa hunting opportunities exist year round, and in Namibia from February to November. Springbok is one of the animals that don’t have a specific time for the rut, so this is not a factor either. If you have to pick a few months, that would probably be the end of the dry season.
Hunting methods All hunting methods (16)
Springbok are the creatures of open plains, and spot-and-stalk is the method of choice for springbok hunting. The hunt begins with the hunter and PH cruising the concession, in vehicles or on foot, trying to spot a herd with an animal that will make a suitable trophy. Identifying the right animal may be harder than for most other species of antelopes, as both sexes carry horns, and the springbok have an unusual in the mammal world case of sexual dimorphism, with females larger than males. A springbok is a relatively small animal, and in most cases you will have to connect its vitals from a distance of 250 to 350 yards, so it’s best to select an accurate rifle for a cartridge with a flat trajectory for springbok hunting.
Why hunt Springbok?
There are many reasons to hunt springbok. Its flesh is valued in South Africa above all other antelopes, and thousands of pounds of springbok meat are sold in stores there every year. Sprinbok is just the right size for a full-size mount that will fit an average house and will always remind the hunter about the adventure. But above all, the reason to make an intercontinental journey has perhaps best been summed up by Roualeyn Gordon-Cumming, one of the first British sport hunters in South Africa: “As I rode along in the intense and maddening excitement of the chase, I felt a glad feeling of unrestrained freedom, and I shall ever refer to those times as by far the brightest and happiest of my life”
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