JohnD's Zebra Hunt...

11 September, 2012
Hello, my name is Johnathan Dennis Ball. This is the exciting story of my Zebra Hunt.
It all started on Sunday, the 9th of September, 2012. We had just had guests leave, and Dad and I had the opportunity to go hunting. We left home at about 2o’clock, and went to the koppies to look and try to see some zebra. Way off in the distance we saw some zebra in an opening. So, we got the 30.06, (shooting a Winchester spring barns x tsx 150grain). After walking about one kilometer we saw them in the bush … we crouched down to try to prevent them from seeing us.
We tried to get to another koppie just behind them, so that we could see them better, and we had to take our shoes off so that we could walk quietly without scaring them! We eventually had to go down on our bellies and stay really low. After about 30 minutes we saw they weren’t looking our way, so we got set up to shoot. Unfortunately, we did not get to shoot but, when they were not paying attention we were able to get to the koppie…. Sadly the rest of the herd saw us and ran.
Then we decided that I would go up the road slowly to see if maybe they were still there, and my dad would go and get our shoes. So I went up the road and must have spooked them. When my dad caught up with me he climbed a tree to try see where they were, while I put my shoes back on. As he got up into the tree, he spooked them, and we heard them running! I immediately got ready to shoot in case they crossed the road. Unfortunately, they didn’t cross the road.
We walked down the road and then turned left and saw that they had crossed that road! So…. We turned around and back left and walked half a km and turned back into the bush. After walking another half km, we came to a blue wildebeest skull. I looked up and saw two waterbuck. My dad told me to stay on the zebra tracks, while he went to get the blue wildebeest skull. When the waterbuck ran off we heard the zebra run off as well! We kept following the tracks and saw where they were walking on the road, so we followed the tracks and after about three minutes, we saw them in the road.
Luckily the road was windy and the wind was in our favor, so we crept a little closer and we set up to shoot. The three zebra in the road, stood right for me to shoot and my dad said to shoot the middle one, but they all moved before I could shoot.  So, we waited a little longer and saw a nice zebra in the bunch and my dad said if it comes out on to the road, to shoot it … and sure enough, it came out on to the road. Facing us, I shot with a beautiful outcome… a 99 yard shot! Just as I shot, the dog went flying out from behind us to find it. We listened for the crashing and the barking to indicate where it might die. I reloaded the gun and we went to go and look for it and we found it right next to the road, dead.
We took a few pictures and called my Mom to come and bring the truck and the camera. So we waited and when they got there we took some more pictures, loaded it up and we went home.
This is my story of the Zebra Hunt! Thank you again Uncle Gerold. It was a lot of fun.
Love Johnathan