REFUSING TO DIE
The herd of Hartmann’s mountain zebra stood scattered across the valley floor, with the stallion taking his position at the rear to protect his harem. Namibian PH Jamy Traut was lying next to me, prone, on a slab of ancient granite. He pointed out the big male.
“He’s on the right at 275 yards,” Jamy informed me, still looking through the Bushnell rangefinder. “Just let him turn a bit and take him.”
I let my second deep breath halfway out, and the crosshairs steadied on the triangle of stripes on the stallion’s shoulder as the trigger of the Colt rifle broke cleanly. In spite of the recoil, I heard the smack of the Federal Trophy Bonded Tip bullet, and Jamy gave that “yassssss” that PHs give when the shot is placed properly. The stallion, mortally wounded, did his best to follow his herd, but as he paused again at just shy of 300 yards, a second 180-grain bullet ended the game.
A BRITISH CLASSIC
To have the opportunity to hunt such a majestic game animal was wonderful, but to have done it with such a classic rifle and cartridge made the hunt that much better. I had a 1959 Colt “The Coltsman,”
