You've probably heard about the prestigious One-Shot Antelope Hunt held in Lander, Wyoming, each year; well, now there is a One-Shot Springbok Hunt held in South Africa. The African version of the hunt was organized last year by Hector Kitscha, an American who has participated in the Lander contest, and Francois de Wet of Sandveld Safaris in South Africa. While there are two other One-Shot contests (one for kudu and the other for springbok) reportedly held in South Africa's Eastern Cape, the contest organized by Kitscha and Wet seems to be the only one truly based on the same rules as the Lander contest, although there are some minor differences. The way it works is that 12 two-person teams (as opposed to three people in the Lander version) set out to hunt springbok with an officially designated Professional Hunter. Each person takes turn hunting a precisely timed 30-minute shift (Lander hunters get an hour), during which he tries to find, shoot and kill a springbok with one bullet. In the Lander hunt, the target is a pronghorn antelope, but the one-shot requirement is the same. If the hunter misses or must use a second shot to finish off a wounded animal, his or her team is disqualified. The team that completes its hunts in the least amount of time wins the contest.
Last year's One-Shot Springbok Hunt took place in the Northern Cape on Wintershoek Game Lodge, a 24,700-acre farm about 50 miles south of Kimberly, which will also be the site of the 2002 hunt. Participants in the contest stay at the Wintershoek lodge, which features eight chalets with 19 guest rooms, a conference facility, exhibition hall, pool and a shooting range. Besides the One-Shot Hunt, contestants also enjoy a number of other activities, including a shooting contest, Bushman dances, a dinner party and awards ceremony. Of course, there is also the opportunity to do some more hunting, including various organized cull hunts. This year participants also are asked to help with a community project by bringing 50 pairs of used tennis shoes for distribution to poor village children.
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