Springbok Hunting in – All You Need to Know About Springbok Hunts

Your springbok ram trophy should have an average shoulder height of around 28 inches, weigh about 50 pounds, and have a Horn Length of approximately 12 inches. Recently a world record springbok of 20 inches has been found.

The Safari Club International minimum score for a springbok is 30, white springbok 28, black springbok 30.5, and copper springbok 25.

The trophy is measured by adding the length of each horn and the circumference of the bases.

The Springbok is the national emblem of the Republic of South Africa.

The name of the antelope originates from the early Dutch settlers in South Africa and the word “spring,” meaning jump.

Its unique trait of “prancing” will make you understand why our ancestors gave it this name.

The Springbok is graceful and handsomely patterned, with a long fold of skin on its back.

The skin fold on the back is closed, and when the animal becomes excited, it opens, fanning a length of stiff white hair.

It is believed that after rains, particularly in the Kalahari, for the joy of living, the animals jump up and down like bouncing balls, stretching their front and rear legs simultaneously and bending their heads down (called ‘prancing’).

Springbok is shot mainly in the open plains, and stalks can be tricky. Sometimes, a long shot will be required, especially on the open plains.

Springbok are hunted by spot and stalk and are suitable trophies for the first-time hunter.

Come and join us for the hunt of a lifetime at our safari hunt lodge in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

If you can approach within 250 yards, you are doing well, and it is best to take your shot. The flat-shooters will be the right rifle when hunting Springbok.  

For those hunters who do not wish to go through the red tape of bringing a rifle into South Africa, Nick Bowker has 300 Magnums fitted with suppressors.

The rifles are mounted with a Swarovski Z8 tactical scopes. We have hand-loaded Hornady ELD-X 200 grain ammunition.

The rifle, including ammunition, is available as part of all hunting packages free of charge.

Hunting springbok can be a challenge due to its size and excellent senses. Stalk carefully while keeping the wind in your favor, and get as close as possible.

The trophy quality lies in the bases’ width, the overall length, and the curls on the horns’ tips.

It’s a great trophy to hunt while on safari. It is necessary for any collector interested in collecting the springbok color variations.

Springbok is included in nearly all of our hunting packages, along with kudu, sable antelope, gemsbok, impala, blesbok, warthog, and mountain reedbuck.

• One of the fastest animals on the planet. Springbok can reach a speed of up to 60 miles per hour.

• They have a pocket-like flap of skin on the rump, which conceals a white crest. When Springbok detects predators, the crest is visible. The white crest sends a message to other members of the group.

• Springbok has long, pointed ears, a long neck, and a slender body. Lyre-shaped horns can be seen in males and females (they are longer and thicker in males).

• Springbok is a herbivore (plant-eater). The springbok’s diet is grasses, leaves, roots, and tubers.

• Natural enemies of springboks are cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, lions, wild dogs, jackals, and lynxes.

• Springbok form a few herds: mixed herds (one dominant male with numerous females and their offspring) and bachelor herds.

• Springbok (antidorcas marsupialis) can mate all year round. Young are born at the start of the rainy season in summer when food is abundant.

• Pregnancy in females lasts 5 to 6 months and ends with one baby hidden in the bush or tall grass during the first few days of life. At 3 to 4 weeks, young springbok joins a nursery herd with its mother.

• Springbok depends on the milk of the mother until the age of about six months. Females often stay within their native herds, while males leave them at 6 to 12 months to join bachelor herds.

• Females reach sexual maturity at one year and males at two years.

• Springbok can survive up to 10 years in the wild.

• Springbok hunting is very similar to blesbok hunting as they share the same characteristics.

Springbok is primarily active around dawn and dusk.

The weather influences activity; Springbok can feed at night in hot weather and midday in colder months.

They rest in the shade of trees or bushes and often lie in the open when the weather is cooler.

The mixed-sex herds or harems have a roughly 3:1 sex ratio; bachelor individuals are also observed in these herds.

The Springbok is a medium-sized, slender antelope with long legs. Both sexes reach 28 inches at the shoulder with a head-and-body length typically between 47 and 59 inches. The weights for both sexes range between 45 and 55 pounds. Both sexes have a pair of black, 10 – 15-inch-long horns that curve backward.

They have a white face and a dark stripe from the eyes to the mouth. A light-brown coat marked by a reddish-brown line that runs from the upper foreleg to the buttocks.