The Bowhunter’s Dream: Bill Epeards’ “Green Rhino” Bow Hunt
John E. Phillips 09.27.12
Author’s note: Bill Epeards of Goshen, Ohio, has traveled the world and taken some legendary animals on some unbelievable hunts. A member of the PSE and Mossy Oak Pro Staffs, he works with Jimmy Houston Outdoors and is a member of a world-champion archery target team. “I shot competition archery for a lot of years, but I got away from it,” Epeards reports. “Then I got with some other older fellows, and today we shoot the senior class of the Bowhunter Division of the IBO. We won the national championship for two consecutive years – 2008 and 2009 – came in second in 2010 and won 2011 and 2012.” Epeards also guides and hunts in the United States. This week Epeards shares with us some of his most memorable bow hunts.
Question: Bill, where did you find a green rhino to hunt?
Epeards: You don’t understand. I wasn’t hunting for a rhinoceros that was green. A green rhino hunt, or any kind of green hunt, is a catch-and-release hunt. You dart the animal with a drug, the animal goes down, the veterinarians and the scientists then study, measure, evaluate and draw blood from the animal to check its health, and you get to make pictures with the animal that you’ve taken while the animal’s unconscious. After the hunt’s over, and the scientists have gathered all the information that they need to gather, then the animal is injected with a chemical that negates the anesthetic in the syringe that you’ve shot into the animal. The animal gets up and walks off. So on a green rhino hunt, you go through all the stalking and hunting strategies that you go through if you’re planning to take the animal with your bow. However, when you release the arrow, instead of having a broadhead on the end of it, it has a hypodermic needle known as a dart. The force of the dart hitting the animal causes the shaft of the arrow to push the plunger of this hypodermic needle, which injects the rhino with an anesthetic that puts it to sleep. Or, at least, that’s the way the hunt is supposed to work.
My hunt for the rhino was an unbelievable experience. We used the spot-and-stalk method of finding the animal and getting in a position to take the shot. When I reached camp, I had a practice syringe attached to my arrow. Then I could practice shooting the dart instead of a broadhead. I had to set my bow, so that I was shooting less than 50 pounds, and adjust my sight to aim properly with 50 pounds instead of with 80 or 90 pounds of draw weight, which was what I’d been using. After I was confident that I could deliver the arrow accurately to the rhino, if we found one to shoot, we loaded up the trackers and the veterinarian to go hunt the rhino. On these types of hunts, you have to have a veterinarian with you to make sure that the anesthesia and the drug to counter the anesthesia are administered in the proper dose for that animal. As we began to start hunting rhinos, I was able to move to within 40 yards of the animal I was to take. There were three rhinos, and I picked out the biggest one. The shot was to be made to the shoulder of the animal, and when I took the shot, I hit the spot at which I was aiming.
We waited 45 minutes before we started stalking the rhino again. When we caught up to him, we could see that the rhino was drowsy and sluggish, but he hadn’t gone down yet. The veterinarian suggested that we take a second shot with a little more anesthesia to put the rhino down. I got to the side of the rhino and took a second shot, and within 15 minutes of that second shot, the big rhino went down. The veterinarian told me that the drug he was using was a very powerful anesthetic. When the rhino received the proper dose of this drug, he’d have all his functions and know everything going on except he wouldn’t have his mobility.
When the rhino went down, the veterinarian and the trackers went to the rhino and started taking blood samples and gave the rhino antibiotics. After the medical maintenance had been done on the rhino, we were permitted to take pictures and finish the video. Then the drug to counteract the anesthetic was given, and the rhino was up and on his feet in less than 60 seconds. What was really exciting for me was to actually get up beside the rhino and feel how heavy and thick his skin was and to rub my hand down his horn and be able to have my picture taken, shoot the video of the end of the hunt, and the rhinoceros still breathing. After we’d done everything we’d wanted to do with that rhinoceros, injected him with a drug that made him mobile and free again to roam as he’d been roaming before I ever shot him with my PSE bow.
Learn bowhunting deer strategies in the new Kindle eBooks, “Jim Crumley’s Secrets of Bowhunting Deer” and “Bowhunting Deer: The Secrets of the PSE Pros,” by John E. Phillips. Go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the name of the books, and download it to your Kindle, and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, Smart Phone or computer.
Click here to check out John Phillips’ article archives, including more stories from Bill Epeards.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
