Grey Duiker Hunting in South Africa

Grey Duiker hunting is often opportunistic while glassing for other trophies. Consequently, they can make for a bonus while looking for your bigger game animals. Duiker requires a stalk through thick terrain similar to a bushbuck.

As a result, shots will often be quite close when hunting the grey duiker. There are no seasonal restrictions on the Grey Duiker trophy in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Nick Bowker Hunting offers Trophy Grey Duiker hunting in Africa year-round.

Shot placement for Duiker hunting
Shot placement for duiker hunting

Table of Contents

  1. Grey Duiker Hunting Cost
  2. Interesting Facts
  3. Difference between Male and Female
  4. About Grey Duiker
  5. Grey Duiker Hunting in South Africa
  6. Trophy Judgement and Rifle Calibre
Grey Duiker Hunting South Africa | Nick Bowker Hunting
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Grey Duiker hunt with Nick Bowker.

Grey Duiker Hunting Cost

A Duiker trophy will cost around $200. The Grey Duiker can be added to our hunt packages and is some of the cheapest hunting in South Africa.

The Grey Duiker trophy hunting package includes a licensed hunting guide and a hunting license, and all permits.

Africa grey duiker hunting with Nick Bowker.
Duiker Trophy

The Grey Duiker in Pictures

Grey duiker local names in South Africa.
Grey duiker size
Grey duiker habitat in South Africa.
Distribution in South Africa.
Predators of the grey duiker.
Drinking habits
Breeding and young.
Scent glands and marking.
Grey duiker shot placement.
shot placement.

Interesting facts about the Duiker

South African grey duiker safari.
  • The common duiker will stand on its hind feet to reach high into fruiting bushes.
  • There are eight different races of common duiker. This varied coloration may enable them to match the habitats specific to their location.
  • Some African rock pythons have died when the horns of male duikers have pierced their stomachs after they have swallowed them whole.
  • Duikers run with a very distinctive darting and diving style when they flee danger. And this gives rise to its common name, the Afrikaans for “diver.”
African Grey duiker hunting with Nick Bowker.
Grey Duiker trophy
  • Not a lot is known about the common duiker’s social life, so more research is needed before we can say whether they are monogamous and territorial.
  • While duikers predominantly eat leaves, some unusual items have been found in their diet, including baby birds and small rodents.
  • It’s not known whether these are eaten by accident or as a protein supplement.
  • The common duiker uses a pair of glands under its eyes for scent marking.
  • Grey Duiker hunting often occurs while glassing for other trophies and can make for a bonus while hunting larger trophies.
Duiker hunting
Duiker Trophy

The difference between a male and female grey duiker

Grey Duiker males have horns, while females do not. The female and the male have a tuft of hair growing on their heads.

Grey duiker male. Only males have horns.
Grey duiker male
Females have a tuft of hair between their ears but no horns.
Grey duiker female

About the Grey Duiker

Grey duiker African safari  hunt with Nick Bowker.

Duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Found in heavily wooded areas.

Duikers are shy, elusive creatures and live in dense cover; those that tend to live in more open areas, for example, quickly disappear into thickets for protection.

Duiker hunting is often underestimated mainly because of the size of the animal.

African grey duiker hunt with Nick Bowker.

Since the common grey duiker lives in more open areas, like the savanna, it has longer legs and vertical horns, which allows it to run faster and for longer distances; only the males, who are more aggressive and territorial, exhibit horns.

Also, duikers have well-developed periorbital glands, which resemble slits under their eyes or, in the cases of blue duikers, pedal glands on their hooves.

Males use secretions from these glands to mark their territory.

Grey Duiker trophy

Grey Duiker Hunting in South Africa

Your Duiker trophy should have an average shoulder height of around 17 inches, weigh about 25 pounds, and have a Horn length of approximately 4 inches.

The minimum Safari Club International score for a Duiker is 11. They are measured by adding the length of each horn as well as the circumference of the bases.

Duikers are solitary animals and often shot opportunistically while glassing for other trophies.

They can make for a bonus while looking for your bigger game animals.

Duiker requires a stalk through thick terrain. As a result, shots will often be quite close when hunting the grey duiker.

Hunting these Duikers is usually done in the early morning, late afternoon, or by spotlight at night.

The Grey Duiker forms part of the Tiny 10, and hunting one is a must for any hunter wishing to complete their selection of the small antelope species.

The duiker is primarily a browser and is most active during the late afternoon and early evening.

This member of the pygmy antelope clan can survive close to man.

He is independent of water as he can get sufficient moisture from browsing.

Duiker Hunting makes a cheap add-on to our seven animal hunting packages, including trophies as kudu and blesbok as standard.

A more expensive addition would, say, be a common reedbuck.

We do not require a deposit; see our terms and conditions.

Grey duiker hunting in South Africa
Grey Duiker hunting – trophy shot in South Africa. Duiker can be added on very cheaply to any of our South African Hunting Safari Packages.

Trophy Judgement and Rifle Caliber

Grey duiker harvested in 2023.

Trophy evaluation can be difficult when hunting a duiker, as only fleeting glances will be offered.

Horn tips that are level with the top of the ears are about 4 inches long; if the horns extend beyond the ear tips by an inch or more, you are looking at a high-scoring trophy.

Duiker hunting can be challenging; this mini-antelope has remarkably refined senses, small size, camouflaged coloring, and a habit of staying in or close to the long grass and thick brush.

Most hunting calibers are used to take the duiker as it is often opportunistic. However, if targeting a Duiker, we would recommend a 243.

For those hunters who do not wish to go through the red tape of bringing a rifle into South Africa, Nick Bowker has a Sako carbon light 243 fitted with a Swarovski Z8 tactical scope.

Also, we use Sako factory ammunition.

Shoot straight up for the leg, as with all African mammals, for the heart-lung shot.

The Grey Duiker or bush Duiker makes for a very underrated plains game hunting. Duiker hunting is a favorite pastime amongst local South Africans during hunting season. Hunting methods amongst the locals mainly involve driven hunts.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to hunt a Grey Duiker?

Grey Duiker hunt with Nick Bowker.

The trophy fee for a standalone Grey Duiker hunt is between $250 and $300. Daily rates vary between $250 and $500 per day.

Included in the Grey Duiker trophy fee is a licensed guide. As well as a hunting license and all permits.

How to hunt a Grey Duiker?

Grey duiker harvested in 2023.

Grey Duiker hunting is in the early mornings and late evenings and spotted from an elevated vantage point in the thick brush and then stalked. Alternatively,  hunters use ambush techniques at watering holes or as they move back to cover from feeding.

Grey Duiker are often hunted by sitting in a vantage point in the late evening and waiting for the Grey Duiker to step into small fields and begin grazing.

Where do you shoot a Grey Duiker?

Africa grey duiker hunting with Nick Bowker.

Shot placement must be in the bottom third of the animal directly above the front shoulder. This will ensure a heart or lung shot. Avoid head and neck shots, which are high-risk.

What is a trophy, Grey Duiker?

African grey duiker hunt with Nick Bowker.

Grey Duiker trophies have a Horn Length of approximately 4 inches. The minimum qualification score under Safari Club International for a Grey Duiker is 11. Add the length of each horn and the circumference of the bases to get your SCI score.

How do you judge a Grey Duiker trophy?

Duiker trophy hunted in the Eastern Cape South Africa.

Horn tips that are level with the top of the ears are about 4 inches long; if the horns extend beyond the ear tips by an inch or more, you are looking at a high-scoring trophy.

Seasonal Restrictions

When can you hunt Grey Duiker in South Africa?

Grey duiker African safari hunting

There are no seasonal restrictions on Grey Duiker hunting in designated conservancies in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

References

Smithers, RHN, 1983. The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion, 1st edn. University of Pretoria, CTP

Book Printers, Cape Town.

Deon Furstenburg, Focus on the Common / Grey Duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia)

Wikipedia – Common Duiker

Animalia Bio – Common Duiker

Africanskyehunting – Grey Duiker