I had the great privilege of hunting with artist Josh Spies... what a great guy, so incredibly humble and what an amazing talent he has ... have a look at some of his stuff at www.joshuaspies.com

most of you who have been to the shows will have seen his booth there ...


the thing i most liked about josh was how enthusiastically he would attack each day , as an artist he sees things different from most of us and his constant questions and excited interest in all and everything to do with the hunt served as an awesome reminder of just how great it is out there .....

josh started in namibia where he killed an excellent leopard with jofie lamprecht of hunters namibia , jofie is also a good friend and runs a world class operation ....




they then came to zimbabwe

josh hunted with his dad , in chewore south with me ,chewore is as you know a chifuti concession ... we were the second hunt of the season through there in march so it was VERY thick ... but the great part of it was that there was LOTS of elephant movement ...we didnt see any buffalo without tracking , and dagga boys werent moving much except with the herds.

as it turned out we shot these two bulls early in the hunt which was luck as it meant we could then focus on the ele bull which of course was the main thing ,

we were very very lucky , jim shot his bull first , the whole herd ran off and then stopped at just 60 yards and looked back with another great bull glaring at us , it didnt take much convincing to encourage josh onto the sticks !!!!






then it was onto the ele bull , we tracked and stalked and walked a lot , as i said the bush was very very green and so tracking was tough and we had some very fraustrating times ,

god smiled on us though , one morning early we got onto two bulls and after just two hours caught up with them ...josh took this bull , weighed in at just over 40 pounds





then with the bull over on day five and two days left to spare we hunted tuskless , we came across several however all with calves , at last this cow , not particularly big but without calf and tuskless presented herself on the last evening , ...

what a great adventure with a couple of true gentlemen ... the thing that impressed me the most was how in awe josh was with all that he saw and did , each animal had in spellbound as he would walk around it and touch it and look at it and it actually was great for me as a PH ...its easy for us as PHs to take the hunt for granted ...i truly love the hunt and have great respect for my quarry and to have someone remind me so vividly just how awesome it is out there was excellent ...thank you josh !

Thanks for sharing Ivan. Great story and great pictures... Josh's web site is very nice as well. Great work!

I have two of Joshua's elephant prints and visited with him at the DSC show about his upcoming hunt with Ivan. Not only is he an incredibly talented painter, but to reiterate what Ivan said, he was approachable, humble, engaging and just another excited hunter looking forward to his elephant hunt. I have his Trailblazer print to look at every day to remind me of what a real trophy elephant looks like.

You hunted the current year duck stamp artist? How cool! Had I been there, I'd have whipped out my licence with attached duck stamp and had him sign it. But then there'd be two signatures on it, and the EPOs would have probably fined me for it in the duck blind...

Looks like a great time was had, with some very impressive animals taken.

Question: in pic # 5, was that shrubbery in the ele's gob serving to hide something, placed there as a token gesture, or a last snack uneaten? Other?

Ivan you are the MAN! Those are some great trophies.

Looks like you are having a fantastic season.

Did Jonny tell you of our adventures in Mahenye? I had to duck from a 9ft mamba, and no ivory to show off. But 15 days with Jonny in the bush is always an adventure! Looking forward to more!

TJB

Great pictures Ivan - not the usual poses.

quote:

Question: in pic # 5, was that shrubbery in the ele's gob serving to hide something, placed there as a token gesture, or a last snack uneaten? Other?

CG,
one thing i learned from the germans that i hunted was a true and deep respect for the animals killed , they have some very cool traditions and laws and respect for the killed game is always foremost ..

Two things i am very particular about soon after an animal is killed ,

i make sure that once all the backslapping and high fiving is over that i leave the hunter ALONE ...no trackers , scouts or anyone for that matter with him , we go about 200 yards away and leave him for a few minutes to just look , appreciate and absorb the enourmity of the moment and the grace of the elephant he has just taken , not too many dry eyes after a few moments alone with an animal that took miles of hiking and years of planning and days of hunting ...!

the second thing i like to do is respectfully fold the trunk if possible , either upwards or curled down and put some leaves in the animals mouth , looks far nicer than a huge gaping pink hole and just to my eye looks a lot more dignified ...

call me wierd , its just my thing !!!

quote:

Did Jonny tell you of our adventures in Mahenye? I had to duck from a 9ft mamba, and no ivory to show off. But 15 days with Jonny in the bush is always an adventure! Looking forward to more!

i know dr tim that you are one of johnnies favorite people , of course the kids also think you are are hero ....

quote:

I have two of Joshua's elephant prints and visited with him at the DSC show about his upcoming hunt with Ivan. Not only is he an incredibly talented painter, but to reiterate what Ivan said, he was approachable, humble, engaging and just another excited hunter looking forward to his elephant hunt. I have his Trailblazer print to look at every day to remind me of what a real trophy elephant looks like.

Mike

mike , you like me have the elephant bug pretty bad ... i agree his elephant pictures are amazing , i was very touched by the amount of time he took on each and every animal he took just looking and absorbing ...i bet he took 5000 pictures and sometimes he would have me stop the truck , he would get out and stretch , shake his head , say "wow" and just get back in the truck ... as i said its great to be with someone who constantly reminds one of how good it really is ...

Ivan, thanks for posting the photos,and story.
good to hear hunting season is going well

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:

quote:

Question: in pic # 5, was that shrubbery in the ele's gob serving to hide something, placed there as a token gesture, or a last snack uneaten? Other?

CG,
one thing i learned from the germans that i hunted was a true and deep respect for the animals killed , they have some very cool traditions and laws and respect for the killed game is always foremost ..

Two things i am very particular about soon after an animal is killed ,

i make sure that once all the backslapping and high fiving is over that i leave the hunter ALONE ...no trackers , scouts or anyone for that matter with him , we go about 200 yards away and leave him for a few minutes to just look , appreciate and absorb the enourmity of the moment and the grace of the elephant he has just taken , not too many dry eyes after a few moments alone with an animal that took miles of hiking and years of planning and days of hunting ...!

the second thing i like to do is respectfully fold the trunk if possible , either upwards or curled down and put some leaves in the animals mouth , looks far nicer than a huge gaping pink hole and just to my eye looks a lot more dignified ...

call me wierd , its just my thing !!!

Weird? Nope, not even close. I suspected as much. Bloody well done all around.

Cheers,

KG

kg ,
seeing all your posts in the waterfowl forums , you are one guy i would really like to share a duck blind with someday ... man , i cant figure out which disease is worst , one that makes you walk nine hours a day or one that makes you look forward to getting cold !!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
kg ,
seeing all your posts in the waterfowl forums , you are one guy i would really like to share a duck blind with someday ... man , i cant figure out which disease is worst , one that makes you walk nine hours a day or one that makes you look forward to getting cold !!!!

You are welcome in my blind any day, Ivan. Make it to Boston and I'll take care of all the rest. I think you'd enjoy all the waterfowl we chase here, and the variety can be wonderful (buddies and I have taken as many as 23 species in a season). Seaducks (including oldsquaw as seen in your client's winning duck stamp) are a special treat for those that have never hunted them. Only payment I will require is in the form of a few good stories. Seriously!

Cheers,

KG

This is very good stuff Ivan; thanks for sharing the stories and excellent pics. Stay safe.

Ivan, I am deeply impressed by the way you give tribute to the hunted animal and the fact that you give the hunter the opportunity to absorb the events alone with his trophy. I sure hope to be able to to hunt one fine day with you. Keep well and best regards,
Ron

Thanks for the report Ivan. Obviously a very successful trip to Africa for Joshua taking three of the "Big 5"!

I admire an artist who pratices conservation through hunting as well as through his donations to DSC and other worthwhile organizations that protect our wildlife and hunting heritage. Good for him... he deserved a great hunt and received exactly that!

Well-done! Now what is the make of that double rifle... looks interesting.

""i make sure that once all the backslapping and high fiving is over that i leave the hunter ALONE ...no trackers , scouts or anyone for that matter with him , we go about 200 yards away and leave him for a few minutes to just look , appreciate and absorb the enourmity of the moment and the grace of the elephant he has just taken , not too many dry eyes after a few moments alone with an animal that took miles of hiking and years of planning and days of hunting ...!""

If I ever hunt ele, this is exactly what I woudl want. It probably wont be the first ele for the PH, scout or trackers but it would likely be the only one for me and to have some time to really soak up the moment and to feel things without an audience would make the experience that much more profound. I hope other Ph's do the same thing as you Ivan, to me this is a very classy move.

_Baxter

bwanamrm

Looks like a Heym with that elephant top lever. Maybe a 450 ? Looks like the one i held last year in October

quote:

Well-done! Now what is the make of that double rifle... looks interesting.

yep , its my heym , its a 450 3 and a quarter.. that rifle sure has done some miles!

in the picture with josh and i on the tuskless , i am holding my rigby .577.

Being a person infected with waterfowlers disease, I was pleased to see Josh win the duck stamp competition. His use of vibrant colors in some of his paintings make them stand out in a crowd. I like his style very much. Thanks for posting Ivan. I'm sure he would have enjoyed his hunt if nothing had been taken.
Cheers,
David

Ivan,
Great photos.Thanks for sharing them. Good to read the great stories here at AR. great shows on TV with Craig Boddington. He seems like a great guy to hunt with. Looks like you have a fun time.

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:

quote:

Question: in pic # 5, was that shrubbery in the ele's gob serving to hide something, placed there as a token gesture, or a last snack uneaten? Other?

CG,
one thing i learned from the germans that i hunted was a true and deep respect for the animals killed , they have some very cool traditions and laws and respect for the killed game is always foremost ..

Two things i am very particular about soon after an animal is killed ,

i make sure that once all the backslapping and high fiving is over that i leave the hunter ALONE ...no trackers , scouts or anyone for that matter with him , we go about 200 yards away and leave him for a few minutes to just look , appreciate and absorb the enourmity of the moment and the grace of the elephant he has just taken , not too many dry eyes after a few moments alone with an animal that took miles of hiking and years of planning and days of hunting ...!

the second thing i like to do is respectfully fold the trunk if possible , either upwards or curled down and put some leaves in the animals mouth , looks far nicer than a huge gaping pink hole and just to my eye looks a lot more dignified ...

call me wierd , its just my thing !!!

Very nice Ivan! Very classy! I agree that the German's have it figured out. I forget the German words for it but they place a bough in the animals mouth as a last meal and toast the animal. Classy.

Brett

Brett,
it's called "letzter bissen" in german
(=last bite).
actually, traditionally you should only use boughs from specific trees.
maybe difficult to find them in africa :-)
Anyway, I like Ivans style.
Maybe an elephant some day...
Andy

Thanks Andy.

Brett