I just finished reading the book Only in Africa by Thomas J. Hammond. It is an entertaining book and I enjoyed it. My question is, is Mr. Hammond for real? I saw the back of the book that talks about him winning the Conklin Award, the Weatherby Award and some prestigious SCI award of some type. The reason I ask the question is that Mr. Hammond spins out story after story of charges, attacks, encounters with rebels, poachers, venomous snakes, plane crashes and near plane crashes, wrestling matches with crocodiles, etc. I realize that my body of experience in hunting in Africa does not begin to compare to Mr. Hammond's but gee my hunts (and virtually all of those posted on AR) have been down right boring and mundane compared to those reported by Mr. Hammond. Again, I have no reason to doubt what he is writing but it just seems to be dramatically at odds with the experiences of myself and virtually all the other folks that post hunt reports on this website. Perhaps it is a function of the time period that Mr. Hammond hunted or the areas that he hunted in (including Sudan, Chad, Angola, etc.) Anyone else familiar with Mr. Hammond and his experiences?

My wife and I met Tom and his wife on our way out of the Selous about ten years ago. Seemed like a nice guy. Even then he had more hunting experiences under his belt than all but a select few will ever even approach.

Maybe he's taking a leaf from Capstick's books; maybe not. He certainly has spent enough time in the bush to have plenty of stories to tell. I will buy his book.

As I said, the book is entertaining, I think you will enjoy it. I will be interested in your take after you read it.

Mike, I know that Tom Hammond used to hunt the Selous every year for at least 21 days. For all I know, he still does. True Big 4 country, Pasanisi's blocks, with everything on license, year in and year out. Hard core French PHs - described to me once by John Ormiston as Foreign Legionnaires to the man - and he was not far wrong!

The year we met Tom, we were leaving after a 21 day hunt in August, and he told us then that he was heading back to the Selous for 21 more days, in October, later that same year!

Don't mind saying that I was more than a little jealous.

If it was just routine hunting experiences he was describing I would not have had a second thought, but it was the drama associated with his hunts. Did sort of feel a little Capstickisc to turn a phrase.

Mike,

Tom and his wife Janet are two of the nicest people you could ever meet.


Home \ 2012 WEATHERBY AWARD WINNER
THOMAS J. HAMMOND
Tom started hunting as a 12 year old boy in the corn fields outside of Omaha, Nebraska. In high school, his buddies and Tom would drive for weekend hunts throughout middle Nebraska and western Iowa. In college, he was a heavy equipment operator in the summer for the Union Pacific Railroad and repaired railroad track all the way from Omaha, Nebraska, to Ogden, Utah. Tom remembers all the wildlife he saw every day in the west and his vow to hunt them all one day.

Tom earned a BSBA degree from Creighton University in Omaha and an MBA degree from the University of Detroit in Michigan. The wish to expand hunting came true as Tom’s business in Michigan was kind and soon expanded. He started hunting Alaska and Africa as finances allowed.

Hunting was more than a pastime. It was a way of life. Since 1960 Tom has accumulated 248 different hunts on six continents, including 43 safaris to Africa. He won this year’s Weatherby Award with 314 different species, more than any other previous Weatherby winner.

Over and above the various different species Tom collected, including 20 different mountain goats, 20 different mountain sheep, more species than anyone in Europe, and close to 150 different species in Africa, Tom has 241 duplicate species. He has 38 top ten records, including several ranked first. He has collected 14 lions, 11 elephants, and 44 buffalo from Africa.

Tom’s love for the outdoors includes more than just hunting. For years he has built ponds for wildlife, erected fish weirs, planted crops specifically for wildlife, and set aside private property as a game reserve. He has planted almost 40,000 trees in various places for conservation and contributed to protect nesting areas of several birds, especially the sage grouse. He provided a conservation easement for the residents of San Antonio, Texas, for 16,000 acres to assure water quality in years to come because his ranch sat squarely over the Edwards Aquifer, the city’s water source.

This was the fifth year in Tom’s quest to win the Weatherby Award. In his first nomination he had 205 species and was the last nominee to make the final six. In the last six years, Tom overcame cancer, a burst appendix during an elephant hunt in southern Tanzania, a burst gall bladder, heart atrial fibrillation, and even a rotor cuff operation which he postponed until he completed an African safari left handed.

Tom’s passion for the outdoors extends to his family also. Tom’s wife, Janet, and other family members each have shot most or all of Africa’s most dangerous game. His son, two daughters, and nine grandchildren love the outdoors and time together with Tom and Janet as a family.

Tom stated that winning the Weatherby Award is one of his life’s best achievements. His wife has said that since Tom heard the news of the Award, he almost seems busier, cleaning guns, buying more equipment, researching hunts, checking gear, and talking to his grandchildren about the outdoors. He has four more hunts planned in the next five months including the final few species still possible in Europe.

Like I say, I am not doubting the level of his experience just was wondering if he took a little literary license in describing those experiences.

Did I not mention the "killer leeches and mozzies" in Mozambique and the "horrid tetses flies" of Dande? Or the "mamba mambo" in Tanzania? I had a "killer bat" in my tent in Zambia while lions roared outside and I, clothed only in my bath towel, fought the bloody thing to a draw, does that count? My tracker who was gored by a buffalo in South Africa and the trek to the hospital in Somerset East to get him sewed up? I guess I could spice things up a little.

Most of our experiences were a part of hunting Africa and extraordinary when told to folks who haven't been there, but quite mundane for those who have.

I will bring you the book tomorrow. I would welcome a second opinion.

I think anyone who is more than 50 yrs old and has hunted for most of his/her life will have had experiences that if put into print would always draw skepticism. That is just human nature. This thread is a fine example of that fact. However, in this case there is back up information to back it up.

In most cases the majority of hunters have seen things that if told to others would not be believed, and since those happenings were witnessed while hunting alone, can’t be backed up by awards or others who were there, and it is a “fools tools” to put it in print, and suffer the roll of the eyes of the disbeliever!
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I’m sure everyone who posts on this, and other hunting websites have things they are reluctant to make public for that reason.

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How a person remembers and puts into print there memories. Is there story and the words used to describe that are different for every one.

And some of our hunting authors could learn a thing or 2 by taking a few college courses in descriptive writing.