How lucky can a guy get?

DennisHP Congratulations you got a fantastic trophy. I look forward to reading your full report.

Regards
Aziz

Dennis,

Text with no pics is bad and I'm guilty of that but pics of a great trophy like that sitatunga with no story is a unforgivable.

Mark

Stunning, but yes, we need the whole story!

Congrats, what a nice trophy.

Awesome! Congratulations.

Kyler

Guilty as charged but I just got back last night and needed a shower.

I was hunting with PH Dean Kendall in Tanzania in the Kigosi reserve on a hunt booked thru Wendell. On the first morning after driving for 2 and a half hours Dean decided to stretch our legs and walk a K or 2 to a small 4-5 acre brushy swamp. Approaching from the downwind side, we climbed on top of a small termite mound about 30-40 yards from the edge of the brush to glass. Dean sent the trackers around to the upwind side to beat the brush and work toward us. When the trackers got there, immediately a couple young sitatunga's and a few females emerged in front of us and dissapeared into the adjacent tall grass. Dean said he had seen a good bull in this swamp with the last client but it had exited on the far side and all he knew is that it was a shooter. As the trackers worked their way closer to us more sitatunga's (probably a dozen in total) came out including a couple young bulls. Dean and I were quietly talking about this tactic being similar to rabbit hunting (where some rabbits will wait until the last second before busting out) but as the trackers only had 20 more yards to go before the end of the brush Dean said the shooter must not be in there today. That's when things got interesting. When the trackers were within less than 10 yards of coming out, this bull, with his head down in a sneek, made his appearance in the last bit of cover left. I was already on the sticks and knew immediately he was big so when Dean said that's him, shoot, it was done. The first shot was in the front of his left shoulder quartering to and a quick second shot was within a couple inches of the first.

Both of us were shocked and amazed first at the animal itself and then at how the bull waited until almost being stepped on before he moved. We figured he might have been there all along but had seen us and was holding. Afterwards I ranged the distance at 32 yards. Dean said it was his trophy of the season but given he's had clients take lion, leopard, and ele, I figured he says that to all his clients.

Beautiful animal and a great story..."they don't get that old without getting that smart" Congrats & Job well done on shooting straight and quick!

That's a great sitatunga!!

That thing is a hoss! Congratulations.

Congrats on a great and rare trophy!

Dennis

Your PH was not kidding. An East African sitatunga of that size is a very special trophy. It may be the best antelope trophy you ever take.

A big congratulations to you on a truly outstanding trophy.

Mark

Outstanding trophy Dennis. Congrats!

Beautiful, outstanding marsh buck!

Capstick made a quest for sitatunga, and wrote about it in his charming way, that helped me begin to understand the appeal.

DennisHPI'd say he's nice! I've seen a lot of sitatunga, and I've never even seen one that big, even too far away to shoot!

Congratulations!

What a trophy! Congratulations.

Dennis,
Excellent trophy you rarely see many folks coming home with! Nice story, look forward to more.

OH YEA, I would agree with your PH. I know I would rather have a Sitatunga that size than any of the big five.

I appreciate all the comments. I know some people hunt long and hard for this species and mine kind of fell into my lap. It wasn't until the end of the safari that Dean told me what he measured. I have no idea where he'll stand in any record book and actually it really doesn't matter that much to me. We talked about the proper pose for taxidermy for such an elegant animal and agreed it should be the sneak position as that's how we first saw him and how I'll always remember the hunt.

DennisHP

This is a Monster Sitatunga !
Congratulation

Dennis,
Not only is it a VERY nice Sitatunga, but in my opinion, it's more exciting, by far, to have to take an animal with a fast, up-close shot like that. Two years ago, in the RSA, I had a chance at a good Common Waterbuck that was suddenly "just there", running like a scared rabbit through the thorn bush at about 25 yards. I had one or two seconds to shoot before he was gone forever. I don't remember aiming, I just "shotgunned" him and he went literally head over heels in a cloud of dust, like a running cottontail in the snow. When I think about that shot, I get more satisfaction from having made it, than I do from some of the shots made at 500 yards, with all of the time in the world to get set up. I'm sure that you will enjoy the same satisfaction from your experience, when you remember it in years to come.

Hi every one,Dennishp is my brother,and I finally came and joined the sight to let everyone know,my brother passed away aug 9th of colon cancer.He loved his taxadermy as do I and it will be coming home with me.Thanks to all for your coments I know he loved reading them.

Whoa! I'm sorry I didn't even know he was sick. I missed the news somewhere. Your brother was a longtime member here. I'm very sorry about your loss.

CJP, I too am sorry for your loss. Life is short and we neverr know what is around the bend, so we best make the most of it. Welcome to AR.

cjp,

My condolences to you and your family. Your brother was an active member of AR and he will be missed.

cjp,
Dennis did me the favor of taking some gifts to the guide and camp manager that we both used in Kigosi, and he sold me the cape on his buffalo with the bullet hole between its eyes. He will be missed here. My condolences to all in your families.

Wow! what a magnificent animal...

So sorry for your loss, Cancer is a horrible disease which hopefully one day will be reduced to a mere annoyance.

A sad loss to the hunting world any hunter famous or not is worth his weight in gold when walking this earth.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

cjp,
Thank you for letting us know about your brother.

Its an unfortunate and shocking illustration of how quickly life can turn.

Very sorry for your family's and our AR family's loss.

Surely God has blessed Dennis in the afterlife as he did the day the Sitatunga came out.

God has taken another angel home.

I had the good fortune to visit with Dennis this past year about our planned trip to Kigosi. I never knew until recently that he was suffering through this horrible disease. He was positive, bright, and enthusiastic about our projected hunt and gave me pictures from his hunt and all the information needed to make a decision based on his experiences. The world is a sadder place today without Dennis.

Thanks,all of you for your comments it really means alot to me.Dennis was my older brother(5 years)and we hunted together every year since I was 15 and I'm now 46 and I will miss him forever,we had many nice hunts and took some good bucks,rabbits and every other kind of game that was in season,we fished for salmon in our local waters.this year deer hunting was a tough one for me but I know he was there,I spread his ashes on a mountain top,in the middle of our unit,I did see a huge cascade bench leg in our favorite spot along with my 7 year old daughter,but I could not get on him fast enough.
maybe next year when I'm feeling a little sharper.Beside being a great brother he was a great uncle to his god daughter Scout,when he passed he left her enough money to go all the way through college without us spending a dime and I did not know it until recently.So again thanks to all.

Wow. That's quite a legacy to leave someone. I regret not knowing him personally as he sounded like a very interesting person. My best to your family.

Clay,

Thanks for the update.

I had the privlege of working with him to arrange three hunts, two of which he was forced to cancel due to his cancer.

I can tell you that there are very few people with the character and integrity that Dennis had. He showed me what an honest and genuine person he was in our dealings arranging his first hunt. He was forced with a dificult decision and, literally, without hesitation, he chose loyalty and integrity over monetary savings.

Suffice to say, he made a decision that few would make. I will never forget it, and will always be grateful to him.

It was a pleasure to know him. He will be missed.

Rest in peace Dennis. You have touched more people through your generosity and character than you realize. Rest in peace my friend.

Dennis was a class act on this forum and he will certainly be missed. Like most of us here, I never knew he was sick. My condolences and best wishes go out to his family.

I've updated my profile with a quote from Dennis that he posted last year. Time flies my friends.

I sent an e-mail to the ph who hunted with Dennis. Here is his reply.
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Thank you for passing this very sad news on to me . You know, even when you are expecting that some day it might happen, it still comes as a great shock and seems so sudden and soon. I will really miss Dennis, he was a super guy, the kind of guy a PH would love to hunt with every year if he could.

If I think back on all the trophies I have taken in my life, Dennis' sitatunga is possibly my favourite of them all and I am exrtremely happy and grateful it was with him. I will always have fond memories of him and his safari.

Thanks alot Wendell for the words,He spoke very highly of you as well,and I thank you for contacting his PH as I was wondering how to do that.
BTW That quote is so true Forrest as I have found out the hard way.
So having said that,I will be contacting you Wendell sometime in the near future to plan A hunt of my own.