Looking at the flames in the campfire the other night, I could not help but think about how short live is, and those flames carried me away to two recent hunts.

Of course we all know that we are not here forever, but we tend to forget about it, don’t we? I changed a law career for a life in the bush and on the sea, but nonetheless, sometimes forget WHY I did it. I was fortunate to do it at a young age. So, what am I getting at here?

Guys and Gals, remember to LIVE your lives. I had the good fortune of hunting with two clients that was very much loosing their eyesight this past three weeks. To put it bluntly they are going blind, slowly but surely. Do not ask me the medical terms, I asked and was told, but cannot remember it. One guy late fifties, the other only 39, both suffering from the same condition.

I jumped into both hunts with the same gusto as any other, and I told the hunters not to worry, I’m used to guys with bad eyes (most of our clients are senior citizens over 60) and we will do our best. As long as they are having fun. If it is not fun anymore, we stop and we do it differently. Take note that I knew about their conditions when they booked.

Save to say it was hard work with a LOT of frustration from everyone, the hunters more so than any of us. Do not get me wrong. Both these guys could SHOOT! It was just picking the animals up, even in the open. If it moved and stopped, great, but if it stayed put……well, it was not easy.

Both of them got what they wanted, apart for an Eland bull that would not stand still. I had a ton of fun with both of them, and they left as very good friends. Will I take them back? In a heartbeat, given if they can still shoot so good!

So ladies and gentleman, as I sat by that fire with a quite camp for a change around me, I just thought to share this with my fellow hunters and anglers. We fight and bicker amongst ourselves about the smallest piles of BS, while that energy could be channelled into something positive.

So remember, winter can make all our bones weary, any time, whether we are 20 or 80!It can be a crippling accident, sickness or death.

Make the most of it and HUNT, like those two guys did!

It would seem, sir, that you have reached the point in life where mortality is no longer an abstract concept. Sad, but predictable.

I din't read this before I posted my "Go now, or go later?" thread above.
Life is, indeed, too short.
Go now.

Charl;

I really appreciated you statements. Get ready for your next "nearly blind" hunter (my husband). He arrives August 29th. We are hours away from our departure today for Zambia. Can't wait to meet you in person.

Best regards, D. Nelson

quote:

Originally posted by D. Nelson:
Charl;

I really appreciated you statements. Get ready for your next "nearly blind" hunter (my husband). He arrives August 29th. We are hours away from our departure today for Zambia. Can't wait to meet you in person.

Best regards, D. Nelson

Yes ma'am, we are all looking forward to meeting you as well!

Sorry TWL, neither did I read yours...

quote:

So remember, winter can make all our bones weary, any time, whether we are 20 or 80!I can be a crippling accident, sickness or death.

Make the most of it and HUNT, like those two guys did!

Charl very very true words....

Last year this time I was lying in intensive care after a vehicle accident. My C3 vertebra was broken during the accident. Believe me "Hunt and Fish hard every opportunity you get as you may never get another chance"

You've got the right attitude! --

I'm not going blind - Thank God for that - but I've never been able to see all that well -- and after dark, I am at a serious disadvantage to almost everyone I've ever known, I am seriously night-blind.

All that notwithstanding, I hunt exclusively with handguns (except for Mr. Bobwhite of course) and I practice diligently between hunts to ensure as much as possible that, if I can see it, I can hit it and hit it in the right place. It's just that, usually, seeing it is a LOT harder for me than for others - particularly stationary animals in cover at over 100 hundred yards. Leopard hunting with a handgun at night is a particular challenge! -- But, if it was easy I wouldn't bother, so the difficulty doesn't bother me much.

This sometimes frustrates a PH who can see something perfectly well and can't for the life of him understand why someone else might not be able to see the same thing. But, I've found that maintaining my own good humor about the situation, not getting discouraged and, most of all, doing my part exceptionally well when I CAN see the beast, makes all the difference.

It's always the PH's job to work around whatever difficulties the hunter might be having, but it's just as equally the hunter's job to help the PH come around to the best solution for the problem, and to do so in good humor. It is, after all, a partnership.

You sound like you would make a great partner.

Sir,

Thank you for the kind words.

Leopard is difficult in itself, handgun and nightblindness makes it quite an achievement.

There is only one animal I consider in the same class, and that is bushpig at night in the full moon. You should consider this as a serious challenge!

Thank you for the kind words.

I do consider the Leopard to be the ultimate African trophy -- so much so that I'd be happy hunting nothing else but Leopard and the required bait animals until the end of my days. All of the DG are a challenge with a handgun and everybody has their personal favorite, but to me the Leopard represents the biggest challenge and, therefore, the greatest achievement. I never tire of them, win or lose on a particular hunt.

I agree with your comment on the Bushpig and I have, in fact, given them a run although there were few where I hunted them and I never had any kind of a reasonable shot at one. We did almost run over one in the Landcruiser coming back late one night from a Leopard blind, but that's as close as I've come to actually harvesting one. I'll be trying them again to be sure and probably in an area with a bigger population available.

Good post, infinito!

Landrum

True words, Infinito, and a most excellent post!

good post.... LIFE IS SHORT..... i found my youngest son dead in his bed at the age of 31 just a ago jan 24.... 6 weeks later i was called and told my younger brother had died he was 50.... been a tough couple of years for me.... have all the fun and good times you can....... because NO ONE GETS OUT ALIVE......... and you are right lots BS to put up or ignore along the way.......


LIFE IS SHORT.....

A most excellent post and point. We all take so much for granted most of the time. It is good to sit and reflect at times. Too often we dont take the time to take in the the gifts we are given in life until they are taken away. All of us tend to get caught up in the petty bs we deal with on a daily basis. We should all take a deap breath and look around at the magnificence of the world around us.

Mike,
Very well said! I agree completely.

Thanks guys.

To be honest, I sat down and phoned a couple of South African AR guys had some run ins with over the last three years on a regular basis here on the forum. Bad runs ins. WE cleared the air, and I made sure I met a couple of them. They know who they are.

The funny thing is, in some weird way, we are all cut from the same mould, this "thing" called hunting, being the glue that holds us together.

We are now friends, and some of them have even hunted with me earlier this winter. Of course you will not ever be friends with all the hunters you come across.....but I think my point comes across.

So, good hunting and fishing, as much as you can!