Ivan:

Your post was just a great item to read! A couple of years ago I went through the exact same experience and thought process with my one and only African hunt. In addition to our similar reactions to the hunt I might add that I was so fortunate to had outstanding, experienced, honest people to help me. It made all the difference.

WC375

Well done, Ivan. Not only were the photos wonderfully done but the experience you had with our American west, and our mountains, should be something you remember for a very long time!

I also like the perspective you had being the guided. Patience of the guide, and understanding the hunter may not have the same experience as the guide, is key to a successful hunt.

Scott

I bet the number of elk killed with an unscoped, classic double rifle would be shockingly low. I wish there was a way to quantify this.

And, obviously, very well done Ivan. It seems to me that most African guys like the elk more than any other North American species.

Glad you had a good time.

Ivan, what a great bull!
I particularly enjoyed your perspective on being the client. It's a tremendous insight for both sides of the relationship.

Ivan, I believe this is one of the best posts ever on AR. Congratulations and well played.

Wonderful post Ivan! Insightful and very well said. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences. I will watch your hunts with a new insight and appreciation.
Rick

Well done. Using an open sighted double on an elk hunt certainly qualifies as sportsmanlike!
As a client hunter, I enjoyed your perspective on the pressure the client feels. We want to do well, to be up to our task and to leave a favorable impression. In a way, reading your report caused me to reflect on the pressure you guys feel on your end as well.

Great post Ivan. It really does show the different perspective. I agree with Frostbit now you need to come and catch a 200 to 300 lb halibut in about 250 fathoms of water. Then maybe a cold weather hunt for a muskox or a late season brown bear. You havent really seen cold yet mate.

Great bull with a double - ya' gotta love that! Congrats Ivan and thanks for the story and pics.

Good on you to take the Elk with a double. Should have gone for a pronghorn whilst you were there.

Great post Ivan and well done - you did better than myself with my venture into North American hunting - two tries at a Mountain Lion in Ely NV- with dogs , snow mobiles etc to no cat. So well done and great post.
Regards
Graeme

Ivan, what a great hunt! Shooting the double makes it even more special, and truly classy. There's nothing better than firing a double on a crisp cold day. Getting the elk was just dessert. Congrats. Mike

people ,
thanks for all the positive comments ,

you are right - doing it with a double was great fun , i actually had my double fitted with a trijicon RMR - allows you to accurately reach out to about 100 yards - its a great option and certainly widens the options for hunting with your double - there is no magnification but a far smaller point of aim than a big game frontsight that at 100 yards takes up about a 15 inch circle !!

thanks again for all the encouragement , we are blessed to have the outdoors - along with the passion to enjoy it -

quote:

two tries at a Mountain Lion in Ely NV- with dogs , snow mobiles etc to no cat. So well done and great post.
Regards
Graeme

thanks graeme , - from what i hear mountain lion hunting can be very very tough , i will give it a try someday !

quote:

agree with Frostbit now you need to come and catch a 200 to 300 lb halibut in about 250 fathoms of water. Then maybe a cold weather hunt for a muskox or a late season brown bear. You havent really seen cold yet mate.

ha ha you are right - i must say , living in michigan we always get a week or two at 20 below or thereabouts and i look out the window from my heated office and to tell the truth i am not sure if i think being out there would be fun - i would love to hunt a muskox someday -

Ivan,
Thanks for recognizing the view is different from this side. It makes me want to hunt with you even more.

Ivan - glad you had a great time and I 100% agree with you. I can say that with all of the personal hunting I have done with other guides and PHs really helped me be able to understand and guide my clients better as well. I have been able to take bits and pieces that I have learned from different styles of hunting all over the World and put it to use in my own guiding. It also helps a PH understand different clients and what they might be used to. The more we can learn from each other the better we can all be!

Ivan,
next thing you know guy's on here will be wanting you to enter bench rest competition's with your double

Ivan,

Congratulations on your North American hunt. It was great to see you dressed in North American hunting attire. But as some here have said, you haven't hunted in truly cold weather yet. You should try elk hunting in Montana the last week of the season (Thanksgiving week), when the snow is getting deep enough in the mountains to force the elk out of the timber and onto the windy flats. The temperature sometimes doesn't get above 0 F all day. Then there's the lovely chore of packing those elk quarters out on your back. Then you will know what many of us go through just to put 150 pounds of wild game into the freezer.

Anyway, looking forward to watching that episode!

Glen

Ivan,

That was a really cool post and a very intersting perspective from a PH's point of view.

As a veteran elk hunter, I know what you must have been feeling like as I had it only in reverse on my first trip to Africa this past June.

It is always neat to experience new and different things no matter how much hunting experience one has.

Glad you enjoyed it and congrats on a great bull.

I'm counting the days until I return to Africa and I hope you feel the same way about hunting in N. America.

Best Regards!

Chris

Great post & photos.

That Elk is an impressive animal.

Ivan congratulations ,you know i invited you to hunt here .You choose the game but here ,doves and pidgeons are the best.

thanks juan , i will take you up on that one day !

Nice one Ivan !

Great story and bull, Ivan. I hunted with Dennis (archery) the week before your arrival and had one of the best times of my life. I enjoyed it so much I'm taking a client for a cow elk and varmint hunt in December. I believe you may have had some of my marinated elk steaks upon your arrival. Hope you enjoyed them!

Good read, Ivan.

For our first and only trip so far to RSA, we were walking the line between being a pest with questions to our PH while prepping for the trip to the panic of the feeling that we were forgetting or overlooking something. Guns, clothes, paperwork, getting through customs, etc. Then it was trusting the PH to get you something decent (not necessarily book) versus him just putting cash in his pocket because you shot something. Stressing over the thought of making a poor shot because of what the PH might think of your abilities from that point on to the cost of the animal whether it was recovered or not. Whew.

Sure was fun though.

orange hat & long pants - WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!& a nice bull - congrats

quote:

Great story and bull, Ivan. I hunted with Dennis (archery) the week before your arrival and had one of the best times of my life. I enjoyed it so much I'm taking a client for a cow elk and varmint hunt in December. I believe you may have had some of my marinated elk steaks upon your arrival. Hope you enjoyed them!

dennis is an incredible gentleman , humble - exceedingly fit and a pleasure to be around , i was very blessed to have him lead me on my first north american big game hunt !!!! yes we had some of your marinaded steaks they were awesome !!!

quote:

orange hat & long pants - WOW

when in rome !!!!!

Excellent conclusion Ivan. I was taught by Chris Smit when i started guiding to make the client as comfortable as possible and put one's self in the clients shoes when guiding him/her in the bush. A lot of guides put unnecessary pressure on their client resulting in a botched stalk/shot/hunt and then still go back to the lodge and tell the other PH"s how their client is a crap shot etc.

That said though, as a guide myself there is also alot of pressure on us to get results so i can understand how easy it is to get worked up.

Cheers

Murray

Ivan,

Congratulations on a great hunt and doing it with a double - WOW! Scope or no that is quite a feat.

My wife and I had the pleasure of hunting pronghorn antelope last fall with Dennis. He is a terrific young guide, very knowledgeable, and, as a ranch manager, very respectful of the country, its history, and its game. He made our first western hunting experience memorable. You could not have made a better choice.

Ivan,

Great post and awesome pics. Looks like it was an incredible trip. Some day I hope to have such an experience myself hunting elk. My Dad was wondering if you asked your guide as many questions as he asked you in the time leading up to your hunt?.....I doubt it, right? haha. Congrats my friend!