A situtation that every PH faces from time to time is when he spots an animal but the client can't see it. No amount of pointing or describing the location helps and the client either never sees it or only sees it's ass as it dissappears over the mountain. A few months ago I saw a device in one of the many hunting mags I get each month that looked like a fool proof solution the the problem. It consisted of 2 eye pieces on a rod about 15 inches apart. When the Spotter lined it up on whatever he was looking at, the other eypiece automatically focused on the same location. Well, I lost the damned magazine and can't even remember which one it was. Has anyone else on AR seen this contraption? Do you remember where?
Rich Elliott

I haven't heard or seen about it, but it would work very well for my husband and I. With his failing eye sight it is very difficult for him to find critters in the very scenario to mentioned.. I'd like to know more about it.

Regard, D. Nelson

Rich,

I ran into the exact situation you described on my last safari. I honestly thought I was going blind. I'd also like to know about it.

Mark

We're waiting for someone out there to step forward with the information and a photo if possible....

In my experience, some PH's are reduced to shout-whispering "Over there, just left of the bush", when there are 500 bushes. They seem incapable of using numbers, such as "200 meters left of the bottom of the saddle."

Dear Rich,

We have all had this experience; however, you are exhibiting the beginnings of a more common one and potentially more debilitating one: Loss of Memory!

You will know that this is bad when the ph points the animal out, and you forget his instructions. Or the ph points the animal out, and you forget what animal you are hunting. (This syndrome is evident in recent trophy photos posted by moi on hunt reports indicating that the hartebest I am sitting behind is a zebra!)

This forgetfulness, this memory loss begins with not being able to remember where you left your car keys, your wife's birthday or your anniversary, or what magazine you saw that article in. Kudude

I don't like the idea of a "show me" type monocular or binocular. Honestly, spotting game is part of the experience. I like to be active spotting game along with the PH. If I can't find the game given his instructions then I probably should not feel bad that no shot was taken. What next - PH takes first shot?

I was thinking about this very topic recently, and wondered why no one has suggested a laser pointer. Not sure which, if any, colors would work in daylight, and I'd personally not use one if it did, but seems like it might be a reasonable use for some, no? Any laser savvy folks out there? If someone takes this idea and makes a successful product as a result, I'll settle for $100K as a 'thank you'.

I believe this is the device you originally asked about Rich. http://www.icucquicksight.com/xcart/home.php

I've given the laser idea some thought for quite some time......I am going to put (tape) an inexpensive laser pointer on the side of binoculars (shim it so its pointing where I look) and activate it when on the correct animal (herd situation) to help make sure we are "on" & talking about the same animal. Even in daylight the red dot should be visible thru another optical device....either your scope or binocs.

I've not tried it yet, but think it'll work.

As a suggestion, I would make sure that any pointer laser, if you take one to Africa, is packed in your checked baggage. I believe that taking it as part of your carry one might be problematic, with all of the issues involving post 911. It seems like it was part of the prohibited list of carry on items at one point in time.

As far as it might be against some one else sense of ethics to use these devices........thats up to you. Just don't use them, but for the rest, well that is for each to decide.

But as for me, I'm paying my PH to guide me and I'm just trying to make his job a little easier and prevent any possible miss-communications (shooting the 5th one from the left when you didn't see his animal #1).

If me spotting the game on my own is that important....why hunt with a PH or guide at all?

I've been a professional guide for years, the frustration factor of having a huge whitetail simply walk away.......when your hunter can never even see it...well you can imagine...then I show it to him on video later....and he is sick as well.

That's all we need is another toy to carry along with our range finders, blood detectors, GPS, binoculars etc. Come on guys go light and enjoy the hunt even if your not successful.

465H&H

It seems like it would take a pretty serious tripod to use it effectively. And maybe too much time to set it up.

For helping guys with varmint shooting I tried a spotting scope with a cross-hair for a while but it didn't seem to help at all. Even if guys figured out what the cross-hair was on they couldn't ever seem to find it in their own optics. It was so frustrating I finally gave that scope to a scopeless friend and went back to a standard one.

I don’t recall doing this on big game with a client but on varmints sometimes I’ll sight down the barrel from over the shoulder of the shooter to at least get the critter in the scope. That helps some people too, but I don’t know if I’d like that method for big game.

The problem is compounded when clients shop according to low price, small size or light weight when looking for optics.

While never guiding in Africa, I've guided in NA for 19 years. It seems like the best solution is to use really clear descriptions, directions (starting with a unique landmark) and patience.

My favorites when I hear people giving directions are: “Right where I’m looking!†or “Straight out in front of me!†Then the recurrent coaching such as: “Hurry, it’s getting away!â€, “Are you blind?†or “What’s wrong with you?†in an excited yell seems to really help speed things along.

On safari, in unfamiliar cover while looking for unfamiliar game, I've been on the other end of that scenario and good directions and patience on the part of the PH or trackers seemed to work fine.

Kyler

My distance vision is good, and I can frequently detect distant game before the trackers/game boys up top. But once we're trailing in the shadow, my vision is much inferior to theirs. Anyone else experience this?

A method my PH used on my last 2 trips for plains game worked pretty good.

Many times we were stalking plains game where several animals were in view at the same time, or there might be only one but there was always bush between us and the animal he wanted me to shoot.

He would set up the sticks, looking through the "Y" of the sticks then move to the side. I would step up, look through the "Y", spot the animal then make the shot.

Worked good.

I have a friend that, try to change him as I might, seems to use bushes (we have thousands), hills, light spot, etc., to tell me where something is. I was trained long ago on meters, clock direction, and specifics for finding animals (2 and 4 legged). Oh well.

Thanks, Guys,

HAMMER'em, I just ordered two to take over with me for the outfit. Another problem in describing where something is is LANGUAGE. We have hunters from all over the globe and even though some of our PH's are multi lingual, it doesn't alwasy work out when everyone is excited. Like the time Nassos had a small wounded croc (during the commercial croc hunting days in the 1970's) trying to get into the river and a Frenchman kept shooting at it while Nassos had it by the tail. Seems he was saying "shoot" in French when he meant to be saying "pull". There are other simlar stories but, Kudude, I forget!
Rich Elliott

Looks like another usefull aid you know like Glasses for some of us or binos or even maybe a rifle. I have spent more for less, eh.

Hello,
Solution to the issue at hand is a pair of binos w/ compass built in. Tell the client to look in the direction of a given land mark, tree, rock, pool of water, stand of trees, shrub, etc. and set the compass reading to say, 40 degrees, 125 degrees, etc. etc. If you can orient that close and then merely look up or down a bit, usually will spot the target.
Have an old Brunton marine grade bino w/ built in compass and used several years in Alaska pointing out the location of moose, bear, sheep, etc. to those hunting with me. Such binos weigh a bit more, but not an issue compared to the service they provide. Obviously they can be used for orienteering and navigation with not much study required to learn to triangulate, fix, determine your position or others for that matter. Check out a pair at your local sports/optics store and see what you think.

One of my funniest -in retrospect- memories of African hunting is when we´d been hunting waterbuck for three days and finally my PH spotted the one we´d been tracking.

He points and says "Look through the gap in the bushes" and I´m looking through the only gap I can see but I can´t spot anything.

We did this for a while and then the buck ran off.

After an amount of swearing at each other we realised that I´m at least six inches taller than he is and from my viewpoint I couldn´t see his opening in the bush and vica versa.

I´ll try for a waterbuck this year again...

You guys are all old hands at African hunting. Have pity on us visiting newcomers! Game (not standing in plain open view) can blend in. I was in Africa three days when my PH went to point out zebra (three of them, no less! Fortunately, I wasn't hunting them)). We were in some scrub,I believe was called mopane. Finally, I had to look along his outstretched arm to finally see them. Afterwards I remarked that I had been a hunter for longer than he, the PH, had lived and was ashamed that I failed to see three fairly large animals no more than maybe 90 yards away. He said something comforting: " You don't know yet what you're supposed to be looking for and the country is all new to you". He was right and after nearly a month I did become better at spotting animals. You "pros" simply will have to be patient! (I will say that I heard at a dinner with some PHs in Harare after I came out of the bush that the biggest fault they had with clients was failing to set up quick enough to shoot - I gathered this was particularly so with plains game. As an old Eastern woods white tail deer hunter -happily- I didn't have that fault anyway!)

I took a look to the IC - UC Quick Sight, and for sure it can help.

I think that we foreign hunters have the problem of training in see something that is uncommon for us.

Tipically we are able to see the animal when really evident or when in movement. There are sign or differences in colours that we don't see, especially the first times .... I took some travel in Hungary before I learned to individuate roe deers, and sometime more to understand if bulls or cow, if with a good trophy or less, and I am still learning, I think that I am at the secondary school in this kind of hunt.

About Africa I still am at the primary school, I can admit without shame,ith only a travel in Namibia two years ago.

During the transfer to Khomas Hochland two years ago, Mabel and Johan showed to me the game (Kudu etc, etc.), but I saw the 50% of it. The problems were the distances, I was used in a search within or around 300 meters,
they, often, were looking at 400/500 meters and sometime over.

A different example in a different environment: I was in Maldives, where all the locals are fishermen.
Once we went deep-sea fishing, and it has been a very interesting experience. they are able to understand if there is stream and the intensity just looking the water, they were able to see fishes jumping out of the sea to escape the hunt made by tunas because the seagull excited flights, this when we were at a pair of kilometers and maybe more.