Have you ever asked your PH if he hunts.

Mine hunt all the time, they just let me pull the trigger.

Its actually an interesting question and would be difficult to provide an inclusive answer... But I think most start out trophy hunting but I do not know too many that continue to trophy hunt into their careers. Many that I know do culling work and meat hunts but there are a lot more who do not pull the trigger unless it is to clean up after a client's mess.

For a PH to shoot a trophy its like shooting their bank account.

Both the PH I hunt with hunt.

My refrigerator sure as hell can't fill itself

Most I know really enjoy wing shooting, it is a low pressure environment and allows them to be social, catch up with friends and they get to shoot a bit without all the admin of trophy prep , recovery etc.

A good PH will be busy during the season and very few will have the time to hunt as they are guiding clients. Very few that I know are active trophy hunters as such, although if you asked them there is a trophy hunt or two that they would like to do for themselves, but for specific species and areas

As an ex PH who got to hunt some incredible areas in Africa I tend to be very specific and fussy about what I am looking for in a hunt - for me it is a lot more than just the shooting. Most of those areas and operators are justifiably more expensive

My PH loves to bird hunt, both in Africa and when he visits here in the States. He does hunt whitetail deer and wild hogs here in the States as well when he gets invited to hunt by clients, and he really enjoys this kind of hunting. As far as I know, he does not regularly hunt any big game in Africa.

I have had guides who really love bird hunting .. also big time fishers !!! I asked one chap if he hunted during his holidays ??? He looked at me like I was a total dimwit ... ' Do you teach during your holidays? I go to the beach and look at the birds!' was his final comment on the subject ..

Must have fancy sea gulls on the African coast, I suspect ..

Each to their own
When you are hunter, that's who you are
If it's just a job for you, well, so be it
When. I Guided when young, I still loved to hunt by myself without any pressure, those were the best times, away from clients

i believe all that i've been with not only hunted but loved to fish as well

Two I dealt with in Zim were tournament bass fishermen. Given a chance when they were together and all they would talk about was fishing.

My one (and only) PH hunts as did the owner operator of the safari and the landowners and other PH'S were all hunters

I guide only in Argentina ,but when i dont have clients i ride my miountain bike scouting -always carry a pistol and take hares ,hogs etc -or hunt differnt places and species .My favourite sport hunting partriges with my family and dogs .

Hi all,

Well this year I had the chance and the time to get another Giant forest hog in CAR. When ever I get a chance and time I hunt for myself and enjoyed it a lot. I have a very nice bongo amongst lion, leopard and other trophies at home. Now in France the roe buck season starts, I can tell you I am in... I already spotted one..
So yes I am hunting with my rifle and my camera.

I all mine have been passionate hunters and fishermen themselves.

Some have posted they prefer a PH who does not fire his rife all season. I'd prefer my PH to be in practice--a lot.
Cal

All of the PH's that I had contact with enough to ask and get a serious answer have hunted, and would like to continue to do it.

Very few could afford to continue to hunt on a level on par with their clients. (Those that could were also either booking or guiding in North America...)

Many said they would like to do more, but could not afford to hunt except for the odd meat animal or taking a big five animal that the game department decided had to go as a problem and told them they had to do it.

In a way, hunting in africa is becoming a victim of its own success. The animals are worth too much money to allow anyone to shoot them unless they are willing to pony up forex trophy fees.

As to the comment about a PH not using his gun, I have had 3 of them say that to them a successful season was when they never pulled the trigger... what they meant was that they never had to shoot while on the clock, as all of them, liked shooting for shooting's sake and shot regularly.

Dirk Du Plooy was one example of an excellent PH in Zim that did not hunt himself. He was very much into photography and the nature of the wild. He new every insect and plant like no one else. Sadly, when the Makuti area went to an auctioned hunting area he did not continue as a PH. I think he went to work with his brother as a butcher or something like that.

The PH i know the best in Zim grew up hunting at his family farm. I recon he would continue to hunt on his own if he could. He is also very into fishing. Maybe even more so than hunting....

My PH in Namibia is an inveterate hunter. And a fanatical tiger fisherman. He loves buffalo hunting and we have gone on a couple of hunts in RSA where he has taken bushbuck, nyala etc which he can't hunt in Nam'.

And he has taken me on some awesome cull hunting in Namibia for Oryx and Springbok...great fun.

Every PH that I know hunts, grew up hunting, they don't hunt while guiding except on occasion..I have gone hunting with some PHs and guides that were good friends of mine. I have been on culls where other Phs were culling at the same time..

I would not want to go on Safari with a PH that was not a hunter. I would not expect a PH to hunt on my dollar however, except perhaps for camp meat, but most allow you to shoot the camp meat as far as I know.

For a living.

But I assume you mean does he hunt personally? I've not known many that don't.

You'd think they'd get their fill no matter how much they loved it.

I think they all love to hunt, may be an exception but I have yet to meet one..Everyone I know have been true sportsmen and are sticklers to the law within reason, based on which country they are hunting in.

yes, of course...

I got a recent update from my guy, he and a friend were fishing in this little air boat, and a nice croc crawled about two feet into the boat before they dispatched him.

Interesting question! I do 150 days hunting with clients a season. Although I do not pull the trigger I consider that I have personally hunted 150 days- the pulling of the trigger is almost incidental in the "big picture". After the season I do not "hunt"

Can't afford it.

I had a good hit but bullet failure on a Reedbuck and it was still hopping around. (remind me never to use Berger bullets). So we come up on it laying in the grass and I ask my PH if he wanted to finish it with his .500 nitro. He Got a Texas heart shot after it jumped up and ran. Pretty impressive penetration by the Kreighoff .500, end to end and a good shot.

It wouldn't hurt PHs to hunt in a foreign land once in a while, as a full paying client. Guides that have been on both sides of the contract seem to have a different attitude.

I hunted a lot personally before I started P.H ing , now it's work.
I will hunt occasionally for myself but 150+ days a year as Buzz says that's a lot of hunting.
I have started taking my two boys out for duiker , impala and kudu lately and that brings me far more joy than hunting myself.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
yes, of course...

I got a recent update from my guy, he and a friend were fishing in this little air boat, and a nice croc crawled about two feet into the boat before they dispatched him.

Shot him in an air boat?

Dogleg! As Fair game says I doubt many Phs could afford to do as much as we may want to!

quote:

It wouldn't hurt PHs to hunt in a foreign land once in a while, as a full paying client.

Dogleg:

Other than one, maybe two characters (PHs) who post on AR, do you honestly believe a PH makes the kind of money that would afford him a guided hunt as you suggest?

You might want to differentiate between PH (as in employee) and an outfitter who stands in as a PH - two totally different propositions.

quote:

Originally posted by leopards valley safaris:
I hunted a lot personally before I started P.H ing , now it's work.
I will hunt occasionally for myself but 150+ days a year as Buzz says that's a lot of hunting.
I have started taking my two boys out for duiker , impala and kudu lately and that brings me far more joy than hunting myself.

I found the same! Now I take my grandson hunting - that beats pulling the trigger yourself even more than just taking your son! Maybe it is an age thing?

This situation is kinda like the proverbial cobblers kid having no shoes. I think a lot of PHs would love to hunt (and many do on some level) but to do so is, in some way, to forego income AND to pay for the privilege of foregoing that income.

quote:

Originally posted by Buzz Charlton:
Dogleg! As Fair game says I doubt many Phs could afford to do as much as we may want to!

That is at least partly my point, the harder it is to do the more valuable the perspective gained. Not being able to do these things takes away the chance to know how it feels to be the client. The PH will probably never completely understand how it feels to have equipment failures rob him of expensive hunting time. He isn't as likely to know what its like to be treated as a ATM or a mark. Its a pretty safe bet that he will not have a guide put a shot into his animal so fast that there is no possible way that the decision wasn't already made. He can know everything about the business from his own point of view and still not how it feels to be the other guy. I do realise that it isn't possible in most cases.

I have my share of taxidermy bills and hunts that didnt work out.... all good experience if you love to hunt. I know guides too, who work in the industry to fund their next hunting trip.

Matt,
That's sort of what I'm getting at. Its the sort of perspective that can only be gotten by walking in someone else's shoes.

All the ZIM Ph's I've spoken with enjoy fishing on the days off. With them doing between 100-150 days per year hunting, i think that would do it for most!!

cheers

Nick

How many dangerous animals does a Zimbabwe apprentice have to have on his log-book to be considered for his exam? I've heard 5, but it wouldn't be the first time I got bad intell. If few PHs can afford to hunt dangerous game how is the appy supposed to? Does backing up a client count?