Congratulations to Mr. Adkins. May the experience enrich your life.

Congratulations!!!
May I suggest a Video be made in addition to the Posting of the report on AR.

Fantastic! Congratulations to Mr Adkins and very well done to all of you who set this up. This is what it is all about, this is how we build up team spirit.

David

Congratulations. A video would be fantastic.
Enjoy the experience.

Watson Lake

Congrats to a deserving winner.
This was a very difficult contest to judge.!!
Thanks to Andrew and Steve for allowing me to be a judge.

very very cool

congratulations! enjoy the trip, and good
luck!

heath

Conrats Alex!!!! Steve and Andrew

Congratulations Mr. Adkins

Congratulations!!
And a big salut for the offer!

I can really express this like I want to. Let me repost part of what I said in the other thread
from the discount offer forum.
I will say that I am quite humbled to have been selected and I am sure that there were many entries that are probably more deserving than me. Therefore, it is my intent to take maximum advantage of this opportunity. I have decided to take my oldest boy, Mason, with me. He is 8 and he is excited beyond measure but this is his first trip out of the US.

This will also be my first trip to Africa.....with a passport. In addition to other scenic venues, I was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia as a US Marine. Back then, my passport was my rifle. My first hand experience of Africa as a young infantry NCO wasn't really something I enjoyed sharing with my kids.

This trip will change everything, however. This is my chance to show my boy the BEST Africa has to offer.

So, my hat is off to every single person who entered this contest and EACH of the very special people who contributed to Andrew's original offer. I am not a man of wealth and I promise you, each additional contribution was absolutely welcomed. The flight for me and my son will be a significant purchase for us. However, this kind of opportunity is not something I could pass up.

I hope each and every member and contributor accepts my thanks in the spirit of the hunt and good friendship.


And let me add- I will endeavor to keep my reporting mostly honest when it concerns my skill as a hunter!


Thanks,
Alex Adkins
(ChetNC)

I think a video would be a great idea but am not sure it it's possible.......

Alex,

You're gonna have an absolute ball!

Congratulations to all involved.

Alex I hope you and your son have the time of your life.

Congratulations Alex and my hat is off to all those who contributed, particularly Andrew!!!

What a great gesture and a deserving winner.

Thanks everyone!

Today I got the chance to do something I have never done:
I walked into my local gunshop/outfitter and when greeted with "How may I help you?", I got to respond with, "Well, I am going to Africa soon and............."
All the usual countertop conversation stopped for just a moment and then resumed albeit with a hushed tone and tilted ears.

You will also be glad to know that I was able to make it thru the first 24 hours without impulse buying another rifle for the occasion. I wonder how long that will last.

I may also co-opt Mason as my videographer. I have heard that game always appears larger on camera when shot from a low angle.

ChetNC

To all those involved, but to name few, Saeeds AR Forum, Steve, organisers, participants, generious donators, and last but not least, ALEX the winner

Congratulations ..... what a truly wonderful herd of outdoors people that have left their tracks in the sand

Cheers, Peter

Wow congratulations to Mr. Adkins and also a hearty "well-done" to Andrew for his offering of a safari to someone who would have a hard time accomplishing one on their own! Andrew's generousity is a model of sportsmanship and something for the rest of us to keep in mind when deciding who to hunt with in the RSA...

Guys,

I'm sure that Andrew wants to respond to all the kind words but guess he's having internet problems........... he certainly was the other day when his computer sent me the same bloody message 32 times in succession.

I guess he'll post just as soon as he gets it fixed!!

I can only hope this free safari works out better than the last one. What a clusterf**k Russell E. Taylor turned out to be. But he was an officer so it was kinda expected. The point is Alex, leave the states with more than $130 in your pocket! Good luck and good shooting.

AAR Safari 2005

Now is the Time

Thanks for the many kind words expressed by posters about the generosity of my initial and other’s follow-up offers.

Saeed, my sincere thanks to you for the opportunity to make all this happen: Long live AR Forum!

Steve and the other judges, my thanks for the effort and spirit in which you tackled and completed the task.

Alex, congratulations on being declared the winner of this hunt. You have my solemn pledge that I will do everything possible or required to make your first hunt in Africa a much enjoyed and memorable period for and Mason.

To many others entrants and persons who may have wanted to enter but could not actually do so: So, you were not the winner of the free hunt as donated by a number of AR posters. Sorry, I can only assure you that I personally played absolutely no role whatsoever in deciding which hunter should be awarded the free hunt. I merely donated the hunt, coordinated other additional donations and begged three individuals that I know from AR postings as upstanding persons to act as the judges. They then individually decided what criteria and scoring methods they would use, and shakari undertook to unify these methods to be able to announce a winner. But I do know that entering for the hunt must have made you dream a bit more about hunting in Africa than what you have dreamed in the past. Now you have to deal with the bitter disappointment of finding out that you are not the winner! The only advice I can offer is to not give up on your dream! I’ll not bore you with the details about my dream here, but do that as a separate posting.


As this story does have a certain "sales pitch" I rather post it in a more appropriate section. Here it is: http://forums.accuratereloadin...871018701#6871018701

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:
I can only hope this free safari works out better than the last one. What a clusterf**k Russell E. Taylor turned out to be. But he was an officer so it was kinda expected. The point is Alex, leave the states with more than $130 in your pocket! Good luck and good shooting.

AAR Safari 2005

Now is the Time

When I entered the contest, I knew the winner and his hunt would be scrutinized by the forum members here. To me,that is not only natural, but fair. When I accepted the offer, I fully accepted that scrutiny as part of the deal. It's a trade off, but one I am willing to take. If I screw up, I'll take my lumps publicly.

Without commenting directly on some of the shenanigans others have pulled, the warnings are worth heeding. I appreciate the heads up but I have no intention of duplicating their results.

ChetNC

Wow, time warp! I'd totally forgotten about 'the Russel Incident'.

Andrew, you're a good man, and I appreciate the dream fodder you provided. It won't be an easy, off the cuff kind of thing for me to make it over to fulfill the African hunting dream, but it'll happen. That much I do know.

Chet, you'd have to try really, really hard to botch the hunt like the one linked to above. Seriously. Based only on your words here, and trust in the judges, I know the right man is going, and none of that kind of nonsense will come into play. I look forward, as with so many here that hunt Africa, to living vicariously through your trip until I get over myself.

Well done all around on this, and I for one am proud and pleased to be a member of a mob like this. Particularly to Saeed, but all others that make it what it is, I tip my hat and thank you all. AR has no peer!

to everybody involved

Hearty congratulations to Alex, we all wish you a great hunt.

If I may offer some advice, the hunt is the icing on the cake, enjoy everything that Africa has to offer.

Go with an open mind, and you will have the time of your life.

Judging the competition wasn't easy by any means because we had so many deserving application...... but judging it was a whole lot of fun for me........ sooooo if anyone out there is ever looking for a judge for anything, you know where to come!

Whisky competitions and beauty pagents would be especially welcome. Actually, if the two could be combined, that'd be even better!

Congrats alex
and well done Andrew, Shakari and others for putting up this great prize and judging services.

Congrats Alex,

Will be in touch shortly, and congrats to Andrew for this great initiative

Congrats Alex may it be the experience of a life time you are in good hands and we might see you at the pig on the spit

Thanks again everyone. Andrew and I have been burning some bandwidth planning this thing and I think this is going to be a SOLID PG hunt.
I am looking forward to putting on some weight at Luan's too!

ChetNC

Not only are you gonna have a great hunt, you're also gonna see some fabulous scenery as you travel from area to area.

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on this in case your interested.
**Warning** This post contains no instances of shooting famous people off the back of dangerous game or any such conundrums.

Andrew and I have hammered out an itinerary which is posted over on the original contest thread.

Mason and I have been having a great time planning this out together and I would have to say that Andrew has been very accomodating throughout. I have had no trouble contacting him to go over the itinerary and since our hunt is in July, his prompt communication is greatly appreciated. Andrew has been nothing but helpful. In fact, I have to remind myself that I am a contest winner because Andrew has treated me as though I am a fee paying client in every communication and in every request. I could have been told "Here is hunt- take it or leave it." And for a contest, that would have been fair and expected. Instead, Andrew has said "Here are the dates and concessions available, you fill in the blanks." For all intents and purposes, this is a custom safari.

If anyone else is considering a short notice safari, here are some things I have noticed recently that may help you out:

1. US Passport processing times are down considerably. Mine took months a few years ago, even with an expedited request. My son's came back just under 2 weeks with no expedite.

2. The Delta 200 flight was not near as expensive as I expected. Delta has a low fare guarantee right now online and, sure enough, it proved to be the cheapest source even after extensive research. It runs ATL to JNB nonstop on one of the new 777-200/LR's. Better seats than the older planes and supposedly great service. Crossing the Atlantic can't get much easier than that.

Some stuff I learned about myself:
1. Despite assurances from Andrew that my Tikka .308 would suffice, I found that I couldn't really go on my first safari without a rifle purchased for that purpose. Believe me, I tried to get over it but couldn't. Anybody who says I could have saved that money and used it on something else would be 100% right. But, I gave in. Since we go in July and I am a lefty, I decided I needed to find a factory rifle that was readily available in left hand, had a stock that fit me out of the box, in a caliber that worked as general purpose safari gun, and could be had at a decent price.
I only located one rifle that fit those criteria-the Ruger Hawkeye African in .375 Ruger.
Now I know the H&H folks are already shaking their heads, and I would have loved to find a left handed .375 H&H but didn't see one in any of my usual brick and mortar or online haunts.
Cartridge and rifle comparisons aside, the one solid vote against the Ruger was ammo availability in case mine was lost in transit. That did occur to me but against the other factors it was a risk I was willing to take for a rifle that is essentially a backup.
My local shop happened to have a Ruger on the shelf (although they could tell me nothing about it) and the stock fit like a champ. It is light, points well (for me) and has had great reviews.
There is more to the story on the rifle but I'll continue that post later on.

Before long, I want to post a few thoughts from Mason as he is pretty pumped. It's been interesting to watch him work this out in his head. He doesn't have the same excitement an eight year old has for say, ice cream. Ice cream is a known quantity and produces a measureable result. He knows what flavors he likes best. For Mason, the grassveld of Africa is a complete unknown. Heck, traveling for the better part of a month is beyond his comprehension. So, when the safari subject comes up, his smile is slower, more thoughtful and deeper than one from the promise of a cheap sugar high. He knows this trip will be good; he just doesn't know how good.

I'll keep you guys in the loop as things progess.
To everyone that has contacted me, sent additional funds for Mason, and sweetened Andrew's orginal offer---Thank you..

ChetNC