Hi,

I had posted some short infos and photos at my expirience at the PH course at the Goss PH-Academy.
In the last year 2011.

See here:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...661005361#5661005361

It was an great course.
An great adventure.
(Of course at the end, 50% pased an get their licnece, but there are not an real PH, but it is an great training, and an good price).

Now the PHASA has translated some infos from me and had createt an great article about that course.

Thanks to PHASA.
:-))

Attach yourself to the client

„There is no second chance to make a good first impression” is one of Ian Goss's (71) doctrines. Ian Goss is the head of the Professional Hunting Academy in KwaZulu Natal, advertising with the slogan: „From an experienced hunter to a professional hunter”. Within the first seconds of our meeting each other, I realize that he masters this himself.

But one thing after the other... My name is F., ... and have been acquainted with weapons and hunting ever since I was a young boy.

I have been visiting training courses in Germany and abroad since I turned twenty, as there were amongst others for instance well known combat shooting schools in the USA.

Furthermore I have been on a multitude of hunting trips, mostly in Africa. Through the American internet forum AR, PHASA caught my attention due to its high significance on the African big-game hunting, the training courses for professional hunters and of course because of Ian Goss, who is enjoying cult status due to the anecdotes of his former graduates.

It was that exact moment, as I walked through the arrival gate of the Johannesburg Airport and saw Ian standing in the first row, after he had been waiting for almost an hour since my plane was delayed, holding a target with three shots in the ten and my name on it, up high and smiling that I realized he can truly be referred to as a living legend.

We got along great from the first second on and the six hours ride home to his camp just flew by while we were telling each other „war stories”.

Ian is the classical type of instructor. He supports and promotes his students, but demands an effort as well. This I found out during the following, almost two week long course, which was attended by seven further persons.

A very informative time began, starting at seven o'clock in the mornings and ending in the middle of the night. Besides the basics like flora and fauna, the legal aspects and the international provisions, I found the practical contents very educational.

Ian, a committed fan of Heym Doppelbüchsen from Gleichamberg/Germany, filled each morning with his recitations of his hunting experiences in Africa of the last decades. In the afternoon then, us students were able to gain our own experiences.

In order to do that we went to a 2.000 hectare large part of his estate on which we improved our stalking skills and learned the handling (conducting) of clients. The content of his advertising slogan became very clear here, since the high expectations of this course could not be met without any prior experiences.

However it still is possible to acquire very much in such a short time. For myself for instance it was the horn judgment. I do know most of the African game animals and have hunted down quite a few of them, yet to determine the exact difference between the horns of a bontebok and a blesbok is not an easy task.

As well as the different measuring methods of the animals, the acknowledgement of the entry criteria as well as the minimum limit of size for the record books as there is for instance my favorite African animal, the Oryx: RW 40 and SCI 80 inch.

The acknowledgement of the African vegetation was especially difficult for me, since it is very different from ours. But Lizelle, Ians athletic girlfriend and one of the rare female professional hunters, understood it perfectly to impart the knowledge of approximately three dozen most important trees of KZN to us during the short duration of the course.

I find the general African solution of national tree numbers, that makes a clear classification possible, very felicitous. This would also be a good example for Germany. Especially through a broad knowledge of nature, hunters in Germany can earn credit from the critical public, which does like to eat meat, yet partially sees hunting as something negative.

Here there is a lot to learn for the participants, much more than „merely” three dozen trees and bushes.

Yet my favorite subject was weaponry. Ian understood it perfectly to interconnect with the participants in order to include their insights into the lessons. Whether it was the old subject „which weapon and ammunition is the best”, the basic use of these weapons for big-game hunting up to the correct tactical behavior in case of charging animals.

Here the large collection of his material came in useful as well as his special custom-made hunting rifles, which everyone was allowed to test on the shooting range.

With its content, the course can be compared to the difficult German hunter examination. The shooting in South Africa might be more demanding, yet it lacks the hunter traditions.

The interested readers of the magazine will know, we have a lot of these traditions in Germany as there is for instance the handing over of the „Erlegerbruch”, a ceremony that not only honors the hunter after a successful hunt, but the animal as well.

Besides all of that the course is unbeatable low priced. For an equivalent of 1.100 US dollars, one receives almost two weeks full board in a wonderfully located hunting camp, with three high quality meals per day and a luxurious cottage to live and sleep in is also included. Comparable courses in the USA usually cost me a minimum of 6.000 US Dollars.

Ian Goss is not just an excellent teacher, but also a very dedicated motivator. That became obvious within the last minutes of the course. Not all participants had passed, but all of them were honorably released.

The participants that could not meet the demands just yet, Ian calls it „not yet competent“, received an explanation of where the problem is and what should be improved in the coming weeks and months. For one it was the shooting (which is understandable, for a professional hunter has to be the master of the situation with his weapon under all circumstances), for another it was the missing experience in the service sector, the dealing with clients in general.

Then they may all return at no charge, Ian takes his time with everyone and after all the tasks have been completed and the re-test has been successfully taken, they can receive their certificate too..

Since I passed all eleven practical parts of the test, I received my certificate on site. I am especially proud of the part „practical hunting an tracking skills”, for which Ian hired the professional hunters of the surrounding farms to be our test clients.

All five (they can be seen on the group photo) conform with the ideal of a professional hunter. They are tough as nails, strictly adhere to the PHASA code of honor and have a broad knowledge. To be the first man in line with these people and to lead the „hunt” for a few hours was an experience that alone would have made the whole trip worthwhile.

As for the written parts of the test, I was able to pass the official parks board test. Unfortunately I did not pass the final general knowledge examination. Partially this was because of my not perfect English language skills, in Germany we only have 7 years of English in school, and partially it was because of exam stress.

So I mistook for example the maternal attributes of the white rhino with those of the black rhino. But that's life and that's Africa. Yet to remain positive, no one ever stops learning and there are always new and interesting things to discover.

Even though I can, since I am German and therefore a non-resident, never be a „real“ professional hunter or a member of the elitist circle of PHASA, the course has brought me forward concerning hunting as well as personal aspects.

And since the adventure is what always counts for me, my certificate is placed in the midst of my hunting trophies so that I can enjoy it on a daily basis. Every day, when I walk passed it I remember what I experienced and tune into future hunting, then again as a client, in the beautiful South Africa.

I will post some photos now...

Here I post you the first side of the article.

For private use only, I can offer the AR-members the complete article as an PDF.

If you have interessed, please send me an PM.
:-)