quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
Oh, poor Andy Drook, You fail to dispute any of the facts I cited from your own previous AR posts, yet I have somehow "outed" you; as what, a blow-hard whose claim of hunting experience and criticism of others is attributable to ONE safari that included a Buff and Hippo? This is the African Big Game Hunting forum and your NA hunting experience counts for zip here. If you're gonna come on this forum and mouth off, which you do repeatedly, then you better be prepared to own it all.

We all know you, Andy, but why don't you include your location, as most of us do? Afraid who might show up on your doorstep to take personal umbrage at some of the stuff you say? There are plenty on AR who know or can venture an educated guess at my identity and I have clearly stated my reasons for the nome-de-plume and which I will continue to use until such time as I see fit. You are invited to put me on your do not read list, but somehow I don't think you're gonna do that.

What you believe is opinion, and yes, you are entitled to them. And we of course are equally entitled to disagree and to tell you of our disagreement; that includes all your racist, homophobic, sexist and other bias and prejudice.

While I may disagree vehemently with opinions of some others on AR, regardless of the nature of my replies, I still respect them. You, sir, are the exception. And you still have skinny arms for someone with such a big mouth.

quote:

Originally posted by adrook:
Why exactly would I fly across country to meet you? You wanna take me to dinner? I never considered myself to be a tough guy, but it sorta goes with being a Marine - like Boddington - and having spent 415 days in combat and 24 years in SpecOps. Besides, what are you gonna do with those skinny arms?

quote:

Originally posted by craig boddington:
Brittany's Dad, Craig Boddington here. I didn't really want to get into this discussion--I don't like namecalling, and although most of you are great guys and have been very supportive, I've been called plenty of names over the years in this forum. Which, by the way, is your right.

I do want to add a couple of things. First, the situation that started this doesn't belong to me. It is relative only to my daughter, who is young but a grownup woman. She is not as experienced as I am, or as many of you, but she has something like ten safaris under her belt. She shoots well and accurately, and has repeatedly demonstrated coolness in the face of dangerous game. All that said, a very bad thing happened.

I was not there, nor were any of you. The incident belongs entirely to her and the rest of the party, including Punki who, as of yesterday, is out of Intensive Care, was walking around his hospital room, joking with the nurses, and doing chinups so he can stay in shape and, in due time, keep up with his dogs again. Thank God!

Andy (adrook) obviously doesn't like me. That is his right. None of us can please all of the people all of the time, although I wish it were so. It does bother me that his hatred of me, for whatever reason, seems to have been transferred to my daughter, who, depending on the circumstances, is either blessed or cursed with my last name and perhaps some measure of my genes.

However, I would also defend his right to an opinion. It is easy to Monday-morning quarterback these things--it is more difficult to live them. I was 1000 miles away in the Zambezi Valley when the incident happened. My daughter was doing a leopard hunt on her own, and I believed she could handle it because of her own experience, and because her PH, Nic Kruger, is one of the most experienced "leopard with dogs" hunters in Namibia. The houndsman who was injured, Punki, is himself a great guy and perhaps THE MOST EXPERIENCED leopard-with-hounds hunter in Africa. He is 41 years old, in great shape, and he has been hunting leopards with hounds for 25 years. It is his passion as well as his job.
W
hen I got the call my first thought, admittedly, was for my daughter's safety. My second thought was for Punki's recovery, which at that moment was in doubt. My third thought, having almost no facts regarding the situation, was not too dissimilar from Andy's. My daughter is a very safe hunter and she shoots quickly, coolly, and well. How could she have taken a shot that resulted in injury to Punki? I taught her better than that! How could Nic Kruger, in whose hands I trusted my daughter's well-being, allow such a thing to happen? How could Punki, who has successfully "run" leopards into the hundreds, and who fully understands all the dangers, put himself in such a position?

It took me 36 hours to scramble a charter, get to Harare, then Jo'Burg, and then Windhoek. Although my first concern was to ascertain Punki's condition and lend support to Brittany, by the time I got there I was angry, and my intention was to deliver a good old Marine Corps dressing-down to both Nic and Brittany. Fortunately I kept my mouth shut until I had read the statements. I also have an advantage you do not have; I saw photos of the accident site, including a partial recreation, done for the police if required. After examining this evidence, I had, and still have, absolutely nothing further to say. There is simply no blame to place.

All accidents are avoidable, and most accidents require a chain of circumstances, not just one, to create a serious incident. This was a very unfortunate chain of events that culminated in about 2.75 seconds of insanity. All involved could have done things differently, and I'm sure all are Monday-morning-quarterbacking themselves. Realistically, however, my sense based on all the evidence is that no one did anything wrong. All involved could have done things just slightly differently for several seconds, minutes, even hours, before the accident and avoided the tragic result, but once into the mess I'm not sure anyone reading this, including myself, would have done anything differently. It was as confusing and just as fast as any firefight, and you simply cannot believe how thick it was where this leopard chose to make his stand. All concerned must live with the incident, and I'm sure that all will attempt to do things slightly differently in the future. But the fact is, it happened. I greatly appreciate the clear understanding that most of you have shown, which suggests to me this is a very astute and well-experience group. Under Saeed's leadership this is a very powerful forum, and I thought it was important to give you guys the straight scoop as quickly as possible, so as to avoid rumors and multiple versions. I am very grateful to all of you for your comments, and now let's let the subject rest and get on to serious Boddington (Craig, that is!) bashing.
With best regards to all, Craig Boddington

quote:

Originally posted by craig boddington:
David, I will never forget that '92 hunt. Man, we hung a lot of baits, and as you well recall, I wounded a leopard on that hunt and thus saw my own first leopard charge. Much scarier than elephant, buffalo, or even lion!!!!!! Regards to all, and thanks, Craig

JudgeG ... just counting time 'til I am again finding balm in Gilead chilled out somewhere in the Selous.

quote:

Originally posted by craig boddington:
Brittany's Dad, Craig Boddington here. I didn't really want to get into this discussion--I don't like namecalling, and although most of you are great guys and have been very supportive, I've been called plenty of names over the years in this forum. Which, by the way, is your right.

I do want to add a couple of things. First, the situation that started this doesn't belong to me. It is relative only to my daughter, who is young but a grownup woman. She is not as experienced as I am, or as many of you, but she has something like ten safaris under her belt. She shoots well and accurately, and has repeatedly demonstrated coolness in the face of dangerous game. All that said, a very bad thing happened.

I was not there, nor were any of you. The incident belongs entirely to her and the rest of the party, including Punki who, as of yesterday, is out of Intensive Care, was walking around his hospital room, joking with the nurses, and doing chinups so he can stay in shape and, in due time, keep up with his dogs again. Thank God!

Andy (adrook) obviously doesn't like me. That is his right. None of us can please all of the people all of the time, although I wish it were so. It does bother me that his hatred of me, for whatever reason, seems to have been transferred to my daughter, who, depending on the circumstances, is either blessed or cursed with my last name and perhaps some measure of my genes.

However, I would also defend his right to an opinion. It is easy to Monday-morning quarterback these things--it is more difficult to live them. I was 1000 miles away in the Zambezi Valley when the incident happened. My daughter was doing a leopard hunt on her own, and I believed she could handle it because of her own experience, and because her PH, Nic Kruger, is one of the most experienced "leopard with dogs" hunters in Namibia. The houndsman who was injured, Punki, is himself a great guy and perhaps THE MOST EXPERIENCED leopard-with-hounds hunter in Africa. He is 41 years old, in great shape, and he has been hunting leopards with hounds for 25 years. It is his passion as well as his job.
W
hen I got the call my first thought, admittedly, was for my daughter's safety. My second thought was for Punki's recovery, which at that moment was in doubt. My third thought, having almost no facts regarding the situation, was not too dissimilar from Andy's. My daughter is a very safe hunter and she shoots quickly, coolly, and well. How could she have taken a shot that resulted in injury to Punki? I taught her better than that! How could Nic Kruger, in whose hands I trusted my daughter's well-being, allow such a thing to happen? How could Punki, who has successfully "run" leopards into the hundreds, and who fully understands all the dangers, put himself in such a position?

It took me 36 hours to scramble a charter, get to Harare, then Jo'Burg, and then Windhoek. Although my first concern was to ascertain Punki's condition and lend support to Brittany, by the time I got there I was angry, and my intention was to deliver a good old Marine Corps dressing-down to both Nic and Brittany. Fortunately I kept my mouth shut until I had read the statements. I also have an advantage you do not have; I saw photos of the accident site, including a partial recreation, done for the police if required. After examining this evidence, I had, and still have, absolutely nothing further to say. There is simply no blame to place.

All accidents are avoidable, and most accidents require a chain of circumstances, not just one, to create a serious incident. This was a very unfortunate chain of events that culminated in about 2.75 seconds of insanity. All involved could have done things differently, and I'm sure all are Monday-morning-quarterbacking themselves. Realistically, however, my sense based on all the evidence is that no one did anything wrong. All involved could have done things just slightly differently for several seconds, minutes, even hours, before the accident and avoided the tragic result, but once into the mess I'm not sure anyone reading this, including myself, would have done anything differently. It was as confusing and just as fast as any firefight, and you simply cannot believe how thick it was where this leopard chose to make his stand. All concerned must live with the incident, and I'm sure that all will attempt to do things slightly differently in the future. But the fact is, it happened. I greatly appreciate the clear understanding that most of you have shown, which suggests to me this is a very astute and well-experience group. Under Saeed's leadership this is a very powerful forum, and I thought it was important to give you guys the straight scoop as quickly as possible, so as to avoid rumors and multiple versions. I am very grateful to all of you for your comments, and now let's let the subject rest and get on to serious Boddington (Craig, that is!) bashing.
With best regards to all, Craig Boddington

quote:

Originally posted by LionHunter:
Lhook7

You need to read what I wrote, not what you think I wrote. I never mentioned SOCOM but rather said I spent 24 years in SpecOps. There are many government special operations forces other than the military. You are correct in that the USMC did not even participate as a force in SOCOM, although we did have command elements in it, until the very recent few years.

I don't talk shit and wouldn't have mentioned any of it except for adrooks invitation; I was killing people on behalf of my country while he was pooping in his diapers. The internet is an interesting place partly because you never know who you may be talking to. I hope that clears things up for you.

Semper Fi
3rd MAR DIV
1966-1967

quote:

Welcome to the AccurateReloading.com forums. They are free, all we ask in return is you obey our three suggestions. We ask you be civil to your fellow members, refrain from posting pictures not related to hunting and shooting and do not spam our board. Thanks and enjoy. Saeed and Don