quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
That is awesome. Sounds like it's right out Robert Ruark's "The Old Man and The Boy".

I read "100% Russel" at the top of your post and assumed the boy's name was Russel.

Russell is the name of the poster I was responding to.

Of course! I wasn't thinking. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Of course! I wasn't thinking. Thanks.

I am glad you told the story anyway!

Lane, Yes, I haven't dragged that one out for a long time. I enjoyed telling it.

To other members:
We seldom hear much about youngsters getting out to hunt with you all.

I will show this photo that Lane posted to my grandson. He will appreciate it. I don't think he knows any other young hunters in his world.

It sure is nice to take a young boy or girl into the bush with a rifle and share their excitement.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Lane, Yes, I haven't dragged that one out for a long time. I enjoyed telling it.

To other members:
We seldom hear much about youngsters getting out to hunt with you all.

I will show this photo that Lane posted to my grandson. He will appreciate it. I don't think he knows any other young hunters in his world.

It sure is nice to take a young boy or girl into the bush with a rifle and share their excitement.

Brian,
Show him this thread.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...3411043/m/6041070732

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:

To other members:
We seldom hear much about youngsters getting out to hunt with you all.

It sure is nice to take a young boy or girl into the bush with a rifle and share their excitement.

I would love to take my 12 year old niece to Zimbabwe next year, the kid is fearless. The thought of trying to travel outside of the US with a minor that is not our child scares the hell out of me.

My Minion's at the range with me.

quote:

Originally posted by Gundog 64:

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:

To other members:
We seldom hear much about youngsters getting out to hunt with you all.

It sure is nice to take a young boy or girl into the bush with a rifle and share their excitement.

I would love to take my 12 year old niece to Zimbabwe next year, the kid is fearless. The thought of trying to travel outside of the US with a minor that is not our child scares the hell out of me.

My Minion's at the range with me.

I've taken a couple different nephews on African hunts, along with my son and father. We didn't have any trouble at all. My sister prepared some pretty simple documents and had them notarized. The trips were to Namibia, Botswana and Zim. These three generation hunts were incredible experiences for all of us.

I am going to take Martin to Africa in the next couple of years.

The Wild Bunch! What a great photo. They will never forget those days.

I know what you mean about travelling with the kids. We are taking three youngsters to South Africa this year.

I would like to take the liberty of making a few suggestion. You probably already know all this stuff. I only know about South Africa:
Situational awareness and keeping in safer places is the main thing. Never go out at night. Dress down. Walk around like you are a local don't carry a map or camera. Look like a Boer. New hiking boots are a dead give-away.

If you rent a vehicle it must be awd with perfect tires so you can drive around a trap. The tank must never get below half and you never, never stop for anything. If someone appears to be in distress and needs help, floor it and get out of there, It's a trap. Only fuel up at the big highway gas stations. Always find your accommodations by 4 PM.

Also, pepper spray and stun guns are legal in South Africa. ( Buy them online weeks before you go and have them sent to your guest house.
Don't laugh, but body guards are fairly cheap. I use a couple of white rugby players friends in JB when it seems prudent. I buy them beer and feed them raw meat.)

The first few times we went to South Africa we were always escorted/guided by the PH or a Tour Guide. After a week of hunting my wife and I would travel safely with Alan Tours for a week or two. Tour guides are great as they keep you safe, speak the language and are very knowledgable. Your PH or guest house can set you up with safe travel.

Just my two cents worth.

Lane, Martin has "Adventure" written all over him. A trip to Africa with Grandpa will shape his life forever.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Lane, Martin has "Adventure" written all over him. A trip to Africa with Grandpa will shape his life forever.

Except I am Dad...not Grandad. I was 46 when he was born. Better late than never!

I sincerely hope that you being able to take him on a hunt to Africa is a reality.

Oops! Sorry, my mistake.
My boys started their families later in life and they are way better parents for it.
It looks like Martin is a blessed boy. Congrats.

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Oops! Sorry, my mistake.
My boys started their families later in life and they are way better parents for it.
It looks like Martin is a blessed boy. Congrats.

He is my pride and joy, fishing partner and hunting buddy, baseball player and scholar...truly the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

Lane, I understand!

For the most part I come here because I enjoy it and the interaction with others of (mostly) like minds.

Yes there are some who seem to have an issue with playing well with others- and generally even those come around given time. My biggest criticism is of folks who seem to feel a need to make "constructive criticism" on hunt reports... Not too hard to start your own thread if you have issues and make them known there. If the mods would just switch criticism of a hunter placed hunt report to a different thread, I don't think we would lose any ability to separate the wheat from the chaff which makes this site unique compared to the good ol boy/paying contributor sites elsewhere.

I agree that having a way of placing photos might make things easier, but it also would cost management a bunch of money, and add the headache of constantly editing photos on top of that.

The exception is the PF. That I take as being a debating society with no real rules. I think you need to have a bit of a thicker skin there, and if you are a caustic person, sometimes I have seen folks follow posters to other areas and be obnoxious.

Speaking of hunt reports I still haven't completed the one from the rain forest in Cameroon from last year... I guess I had better figure out Imgur and get off my ass.

Imgur is pretty simple...I even figured it out.

To not add degradation to anyone elses thread...I am again going to use my thread for my opinion:

A few years back Martin Pieters told us all here on AR to follow ZPHGA closely. I think we should heed his advice. ZPHGA made a hasty initial statement saying the collared ele shoot was legal...and I believe all the sources that in fact back up that it was indeed legal.

That said...ZPHGA does not govern the law...they govern the ethics of their membership. They have now placed Martin’s membership in suspension pending further investigation and appeal...to me this speaks volumes. Further, Martin has resigned from his commission at ZPHGA.

AR members have stated here that they question my motives in this matter.

Well my motive is to get rid of the ivory and lion parts importation suspension in the USA. Without a doubt...these suspensions have been the biggest hit and detrement the Safari Industry has ever endured.

FZS collars these few tuskers strictly to protect them. This is well known to PHs/outfitters in Zim. At this day in time...these few tuskers are truly a world treasure.

Hunters not showing the willingness to work with hunting tolerant conservation societies such as FZS...

...truly has taken us several steps backwards in reversing these USFWS imposed suspensions.

I just love the title of this thread.

It certainly was meant to stimulate remembrance of a better day for hunters.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
It certainly was meant to stimulate remembrance of a better day for hunters.

Brother Lane is was a couple years back that we noted the antis were a power to be reckoned with and that if we did nothing we would lose our sport. Well the very least we have done is to fight back and make sufficient noise to be heard.

That alone is a good start.

The politics of hunting African iconic species in the USA are not on our side.

Without arguing about the current POTUS...here are the facts:

The vast majority of the elected officials from the Democratic Party support bans on importation of ivory and lion parts...something most of us realize.

But, at least 50% of the Republican Party supports these suspensions on imports as well. Most people don’t realize this but it can be verified with John Jackson...GWB almost imposed a leopard import ban...mostly on a whim/emotion...not based in science/fact.

We all know that hunting and hunting dollars contribute to conservation. The truth is that hunting contributes the most to habitat preservation and habitat loss is the number one problem wildlife faces.

So here is my question:

How do we change the opinion of our elected officials and improve our image in the minds of the voting public? I am not talking about the fringe lunatic antis...but the vast majority of people in the middle.

Where there is a will...there is a way.

We need a larger campaign with actual reach. HSUS has their poor bunny commercials. Celebs want you to adopt a fictional tiger, etc. Ever seen a commercial about conservation? I can't remember one.

In each case, they used an emotional hook followed by the message. Marketing 101. Get their attention, give them your message.

Hot chick in the bikini gets my attention, the softball team gets my carwash money.

A difficult part is crafting a message that is both palatable and persuasive, but that is the strategy we have to employ.

We pretend to be better than the anti's with our statistics, and science, but that is boring. Bob and Laura don't give a shit about numbers. Give Bob something he and Laura understand and can consider. We got outflanked in public opinion because we have no wide spread message.

There were no elk in Kentucky, now there are 10,000, isn't that awesome? Where did these ducks come from? Conservation brought you these ducks, here's where you can learn more. Oh, did you know hunter dollars helped fund the recovery of the bald eagle?

We can't go after African issues directly because they are too distant from the daily lives of standard issue America. Start with a local message Americans can relate to, and expand from there. Use whatever means we can, this is war and the enemy isn't ethical or truthful. Sorry, but we can't be righteous and win.

Trouble is we have no organization for springboard off of. This is where we really need the help, IMO.

Just a few thoughts.

Jeremy

Outstanding Jeremy!

I agree totally.

Do you have suggestions on how to organize such a campaign?

This is why I started the African Wildlife Conservation Coalition; we need to improve our image and get our message out there. I can't emphasize this enough.

This isn't about appeasement nor is it about throwing hunters under the bus. The simple truth is that the American public by and large does not understand the realities of wildlife management.

I started the Coalition because I came to the realization that there has to be a better way.
We need to mount a more effective campaign. And this campaign needs to be targeted to "middle America", those people who are on the fence. I'm tired of preaching to the choir. We all know the benefits of conservation let's quit focusing our attention inward. We need to project outward.

Jeremy brings up some good points. As much as we have facts on our side, facts don't always sway people. Powerful images and messages do. We need to figure out what our "branding" is.

I would like to see our hunting organizations make a concerted effort to rebrand hunting to make it relevant in the 21st century. We can all lament that the world has changed and things aren't the way that they used to be. There is nothing that we can do about that but there are things that we can do to shape the future.

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
Outstanding Jeremy!

I agree totally.

Do you have suggestions on how to organize such a campaign?

I do. We need to be more effective in lobbying our hunting organizations.......

DSC, SCI, DU, RMEF, NRA........they already have the war chest, they already have the organization. They need to go public often in the mainstream with ads and tv commercials to counter the garbage from the antis.

We can lobby congress all we want but we just don't have the clout, we need to all push the existing organizations to go public with a media campaign showing what we do, what they do for conservation and habitat preservation.

IMO this is how we become more effective.

.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
Outstanding Jeremy!

I agree totally.

Do you have suggestions on how to organize such a campaign?

I do. We need to be more effective in lobbying our hunting organizations.......

DSC, SCI, DU, RMEF, NRA........they already have the war chest, they already have the organization. They need to go public often in the mainstream with ads and tv commercials to counter the garbage from the antis.

We can lobby congress all we want but we just don't have the clout, we need to all push the existing organizations to go public with a media campaign showing what we do, what they do for conservation and habitat preservation.

IMO this is how we become more effective.

.

Absolutely without question we need the orgs.

I would like to see things like this being
shown to a wider audience.

We Hunt for Life

I think DSC and Safari Classics do these kind of PSAs well. Let's work with the orgs to figure out a way to get this to the masses.

The obligation to take the message to the masses is largely ours in today's electronic age. The recent clip the DSC Foundation did on habitat loss has less than 300 views on You Tube and just under 6000 views on Facebook since Monday. On Facebook the clip has less than 60 likes. Makes you wonder how many hunters took the time to actually watch the four minute clip much less took an additional few minutes to post the clip on social media, email to friends, family and co-workers? The sad reality is that hunters tend to be relatively inert on these matters. We keep asking about what the organizations are going to do to right the ship. However, until each hunter assumes personal responsibility for ensuring that the message is spread, depending on the organizations to reach the masses is not likely to succeed.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
The obligation to take the message to the masses is largely ours in today's electronic age. The recent clip the DSC Foundation did on habitat loss has less than 300 views on You Tube and just under 6000 views on Facebook since Monday. On Facebook the clip has less than 60 likes. Makes you wonder how many hunters took the time to actually watch the four minute clip much less took an additional few minutes to post the clip on social media, email to friends, family and co-workers? The sad reality is that hunters tend to be relatively inert on these matters. We keep asking about what the organizations are going to do to right the ship. However, until each hunter assumes personal responsibility for ensuring that the message is spread, depending on the organizations to reach the masses is not likely to succeed.

I reluctantly agree with your sentiments but I do feel that we need to work with the orgs. We need to find our path together. I and others are trying....

While social media is effective...it is an art/science to use it effectively. The orgs definitely need a full-time person/s monitoring and waging that campaign.

We also need TV time and not hunting shows...but Nat Geo type shows showing the truth about wilderness areas in Africa and we need commercials like HSUS uses effectively.

In addition, we need an effective political lobbying campaign.

Those are the 3 area's I see...that need vast improvement and money invested.

Lane,

Honestly, I am not sure. My gut feel is to work with or within an existing organization. DSC is obvious, but not mainstream. SCI, whose inner workings I don't know enough about, could be a more mainstream avenue. Love them or hate them, make peace and see what they can help with. JTEX is probably right on this. Advocacy within the organizations out there is at least a start.

The coalition that gremlin has worked on is an avenue.

Yet another that is more grass roots is for us to get on facebook, suck it up, and like, share, etc the content that matters. As Mike pointed out, the DSC video is very good. Did anyone share it?

This is a long term battle.

I'm here to help, but am out of my element with going big.

Jeremy

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
While social media is effective...it is an art/science to use it effectively. The orgs definitely need a full-time person/s monitoring and waging that campaign.

We also need TV time and not hunting shows...but Nat Geo type shows showing the truth about wilderness areas in Africa and we need commercials like HSUS uses effectively.

In addition, we need an effective political lobbying campaign.

Those are the 3 area's I see...that need vast improvement and money invested.

And I like that you mentioned political lobby last, imo, it is the least effective, and most expensive.......

Exactly! DSC, THE NRA and SCI all have the resources to do this. I am not really sure what SCI spends their money on (not bashing, just don't know) and DSC does spend money in Africa.........But spending money or all their money, in Africa right now might not be the thing to do.......might be that money spent right here in getting the message out could be much more effective for African wildlife than actually spending money there, in africa for wildlife.......

I know.....it irks the hell out of me as well.......

But watch HSUS and the like, learn from their tricks, don't try and reinvent the wheel............maybe?

You know.....most people I talk to think African elephant are an endangered specie.


.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
While social media is effective...it is an art/science to use it effectively. The orgs definitely need a full-time person/s monitoring and waging that campaign.

We also need TV time and not hunting shows...but Nat Geo type shows showing the truth about wilderness areas in Africa and we need commercials like HSUS uses effectively.

In addition, we need an effective political lobbying campaign.

Those are the 3 area's I see...that need vast improvement and money invested.

And I like that you mentioned political lobby last, imo, it is the least effective, and most expensive.......

Exactly! DSC, THE NRA and SCI all have the resources to do this. I am not really sure what SCI spends their money on (not bashing, just don't know) and DSC does spend money in Africa.........But spending money or all their money, in Africa right now might not be the thing to do.......might be that money spent right here in getting the message out could be much more effective for African wildlife than actually spending money there, in africa for wildlife.......

I know.....it irks the hell out of me as well.......

But watch HSUS and the like, learn from their tricks, don't try and reinvent the wheel............maybe?

You know.....most people I talk to think African elephant are an endangered specie.


.

100% on all accounts.