Sitting here, enjoying my Sunday watching charlie from TAM safaris "hunt" african rion. the host is currently trying to chose one from a herd of MGM quality lions. Says he's been waiting 30 years for this moment, how sad.

update, he got one, what were the odds? Nice shot to the midsection. What was the point of the "game scout"?

I started watching when they were tracking the lion by listening for the roar. I didn't know where the hunt was until I saw the three large black mained lions.

Didn't someone get chewed up a year or 2 ago on one of those lion hunts with Tam?

Did they walk up to them out in the open while the lion placidly lay there looking at them? That's what happened on the last Tam "lion hunt" I saw.

Brett

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:
african rion

Nice.

A way to tell if a mounted lion was pen raised is to check and see if his front claws are filed down. A ph from Zim showed this to me on a mount at a friend's house.

Is that safari company pronounced "Tam" or "Tame".

Seriously, having a few range cows is challenging enough for me - I couldn't commerically raise chickens much less lions. How does one go about fencing in and feeding a BUMPER CROP of adult male lions? While I have trouble stomaching the "hunting" aspect of it, from a ranching standpoint I'm curious.

quote:

Is that safari company pronounced "Tam" or "Tame".

Would your gripe be with---

A) Tam Safaris?
B) The host/program for videotaping and airing the segment?
C) The "hunting" client?
D) All of the above.

Personally I find most issue with B, the host/ program for videotaping, airing and hyping the segment as a classic showdown between hunter and Africa's most dangerous cat.

all of the above. to state you waited 30 years to shoot a canned lion borders on pathetic. i guess i can't fault Tam for catering to a niche market but watching that miserable excuse for a hunting program was tough. i suppose the average viewer wouldn't have a clue what was going on though.

Tam isn't the only one.

I didn't see this show. However, I did see a notable one. I can't remember the guys name. He had long hair and a lever action rifle. It was the typical BS story. Obviously canned to anyone with the slightest knowledge. He shot a lioness.

I watched that show. Took them several days and a lot of searching to find a good specimen.

I don't like 'high fenced canned hunts' like most of you on here. But I equate canned with land the plane, go directly to whatever animal, shoot and board the plane again.

I didn't get that impression. Yes, the lions were abnormally well maned and were obviously placed there.

But for the cornerstone of any trophy room, you want a trophy lion. I see lion pics where there is hardly any mane. The hunt story that goes with it is impressive to say the least. But the trophy itself isn't what I'd personally want in my room. And for the money you have to drop I'd like a more reasonable expectation of taking a true tropy. (Sorry if this offends)

TAM offered up what looked like a pretty reasonable hunt in that it took several days to find them (it wasn't a 25 acre clear cut savannah). Just walking into those three huge males knowing where your new status was on the food chain would be exhilirating enough for me.

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
But for the cornerstone of any trophy room, you want a trophy lion.

I guess it depends on what you consider "the trophy". To me a canned lion is like the "trophy" everyone gets for participating in a sport. I guess I like the kind you get for actually having done something great....the kind you have to earn. Just my 2 cents.

Brett

Bluefin admittedly these Lions will kill you but rather lick you to death.

quote:

I watched that show. Took them several days and a lot of searching to find a good specimen.

Bluefin, don't believe everything you see on TV. Most of the "hunting" you see on a show is done after the animal has been killed and is strictly for "show", edited and mixed with some misc. game footage makes a complete program. I was present at a couple of these events and it really opened my eyes to what "reality" is.

I would rather have a maneless lion than an MGM lion if the mainless one was killed in an unfenced wild area vs a canned MGM type.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
But for the cornerstone of any trophy room, you want a trophy lion.

I guess it depends on what you consider "the trophy". To me a canned lion is like the "trophy" everyone gets for participating in a sport. I guess I like the kind you get for actually having done something great....the kind you have to earn. Just my 2 cents.

Brett

Some people might argue the real trophy is the hunt itself in a remote wilderness area of Africa. I know I would and if I end up with an MGM lion to show for it...all the better!

Brett

quote:

Most of the "hunting" you see on a show is done after the animal has been killed and is strictly for "show", edited and mixed with some misc. game footage

---

And did they add the whispering in too?

quote:

And did they add the whispering in too?

chances are

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
I watched that show. Took them several days and a lot of searching to find a good specimen.

I don't like 'high fenced canned hunts' like most of you on here. But I equate canned with land the plane, go directly to whatever animal, shoot and board the plane again.

I didn't get that impression. Yes, the lions were abnormally well maned and were obviously placed there.

But for the cornerstone of any trophy room, you want a trophy lion. I see lion pics where there is hardly any mane. The hunt story that goes with it is impressive to say the least. But the trophy itself isn't what I'd personally want in my room. And for the money you have to drop I'd like a more reasonable expectation of taking a true tropy. (Sorry if this offends)

TAM offered up what looked like a pretty reasonable hunt in that it took several days to find them (it wasn't a 25 acre clear cut savannah). Just walking into those three huge males knowing where your new status was on the food chain would be exhilirating enough for me.

and what are the chances that 3 fully maned, mature lions will peacefully co-exist ANYWHERE but in an environment where they were raised together and no lionesses were around. if it waddles like a duck and quacks, chances are pretty good it is a duck(canned duck). certainly legal but a shoot and not a hunt. it isn't hunting when you know for an absolute fact that the animal is in a circumscribed area. would those lions kill you? most certainly under the right circumstances. does that make it dangerous game hunting. not in my book( but it is dangerous game shooting). to each his own i guess.

jdollar,

Sometimes they do form coalitions in the wild of two or three males, but totally 110% agree with you on everything else!

Brett

you are right, of course, about such coalitions but i believe they are usually short term affairs of younger lions awaiting an opportunity to take over a pride( or perhaps older lions who can't hold a pride). if i remember right on this particular show, they saw one such group the first day and a DIFFERENT group the next day. must have been hunting in lion heaven!

I only caught the second half of the show and don't recall where they were hunting? Was it for sure RSA and does anyone have proof positive that this was a canned hunt? Sure it looks like it was, but would hate to condem on what one saw on the video. Jumping to conclusions based on the piece of video presented may or may not have merit?

Even if it was canned, as long as was legal and the guy went along with it so be it. To each his own.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member

quote:

I only caught the second half of the show and don't recall where they were hunting? Was it for sure RSA and does anyone have proof positive that this was a canned hunt? Sure it looks like it was, but would hate to condem on what one saw on the video. Jumping to conclusions based on the piece of video presented may or may not have merit?

Go check out TAM's booth at the next SCI show, charlie will let you pick your rion out of a photo album, if you're really set, you can shoot a white one.

When the PH does not carry a back up rifle on a lion hunt, I was bit skeptical.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
When the PH does not carry a back up rifle on a lion hunt, I was bit scepticle.

Who said he was a PH?

He might have been the zoo keeper!

apparently he is the owner's son or some close relative, in which case he can do pretty much do as he pleases. must be tough shooting the family pets though. i guess you just have to think of them as livestock.

Describing the canned lion as livestock raises a hypothetical question. Let's say you put a Tanzania HYENA in one of those Las Vegas cages for a death duel vesus a RION. WHo do you think would win the match?

Bwana's Regret

This thread just ain't very funny
The lion cost lots of my money.
I went with an outfit called Tam
And taped it on video cam.
But spoiled now for me
'Cause clearly all see
I'm Bwana, the dupe of a sham

Sorry about the above.
I'm leaving on a canoe trip with my sweetie in a couple of hours. I got all my gear ready last night and I guess I was just bored.

All the hunting shows are pretty much the same ie put togeather in the editing room. I love it when the hunter and party start the stalk and he is wearing a different shirt in the shot scene and with the trophy pictures and hell I have ever seen the stalk start with one gun and the kill is done with a different gun.

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
Describing the canned lion as livestock raises a hypothetical question. Let's say you put a Tanzania HYENA in one of those Las Vegas cages for a death duel vesus a RION. WHo do you think would win the match?

RION?

Intelligent post. I am very impressed with your command of the English language.

I just want to know, have you ever been the brunt of a racist comment? Would you tell that to Mr. Tam's face?

You should be ashamed,

quote:

Originally posted by Jack D Bold:

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
Describing the canned lion as livestock raises a hypothetical question. Let's say you put a Tanzania HYENA in one of those Las Vegas cages for a death duel vesus a RION. WHo do you think would win the match?

RION?

Intelligent post. I am very impressed with your command of the English language.

I just want to know, have you ever been the brunt of a racist comment? Would you tell that to Mr. Tam's face?

You should be ashamed,

I'm willing to bet he has borne the brunt of his share of racism.

quote:

RION?

Intelligent post. I am very impressed with your command of the English language.

I just want to know, have you ever been the brunt of a racist comment? Would you tell that to Mr. Tam's face?

You should be ashamed,

Jack, actually, I started the "rion" jab with the discussion, and I personally think there is no shame in it. Actually, I find it quite humerous, I guess Jerry Lewis or Peter Sellers should be ashamed of themselves as well for the characters they created that mock the orientals. If "charlie" from TAM can't laugh at himself or his own kind, than I don't want to meet him. Thin skinned race baiters like you are part of what is wrong with this country, I think there is a 2:30 greyhound headed for Utopia, you might want to catch that.

quote:

Posted 23 April 2010 17:48 Hide Post
All the hunting shows are pretty much the same ie put togeather in the editing room. I love it when the hunter and party start the stalk and he is wearing a different shirt in the shot scene and with the trophy pictures and hell I have ever seen the stalk start with one gun and the kill is done with a different gun.

i don't know about most, but i always get a real kick out of the first SCI expedition safari show, where in the beginning they show this brown bear getting shot. cause it was my bear and dianne took the video

quote:

Originally posted by Jack D Bold:

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
Describing the canned lion as livestock raises a hypothetical question. Let's say you put a Tanzania HYENA in one of those Las Vegas cages for a death duel vesus a RION. WHo do you think would win the match?

RION?

Intelligent post. I am very impressed with your command of the English language.

I just want to know, have you ever been the brunt of a racist comment? Would you tell that to Mr. Tam's face?

You should be ashamed,

This is not meant to insinuate anything about you so don't read into it Jack. I think if race truely doesn't matter to you if you are truely only interested in the individual person you can look at a comment like Marcs and realize it's just a joke. Nothing more nothing less. I highly doubt Marc is racist and I'm sure he is comfortable with all. I'm sure it was just a joke and I for one think it's pretty damn funny!!! Thank god Tam wasn't using a Wirram Evans or Joseph Rang Doubre Rifre for that Rion!!!

Brett

TAM Safaris has a 30,000 acre property in the Karoo area of the Eastern Cape. They had a booth at the FNAWS show here in Salt Lake about 3 years ago. I walked by their booth and they had a promotional video running in the booth. I stood there and watched it for a couple of minutes, and Charlie (or maybe it was his brother?) came over and started talking to me. He was actually a very nice young man. I asked him, among other questions, what his definition of a free-range wild lion was, and I THINK he said, "Any lion that's been on the property for at least 6 months." (Maybe he said 12 months, but I'm pretty sure he said 6 months.) So this is definitely a put-and-take lion operation. They may not know exactly where the cats are on the property, and have to go looking for them, but they certainly know what they have in inventory there. Charlie must have thought I was a potential client because he gave me a free promo video and brochure. This is definitely not my cup of tea, but I imagine there is a steady stream of customers who line up for this type of experience, and as I said, these folks seemed really nice. So there's no use in knocking their family-owned operation, because they're doing everything legal and above board, and I'm pretty sure the vast majority of their clients know exactly what they're getting into. As jdollar said, to each his own, I guess.

This whole time I really thought you just misspelled lion.

Geez, here I thought it was a Scooby-Doo thing (you know, Ruh-roh, Raggy)

I thought it was a typo myself.

knowing Brad, i thought it was pretty funny and i figured it wasn't a typo. look at where "r" and "l" are on the keyboard.