Ladies and Gentlemen,

There will come a time when you look back and wonder "Why didn't I do it?" or "I wish I had gone just once in my life."

I am writing this not for our regular Members who often post here. I am writing this for the Members who occasionally visit this Forum and especially for all of those unregistered readers of this Forum.

In each of our lives there are turning points that direct us down divergent paths. It is too easy to say, "Maybe in few years" or "When I get enough money" or "When the kids are older". Life is, unfortunately, full of these forks in the road.

I know there is a fascination, a desire, a need to hunt in Africa in each of you, or you would not be reading this Forum.

I know that there are many reasons you can come up with that tell you, "Now is not the best time to go on safari in Africa."

I also know that none of us are certain as to where we will be in 3 years, 5 years or further in the future.

Start now to make your dream come true. Start a savings plan, make a definite plan, work toward that plan every day.

I don't want to hear the excuses for why you can't, I want to hear the reasons for why you will.

Is there anything more satisfying than fulfilling a life long dream? Is there anything more rewarding than achieving a seemingly impossible goal?

You know there is a way. It may take a few years and a few sacrifices on your part. But one day, I hope to hear your African stories. If I am not around to share in your experiences, then know that I will be there in spirit. When you see your first African sunrise, take a moment and burn that experience into you memory.

Never regret what you have done, only regret the things that you have not experienced. After all, life is nothing more than a combination of experiences. The African experience will be a life-changing event for you, just as it was for me.

Regards,

Terry

Very nicely put Terry.

Great message articulated very well Terry!

Terry,

I couldn't agree with you more. I can't tell you how many people I talk to who had the opportunity to go tiger hunting, but said they'ld do it in a few years, when the kids are out of school, etc. Well when that time came, the season had gone and tiger hunting was lost to history.

Good post Terry!

Yep, it's a priority issue.

Many will save enough to buy a car, a house, a boat, a four-wheeler. But they always say they can't afford the hunt they claim to be dreaming of.

I have been on trips in the past guys that made twice as much as me claim they couldn't afford to do.

I think Jay Mellon's line is the best on this subject. To paraphrase:

"The best time to hunt in Africa is always now."

So don't put it off any longer than you have to.

But having said that, I do realize that no one can go until it is the right time for him. It takes will, time and money. The first isn't usually the problem, but the last two can be. They surely were for me.

Terry,

I would like to happily inform you that I am spending money that I shouldn't, hell, I'm spending money I don't even have yet, on a Lion/Cape Buffalo hunt in '07.

It's like you said. I know what I'm going to earn between now and then, it's just a matter of skimming off what I need to make the hunt happen, and living off of what is left.

With that being said, I am single (again), so life is much simpler for me than the folks out there with families depending on them.

TBG,
You are 99% correct. Most put their priorities on keeping up with the Jones's. They aren't "saving" for the boat, car, etc. they're borrowing for it. They'll live their whole lives dealing with bills and bill collectors, rather than live within their means and make some dreams come true.

Oh well, I'm going to Africa. I am going to hear the Hyenas, I'm going to hear the Lions, I'm going to be part of the food chain again, for a while. I am going to LIVE!

Thanks Terry for a very positive posting that goes a long way to creating an "Everybody wins" situation. Very well said!

For those of you who want to take Terry's advice to a next level, here is a place to read some advice on how to plan such a trip.

http://www.mclarensafaris.com/Planning/Planning.htm

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

When you do decide to go, please be prepared.

Get in shape. There are no fences or property lines that keep you from walking 10K's or so a morning after buffalo. The PH will be polite and go at your pace (and maybe even compliment you on your walking ability), but if you are only physically prepared for a tree stand hunt in Kansas, you may well not get a buffalo. This year (even though I was able to get on some buffalo, just fine), I was remiss in this and figured that I had always toted my freignt... but tide and time wait for no man... from here on out, I'll have a better training program. 60 is getting old and hills are getting steeper (haven't you noticed?).

Read about hunting in Africa. Cull the b.s. stuff, but know what to expect in the area in which you will hunt. I.e., temps, terain, faunta and flora. In other words, bring guns, ammo, clothes, etc., that are appropriate. A bench rest rifle that is practically "unshootable" in the bush only ruins the trip for others.... Same goes for bright, white clothes.. Show some respect for the trip and get prepared. I have yet to see a buffalo with a round circle on its chest.

Know the game and sex characteristics of each. Asking the same questions a dozen times wears upon your mates.

Listen instead of pontificating. You'll find that a listener learns and is respected for his intellectual curiosity, and everyone gets up and walks away from a know-it-all....

Practice with your rifle and for goodness sake, make sure it works in practical applications. Especially if you have a buddy, the best way to piss him off is to have him "give you the day" where you have first shot at everything, and then you continually fail because you have not prepared yourself and your equipment.

The English and Germans pretty well figured out what worked in Africa back about 1910 or so. A reliable, bolt action in .375 H&H is hard to beat.. particularly if it has a 1.5x5 scope, or so. Get premium bullets (A-Frames, Tripple-Shock, North Fork) and shoot stuff through both lungs and bust the far shoulder. You'll make your PH happy.

Read and comply with airline regulations and TSA stuff. It is amazingly selfish to "wing" it and hold everyone else up in line when you are too lazy or stupid to just follow simple rules. For instance, packing ammo with your gun. Be prepared to do both, just in case you get a dumbie at the counter.

Be prepared to pay for what you shoot, or where you stay. (Especially if you are bragging on all the other expensive trips you have set for the upcoming weeks.) PH's have to pay out money in advance. Please respect them and read the stuff they send you about how much you'll owe! It is pretty sad when they have to "trust" someone to send money back to Africa. If you can't afford the freight, just don't shoot it. It pisses everyone off to have to pay someone elses trophy fees and tips. Money is the reason the folks are in the business, not trinkets. It is their job, of gosh sakes, not a hobby. Please respect that... before you go!

Please do your homework. Don't go to a place where you are virtually assured of a bum deal when a simple investigation would have revealed the truth. There is no free lunch. Africa is full of pitfalls and traps. Travel a well-know path with the personal recommendations of someone you know and trust. Not hype... but "I've been there recently" information. This site has a huge amount of experience from which you can borrow. The Carr lists, for example... stuff about tips to the staff, what Zim companies are failing or in bed with the wrong folks. READ! PRACTICE! Don't show up with a set of shooting sticks that have never been openned, much less used. Get a .22 that has an action like your DG rifle and shoot it a couple of thousand times at pictures of game you have cut out of magazines, for instance.

Again, if you want to ruin a "trip of a lifetime" for yourself and you hunting buddies, just show up, too darn lazy to have read and learned, under-monied, with a rifle that doesn't work and with which you can't hit crap.. and a know-it-all attitude.

It usually cost well over $1000 a day (all inclusive) to hunt DG in Africa. It takes extreme patience to sit in a Safari car and eat up that money (not to speak of the time) and watch an idiot continue to screw up while your clock is running.

It has happened to me twice. But not again. (No good deed goes unpunished). It just isn't necessary. Read, learn... Go to SCI and Dallas and eat lunch with a PH or two and get the real low down on what to expect. Do this for your own sake if you are hunting alone, or for your buddy if 2x1. It can make (or break) a trip.

Heck, it cost $15 to get the field version of "The Perfect Shot" from Cabelas. Can anyone think of a reason to spend $15,000 and screw up the trip because the $15 was too much money.

I just ate my last donut until I get back from TZ!

Also, I found out several years ago that the small tensors that keep you balanced on rough ground get no training at all from exercising on treadmills and sidewalks. You've gotta find some way to do cross-country exercise for hunting trips.

JudgeG,

Well said - not only did you hit the nail on the head for hunting Africa, but most of that fundamental advice should be applied to everyday life.

Terry, your message is timely and true, and Judge, your insights are absolutely right on the "money", no pun intended.

Self-discipline is the hardest thing to marshall sometimes, but if you're willing to educate yourself and become of a student of Africana, work hard, save your money -- in other words, quit blowing your disposable income on junk you can do very well without -- keep your mouth shut and your ears open, learn to shoot, and yes, stay in good shape, African hunting is a most worthy ambition.

Never, ever expect something for nothing, because if you do, "nothing" is what you surely deserve, and "nothing" is exactly what you're going to get back. Generally, you get out of any venture in exact proportion to what you, personally, put into it, both in terms of time and monetary investment. Deitrich Apel said it best: "Quality is never an accident, but always the result of an intelligent effort". Those words "intelligent effort" weigh at least a hundred pounds each! So if you want a quality African hunting experience, don't expect an accidental miracle, or for provision to drop out of the sky, but rather make your experience exceptional via your own intelligent, diligent, honorable effort.

And get yourself the best binoculars and rifles you can possibly afford. Idiots and undeserving imbeciles blow lifetime opportunities for a lot of reasons, but don't blow your dream African hunt because you were too improvident to invest in good binoculars and scopes, plus a rifle that functions 100%, shoots where you aim it, and stays together without coming apart.

The truth is, once you're in Africa, you're never exactly sure when you're going to get back, even if you can afford a blowout safari every year. The world is changing fast, and it's growing more dangerous every day. Political issues, your health, etc., etc., can preclude you from going back EVER again, and personally, I treat every safari as if I'll never be able to go back, even though I usually have at least one more in the pipeline for the next year or two.

My faternal grandfather was fond of saying "Weight's (think "wait") what broke the wagon down, so get up, and get going!"

AD

Judge G

There is a lot of information in your post. I'm sorry, but it sounds like your whole hunt was a clusterfuck.

For those of you not paying attention reread the Judge's post and learn how not to go to Africa and be a pain in everybody's Ass. Why ruin other people's hunt because you are an unprepared idiot.

Better off to pay the extra $100-200/day and hunt one on one. Then you can laugh at/with the other guy.

I have never hunted two-on-one -- ever -- and I suggest that no one else does, either. Two-on-one is false-economy, and it's a practice that has ruined more than a few friendships over the years.

Don't do it............

AD

Terry, well said and good advice!

Alan, your words if I remember correctly "I treat every Safari as if I will never go back" should be taken to heart! While it is difficult to plan for everything it makes life so much easier for you and all involved to take such an approach.

JudgeG, as always you are a wealth of information and I for one have gained much insight through your writings, discussion, and words of wisdom...you pretty much said it all with respect to being prepared!

I find it difficult to understand how your hunting partner could be so ill prepared...makes you wonder anyway! The part about not having the funds to pay for animals taken in very sad indeed! Sorry things did not go so well...but there is always next time!!!

Regards, jjs

I feel oblidged to endorse allen day's statement that "Judge your insights are absolutely right on the "money", no pun intended."

Your posting should be somehow pinned at the top of all pasts for all to read.

Well done Judge!

Andrew McLaren

My hunt wasn't a total cluster*&^%*$. I had a great time and saw tons of game. You can't travel with better companions that Dale Bundy and Lee Davenport. However, it was brought dramatically upon me that preparation is not to be presumed. Africa isn't something to take casually, particularly if you really want to enjoy it.

The comments above and in prior posts do not necessarily reflect upon any particular safari and were a fictional creation for the amusement of the reader and may, or may not, have been pieced together from a lifetime of hunting by the writer or his evil twin, Skippy... is that a good enough disclaimer?

I'm with the guys who say that the next safari you take may be your last... even if is your first.

As to the comments about 2x1 hunting, I've never had a better time than when sharing a safari with 1115 (Dale Bundy)... but our mutual desire was to contribute, not tax... but selfless guys like him don't just fall off of trees.

I just read what I wrote and went and weighed. I'll going to post a challenge to myself to lose some weight before I go to Africa again... and I went and got my .404 Jeffery and put a Leupold 1.5x5 on it... and put three down and one up the chamber and worked the action 50 cycles. Then I "shot" all the animals on "Animal Planet". (I wonder what the tree-huggers would do if they knew I dry-fired at the kittens and cute little bears and stuff that come on that channel?)

My advice isn't much worth if I don't take it myself. Anyone want to bet that I can't lose 1/6th of my body weight by March 1st.

.... but I'll still order the Cajun seafood platter at Ray's upcoming birthday at Dallas Safari Club....

A lot of people I know give 10-15k for a Harley but think it is a sin to give over a grand for a rifle.

T.Carr you may be right on some points but a lot of people can barely put food on the table much less spend 15k to 30k for an African Safari.

Jarrod:

You are right about some folks having a hard time economically. Usually that is the result of decisions made when 15 years old or so... that education and planning for the future aren't as important as "what's happening now".

Anyone can afford college if they are willing to serve their country for 5 or so years... and learn a pretty lucrative trade in the meantime, too. The G.I. bill paid my way to law school, so I ain't just whistling "Dixie".

If you can do anything for your kids, teach them that deferred satisfaction is a heck of a lot better than living hand to mouth and you'll have done most of your job as a parent.

Still, I always get a kick out of us South Georgia boys, driving a $40K pickup and living in a $20 singlewide. It all has to do with priorities.

For example, I just was retained by a fellow who mortgaged his house in Jimmy Carter years with a 16.5% interest rate and never once attempted to re-finance. (He's now having trouble getting the loan company to mark the Deed to Secure Debt as satisfied).

His excuse was that he "thought" that he had poor credit... I reckon so at that interest rate!

He looked at my African stuff on the wall in my office and said that he wished he could have afforded to go once on Safari. Heck, he "over-paid" on his mortgage enough to go on half-a-dozen trips to RSA.

Most anyone can get there. Don't buy a new car for a couple of more years (That's $5K)... Take lunches to work (That's $5 a day, for goodness sake). Drink tap water. It is amazing what you can save each and every day. Just make sure to put the savings away as you make them. By watching the "pile" grow, it will encourage more saving and heighten the anticipation.

You can go and hunt in RSA or Namibia for $7k, including airfare and getting skull mounts and skins back. Can't everyone find $5 a day to save. That's less than one pop at a bar. Who needs 150 t.v. channels... Books are free at the library. If you get a tax return, stash half of it.

Begin today. You'll never regret it.

As Judge G said learn to shoot your rifle. The best compliment that I think that I have ever had when shooting game was from one of the trackers. He told the PH something, then they smiled. The PH then told me what the tracker said. He said that he was happy that the hunter only shot when told to do so and that he, the hunter, made good kills, nothing to chase. Yes, I did practice, but I think when I go again, third trip, I will learn to shoot off of sticks much better. It is harder that you think if you have never done it before, especialy if they are too short for your height.

During the past eleven years, I have been on forty one guided hunts. I thought I was indestructible (LOL), and that there was nothing I couldn't do in the way of hunting. Unfortunately, I just confirmed that I am in fact mortal. This summer, while training for a goat hunt in BC, I twisted my knee during a jogging session and couldn't walk, let alone run, for several weeks. It has now been a month and a half, and I am just now starting to walk two miles in the morning, but the knee hurts like he11 afterwards. The doctor tells me that I need arthroscopic surgery soon. I called the outfitter and he has been more than accomodating. I switched the hunt to a bear hunt, which should be a bit less demanding than a goat hunt would be. After I get back, I go the surgical route.

My point in relaying this information is that you shouldn't wait too long to do that African safari. Something might happen that would make it impossible for you to do. For me, it would have to be a whole lot worse than what happened to my knee. I will put up with pain to go hunting. Still, I am now limited a bit, if only for this fall.

Go now. Tomorrow might never come.

Gentlemen, this is a very telling post. LOTS to read between the lines and Terry's post provided the catalyst for all the "walking on eggshells" that's been going on here and on the African Hunting Report" forum ( except for mrlexma !)

As customary, the "usual suspects" of sage and wise counsel - Allen, Terry, Judge, etc" spoke VOLUMES with their short prose.

EVerybody here knows what I do for a living ( I am not a rich man and with three in college!), yet I am already planning for my next safari, I plan it like a mission, then train, train, train to the plan and execute.

I did go on my buffalo hunt with my best friend and my wife too!, but we had two PHs and we paid for it. My rifles I practiced years in advance and under realisitc conditions. There was NO WAY I was going to miss that buffalo even at 125 yards and moving (yep,I'm boasting, I have a big ego,it comes with being a naval aviator,ask the Judge)

I just returned from the rifle range with my 338 and new Leupold VXIII 1,5X5 with an illuminated reticle I just purchased, even though my safari is over two years away and like the Judge says, I'll do lots of practicing from my couch, bench AND shooting sticks.

When I get ready to go, I'll be right here asking all of you many questions again and I'll never go until I am ready physically, emotionally and financially. Then I will EXECUTE THE PLAN and I'll have one very dead leopard, shot right trough the very "spot" I was aiming for. God willing that is. jorge

Sound wisdom Terry and thanks to you for it.

JudgeG,

I'll take that bet!!!!! I'll bet you another lobster dinner at Morton's. With the chocolate cake dessert!!.
I have had two successful trips to Africa thanks largley to drawing on advice from JudgeG and also from some who post here who obviously know what they are doing. Anyone who goes on an expensive hunt anywhere, unprepared and uninformed, should expect a sub-standard experience. However, if someone is humble enough to learn from their mistakes and not blame others, it is not a total loss. Hopefully my next trip (21 days next year I hope) will be as good as my last two. I will do everything I can to make it happen. As long as Diana smiles on me again I will feel blessed. On our recent hunt, each evening at dinner we gave thanks for where we were, and the priviledge that we were enjoying. Just to "be there" is a blessing. Anything else is icing on the cake.

It really is just a matter of prioritys.

We all live in boxes we make for ourselves. If you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. Sometimes it just takes a little determination.

That ATV you haven't rode since last hunting season...sell it. You can get another after you get back.

The deer lease, drop it. You probably aren't satisfied with it anyways.

Get a weekend/second job. I know a couple brothers who do house painting and roofing on the weekends so they can afford to go elkhunting every year. Same applies to Africa.

I know one guy who claims he can't afford an african trip but goes fishing in Alaska every year. I know about how many fishing trips I would forego in order to get to Africa once.

That neighbor you have been trying to keep up with...the next time he comes over to brag about his landscaping, show him your safari picts.

Thin down your gun activities. If it doesn't apply to your trip, put it off or ignore it. No varmint hunts, SASS competitions, IDPA matches or whatever.

I guess in short, decide you want it, focus on it, prepare for it and do whatever it takes to make it happen. It really is worth it.

Guys,

If money or whatever is really the issue keeping you from safari don't keep on doing what your doing because you'll never get to Africa. Make a plan and arrange your life so you CAN go. Make a safari a priority rather than a dream. If you really think about it most of us could do a safari even if we had to plan 3 years out. As has been suggested don't buy a car for a few years, borrow against your retirement, get a home equity loan. Make it happen and you'll have no regret. There is no experience quite like Safari.

Regards,

Mark

There is much wisdom in the above posts. I told myself I would go “somedayâ€, but never planned for it. Had some health trouble, and my best friend told me, “you’re not getting any younger, and you owe it to yourself to do this while you still can.†So, no new car that year, cut out the IPSC and Sporting Clays, dropped one frivolous trip to Vegas, and Viola! My two buffalo from Dande North are much more important to me than driving a new truck would have been.

Now the truck is 9 years old, but I will put $500 in repairs into it again this year and drive it some more. Working a few more consulting jobs to pick up some cash, and by next summer, I’ll be ready for another adventure. I never would have gotten started without the urging of that friend, and he knows who he is, and I think he knows I’m forever grateful. He’s also the only person I could ever imagine hunting 2x1 with, and we had an absolute ball. We also agreed that it is false economy, and we’ll be hunting 1x1 each from the same camp next time.

I am fortunate to have a retirement which will meet my monetary needs for as long as I live. There's not a lot extra but we can live very comfortably on it. I paint houses to earn "fron pocket" money and "play money". I will be making my fourth safari since '98 this September.

In '98, I was still working and took a second mortgage on my house to make the trip. In 2000, I retired at 51 years of age and paid the mortgage and the second when I sold the house and built a new one. That's when I started working part-time jobs to make hunting money. In '01 I only had to take $5,000 from my equity line to make the trip. In '03 I was able to pay of the trip when I returned from TZN. Now, for this trip...it's already paid for, in full before I leave the US. That's a nice feeling. PLUS, with judicious use of several plans, I will be flying business class instead of in the "cramped" section.

If you sit down with a piece of paper and make a plan, AND STICK TO IT, anything is possible.

Don't just dream about it...do it!

Bull1

I always wanted to go and hunt Africa..As a young man I read Corbett then Hunter's book...Then I was given to read a first edition
" The maneaters of Tsavo...I read this book 3 times before returning it...I was hooked..Did the education thing, married my college sweetheart and then raised a family...Now it was Dad's time to play...Made plans for 2004 for Africa with two life long friends..
Unfortunately they never made it..In late fall of 2001 both died one of cancer and the other going hunting was run down when he stopped to help out at an accident scene..
I was sick at heart and soul..At the new year came, I told my wife I was going to Africa...She looks at me and says " What " Did not have a plan nor outfitter or rifle but spoke to someone here and they told me to read Bottington's African rifles book did that and made my choice...The venerable 375..In the summer of 2002 I made the first trip to Africa..
for plains game...In 04 I went to Zim and shot a bull ele and nyati.. To make a dream come true I won the AR 16 day buff hunt...I upgraded to 21 days and will do a life long dream of hunting the Selous an unbelievable 21 days...
Another friend said, "Wow Mike you have been to Africa once then a second trip and now returning for a third, what memories.."


Mike

My best friend nows how badly I lust for our next trip. Right now(as a second job), he has me cleaning a speed increasing gearbox for the boiler feed pump in a coal fired power plant. It is as big as the average room in your house and I am using a metal toothbrush.
My wife who detests house cleaning has been cleaning four house's for nine months and has not touched one dime of her Africa money.

Yea, it's really bad when you get the sickness!!!

JudgeG:

Your comment about deferred gratification is spot on. But it applies equally well to going to Africa in the first place. If a certain well known Oregonian would not have invested the money he made logging off a certain hillside in NW Oregon, I am sure he could have gone on a wonderful hunt. Instead, he invested it in a business and today hunts more than just about anyone on this board.

I can assure you that the booking agent did his job by sending numerous e-mails with "get ready" information. The client was referred to T. Carr's lists and dozens of posts here. Heck, the PH has all that stuff on his website.

The travel agent did her job wonderfully, but was directed to make the reservations on the the wrong day.. and there's more to it than that, but...she's a lady. The PH's wife sent a detailed cost sheet that was very specific as to what was included and what not... and got stiffed for the rifle import fee and a kongoni trophy fee (and the client was still trying to kill stuff after being told that he needed to pay at the end of the safari in cash or Amex traveler's checks) and the PH got no tip even though he donated about 1/3 of the trip. Guess who made up the difference? I did... and I had to borrow $2k to have the money for this trip that I still owe, besides raffling off an expensive rifle to pay for two of the animals taken. Think I've gotten a thank you note or e-mail... nope! Why the hell do you think I sold my Westley Richard as soon as I got back. To make up the difference.

Another guy had to pay for the client's hotel room upon arrival... two days at $150 a day. The extra ammo "fine" was totally predictable. 11 pounds is 11 pounds, who needs to convert to kilos, even if they are a light colonel (but the Army keeps kilos a secret from REMF's I guess). For goodness sake, the weight limits on ammo are on the the damn KLM and NWA website and we write here about that stuff every day.

I should have know that it was hopeless when I got an e-mail asking if we needed to use Optima in Jo'burg and I had to point out that Dar was several hours away from there by jet. This was months after receiving a detailed travel schedule.

Funny thing, though, no money in the Selous but... when we got back to Dar, the teller machine sure did spit out money for trinkets to take home???

I wouldn't have said a darn thing if the posts didn't seem to blame someone else for the lack of preparations and Pierre's fundi hadn't been blamed for not getting a lock for the damaged TuffPac... We had 12 hours in Dar to get a lock/chain, but trinkets were more important, I guess. And the swollen ankle... about the size of a grape, not a softball. And it occured while following up on a wounded buffalo that was shot without the PH's go ahead.

If I had some guys giving me a safari, I'd have darn sure thought twice about a "home defense" course that cost a bundle instead of biting the hands that fed me.

I'll say no more, but it pissed me off big time to read that crap about Silva not coming through with a lock. That was the attitude of the entire trip, btw.

You all know the daily cost of a DG hunt. I sat in camp instead of enduring the continual screw ups. You would have, too.

Being fair, I missed a buffalo because my rifle sight failed. I should have seen it coming. I shot hundreds of shots and had the thing perfect, but didn't have enough sense to make sure that no force known to nature would cause it to go out of adjustment. IT WAS MY DAMN FAULT.... now how hard was that to say.

A gentleman would keep his mouth shut, but when my very, very professional friends are left swinging, I revert to my pissed off self. Please excuse me.

Thank the Good Lord for three days of 1x1 at the beginning of my safari.

Judge, I'm dumbfounded and have no idea how to expess my sympathy for for your situation or my complete indignation at the moron who caused it. Let me think about it for a while.

I must say I am with forrest on this. I was speechless after I read your post. I had followed the whole planning stages of the safari in question and was thrilled to see generous people like Judge, Saeed, Piere and other annonymous members making this safari a reality.

I was touched by the rifle auction conducted by JudgeG and I have to say that I don't personally know JudgeG but can tell that he is a great fellow and I would love to share a campfire with him, regardless of the fact that he is a lawyer by profession.

Just for the heck of it I copied this off of Pierre's website at http://www.pierrevantondersafaris.co.za/default.htm :

Services of a professional hunter as required.
Radio equipped 4-wheel drive vehicle per professional hunter.
Fully private tent including insect proof sleeping quarters, toilet and shower in Tanzania.
Fully equipped camp including beds, linen, lighting, refrigeration and first aid kit.
Trained staff including trackers, skinners, cooks, waiters and porters.
Daily laundry service.
Availability of satellite telephone (calls charged per minute)
All beverages.
Excellent cuisine.
Field preparation of all trophies and transport to port of export.
A competent company representative to assist you upon arrival and departure.

"Enough said?"

JudgeG,

I can't adequately describe my emotions about this. I can whole heartedly thank you for your sincere efforts, both monetarily and time wise to contribute to the "safari" experience to one of our own here at AR. I myself bought into the "zebra rifle" raffle, and honestly if I had won I would have "donated" the rifle back to help defray the safari costs. I felt it was just a little way to contribute to our AR community and express a thanks to our service men who defend our country.

I'm not eloquent like you JudgeG, and like most internet postings my comments usually do not come across exactly as I would wish...Suffice to say, JudgeG you have my utmost respect and admiration. You did your best, beyond what was required, and people will remember you for it.

On a positive note, your lion experience is one of legends and may that be the one you carry with you.

Sincerely,

John

I forgot something. The client had a WHOLE DAY in Dar es Salaam BEFORE he ever took the charter into the Selous to get a lock... not to mention the 12 hours when he got back. I gotta go to sleep before I pop. To top it all off, the PH's website clearly explains that only 100 rounds of ammo is allowed into Tanzania. The whole TuffPac fiasco would have been avoided if the client had just read what was allowed instead of trying to bring in too much weight and too many rounds.

Sleep, per chance to dream.... Heck it's a Larium day. Maybe I'll dream something like naked womens, good Scotch and sturdy receiver sights?

quote:

Still I always get a kick out of us South Georgia boys, driving a 40k pickup and living in a $20 dollar singlewide

Sounds like a lot of people I know around here.
I'm using the G.I. bill now to pay for college.

Ernest: I am truly sorry this well-intentioned gesture on your part and the others that contributed, turned into a huge disaster, especially for you. I am still incredulous as to what I read on your posts. I'm speechless and I guess I better let it go at that. jorge