quote:

Originally posted by darkside:
Not an African animal but....
I was sheep hunting a few years back. The policy was blood on the ground, you pay. I'm good with that. We snuck up to within 150 yards of a broadside ram. At the shot we were close enough to see the impact in the shoulder. The band of sheep including mine ran over a small rise out of sight. 1/2 hour later we walk over the rise expecting a dead sheep. My guide catches a glimpse of my sheep bailing off the side of the mountain with an obvious hitch in gait. There were no other sheep with him. Long story short, we looked and looked and looked and never found him or even a drop of blood on the ground. We both figured the sheep was dead somewhere. So we packed up the gear and headed back to camp. Guide said we'll try another mountain the next day. I told him the hunt was over. He explained we never found any blood. I told him the right thing to do was end the hunt as we both know the sheep probably wasn't alive and I ended the hunt. He was a bit shocked. I did get a discount on the same hunt a few years later and did get a big ram on the ground.

Darkside,

You make a very good point. I was first of the persuasion that it is only right to pay a farmer for his livestock, ala private ranch hunting, for a wounded animal. Same for any other animal that has to be taken off of a quota due to a non fatal shot.

Contrast to North America public land hunts. The outfitter does not own the animal, so I do not see the reasoning behind him charging a hunter for wounding it.

Then I had an experience like yours. I shot a mule deer at last light. From the reaction, we knew he was hit, but not how bad. We looked for him down the draw for hours, no trace of blood. Later that night, the outfitter told me not to worry, it will be OK by him to shoot another buck.

I would not do it. That was my deer out there in the canyon. If I shot poorly enough to lose it, so be it. It's my loss. The hunt would be over.

The next day we went back to the canyon. Instead of looking farther down the draw, we decided to start looking from the spot where I shot him. We found him dead in the very first brush pile.

My very first trip I took an ill advised shot at a buffalo and lost him. In addition to the $1800 trophy fee we spent two days trying to find him. Strange but I felt the fee was appropriate punishment for my mistake.
The unfortunate part was there were no more available to the outfitter so I had to wait three years before I got my first buffalo.

A terrific (southern) Impala. Late in the day he fell at the shot then regained his feet and limped into the nearby bush. Saw him again just before the light ran out but missed the hurried shot. Lots of blood, chunks of fat and one clearly dragging foreleg. I was assured we'd recover him in the morning.
After a fitful night we did find him, on his feet but not offering a shot. Followed his disticntive spoor off and on for three days before losing him completely. I paid up and the owner assured me I'd get my horns if they found him dead. Several years later visiting the same guy there was a 27 1/2" Impala on his wall. He told me they'd found it dead... guess he forgot huh?

I never complained. I had after all still screwed up the shot. I'm just glad the ram wasn't lost completely.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Been there, done that on warthog.

Seems lots of us screw up on warties....

You would be surprised to see how far a warthog can run on empty. I have recovered wounded 'hogs a day after being shot, hung it in the cold room and after 24 hours, there are only a few drops of blood on the floor.

I hit and paid for a large Eland bull on my one safari. I was sick and we had been on the chase for 4 hours when I finally got my chance, it was running up a small hill about 100 yards ahead of me facing me, I hit it between the knuckle of the shoulder and the neck. There were two bulls and when they ran within about 50 yards from me broadside I wasn't sure which one I had shot so I figured one is cheaper than two.

$1600 US

Not one but two!
And nearly four until we were able to pinpoint the problem with the poor shooting and I swapped the gun.

Both lost were zebra last fall in Namibia; we nearly lost a kudu (found the following morning), and hartebeest (backed up by the PH, blessed be the man).

I might have gotten a back-up shot on the 1st zebra but it was getting late and I was wearing my prescription sunglasses (with the glasses in the truck, of course) and I plain didn't see the zebra when he stopped in the middle of the track offering a good shot.
We tracked both zebra until it got dark and well into the next day. The other we got a quick glimpse of but I got no shot and as the wind was in his favor, we ended up losing him, too.

It hurts to pay for the wounded animals, but I do still think it is perfectly justified.

For misses - no.

- Lars/Finland

Interesting question! My answer is Yes, on my first hunt to Africa in Namibia 1979, on a nice Kudu Bull. I shot, it went down (behind a bit of a Kpoje...BUT the PH/ranch Owner just said sit, he smoked a cigarette, and 15 minutes later we went for the trophy...it was gone! DUH!! I couldn't figure out what his motive was...we probably could have got him if we had gone after it immediately...we wasted better part of a day tracking, good blood, finally saw it top over a high peak, blood streaking from a hit above the lungs and below the spine!! UURRGGHH!! Then the remorse that evening.NOT FUN!! I took another smaller one later on the hunt, yes I paid. Interestingly, the animal was found shortly after I left by the ranch staff, probably following the birds...and I received the cape and horns with my trophy shipment...it is listed as a pick-up in the SCI book...

470EDDY:

quote:

Interestingly, the animal was found shortly after I left by the ranch staff, probably following the birds...and I received the cape and horns with my trophy shipment...it is listed as a pick-up in the SCI book...

Why would it be listed as a "pick up" if it was confirmed to be the animal that you shot (albeit wounded and lost)and recovered shortly after your departure?
Does it say somewhere that the animal has to be recovered in the presence of the hunter for it to qualify as a personal kill?
Just asking.

Yes - twice. Paid without question - both shots where my screw-ups and drew blood, minuscule but blood none the less. Several hours of tracking (hard tracking) and could not find either one. I was given the choice of continuing to try to find the animal or calling it done. I called it done and paid the fees at the end without question.

Rule 1 - Know the rules going in whatever they may be
Rule 2 - Don't like the rules, don't book the hunt
Rule 3 - Follow the rules and don't complain about the rules you knew going in

Aiiiieeeeeeeeee .... In '94 I was hunting with a 24 year old PH in the Matetsi area and we had decided to whack a cow buffalo for lion bait .. We were following a herd of buffalo and the guide was damn near running after the herd as it slowly walked away .. (???) I had no idea why we didn't circle around the herd and wait but I was paying and he was the guide .. Soon we were about forty yards behind the last three or four buffalo and as they topped the hill in front of us Gary told me to shoot the buffalo with the broken back leg !!! So I stopped and threw up the 416 Mag and shot the buffalo .. (In the same damn broken leg. I saw the dot on it as the gun fired.) It stumbled and then topped out and was gone ... The PH glared at me and asked why I had shot ??? Aaarghhhh !!! I couldn't have been more surprised it he had kissed me !!!! 'Because you told me !' I whimpered ...

We climbed the hill and followed the tracks .. Within a quarter of a mile we came on the herd stopped and looking at us .. Gary ran hard at the herd .. which gave one horrified look and tore off .. The dust was so thick we couldn't have seen a grey hound bus ... He repeated this outstand maneouvre several more times that long day ... eventually the buffalo split up and were long gone .. and I paid the full trophy fee for it ... bothered me for years and I am not sure if it was 100% the fault of the Larium ..

Fujotupu...that was the ruling of the GrandePupa of the SCI recordbook and my taxidermist at the time who was the GrandePupa's close friend and also the teacher of the measuring programme!! I was too young to know or care...and I still don't care, I have the trophy and it is a nice 54" Kudu...not bad on the first hunt!!

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
In Europe its very common now to be charged ~250 euros for a MISS

Just a note on EU charges on misses.

Usually EU hunts are not charged as African ones are. I am not sure what hunts Anton had in mind but basic difference (I am speaking very broadly) is that the main price goes to the Trophy fee once the game is shot, not to the daily fees.

Basic daily fees are usually something like 50€/day no matter the quarry and the wast majority of EU hunts constitutes according to the trophy that you pay once it is on the ground (yours). Only then a CIC spoints score apply as a gliding scale.

However things happen and one do miss on occasion, therefore upon regulations here every shot on big game that supposedly missed, has to be checked with a Professsional guide with tracking dog (and that is what you usually pay for), to pronounce a shot a miss or a hit (and tries to retrieve your wounded game) - remember no Trackers here on Northern Hemisphere (no Tips either). So for 200 - 250 € you get a sound work of a professional that would get you your trophy. Upon a broad number of data we (central EU) came up with facts that 15-20% pronounced misses (no sign by animal on shot and no sign of blood, hair...found on the ground, ends up with not only findings of wounding but actually retrieving the wounded game...

so pick your poison - and 250 for a miss here in EU is far from bitter at the end - once the guy has looked over the trail and couldn't found the wounded game you are cleared from all charges and you dont have to pay for anything else but Trackers Tip (upon your discretion ofcourse)

I did a search for a stag in Romania. First page I clicked.

IMO this is wrong

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
IMO this is wrong

By all means - tho you always have to double check things in Romania, Bulgaria...use a good outfiter or do a headbangin' homework

P.S.: Here is what a decent fundamentals of CE hunt looks like - I mean Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia. If things are not like on that picture, somebody (usually "outfooter" ) is pulling your leg: