I think the thought of not being able to hunt Africa has probably crossed most of our minds.

That said, what are some of your "other" pursuits? Cars, Motorcycles, Boats?

I would find it interesting. We all have Hunting in common (and guns) but what else boils your blood?

For me, big horsepower boats and riding bicycles.

Steve

Ranching, light tackle sport fishing and bird shooting. I also enjoy traveling and collecting sporting and western art.

Perhaps another 1969 Corvette (427, of course).
Double rifles, double rifles, double rifles.
Travel the lower 48 with my Black Lab, my wife, my ex wife, and my girlfriend.
Hunt and travel Alaska.
I have to be fatalistic but I have thought for years we are fighting a losing battle in both the hunting and gun ownership areas. The NRA and other groups may be delaying the end of what we love, but the end is in sight. Even with the NRA to slow the assaults, there are more and more gun laws. Hunting is slowly being chipped away.
It's just a matter of time.
I truly hope I am wrong.
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Perhaps another 1969 Corvette (427, of course).
Double rifles, double rifles, double rifles.
Travel the lower 48 with my Black Lab, my wife, my ex wife, and my girlfriend.
Hunt and travel Alaska.
I have to be fatalistic but I have thought for years we are fighting a losing battle in both the hunting and gun ownership areas. The NRA and other groups may be delaying the end of what we love, but the end is in sight. Even with the NRA to slow the assaults, there are more and more gun laws. Hunting is slowly being chipped away.
It's just a matter of time.
I truly hope I am wrong.
Cal

Hi Cal,

That's essentially my point without sounding fatalistic. I see no way around your conclusion. If you look at the entire universe of African hunting it is a number of about 10,000. (that's Craig Boddington's number) Of that, how many Elephants are shot per year? Perhaps 2,000 (legally)

Lions? 4-500 maybe. So 500 hundred people a year shoot a lion. 500 out of the entire population of earth. That is statistically Zero.

Point being we have less than no voice, we sound and look like nuts trying to defend killing all these "endangered species." I obviously am a hunter, a passionate one. I am also a realist.

I see this ending in a manner that will look somewhat like the Australian model of gun control. Leaving America with a gun to travel will be unheard of. Entering another country with your firearm will be even more unheard of.

Cal and I and a few other AR guys did a DR buffalo hunt a couple years ago. Getting the guns in and out proved to be a circle jerk. I probably would not ever go back there with guns.

If our future is one of no International hunting and no real domestic shooting sport freedom's. Heck, I just don't know.

Steve

Indeed Steve, the thought has crossed my mind, for various reasons.

I've always loved performance cars. Hiking, walking the dog, working out and tennis....when work does not get in the way haha.

Golf is my new obsession. Learning a new sport/activity at 50 is pretty cool. Frustrating as hell at times and humbling, but cool.

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:
Ranching, light tackle sport fishing and bird shooting. I also enjoy traveling and collecting sporting and western art.

I forgot fishing!! I love fishing in South America, specifically Brazil. Go have a look in the fishing section, I have a few reports from South America in there.

Steve

Fishing is something I do when I can't hunt. Shooting is something I do all the time.


.

I enjoy working on my farm, doing tractor work and improving the place for wildlife. I also "enjoy" yard work, gardening, and working around home. I like the lake and boating, which are in my back yard as well as visiting our place on the beach, just six hours away.

I'd get more into fishing and would shoot birds wherever they were available.

I reckon if international hunting were not an option, I'd probably have an exotic car or two and an airplane.

I'd continue traveling and would see as much of the world as I reasonably could.

I'd probably retire earlier as well as I'd spend so much less anually.

Fly fishing saltwater flats for bonefish, permit and redfish…

Great fun and very challenging, at least for me.

I've gotten back into horses after a 25 year break from it.
Just pleasure horses, I never was a real cowboy, just liked having a good horse to pet & ride.
I've got one I've been threatening my wife to bring into the house to watch TV with me.
Like Will, I enjoy working on my property, it's just 7 acres, but I do love it.

Interesting thread Steve.

I have a rule to keep hunting expenditures to a fixed percentage of income. Then I cheat by doing it on a pre-tax basis.

I love hunting africa but as safaris add up I am losing a little interest in killing stuff. Taxidermy is not my thing - I like it in other peoples houses/offices.

I own more guns than I need - only a Blaser needs to be added to the collection.

I got a nice bow set up but archery did not really do it.

I am trying to get into photography and taking a nature photography class at a local college - tomorrow is last day and I hate being around the photo crowd. Spending time in a photo camp in Africa with the photo crowd would be painful for me.

Reading - but this year I have not read much if anything.

Taking up paddle boarding. I want to learn to ride a motorbike - so that will get checked off the list in next 3 months.

Fishing - but I don't do much of it these days. Def want to go do the trip in Amazon.

Only thing I like more than hunting/guns is work - I like investing and financial markets.

If I had only one thing to do it would be work. But I do read a lot of AR at work when I need a break (every 15 minutes).

Mike

Driving much more slowly than I want to in a very fast car, and SCUBA diving in tropical waters.

Life is tough.

Circa 1970’s: “Gosh with the closing of Kenya first for elephant hunting and then for all hunting, it is just a matter of time until safari hunting in Africa as we know it is dead. What a pity.”

Circa 1980’s: “Gee, Botswana has closed down elephant hunting and now so has Zambia. With the bush wars in Sudan and Angola, they are off limits for hunting too. I better start looking for a new hobby.”

Circa 1990’s: “Wow, the aftermath of the civil war and the droughts and then floods in Mozambique spell the end of safari hunting in Mozambique. It will never come back. Harry Manners must be in tears.”

Circa 2000’s: “Holy moly, the price of safaris has become prohibitive. It has truly become a sport only for the richest of the rich. My dreams of going on safari will remain just that . . . a dream.”

Circa 2014: “Botswana is gone . . . again. Zambia has its issues . . . again. The USFWS is on a crusade to abolish all hunting. I better start looking for a new hobby . . . again.”

The point is that while the character of safari hunting will always be evolving and changing, with old problems getting resolved and new challenges arising, my guess is that years from now hunters will still be talking about how the challenges then being faced mean the eventual demise of safari hunting . . . again. The older we all get the more and more we sound like our fathers.

At my age, and living in Texas, I feel that I will be able to hunt here at least for as long as my health holds out. Fishing is actually something I love more than hunting so it is something else I will do as long as I am able.

Lora and I have a small farming operation with hair sheep/Llamas and poultry along with a dog and a bunch o' kitties, and those will be part of my life till mine or their time comes.

I am extremely fortunate to be "working" for a friend of 40+ years, out in the field everyday, taking care of deer feeders and blinds, doing a little guiding for deer during season and hogs whenever. The best part is I get to take care of a herd of 35 buffalo, which is something I dearly love to do.

I have felt that hunting was going to be relegated to the way the system is in Europe for about 20 years now. Only the rich or powerful will be able to "Hunt" on intensively managed private properties/estates.

Anti's are only one of the contributing factors to the loss of hunting, but they are the most powerful and aggressive factor in my opinion.

My most favorite "Secondary" hobbies, is Life.

I am just high on life, every day is an adventure. I have realized and accepted the fact that I have more days behind me than I do ahead, so I live everyday to its fullest, as if it were my last.

Interesting observation Mike, and so true. Like Randall, I'm thinking of getting back into fishing. As I get older, it's just a little easier.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Circa 1970’s: “Gosh with the closing of Kenya first for elephant hunting and then for all hunting, it is just a matter of time until safari hunting in Africa as we know it is dead. What a pity.”

Circa 1980’s: “Gee, Botswana has closed down elephant hunting and now so has Zambia. With the bush wars in Sudan and Angola, they are off limits for hunting too. I better start looking for a new hobby.”

Circa 1990’s: “Wow, the aftermath of the civil war and the droughts and then floods in Mozambique spell the end of safari hunting in Mozambique. It will never come back. Harry Manners must be in tears.”

Circa 2000’s: “Holy moly, the price of safaris has become prohibitive. It has truly become a sport only for the richest of the rich. My dreams of going on safari will remain just that . . . a dream.”

Circa 2014: “Botswana is gone . . . again. Zambia has its issues . . . again. The USFWS is on a crusade to abolish all hunting. I better start looking for a new hobby . . . again.”

The point is that while the character of safari hunting will always be evolving and changing, with old problems getting resolved and new challenges arising, my guess is that years from now hunters will still be talking about how the challenges then being faced mean the eventual demise of safari hunting . . . again. The older we all get the more and more we sound like our fathers.

Hi Mike,

I just got back from a bike race. (that I had to withdraw from) I was riding 12-15 hours a day, for 8-1/2 days. In that race, I rode alone most of the time, I thought things through from soup to nuts for countless hours on end.

I thought about Africa, hunting, society and the current state of affairs in America. I don't think your examples can be applied to today. We are getting hammered from ALL sides. We have no allies.

I think the only way to keep it alive would be for our "side" to give the corrupt African governments more money that whom ever is funding them now.

That's just on that side. The USFWS is obviously a huge component of this, it Hilary wins, the admin will most likely stay the same.

Heck GWB put the polar bears on cities one. He's no liberal, was considered a friend to sportsmen.

We were fine as long as we were under the radar. Rank and file America cannot believe you can still go kill Elephants and Lions.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Interesting observation Mike, and so true. Like Randall, I'm thinking of getting back into fishing. As I get older, it's just a little easier.

Agree 100%. I can fish in Brazil for 7 days, I get almost the same thrill catching huge exotics as hunting buffalo, no taxidermy, no trophy shipping, just pictures. all for about 5K.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Circa 1970’s: “Gosh with the closing of Kenya first for elephant hunting and then for all hunting, it is just a matter of time until safari hunting in Africa as we know it is dead. What a pity.”

Circa 1980’s: “Gee, Botswana has closed down elephant hunting and now so has Zambia. With the bush wars in Sudan and Angola, they are off limits for hunting too. I better start looking for a new hobby.”

Circa 1990’s: “Wow, the aftermath of the civil war and the droughts and then floods in Mozambique spell the end of safari hunting in Mozambique. It will never come back. Harry Manners must be in tears.”

Circa 2000’s: “Holy moly, the price of safaris has become prohibitive. It has truly become a sport only for the richest of the rich. My dreams of going on safari will remain just that . . . a dream.”

Circa 2014: “Botswana is gone . . . again. Zambia has its issues . . . again. The USFWS is on a crusade to abolish all hunting. I better start looking for a new hobby . . . again.”

The point is that while the character of safari hunting will always be evolving and changing, with old problems getting resolved and new challenges arising, my guess is that years from now hunters will still be talking about how the challenges then being faced mean the eventual demise of safari hunting . . . again. The older we all get the more and more we sound like our fathers.

Hi Mike,

I just got back from a bike race. (that I had to withdraw from) I was riding 12-15 hours a day, for 8-1/2 days. In that race, I rode alone most of the time, I thought things through from soup to nuts for countless hours on end.

I thought about Africa, hunting, society and the current state of affairs in America. I don't think your examples can be applied to today. We are getting hammered from ALL sides. We have no allies.

I think the only way to keep it alive would be for our "side" to give the corrupt African governments more money that whom ever is funding them now.

That's just on that side. The USFWS is obviously a huge component of this, it Hilary wins, the admin will most likely stay the same.

Heck GWB put the polar bears on cities one. He's no liberal, was considered a friend to sportsmen.

We were fine as long as we were under the radar. Rank and file America cannot believe you can still go kill Elephants and Lions.

Steve

My guess is that each generation of hunters similarly thinks that "their time" is a unique and different time unlike all prior times and hence the results will be different. Who knows how it will turn out. But the fact is that folks have been declaring the end of safari hunting in Africa for at least forty years. I guess we should reconvene over a beer in twenty years and see how things have played out.

I would almost rather be strangled with piano wire than fish for anything.

I need to be able to see what I am supposedly chasing!

Of course, I say this because I am a terrible fisherman.

Redoing things on my place while I'm watching for good buck to come by while dreaming of Africa hunting, Europe hunting, my elk camp and counting money in my head, while figuring out what I can afford to hunt this year
Never give up.
Overpopulation of game is always happening so hunters will be needed/wanted somewhere. Always...
I'm in total agreement with MikeJ

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Circa 1970’s: “Gosh with the closing of Kenya first for elephant hunting and then for all hunting, it is just a matter of time until safari hunting in Africa as we know it is dead. What a pity.”

Circa 1980’s: “Gee, Botswana has closed down elephant hunting and now so has Zambia. With the bush wars in Sudan and Angola, they are off limits for hunting too. I better start looking for a new hobby.”

Circa 1990’s: “Wow, the aftermath of the civil war and the droughts and then floods in Mozambique spell the end of safari hunting in Mozambique. It will never come back. Harry Manners must be in tears.”

Circa 2000’s: “Holy moly, the price of safaris has become prohibitive. It has truly become a sport only for the richest of the rich. My dreams of going on safari will remain just that . . . a dream.”

Circa 2014: “Botswana is gone . . . again. Zambia has its issues . . . again. The USFWS is on a crusade to abolish all hunting. I better start looking for a new hobby . . . again.”

The point is that while the character of safari hunting will always be evolving and changing, with old problems getting resolved and new challenges arising, my guess is that years from now hunters will still be talking about how the challenges then being faced mean the eventual demise of safari hunting . . . again. The older we all get the more and more we sound like our fathers.

Hi Mike,

I just got back from a bike race. (that I had to withdraw from) I was riding 12-15 hours a day, for 8-1/2 days. In that race, I rode alone most of the time, I thought things through from soup to nuts for countless hours on end.

I thought about Africa, hunting, society and the current state of affairs in America. I don't think your examples can be applied to today. We are getting hammered from ALL sides. We have no allies.

I think the only way to keep it alive would be for our "side" to give the corrupt African governments more money that whom ever is funding them now.

That's just on that side. The USFWS is obviously a huge component of this, it Hilary wins, the admin will most likely stay the same.

Heck GWB put the polar bears on cities one. He's no liberal, was considered a friend to sportsmen.

We were fine as long as we were under the radar. Rank and file America cannot believe you can still go kill Elephants and Lions.

Steve

My guess is that each generation of hunters similarly thinks that "their time" is a unique and different time unlike all prior times and hence the results will be different. Who knows how it will turn out. But the fact is that folks have been declaring the end of safari hunting in Africa for at least forty years. I guess we should reconvene over a beer in twenty years and see how things have played out.

For a small time several years ago, I even thought there would be a day I would experience hunting in Kenya. Maybe the tide will turn, conservation models will change and these countries will re-open, the administration of the USFWS will see the model we all see.

When and if that time comes, I will be the one standing there with a bottle opener for those beers!!

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
I would almost rather be strangled with piano wire than fish for anything.

I need to be able to see what I am supposedly chasing!

Of course, I say this because I am a terrible fisherman.

Just be sure to use strong piano wire.

Steve

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Interesting observation Mike, and so true. Like Randall, I'm thinking of getting back into fishing. As I get older, it's just a little easier.

Agree 100%. I can fish in Brazil for 7 days, I get almost the same thrill catching huge exotics as hunting buffalo, no taxidermy, no trophy shipping, just pictures. all for about 5K.

amen to that. i leave in 3 weeks for Costa Rica to spend a week chasing billfish with a flyrod. it's a huge challenge, immensely satisfying- and a lot cheaper than hunting Africa or anywhere else on a guided hunt. i figure at my age( 66) i will be able to fish long after i am too old to walk 10 miles in the Oct heat of Africa. since i don't bring home trophies anymore, i save a lot on taxidermy and instead try to concentrate on taking good photos( another hobby).

I can echo many of the responses. It seems we like to be outdoors doing something. It's hard in Dallas, as it's hard to get away from major civilization for at least 90 minutes on the road.

I like fishing and will just wet a fly line in Highland Park lakes/creeks (HP being one of the most expensive areas in Texas or US, but very conservative).

Golf has been a hobby for most of my life, but don't play as much as I'd like.

I have recently become a runner, but just as an excuse to get outside. I've run a half marathon, but don't think it's the healthiest form of exercise.

I'd love to learn how to fly. I've flown right seat many times and appreciate the talent and skills of pilots.

Quail hunting was my favorite hunting, but the virtual disappearance of the wild bird led me to big game hunting.

I had an FJ40 Lamdcruiser I was restoring, but I sold it due to my lack of mechanical skill and time.

Give me a lowly .22 over any exalted angler's tools any day!

I still new to AR but I love it.

I'm also a little fatalistic about shooting sports future but I will continue the good fight undaunted and look for a better day or at least better administration.

I love tournament bass fishing as well as salt water fishing and it's something to do between hunting trips.

Off to the Selous on Sunday with my bride of 47 years. Then straight to Namibia to meet my two sons and son in law for 10 day plains game for them. Their first trip should be fun.

Decision time will be seeing 50 pounder in the Selous as everyone is painfully aware of what dear leader has wrought. BOOM I say.

Somewhere in South Texas

I forgot to mention I love hunting Argentina for dove. I've been five times now and the thrill of shooting thousands in a day has worn off, but I like to try and home my shooting during the summer to come back and shoot 15 a day here in 100 degree heat. I also enjoy just spending time in that country, but their government is taking them to task.

Yep, fishing is my other time consuming hobby. Chasing large trout here in Idaho on very small jigs and lines is a blast. The wife turned 60 and I'm 64 so in 2 more years and its retirement time. That trip to Crocodile Bay last month was FUN, and will be doing it again this next year.

The shop is sitting empty and begging for another hot rod build. My butt finally got tough enough to enjoy riding bicycles again, and there's enough good trails that I can stay out of traffic. Man, there's a lot of things to look forward to coming up.

quote:

Originally posted by Blank:
Yep, fishing is my other time consuming hobby. Chasing large trout here in Idaho on very small jigs and lines is a blast. The wife turned 60 and I'm 64 so in 2 more years and its retirement time. That trip to Crocodile Bay last month was FUN, and will be doing it again this next year.

The shop is sitting empty and begging for another hot rod build. My butt finally got tough enough to enjoy riding bicycles again, and there's enough good trails that I can stay out of traffic. Man, there's a lot of things to look forward to coming up.

Crocodile Bay is where i will be headed for the 7 time!

Was gonna PM and ask that same question. Say hello to Larry and all the staff for us. May can't get here soon enough, and will have to reserve in Vegas.

quote:

Originally posted by Blank:
Was gonna PM and ask that same question. Say hello to Larry and all the staff for us. May can't get here soon enough, and will have to reserve in Vegas.

The hell with Larry, say hello to Maria and Flori.

i will tell Todd and Larry hello. this is a bit of a spur of the moment trip, arranged and booked 3 days ago. i really enjoy big game fishing, especially with a flyrod, as much as hunting. hell, Maria got married and Flori, well......

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
i will tell Todd and Larry hello. this is a bit of a spur of the moment trip, arranged and booked 3 days ago. i really enjoy big game fishing, especially with a flyrod, as much as hunting. hell, Maria got married and Flori, well......

Yup.

Might sound weird, but I love fossil hunting (a hunting of sorts). I have always said, mostly to myself, that if in some strange set of circumstances I couldn't hunt then I'd travel the globe to hunt for fossils. In fact, even now I am always on the look while hunting and on past hunting trips have found Indian artifacts, numerous fossils, and even a buried ancient Bison skull. Don't know why, but there is something about being the first person to see an object that has been hidden for 100 million years that gives me a thrill.

The bass boat and I hit the water several times a week during the spring and summer, late fall and winter it is drifting for steelhead and sea run browns.

Once a week it is practicing for USPSA matches in single stack and production. In my "spare" time there is winter wood to be cut and stacked.

Other than my carry ammo, I reload all my ammo, and tie all my own flies.

Living an anfractuous a life as possible.

I've gotten into horses. Team roping with my boys and hauling my daughter to barrel races. Great fun.

I tend to agree with Steve about the long term future of African hunting but have to say that to some extent at least, hunters as a whole, only have ourselves to blame because we allowed the collector mentality to become too important.

As for other hobbies: For me, I've been a life long fan of classic cars and bikes (have had a 1982 Jeep Cherokee/Wagoneer for about 10 years), also like to fish when I have time, boating, cooking, braiing and now I'm living in one of the best wine regions of Portugal, I rather enjoy practicing the process of converting wine into urine.

I like Carzeyhorse’s hobby as “life”. It is a rare thing these days to remember to look at each day as an adventure and take it head-on - good and bad, but live it to the fullest.

Spring is upon us in Zimbabwe today... it may last another five or seven days, but it is a glorious time. The cold is waning and there is a smell in the air. Atmospheric haze from bush fires drifts in an out, giving our African sun a strange pink hue, and the tingle of the sun outweighs the bite of the cold. Night jars, even in the city, herald the approaching dusk, and the odd dove - no doubt enthused by the approach of summer - calls his “work-harder, work-harder” call in the dead of night. Everything is coming alive and will have changed in the next two weeks.

Simply glorious.

Flying has been a passion of mine for the last 20 years, and this is the best time to be in the air. My Dad was a bush pilot for many years, and I grew up in Zambia being transported in a plane almost more than a car. We would load model planes into his Cessna 206 and fly to the next town to fly models for the day, then home.

When I did my PPL, it opened doors I could not imagine on both the hunting and fishing fronts. Flying around southern Africa, landing on poky little strips perched on top of kopjes or goat tracks in the Zambezi valley, and once on a fire break between the mealies, was an adventure in itself. But the opportunity to fly over a herd of buffalo, or chasing herds of migrating wildebeest and accompanying hyena across Zambia’s western Barotse flood plain (only feet above the ground), and then getting on the ground for a close-up look, has been amazing. Flying over rivers and lakes and spotting honey-holes where you know the fish live, then going and catching them, has been full of lessons.

I gave up my PPL a few years back, as the bureaucracy here made it impossible to maintain it, but then tried flying microlights for a while. Coat hangers... the wobbly wing hangglider-type thing with an engine, were fun. Open to the elements, we flew over the Gonerezhou once where one could smell the elephants from the air, chased game and flew below tree top level through the savanah. Fun it was, but too unconventional after 20 years of “real” flying, and one too many “mishaps”.

If there was ever a hobby, or passion which dovetailed with my other passions of hunting, fishing and the outdoors, and gave me a tool second to none for our business of publishing, it was flying! Man I miss it.

Fly fishing for trout and also salt water fly fishing- desperate to go to Cuba and fish their flats and see Havana before it gets "westernized" which is surely will some day soon!