Pursuit of this bird tested my patience to the max. You have to get the right permits, the right area, the right guide and you can do everything right...in the end it is just pure luck as to if you would come across a 12 pound monster like this one among quarter million acres of jungle.....or not.

To hear the sounds of the male in the wild is an experience I cannot describe in words.

GREAT CURASSOW male from the Yucatan....about the size of an Ocellated Turkey they are the biggest member of the Cracidae family !!!

I have never even heard of that species, but it is beautiful! Congrats. You seem to have taken some fantastic birds and animals, care to show any pics of your trophy room?

Was there a hunt report written for this?

Beautiful.
You got a crested Guan in the Yucatan also?

Beauty......does that bird spend most of it's time on the ground? That tail fan out like a turkey? Challenging to hunt other than the scarcity? Do you call them in/decoy?

@StormsGSP
Thanks, the bird is absolutely massive and gorgeous at the same time. On the live bird the crest on the head can be fanned or laid down depending upon his mood.

As far as my trophy room goes you can see it in this book by Safari Press. Great Hunters - Vol 5




@SGraves155
Stay tuned for more pics
P.S. You asked me about Caymans and Crocs...I did not see either. I am not sure if the inland jungle waterholes have them. They may be there but I sure did not see any.

@Norton
They are basically tree dwellers and eat nuts and fruits but will not turn down small invertebrates. I case skinned him myself and saved the breast meat, cooked it and ate it. It was white, a bit tough but did not have any nasty smell to it. So you have to look for them in the trees as well as on the ground (I shot this one on the ground, while he was running at full sprint (very strong and powerful legs) something tells me they would stomp a snake with their feet without fear. Their one aswesome feature is those gigantic eyes, you could tell just by looking at them that they are designed for night hunting and life under the forest canopy under low light. You cannot call them in....however I have a feeling a decoy might work for them. About the tail...no not a fan like turkey but they do flip it "up" to show the white on the belly...kind of what the white-tail deer do each other. Most Cracidae drop both wings and then flip the tail up (not fanning) and they look pretty cool doing that.

To answer if they are challenging to hunt or not...well how should I answer this ??? Is Mountain Nyala challenging to hunt besides scarcity ? I think the answer is yes. Is Marco Polo sheep challenging to hunt besides scarcity ? The answer is yes. Bongo in the Jungles of Cameroon ? The same. The environment where you hunt these animals dictates if the hunt is challenging or not. Squeezing the trigger boils down to how much time you have spent practicing the particular rifle or shotgun and how comfortable you are with taking shots at different distances or different situations. So yes in my opinion this is a very challenging hunt....100 deg under the jungle canopy, ticks that would eat you alive....hard to find trophies...the only shot I got was a running shot at 35 yards and I had to lead him quite a bit....so in a nutshell yes very challenging and rewarding hunt.

Good info.....I understand fully re environment adding to degree of difficulty. I guess what I meant was more on the order of say grouse vs. pheasant. Just getting to a Marco Polo is a victory......and landing a sheep tag in the U.S.....now *that's* a challenge!

And it sounds like the shot he presented you with was no chip shot either.......

I have never really understood what the words "trophy hunter" mean till reading this post.

I use to thought that any one after a mature animal with good antlers or tusks was a trophy hunter..how wrong I was.

Now I understood that it not a matter of size

The passion, the effort, the special skills, the species hunted and the enviorments where they live is what determinates a real trophy hunter.

I am speachless my friend, what a pity we don't have any rare game bird in my country because I would have walk the extra mile helping you collecting it.

Your passion is really contagious.

L

you have to get the book or borrow it to see Oz's Trophy room I am shue the pictures don't do the birds justice. 30 yrs off hard work payed off,my hats off to you . I hope to hnt wiyh you some time.

@Lorenzo,
Thanks for the kind words...I believe you summed it up for all trophy hunters. And yes there are a few trophy birds in your neck of the woods that I need to get out and collect one of these days

@blaser93
Glad you enjoyed the book. Safari Press did a fantastic job.