Just finished watching Ivan Carter and Safari Productions "Beasts of Legend" DVD. I am not sure where to start. Let me go with the end in mind then offer some comments.

This DVD is a good one. It is on par with Buzz Charlton's DVDs for action and with Boddington's for instruction. This video is in a niche all it's own and hence, worth your money to get it and watch it. It is not as techincal as "Perfect Shot", not as shoot'em up as something from Jack Brittingham or Mark Sullivan, not as calm as something from Peter Flack, not as "its all about me" as Marc Watts.

I liked it. It is similar to Mountain Buffalo or Black Shale White Sheep. If you like real hunting that is well edited about Africa hunting this is for you.

Details -
1. It is broken up into 8 parts - Lion, Ele, Buff, Leopard, Croc, Hippo, Rhino and Taxidermy. All parts are somewhat instructional with several shot sequences. The Rhino section is the first I have seen of actually shooting a rhino. There was a darting sequence as well. The lion and leopard sequences are good. The elephant is classic Ivan, get close and shoot within breathing distance.

2. The quality is excellent and the scenes flow very well. Editing is excellent, much better than Boddington on Lion or any of Brittinghams DVD's.

3. Most of the PH's you have seen on TV or heard of. Chifuti is well represented as are Dean Kendall in Tanzania and others. All but one are very good on camera. The one new guy was nervous but did fine.

4. Each of the hunts was somewhat different from the others. The leopard sequences showed hunting them in Tanz and the Zambezi Valley under different conditions. Same for the elephant sequences. I enjoyed not seeing the same leopard in the tree eating bait and getting shot. Two of the leopard shots were very dramatic and on the ground. I had not seen those shots taken on camera before.

5. The only downside for me was (again) seeing several very heavy hunters attempting to hunt. Okay, I hear the keyboards clicking already - "how dare you judge us fat guys" or "how dare you comment on how we look". Give me a break. Hunting requires activity, it requires that you be in some type of physical shape. If you can afford to go on a $75000 lion or elephant hunt, hire some help and drop the pounds. You will enjoy your hunt more.

6. Lastly, all of the hunters but one shot well. The animal was killed, so no harm or problem. It just reminded me to be sure of my ability when I squeeze the trigger and fire about 500 rounds from my .375 H&H before my next trip.

Overall, I rate this a solid 9 out of 10 on the dogcat scale.

Am I correct that this was mostly entertainment? I read your report to say it was a well put together bit of entertainment for those interested in Big 5 hunting today. If not, what were the top 10 things you learned from the video, that you did not know before you saw it.

Thanks for your review.

SG,
I cannot think of ten new things, but a couple came to me -

1. Shot placement on a hippo at 200 yards.

2. Croc baiting. I thought they were mostly drive by shootings.

3. Shooting leopards on the ground straight on.

4. Shooting a lion laying on its back asleep.

5. Baiting leopards differently in Tanz vs. Zim - the water bucket as bait for a thirsty cat.

6. THe abundance of lions in the Zambezi Valley right now and the permits for females are out there.

7. Not too much overt advertising until the very end.

8. I had not seen two leopards on one bait on film before.

Entertaining and educational!

Thanks Dogcat. Great review.

dogcat,

petition the UN CITES committee to set a maximum weight per foot of height for hunters.

Rich