I just talked to Safari Press and it is now shipping. I know some of you had ordered it and I have now joined you. Looking forward to it.

I am anxiously awaiting that particular tome. When received, what I'm reading at the time will be shelved and Obsessed will be given my full attention.

Obsessed indeed!

For those wondering, this is a very good book. The pictures alone are worth the price of admission.

Safari Press did a good job with it, and the title certainly is appropriate. Soudy Golabchi may be the greatest mountain game hunter who ever lived. Other hunters have taken all of the world's sheep and goats as he has, but I know of no one who collected so many specimens. I also know of no international hunter who has taken more Marco Polo argalis. Walking through his trophy rooms (yes, Virginia, he has more than one) that are shown at the back of the book is absolutely awesome. If he were to join you for lunch you would say he's a nice guy who doesn't brag.

Bill Quimby

I am finishing it and have enjoyed it also. It seems to pick up a bit after the first section on US hunts and gains momentum after that.

It's amazing how much time was spent in the Pamirs...2-3 times a year and sometimes a month at a time! You're pretty serious when you go over just to do scouting in advance and then later turn down "little" 62" rams.

I do wonder about the sanity of hunting the Caucuses in winter. That's a little nutty.

I love that snow leopard. Very cool.

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:
Safari Press did a good job with it, and the title certainly is appropriate. Soudy Golabchi may be the greatest mountain game hunter who ever lived. Other hunters have taken all of the world's sheep and goats as he has, but I know of no one who collected so many specimens. I also know of no international hunter who has taken more Marco Polo argalis. Walking through his trophy rooms (yes, Virginia, he has more than one) that are shown at the back of the book is absolutely awesome. If he were to join you for lunch you would say he's a nice guy who doesn't brag.

Bill Quimby

Bill,
Reading the book, Soudy does not give me the impression of a braggert. He just seems like any normal, off-kiltered, obsessed sheep hunter!!! I guess that is one reason I enjoyed this book much more than some of the previous world renowned sheep hunter books.

One complaint I have about this book, much like "Wind In My Face", was the photo layout. Several places the photo didn't match the text, but was a page or two ahead of the hunt described. That drives me nuts.

I heard through the grapevine that his 2007 Alaska Governor's Permit Dall ram was very nice.

Two Alaskan posative reviews. I guess I better order it.

I bought a Elgin Gates Trophy Hunter in Asia off of ebay the other day and it's signed.

That guy is a braggert, kind of like reading a million lines of "I love me!"

DPhillips:

Soudy is not a braggart, but he definitely is an obsessed sheep hunter. He doesn't care how deep the snow might be. If he thinks he can find a ram somewhere that's bigger than his record Marco Polo argali, he's on his way there.

He emailed me a photo of that Alaska dall sheep. It was a beautiful animal, but I've forgotten its size ... I think he said it was 44 inches but don't quote me.

I know what you mean about photo placement. When I took over Safari Magazine in 1983 it was a while before the ad revenue grew to where I could hire an art director. I had to lay out the magazine and the SCI record books myself.

It's damn tough to make photos appear exactly where they should, especially when there are lots of them and not enough text in that particular place in a book.

Sometimes there is just no way to do it as it should be done.

Bill

I just had lunch with Rick French who is a sheep guide up here. He thought Soudy's ram was about 42 inches? According to what he heard, Soudy used his governor's permit in the Chugach and got that sheep but it just barely missed the book.

Does that jive with what the rest of you heard? Dave?

YD,
I heard it was a real nice ram, but not what one would expect from that Permit. That is not a critical comment about Soudy, he has won that permit a few times and went home empty handed on at least one occasion while searching for a larger ram.

There was a much larger ram killed, from what I heard, the neighboring subunit over, but have no doubt in my mind that Soudy and his guide took the best ram they could possibly find.

I have talked to Rick on a few occasions. Nice guy. Was he the guide on that hunt?

Rick was not the guide. There are a couple of guides that get most of the clients with governor permits. Rick knows those guys.

I know Soudy is really working to get a Booner Slam and the dalls have really given him trouble in that regard. Truth of the matter is that there are very few Booners taken out of hundreds of rams annually. Some years there are none taken. The governor's permit is a great thing but no guarantee even with the best guide and good weather. You simply may not see one or be able to get to it. Rick has seen Booners from the air in areas that could NOT be reached even though they were in legal areas.

How big is this book? African Hunter size? Perfect Shot size?

8x11