OK, here it is as promised...

On May 19 I left Pittsburgh airport for my first African safari. I booked through Steves Outdoor Adventures (seen on the Men channel), website www.steveshunts.com and they set me up with Shingani Safaris, website www.shingani.com

The owner is Riaan Vosloo, who is also a PH. My PH was named Stefan though, and I had a great hunt with this outfitter and PH.

I arrive in Johannesburg on May 20, and after a 3 hour drive we arrive at camp. We arrive after dark, so no hunting tonight. It also had just rained in the area. Lucky for us, it didn't rain during the rest of our trip. The camp was about 20 minutes from Ellisras, as I found out was renamed Lephalale (some use the new name, some use the old).

My first morning (Sunday) we drive to our morning hunting area and start walking. We spotted a few Warthogs in the distance and snuck through some thick stuff for a few hundred yards to get closer. They must have winded us. They were gone when we popped out of the brush. We saw a few giraffes, then got onto a herd of Blesbok. We are in a good spot and we wait while our tracker circles around to push them to us. The plan works, but when they got close enough, the PH said: I can find you a bigger one. A bit more sneaking around, and it was back to camp for lunch.

In the afternoon we finally connect on my first African animal. We snuck up on a herd of Impala that we had spotted, and took the herd's male. A good shot, and and dropped immediately. I'll attempt to post the pic now, and continue the report after I see that the pic worked.

Later in the afternoon, we spot a Gemsbuck from the jeep. We jump off and start a stalk. Early into the stalk, we came upon a herd of Blue Wildebeest. I decided I'd rather go after the Wildebeest first, so we start tracking them instead. After getting almost close enough a few times, we finally have a shot opportunity on a nice one. I shoot, it runs, we start to track (lots of blood at first). It's getting dark quick, and time is against us. The tracking abilities of my PH and tracker are amazing though. In PA, I often hunt whitetail deer, and I can follow a blood trail, even if the spots of blood are spread out. These guys can track even when the blood stops though. It gets dark on us before we find the animal though, and they assure me that we have a very good chance of finding it first thing in the morning. I didn't sleep too well that night, but at first light we were back on the trail. At one point, we saw a herd of Blue Wildebeest and the tracker stayed on the trail while the PH and I followed the herd for a few minutes to see if mine might be with them. We spot a nice Warthog while following the herd (the PH says not to shoot since if my Wildebeest is with the herd we'd scare them away). He then gets word on the radio that the tracker confirmed that my Wildebeest was not with the herd, so he says 'take the Warthog'. I do, and here he is:



We marked the location of the Warthog and caught up with the tracker, and within 5 minutes we found my Wildebeest (who had died sometime during the night, lucky for us the predators didn't get to him). My PH is on the left, then my tracker, myself, and finally a guy that worked for the landowner.

I had gotten a few of my package animals now, and we decided to spend the rest of the day looking for a Gemsbuck. We spotted a herd, and spent the rest of the afternoon stalking them. Everytime we'd get within a few hundred yards, they spotted us or winded us, and it got dark before we got an opportunity. We did have one opportunity actually, but my PH said it was not the big one, and we should wait.

The next morning my PH suggested we start by checking a field where he often sees a herd of Blesbok before we continue looking for the Gemsbuck. The plan works, and I connect on this Blesbok:



We continue looking for the Gemsbuck, and come across this Steenbok, that I decide to take:



We spend most of the day stalking the same herd from the previous day, and finally with a few hours of daylight left we get to within about 325 yards of them. My PH spots a nice female, and says "It's too open. The only way to get closer is to crawl on hands and knees" I told him let's go, and we crawl for 200+ yards. The plan worked, and we had finally connected on my favorite animal:



Back to camp for a good dinner.

The owner had been out of town, but returned by now. He saw that in 3 days I had gotten most of the animals that I wanted, and he said "Did you ever trap before?" I told him I had when I was younger and enjoyed it. He asked if I'd like to set some traps the following morning, and I said I'd love that. He looked at Stefan and said "Take him out in the morning and shoot an Impala for bait. Shoot a big one!" We went out and within a few hours had this nice Impala with black on the front of his face that we affectionately nicknamed 'Bait' for the rest of the trip. The owner joined us in a separate jeep, looked at the animal and said "That's a nice one. It's yours, no charge. It will make a nice mount." I thanked him and we spent some time setting traps.



We spent the rest of the day looking for a Kudu. We actually spent the next 3 days looking for a nice Kudu, and although we found a few, we didn't find a nice one to shoot, so I have a goal for next year.

They asked if I wanted to try night hunting, and as I am a predator hunter here in PA, I jumped at the opportunity. We night hunted twice. On my first night hunt, we connected on 2 Genet Cats and 5 Baboons. I also missed an African Wildcat and Caracal. Here are the Genets:



Here are a few of the Baboons:



On my second and last night hunt, I got a Porcupine:

My wife loves photography, and here are a few other pictures she took.

The owner, Riaan Vosloo, wearing a shirt I took him:



Me with a mounted Sable, an animal I can NOT afford to shoot:



A young Nyala, my wife's favorite picture:



Finally, a rather unique Eland:




I hope you enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures. We are definitely going back again next May. I highly recommend Steves Outdoor Adventures, who takes care of all paperwork and details for you, and Shingani Safaris, who went out of their way the entire week to make sure every detail was perfect. I was also very impressed with my PH, and will request him again next year.

One last note: 5 of my plains game animals scored top 100 in the SCI record book (Both Impalas, Blesbok, Blue Wildebeest and Steenbok). I joined SCI, and I'm sending in the paperwork to have the animals placed in the book. The Gemsbuck missed the book by one and one half inches, and the Warthog missed the book also. Also forgot to mention: both Riaan (the owner) and Stefan (my PH) have wonderful senses of humor, which is important to me. Hunting is much more than shooting to me. I love being out in nature, seeing animals, stalking animals, shooting, tracking, and probably most importantly laughing and having a good time. I got all of these things on this trip. Enjoy!

Looks like all went well except for the Kudu. Are you having any animals mounted?

Nice hunt report! Those are fine trophies.
Did you miss the spine on the wildebeest?


Also, pls tell us about the gun and loads used.
Cheers,
Gabe

For taxidermy:

Shoulder mounts: Gemsbuck and Impala #2
European Mounts (skull mounts): Blesbuck and Impala #1
Bleached Skulls: Steenbok and Wildebeest
Full Body: Genet Cat (head from one, body from the other, due to the fur damage, Steenbok skull placed with this mount)

Gun: The PH's .30-06 with 180 grain loads

With the Wildebeest, I aimed for the vitals, not the spine. As he was angled slightly towards me and I didn't compensate for that, the shot was a bit off the mark.

With the Kudu: I considered the hunt a success. It is just unfinished. I had a lot of fun spotting, stalking, etc., and will pick up next year with trying to shoot one.

Paul55

Nice! But I am more psyched that you connected so well with the landowner and PH - looks like they were your good friends at the end of the trip. Way cool - nothing better. Because of this, you got some extra benefits - trapping...predator hunting. I am quite happy to hear you wacked 5 baboon - how did you do it at night? VERY cool.

How did you decide to use the PH's rifle instead of bringing your own?

Looks like my wife is coming with me when I go on a few weeks and going without my rifle will make things easier - tourist stuff before and after, etc. On the other hand, we all love our guns, don't we. How did you make your decision, and how did it work out?

I was admiring the rifle you used before even you said it was your PH's. I like the schnabel fore-end, barrel band, a nice looking rig.

paul55,

What an excellent first safari! Congrats on the hugh success.

404,

You got it exactly right. I feel like I made a few new friends, and can't wait to see them again next year. Riaan actually joined Stefan and I on a few hunts (maybe he was bored without a client of his own??) so I had 2 PH to 1 hunter a few times. It gives new meaning to a 2:1 hunt.

The baboons were interesting, because they told me they rarely see them. Maybe it was the weather that night? Who knows. It was a night hunt, and we came across a few families of them. We didn't get any of the 'big' ones, so none for mounting.

With the gun, I decided not to take my own for a few reasons. First, it was my first trip to Africa. Second, it was my first hunting trip with an outfitter. I've hunted since I was 12 in PA, but never with a PH before. I wanted the trip to go as smoothly as possible. Third, I was flying with Delta from Pittsburgh to New York, then Emirates from New York to Dubai, and then Emirates again from Dubai to South Africa. With multiple airlines and layovers, I thought it was worth $125 to not take my gun.

Paul

We are also looking at alternative flights. How was it going through Dubai? better than the SAA from Dulles or connecting through Europe?

I have dome SAA Atlanta 4 times and Dulles once, and am looking for alternatives.

The friendship thing is great. I remember one afternoon, it was me, the PH, the landowner, his friend, another PH and the owner's 14 yo son, all cheering me on to kill baboon - great fun!

Great report sounds like you had a great trip

404: This was my first trip, so I can't compare going through Dubai to any other, but the flights were great, and for 2 tickets we saved about $1800.

RM: Yes, a great trip, and next May I'll go for my second African safari.

Nice hunt, congratulations - and thanks for sharing both experiences and pics

Great report Paul! I hope you get the kudu on your next trip.

Congratulations with your first SA hunt, paul55. Glad you enjoyed it.

However, I cannot help to notice a few warning lights flashing for the owner of that game ranch.
With that I'm not blaming you at all for any wrong doing, but clearly the owner and to a lesser extent the PH, having simply got no long-term conservation plan which they follow or have even nearly in mind.

Being a game ranch there is absolutely no need to go out at night with spot lights to shoot harmless Genet Cats (not the slightest threat to even the smallest type of antelope in that area), Porcupine (no crops to be damaged by them) and Baboons that are very seldomly seen around the place.
".... and took the herd's male."
Why on earth would any conservation orientated game ranch owner allow that to happen?
All these animals have a place and a duty to fulfil in a sustainable eco-system.

By coincidence I was on our family farm in the Ellisras area over almost the same period - 18 to 21 May 2006 - and it was a wonderful pleasure to see all the small game types like Steenbuck, Duiker and Klipspringer on the farm.
I shot two Impalas (must add: rams out of the ram group) for our own use, no Kudus as the Kudu calves were born very late this season and are still very small.
This specific farm is a cattle farm with no high fences, only low cattle fences. Só, game are free to come and go as they wish between the bordering open cattle farms.
I'm proud to say that the numbers of game species as well as the numbers of game in each specy has increased over the 37 year period that our family owned the farm.

I hope foreign hunters take note of this post and ask a few questions when owners of game ranches offer night shooting to them before they indulge in these shooting frenzies.

What's more, I sincerely hope the owner of the game ranch you visited read this post and give it a serious thought.

The fact that you didn't get a suitable trophy Kudu bull once again confirms a post recently made by JJHACK on AR that trophy quality Kudu bulls in the Ellisras area are getting scarce and hence more expensive.
So much more reason for landowners to be conservationists rather than shooters to just shoot everything that moves on the land.

I know this post will lift a number of eyebrows, but if it gets people to think again and to realise that conservation is the longlasting, only sustainable way to go, then it hit the target!

Jagter,

Several areas of your post confuse me. Keep in mind this was my first trip to Africa. Concerning the Genets, aren't several cats in Africa hunted for sport? Here in the U.S. we hunt coyotes for example. In Africa, you hunt Caracals, Genets, Civets, etc. It is not the intent to eliminate the species.

Concerning the Porcupine, the outfitter told me that the landowner is very happy when they shoot a porcupine because they DO cause damage to his crops. He leaves the 'beard' for the owner to see the next morning, and the owner thanks him for each one taken.

Concerning baboons: I don't know much about them. I thought they were nuisance animals in Africa, along with Jackals???

Concerning the Impala, and taking the herd's male: every herd I saw had exactly one male. The only impala I saw were:
a. A herd of females with one male
b. A single male
c. A few males together

I never saw a herd with females that had more than one male. A few days after shooting the male from the one herd, we spotted the herd again a few days later, and a new male had moved in. Isn't it the normal way to hunt Impala to spot a herd and try to take the male??? Again, this was my first trip. I'm curious to hear what others have to say...

By the way, I also want to mention that I was told that the properties I hunted on manage their animals very carefully. For example, the property where I shot the Gemsbuck allows 2 to be taken per year. Hunters later in the season (June, July, etc.) will be taken to other properties for Gemsbuck. The same type of plan is in place for Kudu, etc.

One other thing that confuses me in your post: your assumption that since I didn't get a suitable trophy Kudu bull must mean that they aren't there?? Are you saying that Kudu are easy to hunt? I thought they were challenging to hunt. I hope they are. If they're easy, then I don't want one. I worked hard for my Gemsbuck, and hope to continue after the Kudu next year. I don't want it to be easy.

Paul,

Glad to hear you had a great hunt! Believe me there are still some very good kudu in Ellisras area - I saw 55"+ bulls in the area when I was there just last week. And you're right; kudu can be extremely difficult to hunt - that's what makes it challenging.

paul55, I clearly said:

quote:

Congratulations with your first SA hunt, paul55. Glad you enjoyed it.
However, I cannot help to notice a few warning lights flashing for the owner of that game ranch. (Is it a game ranch after all?)
With that I'm not blaming you at all for any wrong doing, but clearly the owner and to a lesser extent the PH, having simply got no long-term conservation plan which they follow or have even nearly in mind.

Firstly, the 'game ranch' now rather seems to be a mixed farming set up growing crops, etc. where game and all types of wild life seems to be a nuisance to that owner - hence his feeling against Porcupines, Genet Cats and Baboons.
Yes, Caracals, Jackals and even Leopards, if not controled properly can become problem animals for all farming set-ups in South Africa.

In 37 years on our farm it was only necessary to shoot Baboons on two occasions simply because they became a nuisance at the farm homestead. Só, why shoot them at all if they're seldomly seen on the property?

Concerning the Impala and all other game types, 'survival of the fittest' is the motto amongst wild animals.
Só, to take out the best ram amongst the ewes is degrading your future Impala stocks - Mr second best now becomes the one to secure your future Impala herds. As easy as that, my friend! Therefor, shoot your ram from the ram herd or small group - much more challenging to you the hunter and on top of it you help to let the fittest survive - natural selection process promoted through your hunting!
Again, I don't blame you at all, but the land owner and the PH, YES, all the way!!!

quote:

.... your assumption that since I didn't get a suitable trophy Kudu bull must mean that they aren't there?? (No, they are there, but they are fairly scarce nowadays, that is bulls above 60" + - see link below to JJHACK's earlier post.) Are you saying that Kudu are easy to hunt? I thought they were challenging to hunt. I hope they are. If they're easy, then I don't want one.

Kudu and especially large Kudu bulls will never be easy to hunt, you'll have to work hard for them.
My argument was that on that specific farm or game ranch they might have been even scarcer than on better managed game ranches or farms.

Link to JJHACK's post on Kudu prices and availibility.

Jagter,

Thanks for clarifying your points. I don't think I mentioned this before, but I hunted on several different properties. Some were probably just 'game ranches', but some were most definitely farm lands. I hunted on about 10 different properties during my week there.

With the Kudu, I'm glad to see some confirmation that it is a tough animal to hunt. If I get one next year, I want it to mean something special.

With the Impala, I see a similar thing happening even where I live in the states. A few years ago, Pennsylvania turned our whitetail deer hunting into 'trophy hunting only'. We are only allowed to shoot the very largest (4 points on one side), as they say it will let the younger ones grow and we will end up with even larger deer. I often wondered though if we keep shooting the largest ones, aren't we hurting the gene pool? I'm not sure there's a clear answer yet, but hopefully they're collecting data and not doing this blindly.

Jagter, with respect...

quote:

Originally posted by Jagter:

Firstly, the 'game ranch' now rather seems to be a mixed farming set up growing crops, etc.

Isn't that true for many game ranches i.e. game farming mixed with agricultural farming? What difference would that make?

quote:

.... your assumption that since I didn't get a suitable trophy Kudu bull must mean that they aren't there?? [color:RED](No, they are there, but they are fairly scarce nowadays, that is bulls above 60" +

60" Kudu have always been scarce, difficult to find and hard to hunt (they don't get that big from being stupid) - regardless of the conservation practices of landowners. I hardly feel it is appropriate to blame this particular landowner's conservation practices for not finding a shootable bull.

ChrisTroskie wrote:

quote:

60" Kudu have always been scarce, difficult to find and hard to hunt (they don't get that big from being stupid) - regardless of the conservation practices of landowners. I hardly feel it is appropriate to blame this particular landowner's conservation practices for not finding a shootable bull.

Now that paul55 explained that he has hunted on ± 10 different properties of which some is farm lands, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Fact is though, they are scarce like JJHACK and we all knew for quite some time already and strict conservation practices by all landowners is the only way to ensure that we still have some in future to hunt as real trophy animals.

quote:

Isn't that true for many game ranches i.e. game farming mixed with agricultural farming? What difference would that make?

Let's call a spade a spade - what youv'e described above is not a game ranch!

As to what difference it would make I think you're open minded enough to have realised that already from what was described in paul55's hunting report - the shooting of wild animals simply because of the shooting fun involved in it.

Serious game conservationists operating real game ranches cannot afford to have those irresponsible practises take place on their properties where their current and future livelihood depends on the natural environments and wild life forms it offers for their survival into the next decades and centuries to come.

I sincerely hope you see the truth in this and trust that you as well as all landowners do give effect to this serious responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders.
I love to hunt and that is why I'm carrying this responsibility 100% with you all.

Paul, I'm glad to hear you had a good hunt. How'd your wife like the trip? I'd have to agree that taking the Impala ram did no harm. The rut should have still been on and those females probably didn't go without company for long! By the way, that second ram was VERY nice! By the expression on your face in the "night shots" it'd appear you enjoyed the sundowners tradition.

Also, I might add I echo your concern for the PA game commission's move to "trophy" hunting. Anyone with practicle knowledge in such management KNOWS the scrub bucks must be controled to produce a true trophy deer herd. This is particularly important with the earlier seasons (pre-rut). Unfortunately many neighboring states view PA as an example to be followed in regard to game management. As for this philosophy's application to Africa, It is my personal opinion that taking trophy bulls in the "off season" - July to March - probably does more harm than during the traditional south african "hunting season." Of course To remain viable in business means virtually year-round hunting and it's the later months that most Americans seem to prefer. That is where a "conservation plan" as refered to by Jagter would be particularly beneficial. Personally, there's no place I'd rather be than Ellisras in April and May!

With all due respect, I'd have to strongly disagree with the statement that big kudu are getting scarce anywhere in RSA or adjoining areas......and even if they were, game farmers (because they are game farmers) just go down to the auctions and buy more..... I'm not a fan of game farming/fenced hunting but make no mistake, that is exactly what happens......

The areas we hunt in RSA, Namibia and Tuli Block Botswana all have plenty of excellent kudu and other species - but they're not easy to hunt....... if they were, they wouldn't have earned the nickname grey ghost.....If you want to see how many big ones there are out there, just take a look at the Rowland Ward or SCI record books and take note of the dates and places they were taken. - If anything, they're getting bigger and more numerous....... Examples of this are one of our PHs (Colin Kirkham) took a 60 something last year and I also saw a genuine 70 incher at Lifeform Taxidermy last year that had just been taken near Vivo RSA. - I haven't checked, but think it will make number 2 or 3 in RW. - Certainly top 10.

Paul55,

Glad to hear you enjoyed your first African safari...... now you have the rest of your life to keep feeding the addiction. My advice now would be for you to try as many different areas and countries as you can and get onto hunting the DG asap. - There's nothing like it.

Super report and great pictures! Thanks

A few odds and ends (and clarifications):

First, my wife really enjoyed the trip also. She is an amateur wildlife photographer. She often hunts with me to get photos of animals. Last year while hunting groundhogs here in PA, she often took pictures of fox and deer. She took pictures of all of the animals I took, but also took pictures of many others, including: Ostrich, Giraffe, Eland, insects, various birds, beautiful sunsets, etc.

Second, I need to clarify: I enjoy all aspects of hunting. I don't want Jagter to think it's all about shooting for me. I specifically told my PH on day 1 that I would not shoot from the vehicle (I'm not sure if that would have been an issue or not, but I made it clear before it had a chance to become an issue). I enjoy spotting, stalking, tracking, sitting, seeing wildlife (whether shooting or not), etc. At home, my wife and I often go out armed only with a camera. Other times we take a gun. If I'm hunting coyote and don't see any, but we see deer or something else, then the hunt is a success for both of us. In fact, we could see nothing at all and have a successful hunt. If the weather is good then it's relaxing just being out there. That's one of the reasons I groundhog hunt. You sit out in the nice part of the day with the sun shining. On my Africa trip, I passed on many animals, but enjoyed seeing them. For example, I got to see Zebra and Red Harbebeest (although I had no interest in shooting either). I also saw more Impala than I can count during my week, shooting a total of two.

With conservation, I do know that the landowners allow a specific number of each species to be taken from each property. If the set number of Impala are taken from a specific property, no more Impala will be taken. Others will be taken from other properties. The rut was definitely still in full force. We often heard the male Impalas rounding up the females with some type of snorting sound. Also, the conservation efforts on the properties I hunted must be working, as 5 of the 7 plains game animals I took are top 100 in SCI record book. I sent off the paperwork yesterday. The Gemsbuck missed by one and one half inches.

oupa: Believe it or not, my alcohol intake was limited to a glass of wine with dinner. There were no other hunters in camp (which they said was rare) so we did miss out on 'hunters sitting around the fire at night', an experience I'm sure we'll get next year. Maybe I just don't take good night pictures?

Let me be clear also on the Genet: it's not going to waste. I wanted to get one for a mount, and when I shot the first, his head took too much damage for a mount. The second took the damage on the body, and using the two animals together, I'm getting one nice mount.

shakari: there definitely is an addiction to feed now. We're definitely going back next year. The hard part is to balance all we want to do: we do want to see other countries, and we also connected well with this outfitter and PH and want to see them again. We have many years ahead of us (hopefully) and have much yet to experience.

paul55:

Again, you're not to be blamed at all!

Hope landowners and PH's learnt something from all this debate.

You're welcome anytime again and trust you will get that huge trophy Kudu bull next time - Grey Ghosts they really are!

Paul,

I know you were bitten by the African bug and I hope your wife also...Nice animals and the quills from the quillpig are great conversation items...
We will have to talk some day..Heding to the Swlous with my wife...

Fine job...

Mike

Jagter makes an excellent point about 'problem animals'.
Baboons can be a pest but I see this ethic that they should just be mowed down without regard because they can be a nuisance....but they are in reality seldom so.

After years in areas with baboons, I have had to shoot one out of necessity, it was in a lodge and would not leave and was getting aggressive. Nothing wrong with hunting a baboon, but I aggree that they are not all a nuisance to be shot on sight ab lib.

Anyone who tells you they have a 'problem' with civets is wrong or just plain does not know what they are talking about...the same applies to aardwolf.
Genets, can be a hassle for free range poultry but on game areas, what could they possibly do.

Shooting a couple of these animals occasionally is no-doubt fine but I find this constant desire to cleanse the bush of 'problem' animals, which are in fact not problems but beneficial, to be very disturbing.

This no dig at you paul55, you did what you did under guidance of your PH/outfitter. Monitoring these species can be far more challenging than big game and just seeisng a few doesn't mean there are hundreds, many factors can effect this.
Its like mnay Inuit now report a dramatic increase in polar bears. This increase could also be attributed to bear concentrations due to ice conditions changing, so they see more, doesn't mean there are more?

Jakkals and caracals can be problem animals for sheep/goat farmers and there are experst who can deal with these problems (tyically non-resident specimens) quite well but suddenly ones sees civet, aarwolf, bat-eared fox, and serval being demonised as serious 'problems'...sometimes I think I am surrounded by old-time sheep farmers . It is disturbing.

Baboons too, often unecesarily hammered for no reason.....lets hunt, not sterilse the bush!

kayaker (and Jagter),

I'm not taking your posts as shots or digs at me. I think they are points for good conversation.

I agree fully that we shouldn't be trying to eradicate a species. I view the Genets as a nice trophy. I want there to be many more out there. I'm getting one nice mount out of the two I shot, and I don't see that in the future I'll be interested in another Genet. The same thing goes for other species: Jackals, Civets, Caracals, etc. At some point I think to have one of these as a trophy would be great. I'm not looking to 'shoot as many as possible'.

A year ago, I started hunting coyotes where I live in Pennsylvania. I've seen a few, but am still trying to get my first one. It's a hard animal to get around here. Some of the 'experts' do well to get one or two a year. There is no way my hunting them will ever affect their numbers, and it's enjoyable hunting an animal that is so hard to get.

Paul55,

Congrats on your hunt. Nice trophies.
I used to hunt coyotes a lot when I lived in Indiana (I moved south 13 yrs ago). They are indeed very hard to get. I used to call them in with a diaphram turkey call squeaked like a rabbit. Hunted foxes a lot this way too, had them come up to practically arms length at times. I've always thought that the dumbest coyote was smarter than the smartest fox.

quote:

Originally posted by Jagter:
paul55:

Again, you're not to be blamed at all!

Hope landowners and PH's learnt something from all this debate.

Jagter,
Why dont you pick up the phone educate Riaan? I doubt he will be on Accurate Reloading anytime soon as he stays very busy HUNTING with his clients. He is a third generation PH that has been hunting since he could walk. Come to think of it, you should contact his father Tini and give him an ear full too. Tini is in his late 60's and is still an active PH...I am sure he would be happy to debate you! As for not shooting the Trophy ram in a group of Impala to promote survival of the species...you Sir are off your rocker!

Paul,
Glad you had a great trip. I return next week to hunt with Riaan for the 6th time. I will let you know if my luck with the Kudu is any better! I have taken some nice ones with Riaan.

quote:

Originally posted by ROSCOE:
Jagter,
Why dont you pick up the phone educate Riaan? I doubt he will be on Accurate Reloading anytime soon as he stays very busy HUNTING with his clients.

Couldn't agree with you more Roscoe!

Paul, glad to see you had a good hunt. I hunted in the same area in April and also had a great time. I don't think you need Jagter's approval.

Roscoe wrote:

quote:

As for not shooting the Trophy ram in a group of Impala to promote survival of the species...you Sir are off your rocker!

In reply to both yourself and Mike300WSM the following:
If you read my comments thoroughly you would realise that it doesn't take much commonsense (though with the lack of it one can pardon people for not understanding!) to follow my reasoning as it was clearly set out in the next quote -

quote:

Concerning the Impala and all other game types, 'survival of the fittest' is the motto amongst wild animals.
Só, to take out the best ram amongst the ewes is degrading your future Impala stocks - Mr second best now becomes the one to secure your future Impala herds. As easy as that, my friend! Therefor, shoot your ram from the ram herd or small group - much more challenging to you the hunter and on top of it you help to let the fittest survive - natural selection process promoted through your hunting!

That simply means: "Mr second best now becomes the one to secure the "quality" of your future Impala herds."
Pay special attention to the last sentence printed here in italics in the above quote - if you do get the hang of it.

Anybody who calls a person as being "off his rocker" for saying the above is a plain killer of wild animals and not a concerned and caring, long-term conservationist of nature and it's wild game inhabitants.

Here Sirs, you have a view of yourselves without having a mirror in the hand!