[EMAIL]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b56/mooojojojo/lion.jpg[/EMAIL]

Looks like Tom was one happy guy. Great pics! Very nice Tom.
Steve

BoomStick,

Thanks for posting TOMO's very nice pics. He sent them to me but I had trouble getting them squared away for posting. I actually had my IT guy set up to help me with it tomorrow.

TOMO, glad to see your very nice pics posted - sorry I was dang slow getting it done.

As I mentioned in my email - very nice elephant and love the blood streaming out his ear, evidence of the perfect brainshot. I am envious.

JPK

i really thank God that i had the chance to do all that hunting before i got disabled.

and i try to suggest to anyone who has hunting dreams to "do it now ". don't put it off.

it won't be cheaper in the future.

and it may be more restrictive regulation wise.

and God forbid anything happens to your health , well you can sit in your wheelchair and keep saying " i should have, i should have"

so go for your dreams..... now, tom

Tom,

One of those buff still has his eyes open. Are you sure that YOU killed it?

boom stick, a big THANKS for helping get these posted. i sincerely appreciate it.

jpk - thanks for your efforts too, if i knew what i was doing i could probably have sent them in a better format.

but my "new " computer (dec 8 2006) is crapping out for the 3rd time ! so it is off to gateway again ! i'm beginning to think they really are disposable . cheers, tom

Nice pictures, and it looks like some fantastic hunting!! Must have been a real trip. Some really nice trophy"s too. Congradulations.

TOMO,

Try a Dell maybe. This one in my home is going on five or so and going strong. For most of that time I worked out of my house and it saw lots of use.

JPK

Is that a silencer screwed on in the 5th pic with the pic and antelope? (Not sure of the critters)

Very nice trophies Tom

Fred

Nice!

Tom - you and I share something in common - we both have a face for radio

Jim,
I resemble that remark!

Nice trophies Tom!

Nice photos...looks like you had some great hunting experiences.

tommo...sorry i could not get it here sooner...my laptop is down and at work it is hard to "surf"

thanks for sharing the pics and advice.

Tom, thanks for sharing those great photos. Nice trophies across the board and great memories all, I'm sure.

Your trophy room must be full to bursting.

BTW, I really like that full stocked Sako. It's probably too much to hope for, given that you used it on roebuck, but it wouldn't be a .375 would it? That is a sweet rig!

Tom, great animals, how big was the ivory???


Mike

Great photos! Nice trophies! Thanks for sharing.
Bill

hi all, i'll try to answer the questions you asked. the ivory was 55# and 57 1/2# - both tusks were 6 feet on the outside curve. and perfectly matched - the Lord sent me a good one. rifle used was an army & navy 450 straight - one shot in the earhole brained him. he was dead before he hit the ground. all my years of practice paid off when it was time. that rifle pointed exactly where i as looking. i didn't need to see the sights, as soon as the rifle hit my shoulder i fired. distance was less than 30 yards.

the rifle with the blesboks is a ruger 77 in 270 with a silencer. they are legal in s.a. and used especially when night culling with lights. the silencers don't seem to affect the accuracy at all. this was a borrowed rifle as i did not have a scoped rifle with me. the lower noise level doesn't spook the game too much.

the single shot - as with the leopard and plains game is a merkel kipplauf (k 1) in 300 win mag. deadly accurate i took a springbuck at 400 yards - the furthest i ever shot anything. i don't know who was more surprised when i shot, me or the springbuck !

the sako was a borrowed rifle in estonia - in 9,3 x 62 . i wish i could have talked the owner out of it....
well maybe next time. it isn't a 375 but i don't think the roebuck or the keiler knew it .

the lion was also taken with the 450. he came to the blind , not the bait. until you see one up close and standing you don't realize how big they really are ! he is an sci gold medal lion . i estimated he weighed 1,000 poundsd. but we had him on a scale within an hour after shooting and he weighed 350 pounds. the message
here is take with a grain of salt ( a 55 # block ) the estimates of 500 + pound lions. the scales don't tell stories... some ph do. i trust the scales and the skull measurement.

let me re-read the posts and see what i missed. thanks for all your nice comments - good hunting to you
and waidsmanns heil, tom

the rifle with the buffalo is a searcy 577 ejector model. very accurate and a joy to shoot. a real stopper.

not shown are pics of the 458 lott or the 303 westley droplock. i used the drop lock for shooting some impala for bait, but without a scope my eyes aren't as good as the englishmen of old ! so for any distance shooting i used a scoped rifle.

these photos were from 3 trips to zimbabwe, 2 to south africa, 2 to estonia and 1 to finland but i can't seem to find any pics from that one or the trip to russia.

Tomo
Nice rifles, nice trophies.

Great Ivory.

Awesome pictures and trophys!

It is with a heavy heart to notify you of the passing of tomo577, Tom Ondrus. We may have had our differences, but many things were in common also. May he hunt forever, with unlimited ammo, and a good double rifle.


Frank "Tom" Ondrus

Frank "Tom" Ondrus, age 66, passed away April 13, 2010 at Erie Health Canter after a long illness. A resident of Albion, for five years, and previous resident of Austinburg, Ohio, for 15 years, where he owned and operated Cable Tool. An avid big game hunter who traveled to Africa nine times. He was a loving husband of Coral; a dear father of Suzanne, Christiana, Mike, Jake, Josh, and Krys; grandfather of Cierra and Aneveah; brother of the late James; son of the late Frank and Ann; and son in law of Edward and Cheryl Spencer. Visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. and a chapel service at 7:30 p.m. to be held at Zele Funeral Home, 452 East 152nd St., Cleveland, OH 44110, on Sunday April 18, 2010.

That was nice hunting. Some day I'll shake his
hand again, we'll each have double in the left...

quote:

Originally posted by tomo577:
i really thank God that i had the chance to do all that hunting before i got disabled.

and i try to suggest to anyone who has hunting dreams to "do it now ". don't put it off.

it won't be cheaper in the future.

and it may be more restrictive regulation wise.

and God forbid anything happens to your health , well you can sit in your wheelchair and keep saying " i should have, i should have"

so go for your dreams..... now, tom

Truer words were never written.

RIP Tom.

May the wind be in your face and the sun at your back....

RIP Tom.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:

quote:

Originally posted by tomo577:
i really thank God that i had the chance to do all that hunting before i got disabled.

and i try to suggest to anyone who has hunting dreams to "do it now ". don't put it off.

it won't be cheaper in the future.

and it may be more restrictive regulation wise.

and God forbid anything happens to your health , well you can sit in your wheelchair and keep saying " i should have, i should have"

so go for your dreams..... now, tom

Truer words were never written.

RIP Tom.

+1

How much more potent is this message today. Thanks for the reminder of this thread.

I got to spend a little time with Tom at the only DRSS shoot I had the pleaser to attending.

Tom was already disabled at that time, and with the heat had a hard time getting around. I did what I could to help that weekend and spent several hours with him. We had a good time together, he had a passion for fine guns and Africa. We spoke several times after on the phone. He had a wealth of knowledge to share.

As many have I got to feel Toms sharp side, It takes a special man to go through all that Tom did, He was not going to go quietly into the night!!!

If he was a little sharp at times it's what he needed to be to get through. He was a truly a man's man, and his passing is a great loss!

JD

I had the privilege of time with Tom on the phone several times over the past couple of years. He knew a lot and was willing to share that knowledge and experience he had accumulated over the years.

Rich
DRSS

We are diminished...

What a great remembrance of a friend...

Mike