Hello from Arizona...

New to the site and can not believe the amount of info available...

My name is Jason..., born & raised in Northern AZ (Flagstaff)... As many of you know, and for those of you who don't, I am very fortunate to live in a prime location suited for an outdoorsman... Deer, elk, bear, turkey, antelope and varmints outside my back door as well as a 2 hour drive to prime bighorn or cous country. Grandpa gave me my first .22 rifle @ 8 years old and a .243 when I turned 10. My dad took me on my first deer hunt @ 10 years old and I have been hooked ever since... As well, I started archery hunting about 18 years ago and I have been fortunate enough to have hunted in Canada (Saskatchewan Whitetail) and (Quebec Caribou) as well as through-out the states including: AZ, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska and Kansas.

A couple of years ago, @ the SCI Reno show, my dad, brother & I bought, at auction, a 10 day safari in South Africa with InAfrica Safaris... It's been a long wait, but the time is almost near. We have spent the last couple of months taking care of the paperwork, plane tickets and vacation details (a few days on the back end of the safari in Cape Town).

I have a Kansas Whitetail (archery) hunt coming up in November, so I have been shooting my bow daily now, for the last 2 months and I got to thinking about taking my bow to Africa with me. After a couple of e-mails, the camp informed me that yes, I could bring and hunt w/my archery equipment and that no additional paperwork would be required.

Well, now I'm just blabbering away. Anyways, I just wanted to introduce myself to the forum, take a look around and see if anyone had any last minute advice/comments/questions and/or concerns for me and/or of me. I will be sure to document the complete trip in my journal and provide a write-up when I return.

Thank you and happy hunting!
Jason Woodruff

Hi Jason,

Glad you joined us. I'll bet you're on the edge of your chair and ready to be off at a moments notice. I know you'll have a really great time and there will be many of us here waiting for a play by play account of your hunt.

Good luck, good hunting and shoot straight!

Welcome to AH Jason! I'm sure this will be the first of many hunts for you in Africa... It's like potato chip you can't just have one...

Hey there az.hunter. I spent 7 of the best years of my life in Flag and miss it daily now that I'm out in California. I still hunt 6A elk (when I can draw, which I didn't this year) & 19A for mule deer. I guess I'm forced to hunt elsewhere this year...maybe Zambia or back to Namibia! Welcome to the site, good people and good content.

Welcome from Oklahoma.

Welcome from Greer to the east of you, and best of luck on your first trip to Africa. It won't be your last.

Bill Quimby

Thanks for all of the feedback guys. Yup, there is something pretty special about Northern AZ, and from what I hear, Africa as well.

My mom & dad have been there 4 times in the last 10 years. As a matter of fact, my mom even decided to hunt last August (having never hunted in her life). She took a fantastic Kudu and a beautiful Impala. It was a 7 day hunt and she was so sick, she was only able to get out of bed on 2 of the days. And, she took her animals on those 2 days.

When they were getting ready for their first Safari, years ago, like many, they believed that this was their once in a lifetime opportunity. But, once they got home, they were certain that they would return. I feel very blessed to know that I now have an opportunity to hunt Africa, not only with my dad, but my brother as well.

Again, thanks for the warm welcome to the site and all of the feedback.
JW

OK..., so I got back about 1.5 weeks ago, spent one day @ home & then went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (Kaibab) over the Labor Day weekend for a memorial that I put on for my father-in-law (best buddy, hunting partner, etc...,) who passed away about 3 years ago...

Was back in town for 4 days & then went up the the South Rim for a buddy's Unit 9 Archery Elk hunt... Hunting was terrible..., no cows around our area, warn, bright (1/3) moon out for the later hours of the night... So, came home for a couple of more days of work before I head out again tomorrow...

Then, on Sunday, I'm flying to Kansas for archery Whitetail...

Soooooo, I better post these pics now, or I'll never get around to it.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...09/jwkuduI.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...wgemsbuckI.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...9/jwzebraI.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m.../jwimpalaI.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...jwwarthogI.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...ldabeastII.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...bushbuckIV.jpg

I went to Africa w/my Dad & my brother. I had a list of 5 animals that I wanted to harvest: Kudu, Gemsbuck, Zebra, Impala & Warthog..., I tagged out on all of these animals. However, after I saw my brothers Blue Wildabeest..., I had to have one. And, out hunting one night trying to get my dad a bushpig, we came across this bushbuck... so I took him.

A fantastic trip and when I return & get caught up @ work, I will post some details about the Outfitter, PH, Camp and my trip to Capetown.

Thanks for looking...
Jason

Jason, Congratulations on what looks to be a great hunt. That is a whopper of a warthog! Looking forward to hearing all the details. Thomas

Jason. . . your photos along with the smile on your face sure does say it all. Congratulations on what was obviously a great hunt!

Jason, I'm glad to hear that you had a fantastic trip. You took some some great trophies and obviously had a lot of fun. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.