CharlvR
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This is a post I made on another forum. People enjoyed it a lot, and I thought I would share it with AH as well! I tweaked it a bit because the original was thread specific!
Guiding a legend
It was 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. The African Hunting Show was being hosted by the African Sporting Gazette. As usual it was raining outside and the grey and drab colours reminded me very much of Europe, and in particular London. I much rather would have been sitting back home, enjoying the feel of Africa on my skin.
I keep wondering how this landscape would look in summer time and I made a mental note to one day visit America on holiday only, in spring or summer, when the picture advertisements become reality.
The gathering my friend Adam Hunter arranged was at a sports bar a short walk from the hotel where the show is. Me and Aaron Neilson headed that way to socialise with our E-buddies and to meet new people and enjoy the pleasure of old friendship. It was a genuine surprise to see Craig Boddington and wife Donna also attending the little merry band of brothers and we had a great time. We all had a tense moment as the waitress dropped Craig’s whole beer in his lap, and laughed merrily at the poor girls horrific attempts to rectify the situation. I could not help but wonder what it would be to hunt with this man, not even talking about guiding him.
This is my story that I want to share. A short story of a great man that has done so much for our sport and industry. I do not suck up to him, nor do I idolise him. I respect him a man and a hunter, and now also call him a friend.
As it so happens, I am fortunate to have figured out a way to hunt Serval. Not by accident, but specifically. They are very territorial and coupled with another trick or two (legal), we maintain a 100% success rate on them. Given, due to license restrictions, we can only hunt 1 or two per year. A friend in South Africa, Benand Els, who is co-owner of the Safari Outdoor hunting shop, put me in contact with Craig. Benand shot a monster Serval with me in 2013. During later 2013 me and Boddington corresponded back and forth and the hunt was booked and scheduled for June 2014.
At the SCI show in 2014 me and Erika went to meet Craig and we talked about the hunt a little. Craig was busy as always, but he and Donna found time to have a chat to us. I like the personal contact before the hunt, and this was no exception.
The sun was dipping vast behind the big mountain in the West. I gave the Mountain Reedbuck ram a last look through the Spotting scope. He was slowly feeding up the hill about 800 yards above us. The Land cruiser felt light years away, far down the valley. There was not going to be an easy way.
The Serval was in the salt and the pressure off. As with most night hunts the skill was in me getting the cat in the open and the hunter making the shot. There was not much else to it.
I badly wanted to HUNT with this man. Reading his books, spending nights around the campfire with him and days in the cruiser, we now had a change to do it. If a species have been hunted before, experienced hunters only hunt the same species again if the trophy is exceptional or if the hunt appeals to the hunter. The climb up the mountain and the 8” horns of this old ram, certainly fell into both categories.
The climb through the dead ground was steep with those loose rocks hidden in the grass, that South Africa is famous for, laying strewn all over. Reaching my land mark I picked from the bottom of the Valley, about 200 yards above the ram, we crawled towards the rocky outcrop 100 yards in front of us. During this whole time Craig battled with me through the steep climb, imitating my moves, hiding behind my bulky frame, and never second guessing or questioning my strategy. As I do with all hunters, I informed him constantly of my plans and my intended actions and movements up the hill. A fit, determined man grinned back at me every time I paused to check on him (and to get air back into my lungs).
On reaching the outcrop after the accent of about 45 minutes, we slowly pushed his backpack onto the rocks as a rest, and slithered into position. I stole a little peek over the top, but could not find the ram. I asked Craig to settle in, but never took my eyes from my Swarovski binoculars. And there he was, just the horns of the ram turning as he looked around for danger. He was bedded down, with not much visible. Craig spotted him in an instant when I asked him to look for the horns, and he wasted no time in getting in position with his .375 H&H………
After the pictures and gutting the ram, we struggled down the mountain in the cool early evening. I could not help but to reflect on the last couple of days. The evenings at the camp fire. His interaction with the other 8 others hunters we had in the camp, enjoying their company as much as they did his. His work ethics, even after a long night out, filming the sunrise on top of the mountain. The stories, the banter, and of course, the hunt……..and I came to the simple realisation…….what an unbelievable honour and privilege it was to hunt with, and guide, arguably the greatest hunter and outdoor writer, of our modern times – in short, a Legend.
Guiding a legend
It was 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. The African Hunting Show was being hosted by the African Sporting Gazette. As usual it was raining outside and the grey and drab colours reminded me very much of Europe, and in particular London. I much rather would have been sitting back home, enjoying the feel of Africa on my skin.
I keep wondering how this landscape would look in summer time and I made a mental note to one day visit America on holiday only, in spring or summer, when the picture advertisements become reality.
The gathering my friend Adam Hunter arranged was at a sports bar a short walk from the hotel where the show is. Me and Aaron Neilson headed that way to socialise with our E-buddies and to meet new people and enjoy the pleasure of old friendship. It was a genuine surprise to see Craig Boddington and wife Donna also attending the little merry band of brothers and we had a great time. We all had a tense moment as the waitress dropped Craig’s whole beer in his lap, and laughed merrily at the poor girls horrific attempts to rectify the situation. I could not help but wonder what it would be to hunt with this man, not even talking about guiding him.
This is my story that I want to share. A short story of a great man that has done so much for our sport and industry. I do not suck up to him, nor do I idolise him. I respect him a man and a hunter, and now also call him a friend.
As it so happens, I am fortunate to have figured out a way to hunt Serval. Not by accident, but specifically. They are very territorial and coupled with another trick or two (legal), we maintain a 100% success rate on them. Given, due to license restrictions, we can only hunt 1 or two per year. A friend in South Africa, Benand Els, who is co-owner of the Safari Outdoor hunting shop, put me in contact with Craig. Benand shot a monster Serval with me in 2013. During later 2013 me and Boddington corresponded back and forth and the hunt was booked and scheduled for June 2014.
At the SCI show in 2014 me and Erika went to meet Craig and we talked about the hunt a little. Craig was busy as always, but he and Donna found time to have a chat to us. I like the personal contact before the hunt, and this was no exception.
The sun was dipping vast behind the big mountain in the West. I gave the Mountain Reedbuck ram a last look through the Spotting scope. He was slowly feeding up the hill about 800 yards above us. The Land cruiser felt light years away, far down the valley. There was not going to be an easy way.
The Serval was in the salt and the pressure off. As with most night hunts the skill was in me getting the cat in the open and the hunter making the shot. There was not much else to it.
I badly wanted to HUNT with this man. Reading his books, spending nights around the campfire with him and days in the cruiser, we now had a change to do it. If a species have been hunted before, experienced hunters only hunt the same species again if the trophy is exceptional or if the hunt appeals to the hunter. The climb up the mountain and the 8” horns of this old ram, certainly fell into both categories.
The climb through the dead ground was steep with those loose rocks hidden in the grass, that South Africa is famous for, laying strewn all over. Reaching my land mark I picked from the bottom of the Valley, about 200 yards above the ram, we crawled towards the rocky outcrop 100 yards in front of us. During this whole time Craig battled with me through the steep climb, imitating my moves, hiding behind my bulky frame, and never second guessing or questioning my strategy. As I do with all hunters, I informed him constantly of my plans and my intended actions and movements up the hill. A fit, determined man grinned back at me every time I paused to check on him (and to get air back into my lungs).
On reaching the outcrop after the accent of about 45 minutes, we slowly pushed his backpack onto the rocks as a rest, and slithered into position. I stole a little peek over the top, but could not find the ram. I asked Craig to settle in, but never took my eyes from my Swarovski binoculars. And there he was, just the horns of the ram turning as he looked around for danger. He was bedded down, with not much visible. Craig spotted him in an instant when I asked him to look for the horns, and he wasted no time in getting in position with his .375 H&H………
After the pictures and gutting the ram, we struggled down the mountain in the cool early evening. I could not help but to reflect on the last couple of days. The evenings at the camp fire. His interaction with the other 8 others hunters we had in the camp, enjoying their company as much as they did his. His work ethics, even after a long night out, filming the sunrise on top of the mountain. The stories, the banter, and of course, the hunt……..and I came to the simple realisation…….what an unbelievable honour and privilege it was to hunt with, and guide, arguably the greatest hunter and outdoor writer, of our modern times – in short, a Legend.
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