Thoughts on Craig Boddington?

[PerH]

Perhaps one of the gun and hunt writers ive learnt the most of , and i sent him pictures of my .450 Ruger nr1 a while after i got it. That inspired him so much he asked the two makers to include it in his series and that was that .

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Why are you guys derailing this fossilized thread? Shame on you! Someone call the forum police.

 

[franzfmdavis]

He was polite the two times I briefly met him in passing. He does seem to get a lot of attention at hunting events and probably spends a good part of those events shaking hands and being interrupted. I imagine being a celebrity is annoying on a personal level and enjoyable on a financial level.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I don't have a strong opinion in either direction, but my issue has always been how do you file for bankruptcy and keep chugging along seemingly without a hitch?

I guess I do have one Boddington opinion. While I have generally enjoyed his writing style he does, IMHO, waaaay overuse exclamation marks. Sorry... !

 

[dogcat1]

I don't think about him. He writes fluff. He rarely pays for his hunts as he is always hustling a deal. He is on his 4th wife..... Lastly, when he tried selling used safari clothes on the internet as something special... enough is enough.

 

[Sarg]

I don't think about him. He writes fluff. He rarely pays for his hunts as he is always hustling a deal. He is on his 4th wife..... Lastly, when he tried selling used safari clothes on the internet as something special... enough is enough.

Haha funny that, he left a pair of shorts in one of our camps, I ended up grabbing them, wore them a few years until they fell apart.

I think US military maybe ?

 

[Red Leg]

Haha funny that, he left a pair of shorts in one of our camps, I ended up grabbing them, wore them a few years until they fell apart.

I think US military maybe ?

Unless they were boxers (I pray God they weren't ), the US Army doesn't do shorts. He is likely upset that he didn't get to sell them.

 

[Uncompahgre]

For 20 years in the financial industry it was my job to collect bad debts. Several times these bad debts ended up with the customer taking bankruptcy, be it an individual or a very large corporation. I've gone through Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 bankruptcies in my efforts to collect the debt owned to my employers. The one thing not mentioned in this thread and the other thread the Brickburn referenced are the bankruptcy attorneys that are involved and the legal rights that the debtor has while going through bankruptcy. Also, another matter that happens in bankruptcy are reaffirmation agreements that can occur after a bankruptcy is closed with the court's knowledge. I have executed dozens of reaffirmation agreements. These agreements are not part of the public file either. The bankruptcy laws are very detailed on what will or will not be included in the bankruptcy proceedings. I assume CB hired a very good bankruptcy attorney to represent him and that attorney made sure that CB was well aware of his rights. I am only guessing, but a lot of his firearms were probably off limits for they were means of making a living, no different than another individual getting to keep their car to get to work in, or a farmer keeping his farm equipment to plant the next crop. The bankruptcy filings are shared with all the creditors. On a side note, I was an unsecured creditor in Remington's bankruptcy as well. Yes, bankruptcy can suck for all the creditors. You may get nothing or pennies on the dollar depending on your standing in the bankruptcy. Unsecured creditors are at the bottom of the list and usually get nothing. We also don't know what the root cause of CB's bankruptcy was. It could have been bad advice from one of his sponsors, his heart attack and subsequent medical bills or a hundred other reasons. I believe it took a lot of courage on CB's part to go back into the public lime light after his bankruptcy with the stigma that surrounds bankruptcy. I have visited with CB a few times at past SCI conventions and he was a perfect gentleman and answered all my questions. That is my only contact with CB.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Unless they were boxers (I pray God they weren't ), the US Army doesn't do shorts. He is likely upset that he didn't get to sell them.

Boddington was a Marine as I recall? He was field grade officer and some have been known to adapt their own uniform.

 

[mark-hunter]

He writes fluff. He rarely pays for his hunts as he is always hustling a deal. He is on his 4th wife.....

Free hunts and ethics.
Boddington shot just over a 100 buffalos (not to mention other game). That is worth between 1 and 1.5 million dollars on commercial market.
Based on this experience, he wrote books "Buffalo" and "Buffalo II".
Without experience, there is no credibility.
So, entire hunting community benefits from his experience and hutning, done for free or not.
I cannot imagine anybody investing 1.5 million of his own money to write a book about hunting.
But he did return this to community with his public work.

If somebody offers me free hunt, I would take it. You wouldnt?
There are some free hunts, and giveaways on this forum, and nobody complaints.
I am not under impression this is unethical.

A person I know (a non professional), is organising hunts in Africa for last 30 years.
Taking groups of hunters to Africa. As a result, he has more then 100 free hunts unders his belt.
Ethical, non ethical, or standard practice?

What does ti mean ethically "free hunt"? Why it must necessarily be a bad practice?

CB is running on wife no 4?
O man!
So, did Hemingway! What shall we do about him? (and about the half of modern Hollywood)
This is totally private matter.

2 books, on buffalos, 1 book on elephant, 4 books on 10 years of safari experience in each book, 2 books on safari rilfes, one book on overall safari for beginners, coauthored one or two books on safari, etc.
But most importantly it is MODERN. His writing is factual. And if a modern day unexperienced safari hunter takes information from his books or articles, he will be well informed before going on a first safari.

Safari industry, needs ambassador. And each generation of safari hunters has at least one. Today, it is Boddington.

 

[grand veneur]

When it comes to hunting, I mainly read technical articles and CB is one of the authors whose article I read. Nevertheless, everything written should always be perceived with caution, because anyone who is sponsored must also write what the sponsor expects. For this reason, many of these authors often contradict themselves. Transfer extensive experience is therefore not easy if you cannot always report objectively. A lot what these authors write is certainly helpful as it can prepare you for certain situation on the terrain in practice, but blindly believing everything and accepting it uncritically is not advisable. The best experience still remains your own after a certain amount of time, but unfortunately you then also becomes increasingly critical.

 

[TheGrayRider]

I don’t know the gentleman so I cannot and will not comment about him personally or professionally. I did attend one of his short speaking sessions on African buffalo at a DSC Convention a few years back.

I read that Craig Boddington went on 10 different hunting safaris in the equatorial jungles of Africa and never even saw or got a shot at “this animal” on license…(Answer below)






Forest sitatunga. Happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[Sarg]

Unless they were boxers (I pray God they weren't ), the US Army doesn't do shorts. He is likely upset that he didn't get to sell them.

Haha no no not "underwear" shorts, I was thinking when I posted that, I haven't seen US Army/Military shorts, I think in one of his articles there is a photo of him wearing them on that hunt, ill try & find it ?

Ok did a search & found the magazine from 98, they were a little more green than the photo & had a large green plastic button fastener.

 

[grand veneur]

I don’t know the gentleman so I cannot and will not comment about him personally or professionally. I did attend one of his short speaking sessions on African buffalo at a DSC Convention a few years back.

I read that Craig Boddington went on 10 different hunting safaris in the equatorial jungles of Africa and never even saw or got a shot at “this animal” on license…(Answer below)






Forest sitatunga. Happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

I don't quite understand what you mean. CB recommends some hunts without to claims that he did them himself.

 

[wesheltonj]

I’ve post about CB before. (1) His bankruptcy filing showed him owning some .22’s and ONE Winchester 308. (2) !!!!!!!!. Not every paragraph, please. (3) “General” he knew better.

 

[fourfive8]

Don’t know him. Never met him. I’ve read some of his stuff and it seems fairly factual. I’ve watched a couple of his videos and they seem fairly factual. His videos seem a little overcooked where he tries to jump into the role of the PH or guide. His writing style is mechanical, flat and lacks any recognizable style. Come to think of it, maybe a style one would expect if asking AI, “What is best way to hunt Cape Buffalo?” I pay little attention to Craig Boddington and get even less excited about gun models with his name on them

 

[Red Leg]

Boddington was a Marine as I recall? He was field grade officer and some have been known to adapt their own uniform.

Marines "adapt their own uniform." From where or how do you purport "know" this.

I am trying to imagine the reaction of the commandant to a report that one of the Corps' colonels had "adapted" his uniform to wearing shorts.

 

[nomspc]

I’ve used the CBEO (free) service to help evaluate potential outfitters in both RSA and Greenland. I found it to be quite beneficial, selected endorsed outfitters in both countries and am very pleased with the results.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Marines "adapt their own uniform." From where or how do you purport "know" this.

I am trying to imagine the reaction of the commandant to a report that one of the Corps' colonels had "adapted" his uniform to wearing shorts.

I said field grade officers, not necessarily Marines. Patton and McArthur come right to mind.

It would not surprise me if Boddington didn't cut off his military issue summer khaki pants for hunting shorts. I HATED my standard enlisted summer khaki uniform: heavy cotton drenched in starch that drenched me in high humidity of Korea and Tacoma. But the pants made fine shorts for civilian life. Also great work pants, but a bit too "bright" for Montana hunting. When I became acting NCO I eventually purchased a set of permanent pressed khakis from PX. Those were standard issue for officers.

 

[miket1]

All I can say is I'm sure glad Im a nobody. Sure would suck having your life picked apart and critiqued by anybody and everybody with internet access.