Shallom
AH enthusiast
Shooting without permission from the PH is something i do not condone at all!!! If it ever happened with me, I would not be very happy and would probably implement the law if it were something that went against my ethics.
Someone did that with me on a lion hunt once and the background was that he had hunted the cat four times previously without any success and lost a lot of money on his pursuits. That is when he was directed to us and on the fifth attempt he actually put up his house on a facility to enable him to make a final attempt at a lion...
Well I was well aware of the background story and needless to say, the pressure was on, but i was confident and we played with many lions in the first few days. But the one i wanted him to get, was not cooperating. I knew i could out-smart him and we had time on our side. But the guest thought otherwise - one afternoon, we flushed out a young lion and as i was scannig to see whether there was anything else worth looking at, the client drew his rifle and shot the lion who was looking at us from the tall grass.
I was pissed off to say the least and had to deal with an unwanted wounded lion in the tall grass. We got him eventually... after as few from the double. So the man got his lion - I was even more pissed off! It was a young male with very little mane and a lot of reproduction in him still. The man justified his action using the background story and wondered about my disappointment, since he was quite proud of himself having ended a jinx. We saw the lion i wanted for him on the second to last day of the safari and he then understood my emotions! He was a grand old male, alone and full of poise, as if in knowledge of our cock-up! The client will never forget that sight and will not forgive himself for spending his lifetime of earnings and five attempts to end-up with a lesser lion that our entire hunting team all know about!
If someone takes a shot i askem them not to - there are consequences! Hunting is a team effort! Taking un-allowed shots in a game ranch is one thing - but taking a shot without the PH go-ahead in a wild concession - don't be surprised if the PH sends you home! Hunting in true wilderness is a team effort and you will all know when the right one comes along. If you don't, your PH will and he will explain why and you will see.
Someone did that with me on a lion hunt once and the background was that he had hunted the cat four times previously without any success and lost a lot of money on his pursuits. That is when he was directed to us and on the fifth attempt he actually put up his house on a facility to enable him to make a final attempt at a lion...
Well I was well aware of the background story and needless to say, the pressure was on, but i was confident and we played with many lions in the first few days. But the one i wanted him to get, was not cooperating. I knew i could out-smart him and we had time on our side. But the guest thought otherwise - one afternoon, we flushed out a young lion and as i was scannig to see whether there was anything else worth looking at, the client drew his rifle and shot the lion who was looking at us from the tall grass.
I was pissed off to say the least and had to deal with an unwanted wounded lion in the tall grass. We got him eventually... after as few from the double. So the man got his lion - I was even more pissed off! It was a young male with very little mane and a lot of reproduction in him still. The man justified his action using the background story and wondered about my disappointment, since he was quite proud of himself having ended a jinx. We saw the lion i wanted for him on the second to last day of the safari and he then understood my emotions! He was a grand old male, alone and full of poise, as if in knowledge of our cock-up! The client will never forget that sight and will not forgive himself for spending his lifetime of earnings and five attempts to end-up with a lesser lion that our entire hunting team all know about!
If someone takes a shot i askem them not to - there are consequences! Hunting is a team effort! Taking un-allowed shots in a game ranch is one thing - but taking a shot without the PH go-ahead in a wild concession - don't be surprised if the PH sends you home! Hunting in true wilderness is a team effort and you will all know when the right one comes along. If you don't, your PH will and he will explain why and you will see.