For a fun discussion, I would love to get the thoughts of the board on this question. Let's restrict this conversation to currently active PHs. I'm not asking about outfitters or booking agents or hunting concessions or areas; I'm thinking of the actual PH who will be on the hunt with you, carrying a rifle. In many cases the individual PH may purchase quota, and may hunt in different areas or even different countries.
Other criteria at the discretion of whoever wants to comment; please discuss your thought process or rationale as appropriate.
I'm assuming that in many cases these may not necessarily be a PH that you have personally hunted with, and the discussion may be centered around word of mouth, general perception, past awards, access to particular areas, previous average or exceptional trophy production, types of clientele served, etc. In my opinion we have a large roster of wonderful PHs working across Africa today, so of course there will be many worthy considerations and it's a subjective list, but that's part of the fun. We may see nominations for grizzled veterans who have proved it over and over for decades, and we may see nominations for young hard-chargers who are up and coming. Some may be sponsors or otherwise active on this board, and some may not. We may have an emphasis on bushcraft, or perhaps on personality/client management skills, or on trophy judgement skills, or on quality of overall trackers/team, or quite likely on shooting skills when the chips are down and a charge must be faced, or a wounded animal followed up in difficult circumstances.
In deference to the Mount Rushmore convention, you can only carve 4 on the side of the mountain...
I just think it will be fascinating to hear some discussion about this. These guys take on a very difficult job, in challenging circumstances and without much of a safety net or margin for error. Let's talk about some of the great ones and give them their flowers!
