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Unbelievable! I'm reliving my own hunt . . . I refused to leave the area after the PH had stopped the tracking because it was too thick and too dangerous. He said he'd leave the trackers with a fire overnight to try to keep the hyenas at bay . . . luckily, just as I was saying I'd stay with...

One of the advantages (one of the few advantages, in my view) of record books is that we can have some idea of what is actually happening on the ground. And what's happening is that new records are being entered onto the record books all the time. Record books aren't a complete answer of...

I get that (not a big logo guy myself) but Kilimanjaro Rifles seems to have done well with their Kevin Robertson .505 Gibbs.

It was bushbuck which got me on my spiral horned quest. You have to love these little guys - half to a third the size of a kudu but with 4 times the heart. They don't know how small they are, and their toughness more than makes up for what they lack in size. While you should always approach...

I understand but I'm not sure the two of you going at it will further the discussion very much . . . Your last sentence is a very important one, and one I've often thought of starting a thread about. I've been to Africa more than 14 times and I like to think I've picked up some things along...

I see that you're right @Royal27. It can happen, of course, just like it can happen that I'm wrong! So I hereby apologize to @Bailey Vinac for letting the steam get in the way of my reading. If Wayne will let me, I could perhaps edit the reply to take his name out of it?

I fear this may be getting a little out of hand. The purpose of this thread, as I see it, is to discuss "sustainable hunting practices" and not to attack those hunting practices. I think we can all agree that if you want to hunt only unfenced, free ranging game, that is certainly your right...

This post may take the prize for the most arrant nonsense in a single post by anyone on AfricaHunting.com, ever. But we have to start somewhere, so here goes. The first statement is true. Elephant hunting was not prohibited. There was a moratorium put on hunting, including elephant hunting...

As all have said, this makes perfect sense and is extremely well written. Good for Botswana. The challenge will be that many antis do not believe that animals should have "economic value" any more than human beings should have "economic value." That's where we - or at least I - and they...

I would argue that the definition of "self sustaining", if it ever excluded supplementary water, should no longer. At one point, game, but especially elephants, would migrate significant distances to follow the water. These days game can generally (there are some exceptions) no longer migrate...

I didn't take @One Day... to mean by his analysis that they were shooting the "natural increase" as opposed to other, older, animals. I thought he was just showing they had large populations of animals and it would be a challenge to shoot enough animals to keep populations flat. I also didn't...

There's nothing wrong with negotiating trophy fees in south Africa, where the outfitter typically owns the game you're shooting. If, though, this is about telling the outfitter after you've shot an animal that you won't pay the agreed trophy fee, then as everyone has said, not only is that...

You're right of course. In comparing safaris, especially if they involve different countries, you need to look at the entire package. Namibia and South Africa have - I think I can say without doubt - the lowest day rates in Africa. Day rates rise, sometimes dramatically, when you leave those...

I've done this a number of times, and the luggage does not have to be picked up or cleared in South Africa. If it's checked through to Zimbabwe (I've done this through Bulawayo as well as Victoria Falls), it will simply show up at your final destination. As for ensuring it's on the flight to...

If someone posts a request for a hunt in South Africa, Namibia or Zimbabwe (at least), there's usually a response within the hour. PM's are sent and offers of hunts abound. Here we have a thread dealing with Tanzania, and only Tanzania. I said in an earlier post that I was contemplating a...

I think SAA is just catching up to what many airlines have been doing for a long time, including many North American airlines. And as for fees, have you stepped into a bank recently? We can blame Africa for many things, but they didn't invent "extra fees"!

I don’t believe it is . . . Which may present an opportunity for Canucks!

This is one time when SCI and I agree completely - "Outstanding".

We so rarely hear of either common sense or science based decisions when it comes to hunting that I almost didn't believe this could be true. Now I just need an outfitter . . .

These are complex issues. I have hunted with the Baka people, and I have sen how they live. If you have lived in a forest for generations beyond recollection, and you have no desire to leave, but someone in a big city far away declares that you now live in a park and have to go, or at the...

I really think this is not an all or nothing situation, or at least it doesn't have to be. The treaty in question, like most, provided for subsistence hunting. The Supreme Court did not say anything about hunting as a business or for trophies. If your grandfather had given up his land in...

I have both, and have shot both in Africa. Each has taken buffalo and hippo, among other things. My only real observation is that the .416 kicks harder than the .404, but I'm not convinced that it really hits any harder (although the data proves otherwise, but that difference strikes me as not...

Maybe it's the lawyer in me, but it strikes me that a deal's a deal. The Supreme Court was asked to determine if someone was guilty of a criminal offence, and in order to make that determination, they were required to interpret a treaty. That interpretation is done according to what the...

I must be getting slow. Once again I’m missing the point. The Aussie PM won because more people wanted him than the other guy. If you’re saying that the people who wanted him were simpletons who were led by the nose, then why weren’t those who supported the other guy guilty of the same? Or...

I'm not at all sure what the point of this comment or cartoon is. Before I jump to any conclusions, can someone explain it to me?

Unfortunately nothing was said about this in the "to do's", but this is the crux of the issue with the antis. If, as the antis believe, elephants are on the same moral plane as humans, then it is never legitimate to "utilize" them in any manner, sustainable or otherwise. If, as hunters almost...

Have to disagree. There are many ways to teach firearms safety. I learned from an individual who was calm and unflappable, while I have friends who learned from ranters. I know which is the more effective teaching technique. But you are entitled to your view.

I wrote the above a while ago. But the thread got me thinking - what about going to Tanzania? We hear so much about the problems outfitters there are having - maybe we can help each other? I've been trying to decide what to do next, having just competed the nine spiral horns. Maybe a long...

There it is, in a nutshell. It’s not about slings, or carries, or types of rifles, or whatever. It’s about being safe. And frankly Phil, my guess is you’re further ahead with this calm statement than some others who prefer a rant.

Thank you for posting. This cannot be emphasized enough. Many years ago I took a very nice leopard in Zimbabwe. The skin was dipped and packed. It arrived in Canada about a year after the hunt - not an unusual wait at the time, nor even today. My taxidermist called me as soon as he saw the...

I continue to be astounded that people who by all appearances (this seems to be game viewing vehicle) should know better intentionally put themselves into dangerous situations. This was a family group of elephants with mothers and calves. It's only to be expected that at some point, one of...

With respect, @sgt_zim, I don't agree with you about the "real question." There has always been inequality, however you choose to define it. Everything about humans (and nature) as a group tends to fall on a bell curve, more or less. Trying to force a bell curve into a flat line is...

Trophy fees for buffalo (and certain other species) have come down dramatically in South Africa over the last few years. A little research on the web and some discussions with outfitters should provide lots of options far below $15k. Trophy fees for buffalo in countries with traditionally...

I agree completely - the horses couldn't even survive where they are without supplemental feeding and watering. Nothing natural about their presence at all. But you can't suggest shooting a horse to a horse person . . . logic goes out the window. Thus my point!

Once again, I get to sound like a broken record. This is yet another example of how we and the antis are talking past each other. We point to science, and they point to emotion. In this case, guess which will win most of the time? If you have any doubt that even the best intentioned can be...

Good luck with the hunt! Took me two tries to get a leopard - all the sweeter for that! And if you can, the Hartmaan makes a great rug - much better than plains zebra in my view - the hair is more "velvet-like', thicker and more contrast between white and black. A wonderful trophy and one...

The fees - mostly day rates - are very high, but personally I'd be prepared to give Tanzania a try if I believed you were actually getting what you were paying for. But what worries me is the reports I get from outfitters there of rampant elephant and other poaching, encroachment of herders and...

This is what has happened in Kenya. Parks look large on a map, but on the ground, encroachment has been happening for decades. On the other hand, some countries take these matters seriously. While I was hunting in Benin, cattle herders had moved into a corner of Pendjari National Park. We...

Little by little . . .

Don't blame you for the lack of patience! People have expressed opinions both ways. As usual, no one answer on which all can seem to agree. Likely the tipping equivalent of captive bred lion hunting. My opinion - yes, it does impact the tip. The "West' is mostly responsible for this whole...

If you have already hunted South Africa, I think it's time for something a little wilder and more olde Africa. Zambia has some of the best, if not the best, sable. However, the Matetsi area in Zimbabwe has essentially the same sable, and has cheaper buffalo as well. So for the best of both...

I'm surprised none of the Namibian outfitters have responded. In my experience - limited in Namibia but I have hunted there - the expectations are pretty much the same as in South Africa, so you could follow the guidelines outlined in earlier posts. My target tends to be in the max $100/day...

I agree with you that it's unlikely to be successful, but I also agree that it might just make a point. Let us know if you go ahead, so we can vote!

Please let us know what you think once you've used it "in action."

At the time of the "three amigos" lawsuit in the US (to stop hunting of scimitar horned oryx, dama gazelle and addax), one of those who sued said she would rather see the animals extinct than hunted. This is the same mentality as that which we see attacking Namibia. But to point out, as this...

Red Leg is, as usual, entirely correct. It should also be noted that the First World War ended not with a surrender by Germany, but with an armistice. You might be hard pressed to identify exactly what the difference would have been, given the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, but formally...

I think this is an excellent idea, and one I will try to adopt on future trips. This is a common problem, but you need to be careful with the solution. I have frequently left a "global" tip for the camp with the PH or the outfitter, but when I do so, I always call the cook (who is almost...

Can't disagree with you - that's absolutely true. But the government doesn't want to get into those distinctions, so they just make blanket rules. Wish I could do that.

I am a lawyer, but not qualified in the US. However, I have had challenges with this in the past, and can tell you that the wording of the applicable provisions can easily lend itself to an interpretation which would prohibit you from taking such a product out of the US without a permit...