Royal27
AH ambassador
When I was a small boy I had two separate influences that put Africa, and hunting Africa, into my heart and mind. One was a friend of my father's and the other was the McMillan family.
The McMillans were family friends of my grandparents going back to before the hunt in 1947. Dad told me that he remembered going to see a public slide show of the hunt as a small boy in lubbock.
I never met Mr. McMillan or his father, but saw the amazing trophy room and was told many stories as a small boy by Mrs. McMillan (Bill's mother). Somewhere at my parents house is a picture of me and my two sisters on the back of one of the Lions from this hunt. Which ironically was in a utility room as the actual massive trophy room was too full of everything else.
I remember the two rhinos and the elephant tusks, both sets which were over 100 lbs per side. There was also a massive fireplace in that room that was flanked by two display cases. One of which was full of bird eggs and the other of arrow heads. This safari was truly a "mini Roosevelt" safari.
There were animals from other trips as well, including a tiger and even a bald eagle taken long, long ago. There was a shoulder mount of one of the elephants of course. But my mother's favorite animal of all? The tiny dik dik that was displayed near that massive fireplace. Some of you may have seen me mention that I want a Dik Dik and that I will have it mounted and give it to my mother. Well, this is why.
I believe Bill McMillan is still alive, but don't know how to get in touch with him and just found this article today. I will see if I can find the friend mentioned in the article as I'd love to see the video of the stories.
I hope y'all enjoy the article and are as amazed at this trip as a small boy was while walking through a trophy room some 40 odd years ago.
Source: http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2012-03-13/mcmillan-honored-lifetime-achievement-afield
Posted March 13, 2012 10:25 am - Updated March 14, 2012 12:39 am
By LOGAN G. CARVER
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
McMillan honored for lifetime achievement afield
Lifetime Achievement award
Bill McMillan was honored with a lifetime achievement award from Lubbock Safari Club International. McMillan has hunted around the world and has several memories gracing the interior of his office in Lubbock. (Zach Long)
Bill McMillan was honored with a lifetime achievement award from Lubbock Safari Club International. McMillan has hunted around the world and has several memories gracing the interior of his office in Lubbock. (Zach Long)
Few men have seen what Bill McMillan has seen in his lifetime. None ever will again.
W.G. “Bill” McMillan saw during his big-game hunting adventures pristine habitat on multiple continents — much of which has drastically changed since McMillan’s eyes fell upon it.
His 1947 African safari took him to what was then British East Africa, modern-day Kenya and Tanzania, where he cut through 9-foot-tall grass in land virtually untouched by white men.
Much of the area McMillan hunted during that trip is closed to hunting now.
Lifetime Achievement award
From the plains of Africa to the jungles of the Amazon to the Alaskan tundra, McMillan has amassed an encyclopedia of memories in the field, and for that he has been honored by the Lubbock chapter of Safari Club International with its Lifetime Achievement award.
“(The award) recognizes the experiences — the romance — of big campfires, of a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a beautiful sunrise and fantastic sunset,” McMillan said. “You will have sore feet, cold feet and a dry stomach.”
SCI President Barry Cowart said the award goes to someone who has been successful in his vocational business and is also a longtime hunter.
In McMillan, hunting enthusiasts have a link to a period in history that for most people only e xists in books, Cowart said.
“All we can do is read about those types of hunts, and to find an individual who experienced Old Africa on that type of a hunting safari is — we’re almost beyond being able to find people who were able to go on those types of trips.”
The 1947 safari revealed
Sitting under a mounted Cape Buffalo in his Lubbock office, McMillan, who turns 85 next month, recalls details of that legendary 1947 safari like it was yesterday.
The McMillan family spent four months in British East Africa.
They traveled more than 5,000 miles and camped out for 98 days.
“You can not imagine travel in Africa 65 years ago,” McMillan said. “It was back in there where a lot of people had never seen white men.”
They cut their way through the bush and often had to cut down trees to lay across rivers so the vehicles could cross.
They burned the grass behind them so no one could follow them, McMillan said.
He saw an Africa few people were fortunate enough to see. He once viewed 100,000 animals at one time.
“You cannot imagine 100,000,” he said. “I would see elephants, rhino, buffalo, cape buffalo and lion in one sight.”
It was during that safari that McMillan killed the coveted “Big Five.”
The elephant, rhino, cape buffalo, lion and leopard are the most dangerous African game animals, and to bag all five in a lifetime, let alone one trip, is a “Holy Grail” of African big game hunting.
Modern hunting restrictions make collecting the “Big Five” nearly impossible as it is outrageously cost-prohibitive.
In total, the expedition collected two elephants, two black rhino, two Cape buffalo, two lions and two leopards, as well as 73 plains animals.
That hunt was one of a kind, Cowart said.
“That’s historical,” he said. “We couldn’t come back and duplicate that hunt today, if you had enough money and time and energy to try to do it — that’s historical.”
The jaguar hunt
Not all of McMillan’s hunts were as successful as the 1947 expedition.
In 1969, he went on a jaguar hunt with a rookie guide. The guide had lied to McMillan, and McMillan didn’t know the man had never hunted.
They traveled the Napo river into hostile native territory — where natives had killed missionaries the decade before.
They were in near-impenetrable jungle in dangerous territory, and there were no jaguar.
McMillan cut the trip short and traveled around the clock — 24 hours straight back up the river.
He said navigating the river in the dark was one of the scariest things he’s ever done.
A wrong move on that river, rife with whirlpools and piranhas, in a 50-foot canoe with a 40-horsepower motor would almost certainly be his last.
“We had to listen to the rapids, where they were, cause we couldn’t see them,” he said.
The cobra scare
Then there was the spitting cobra in Africa.
The snake spit at McMillan’s father, W.G. McMillan Sr., and then sought cover under a rock.
The McMillans used a winch to lift the rock and when the snake came out aimed at the senior McMillan, young Bill McMillan opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun.
“That cobra shot out at him, and I killed it and didn’t even know it,” McMillan said. “I didn’t even remember shooting.”
The Alaskan bear hunt
After killing a brown bear in Alaska, McMillan was on a small plane that landed in total darkness.
An assistant guide shined a flashlight on Dog Salmon Creek and the pilot landed the plane.
The tail hit a tree as they landed.
“Believe me, that will scare the ---- out of you,” McMillan says with a laugh not quite masking the gravity of the situation.
Of trophies and tales
For years, McMillan kept his trophy mounts in Lubbock, but he moved them to his house in Ruidoso, N.M., several years ago.
McMillan’s friend Dan Howard said the display of animals is a sight to behold.
“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “It’s like a museum.”
One weekend, Howard sat down and turned a video camera on McMillan at the Ruidoso house.
With amazing detail, McMillan went from animal to animal and described the corresponding hunt — kind of an oral history of international hunting.
“I knew if something ever happened to him, that’d be lost,” Howard said.
McMillan could look at a mounted animal and recall where the hunt was, who was on it, what cartridge was used and so on.
“It was unbelievable the detail he remembered about each one of those heads and the hunt it was on,” Howard said.
Howard said McMillan’s hunting prowess is still as sharp as his memory.
When hunting with McMillan, fellow hunters better be on their game because McMillan is quick on the draw and accurate, Howard said.
“He’s quite a shot,” he said. “If he gets the first shot, well you never do get a shot because he’s such a good shot.”
McMillan is a great hunter and somewhat of a living legend, but he’s also a great friend and all-around good guy, Howard said.
“He’s just a thoughtful kind of person — just a super guy,” he said.
The McMillans were family friends of my grandparents going back to before the hunt in 1947. Dad told me that he remembered going to see a public slide show of the hunt as a small boy in lubbock.
I never met Mr. McMillan or his father, but saw the amazing trophy room and was told many stories as a small boy by Mrs. McMillan (Bill's mother). Somewhere at my parents house is a picture of me and my two sisters on the back of one of the Lions from this hunt. Which ironically was in a utility room as the actual massive trophy room was too full of everything else.
I remember the two rhinos and the elephant tusks, both sets which were over 100 lbs per side. There was also a massive fireplace in that room that was flanked by two display cases. One of which was full of bird eggs and the other of arrow heads. This safari was truly a "mini Roosevelt" safari.
There were animals from other trips as well, including a tiger and even a bald eagle taken long, long ago. There was a shoulder mount of one of the elephants of course. But my mother's favorite animal of all? The tiny dik dik that was displayed near that massive fireplace. Some of you may have seen me mention that I want a Dik Dik and that I will have it mounted and give it to my mother. Well, this is why.
I believe Bill McMillan is still alive, but don't know how to get in touch with him and just found this article today. I will see if I can find the friend mentioned in the article as I'd love to see the video of the stories.
I hope y'all enjoy the article and are as amazed at this trip as a small boy was while walking through a trophy room some 40 odd years ago.
Source: http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2012-03-13/mcmillan-honored-lifetime-achievement-afield
Posted March 13, 2012 10:25 am - Updated March 14, 2012 12:39 am
By LOGAN G. CARVER
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
McMillan honored for lifetime achievement afield
Lifetime Achievement award
Bill McMillan was honored with a lifetime achievement award from Lubbock Safari Club International. McMillan has hunted around the world and has several memories gracing the interior of his office in Lubbock. (Zach Long)
Bill McMillan was honored with a lifetime achievement award from Lubbock Safari Club International. McMillan has hunted around the world and has several memories gracing the interior of his office in Lubbock. (Zach Long)
Few men have seen what Bill McMillan has seen in his lifetime. None ever will again.
W.G. “Bill” McMillan saw during his big-game hunting adventures pristine habitat on multiple continents — much of which has drastically changed since McMillan’s eyes fell upon it.
His 1947 African safari took him to what was then British East Africa, modern-day Kenya and Tanzania, where he cut through 9-foot-tall grass in land virtually untouched by white men.
Much of the area McMillan hunted during that trip is closed to hunting now.
Lifetime Achievement award
From the plains of Africa to the jungles of the Amazon to the Alaskan tundra, McMillan has amassed an encyclopedia of memories in the field, and for that he has been honored by the Lubbock chapter of Safari Club International with its Lifetime Achievement award.
“(The award) recognizes the experiences — the romance — of big campfires, of a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a beautiful sunrise and fantastic sunset,” McMillan said. “You will have sore feet, cold feet and a dry stomach.”
SCI President Barry Cowart said the award goes to someone who has been successful in his vocational business and is also a longtime hunter.
In McMillan, hunting enthusiasts have a link to a period in history that for most people only e xists in books, Cowart said.
“All we can do is read about those types of hunts, and to find an individual who experienced Old Africa on that type of a hunting safari is — we’re almost beyond being able to find people who were able to go on those types of trips.”
The 1947 safari revealed
Sitting under a mounted Cape Buffalo in his Lubbock office, McMillan, who turns 85 next month, recalls details of that legendary 1947 safari like it was yesterday.
The McMillan family spent four months in British East Africa.
They traveled more than 5,000 miles and camped out for 98 days.
“You can not imagine travel in Africa 65 years ago,” McMillan said. “It was back in there where a lot of people had never seen white men.”
They cut their way through the bush and often had to cut down trees to lay across rivers so the vehicles could cross.
They burned the grass behind them so no one could follow them, McMillan said.
He saw an Africa few people were fortunate enough to see. He once viewed 100,000 animals at one time.
“You cannot imagine 100,000,” he said. “I would see elephants, rhino, buffalo, cape buffalo and lion in one sight.”
It was during that safari that McMillan killed the coveted “Big Five.”
The elephant, rhino, cape buffalo, lion and leopard are the most dangerous African game animals, and to bag all five in a lifetime, let alone one trip, is a “Holy Grail” of African big game hunting.
Modern hunting restrictions make collecting the “Big Five” nearly impossible as it is outrageously cost-prohibitive.
In total, the expedition collected two elephants, two black rhino, two Cape buffalo, two lions and two leopards, as well as 73 plains animals.
That hunt was one of a kind, Cowart said.
“That’s historical,” he said. “We couldn’t come back and duplicate that hunt today, if you had enough money and time and energy to try to do it — that’s historical.”
The jaguar hunt
Not all of McMillan’s hunts were as successful as the 1947 expedition.
In 1969, he went on a jaguar hunt with a rookie guide. The guide had lied to McMillan, and McMillan didn’t know the man had never hunted.
They traveled the Napo river into hostile native territory — where natives had killed missionaries the decade before.
They were in near-impenetrable jungle in dangerous territory, and there were no jaguar.
McMillan cut the trip short and traveled around the clock — 24 hours straight back up the river.
He said navigating the river in the dark was one of the scariest things he’s ever done.
A wrong move on that river, rife with whirlpools and piranhas, in a 50-foot canoe with a 40-horsepower motor would almost certainly be his last.
“We had to listen to the rapids, where they were, cause we couldn’t see them,” he said.
The cobra scare
Then there was the spitting cobra in Africa.
The snake spit at McMillan’s father, W.G. McMillan Sr., and then sought cover under a rock.
The McMillans used a winch to lift the rock and when the snake came out aimed at the senior McMillan, young Bill McMillan opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun.
“That cobra shot out at him, and I killed it and didn’t even know it,” McMillan said. “I didn’t even remember shooting.”
The Alaskan bear hunt
After killing a brown bear in Alaska, McMillan was on a small plane that landed in total darkness.
An assistant guide shined a flashlight on Dog Salmon Creek and the pilot landed the plane.
The tail hit a tree as they landed.
“Believe me, that will scare the ---- out of you,” McMillan says with a laugh not quite masking the gravity of the situation.
Of trophies and tales
For years, McMillan kept his trophy mounts in Lubbock, but he moved them to his house in Ruidoso, N.M., several years ago.
McMillan’s friend Dan Howard said the display of animals is a sight to behold.
“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “It’s like a museum.”
One weekend, Howard sat down and turned a video camera on McMillan at the Ruidoso house.
With amazing detail, McMillan went from animal to animal and described the corresponding hunt — kind of an oral history of international hunting.
“I knew if something ever happened to him, that’d be lost,” Howard said.
McMillan could look at a mounted animal and recall where the hunt was, who was on it, what cartridge was used and so on.
“It was unbelievable the detail he remembered about each one of those heads and the hunt it was on,” Howard said.
Howard said McMillan’s hunting prowess is still as sharp as his memory.
When hunting with McMillan, fellow hunters better be on their game because McMillan is quick on the draw and accurate, Howard said.
“He’s quite a shot,” he said. “If he gets the first shot, well you never do get a shot because he’s such a good shot.”
McMillan is a great hunter and somewhat of a living legend, but he’s also a great friend and all-around good guy, Howard said.
“He’s just a thoughtful kind of person — just a super guy,” he said.
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That was at a time when a hunt last months, not just days or a week or two like it does now. Bill may have hunted for 98 days but I bet he was away from home for almost 6 months with steamship travel and all. And then to get all the trophy's back preserved successfully and mounted is incredible. 
