Experiences over the trophy

Adam Stevens

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Canada, USA, Mexico
I have a few must do hunts for myself. Things that I've wanted to do for many years. They've been written down on paper for years now and I like to draw a line through them as I go.

But what I guess I'm getting at, is I'm looking for your guys hunts that have stuck with you. I'll all for taxidermy and I will be getting my fair share of it done too but I wanna know what hunts you felt the expierence outweighed the trophy. From duiker to elephant.

The hunts that you can vividly remember. The ones that changed you, whether they met your expectations or went above and beyond what you thought the hunt would be like.

I myself have always dreamt of hunting Cape buffalo. The right way. Tall grass. In tight. Out of a tent.

Elephant bull is another. I know realistically Zim is my best option. And all this ban talk has lit a fire under me as a Canadian it's one of the best times to think about an ele hunt. I've wanted to see the Zambezi valley for ele and buffalo since I can remember. A forest dwarf elephant is also a dream. As is lord derby eland. Maybe a trip to Cameroon down the road I hope. Bongo.

Though I know someday I'll hunt plains game. Hope to bring the family when they're older. But Kudu is a must of mine.
 
Chase a Vaal Rhebuck with a bow.

Do that Kudu hunt.
 
Very first hunt, a hunt that almost didn't take place. 24 hours previously it looked to be cancelled as I sat at the Afton in Joburg. 24 hours later playing cat and mouse with 3 nyala bulls. I took the biggest. Almost to the minute, 24 hours from the night before I was standing over my first African animal after a great stalk.

Playing cat/mouse numerous times with Eland on my last hunt in Africa. The big one but one time offering a very momentary shot, but it didn't last long enough. No eland taken on that safari, still great fun.

Lioness hunt. Yes it was a CBL, but she wasn't going to come to us in hopes of getting meat we were going to give her. She was going to come in pissed off and take us down. The look of that cat as it appeared in the scope just prior to pulling the trigger is one I'll never forget.

Not Africa, but my last archery elk hunt here in Arizona. Rut was late starting it seemed and then weather put them down for about 3 days. Just as I was hoping and expecting, once the weather broke so did all hell with the hungry pent up bulls. Played the game that first morning with 3 bulls. Eventually got to watch two of them come together to fight it out for a bit. Missed a bull about a half hour later. Went back to camp where my buddy arrived just moments later and quite dejected. I'd had the time of my life while he never so much heard an elk much less saw one. We went back to the area where I'd put them to bed for the midday siesta. KJ scored that evening on his first archery bull. One of my most memorable hunts ever.
 
The hunts I like myself.

Elephant-tuskless, much more challenging and dangerous than hunting bulls.

Buffalo-the older the better even "scrum cap" or old broken horn bulls.

Hippo-PAC at night, in fields(mostly sugar cane), very exciting and dangerous when you purposefully position yourself between them and the river before the action starts!

Eland-Big old bulls with tuft and dewlap, on foot, either of the three will do.

Bushbuck-on foot, I am always hunting bushbuck.

Bushpig-over hounds or on bait or on foot at night in either corn or other cultivated crops such as macadamia nuts, I am always hunting bushpig.

Kudu-on foot, large old bulls, the "Grey Ghosts" are always challenging and very rewarding if you eventually outsmart one. Large old bulls with thick horns and often one horn broken can be a great challenge to hunt.

Any of the Tiny Ten and you can add Mountain reedbuck and Vaal Rhebuck- More challenging than hunting the big 5(or 6).

Small cats and Nocturnal animals-I love hunting these, all of them! Caracal, Serval, Hyena(Spotted and Brown), Jackals, Bushpigs, Small and Large spotted genet, Civet, African Wild cat, White tailed mongoose, Aardwolf, Leopard, Porcupine, etc. etc.

Warthogs-I am always hunting warthogs! I try and stalk them as close as possible.

The challenge of hunting these animals far outweighs the size of the trophy in the end it is about the experience.

As for hunting from a tent, we do 1-3 tent hunts per year, where everybody pitches in and all food gets cooked over open fire! You cannot beat that.
 
Its good to have dreams! Hope you take the step to make them come true. Hope to see you in Africa soon
 
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When you are the first man to touch his ivory.....it will change you.


I have a few must do hunts for myself. Things that I've wanted to do for many years. They've been written down on paper for years now and I like to draw a line through them as I go.

But what I guess I'm getting at, is I'm looking for your guys hunts that have stuck with you. I'll all for taxidermy and I will be getting my fair share of it done too but I wanna know what hunts you felt the expierence outweighed the trophy. From duiker to elephant.

The hunts that you can vividly remember. The ones that changed you, whether they met your expectations or went above and beyond what you thought the hunt would be like.

I myself have always dreamt of hunting Cape buffalo. The right way. Tall grass. In tight. Out of a tent.

Elephant bull is another. I know realistically Zim is my best option. And all this ban talk has lit a fire under me as a Canadian it's one of the best times to think about an ele hunt. I've wanted to see the Zambezi valley for ele and buffalo since I can remember. A forest dwarf elephant is also a dream. As is lord derby eland. Maybe a trip to Cameroon down the road I hope. Bongo.

Though I know someday I'll hunt plains game. Hope to bring the family when they're older. But Kudu is a must of mine.
 
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I think with all of my hunts the experience was far more important than the trophy. The taxidermy merely acts as an enabler to recall baking in the tropical sun, wading in riverine swamp, or freezing on the side of a mountain. Indeed, from a simple space perspective, I rarely have any real taxidermy work done any more. Most of my “trophies” are in the photos and/or photo books I make following each new adventure.

As to the most significant hunts, they would include my first buffalo taken in the Caprivi with Jamy Traut; a first leopard and kudu taken with Nick Nolte outside Omaruru, Namibia; and sable and Livingstone Eland hunted with Boet Van Aarde in coastal Mozambique. Watching my son take his first whitetail and first Cape buffalo was equally meaningful. As was taking one of my oldest friends to BC to hunt his first bear.

Those incredibly emotional slices of our lives are what makes this passion of ours so very special. I just pray that I can continue to recall and relive them with my dying breath.
 
I have to say Elephant rate in as nu 1.(y)

My most thrilling and lasting experiences was going after tusk less cow and PAC animals, especially under the circumstances where they are agitated & prone to charge as a result of constant villager / human conflict.. Dense vegetation, big herds with young calves, every approach is a strategic & calculated action, in fact plenty of that before the all clear is given to pull the trigger...then the danger is still not yet over, actually things then starts getting interesting again.
In all my hunting experiences, on only these hunts, were there a few times I thought to myself "this was a %$# terrible idea" usually right in the middle of a herd with visibility at just about nothing & the world start shaking all around you when youve been compromised. Its humbling to say the least.
It was these times that mulled Ruark's word around my thoughts...no more .375 on ele hunts for me thank you.

I can drabble for hours on about these hunts, though it would be like trying explaining Mona Lisa's smile to a blind man. All I can say is, I'm already planning another ele PAC for this year. I know I'll probably question my sanity & my ^%$# crazy ideas when in the same predicament again...but it is unreal memories and at the top of it all for me.

Next best would probably be crop raiding Hippo on land.
I still want to do it, but i'll need a .40 cal with a scope for that :sneaky: reason to buy that .404 Jeff.

Goodluck with your choice!
 
Elephant, by far the most memorable. Leopard with dogs and cape buffalo being second and a close third.

I have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time and I like action and being pro-active so the cat with dogs was an easy choice over a baited hunt.

But nothing is quite like elephant hunting......
 
Experience is definitely more important than the trophy.

Tops for me was my lion, but I've got plans for leopard and buffalo soon, so we'll see who the top contender ends up. Each hunt experience is special and unique.
 

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