Mark Sullivan shows us how to handle a Double Rifle

[cagkt3]

Cal, perhaps the video posted is not the best example of how Mark hunts. It certainly seemed like he was inviting a charge rather than putting in an anchoring shot - but I am novice when it comes to hunting dangerous game. If this is not how Mark truly is, than I apologize. That was really my main issue with his methods. I have no problem whatsoever with him backing up clients, going in after wounded animals, preferring close quarters and doubles vs scoped rifles, etc.

On a lighter note, I'll be up in your neck of the woods in a couple weeks - 7 days stuck on a cruise ship hitting various stops, then 4 days in a lodge near Cooper Landing. Really looking forward to it!

 

[cal pappas]

I'm north of Anchorage by 100 miles. If you are in the area, stop by and see a few nice doubles. Much of what Mark does is for the "wow" factor. I works! In person he is a soft spoken gent. He like the charge, no doubt, but has had very few in all of his years. All that he does has been magnified by those that spew hate. Anyway, I will be out of state June 13 to 19. Other than those dates, call and stop by if you can.
Cal

 

[cagkt3]

I would love to see some doubles! So far I've been restricted to online images!

 

[cal pappas]

When will you be on the area? I'm a 4-hour drive north of Cooper Landing. As mentioned, I will be gone June 13 to 19, and then in Zimbabwe July 5 to 28th. My email is <pappas@mtaonline.net> and we can char further and make a plan.
Cal

 

[cal pappas]

Right now I have two black powder doubles for sale, a 10-bore shotgun, and a .375 bolt rifle from Cogswell and Harrison dating to 1926. I have a dozen doubles I shoot almost daily from .350 Rigby no2 up to 600 in the nitro calibers and .500 up to 4-bore in the black powder cartridge doubles.
Cal

 

[cagkt3]

I think we dock at seward and drive over on the 23rd of june. Don't think we'll have a free day to make the trip up (we have some hiking and fishing planned), but I really appreciate the offer. I'm definitely planning on returning to Alaska - it's been a dream destination for me and my wife for a while now

 

[crs]

Cal,
Thank you for contributing.

 

[cal pappas]

For yourself and anyone here, our next Alaska double rifle shoot is May 5, 2018. Everyone is welcome, we feed you, and you can look at and shoot 40-50 fine vintage doubles.
Cal

 

[crs]

Thanks, May should be a good time to be up your way, but then Africa should be OK then also.
Tomorrow, my son and I are driving to Action Outdoors Adventures exotic ranch at Hondo to blast some exotics and eat some good BBQ and steak.
Nilgai with my DR is what I want and if successful, I will make a few posts.

 

[sierraone]

I have never met Mark Sullivan but have seen a couple of his videos. I agree with most of the posters based on the videos. He is somewhat weird and full of himself based on those videos. But I have been fortunate to meet Cal Pappas and have the utmost respect for him. So if he says that Sullivan is truly a standup guy, shooter and hunter, that is the opinion I will hold until Sullivan proves otherwise! Not likely though I will ever meet him in person.

 

[cal pappas]

Thanks for the kind words.
I have only hunted Tanzania once (2006) and on a retired teacher's income that will be my only year to do so.
I had dinner with Mark a few weeks ago and learned he is moving out of Tanzania to other ventures, including guiding for bear here in Alaska, buffalo guiding in South Africa, and mule deer guiding in Mexico. Over dinner (after bear season closed) I showed Mark three of my doubles and talked of hunting buffalo in South Africa in 2018 with my vintage John Wilkes .600 nitro express. The property Mark hunts is approximately 14,000 acres--enough to hunt without seeing the border fence. (I have hunted ranches a bit smaller in both SA and Zimbabwe and one won't see a fence whilst hunting on foot. It should be fun!
Cal

 

[jand]

I met Mark back in the days when he was still exhibiting in Reno at SCI. I had a booth diagonally across from him. As is usual with exhibitors one is there early at your booth getting ready for the day. This left some time everyday to chat to him.
I found him extremely friendly and courteous , well and soft spoken. Threw me off at first actually. Lol.
When the doors opened for the show , there was a clear " gearing up " in his attitude and he went into " Black death " mode , for lack of a better word. This is what sells the brand that he created. And he did sell. His booth was the busiest booth there. Even some outfitters and hunters alike whom I have heard bad mouthing him were sneaking in and buying DVD's .

 

[Philip Glass]

WOW....I stumbled across this while searching for what bino harnesses people use (so I blame you @rookhawk and @Philip Glass). This guy is definitely entertaining in his own way. I imagine a lot of liberal/anti-hunting types assume this is what all hunters are like. I personally find his methods distasteful. I understand there can be discussion about shooting from 100 yds out vs stalking in close - that certainly is a hunter's choice. But as many others have said, standing there waiting for an obviously wounded animal to charge just so you can "shoot it at your feet" (paraphrasing Mr. Sullivan) is disgusting.

On a lighter note....

I'm sure that was a hair-raising charge. I hope you brought a clean pair of underwear!

Well I hope you found the bino harness you like! I'm a fan of Rick Young's bino harness.
Regards,
Philip

 

[cagkt3]

Well I hope you found the bino harness you like! I'm a fan of Rick Young's bino harness.
Regards,
Philip

Haha, yeah it took a little while after this sidetrack. I'm going to try the RY and the FHF model rookhawk likes. I've never had a harness before - where I've hunted in OK and TX was done out of ground blinds/treestands/elevated box blinds, so not much need for a harness. Now that I plan to hunt Africa, plus hopefully some free-range elk and mule deer hunting, I see the need for a good harness.

Thanks for the recommendation Philip!

 

[RayAtkinson]

He has been in more trouble than anyone I know of..kicked out of several countries for on both sides of the pond..Ive heard so many bad and I mean really bad stories by past associates of his in Africa that where there is smoke there must be fire, but I'll pass on the details and suggest beware..

 

[cal pappas]

Ray:
I've heard the same stuff about Mark for 20+ years and it all begins the same: "I've heard..." but no one seems to actually see. Can you mention the "several countries" Mark as been kicked out of? I have talked to men who I see make up fables and pass them on as truth, to be repeated by many. Since my years at the conventions I have been told dozens of negative stories and each time I ask, "So, you've seen this" and the answer is the same each and every time, "No, but I heard it."

It's really a shame that we are divided in the middle of a war in which we are losing. The anti hunters and anti firearms sides will win in the long run. We need to unite--not just with Mark but the PHs in Zimbabwe and other countries that rag on PHs from South Africa. The ship is sinking and we will all go down.

Mark is the most knowledgeable gent I know of when it comes to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers. The man is a pro second amendment patriot that any of us would be proud to have in our cricle of friends. Around the campfire you will be doubled up with laughter at the man's sense of humor. He knows Africa and Africans better than anyone I've spoken to since my first safari in 1994. He has endless clients and hunts with double rifles that all envy. And, he can shoot a double better than anyone on the planet, now or in the past.

As to his showmanship, well, it's just that, a show. Mark developed a way to market himself that no one had done prior. It worked very well and the jealousy of others is where the endless stories began. Mark will laugh along with everyone when bird hunting as the grouse made the choice how it was going to die. It is a video persona that sells very well. The sad thing is the many who beleive this is the actual man where, in reality, the man is humble, reserved, very polite, and not politically correct!

I'm sad that you and so many others don't give the man a benefit as he has brought more people to Africa than anyone except, perhaps, Capstick. I've known Mark since the 1990s, coimmunicate with him often, and have hunted with him only once. Hunt two was missed for scheduling conflicts and number three due to the virus. I am proud to call Mark a friend and I honestly believe you would also if you spent some time around the camp fire with him.

Cheers,
Cal

 

[Saul]

@cal pappas thank you for your firsthand experiences. I must admit that my initial reaction to him, and most "celebrity" hunters, was not positive. However, you paint a very different picture and I trust your word far more than the howling abyss that is the internet.

I do think that his "showmanship" is not necessary, especially not now. If he is as you describe, I doubt there is anyone here who would not want to hunt with him. In fact, I am extremely attracted to his complete rejection of the use of spotlights, waterholes, etc. He speaks to a classical hunting attitude, and I feel like he would be even more successful now if he would act his true self and sell his services to a clientele that share this attitude.

 

[cal pappas]

Saul: Thank you for your observations. I agreee with you about celebrity hunters. I loved Boddington until he began using his writings to sell hunts, ammo, bullets, and binocular straps, etc. What Mark did on camera set him apart from all of the other PHs who are broke and struggle to get clients. I wrote a three part article on Mark several years ago for The African Hunter magazine and brought the truth to light and also mentioned many of the fabrications and lies told of Mark. Years before that, when recovering from a knee replacement, I watched ten or more of Mark's videos and noted his shots, those of clients, and all details. The stories of Mark's charges are, like the falsehoods, are made up the antis. In 16 years Mark recorded 8 buffalo charges and 6 hippo charges. Each hippo charge was unprovoked and each hippo was not wounded. Many buffalo were wounded by client's poor shooting. But, as time passed, the number of charges grew to dozens and sometimes hundreds. At the conventions Mark was mobbed by onlookers and his books and videos sold by the thousands--far out numbering those of other PHs. Some writers and PHs banded together to get Mark banned for the reason of showing animals killed. The problem is the PHs and writers also showed animals getting killed. Very unfair as Mark was one of the earliest and biggest contributors to SCI and the museum. It was just jealousy. He was one of the first Masster Measurers, too. In closing, a comment on Mark's gentlemanly personality. Do you notice he does not come on the forums and attack those that attack him? He takes the high road here as he does with his hunting. He does not shoot at water holes nor does he assassinate plains game at 500 yards. He is a true gentleman hunter.
Cheers,
Cal

 

[rafaellinne]

Mark Sullivan is a great person. Because of him I started hunting in Africa and have a double rifle. We hunted together 3 times and I’m glad for that. Double rifle makers should thank him every single day. He is an extraordinary salesman and I think that can confuse people a bit. But, talking about who likes or not Mark is an endless subject, such like mauser x Bläser, double x bolt action, etc.

 

[Zambezi]

Sitting at work so can't view the video but from the initial comments I didn't form a great mental picture or warmth for the guy (actually have heard or know very little about the man). That being said, your articles, Cal, painted a more realistic and likeable man. Sure hunting styles differ from man to man and each to his own. His reasoning for allowing a charge to be met at 10ft is his own preference. My only problem comes in when it comes to the resulting picture it displays to the public and anti's... If every PH operated in this manner I'm sure we'd have several tragic incidents annually. This would be nectar to the anti's and hunting would suffer. Like you said Cal, we are in a long losing battle with the bunny huggers and annual deaths would only hasten the end.

As for mark's view on other PH's letting their clients shoot from further away or the PH's putting the charge down earlier as sign's cowardice etc, this is an unfortunate point of view. No doubt he is a gifted marksman and does have the self claimed watermelon balls. But to label anyone that doesn't do it his way as a coward is not "for the camera" bravado and flies in the face of his claimed "nice guy" in real life persona. It's like Tiger Woods spitting on any other golfer that is not as gifted as himself or believes they are just plain useless because they don't play his way.

Would I hunt with him? Not sure... I have never faced a charge but have been in battle and I can tell you that in battle I did what was expected of me. If he is a great host and I can spend a week in his company that might sway me. If he is a dick like some say (those that might have never met him) then I wouldn't put my money down with him. Hunting is more than just pulling the trigger at 10ft or 40 yards, hunting starts when you exit the vehicle on the hunting property / concession. It's the whole experience from camp life, being in the bush and all the rest. That's what most are paying for as well.