Good evening everyone from rainy Scotland!
I am fairly new to this forum, but since discovering it have completely relied on the abundance of experience and generosity that exists here.
I served for 12 years in the British military before leaving in the summer of ‘24 and since then have been working my way through the list of things that I missed out on or deferred during that period.
Now, not all of them are hunting related, (I am now the proud father of young twin boys) though many are!
2026 is a busy year for me with very young children and a house move looming a couple of months away so my hunting for the year will be limited to what is locally available to me. I am very fortunate though in so far as that includes some of the best highland Red Deer stalking that Scotland has to offer, but after this year will start to look further afield.
In Spring ‘27 my father, brother and I are booked in to join Marius @KMG Safaris for a PG safari, hunting for Kudu in the rut, Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Eland and more. I couldn’t be more excited to share a special trip like this with them and am very grateful to this forum leading me to Marius and to him for the trip he has put together.
In 2028, I want to hunt a Dagga Boy. I am starting with a blank canvas. I am interested in hunting the oldest, meanest, most battleworn bull that I can find. I would prefer a worn-smooth scrumcap with fused bosses over a 44inch intact trophy any day of the week.
I know that this is a pretty broad premise so to narrow it down somewhat (I do love a framework to plan against, I can probably blame my time in the military for that) I am setting out to achieve the same criteria that @RIGBY set out in their Dagga Boy competition. It would be great to submit a strong entry into the competition, but that’s not the sole purpose of the trip. Rather the competition rules define a set of criteria that morally align with my own and share very similar priorities.
And this is the point at which I am appealing to the amassed wisdom of AH! I have trawled through the Hunt Reports and read excellent accounts from those of you that have hunted these animals in Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and beyond and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to write up these experiences - thy are invaluable. I have trawled through pages of Google searches reading about the mean old bachelor herds that patrol the Zambezi Delta. But what I haven’t found is anything definitive. I suppose that might be an answer in itself?
But my ask is two fold:-
Firstly, can you recommend a book or article or journal or film or any other media that might be considered by some to be authoritative in this field? I know that this is no match for experience, but I enjoy experiences even more when they are researched before hand and grounded in a clear understanding. I am not overly concerned about how contemporary this might be. I am thinking of what Corbett is to Leopards, or Bell to Tuskers. Is there a Buff equivalent?
Secondly, I expect the wealth of wisdom and experience on AH is broadly unmatched in a single place, so I ask as an open question - where would you go to look for the meanest, oldest, most battleworn Dagga Boy on the continent?
My sincere thanks in advance for your thoughts, reflections and considerations.
I am fairly new to this forum, but since discovering it have completely relied on the abundance of experience and generosity that exists here.
I served for 12 years in the British military before leaving in the summer of ‘24 and since then have been working my way through the list of things that I missed out on or deferred during that period.
Now, not all of them are hunting related, (I am now the proud father of young twin boys) though many are!
2026 is a busy year for me with very young children and a house move looming a couple of months away so my hunting for the year will be limited to what is locally available to me. I am very fortunate though in so far as that includes some of the best highland Red Deer stalking that Scotland has to offer, but after this year will start to look further afield.
In Spring ‘27 my father, brother and I are booked in to join Marius @KMG Safaris for a PG safari, hunting for Kudu in the rut, Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Eland and more. I couldn’t be more excited to share a special trip like this with them and am very grateful to this forum leading me to Marius and to him for the trip he has put together.
In 2028, I want to hunt a Dagga Boy. I am starting with a blank canvas. I am interested in hunting the oldest, meanest, most battleworn bull that I can find. I would prefer a worn-smooth scrumcap with fused bosses over a 44inch intact trophy any day of the week.
I know that this is a pretty broad premise so to narrow it down somewhat (I do love a framework to plan against, I can probably blame my time in the military for that) I am setting out to achieve the same criteria that @RIGBY set out in their Dagga Boy competition. It would be great to submit a strong entry into the competition, but that’s not the sole purpose of the trip. Rather the competition rules define a set of criteria that morally align with my own and share very similar priorities.
And this is the point at which I am appealing to the amassed wisdom of AH! I have trawled through the Hunt Reports and read excellent accounts from those of you that have hunted these animals in Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and beyond and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to write up these experiences - thy are invaluable. I have trawled through pages of Google searches reading about the mean old bachelor herds that patrol the Zambezi Delta. But what I haven’t found is anything definitive. I suppose that might be an answer in itself?
But my ask is two fold:-
Firstly, can you recommend a book or article or journal or film or any other media that might be considered by some to be authoritative in this field? I know that this is no match for experience, but I enjoy experiences even more when they are researched before hand and grounded in a clear understanding. I am not overly concerned about how contemporary this might be. I am thinking of what Corbett is to Leopards, or Bell to Tuskers. Is there a Buff equivalent?
Secondly, I expect the wealth of wisdom and experience on AH is broadly unmatched in a single place, so I ask as an open question - where would you go to look for the meanest, oldest, most battleworn Dagga Boy on the continent?
My sincere thanks in advance for your thoughts, reflections and considerations.
