Hey everyone!

I am one of ten finalist for winning a cape buffalo hunt in Africa. A group of judges picked the top ten and now it's time for the public to vote. Simply go to this website below, select my name and submit your name and email address. It will only take a few seconds. Africa has stolen my heart as many of you feel the same, so I would love to have an opportunity to go back and hunt. Every vote counts, please tell your friends to vote as well. I really apreciate your vote!

http://tahoefilms.com/contests/extreme-huntress-contest/

Thank you so much!

Liz Caddell

 I am very proud to announce that I have completed the African Big Five. I couldn't have done any of it without my family and my PH Norman Crooks from Pro Safaris Africa.  Here is my story of completing the greatest achievement I have completed so far. 

In the past 2 1/2 years, I have gone to Africa 3 times to hunt big game. It started out with leopards, because I love hunting the dangerous cats. I fell in love with Africa and came back the next year to hunt lions. Africa was in my blood after that- I wanted to take the Big Five. So this past summer I hunted for an elephant, rhino and a cape buffalo. 

The first mission was to dart a white rhino. I've seen rhinos in zoos at a distance, but I realized quickly that they are huge after getting 20 yards from 6 rhinos. I used a dart gun to take down a rhino. I think it's so cool how you can dart a rhino and then after 20 minutes they get up and run off. It was very interesting to see the vets do their thing and tag the rhino after taking sample blood. We had the greatest experience with Tam Safaris in South Africa. They had a lot of plains game as well, but we were there for only a short while until we headed to Zimbabwe to hunt elephants.

Arriving in the Bulawayo airport, I honestly was ready to turn around and get back on the plane. It was kinda scary. Once we got in the truck and started driving in the bush, my nerves began to settle and I was getting excited. Courtney Crane from Christensen Arms came to film the hunt for their show. He was able to experience first hand the back of the cruiser, I felt a little sorry for him since it was his first time to Africa. We arrived in Binga, Zimbabwe and got settled into our lodge. I couldn't wait to go hunting the next morning! We stayed right on Lake Kariba and it is really the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen. We would sit outside looking over the lake most of the night until time for bed. The first day was tough. We didn't see any elephants and only old tracks. We somehow got lost for about 4 hours and I was so thankful when I saw the cruiser in the distance. The next day, we went to another spot where local villagers said they saw a herd of elephants. We set out on foot to track them down. We tracked some new sign for about 2 hours until we ran out of tracks. We sat down on some rocks to take a breather and were thinking about turning around and going to a different place when we heard an elephant trumpeting. I have never heard an elephant trumpet in person, and hearing it for the first time was incredible. I quickly jumped up and looked at my dad and PH and said lets go! We suddenly saw the elephants about 200 yards from us and we slowly walked closer to them. We were walking behind them when an old PAC(Problem Animal Control) cow turned around 40 yards from us. She was looking right at us and I knew I had to act quickly. I put my Christensen Arms .416 put to my shoulder, looked in the scope and put the crosshairs on her head to make a brain shot. My PH told me to shoot when I was ready. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. After recovering from the recoil, I quickly reloaded my gun while watching the elephant crumpling to the ground. I shot and killed the elephant with ONE shot! I was ecstatic! I took one more shot in the chest to make sure it was done. We donated all the meat to the local villagers who came and cut the meat off the elephant. It was really a heartwarming experience to see these people so happy.

Next was the cape buffalo. We traveled along Lake Kariba near the town of Kariba where we were hunting buffalos. Since the lake was so high, we had to hunt differently, up in the mountains. I never thought buffalos could walk up a huge steep mountain, but they can because we saw their tracks. We saw many buffalos but the wind was never right and they were spooked. We walked and walked and walked, but no luck. We slept in the shade with fire ants and tiny flies swarming our faces. We took naps in the dirt with elephant dung on fire to keep the flies away. Finally on the fifth day we sighted a huge herd of buffalo close by. We slowly crept closer and closer towards them. My PH thought it would be a good idea to leave my dad and the game scout behind so we would make less noise. After walking about 300 yards, we spotted 3 male buffalo. 2 of them still had soft bosses but the third was an old one. I quickly got my gun up and looked for a shot. It was an 80 yard shot and I couldn't see where I was shooting in the body. My Ph explained where to shoot, even though I couldn't see the buffalo's body well. I trusted him though. He told me to shoot when I was ready. I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. I saw the buffalo jump back and I knew I hit him. I reloaded fast and we ready to shoot again. Suddenly we heard the buffalo let out the "death bellow." My Ph turned to me and was smiling from ear to ear saying he's down and dying. The other 2 males were still watching us and looking like they were about to charge, but after a few minutes they ran off. We got closer to my buffalo and I saw it laying by a tree. His head was still up a little so I thought he was done for. My PH told me to shoot him again so I got into position and shot it. At that moment, he jumped up and started running! My PH took at quick shot and it dropped. It was crazy! After getting our thoughts together, my PH whistled to my dad and the game scout to come. As my dad was walking towards us, I met him with a huge hug. I finally finished the Big Five. The buffalo wasn't the biggest one, but it sure was a trophy. I loved it!

Each one of the Big Five hunts was different in there own way. And each one, I would do it over and over again. Hunting dangerous game might seem crazy to some, but it puts a smile on my face when I see that animal down and the journey it took to get to that place. I have definitely matured in this experience and I have escaped death quite a bit, but it was all worth it. Some people ask me why I like hunting dangerous animals that could easily kill you in an instant, my answer: because I think it's fun and such an adrenaline rush, I like the thrill of chasing after big game, even though it could possibly end up going home empty handed. 

It's not about the killing of animals. It's about meeting new people that you will cherish that friendship forever. It's about experiencing the different cultures and their way of life. And it's seeing how animals enter-act with themselves and with other animals. I love it. Africa is definitely in my blood and will be for a long time. Some ask what's next. I say crocodiles and hippos summer 2011. 

I hunted lions back in August with New Trend Safari out of South Africa. Sorry this is posted so late.

Before my hunt, my dad and I made lion targets out of plywood to practice every scenario possible: broadside, frontside, head shot, etc. I practiced for about 4 months prior to the hunt with my Christensen Arms .300 WSM because that's what I was going to shoot with. Three weeks before the hunt, we decided to step up to a .375 RUM. Being a Christensen Arms gun, it took just a few times to practice to get comfortable with the gun. I was shocked of how the gun wasn't too brutal on the shoulder. So, having a huge caliber rifle and super pumped about lion hunting, we jumped on the plane to Africa.

After about a day and a half, we got to South Africa and my PH picked us up. Sighted in the rifle with 2 shots and it was time to get the game face on. Never have hunted African lions, I didn't know what to expect on our first day of hunting. We set out on foot to where the PH saw lions the previous week. We ran into a lion and lioness, both napping. It was my first lion encounter and my blood was pumping. We watched the two lions for about 30 minutes then went on. No luck the first morning, so we headed back to the lodge for brunch and a quick nap. Later that day, we set out in the same area as before but higher elevation. Within an hour of walking, the adventure began. There were 5 lions in front of us about 200 yards, yet they had no idea we were there. 2 of the lions were the ones we saw that morning. The other 3 were all males and HUGE males. We got down on our hands and knees so they wouldn't see us. Slowly, we crawled closer and closer to them. By the time we were about 100 yards away the young lion and lioness were gone, but the other 3 males were still laying in the sun. The PH told me the biggest male was hiding under a tree in a trench and the other males were above him. Patiently waiting for about 30 min. the biggest lion got up and climbed up our side of the trench at about 50 yards from us. My heart was pounding as fast as it could because I knew it was time to take action.

Very quickly, my PH told me where to shoot. The lion was facing and looking right at us, so I knew I had to act fast. Loading my gun, aiming the crosshairs below the lion's mane, I took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. At that moment, everything seemed to go in slow motion. The lion's back legs flipped up and stumbled to the ground before he started charging. The PH beforehand told me to wait until the lion is about 20 yards away to shoot again, so I waited and waited. Suddenly the other PH took a shot to make it veer off to the left of us, then I took the last shot to put him down. Talk about the adrenaline pumping, it was such a great experience!

After we all took a deep breath and realized we just escaped death, the other 2 male lions jumped up to our side of the trench and were not very happy. Long story short, we had to wait it out until we got the truck to scare them off and to load the lion quickly and high tale it out of there to take pictures elsewhere. What a great hunt and great PH's to back me up. 

The next day, we set out to hunt zebras. We drove for awhile until we saw a group of zebras up alongside a mountain. There we walked up behind them on top of the mountain to get a shot from above. My PH knew I could shoot at a long distance from the previous year, I shot a gemsbok at 270 yards, so he wasn't worried about the distance as much. We got as close as we could at 277 yards. We sat down alongside a cliff and prepared for the shot. It was downhill and the wind gusts were up to 15 mph. I was pretty nervous but I knew I could take the shot. The other PH's warned me I would have to take a follow-up shot so I would have to reload very quickly. I took several deep breaths, aimed at the zebra's shoulder, and squeezed the trigger. The gun pushed me back to where I couldn't what happened. As soon as I looked back down where I shot the zebra, it was on the ground, not moving at all. I reloaded quickly just in case it got back up, but it never did. I was speechless, as was everyone else. I couldn't believe I took the zebra down in one shot, let alone at 277 yards downhill. 

I had a very successful hunt and I had the best PH, Norman Crooks.  

Has anyone heard or been to New Trend Safari's in South Africa, near the border of Zimbabwe? I'm going hunting there this summer and just wanted to get any feedback on the outfitter. Thanks

Seeing my dad go with his buddies to hunt really got me into wondering what the thrill of hunting was. I knew I had to find out for myself. When my dad came home from his elk hunt, I asked him if he would take me hunting. To my surprise he said, "Sure, lets go hunting next weekend." My heart was pumping and I was excited to go on my first deer hunt, let alone my first hunt at age 9. After getting it OKed with mom, we headed out four hours from home to a good buddy of my dads. We got there on a Friday night, cold and dark. I met the other hunters(all guys) and they seemed pretty cool. We stayed in a old school bus that had bunk beds in it. Not quite a 5 star hotel, but I didnt care. I just wanted to hunt. We set out at 5am the next morning knowing we would see some deer. Adrenaline was going through my body as I was climbing the tree stand. My dad and I sat there for 3 hours with no movement but squirrels. At this point, I was asking myself if this was really worth it. We went back to camp to get some lunch and reassured myself I would see deer that afternoon. We headed back out to the tree stand and sat there for 5 more hours until we saw a doe pop out of the timber. There was about 30 minutes before dark. I hurried to get my gun(.243 Remmington) and started to focus on the deer. Before I knew it, the doe went back in the timber. I was frustrated and my dad told me we would get one tomorrow. All of the sudden, the doe came back out. I was ready this time. I put the crosshairs behind the shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I immediately saw the white stomach of the deer. Also I saw flames everywhere! My dad forgot to inform me that at night you can see the flame come out of the barrel when you shoot. To be honest, that freaked me out the most. I couldnt get down the ladder quick enough to run the 91 yards the deer was laying. I was extremely happy with the shot I made and my dad was too. He gave me a big hug and told me I was his little hunting buddy from now on. Of course my dad took a million pictures to show everyone in my family what I have done. At age 9, I didnt know I would be here where I am today. I have taken many white-tailed deer, a mule deer, a mountain lion, a record book black bear, a record book kudu and gemsbok, and top 40 of all time leopard. This summer is one of the toughest hunts and the scariest hunts yet, the Lion. I have been practicing shooting for about 2 months now and I feel like I am ready to shoot it. All I ask is to keep my dad and I in your prayers that nothing dangerous will happen. I am so excited for the hunt because we are filming it and it might be on some of the hunting channels. I guess its not everyday you see a 19 year old girl hunting lions. Hope you enjoyed reading this!Liz

Last summer was my first time to go to Africa. It was a graduation present from my dad and he asked me what I would want to hunt. I told him a leopard and a kudu. I practiced shooting for about 3 months before the trip because I wanted my shot to be perfect. My dad make leopard targets out of plywood because I get bored just shooting plain targets. When we got to Namibia, Africa, everyone questioned my dad if I could shoot. I was only 18 and they didn't think I could take a leopard down. I shot a gemsbok for bait at 270 yards right in the heart. I was pretty stoked about that and all the trackers and the PH were pretty impressed. After 5 days of hunting, I finally took the leopard in a cave at 80 yards. We stalked it for 5 miles and the dogs trapped him in the cave. As we got closer I heard the leopard growling. To me, that was the coolest thing I've ever experienced. I got set up with the shooting sticks and took the shot. I ended up shooting it in the neck which paralyzed it and then took another shot to kill it. It weighed 165lbs and was a huge cat. The Ph said it will go in the top 40 SCI. I used a Christianson Arms Custom 300 WSM.The day after I got the opportunity to take a giant Kudu. I took it at 175 yards with the 300 WSM.This hunt was truly amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better trip!