Recently I was called by a game farm owner. He had two buffalo bulls that had to be hunted urgently. The buffs broke through from an adjacent game park, and they were quite aggressive, endangering the lives of his workers. He obtained permits from nature conservation to have them hunted. When he gave me the price I though that, under normal circumstances, this would be a fair price for a buff. However, the circumstances were not "normal" at all. He got these buffs for free, and now wanted an almost premium price for them. Normally buffs would go between 120,000ZAR and 150,000ZAR in South Africa. He offered them to me at 80,000ZAR each. But the fact that he got them for free, and the fact that nature conservation gave him a limited time to hunt these animals made the price too high. When I tried to negotiate with him on price, he did not want to speak to me anymore. Three days later nature conservation moved in, as he had no hunters to hunt the buffalo, and culled them, resulting in him not getting anything for these buffs. I offered him 50,000ZAR each (about 6,500USD), and he turned me down. A mate of mine (an outfitter) had clients who were interested. Has greed gotten the better of him?
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I'm looking for PH's registered to hunt in Botswana. Please contact me on mhimbibs@telkomsa.net
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I'm negotiating a deal on wild lion in Botswana. Keep watching this space. It might be at prices last seen by Teddy Roosevelt
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Keep watching this space. I might have some buffalo to hunt at seriously good prices IN South Africa in the very near future
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This is meant to be a little controversial. The reason is to get members to interact about this issue. Different people have different viewpoints on matters, but sometimes a lot of good can also come from a heated discussion. So, please take part. Not all of what I'll be saying is actually my personal viewpoint, but things that I picked up from other people. I will however present those viewpoints here, and it might sometimes sound like it is what I believe.
A lot of us has at some time or another belonged to a hunting organization, being it the NRA, SCI, PHASA, a local shooting or hunting club etc. They all start out with some very pure intentions, but somehow most of them looses the plot along the way. Then other matter become more important to some people within those organizations, and almost without exception that leads to decisions that are to the detriment of other members. They almost always also try and keep up the front that the original goal is still being followed, although that is not true anymore.
It has always been amazing to me how greed and status can sometimes turn very good people into monsters. The outcome is almost without exception not a pretty one. Another thing that always lead to problems is when money becomes a deciding factor for organizations like these. The interests of the members then become secondary to everything alse, and money becomes the main goal. How sad.
A recent decision (2008) of SCI to ban Rowland Ward from exhibiting at SCI exhibitions has gone by almost without notice. Both these organizations are of huge importance to the hunting community globally, and in-fighting amongst organizations in the global hunting fraternity can never lead to anything good. This is exactly what anti-gun lobbyists worldwide would like to see. Somehow SCI has never offered a full explanation as to their decision. However, it is almost of no importance what the reasons where. What was important was that they should have come together, sorted out any problems there might be amongst them, and take hands in order to serve the greater cause. I have personally had some communication with Rowland Ward on the matter. SCI never reacted to any correspondence I sent them on this. I must therefor at this point accept that SCI is the culprit in this matter, given the fact that they never bothered to offer an explanation. This fight happened at a time when I was on the verge of joining SCI, but, due to this, and their reluctance to communicate on the matter I felt seriously uneasy to join an organization who seems to want to split the hunting fraternity, rather than unify it.
I would love to hear the viewpoints of other members on these matters. Watch this space, as I will, at a later stage get a little bit more personal about some of these organizations. Maybe they will then once again return to their original goals, and actually serve the hunting comminty rather than trying to control it.
Shoot. I'm waiting
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It being Easter, I thought I'd share this with everyone
Still He Walked
Author Unknown
Apr 7, 2009
"Still He Walked"
He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were his chosen people.
He loved them,
And they were going to crucify him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.
He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, every laugh, and every shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger
His heart broke,
But still He walked.
Was he scared? You and I would have been
So his humanness would have mandated that he was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.
Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered
And he knew that he would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd...
At the people who were spitting at him
Throwing rocks at him and mocking him
And he knew that because of him,
They would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.
The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,
The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet were nailed to the cross,
Intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice
Inside his Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His son walk.
Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead He asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.
When I forget how much My God loves me,
...I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
...I remember his walk.
When I need to be reminded of how to live like Christ,
...I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
...I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
.......And I walk.
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Bunch a group of firearm enthusiasts together, and pick hunting rifles as a topic. If there are 20 of them, you will probably hear 20 different opinions. Hunting rifles are almost like religion and politics, don't start on this topic unless you know everyone agrees. It is bound to become heated at some time.
There has been some grand stories of great hunters and the calibers they used. Tony Sanchez Arino, one of the greatest elephant hunters of all times, was a great fan of the .416 Rigby. The sectional density and unbelievable penetration of this cartridge served Tony well for many years. He also liked his .500 Jeffrey, but preferred the .416 Rigby.
Another legend, Kilimanjaro Bell, also a great elephant hunter in own right, for many years only used his 7x57 Mauser to hunt elephant. This led people to believe that the 7x57 was the ideal caliber to hunt elephant with. The outcome was that several hunters were killed or seriously injured. Kilimanjaro Bell once said :- 'When hunting elephant, and you are 15 yards away from it when you take the shot, you are probably 15 yards too far away.' This explained how he got to be so successful hunting elephant with his trusted 7x57. He was a great believer in excellent shot placement, and believed that on elephant this could only be achieved by getting up close and personal with the target.
The truth is that calibers are there to provide hunters with the choice of what they want to use, and the fact that certain hunters shoot better with certain calibers. In South Africa the 30-06 Springfield is immensely popular. We also have a hunting rifle national shooting championship, sponsored by PMP, called the ProAmm Championship. In this shooting competition the 30-06 Springfield does not do well, as the best grouping over a 100m distance ever achieved was about 11mm. The .308 Winchester, on the other hand, outperforms any other caliber, with 3-shot groupings of as small as 3,5mm. At one stage the nature conservation authority in the Limpopo Province conducted a research project in order to determine what caliber was responsible for the most clean kills, and on the other end of the spectrum, which caliber was responsible for the most wounded animals. This was only for plains game. The outcome was much the same as the results in the ProAmm competition. Percentage wise the 30-06 Springfield was responsible for more wounded animals than any other caliber normally used for plains game hunting by South African hunters. The .308 Winchester again came out tops.
Surprisingly the small 6mm .243 Winchester ranked under the top 3 rifles for plains game with the .308 Win tops, .300WM in second, with the .243 Win very close on its heels. From second to sixth there was very little to choose between the calibers. 4th place was taken up by the .270, 5th by the 7x57 Mauser, and sixth the .303 British. Magnum calibers (9.3x62/.375 H&H Mag and up) was not taken into consideration,
Personally I do not own a .308Win, but I have a great affinity to this caliber, and it is on my wishlist to buy one. It can be successfully used on plains game up to the size of eland, and the astounding accuracy of this caliber just provides the necessary confidence in the caliber, resulting in a more confident hunter.
As a very good alrounder, the 9.3x62 Mauser and .375 H&H Mag must rate about equal. Both calibers have fairly mild recoils, and will effectively kill any of Afric'a large game. As a PH, when hunting big game with a client, it is always comforting when the client carries a .416 Rigby. The excellent penetration of this caliber will provide clean kills every time when a good shot has been made. However, when you are facing a wounded buffalo or elephant on the charge the .416 Rigby will not provide the necessary knockdown value. Then I would prefer to have a .458 WM nestling against my shoulder. Some PH's prefer the .458 Lott. There is very little to pick between the two when it comes to knockdown value, but the .458 Lott has a recoil that could make you flinch. To me personally the difference in recoil between the two is great enough to prefer the .458 WM. Some guys disagree, and claim that the .458 Lott does not have such a bad recoil.
At the end, having all things said and done, it is still up to the hunter to make the decision which caliber suits him/her best. But one thing that I agree with, is a statement somewhere on this website that says we have too many calibers. Worst case scenario we should not have more than 15 calibers, but 10 would be closer to the ideal number.
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Today I had a chat to someone in the hunting industry whom I admire a lot. He tells me that one of the big outfitters came back from the USA a week ago after exhibiting at most of the shows. Not one hunt booked! This outfitter employs 8 PH's, and he now says that he will have to let them all go. 8 families without food on the table. This makes me very, very sad.
The impact on the the hunting industry is going to be bad at a much larger scale than what I initially anticipated. Hunting concession will be lost because of the lack of hunters. Farmers will resort back to traditional farming like cattle, sheep or maize. I cannot see them return to the wildlife industry once they've gone back. In a short few years from now the economy might recover sufficiently for hunters to once again come back to Africa. The only problem will be that there will not be enough outfitters, PH's and/or hunting concessions to service these people. I've seen this happen so many times. When someone in this industry leaves the industry, they normally leave because they've been hurt financially (we all have families to support), and they NEVER return to the industry again. Once bitten twice shy applies here.
I would absolutely hate to leave the industry that I love so much. But I cannot allow my family to suffer just because I'm doing (or trying to do) what I love to do. That would be immensely unfair towards them. My heart is tearing from my body. I ache all over because of this. But the signs are clear. I have a hunt in May I must do, and that will be a great one for my client, because he'll receive service fit for a king, as I know, if something positive does not happen VERY soon, that will be my last hunt.
I will turn my back on this industry, and never return, not because I want to, but because I have to.
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When I read the blog of another member, complaining about the cost of day fees, I knew that I had to respond.
The fee for accommodation in a hotel and day fees for hunting is as far removed from each other as is heaven and earth. In a hotel/resort you purely pay for the "privilege" to sleep in a clean bed, in a clean and serviced room/suite. Day fees for hunting goes way beyond that. Apart from the services you receive in a hotel/resort, the animals you hunt is loaded, your trophy is prepared, and other services are rendered to you. Apart from all this, your PH is risking his life every time he goes out with you. Hunting is a dangerous game, whether you are hunting plains game or dangerous game. Not the least dangerous of all is the client. Many PH's have been shot by clients, although by accident, and some of them never lived to tell the story.
Africa's game is mostly different to game in other parts of the world, with the exception of a few. All African game are dangerous when wounded, some more than others, and some are just plain dangerous. In 2007 one outfitter lost 3 PH's in one year to plains game. One PH was killed by a wounded nyala bull when it stuck its horns into his heart. Another lost a leg when a wounded bushbuck ram attacked him. And a third was out for 9 months after an attack by a wounded warthog, making the PH loose all interest in hunting. Something as small as a duiker could be lethal when wounded.
When it comes to the Dangerous 6 (elephant, buffalo, hippo, rhino, lion & leopard) you immediately know that your life could be in danger, wounded animal or not. Most of the dangerous game will sometimes, without prior warning, charge to kill. You never know when that unprovoked charge will come. PH's in South Africa cannot obtain life insurence due to the danger of their jobs. Day fees help to provide should the unthinkable happen.
Next time you have to pay the day fees, think of your PH, and the dangers he faces when he does all in his power to make your hunt a successful and memorable one. Then pay those fees with a smile
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I chose to be full-time in the hunting/nature industry, because this is what I love most. Combining a burning passion with your everyday job must be heaven on earth. However, little did I know when I made the move that finances will be a serious issue. I've never had it financially as bad as I do now.
In the past few months I've been pleading and fighting with game farm owners to give me better prices on game and lodging in order to not only be more competitive, but to be so low in prices that I can entice foreign hunters to come to South Africa. Really make it worth their while. In the current economic climate I believe that there is no other way than to seriously drop prices. However, it still seems that game farm owners are living under this illusion that all is well in the hunting industry.
Due to the unwillingness of game farm owners to respond to the weak economy in order to survive, I have had hunts canceled and/or lost just by quoting. The time has come to take hands and help each other survive, and not for each one to sit like a rooster, each on its own anthill, and let greed make us believe that everyone of us are a king.
I am at this point seriously considering to leave the wildlife industry if others do not come to the party. Alone I cannot fight this, and now is the time to swim or drown. I'm not going to allow others to drown me. I might be out by the middle of this year. The swimming is getting way to heavy for me, and for a lot others judging by the phone calls I receive on a daily basis.
My prayer every night and every morning :- "Please dear God, let sanity return to the industry I love so much, and let greed be eradicated from the wildlife industry for once and for all. Amen."
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