H&S Hunting & Safari Magazine

The Region’s First Hunting & Safari Magazine

An Interview with

Frau Frauke Lohmann

Romanian Bear Hunt No Teddy Bears Picknic

Wildlife Artist

Keith McAllister

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editor's note

Dear Readers, As promised we have managed to include Brian Ralphs, Cook Your Hunt, ar ticle in this issue and I can assure you, as I had first-hand knowledge of the occasion, the recipes are just mouthwatering. If you do not relish pork meat then as the recipe states, goat or lamb, can be substituted without losing any of the flavors. Brian has catered for all tastes. Not only is Brian an excellent chef he is also an accomplished ar tist as can be evidenced by his ar ticle in the November 2012 issue and to accompany his recipes in Cook Your Hunt he has added a light hear ted touch with an appropriate car toon. You can look forward to more delicious recipes and meals from Brian’s reper toire as he has kindly agreed to be our resident, Cook Your Hunt, contributor. Welcome on board Brian.

You will find another car toon in this edition which, whilst is comical in its own right, has an underlying serious tone to it. It accompanies Elaine’s ar ticle, “How Not to Hunt Blue Wildebeest”, and was drawn by Elaine’s daughter. I commend Elaine for sharing her experience with us as it goes to show that even the most professional amongst us, and no one can doubt Elaine’s professionalism, have lapses that can have unforeseen consequences. When you have clients that have cut their teeth on firearms and hunting, in Texas of all places, you could be forgiven for thinking that the ability to shoot straight and to be aware of the hunter’s code would be inbred. In this instance it was not the case, much to Elaine’s chagrin. But much to Elaine’s credit her professionalism shone through and no doubt taught those, “Good Ole Boys”, a lesson, and even gave Elaine herself food for future thought. Thanks for being candid Elaine, and we can all take a lesson from it.

I was watching a wildlife program on the outdoor channel recently which focused on wild life poaching. Elephant and rhino specifically and it never fails to sicken me no matter how many times I witness the consequences of this disgusting business.

The show was focusing on young trainee veterinary students helping to dar t female rhinos with a calf, tag them, inject them with antibiotic and get them loaded on to trucks for relocation onto another game reserve. All this went well but par t of the student’s education was to be told about the huge poaching problem in the area and about a specific instance where a young rhino that the resident vet had brought up from an orphan and released into the wild had had its tusk butchered and left to die a slow lingering death. As it happed the vet made a point of keeping an eye on it from time to time and when he eventually comes across it, it was in agony and close to death. The poachers had dar ted it, cut off its horn along with par t of it nose and mouth and left it to slowly die so as not to make a noise and attract attention by shooting it and putting it out of its misery. This was left to the vet to do, who had tears in his eyes as he related this story and showed the students pictures of the dir ty deed. He was maybe 100kg and 1.9 meters in height and as rugged as they come, which could also describe me, and I admit as I watched my eyes were watering along with all the students. Yes, we hunt and we kill, but it is not in our creed to make an animal suffer, nor should it ever be.

As you read through this issue you will note that there is a theme running through it for which I make no apologies. This theme focuses on Moms and Dads and sons and daughters hunting together and also the introduction of youngsters into the hunting environment. We who enjoy the outdoors get a lot from it, but by involving the rest of the family can bring our pastime into a new dimension and you may be surprised at the satisfaction that you will feel if you take your kids along with you or you introduce a youngster to the outdoors.

Try it, you will feel good.

Another ar ticle in this issue, similarly related to my rhino comment above is, do hunting bans work. We take a look at some examples where they don’t and just what type of bans would work. Talking about banns, as opposed to bans, our contributor, Jackie Gross and her fiancé TJ, have posted theirs and they will be getting married on the 23th of May. Our congratulations to you both, we all wish you the very best!

To all, enjoy your hunting.

Richard Camm.

Senior Editor.

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h&s l May 2013

FP Pending

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contact us

Editorial Lara Mansour Sawaya

The Region’s First Hunting & Safari Magazine

An Interview with

Frau Frauke Lohmann

Managing Editor - English Titles email lara.m@amedadver tising.com

Romanian Bear Hunt No Teddy Bears Picknic

Richard Camm Senior Editor email rcamm@mailme.ae

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For Advertising Inquiries Hisham Sawaya

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Bow Hunting Big Game Hunt USD 6 / DHS 25 / RS 30 / JOD 5

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h&s l May 2013

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our contributors

Rober t G. Segel

Elaine Ness

Senior Editor for Small Arms Review and Small Arms Defense Journal magazines. His area of exper tise is in automatic weapons from the 1894 to 1945 period with a primar y focus on World War I machine guns, though the two magazines cover militar y and law enforcement weapons both historical and modern.

Elaine Ness is the owner of "African Dreams Hunting and Photo-safaris" and was the first women to qualify as a professional hunter in Namibia. She is passionate about her profession and the fact that she has been in the hunting industr y and a PH herself since 1991, puts her a step above any other agent for Africa. She knows the outfits, she is familiar with Africa, and she also still guide hunts in Africa.

Bernard Miranda Feliciano

Evelina Aslund

An industrial relations professional who, over the last 30 years, has become somewhat of an exper t in the field of firearms specifically related to militar y small arms and hunting and target weapons of all calibers.

A professional hunter and guide and lives in Ljungdalen, Sweden, and is the founder of, Joy Event Hunt and Health. Evelina uniquely combines hunting and outdoor activities with yoga exercise classes, both indoor and in the mountains. Her 520 hectares of private hunting grounds boarders on to the picturesque, Lake Ojon.

Cameron Hopkins

Jacquelyn Gross

An outdoor writer and firearms journalist.

He received a Master of International Journalism degree from Baylor University (Texas) in 1984 and has been a full-time editor and repor ter specializing in the shooting spor ts ever since. English-born, he has resided in the U.S. since age eight and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife Darlene.

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A passionate hunter, born and raised in Southern Louisiana, USA, but now residing in the town of Silt, Colorado. A skillful and proficient hunter with rifle, shotgun, and bow and a dedicated advocate in promoting the outdoors to the ladies and the younger generation. Jackie is never happier than when she is involved in the great outdoors and is considered amongst the US’s most extreme huntresses.

Stuar t Pringle

Tom Caceci

Grew up on a farm in the, Eastern Cape of South Africa, acquiring his hunting and outfitting skills from his father who was an avid wing shooter and hunter. He travels extensively in Africa and surrounding countries where he gained extensive knowledge of the safari industr y. He is the sole owner of, Pringle's Legendar y Safaris, and a proud member of PHASA (Professional Hunters Association of South Africa).

Professionally, Tom is a medical and veterinar y school anatomy professor, and a former Fulbright Scholar in India. He is also a lifelong hunter, a cer tified firearms instructor, outdoors writer and gun collector with a special interest in muzzleloading firearms. He is a Contributing Editor for Gun Digest, the Standard Catalog of Firearms; and runs the website The New River Valley Outdoorsman. He is a frequent contributor to Magnum, African Outfitter, and other hunting publications. He has hunted in Nor th and South America, Africa, and Europe.

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this month

news hunt

hunting tips

International Sportsmen’s Exposition (ISE)

A Talk on the

Wild Side

by Jackie Gross

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rowing rowing up up as as aa Huntress Huntress or or Woman Woman Angler; Angler; in in my my words, words, “A “A Tomboy” Tomboy” was was quite quite diffi difficult. cult. II didn’t didn’t have have many many girlfriends, girlfriends, most most of of my my friends friends were were boys boys and and aa lot lot of of girls girls were were jealous jealous especially especially when when II went went into into High High School.

School. But But as as II matured matured and and grew grew up up II soon soon found found out out that that they they did did have have aa few few women women who who shared shared the the same same passion passion that that II did, did, woman woman who who loved loved to to hunt hunt and and fifish! sh! Making Making these these new new friends friends in in life life was was such such aa great great feeling. feeling. II soon soon learned learned that that they they had had Hunting Hunting and and Fishing Fishing shows shows across across the the states states and and that that isis how how the the International International Sportsman’s Sportsman’s Exposition Exposition became became aa huge huge aa part part of of my my life. life.

The The ISE ISE Show Show has has been been America's America's Premier Premier Hunting, Hunting, Fishing, Fishing, and and Travel Travel Shows Shows since since 1975.

1975.

For For 38 38 years years the the International International Sportsmen's Sportsmen's Exposition Exposition (ISE) (ISE) events events have have presented presented America's America's premier premier adventure-travel, adventure-travel, hunting, hunting, fifishing, shing, shooting-sports, shooting-sports, boat boat and and camping camping products products and and services services to to outdoor outdoor enthusiasts enthusiasts at at events events held held during during the the fifirst rst quarter quarter throughout throughout the the largest largest western western United United States States markets. markets. Each Each of of the the fifive ve ISE ISE shows shows display display from from 300 300 to to more more than than 600 600 leading leading resorts resorts and and lodges, lodges, outdoor-product outdoor-product manufacturers, manufacturers, boat boat dealers, dealers, regional regional and and specialty specialty retailers, retailers, hunting hunting and and fifishing shing guides guides and and outfi outfitters, tters, national national and and local local conservation conservation organizations, organizations, state state and and federal federal government government agencies, agencies, and and nonprofi nonprofitt groups. groups. ItIt all all started started when when II was was introduced introduced to to aa man man named named John John Kirk.

Kirk. John John Kirk Kirk had had contacted contacted me me to to ask ask me me about about aa contest contest that that II was was competing competing in, in, “The “The Extreme Extreme Huntress Huntress Contest.”

Contest.” II pretty pretty much much told told him him all all there there was was to to know know about about me, me, but but the the most most important important aspect, aspect, was was my my passion passion for for the the Outdoors.

Outdoors. From From that that initial initial meeting meeting JK JK guided guided and and directed directed me me into into the the Outdoor Outdoor Industry Industry so so II could could make make my my dreams dreams come come true. true. He He helped helped me me to to gain gain courage courage and and strength strength to to never never give give up. up. Since Since then, then, II have have started started my my own own company, company, Bowkrazy, Bowkrazy, and and our our motto motto is, is, “Live “Live for for the the Outdoors.”

Outdoors.” We We try try to to motivate motivate other other woman woman and and children children to to become become more more involved involved in in the the outdoors outdoors and and itit has has been been aa great great experience experience to to meet meet so so many many different different people people who who love love the the same same thing thing that that II do. do.

exclusive interview

How“Not” to Hunt

At At my my fifirst rst ISE ISE Show, Show, II had had the the opportunity opportunity to to be be on on stage stage with with some some of of the the bigwigs bigwigs in in our our Industry.

Industry. JK JK introduced introduced me me to to key key people people in in our our community community so so that that way way II could could rally rally up up the the votes votes to to win win the, the, Extreme Extreme Huntress Huntress Contest.

Contest. ItIt made made me me smile smile really really big big meeting meeting so so many many different different people people which which now now II can can call call my my friends. friends. After After winning winning the the contest contest II was was invited invited back back to to share share my my story. story. Boy Boy was was II ever ever nervous nervous ,, II had had the the opportunity opportunity to to talk talk about about my my trip trip to to Africa Africa and and II also also shared shared my my childhood childhood life life and and different different challenges challenges that that II was was faced faced with with while while growing growing up up and and how how II had had to to focus focus on on what what was was true true to to me; me; which which isis being being in in the the outdoors. outdoors.

Blue Wildebeest

by Elaine Ness

Not Not only only was was II able able to to speak speak at at the the event event but but II also also had had the the pleasure pleasure to to meet meet the the ISE ISE owner, owner, Brian Brian Layng, Layng, and and itit was was truly truly amazing amazing to to share share aa hug hug with with him. him.

A A friend friend of of mine mine Mr. Mr. Carl Carl Taylor Taylor invited invited me me to to come come to to the the ISE ISE show show in in Salt Salt Lake Lake City, City, Utah Utah and and help help him him Co-Host Co-Host the the Elk, Elk, Duck, Duck, and and Goose Goose Calling Calling Contests.

Contests. Boy Boy was was that that aa trip. trip.

They They had had kids, kids, men, men, woman, woman, and and pros pros that that could could call call every every species. species. For For me me seeing seeing the the kids kids light light up up when when they they would would go go up up on on stage stage just just touched touched my my heart. heart. ItIt isis always always so so great great

to to see see the the youth youth involved involved in in the the Outdoors, Outdoors, because because they they are are our our next next generation generation of of hunters. hunters. II also also had had the the opportunity opportunity to to judge judge the the World World Championship Championship Dutch Dutch Oven Oven Cook Cook Off. Off. All All II can can say say ummmm ummmm ummm! ummm! That That was was the the yummiest yummiest two two days days that that II think think II have have ever ever experienced. experienced. Maybe Maybe next next go go around around II could could attach attach my my favorite favorite dish dish that that II was was able able to to try! try!

SO SO GOOD! GOOD!

Humphries Humphries Archery, Archery, puts puts on on the the 3D 3D Archery Archery Shoot Shoot at at every every ISE ISE show show and and my my fifiancé, ancé, TJ TJ Guccini, Guccini, and and my my friends friends encouraged encouraged me me to to give give itit aa whirl whirl and and try try to to shoot shoot their their course. course.

Well Well II will will tell tell you you what, what, lol, lol, II am am aa HUNTER, HUNTER, not not aa target target shooter. shooter. Shooting Shooting at at moving moving targets targets in in aa few few seconds seconds that that pop pop up up and and down down isis quite quite diffi difficult, cult, especially especially when when you you have have to to compete compete against against other other people people who who do do this this for for aa sport. sport. Now Now me me on on the the other other hand, hand, II can can hunt hunt fairly fairly well! well! II got got up up there, there, and and my my hands hands were were shaking shaking and and sweaty. sweaty. ItIt was was just just too too funny. funny. II had had so so much much fun fun and and itit was was such such aa blast, blast, from from this this point point forward forward II will will be be shooting shooting at at every every ISE ISE Archery Archery Shoot Shoot that that Humphries Humphries puts puts on! on! II absolutely absolutely loved loved it, it, and and II am am smiling smiling just just thinking thinking about about it. it.

ItIt isis hard hard to to explain explain the the greatness greatness one one can can feel feel when when going going to to aa show show like like the the ISE. ISE. The The room room isis always always fifilled lled with with smiles smiles from from across across the the miles miles and and everyone everyone isis so so happy happy to to be be there. there. A A show show like like this this isis what what brings brings the the Outdoors Outdoors Industry Industry happiness happiness and and joy joy because because everyone everyone isis doing doing what what they they love. love. Not Not only only do do you you get get to to meet meet people people who who share share the the same same passion passion as as you you but but you you also also get get to to meet meet people people who who share share the the same same adventures adventures as as you. you. That That isis why why II love love the the ISE ISE Show Show and and II am am so so grateful grateful to to have have been been aa party party of of their their Outdoor Outdoor Community.

Community.

Jackie Jackie Gross Gross with with Brian Brian Layng Layng & & H&S H&S magazine magazine h&s l May 2013

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t took be a good 5 years before I could finally put this story down on paper.

Probably because I knew that all fingers will point directly back to me as a professional hunter and guide. I did not follow the rules 100%, got too relaxed and it back fired on me. We did through it all learn a lesson and my two friends could go back home with one heck of a story.

36 36

Two Texan boys, out of the heart of good old Texas booked a 2x1 plains game hunt with me. Their first trip to the “dark continent, Africa” and these two guys were pumped up with adrenaline and ready to experience Africa. I do not think in their wildest dreams they ever thought that they will experience Africa to this extent. They were both great shots with a bow and a rifle and because of

that I got way too relaxed, to the point where I left my rifle in the hunting vehicle. (you have to trust your clients, don’t you?) Well in this industry, rule # 1 BROKEN. I did though still carry my sidearm that was at that stage a 357 Ruger revolver.

Friday morning and today we are looking for Blue Wildebeest. We call them the “poor

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The Lady Brings a Touch of Glamor to Guns even picking up my binoculars, I told Roger to shoot. He shot and again, he hit him right in the stomach. “Shoot again”, I shouted and the second shot dropped him in his tracks. I was relieved, UNTIL I walked up to this animal and could only find two shots. THIS WAS NOT THE WOUNDED ONE.

Another 20 minutes into the hunt, we found another track that was splitting up from the herd and it was clear that this was the wounded one. We found places where he had lain down and I realize we are close. The next moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and before I could identify what it was, a Black Rhino cow came out of the bush like a freight train. We were walking directly into her territory where she was hiding a one month old baby. She was mad and came directly for us. I grabbed Steve by the arm and start running the opposite direction so we could get downwind for the Rhino not to smell us anymore. There were absolutely no ›

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recently had the privilege, and the pleasure, to catch up with the charismatic Frau Frauke during one of her frequent visits to the UAE. She was on a business trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi at the time and, Frau Frauke, was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to spend a couple of hours with me and to tell me a bit about her extraordinary life and how she ultimately became the President of Hans Wrage & Co. GmbH, a post that she holds today and a company that she has turned into one of the largest and most respected suppliers of civil firearms and related equipment in the world.

Frau Frauke, could you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be involved with Hans Wrage Company?

Well I grew up in a village in Northern Germany and came from a rural background as my family had been in farming for generations for 500 years, and as such I was brought up to be an outdoor girl and hunting was sort of second nature to me. I would accompany my father when he went out to hunt and he taught me how to use and respect firearms from a very early age and I suppose this is where my relationship with guns started.

Steven wanted a Wildebeest as well and I knew that we will have to play quick to find the wounded one before dark, it was already 3.00pm in the afternoon. We were now in Black Rhino Territory and I gave Roger my handgun, took his rifle and Steve and myself continued after the herd hoping to find the wounded one. I showed Roger a tree should he need to climb it when the Black Rhino show up and he could use my handgun to keep scavengers away from his trophy.

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It was my older brother that took on the running of the farm from my parents and I decided that I would like to follow a different career path and so, at 18, I decided to go to college in Hamburg and take an economics degree and to study languages.

As well as economics my course included three languages, English, French and Spanish which stood me in good stead and had a consequential effect on determining my future career, although at the time I was not aware that it would.

As in any educational institution the summer recesses are always long and so I thought I would put my language skills to some use by applying for a temporary position as a

translator for Dr. H.W. Wrage, who at that time was providing single action revolvers to the USA. This particular activity was not Dr. Wrage’s main business and he would do it more as a hobby and as time went by I became more and more involved until one day he called me to his office and said that he saw that I had the potential to run that side of his business by myself. So at the age of 23 years I found myself becoming the youngest company General Manager in Hamburg and having complete legal control of the business.

I found the work fascinating and it soon became apparent that I had a natural ability for it, so in 1981 I bought 50% of the company’s shares and then in 1986 I purchased the remaining 50%, making me sole owner of the business and which I continue to be today.

And how did your parents react to you becoming a company executive?

Both my parents were very supportive and they instilled in me that money does not come from heaven and that you have to work hard if you want to achieve your goals and this ethic was instilled in me from very early on.

How did you make Hans Wrage Company what it is today?

In the beginning the company was involved with just dealing the single action revolvers, but gradually I started travelling in many countries around the world, visiting various exhibitions as well as contacting trade chambers and well-known producers that looked for more active distributors. In 1993, i.e. as soon as the political situation allowed it, I began also to concentrate on the Eastern European markets. For instance, I contacted the Russian Hunting Association where I met Mr. Anatoly Golubev, being at that time a member of the Board of this Association. Mr. Anatoly was a professional Sport Shooter and Champion in Trap Shooting in the former USSR. I invited him to work for our

Frau Frauke with MD. Andreas Rohwer.. company as an expert in hunting and shooting questions, mainly focusing on our Eastern European business.

So due to the political changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe it became a big market for you.

And over a period of time and after some negotiations with the manufactures we became the exclusive distributor to Russia and the CIS States for such prestigious brands like Benelli, Beretta, Browning, Krieghoff, Winchester, RUAG (RWS/GECO), BSA, Diana Air Rifles and Leica rifle scopes, etc.

Yes I saw an opportunity to open up these markets and I suppose it was at a point in time for the business that it was right for me to do so. In business you do sometimes have to have luck on your side, but I have always been one to seize an opportunity should one present itself. ›

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18 news hunt • Applause to Michele, A Nine Year Old Cheetah Hunter

• A Hunters Guide to Bullet Selection • Falconry A Sport Among Kings • Choosing the Right Hunting Boots & Socks

• Blancpain Race Weekend

• Hunting Gear List for Bow Hunters

• ISE - A Talk on the Wild Side

• Shooting Hungary Hunting in the Heart of Europe

• Namibia, The Smile of Africa

• To Shoot or not To Shoot

• I Do this Because I love it • Hunting Bans - A Blessing or a Curse?

• How“Not” to Hunt Blue Wildebeest

40 hunting tips • Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect • Bow Hunting Why? by Stuart Pringle

14

Frau Frauke Lohmann

Two hours into the hunt, we encountered a huge herd of Blue Wildebeest. There was an enormous trophy bull in the herd and I told Roger to grab his gun. We started crawling hands and knees into the direction of the herd and his hunting buddy, Steven was right behind us with his camera and NO rifle. It took us a good hour to finally get this bull in an open spot where Roger could actually have good aim and a good shot. I lined him up on the shooting sticks and the shot went off. The Wildebeest stumbled forward with his face in the ground, but soon recovered and took off. I could see that the shot was low and it left me devastated, because seeing blood on these velvet black skins was almost impossible and him being in a herd with several other bulls did not make it easier for us.

We started following the herd and after 4 hours of tracking without seeing one drop of blood, I spotted a track going away from the herd. “It must be him”, I thought, he is getting sick. After another hour of tracking, we spotted this bull going up a small hill and he looked like he battled to go uphill. Without

I

An Interview with

man’s buffalo”. Every animal was brought down with one shot, so what can possibly go wrong on this hunt, I thought to myself.

h&s l May 2013

74 scopes • The Indispensable Telescopic Sight

86 exclusive interview • Frau Frauke Lohmann, The Lady Brings a Touch of Glamor to Guns

83

FP Maserati

this month

big game hunting

Romanian Bear Hunt No Teddy Bears Picknic

big game hunting

T

tiring that the climb up it. But we managed to get back to the Land Rover and headed on back to the mansion where, after a welcome rejuvenating hot shower and a change of clothes, we all rendezvoused in the dining room for a delicious dinner.

he bear hunt in the Romanian Carpathians is always challenging and unpredictable.

It is an adventure in a natural and unspoiled habitat where the predators mingle with the human communities. The hunter needs a lot of skill, starting with their physical condition, patience and good shooting ability. The brown bear is the largest carnivore in Europe and lives in a totally wild environment.

This year we planned a hunting trip in the Romanian mountains at the end of March.

Our group was formed by some very skilled hunters, ( HE Marwan Kheireddine, HE Marwan Charbel, General Abdo Berbari and Captain Hadi Hammoud ). The internet weather forecast was quite normal for this time of the year but when we arrived at our hunting destination we found a fairy Christmas landscape. Our base was literally a mansion and its courtyard was covered with snow, the tree branches were hanging low due to the weight of the snow. The mansion interior atmosphere, however, was warm and welcoming, and the food excellent.

Anyway, at about 6.30 pm we finally reached the hide. What a relief. After taking a few minutes welcome break we unpacked our kit and prepared the rifle and ammunition and set up the scope, whilst outside a cloud of fog was covering the meadow where the bear was supposed to appear.

Inside the hide was total silence and when it was necessary to communicate with the rangers and guides it was done in a very low voice hardly above a whisper and hand signals were used as much as voices . Then after about an hour waiting in the cold of the hide a bear appeared in the meadow like a phantom coming slowly and wearily out of the fog. It was very difficult to keep the bear in sight as the fog was drifting around the meadow but we knew that he was there as we could hear him. There were four large trees in the middle of the meadow and we could barely make him out as he stopped in the vicinity of these trees scenting the air.

After a quick lunch we climbed aboard our Land Rover Defenders and were introduced to our rangers, guides and drivers and we drove up in the mountains. The scenery was incredible, snow everywhere, the mountain roads where covered with half a meter of snow and the Defender was jumping in a zigzag pattern over the frozen rutted ground as we drove.

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The following day we were driven to another location which was not quite so demanding but unfortunately our arrival and that of the bears coincided at the same time. Just as we were entering the blind the bear walked out of the wood and spotted us and immediately shot off back into the woods. If we had arrived five minutes earlier we would have stood a good chance of taking it. Never mind.

As we knew we would not see another bear in that location that day we decided to move on but despite the fact that we waited for some time at the third location we were not fortunate enough to see a bear.

It was now about 3.00pm. The same routine.......drive......climbing....stops to recover.....and finally the hide. At this location we arrive earlier so we had time to relax in the hide and even to converse. After a while

we prepared ourselves for the bears arrival which we knew was imminent if it was to come at all. Then at about 7.30pm with the precision of a Swiss watch the bear came out of the forest looking for food. We waited for a good position to shoot but darkness descended very fast accompanied by a heavy fog. We spotted the bear through the carbine scope but it was an almost impossible shot, even as we could hear him grumbling and growling for the next half an hour. As the light and fog descended and restricted the view too much we decided to postpone everything until tomorrow, the last day of the hunt.

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Buffalo Hunting

in Matetsi Zimbabwe with Stuart Pringle

On this the last day of hunt we relax in the morning and after a lazy breakfast we played cards to pass the time. After a light lunch we got ourselves prepared for the hunt and at around 3.30 we left the mansion and headed in the same direction as the previous days location. The weather changed dramatically as the temperature had risen a few degrees melting the snow and turning it into water, but high up in the mountains the temperature was still in the minus category and the snow was still deep and frozen. ›

We decide to light the torch and try to locate him but as soon as the torch was lit the bear exploded into action and disappeared before the hunter had time to take his shot. We believe the bear was suspicious and suspected that there was some trespasser on his land and was gone in an instant.

So we knew that it was over for the day as the night had come and there was no chance of sighting another bear that day. Coming back to our transport the road back was a joke compare with the climb up. We had to be very careful not to slip as the road was icy and uneven but going downhill was much less

Our hunting destinations in the mountains were in three different locations, so let me tell you the adventure of one of the location of the hunt. It was March 28th around 4pm when we had left the mansion and after about 40 minutes drive the Land Rover stopped due to the depth of snow on the road and so we had to disembark and walk for about one hour on a mountain path covered with a lot of snow at 1200 metres altitude. The rangers helped with carrying the hunting gear as the climb was very difficult but despite their help we had to stop many times to recover.

hunter's lounge

The next morning we set off to our hunting area in the Matetsi unit 4. After driving through what was old ranch land brought sorrow to our hearts. What have they done

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The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature to what was once the bread basket of Africa?

Greed, what a shameful thing. We got to the hunting area and our spirits were soon lifted.

We are going to be hunting, Cape buffalo!

Wow! We settled in, checked the rifles and were off to see what was in store for us. No Buff, but some Livingston Eland and Impala. The next morning at sun rise we headed out with our Zimbabwe PH, Darren, to an area where on the previous hunt we had spotted a big heard of Buffalo, but unfortunately soon after we had headed out the rain came down in buckets. There was a lot of ground to cover so we pressed on hoping it would let up.

We soon bumped into a large heard of Elephant with some young bull and cows with their calves. Avoiding any confrontations with the cows we pressed on and the rain started to slow down.

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ell it never rains in Africa and there are no snakes! I had the honor of hunting with Mike and Karen Egan of Manitoba Canada. This was their second trip to the Dark Continent and they were after Africa’s Black Death the Cape buffalo and to try out their skills on some Tiger fishing. This was to be a great start to my hunting season.

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The next day had us up early and after a huge breakfast we were on the mighty Zambezi for a day of Tiger fishing! This year they had, had a large amount of rain and the river was swollen to its maximum. Would we get lucky with this large amount of water? We were in luck as soon as our live baits hit the water we had our first fish on, but being a Tiger fish you are not guaranteed to land them, then finally Karen had to show us how it is done and landed the first fish of the day. What excitement! Soon after Karen, Mike was rewarded with a good fish. Then finally I got a Tiger. We moved to the banks of the river during the heat of the day and enjoyed our lunch under a spectacular tree. With a short swim in fast running water to avoid crocodiles to cool down and a lunch time siesta we were back on the river for some more fishing. The day ended with a beautiful sunset and a Zambezi lager in hand we made our way back to the lodge. To end off this wonderful day we were treated to the best local cuisine and traditional dancing.

What a day!

We met up in Johannesburg and all flew up to the famous Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Our plan was to spend a couple of nights at the Ultimate Lodge owned by a good old school friend of mine Russell Caldecott. We were to visit Victoria Fall, do some sightseeing and fishing on the mighty Zambezi before we embarked of our quest to hunt Cape buffalo.

Victoria Falls, which is needless to say a spectacular sight! We were showered from the mist rising up from the mighty thunder of the falls. What a great place! Being soaked by the spray we were still able to get some wonderful pictures of the falls. The water levels were pretty high from the recent rains, so the falls were in a full roar. Magic!

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There was a tap on the roof of the land cruiser as the trackers had spotted a large heard of Buffalo. We back up to make sure they had not spotted us and to get the wind in our favor. We planned out our stalk and what we would do once we were in position if we spotted a trophy bull. The progress was slow

as we were on our hands and knees moving through the grass and mud. We made our way to within 50 yards of the closest Buffalo.

A cow spotted us but was not sure what we were and after a long period she lost interest in us and carried on chewing on her cud.

After quite some time we spotted a couple of good trophy bulls, but we felt that as the herd was so large there would be a better bull amongst them. Jed, one of the trackers, spotted him, a gem of a bull, just what we were after. The stalk was on. He was lying down so it made it easier to get closer to him.

We were in position and on the shooting stick, now we need him to stand up. Some Buffalo to our left were spooked and the bull jumped up in a flash. They were all bunched up now so there was no chance for a shot.

The bull that we were after finally took a step forward for Mike to steady on him for a clear shot. The buffalo were oblivious to what had disturbed them. Mike squeezed off the shot.

There was an almighty whack as the bullet found its mark. The bull bucked with the shot and curled his tail, which is a great sign for a well-placed shot. The sound of the shot had the whole herd thundering off without presenting another target on our bull. ›

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aris, “The City of Light,” is renowned as a center of culture, learning, and the arts.

It’s museums are world-famous repositories of the highest expressions of human artistic endeavor; and among them is one gem that deserves to be better known, certainly to readers of this magazine. Not many guide books-except one or two that specialize in somewhat off-the-beaten-track listings-include the Musée de La Chasse et de La Nature, devoted to hunting in the classical European style, and much more.

Thanks to the current climate of Political Correctness and anti-hunting fervor sometimes even magnificent historically and zoologically significant exhibits-for example, the New York Zoological Society’s National Collection of Heads and Horns (many of which were donated by no less a notable than former President Theodore Roosevelthave essentially been banned from public display. That the Musée de La Chasse et de La Nature exists at all, let alone that it’s such a stunning display of the inter-relationships between some of Man’s oldest concerns is a remarkable and very wonderful thing. Possibly because in Europe hunting has been mostly a pursuit confined to the relatively rich, it seems to command a level of societal respect that’s vanishing in other places.

The Musée de La Chasse et de la Nature is a celebration of the semi-mystical threads that tie together Man’s oldest pursuits-hunting and art-and their roots in the natural world in which we live. We humans are hunters by nature; and all living humans are the

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View of the antechamber. The painting of the hounds coursing a hare is on the left rear wall.

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Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature ( Sylvie Durand )

The Arms Room, with open drawers to display the collection of flasks, horns, swords, and other paraphernalia of the chase

descendants of successful hunters. The truth is that we were hunters before we became human. The Musée predicates its existence on understanding this basic truth.

But humans are also artists. Art is the reflection of Man’s unique ability to contemplate and recognize the complexity and beauty of the world around him and to visualize his place in it. The cave paintings at Lascaux-the oldest known work of human creativity-are hunting scenes. The Musée carries forward this tradition as well, and uniquely depicts the intimate relationship between these two characteristically human activities. In a world that seems to have forgotten-or that refuses to recognize-that those connections exist, its mission is all the more important.

The Musée is the loving legacy of Monsieur François Sommer (1904-1973) and his wife Madame Jacqueline Sommer (1913-1993). M. Sommer was an industrialist whose youth was spent in the field, and whose love of nature and the outdoors was matched by his

wife’s. Together they established a foundation whose purpose is to support ethical hunting which respects the natural balance; and to display the magnificent collection of huntingrelated art and artifacts they collected. Today it occupies a pair of fully restored former private mansions. The Hôtel de Guénégaud on the Rue des Archives was restored and opened as the first incarnation of the Musée in 1967. In 2002, the Foundation acquired the neighboring Hôtel de Mongelas, which was similarly restored to its former glory. I first visited the Musée in the mid-1990’s and have had the opportunity to see it in its original and expanded states.

The Musée is palace devoted to the art-in every sense-of hunting and its relationship to Nature. Paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art and artisanal creativity celebrate the beauty of Nature, the rituals of the hunt, the legends and stories told for centuries, and the relationship of Man to his environment.

The exhibits are on three levels, of which the entry level is the most sumptuous, each room devoted to a more or less specific theme. ›

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature ( Luc Boegely )

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134 146 92 hunting season • Goose Hunting and Iced Over Eye Lashes with Jacquie Gross • Ducks Before Breakfast Pot Roast for Dinner

96 big game hunting • One Blazing Safari! Dad & Daugther's Adventure • Romanian Bear Hunt No Teddy Bears Picknic • Hunting the Big Cats • The Boar’s Are Back in Town • Buffalo Hunting in Matetsi Zimbabwe • Judging Trophies in the Field • Hunting Africa The Dark Continent?

• Antelope of the Northern Canadian Savannah

128 hunter legacy • Master Taxidermist & Hunter Carl Akeley

130 cartridge legacies • The 20th Century’s Top Rifle Cartridge

134 artist of the wild • Wildlife Artist, Keith McAllister

140 hunter's lounge • The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

146 hunter's lodge • Segera Retreat Kenya, Offi cially Opens • Hunters Lounge Suckling Pig

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FP Pending

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Applause to Michele,

A Nine Year Old Cheetah Hunter A little hunting story sent to us by Elaine Ness (Coetzee) that goes to prove you’re never too young to start hunting!

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e were silently sitting on the platform that was built high up in a Mopane tree. Today we are eagerly waiting for a big Eland bull to appear. Daddy is looking for a Cheetah on the plains with his PH and mommy wants to hunt a Hyena, sitting in a tree blind with her PH. Hunting with his PH, Cornelius, for the past 10 days, having shot 4 animals already, little Michele was waiting faithfully for his guide to give him the next order to “SHOOT”.

His little mind was, as always, searching for questions to ask about hunting in Africa: “Sir,” in a silent whisper, which are the most difficult animals to hunt?” Cornelius, whispering back: “Kudu and Oryx”, two animals which were still on little Michele’s shopping list. “What about Cheetah ?” “Pure luck, my boy. Pure luck” his PH answered.

Silence overcame them as they were both searching for animals to appear at any moment. Suddenly his PH held his breath as he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

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A male cheetah came walking past. For a minute, Cornelius thought that this couldn’t be true. Can one boy be so lucky? Getting the 300 H&H in position for little Michele to shoot, Cornelius whispered, “Cheetah, can you see him?” “Yes,” little Michele replied.

“SHOOT!” One bang and the Cheetah spun around and dropped to the ground. Little Michele was jumping up and down and the tree stand became too small for the both of them. Cornelius tried to calm him down.

“Slowly, slowly, you still have to be careful.”

Getting help from Cornelius climbing down the flimsy ladder, little Michele started running towards the trophy and turned around on the PH’s word: “Don’t run, calm down”. Michele grabbed Cornelius around the neck with these words: “I love you. I love you.”

Awesome discovery! They saw that this very old male had a shot right through the heart. The boy looked up at Cornelius with is big, teary, brown eyes and said, “My daddy is going to be so proud.” Calling his dad

on his cell phone to give him the news, his father totally misunderstood and it took a second call to explain more fully what he had achieved. “WHAT, YEAH, BANG, BOOM, YEAH,” and silence. Returning to camp that night with the Kuri family was something not one of us will ever forget. The love and pride in the father’s eyes and the trust he had put in the little boy; and the professionalism of Cornelius the PH who absolutely won this little boy’s trust 100%, made this hunt a special one and probably the only one where a 9 year old foreign boy shot and killed a trophy cheetah.

FP Pending

KSA: Al Rasha International, S.T. Dupont Boutique (Jeddah, Kingdom Centre & Al Khobar), Tanagra UAE: S.T. Dupont Boutique (Dubai festival City), Tanagra, Al Jamal (Abu Dhabi), Paris Gallery & Watch Gallery (Dubai Mall) Kuwait: S.T. Dupont Boutique (Avenues Mall), Tanagra Oman: Capital Stores Bahrain: S.T Dupont Boutique (City Centre & Seef Mall), Yaquby Stores, Tanagra Qatar: Ali Bin Ali, ST Dupont Boutique (Royal Plaza), Tanagra Egypt: S.T. Dupont Boutique (City Stars & Mohandeseen), Beymen Jordan: Abu Shakra Trading Yemen: Mam International Iran: KaďŹ Stores

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Unforgettable start to the 2013 season for the

Blancpain Race Weekend

Podium PRO Cup Monza

Supported in 2013 by Eurosport TV coverage, the world’s most subscribed and popular GT endurance competition has placed itself ďŹ rmly at the top of the quality and quantity scale. 60 GT3 cars started the season at Monza this weekend in one of the biggest grids seen at the famous Italian circuit in recent times.

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his year, bearing the brand colors for the first time, the Blancpain Racing team of Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain, and Peter Kox started the season in their new #24 Lamborghini Gallardo. At the end of the three hour-long race, the Ferrari 458 Italia of Kessel Racing claimed victory in the PRO Cup while AF Corse won the first place on the PRO-AM podium.

Eurosport TV coverage secured In a further enhancement to the coverage enjoyed by the Blancpain Endurance Series and Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, Eurosport International will screen a bespoke highlights programme of all races in the 2013 calendar. With interest in the Blancpain Endurance Series at an all-time high, both the promoters - SRO Motorsports Group

#24 Blancpain Racing Car

Blancpain Racing Team with M. Bastiaans, designer of the new #24 Lamborghini layout

and series title sponsors - Blancpain, have collaborated to bring fans closer to the frenetic action this season. Up to 52 minutelong programme will be screened on the Tuesday evening after four of the five rounds, capturing all the drama and non-stop action of the epic three-hour races. All races will be shown in the late evening with a guaranteed repeat of each event the following morning on Eurosport 2.Eurosport’s vast network of channels is available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages and is one of the most widely viewed dedicated sporting channels in the world.

“Eurosport needs no introduction to fans of motorsport. The channel has been a supporter of top-line International racing for over twenty years. For 2013 the Blancpain Endurance Series has an unbelievable depth of great teams, drivers and globally recognised brands competing together. These races will be seen all over the world and with drivers from so many countries, the reach of the series will be better than ever.”

Stephane Ratel, Founder and CEO of SRO Motorsports Group ›

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2013 New layout design

“This coverage is a fantastic step for the Blancpain Endurance Series as it begins its third season. Year by year the series has grown in teams and drivers, showcasing fantastic racing in a unique paddock ambience. The new TV viewers who will tune in to the Eurosport programme will not fail to be entertained by the truly International flavour of the Blancpain Endurance Series.�

Alain Delamuraz, Vice President of Blancpain SA, Head of Marketing :

Pirelli, SRO, Blancpain representatives at the Press conference annoucing the Eurosport TV coverage

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Both on and off the track, guests & drivers will not forget the unique way that Blancpain celebrated the end of a long winter by complementing the excellent weather at Monza this weekend.

FP Jumeirah

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International Sportsmen’s Exposition (ISE)

A Talk on the

Wild Side

by Jackie Gross

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rowing up as a Huntress or Woman Angler; in my words, “A Tomboy” was quite difficult. I didn’t have many girlfriends, most of my friends were boys and a lot of girls were jealous especially when I went into High School. But as I matured and grew up I soon found out that they did have a few women who shared the same passion that I did, woman who loved to hunt and fish! Making these new friends in life was such a great feeling. I soon learned that they had Hunting and Fishing shows across the states and that is how the International Sportsman’s Exposition became a huge a part of my life.

The ISE Show has been America's Premier Hunting, Fishing, and Travel Shows since 1975.

For 38 years the International Sportsmen's Exposition (ISE) events have presented America's premier adventure-travel, hunting, fishing, shooting-sports, boat and camping products and services to outdoor enthusiasts at events held during the first quarter throughout the largest western United States markets. Each of the five ISE shows display from 300 to more than 600 leading resorts and lodges, outdoor-product manufacturers, boat dealers, regional and specialty retailers, hunting and fishing guides and outfi tters, national and local conservation organizations, state and federal government agencies, and nonprofi t groups. It all started when I was introduced to a man named John Kirk. John Kirk had contacted me to ask me about a contest that I was competing in, “The Extreme Huntress Contest.” I pretty much told him all there was to know about me, but the most important aspect, was my passion for the Outdoors. From that initial meeting JK guided and directed me into the Outdoor Industry so I could make my dreams come true. He helped me to gain courage and strength to never give up. Since then, I have started my own company, Bowkrazy, and our motto is, “Live for the Outdoors.” We try to motivate other woman and children to become more involved in the outdoors and it has been a great experience to meet so many different people who love the same thing that I do.

At my first ISE Show, I had the opportunity to be on stage with some of the bigwigs in our Industry. JK introduced me to key people in our community so that way I could rally up the votes to win the, Extreme Huntress Contest. It made me smile really big meeting so many different people which now I can call my friends. After winning the contest I was invited back to share my story. Boy was I ever nervous , I had the opportunity to talk about my trip to Africa and I also shared my childhood life and different challenges that I was faced with while growing up and how I had to focus on what was true to me; which is being in the outdoors.

Not only was I able to speak at the event but I also had the pleasure to meet the ISE owner, Brian Layng, and it was truly amazing to share a hug with him.

A friend of mine Mr. Carl Taylor invited me to come to the ISE show in Salt Lake City, Utah and help him Co-Host the Elk, Duck, and Goose Calling Contests. Boy was that a trip.

They had kids, men, woman, and pros that could call every species. For me seeing the kids light up when they would go up on stage just touched my heart. It is always so great

to see the youth involved in the Outdoors, because they are our next generation of hunters. I also had the opportunity to judge the World Championship Dutch Oven Cook Off. All I can say ummmm ummm! That was the yummiest two days that I think I have ever experienced. Maybe next go around I could attach my favorite dish that I was able to try!

SO GOOD!

Humphries Archery, puts on the 3D Archery Shoot at every ISE show and my fiancĂŠ, TJ Guccini, and my friends encouraged me to give it a whirl and try to shoot their course.

Well I will tell you what, lol, I am a HUNTER, not a target shooter. Shooting at moving targets in a few seconds that pop up and down is quite difficult, especially when you have to compete against other people who do this for a sport. Now me on the other hand, I can hunt fairly well! I got up there, and my hands were shaking and sweaty. It was just too funny. I had so much fun and it was such a blast, from this point forward I will be shooting at every ISE Archery Shoot that Humphries puts on! I absolutely loved it, and I am smiling just thinking about it.

It is hard to explain the greatness one can feel when going to a show like the ISE. The room is always filled with smiles from across the miles and everyone is so happy to be there. A show like this is what brings the Outdoors Industry happiness and joy because everyone is doing what they love. Not only do you get to meet people who share the same passion as you but you also get to meet people who share the same adventures as you. That is why I love the ISE Show and I am so grateful to have been a party of their Outdoor Community.

Jackie Gross with Brian Layng & H&S magazine h&s l May 2013

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Namibia

The Smile of Africa

by Elaine Ness

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amibia, officially the Republic of Namibia is a country in Southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border with Zimbabwe, less than 200 meters of riverbed (essentially the Zambia/ Botswana border) separates them at their closest points. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.

Uprisings and demands by African leaders led the UN to assume direct responsibility over the territory. It recognized the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people in 1973. Namibia, however, remained under South African administration during this time. Following internal violence, South Africa installed an interim administration in Namibia in 1985. Namibia obtained full independence from South Africa in 1990, with the exception of Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands, which remained under South African control until 1994.

Namibia has a population of 2.1 million people and a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, herding, tourism and the mining industry - including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver, and base metals - form the backbone of

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Namibia's economy. Given the presence of the arid Namib Desert, it is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

Approximately half the population live below the international poverty line, and the nation has suffered heavily from the effects of HIV/ AID, with 15% of the adult population infected with HIV in 2007.

The name of the country is derived from the Namib Desert, considered to be the oldest desert in the world. Before its independence in 1990, the area was known first as German South-West Africa (Deutsch-S端dwestafrika), then as South-West Africa, reflecting the colonial occupation by the Germans and the South Africans (technically on behalf of the British crown reflecting South Africa's dominion status within the British Empire).

Pre-colonial period The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, Nama, and since about the 14th century AD, by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion from central Africa. From the late 18th century onwards, Orlam clans from the Cape Colony crossed the Orange

River and moved into the area that today is southern Namibia. Their encounters with the nomadic Nama tribes were largely peaceful.

The missionaries accompanying the Orlams were well received by them, the right to use waterholes and grazing was granted against an annual payment. On their way

further northwards, however, the Orlams encountered clans of the Herero tribe at Windhoek, Gobabis, and Okahandja which were less accommodating. The Nama-Herero War broke out in 1880, with hostilities ebbing only when Imperial Germany deployed troops to the contested places and cemented the status quo between Nama, Orlams, and Herero.

The first Europeans to disembark and explore the region were the Portuguese navigators Diogo C達o in 1485 and Bartolomeu Dias in 1486; still the region was not claimed by the Portuguese crown. However, like most of Sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia was not extensively explored by Europeans until the 19th century, when traders and settlers arrived, principally from Germany and Sweden. In the late 19th century Dorsland trekkers crossed the area on their way from the Transvaal to Angola. Some of them settled in Namibia instead of continuing their journey, even more returned to South-West African territory after the Portuguese tried to convert them to Catholicism and forbade their language at schools.

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I Do this Because I love it

by Jackie Gross

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“I DO THIS BECAUSE I LOVE IT”

rowing up as a little girl, I believe that I was different than most.

I was definitely not a kid that you could keep indoors, more so a kid that you couldn’t keep away from the outdoors. My Mom told me once that she couldn’t find me so she called my dad in a panic and after an hour of hollering she finally found me sleeping in the dog kennel.

She said I STUNK to high Heaven! Then another time, which I remember well, was when I had found some baby rabbits and I brought them home. I was playing with them outside and I got caught cuz I tried to sneak some lettuce and carrots out to them.

Boy was she mad, she was yelling and “Jacquelyn you go bring those baby rabbits back to where you found them!” I did, but I think my dog might have eaten the mamma!

We had always lived near the woods and we never had many neighbors, so my friends became animals or bugs, plus imaginary talking trees. My brother and I would make camps in the woods and pretend that we had to survive out there on our own. We would bring toilet paper, chips, a few of my dad’s items from the shed, just anything we could get our hands on. Most times I had to play by myself because my brother would get poison ivy but I must have become immune to it, cuz still till this day I haven’t had poison ivy. Knock on wood! But as a very young child, I knew I was different. I had a love for the outdoors like no other. I never had many friends growing up that enjoyed the same things that I did. I was always out duck hunting as a little girl and fishing with my brother or my dad.

As I grew up, the desire to continue to be in the outdoors never left. I found myself being more “Country” and I started to notice that I was not like the other girls. I loved being

OUTDOORS, not shopping, or movies. I am not saying that any of that is bad, I am just saying that in my young teenage years, I didn’t have any one to share my outdoor lifestyle with me and I didn’t enjoy what the other girls did. It was even more tuff as a teenager and I had to stay focused on my passion. Imagine always being made fun of, people constantly saying horrible things about what I loved, they always made stuff up, and at times I was really depressed. But still I didn’t care because I had a passion, and being outside is what made me happy, it brought smiles to my face like nothing else could.

After receiving a softball scholarship I moved away and started to learn who I was and what I wanted to do in life. I finished college and had an opportunity to head to the Mountains.

I jumped on it as fast as I could and still to this day I live here in Colorado. I started to learn about big game hunting; as I had never seen ›

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an elk or moose before in real life. I picked up a rifle and a bow and at that very moment, I knew that hunting was something that I wanted to do for the REST OF MY LIFE! NO, IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS! I practiced as much as I could until the moment came for me to face the challenge of a real big game hunt. (You have to understand in my childhood years I had only been bird and hog hunting.) But now this was REAL, the HUNT WAS ON! I did not know what to expect, what to feel, or even what to look for. I was so nervous, that I thought I was going to vomit; I was unable to control my shakes, chattering teeth and felt as if I was going to hyperventilate. I know that this does not sound fun, but the feeling is truly amazing especially after succeeding. But I still wanted to hunt more because I Loved It! I wanted to take bigger challenges and hunt different species even some that were dangerous.

I was determined to find ways that I could feed this fire, and I found it with the Extreme Huntress Contest. I entered the 2012 Extreme Huntress Contest and wouldn’t you know I won. Was is fate, was it a dream come true, what was it? I had chased my passion for so many years and now it was coming true.

When I was told that I would be hunting Cape buffalo in Zimbabwe, Africa I literally felt that I was the luckiest woman alive. So lucky that I postponed our wedding to my fiancé so I could go hunting. He did say it was for a good cause. But that is another story J After winning the contest and being introduced to other ladies who shared the same passion as me, I knew that I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to change the

way people felt about Huntress’s, and show them the greatness of being a hunter. I started to speak at Seminars to show my ability to inspire woman through the eyes of a huntress and give those interested in hunting a new angle to look through. I would also attend youth events and volunteer for the archery range. Seeing lil girls, lil boys, and middle aged kids; all the way to Moms that were shooting for the first time with their kids made my heart smile. It was so awesome to see the kids big smiles as they would hit a balloon on the target and their faces would light up. It truly touched my heart and I was honored to be able to help the children. I knew what it was like growing up and not having that friend who enjoyed the same thing that I did so what more can I say? Only we can make the difference for the next generation of hunters, and I will continue to help anyone who wants to become more involved in the Outdoors, BECAUSE I LOVE IT!

Jacquelyn Gross Colorado/Louisiana Cell: (970) 366-2550 email: jackie@bowkrazy.com website www.bowkrazy.com Like FB Page Bowkrazy with Jackie

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news hunt

Hunting Bans

A Blessing or a Curse?

A

number of countries have introduced hunting bans in the so called name of conservation and the protection of hunted species. Well is this really in the best interest of conservation and the continuing development of wildlife and does just imposing a ban across the board achieve the stated objective?

be that certain lobbying organizations have influence and bring pressure to bear on governments both in terms of their public criticism of hunting in general or it may be financial or it may be a legitimate concern that a certain species in a given location is in decline to the extent that the population is being significantly reduced.

Well initially one has to consider what prompts the ban in the first place. It could

There are three countries that have recently imposed a ban on trophy hunting with the

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stated goal that this will protect wildlife that they say are under serious threat of being over hunted and therefore becoming endangered or at worst extinct. On the face of it this is a very laudable and admirable move to take but is it a case of over reacting to situation that may or may not even exist.

There is no doubt that money has a part to play no matter what camp you put your foot in. In the first place trophy hunting is

big business and a big time employer of local labor. On the other hand conservation organizations have quite deep pockets and will contribute to the protection of wildlife wherever the concerned authorities are willing to take note of the anti-hunting lobbyists. Specifically the three countries I refer to are Botswana, Zambia and Costa Rica.

In 2014 a ban on hunting on public land will be enforced in Botswana and a recent ban has been imposed in Zambia on the hunting of lions and leopards. It is said that both these species are in serious decline across the African continent. Whilst these bans are specific and not across the board, Costa Rica on the other hand has imposed a complete hunting and trapping ban for sports purposes across all areas. This ban is seen as the most stringent throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Up until the end of 2012 Botswana was one of the most popular places to go on safari.

And trophy hunters came from all over the world to shoot some of the world’s most sought after game animals. However at the end of 2012 the President announced that no hunting licenses would be issued for 2013 and by 2014 all trophy hunting will be banned in its entirety.

A month after the Botswana Presidential decree Zambia followed in their footsteps by banning the hunting of all leopards and lions stating that the tourists that come to Zambia on photographic safaris come to see the big cats in their natural habitat and far outweigh the number of trophy hunters, and as a consequence by killing off the cats by hunting them will reduce the number of tourist coming to the country. So not only is the ban imposed to save the species from unnecessary decline, but the revenue from tourists wishing to see live lions and leopards is much greater than that derived from the taking of trophies.

So does a ban work? Well, if you are not shooting the animal then on the face of it the species should proliferate, but there are other factors that have to be taken into account. Take Kenya for instance. This country completely banned hunting of game animals back in 1977 with the intention of protecting the indigenous wildlife and promoting instead tourism trade based around none lethal safaris. You shoot with a camera rather than a rifle. Here again it was a case of taking a decision to follow a course of action that on the face of it seemed a good thing.

However, without considering the whole ›

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picture and taking advice from both sides of the perspective and not allowing sufficient resources to compensate for the activities that were being banned, the consequence thereof is the direct opposite to that which was the original aim.

Prior to the ban a Kenyan elephant could expect to live for around 40 years and it is not unknown for elephants to survive well into their 60s and some reach their 70s given an ideal living environment. If a bull elephant lived for 40 years how many offspring could he sire? He has plenty of time to pass on his genes and to provide numerous calves for the next generation so ensuring the continuation of the species. However, in Kenya today it is likely that an elephant will not survive much past his teens. In a period of 20 year after the

hunting ban the elephant population dropped from an estimated over 150,000 down to less than 20,000. Initially hailed by numerous conservation bodies who looked on this as a ground breaking decision on behalf of the Kenyan governments, Tourism and Wildlife Agency, what has happened, ironically, is the fact that it has meant that the elephant population specifically, and other game such as rhinoceros, has seen a drastic decline.

Admittedly in some parks and reserves like the, Masai Mara, and the, Tsavo, population is showing a slight increase by around 2% per year with the population in the Tsavo now estimated to be around 12,500, but this is still a huge reduction from the level that existed before the ban and these parks are monitored and protected to a high degree

by government wildlife rangers. What has happened in other parts of the country is that due to the ban the professional hunters whose livelihood depended on a strong and growing wildlife population are no longer acting in an unofficial and sometimes official capacity as game rangers and wardens. As a consequence of this the land that supported wildlife in general and the elephant in particular has not been looked after and so the animals have not had the abundance of food to support a population of pre ban size.

The other factor that has decimated the elephants and the Rhino’s is the poachers.

Yes there has always been and always will be poaching of elephant for the ivory, and Rhino for its horns, whilst ever Far Eastern demand remains for these commodities. However, when you take away the livelihood of more than 100 fully licensed professional hunters in the country whose best interests it is to control poachers and who actively go after them and take steps to make life difficult for them, when these deterrents are no longer there then what will happen is what has happened, and poaching has proliferated and is now at epidemic proportions. The whole intention of imposing a hunting ban in Kenya was to protect the wildlife and to ensure that it continues to grow. What has happened is just the opposite and due the drought, which would be alleviated by the PH’s, and poaching, the population has dwindles especially in terms of the lucrative elephant and rhinoceros species.

On the face of it what Kenya did sounded like an extremely humanitarian thing to do and they were congratulated in what was seen as a very bold and commendable initiative but when one considers the facts that organizations such as the, World Wildlife Fund, and the, World Bank, threatened to stop providing tens of millions of US dollars to the country in grants and loans unless the practice of illegal poaching at the time was stopped the easiest thing to do was impose an across the board hunting ban. At the time the illegal poaching and harvesting of ivory

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and rhino horn could be traced right up to very senior government level as well as those employed to protect the animals.

The fact of the matter is that the ban was probably the worst thing that has happened to wildlife in Kenya. In the 70's and 80's poaching was so prolific and unchecked that it bought the elephant population down to around 16,000. Now due to stricter enforcement of the law and more control in the game reserves the population has increased to around 32,000 which still means that there are 100,000 less that there were in 1973. However we have to take this as a step in the right direction and hope that it continues to show an increase.

Of course it’s not just the poaching that has caused the wildlife population to decline, human habitat is also to blame. As the human population increases so the land that is needed for us to live on has to increase and the incursion of farms and residential developments along with the negative aspects that these bring to the animals all helps to compress the natural habitat more and more. Chemical now used in farming and the pollution that is associated with these populated area all have an adverse effect on the indigenous wildlife population.

As mentioned at the start of the article the regal big cats are also in decline in a number of countries and imposing a ban on the hunting of them is again a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand hunters no longer take a lion as a trophy yet with the absence of the professional hunter in whose interest it was to ensure the lions were looked after and the pride was kept together by selective culling, the habitat is not taken care of and this will be to the detriment of the animals. There have been a number of cases where due to neglect or lack of control or as a specific act of eradication, waterholes and natural watering places have been contaminated by human pollution or chemicals killing many animals at one time. This then has a knock on effect when nature’s garbage men, the scavengers,

come along, to clean up the bodies find themselves eating contaminated meat and they themselves perish in the process. As an example it was estimated that in the 80s Kenya had about 20,000 lions, today this figure is more likely to be as low as 2,000.

And there is a hunting ban in force!

We now see a number of concerned entities lobbying for the hunting ban to be repealed in Kenya and to go back to controlled and licensed hunting, bringing back the professional hunters who knew the way of the animals and whose selective hunting took out the older and less fi t of the species. Admittedly once in a while a trophy animal would be taken, but the species would be monitored and the killing controlled by the PH whose livelihood depended on the continuation of the species and he would ensure that not only would the species prosper but it would produce fi t and healthy beast that can produce quality

offspring because the better looking the animals the more impressive the safari. Not just in the kill but who can doubt that any hunter worth his salt whilst hunting his trophy would not be impressed by seeing healthy animals in the rest of the herd or pride and will understand that selective hunting is, in the long term, beneficial for generations to come.

So are hunting bans a blessing or a curse. Like most thing in life I believe that everything should be done in moderation and doing anything to the extreme is never a good thing.

Controlled hunting and selective periodical bans on specific species seems to me to be the best way. This way it protects the environment, produces livelihood for local people, controls, to an extent, poaching and ensures that the population of whatever species we are focusing on continues to survive.

RNC.

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hunting tips

How“Not” to Hunt

Blue Wildebeest

by Elaine Ness

I

t took be a good 5 years before I could finally put this story down on paper.

Probably because I knew that all fingers will point directly back to me as a professional hunter and guide. I did not follow the rules 100%, got too relaxed and it back fired on me. We did through it all learn a lesson and my two friends could go back home with one heck of a story.

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Two Texan boys, out of the heart of good old Texas booked a 2x1 plains game hunt with me. Their first trip to the “dark continent, Africa” and these two guys were pumped up with adrenaline and ready to experience Africa. I do not think in their wildest dreams they ever thought that they will experience Africa to this extent. They were both great shots with a bow and a rifle and because of

that I got way too relaxed, to the point where I left my rifle in the hunting vehicle. (you have to trust your clients, don’t you?) Well in this industry, rule # 1 BROKEN. I did though still carry my sidearm that was at that stage a 357 Ruger revolver.

Friday morning and today we are looking for Blue Wildebeest. We call them the “poor

man’s buffalo”. Every animal was brought down with one shot, so what can possibly go wrong on this hunt, I thought to myself.

Two hours into the hunt, we encountered a huge herd of Blue Wildebeest. There was an enormous trophy bull in the herd and I told Roger to grab his gun. We started crawling hands and knees into the direction of the herd and his hunting buddy, Steven was right behind us with his camera and NO rifle. It took us a good hour to finally get this bull in an open spot where Roger could actually have good aim and a good shot. I lined him up on the shooting sticks and the shot went off. The Wildebeest stumbled forward with his face in the ground, but soon recovered and took off. I could see that the shot was low and it left me devastated, because seeing blood on these velvet black skins was almost impossible and him being in a herd with several other bulls did not make it easier for us.

We started following the herd and after 4 hours of tracking without seeing one drop of blood, I spotted a track going away from the herd. “It must be him”, I thought, he is getting sick. After another hour of tracking, we spotted this bull going up a small hill and he looked like he battled to go uphill. Without

even picking up my binoculars, I told Roger to shoot. He shot and again, he hit him right in the stomach. “Shoot again”, I shouted and the second shot dropped him in his tracks. I was relieved, UNTIL I walked up to this animal and could only find two shots. THIS WAS NOT THE WOUNDED ONE.

Steven wanted a Wildebeest as well and I knew that we will have to play quick to find the wounded one before dark, it was already 3.00pm in the afternoon. We were now in Black Rhino Territory and I gave Roger my handgun, took his rifle and Steve and myself continued after the herd hoping to find the wounded one. I showed Roger a tree should he need to climb it when the Black Rhino show up and he could use my handgun to keep scavengers away from his trophy.

Another 20 minutes into the hunt, we found another track that was splitting up from the herd and it was clear that this was the wounded one. We found places where he had lain down and I realize we are close. The next moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and before I could identify what it was, a Black Rhino cow came out of the bush like a freight train. We were walking directly into her territory where she was hiding a one month old baby. She was mad and came directly for us. I grabbed Steve by the arm and start running the opposite direction so we could get downwind for the Rhino not to smell us anymore. There were absolutely no ›

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trees to climb, just Black Thorn Acacias that is of course the perfect territory for Black Rhinos. We could only pray that she would lose our smell and stop. She was still behind us and catching up by now, snorting and kicking up dust like crazy. It felt like we are going to die. None of us dare to look back, too afraid that is will slow us down. We ran full speed for almost one kilometre when we realize she must have lost us. With our hearts still pumping in our throats and thankful to have escaped this beast, we started heading back from where we came from. Now we are a whole kilometre away from where we came from and we will have to work fast. With much care, walking circles around the spot where we found the Black Rhino cow, we finally picked up on the track of the wounded one again. An hour and a half passed and we were running out of daylight time. I almost went into a panic.

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My hunting dog, Foxie, all of sudden took off in a flash and soon I could hear him bark. He located the wounded the animal and kept it in one spot for us to show up. We ran as fast as we could toward him to find the Blue Wildebeest just walking in circles. Steven shot and missed him, (only 90 yards away).

Oh God, he could have shot my dog, now all kinds of panic overcame me and I want this job done now. “Shoot again” I yelled and the second shot hit the animal in the stomach.

“Steven, relax man, make sure before you shoot, he is not going anywhere”. I yelled at him with frustration in my voice. We walk closer and I set him up on the shooting sticks to finish the animal off. “Click” and nothing.

He looked at me with fear in his eyes and said. “I am out of bullets, Elaine, I am out of bullets.” With no handgun on me, no rifle, I am mad at myself. Martin my tracker took

one glance at me and started jogging off into the direction where Roger was waiting for us.

I did not have to say anything; he summed up the whole situation and was on his way back to see if Roger might have more ammo. It is going to take him a good two hours to run back and by the time he reaches us again, it will be dark.

My mind was thinking in circles now and I could not think about a plan. We went down between the bushes and decided to just stay calm, wait this out and hope for the animal to stay on one spot or die. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about my tracker, he loves his job and will give his life. “Oh, God, please protect him”, was all that was going through my mind at this moment. I felt like such a complete idiot. A simple plains game hunt turns into a complete disaster because I was not prepared like always.

I had my eyes stuck on this bull and the next minute he gave a couple of steps forward where I could not see him anymore. I crawled through the grass towards where he was standing and no sight of this animal. “Oh, no, this is not happening, I cannot let this animal suffer through the night, we have to find him.”

Now I am praying hard and only rely on help from above, because I messed up good, I thought.

Two hours have passed and in the distance I could see Martin and Foxie appearing on the horizon. Martin had a smile on his face when he came and gave Steven one round of ammo. “Something is up, why is he laughing?”

I thought to myself. Foxie immediately took off and not even 20yards from where we were sitting he came to a standstill in front of a very deep donga, about 8 yards down, there was the wildebeest, dead. I was relieved, so relieved, but at the same time it went through my mind how we are going to get him out of there.

I told Steven to stay with his trophy and I and Martin walk off to the closest road to get cellphone signal to phone the concession owner to come and help us. I was curious now what this smile is all about. That is when Martin starts telling me his story.

We caped and skinned both of these trophies, beautiful, both gold medals out and finish up around 3.00am the next morning. We were so exhausted, mentally and physically drained, but so thank full that we had both the trophies and were still alive and in one piece.

He ran back to Roger to find him sitting in the highest possible branch in this tree I left him at. His eyes as big as saucers, my handgun down on the ground and a warthog feeding underneath a tree. The warthog fled when Martin appeared and Roger climbed down.

He told Martin that the he got charged by this warthog and that is why he climbed the tree.

He emptied my handgun on the pig and when he ran out of bullets, he threw at the pig with my handgun, just to leave the pig madder. He missed him so far that the pig did not even leave the area he was standing in. He would just look up once in a while and probably thought, “what the heck is that two legged creature doing in the tree?” I laughed so hard that the tears were flowing; now all the stress of the day came out in giggles and tears.

Returning to camp, we took a hot shower, could not sleep. We ate 4.00am in the morning and even had a drink on this unbelievable day. It amazes me how funny a story became once you return to camp. We were all terrified, scared, exhausted, and mad, you name it, but once we were back at camp, we could not stop laughing at our adventure.

That is why I stick to the saying: “WHAT IS THE SENSE OF KILLING IF YOU HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED THE HUNT” I am sure these guys will practice a whole lot more with their hunting rifles and will not take anything for granted out in the hunting field and me, yes me, will never leave my faithful old 416RM by itself in the hunting vehicle EVER AGAIN.

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Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

By Keith Coyle A

s this is my first article for Hunting & Safari magazine, I, of course, spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what the content should be and at what level of expertise it should appeal to. Well the best place to start, as always, is at the beginning, go back to the basics, which is what we should all do every now and again. How often when you go to the shooting club do you go there to practice your technique, as opposed to shoot a round and chase a score.

Serious golfers spend as much time on the driving range and putting green, practicing their swing, as they do playing on the course, and how many golfers do you know that have brought a bag full of expensive clubs and walked on the first tee without having had lessons with a good golf pro?

So why do the majority of novice clay shooters start off in the sport by going to the local ground with a friend who gives a few phrases of well-meant advice, then they borrow a badly fi tting gun and then attempt to shoot a full course relying on a technique they believe is right but based on the principles of shooting a rifle. Invariably they hit a few targets, and despite maybe having a bruised shoulder/upper arm or cheek bone, they get hooked, buy a gun and then

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Craddock - “A miss-mount is a missed shot”.

This applies without exception to both the “Gun Up” and the “Gun Down” shooter.

Invariably we all start out believing that the first priority is to place the gun in the shoulder pocket and that this will naturally line the rib of the barrels with our eye. Novice shooters instinctively mount the gun using just the back hand to lift the stock to the shoulder with a pivotal movement, this, however, creates a see saw action at the end of the barrel and encourages dropping the head down to the stock to get the eye (the back site) in the right place to see the target.

The prime objective of a gun mount is to bring the gun up to the dominant eye first, placing the comb under the cheekbone (your kinematic buttress) and the secondary objective is to place the stock butt plate back into the shoulder pocket, which is no more than a platform to keep the gun in place.

GM Start point set out with the belief that the more targets they shoot the better they will automatically get. The truth is its only perfect practice that makes perfect! Bad practice just makes things worse and you can invest considerable amounts of money in compounding bad technique and inconsistency.

shooting - get it wrong and you’ll never produce your best, no matter how many cartridges you put through the barrels.

I was told by that great coach, Chris

This is normally the reverse of what our brain tells us is the right thing to do. Let’s not forget we are shooting a shotgun which we just have to point, not a rifle that has to be aimed! ›

Forend across the palm

Few things are more satisfying than a perfect shot. The skill required is a product of sound basic techniques, perfect practice and smoothly honed reactions but these don’t come overnight. First you must know what it is you need to practice; only then can you do something about it. In shooting, as in other endeavors’, ignorance prevents progress.

As a professional coach, over the last 25 years, I have regularly seen shooters struggling with the same basic problems - stance, gun mount, eye dominance or gun fi t. Sometimes they will need to correct just one of these - at other times, a combination.

Ok, let’s look at the most important of all the “basics” that needs to be perfect, the ‘Gun Mount’; this is the bedrock of all good

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Front leg knee bent and good feet position

Relaxed & Ready 42

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Elbow, Toe Hip

Gun Mount 1

Gun Mount 2

width shoulder pocket for the stock to sit in, the lower your elbow is, the smaller the area becomes and this increases the instability of the gun and creates the opportunity for bruising to your upper arm.

Now, the dismount is just as important as the mount and it must be the same movement using both arms together but in reverse, it’s imperative not to allow the back hand to› Shoulder pocket

Gun Mount 3

Gun Mount 4

Too low,No Shoulder Pocket

The most efficient, effective and consistent way to bring the gun up to the eye (the back sight) is to use both arms in unison lifting the gun with a parallel action. To practice this properly and to overcome the natural temptation to lift the gun with the back hand only you must begin with the gun parallel to the floor, with the toe of the stock, your back hand elbow and the top of your hip all in a line forming the start point. Then push the gun

away from your body, to do it right, its feels as if you have to exaggerate this movement, as you start to raise your arms. Keeping the head still, as the stock comes up in line with the cheek draw the gun back, creating a reversing Piston Action; this should then bring the gun up to the face first and then back into the shoulder pocket second. If you raise your trigger hand elbow up to 90 degrees as you mount the gun you will create the maximum›

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drop the gun down first. Return the toe of the stock back to your start line and finish the movement with the barrels parallel to the floor.

Practicing the mount in this way is not only bringing the gun up to the eye accurately and efficiently, it is also training your front hand to be the motive force in pointing the barrels instinctively to where your eye is looking.

So, for those of us that are able to store our guns at home, you should practice your gun mount for a minimum of ten minutes, three times a week or more, it takes approximately 2,500 repetitive movements before it becomes lodged in your muscle memory and you can carry out the action without conscious thought. (A Kinesthetic movement).

The best way to practice this routine is with an empty and safe gun of course, and is to stand in front of a full length mirror. Stance for a right hander should be with the front left foot pointing at 12 o’clock and the back right foot at 2 o’clock. For left hander’s it’s

12 o’clock and 10 o’clock. Feet should be shoulder width apart and most importantly the front leg knee should be relaxed and bent, this allows your weight to naturally come forward. Your shoulders should be as square as comfortable facing front. This stops the front hand shoulder going forward and you incorrectly mounting the gun across the upper body, like a rifle stance.

Close the gun with the barrels parallel to the floor, you will now see that the gun is not actually pointing straight ahead but naturally across your body, so realign the barrels till they point straight ahead (towards your dominant eye) in the mirror, this will feel odd and seem like your pointing off to one side but you will see that’s not the case. If you don’t already do this, extend your front hand fore finger so it’s directly under the fore end, not next to it, so it’s now in line with the barrels above, remember shooting a shot gun is just a pointing game so let your pointing finger do what it needs to and point the barrels at what your eye is looking at, that being the target.

Now keeping the head perfectly still, start raising the gun up to your eye using both hands together with the reversing piston action, you will see in the mirror if you are dropping or lifting your head, which you must not do, bringing it to your face first then shoulder second. Whilst the gun is mounted shut your opposite eye and by doing this you will see if you dominant eye is placed in line with the rib and giving the correct sight picture at the end of the barrel. Do three mounts and correct dismounts then break the gun and rest your arms, wait for few seconds, then another set of three. You can carry on but don’t go beyond a point where your arms are tiring and your muscles are stressed.

To add variation and develop your natural pointing ability, now do some sets of gun mount using the wall and ceiling corners as a target contact point. Just raise the muzzles up slightly and start the mount on a parallel diagonal approach to the target point, placing the gun in your face and in line with your eye at the exact same time as the barrels make contact with the corner.

So now, not are you only practicing the perfect mount, your are now able to bring the gun up to your eye with the barrels making accurate contact with whatever you point at, efficiently, consistently and instinctively without having to think about it (A kinesthetic movement).

Practicing your gun mount with these routine exercises will create muscle memory, improve your hand and eye co-ordination and enable you to get the eye, muzzle, target alignment right every time.

Safe & Empty

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Regrettably in clay shooting as in other sports there is no such thing as a “Quick Fix” and new techniques must be practiced before they become effective, as you can’t train for and play the game at the same time. When making the effort to improve our skills patience is a virtue and sometimes we have to accept that when trying something new we get a little worse before we get better. This is

Pointing Finger Under the barrels because when in training we are consciously thinking about what we are trying to achieve, it’s only after we have spent time practicing and honing these new skills that our overall performance will improve and keep on improving as we develop confidence in our abilities and experience increasing successes.

I hope my coaching advice and the accompanying photographs will give you something to think about and practice when you can. Having now covered “Gun Mount’, the next most important “Basic” to consider for future editions is the importance of “Gun fi t’ (Totally dependent on a correct mount),

Eye dominance and what affects it.

Then there is the never ending question of “Lead” the subject that fascinates and frustrates both clay shooters and wing shooters the world over, and then what is the best way of applying it. Is it swing through, maintained lead or contact and pull away method? We shall look at the benefi ts and pitfalls of each, which clay disciplines they are best applied to and ultimately when you don’t need “lead” at all.

My aim in writing these articles for, Hunting & Safari magazine, is to give readers the

enjoyment that comes from shooting with confidence and consistency. Using an effective technique for whichever clay discipline they shoot and most importantly to shoot “Safely and with Style”.

Remember it’s only “Perfect Practice That Makes You Perfect” and doing this will stack the odds in your favor. Acquire sound, basic techniques and even on a bad day you’ll shoot well but on a good day, You’ll Be Absolutely Brilliant!!

Keith Coyle, M.I.C.S.I., Senior C.P.S.A. & Academy Coach,

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Bow Hunting Why?

By Stuart Pringle

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I

n 1998 a very good friend of mine and one of the last great white hunters Ian Hendry introduced me into bow shooting. I had read a lot about bow shooting/hunting and was very keen to try.

Why bow hunting I asked him? Well it all depends on how you want to handicap yourself when you are out in the hunting field. I liked this idea. Compound or traditional I asked him. He laughed and said I like your spirit. Compound it was. I needed to start with sights as I had no idea of instinctive shooting and I was given a compound bow to try.

It was not just about picking up a bow and starting to hunt, but making sure the bow fi tted you and you are comfortable with handling the bow, with many hours of shooting and shooting to get to know what your limitations are and what you can do with a bow in hand. Am I now ready? A BIG NO! Not yet. I could probably shoot an animal from a blind (bow hide) at a

waterhole, but could I hunt an animal on its own turf? Well I knew that answer to that. A big fat NO! Still hunting, meant a huge difference to that you do with a rifle. Now you really have to be up close and personal and hunt even slower and quieter. Like a bushman with far less skills, but with way better equipment. Well not yet!

My first bow kill was a wild boar, not from Africa, but in Texas U.S.A. WOW! What a rush. What an exciting start to my bow hunting adventure with all my preparations, practice and yes plenty of shooting I made a one shot kill.

A big YES! The bow hunting bug had bitten me. I was now hooked and far more eager.

Why do we handicap ourselves for the same rush as we get when hunting with a rifle, black powder or any other method of a hunting tool? Well my friends the answer is simple.

We all love to hunt and challenge ourselves to how we choose to do it. The ways we choose to hunt dose not take away the excitement we get out of it. Hunter and gathers it is in our blood! I enjoy hunting and that will not change no matter how I choose to do it.

If one loses that excitement and adrenaline rush one gets out of hunting then I guess you will have to hang up your hunting tools.

Changing your method of hunting will not bring back that feeling. It is gone.

You are blessed with the method you choose to hunt with. I love hunting and enjoy all methods of hunting. I guess it’s the challenge of the chase, if it’s from 300 meters or 15 meters, it is all still exciting.

Bow hunting makes me feel like a predator, especially when you are closing the distance between you and your prey. Getting into your comfort zone to make the perfect shot that you are comfortable with and knowing that if you do not have that perfect shot that tomorrow is another day. Wow! That is also the rush one gets out of bow hunting even without taking a shot.

All the practice one puts in will always benefi t you. Try all positions like sitting, kneeling and standing. Shoot with little or many clothes on. A jacket or just a t-shirts! Try with a leafy or gullies suits on. You just never know how and where you will be when the opportunity presents itself. Now you know you will be ready for it when it happens. So practice, practice, practice! You will never regret practicing. Believe me! ›

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Even though I have been hunting for most of my life starting when I could keep up with my dad, to hunting professionally for 17 years I learn something new every time I get out into the field. I always take other hunters ideas and experiences into consideration when I find myself in the same situation. This is how you learn more about nature and the situations one gets yourself into in the hunting fields. It will save your life.

Big game hunting? What! Is that possible?

Well why not if you think about it most of the shots we take with a rifle at big game are often within bow range, 18 to 35 meters. The interest had me reading all about equipment and what the minimum pounds, arrow weight and kinetic energy one needs to use to take big game animals. The best penetrating broad heads, 2 blade or 3 blades, and all the safety aspects about dangerous game with stick and string. I am ready as I have taken many dangerous game animals with a rifle and have been in bow range to do it.

Now to find the willing hunters to put their trust in me to guide them into a situation where we could be killed with the smallest mistake! Yes Sir I need some more experience. So how do I get the experience?

Let’s start with something with a thick skin and tough to get close too and that won’t kill us if something goes wrong. I knew a rancher that needed to take off some Giraffe as their numbers were too high for the land to sustain them. I soon had quite a few hunters keen and we were off. After many down, all with one shot kills, I was ready to tackle Hippo, Elephant and Buffalo. Knowing our limitations, arrow weight and the distance one can shoot with these heavy arrows is vital, so more.

More about this in a future article!

For cats it’s a different set up as they have thin skins and one can take them with a lighter and faster open, like your plains game set up, but I would recommend a cut on contact broad head. There are many on the market to choose from but I do not recommend

mechanical broad heads, but this is a personal choice as I have had bad experiences with them. This type of hunting is done from a blind the same way as using a rifle, but way closer. This too is a future article.

What about Crocodiles? This is a totally different ball game or hunting game. Your set up is even more different than big game hunting. You do not need to shoot with a heavy bow, but you can set up your plains game bow for this. You cannot just shoot a Crocodile with an arrow and recover it.

When shot he dives back into the water and is gone, unless you hit is spine, but that seldom happens. They take ever longer to float, unlike a Hippo that will float after a few hours. By the time he floats he could be anywhere downstream when shot in a river. In a lake or dam he could stay where he dived to, to take cover and may get stuck in there. So what do we have to do differently?

Well we need to have something to follow him when he is shot, so we attach a buoy line to the arrow and a broad head that cannot pull out. This can be fun. With many trials and errors we found a great set up and to date have taken great Croc’s using this unique method. All this in a future article!

Always remember the animal you get with your bow is a trophy of a life time, because you chose to hunt it that way and the memory will last you a life time as well as being passed onto your kids and grandchildren.

So why bow hunt? Well it is in the eye of the believer and as a bow hunter we forget that we are all hunters. As hunters we have many enemies, so we all need to stand together by respecting the methods we choose to hunt and not give all the anti-hunters more reason to cripple our industry and take away our heritage.

Stick and string I love it! Try it, but remember practice makes perfect. The compound bow shooting and hunting equipment out there has truly become outstanding and forgiving for the shooter. No matter what you purchase out

there it will be good enough for you to start bow shooting.

Before you try and do traditional bow shooting or hunting you will need a lot more experience to do this as it is all instinctive shooting without sights. It is like shooting with a sling shot, but way less forgiving! It takes time and plenty of practice to achieve this. It is one of the more rewarding ways of hunting once you have perfected it.

Then hit the field and become one with nature. Once you have your first kill in the bag you will be one of many that has been hooked by this incredible method of hunting. The bow hunting bug!

Live it, love it and remember to enjoy all your legendary experiences with the method you choose to hunt with.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

SHP

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A Hunters Guide to Bullet Selection or the Best Bang for your Buck

I

n the last edition of the magazine I spoke about matching the shotgun cartridge to the game you’re hunting. In this edition I am going to be considering rifle bullets and their suitability for whatever game your hunting, be that squirrel or prairie dogs, right up to rhinoceros and elephant. Now as you can imagine this might be a long article but I will

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try to keep it succinct and to the point.

First thing first would be to consider the game that can be legally hunted and this will cover a lot of animals but they can be categorized using the four CXP standard sizes which a number of well-known ammunition manufacturers conveniently use and most of

us will be aware of, but I will detail it below for ease of reference.

CXP stands for, Controlled Expansion Performance, and animals are classified into the four categories depending on physical sizes and weight with the smallest category being CXP1 through CXP2, CXP3 up to the

largest CXP4. Winchester has registered the CXP as a trade mark but other manufacturers just basically refer to the animal categories as 1 through to 4. There are literally hundreds of different bullets out there and if you take into account all the manufacturers that make the same caliber and specification but just brand them with their own name it runs into thousands. My aim, for want of a better word, is to simplify matters for you rather than cause confusion so what follows is a general guide which will suit specific game and you will have to use a bit of common sense if you don’t find your actual animal listed.

So let’s now look at the categories themselves and thank good ness that there are only four as if a manufacturer wanted to make if difficult he could have come up with a dozen or so.

Below each is a cross section of ammunition suitable for hunting the relevant category of game.

CXP1

CXP2

This is the smallest category and includes animals of the vermin variety, such as squirrels, ground hogs, rats, rabbits, coyotes and foxes and feral felines. This is the domestic size cat not the big cats of course.

This category will include the medium sized game with soft skins and not too much muscle mass or heavy bones. These would include such animals as African plains game antelope, white tail deer, sheep or mountain goats, wild boar, and black bear. Typically this category of game would weigh in at between 20kg and 130kg. ›

Cartridge

Weight

.17 HMR

20gr

.17 Super Magnum

25gr

.22 Short

36gr

.22 Long

45gr

.22 LR

55gr

.22 Win Mag

70gr

6mm Remington

85gr

Cartridge

Weight

.223 Remington

75gr

.22-250 Remington

80gr

.243 Win

100gr

.270 WSM

130gr

.300 Win Mag

150gr

.30-06 Springfield

180gr

.303 British

180gr

.308 Win

200gr

.338 Federal

225gr

6 mm Remington

100gr

7 mm Rem Mag

140gr

7 mm WSM

160gr

7.62x54R

200gr

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CXP3 We are getting into the heavy boned and muscled and tough skinned animals in this category such as, Caribou, zebra, kudu, elk, moose and brown or grizzly bear, bush pigs and crocodile. Weight would vary between 130kg and 450kg.

Cartridge .270 WSM

Weight 150gr

.300 WSM

165gr

.303 British

180gr

.30-06 Springfield

200gr

.308 Win

200gr

.338 Win Mag

225gr

.340 Weatherby Mag

250gr

.375 H&H

300gr

.45-70 Gov Lever

405gr

CXP4 This is a category for the big boys, the dangerous game found in Africa such as elephant, Cape buffalo, rhinoceros and hippopotamus, leopard and lion, as well as water buffalo and North American bison. All these animals are big and thick skinned with huge amounts of muscle mass and large heavy bones.

Typically, with the exception of the cats, we are speaking of animals that can weigh-in, in excess of 450kg and the elephant weighing in at anything from 4500kg upwards of 6000kg.

A male leopard goes up to 90kg and an adult male lion can reach up to 250kg.

Cartridge

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Weight

.300 WSM

180gr

.30-06 Springfield

200gr

.308 Win

200gr

.338 Win

250gr

.375 H&H

300gr

.416 Weatherby Mag

400gr

.458 Lott

500gr

9.3x62mm

286gr

As previously mentioned the above represents just a small cross section of the ammunition that is available to hunters nowadays. There are dozens of manufactures and hundreds of calibers and thousands of bullet sizes, so you will see that the above just scratches the surface, but hopefully helps to simplify the matters somewhat. However no matter if you’re hunting vermin or dangerous game the criterion is the same, which is to dispatch the animal swiftly and surely and whilst the correct size of ammunition is critical in achieving this goal of no less importance is where you put your bullet in relation to the animal’s vitals.

At the bottom end of the scale of CXP4 game in terms of caliber and bullet size would be the relatively soft skinned leopard. However, soft skinned it may be but dangerously fast and nasty at times, no doubt, which is why it is in the big five category. If you are fortunate enough to hunt one of these majestic creatures a .300WSM with 180 gr bullets will get the job done.

Looking at the elephant at the top end, however, you would be well advised to use a good bit more gun. Yes, it is true, we are always hearing that this famous hunter, or that famous hunter, shot elephants with pea shooters, but for the mortal man you need to be well armed and the .416 Weatherby Magnum, or equivalent, with a solid 400gr bullet would be the minimum I would recommend, or better yet the .458 Lott with solid 500gr bullets or similar, would be derigueur.

I mention the CXP4 category specifically here as this category is the most important in terms of danger to life and therefore more critical in getting the right tool for the job.

I am sure your PH will not let you go after dangerous game under gunned, but it’s nice for your guide to know that you are aware of what you’re letting yourself in for. If you are considering using a heavy caliber rifle for the first time on dangerous game it cannot be emphasized too strongly that you should put

a good few rounds through the rifle before you venture out into the wild. Practice on the range and be sure you can cope with the inevitable recoil and that you can recover swiftly enough to administer that follow up shot if needed.

As well as all that, study the anatomy of the animal you’re going to hunt. Know where its vitals are and where best to place your shot to be most effective. A charging elephant doesn’t give you too much alternative other than to make a frontal brain shot, but if you have the choice take it side on through the ear hole to the brain as there is a lot less body mass and bone to penetrate.

As previously mentioned you have a huge verity of ammunition to choose from, no matter what or why you are hunting, and it is important on a number of fronts to make sure you make the correct choice. The two criteria stated above are the most important, those

being that you make the kill as clean and quick as possible, and that you do not endanger your life or the lives of your companions. A couple of other considerations that, whilst not so critical, are important and they are that if you use too much gun then whilst the animal will undoubtedly succumb to the heavy caliber, if you’re looking to take it as a trophy then you want it as intact as possible, or if you’re hunting for the pot then you don’t want too much spoilt meat.

So taking everything into consideration out of all the options available to you and after giving due consideration to all your requirements you will narrow down the selection considerably. Never be afraid to ask advice but when you do, the best advice I can give you is, make sure you seek it from someone who genuinely knows what he is talking about.

RNC.

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Falconry

A Sport Among Kings

F

alcons, the majestic birds or prey have been patronized by royalty for the thrill of sport and to add splendour to the cour. The sport of falconry which spread throughout the world was especially popular with the Indian nobility.

Falconry, a sport among kings, princes and nobles started way back in 2000 B.C. in China. It started not as a sport but simply out of a necessity for food. From China it spread to Japan, India, Persia, Arabia, Turkey and finally to Europe. By 700 A.D. falconry was well established as a sport. By the middle of the 18th century there were hawking clubs all over Europe. Many tapestries and paintings all over the world depict battle scenes of kings and nobles with their favourite falcons as falconry was also a form of relaxation during long battles. King Richard, Coeur de Lion, took his hawks with him to the crusades. The kings Frederick II and Henry VIII of England and the Emperor Napoleon were all keen followers of this magnificent sport. Among the ladies, Mary Queen of Scots loved to be out hawking and Empress Catherine of Russia had her favourite falcon, Merlin.

The Mughals in India were also keen falconers.

The sparrow hawk was the favourite of Emperor Akbar. He often used these remarkable birds for hunting. They also added splendour to his court. For them many mansabdars ( commanders), ahadis (single man) and other soldiers were employed. The birds were fed twice a day and towards the close of each day they were fed on sparrows of which the baz, jurrah and bahri got seven each.

Man’s special favourite, the falcon possesses several unique characteristics and exhibits qualities of individuality and royal personage so desirable to man. Falcons are birds of open country, solitary in habit and prefer to fly freely scouring the countryside with their acute sight and pausing in their majestic flight to stoop down at a hundred miled an hour on their unsuspecting prey.

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Peregrine falcon

The peregrine falcon, the finest bird for training in India, migrates along the east coast of Bhavnagar in Gujarat on the boarder of the Gulf of Cambay. It is an aggressive and fearless bird, a superb flier with complete and easy mastery of the air. The peregrine is also known as the duck hawk and is found throughout the world. There are about 18 different species described from different areas. They are medium sized falcons with short tails, sharply pointed long wings and stocky bodies. These birds are able to lift heavy prey as their primary wing feathers are long and slender facilitating speed in flight, the inner secondary are broad and can give tremendous amount of strength. The adult male has a blue grey back and the head is a dark flush slate. The area around the eyes is black and the upper breast is white or buff with black spots and the rest of the under part is dark. The tail is grey, blackish towards the end, tipped with white and heavily barred.

prey immobile as while stooping the peregrine reaches a speed of 150 to 200 miles per hour.

This is one or the reason why a peregrine can kill prey twice as heavy as itself like teal, partridge, grouse. Other falcons found in Bhavnagar are the desert falcon known as the lugger and goshawk or baz which can be trained very successfully.

In Bhavnagar the royal family continued to cherish the sport of hawking till the 40s. the late Maharaja, Shri Krishna Kumar Singh’s two brothers, Maharaja Nirmal Kumar Singh and Maharaja Dharam Kumar Singh were very enthusiastic sportsmen. They each had their own trainers and falcons. The falcons were caught on the coast of Bhavnagar or brought from Punjab. According to Maharaja Nirmal Kumar Singh, it is customary for these falcons to hunt in pairs. Regarding capturing and training of these wild birds, he says a decoy is fastened on an upright net and on seeing the decoy, the falcon stoops down to catch its prey and gets hopelessly entangled. Falcons were caught and kept for just one season and then set free.

After it is caught the falcon is securely bound in a handkerchief and its eyes are sealed. This is done by slipping a needle through the lower edge of the eyelid and putting the thread over the head. Apparently the falcon shows no sign of pain. In this manner the eastern falconers seal the eyes of their hunting birds. This keeps them quiet for the rest of the training days and prevents them from becoming excited and scared. The bird also gets used to the human voice and touch. Maharaja Nirmal Kumar also added that buying a hawk is like ›

When hunting it is the fastest bird on earth both in stopping or straight pursuit. It can kill its prey in midair with its long hind killing toe.

Often the impact of landing itself renders the

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buying a horse. The colour phases, marking, shape, size of beak and middle toe, spirit, age and weight are a few points worth considering Indian falconers would never buy a falcon whose eyes were not sealed. Sealed eyes were an indication that the hawks had not been tramed.

Asked about the training of these birds, he says the new hawk never leaves the gloved hand of its trainer for four to five days.

Day and night they are handled carefully by speaking to them softly and stroking them gently and constantly for only then can these wild birds be trained.

As soon as the hawks lose their fear and become docile, their eyes are unsealed and the training days begin. The trainer swings a lure at the end of a short stick and the falcon stoops but the bait is jerked away before the bird can strike. After 40 to 50 attempts the falcon is permitted to strike and bring the lure

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down to the ground. It is indeed a wonderful sight to see these hawks starting to respond to their trainers. After this lesson the birds are hooded and well fed. Before a contest or a hunt the birds are given secret Indian drugs to stimulate them to have the utmost powers of speed, courage and endurance. Falcons, being good hunters with keen eyesight, can bring down big birds like ibis, cranes, big heron and among animals, hares. When the game rises, the falconer throws the hawk to catch its prey just like an athlete hurls a goal forward. But vigorous training is absolutely necessary to teach the little fighters how to chase such a quarry. In game hunting, pointers and setters are used and not until the game is found is the falcon unhooded.

Sometimes it is interesting to observe how an old hoody crow tries to outwit a falcon.

The crow will try its best to get cover under bushes, ledges or anything in sight but if it is unfortunately on open ground the quarry

must then try to beat the falcon in the air and keep above her. Once he does this he tries to stoop downwards to take cover twisting and turning. This is a dramatic and exciting sight with the crow not always being the lucky one.

In India falcons and hawks constitute two thirds of all species of birds or prey. The uncommon goshawks and the perennial favourite, the peregrine span the Indian subcontinent.

However, the sport of falcony has been fast losing popularity not only due to the expenses involved but also due to wide criticism and an increasing awareness of preserving nature and wildlife. There has been a dwindling of the species. In fact the king of falcons, the bullet-headed, steel grey peregrine became almost extinct due to excess DDT in the environment causing the bird to lay eggs with fragile shells leading to greater prehatch mortality. However, people were quick to champion this much loves bird and save it from imminent peril.

In the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, falconry appears to have been known from at least 600 years BC. Falconry became especially popular with the nobility and the Mughals were keen falconers. Surprisingly, the humble sparrowhawk was the favourite of the mighty Emperor Akbar. In the Indus Valley, falconry was considered a life-sustaining instrument for the desert dwellers, while those from the green belts considered it as a noble art and used the falcons as symbol of high birth and luxury. Organized hunting parties would go out for game. Richard Burton, the famous 19th Century historian and translator, wrote extensively about falconry in the Indus Valley, citing the interesting practices of its communities in his book “The Valley of the Indus.”

In India, in the Rajput States - in Jaipur, Bhavnagar etc. the royal families continued to cherish the sport of hawking till the 1940s, but then partition and subsequent political problems did for falconry in India, Pakistan

and Afghanistan. Nowadays, while there are many people who have paper knowledge of the birds, there are very few with practical knowledge left.In India there appear to be only three persons who possess the traditional skills. One of them is Col. Osman (Brother of King Zaeer Shah of Afghanistan); the others are Shantanu Kumar and Shahid Khan, both of Jaipur whose ancestors were professional falconers to Kumar Shree Dharmakumarsinghji, brother of the Maharaja of Bhavnagar.

Modern Pakistan, since partition from India and the loss of royal patronage, has had no falconry. The new state’s modern laws of the 1950s banned falconry to Pakistanis.

However, hunting tourism is permitted and since the 1960’s wealthy foreigners have paid

for the privilege of hawking there. This has led to problems– when commercialism enters common sense exits, but regulation has finally come and trappers must be licensed and are restricted to 15. Conservation groups like Falcons International (itself funded by Arab falconers) are now demanding a zero quota.

The Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi and Falcon Foundation International Pakistan have joined hands to work for the conservation of falcons, including the annual release of falcons into the wild under the Falcon Release Programme. These annual releases include falcons from several Gulf States that have spent a season hawking legally as well as illegal birds confiscated from smugglers. The confiscation of those illegal birds is part of the country’s efforts to implement stricter wildlife trade regulations.

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Choosing the Right Hunting Boots & Socks

H

unting boots and socks are certainly some of the most important piece of hunting gear that you have, especially on an African hunting safari where you will be walking many miles a day in pursuit of enormous trophies. An unsuitable pair of hunting boots or socks can ruin an otherwise meticulously planned African hunting safari; blisters, pinched toes, sore heels or other injuries are just a few of the consequences.

Conversely, a well-fi tted quality pair of hunting

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boots and socks can add to the enjoyment of your African hunting experience in ways that you may not even recognize, because we don’t think much about sore feet and blisters when we aren’t suffering from them.

Hunting shoes or hunting boots?

On hunts where you won’t be doing much walking, stalking or tracking you may only need a pair of low cut hunting shoes. There

are some excellent and versatile shoes that will give you the added traction you'll need, without the weight of a hunting boot.

However on hunts where you will be walking a lot, many miles a day, for many days or will be traversing particularly rugged terrain, the support of a solid pair of hunting boots is vital to prevent injury to your ankles. Generally speaking leather boots provide more support and protection than synthetic or canvas fabric boots.

Hunting boot materials The upper of most good quality hunting boots is leather or a combination of both leather and synthetic materials. You may also find different grades of leather which may be confusing. Full grain leather is the thickest and most durable grade, which will provide the most support and protection, but is also quite stiff and may take some time to break in. Split grain leather has had the inner portion of the hide removed, leaving only a thinner layer for waterproofing. This type of leather is easy to break in, but does not provide the same durability and support of full grain leather.

TIP If hunting in wet areas, your hunting boots should be made of fast drying synthetic materials made particularly for this purpose.

Hunting boot soles The sole of the boot is what provides you with traction. There is wide variety of different patterns used, and most boot manufacturers have several different proprietary patterns. All are designed to work on any surface; however, some will work better on specific types of terrain than others. In general, look for a multidirectional tread pattern that will provide good traction

on a wide variety of surfaces and under any conditions. Some quiet soles can be very useful when it comes to stalking, however might not be suitable for some types of terrain so try to find the best compromise.

Thick, high quality soles can prevent thorns and cactus needles from penetrating them and going into your feet. It may sound improbable but I have seen African thorn tree needles go right through cheaper quality rubber soles.

Hunting boot fit Boots should fi t larger than most shoes. You will probably need to go at least a half size or more up from your normal shoe size. You should be able to move your toes, but you don't want too much room or your foot will slide around inside the boot. Fit is important and the only way to find the right hunting boot is to try it on.

The best way to try on a pair of hunting boots is with the socks and liners that you intend to wear with the boots. If you can, try the boot out on an incline, make sure your foot does not slide forward when you're walking downhill. Walk around in the boots and spend as much time as possible in them before deciding. Make sure that your foot is not rubbing and your heel is not lifting too much off the insole. Remember boots may not seem comfortable at first. Especially full grain leather boots can be very stiff before being broken-in, so keep this in mind.

TIP Your feet change size throughout a normal day and are largest later in the day.

With this in mind, shopping for hunting boots later in the day is a good idea. ›

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Lacing your hunting boots

My hunting boots

Make sure your hunting boots are properly laced. A hunting boot that is not laced tight enough can cause your foot to move around quite a bit. On the other hand, lacing your hunting boots too tight can cause your feet to swell. Try playing around with your laces to get the right fi t. Don't hesitate to adjust your laces after you have walked for some time as you may need to tighten or loosen them up a bit to get just the right fi t.

I personally have been wearing a pair of custom made Safari PH II with steel shanks and Vibram Air Bob soles from Russell Moccasin for many years and truly rely on them and cannot say enough good things about them. If you are not familiar with Russell Moccasin and their great products, this century old family owned company can be found online at www.russellmoccasin. com. Read their testimonials page to find out what other hunters have to say about their products http://www.russellmoccasin.com/ testimonials.html.

TIP If you have well broken-in hunting boots that fi t your feet well but may have stretched out some over time, a solution for this is to use boot inserts to take up some of the extra room while still enjoying your favorite well worn boots.

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I have also owned a pair of full grain oiled tanned leather uplander boots for what seems like forever from Filson which have served me

tremendously well and which I love. You can find more about this great American company and their many products on their website at www.filson.com.

It is important to remember that just because a boot is recommended to you by me, a friend or even an experienced expert, it does not mean that it is the right hunting boot for YOU. Don't let yourself be talked into buying a pair of hunting boots that don't feel right!

Take your time because a good pair of hunting boots should last you for years. Once you've purchased your hunting boots remember to give them sufficient wear to break them in BEFORE you go on your African hunting safari. Take some long hikes; this will get both you and your boots in shape for your hunt.

Socks and liners

My socks

How to prevent blisters

Buying a great pair of hunting boots will only get you half way there, equally important are the socks you wear them with. A crummy pair of socks will not provide you with all of the potential benefi ts that your expensive new boots can provide. High quality hunting / hiking socks are usually wool blend with some nylon or lycra mixed in. Cheaper socks are usually made of acrylic, polyester or cotton.

Good quality hunting socks can be a bit expensive, but are well worth the investment and should last you a long time.

There are numerous brands to choose from, and I certainly have not tried them all however, in my opinion, nothing comes close to Smartwool socks and liners for hunting. Smartwool socks are made from premium New Zealand merino wool. Because Smartwool socks are made from such high quality super fine fibers, they are incredibly soft and provide great cushioning. These amazing wool fibers contain thousands of air bubbles which not only keep your feet warm when it's cold but also cool when it's hot. This benefi t alone makes Smartwool socks a superior choice for hunting in Africa as compared to a traditional hiking sock. I personally swear by Smartwool socks and liners and would not do without them when hunting in Africa. To find out more about Smartwool products visit www.smartwool. com. Once you have decided which socks and liners are right for you, wear them with your hunting boots before you go on your African hunting safari.

Blisters are truly the bane of any hunting safari. What begins as a small blister can grow into a very painful problem which can make for a miserable hunting safari experience.

Blisters can get so bad as to slow down the pace or even interrupt your hunting safari.

I highly recommend liner socks be worn in combination with your regular socks. Liner socks are designed to be worn under your other sock, next to your skin. They are made of polypropylene which wicks perspiration away from your foot and transfers it to your other sock. Liner socks are a crucial piece of hunting gear for preventing blisters on long days on safari, as keeping your foot dry is half the battle.

The first thing you should know is that a well fi tting, broken-in pair of hunting boot and great pair of hunting socks and liners can go a long way in preventing blisters. If one of these components is missing, your first line of defense will be compromised.

Your second line of defense should be knowing that moisture is the enemy and trying to prevent exposure to it at all costs.

This means wearing a sock liner to wick away moisture and even bringing along a change of socks in your day pack if they become damp part way through the day.

Your third line is early detection, awareness is key. You should deal with minor hot spots or rubbing issues before they are allowed to develop into a real problem. Even if your hunting boots fi t perfectly always carry Moleskins with you. If you are unfamiliar with Moleskins they are a special bandage made specifically for blisters. They go over the blister or hot spot to prevent further friction.

Moleskins are inexpensive and easy to find at your local drug store or online.

TIP Putting a piece of strong adhesive tape over the spot on your feet that is blister prone should prevent any blister from developing.

Use strong tape designated as “waterproof”, it has a smooth, slippery surface that reduces surface friction.

The mechanics behind this prophylaxis is instead of the sock rubbing back and forth over the skin and raising a blister, it slides harmlessly over the tape. This method may be preferable over using Moleskins as the tape is much thinner and you don’t even feel it’s there. h&s l May 2013

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Hunting Gear List for

Bow Hunters

Hunting Gear • Bow, I recommend bringing two well-tuned hunting bows if feasible • Soft case, to protect your bow in the hunting vehicle or on charter flights • Bow carrier or sling • Arrows • Broadheads • Points (practice tips, bird, fish) • Quiver • Arrow bonnet to protect arrow from getting damaged while hunting and conceal bright fletching

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• Release (and spare release) • Glove • Armguard • Face mask or paint • Small set of tools, for tuning or repairing your bow • Sharpening tool • Wax • Lubricant • Glue • Pocket knife or Leatherman tool • Binoculars

• Binoculars strap or suspender support system (the latter will make wearing them more comfortable and secure with no swinging or bouncing) • Spotting scope • Range finder • GPS (Global Positioning System) • Small bag or back pack for taking personal items on hunt (waterproof may be recommended for some hunts)

Archery Supplies Most places where you go on safari will have no archery supplies within a reasonable distance. For this reason you should be able to keep your bow performing perfectly on your own. Here are some parts to consider.

• Tools • Portable bow press • Strings (complete with a peep, nocking point and loop, and it should be shot enough shots on the bow so that it has settled) • Cable(s) • Harnesses • Peep sight • Arrow rest • Sight • Stabilizer • Limb Dampeners • Silencers • Shafts • Vanes • Nocks • Weight tubes • Targets

Travel Accessories • Flashlight or headlamp with spare batteries and bulb • Camera, lenses, flash and film, if not digital.

If your camera is digital you might consider bringing a second memory stick, charger and/or batteries.

• Video camera, tapes or memory card/stick, charger and/or batteries. Ask your PH to take pictures with his own camera too, it's great back up • Lens cleaning kit • Ziploc bags, a great way to protect valuable equipment, like your binoculars or camera, from dust sand and water. Make sure that the bags are big enough to fi t over your items while in their original cases to

offer added protection. Ziplock bags are generally very useful and versatile, I never travel without them.

• Electric converter(s). Ask your outfi tter as they may have a different current and/ or outlet than the country standard at the lodge or camp. Check your newer electronics as many computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. will accept a wider range of electrical input, such as 100V through 240V and require only a plug adapter instead of a converter. These items may adapt automatically of have a switch to change voltage.

• Plug adapter(s)

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Shooting Hungary

Hunting in the Heart of Europe

I

n the heart of Eastern Europe and boasting some of the best hunting conditions and traditions around Hungary is a country that you will not be disappointed in if you ever decide to visit.

Hungary has a population of just over 10 million and an annual average income of

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$15.000.00 and yearly temperatures ranging between -2 deg C to 28deg C. which makes it a very pleasant place to visit. It has a long tradition of hunting all kinds of game from wing shooting to wild boar and red deer.

The hunting is regulated and formal and exceptionally well organized. The Hungarians take their hunting seriously and they are

extremely professional at organizing hunting trip for overseas visitors.

The hospitality of the Hungarian is first class both on the hunt and après hunt and you will be able to experience the pleasure of staying in some of the most spectacular hunting lodges and hunting castles anywhere

in the world. The bigger hunting estates offer international gourmet cuisine and fine wines and are staffed by professional people whose only role is to make your stay as comfortable and memorable as possible. There is plenty of choice to suit all tastes and pockets from 16th century castles which can accommodate large corporate parties to the less extravagant lodges which would be more suitable for possibly a romantic break for a couple and if one spouse did not want to hunt other activities will be available to suit all tastes.

If you decide to go and get yourself a Hungarian trophy they are plenty for you to go for. These will normally be prepared for you by the outfi tter and will be prepared to international standards. In the EU there is no regulations concerning taking trophies from one EU country to another unless there is a disease outbreak but if you are looking to transport your trophies outside the EU then you need to check what regulations would apply to your ultimate destination.

There are a few necessities that you would have to have with you on any hunting trip to Hungary such as: • Your passport.

• A valid hunting license and gun permit relevant to your weapon from your home country.

• A Hungarian hunting license which can be provided by your local outfi tter.

• Your hunting contract between yourself and the outfi tter which should include an invitation to the hunt.

• A decent pair of binoculars.

• Your usual hunting clothes that would be appropriate for the climate at the time of the year you will be hunting. Also, as you will be stalking some game a walking staff would be useful, as would a hunting knife. Of

Hunting seasons are generally in line with other European seasons and as a guide we list a few game seasons below: PHEASENT

November 1st to January 31st

DUCK

September 1st to December 31st

RABBIT

November 1st to December 31st

RED STAG

September1st to November 31st

ROE BUCK

April 15th to August 31st

FALLOW DEER

October 1st to December 31st

MOUFLON

September 1st to January 31st

WILD BOAR

Open season all year round, but sows 1st June to 31st January

course any knife would not be allowed in the passenger compartment of any airline.

• In terms of the rifle caliber a minimum of a .280 would be recommended and in fact a .308 or .30-06 would probably be better.

Bullet weight should be 155 grain to 180 grain. Riles and ammunition can be provided by the outfi tter but if you want to take your own hunting weapon, be that rifle or shotgun, then you need to enquire with your local customs office as to the procedures you need to take as you will in all probability require to obtain a gun import license.

• For the smaller game where a shotgun is used, like the pheasant, duck and rabbit, then a 12 gauge is recommended with suitable cartridges. To save carrying a mixture for the three game animals above I would say you use one size of cartridge such as No5 or No6, with 32g or 30g shot load.

There is game a plenty in Hungary, whether that be game birds, wild boar or deer. In fact around 700,000 game birds are taken each year by local and foreign hunters. Wild boar ›

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is open season all year round as the boar population continuous to grow year on year.

Red deer and fallow deer are also numerous and will ensure that great hunting is available for all. Boar tusks of between, 24cm and 27cm are regularly taken, and the then largest in the world was measures in 2003 at 27.55cm.

If you are a pheasant shooter then Hungary has a lot to offer. Considered as the aristocrat of game birds the Hungarian driven pheasant shoot is equally comparable to any of the pheasant shoots in other parts of Europe. The estates are well managed and the birds are testing without being impossible to shoot. But

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if it’s high testing birds you’re after then you can get them a plenty. Walked up pheasant shooting over excellently trained dog is also available. Flighted duck shoots in Hungary is said to be some of the best in all of Europe, with high flying mallards reaching speeds in excess of 70km per hour which ensures that the hunter is guaranteed a memorable and enjoyable time.

areas. During the open season the stags will be in rut and will therefore be very active.

Once again it is said that Red Stag hunting in Hungary is considered to be among the best in all of Europe. Being native to Hungary the Red’s are available in large numbers in and around the countryside and the woodland

If you are looking for great venison as well as a nice trophy then the Roe deer should be what you’re hunting. Tender lean meat with a really nice mount means you will get the best of both worlds. If you are looking for a traditional

There can be few more impressive medium sized trophies as the Mouflon sheep with their huge backwards curling horns. These animals roam wild and can offer a very challenging stalk. But some very good size rams are available to add to your trophy wall.

walk and stalk hunt then you can take a tag on a Fallow deer. A bit smaller than the Red deer but nicely marked with the more spade like antlers, which will again provide you with a great trophy. Rutting somewhat later than the Red the fallow deer can also be hunted from tree blinds or purpose made towers.

As previously mentioned wild boar hunting can be done all year round with the exception that the sow season is from the 1st of June to 31st January. Again these animals provide excellent meat and you will have the opportunity to take some of the largest boars in all of Europe, weighing up to 200kg, and with a body length of around 1.8mtr. wild boar can be either hunted from tree stands or purpose made blinds situated in locations that the guide knows they frequent, or they can be hunted by driving them towards the waiting guns.

So what would it cost you to hunt in Hungary?

A special deal three day Roe Buck package

would cost in the region of $4,000.00 and this would include:

• 4 Roebuck.

• Full board in a top class hotel or hunting lodge including soft drinks.

• All paper work.

• Transfers from and to the airport.

• Guides.

• 4x4 vehicles.

• Trophy preparation.

A special deal three day wing shooting package would cost around $4,600.00 and this would include:

• Day one. Walked up shoot approximate 30 birds per gun.

• Day two. Driven pheasant approximately 75 birds.

• Day three. Duck shoot in blinds approximately 50 birds.

• Full board in top class hotel or hunting lodge including soft drinks.

• All paperwork.

• Transfers from and to and the airport.

• Beaters and loaders.

• 4x4 vehicles.

• 300 cartridges.

Not included is air travel to Hungary and alcoholic drinks and tips.

Hungary can offer you a really special hunting experience with plenty of game in traditional surroundings and in a country that has deep hunting traditions. You will be well looked after and the professionalism of the hunting world in Hungary has been built up over generations and it was once the hunting preserve of the aristocrats of Europe, reserved for only the nobility.

Nowadays it is open to all but still has the royal ambiance which can make you feel like a king. Interested? Just contact Joe Balesh at H&S Travel, e-mail: jbalesh@mailme.ae or telephone: 00971 50 551 5957 RNC

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hunting tips

To Shoot or not To Shoot

by Mr. Stag Aka Bernard Miranda Feliciano

The North American Whitetail and Mule Deer, Their Different Body Orientation in the Wilds and the Ethical Judgment Call Before Taking the Shot

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent".

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H

i, it is me again, Mr. Stag, your favorite ungulate North American game, and the quotation you have just read is what our friend, the author, insisted as the opening sentence, while we were mulling-over on how to go about with the final installment of this write-up. Reflexively, I just start to ho-hum and roll my eyes at the same time - not an easy feat, but can be mastered over time, whenever he has one of his bright ideas such as the above.

Be that as it may, I agreed, but only on the condition that he gives his layman’s interpretation of the aforementioned quote pertinent to the ethical harvest of game at the end of the article. I have reminded him so, to ensure that we are on the same page.

Since, what we are writing is about hunting, to be contributed to an outdoors publication dedicated not only to the legal ownership and responsible use of hunting paraphernalia, as well as, the actualization of one of man’s most primal and time-honored pursuit which is to hunt, and not a meandering philosophical discourse on the meaning of life.

Judgment Call Challenge # 8 The Collateral Damage Predicament Let us say that while glassing the herd you have decided that I, Stag, am more trophy-worthy than the other harvestable bucks in the vicinity.

Now, even if I am within range of your hunting implement, whether firearm or archery tackle, but am still in close proximity to the other deer/s in the languidly grazing herd, tell me why is it not only unethical but also illegal if you take the shot and it goes awry?

The answers are right on the same page page below, take a peek...

While most of you deer hunting old hands out there will say that it is the very real risk of the projectile over penetrating and either severely injuring or killing the deer behind me outright . . . . . . . Entry level deer hunters should also be aware that one can also break the law by injuring/killing another animal without the mandatory hunting licenses vis-à-vis the attached hunting tags.

Tip: Simply wait for me to be clear of the others, making certain that my bodily presentation is conducive to an ethical kill and then take the shot. ›

Regaining his wits about him and sensing that he might have bitten off more than he can chew, the author tried to cajole me in abrogating our agreement. Contending that because this is the write-up’s third and culminating part anyway, the quote must be taken in at face value, as it literally means what it says, i.e., given that much has already been written about the topic of judgment calls a hunter has to make prior to squeezing the trigger or releasing the bowstring in a hunting scenario, leave it at that - our obligation to the magazine has been met anyway.

Suffice to say that this is where I stomped my hoof down, reprimanding the author to keep his end of the deal; else I will no longer collaborate with him on his next writing undertakings with the magazine.

Censured, our author petulantly continued writing where he left off the previous issues, which are –

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Judgment Call Challenge # 9 The Beyond Visual Range Possible Non-Game Projectile Strike You are about to throw in the towel since for the past several days you have not been able to spot me, notwithstanding your great tracking efforts, and deer season is almost over.

Of course, you feel morose and more so desperate, since not only is the hunting license/tag you purchased expensive, you will be by the day’s end, the only one among your hunting buddies, without the requisite bragging rights to crow about around the campfire.

Trying to figure out on how to expound on the new species of lichen you observed growing on a rotting tree stump at the base of the ridge, as your back-up narrative for the campfire story-telling time . . . . . . . you literally experience half a seizure when you look up and see me at the top of the ridgeline.

You realize then this is the opportunity you have been waiting for, that comes only once in a lifetime and instinctively you release the safety of your hunting tool. But wait my budding hunter friend, for I still have to ask you, point blank, is it really worth the risk if you take the shot?

Refer to the accompanying image for the full grasp of the situation . . . . . .

In instances that you spot me on any elevated position, be it a small hill, ridge, dike, or similar rising, and have committed to memory one of the golden rules in the safe handling of hunting tools - this is a no shoot situation.

Remember, a missed shot or even a projectile that had over penetrated me can still travel some distance away with enough oomph and may hit and cause injury/damage to other hunters, game, livestock or property.

Thus, ascertain first what is behind and beyond your target and only thereafter take your best shot at me.

Almost a no-brainer, but still needs to be reiterated that a shot should never be taken when beyond your target, people, structures, vehicles, roadways and areas where other hunters are afield, are at risk of being struck.

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Judgment Call Challenge # 10 The Barbed-Wire Fences Make Good Neighbors Situation So how did you fare on our previous challenges?

How was your self-control relative to the situation presented? Well, here is another test to dishearten your willpower . . . . . . . Spotting me with my pompadour of an antler, more ornate and elegant than the hairstyle of the person who originated it, you start to convulse once more but now frothing at the mouth also while deliriously muttering that the once-in-a-lifetime shot opportunity had presented itself yet again, all you have to do is aim and discharge your firearm or archery tackle . . . . . . .

Only that I am on the other side of a barbed-wire fence.

Indulge me now with two reasons why you should never attempt to have a shot at me either with a gun or bow?

One can only yearn and hark back to the bygone era of the open ranges hunters used to revel in during North America’s frontier period. Now, a lot of hunting areas, both public and private, are likely barbed-wire fenced either to contain livestock or act as boundary lines between properties.

I may create a spur-of-the-moment hunting opportunity, in instances like this, if for example you wake me up from my sleep while on your way into or out of your stand or hide.

Jumping me from my bed cuts both ways, as my sudden appearance will startle you also, and in the frenzy of sighting me through your optics, it can be easy to fail to see the thin strands of barbed wire which can deflect your projectile resulting to a missed shot, or worse, a wounded animal.

Now, if a spongy stem of a reed plant can deflect a bullet or an arrow-bolt, how much more a multi-strand twisted steel wire with two or four sharp barbs spaced every 4 to 5 inches? You do the math but I would rather have you avoid shooting through a barbed-wire or any other type of fence at all costs.

Granted you can make a 100% dead-on-shot, what if the fence separating us is the boundary demarcating your hunting land and that of a private property, and I happen to be on the side that is privately owned?

Pass this shot; it is always verboten to shoot an animal over a fence on somebody else’s estate. ›

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Judgment Call Challenge # 11 The One Shot Incapacitating Hit Conundrum Did you know, dear readers, that sometimes, out of curiosity, I camouflage my bedding area really well so that I can be within seeing and hearing distance of the hunters’ campfire? And more often than not, I have to stifle an incredulous snort or two at the wildly fantastic yarns these human hunters spin, much more so if their chitchat is stiffened by that mysterious liquid they pass around and imbibe.

I do, however, chance upon a campfire banter that really piques my critical interest and I am all but tempted to join their conversation and readily agree with what one is saying and disagree and correct what the other is contending.

One such very informative discussion is how to achieve that desired oneincapacitating or drop-dead-hit on ungulates like me – whether it is the brain, neck, heart/lung (boiler room) or high shoulder shot – in other words, the kill switch projectile impact that really anchors me where I got hit.

And no wonder why the discourse was so lively, as intelligence from the herd informed me that those who were around the campfire belong to the select unit of human shooters called the Whispering Death of the All-Seeing Perched Ghosts (moniker made up, of course, by the author).

Well, to tone down a bit the drama, the All-Seeing Perched Ghosts are

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actually the professional deer cullers, who are also, during their recreational activity, deer hunters.

And unfortunate as it is, we have exclude our hunting archery tackle in this challenge because excepting my heart/lung area, the other parts of my anatomy considered as kill switches, aside from presenting small targets, are either shielded or enclosed by thick and heavy bones.

Compared to bullets, arrow-bolts do not have the energy to smash through bones and affect lethal traumatic shock to my brain and spinal cord. Even my non-neurological kill switch, in my neck area, does not lend itself a conducive target, as my carotid artery is only the size of your bowstring.

Think then of the context/s and the underlying factors when head and neck shots are applicable before you refer to the corresponding image and be enthralled by my ethereal beauty.

Boy, that author of ours is really something.

Still irritable about fulfilling his end of the bargain, I resorted to my powers of persuasion, finally telling him that the reason I wanted to hear his take on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s remark was that, in a heartbeat, I might find myself in the crosshairs of the optics mounted on the hunting tools of his fellow contributors (mighty fine hunters, these folks are, if I may say so), and that is it, no more Mr. Stag to grace the pages of Hunting & Safari magazine.

Flabbergasted by what he thought as my concern about my own mortality, I clarified that it was nothing of the sort – as a game animal, the reality is sooner or later there is a bullet or arrow-bolt out there with my name

on it and it’s happy hunting ground for me.

At the mention of the word reality, his eyes glazed over and started to mumble, more to himself rather than me, uttering the word reality and how we perceive it is what primarily occupied Wittgenstein’s grey matter function.

As told to me by the author, it goes something like this . . . . . . . if the world is made up of facts and we become aware of these facts through our thoughts by composing a mental picture of the way things are, how we express then these thoughts indicates the position of these facts within the nature of reality. Now since our thoughts merely express facts about the world, these thoughts in themselves are

entirely devoid of value . . . . . . . Byzantine is it not?

How does this apply to hunting? I asked the author, “simple said he – with all that we have learned in harvesting game, our facts now are the hunting do’s and don’ts and the nature of our reality then are the good/bad consequences whether we have been ethical or unethical hunters. Accordingly, doing the right thing is what ascribes value to hunting, as a cherished activity.

Let our actions then, as ethical hunters, speak for us - Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. Happy Reading.

Bernard Miranda Feliciano

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scopes

The Indispensable Telescopic Sight Making things as Large as Life

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F

rom a hunter’s viewpoint, taking weapons aside, there is not much that has helped his ability to hunt game and make clean kills more than a telescopic sight. The same thing applies to military weapons I suppose but snipers are another dimension and we will touch on them later but we are primarily dealing with game animals here.

In its very basic form an optical aiming devise first appeared on the scene in the 17th century, but the first telescopic rifle sight was first documented towards the middle of the 1800. This was produced by an American gun maker by the name of, Morgan James, with the assistance of a civil engineer by the name of, John Chapmen, a man familiar with the surveyors’ transit. Working together and documenting the process in a book written

by Mr. Chapman, they produced what they termed, appropriately the, Chapman-James Sight.

From Mr. Chapman and Mr. James’s invention many other people saw the advantage of a magnifying optical sight and thereafter numerous versions came into being. As with most new invention what came after the initial brainwave is gradually improved upon as it tends to be a case of the hard work in recognizing a concept being done and anything that comes after is a modification to the original, and so it was with the rifle scope.

Improvements to the quality of the lenses and the magnification had to follow as these are the basics around which an optical sight is designed. However the original design of the, Chapman-James, sight was deemed to be the best sight manufactured at the time due to the experience of the two original designers.

It was also realized that it would be a great benefi t to be able to externally adjust for windage and elevation and so it was that along with this feature the magnification was improved significantly up to 20 times. A gentleman by the name of Mr. Amidon from Vermont produced a sight of such quality that they were used as the standard military ›

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Photo credit: www.maltegoltz.ifunnyblog.com

riflescope during the American Civil War. These scopes were unlike the modern day compact scope that we are so used to. There were a few makes of battle rifles used in the US Civil War but probably the four most used were the Lorenz, Witworth, Enfield, and the Springfield, all of which were percussion cap rifles. As the hammer was on the outside of the rifle variation of the rifle scope were produced to cater for this. For example the Davidson riflescope was side mounted to enable easier access when cocking the

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hammer. The other main physical difference between the scopes of yesteryear and to day is the length. Some of the original scopes were as long, as or even longer, than the rifle barrel itself. After the civil war and during the opening up of the American West the buffalo hunters used rifle scopes on their Sharps and Henry big bore buffalo guns which proved very effective at longer ranges.

Now days the rifle scope has come of age with manufacturers like, Leopold, Swarovski,

Schmidt & Bender and Nightforce. In fact it was a Nightforce scope that was used by the Canadian army sniper, Rob Furlong, in Afghanistan who recorded a kill shot out to 2.43km using a, McMillan “Big Mac� Tac-50, .50 caliber sniper rifle. This shot at one time was the longest recorded kill shot of all times which was later bettered by the British army sniper, Craig Harrison, who made two kill shots, the longest of which was confirmed at 2.47km using an, Accuracy International L115A3, 8.59mm caliber sniper rifle fi tted

with a Schmidt & Bender, 25xmagnification, 5-25x56 rifle scope. These feats of shooting excellence are not only possible due to the weapon or the person sending the round, but it is the rifle scope that ensures the bullet is placed in the vital spot.

At one time rifle scopes just bought your target closer to you, now you can input the conditions that you are working with and it will calculate the various settings required to make the shot. The required input data is as detailed below.

• Ballistic Coefficient.

• Ammunition used.

• Make of ammunition.

• Bullet weight in grains.

• Muzzle velocity.

• Temperature.

• Humidity.

• Altitude.

Given these inputs will enable you to make adjustments to the scopes settings at different ranges depending on the reticule you are using. Once you have zeroed your scope in, at say 100 meters, then with today’s scopes you can calculate the MOA, or minute of angle, adjustment that you need to make at various target distances. The greater the distance, of course, then the greater will be the MOE adjustment on your scope and as a rule each click on your scope is ¼ MOE. This will depend on the type of scope you’re using as scopes do differ, but ¼ MOE per click is normal.

We have been mainly speaking of rifles so far but with today’s handgun capability and the fact that more and more people are hunting with handguns, we see that scopes are readily available for just such hunting weapons, and in fact they have been available for handgun mounting since the late 1800s. It is not uncommon these days to see articles in almost every hunting and shooting magazine you pick up that feature handguns fi tted with optical sights. The big game handguns for instance, like the Smith and Wesson .50 calibers, or the Magnum Research 45-70, are factory fi tted with the ability to fi t scopes.

Guns such as these are powerful enough to shoot out to relative extended ranges where a scoped sight is a definite advantage.

Another reason for using a scope on a handgun when you’re hunting big game is that you are able to see more clearly where the best shot placement is. You may be in brush or undergrowth and are likely to be somewhat closer to your intended target than you would be if you were hunting with a rifle, therefore time is of the essence. Let’s take the extreme situation and you are on safari looking to take a trophy Cape buffalo, then with a rifle you can stay back to 200 yards or so and take your time glassing it and estimating the best shot situation. Also the option to stay unobserved is a lot greater than if you are hunting with a handgun at say 40 yards. So by keeping your eye on the buffalo through your scope rather than putting your gun down, picking up your binoculars then checking to see what the animal is doing, you can check him out through your handgun mounted scope and be ready in an instant to take your shot. OK maybe the scope is not as efficient at scanning the target as a pair of binoculars, but at 40 yards it really doesn’t matter.

So we are indebted to, Messer’s Chapman and James, in coming up with a sight that enables us to improve our efficiency when out shooting, but no matter what equipment we use and no matter how good that equipment we must not be lulled into thinking that by using an optical sight it gives us some infallible power that enables us to never miss. When out shooting game animals at long distances, yes the scope will help us deliver an ethical shot, but there is still a limit to what it, and you, can achieve. So make sure that all the criteria in terms of your rifle or handgun ability, ammunition suitability and your own shooting ability is met before you go relying on the scope to make you a better shot, because it is all matter of teamwork. But as we all agree I think, the rifle or handgun scope is a vital part of that team. Good shooting.

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exclusive interview

An Interview with

Frau Frauke Lohmann

The Lady Brings a Touch of Glamor to Guns

I

recently had the privilege, and the pleasure, to catch up with the charismatic Frau Frauke during one of her frequent visits to the UAE. She was on a business trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi at the time and, Frau Frauke, was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to spend a couple of hours with me and to tell me a bit about her extraordinary life and how she ultimately became the President of Hans Wrage & Co. GmbH, a post that she holds today and a company that she has turned into one of the largest and most respected suppliers of civil firearms and related equipment in the world.

Frau Frauke, could you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be involved with Hans Wrage Company?

Well I grew up in a village in Northern Germany and came from a rural background as my family had been in farming for generations for 500 years, and as such I was brought up to be an outdoor girl and hunting was sort of second nature to me. I would accompany my father when he went out to hunt and he taught me how to use and respect firearms from a very early age and I suppose this is where my relationship with guns started.

It was my older brother that took on the running of the farm from my parents and I decided that I would like to follow a different career path and so, at 18, I decided to go to college in Hamburg and take an economics degree and to study languages.

As well as economics my course included three languages, English, French and Spanish which stood me in good stead and had a consequential effect on determining my future career, although at the time I was not aware that it would.

As in any educational institution the summer recesses are always long and so I thought I would put my language skills to some use by applying for a temporary position as a

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translator for Dr. H.W. Wrage, who at that time was providing single action revolvers to the USA. This particular activity was not Dr. Wrage’s main business and he would do it more as a hobby and as time went by I became more and more involved until one day he called me to his office and said that he saw that I had the potential to run that side of his business by myself. So at the age of 23 years I found myself becoming the youngest company General Manager in Hamburg and having complete legal control of the business.

I found the work fascinating and it soon became apparent that I had a natural ability for it, so in 1981 I bought 50% of the company’s shares and then in 1986 I purchased the remaining 50%, making me sole owner of the business and which I continue to be today.

And how did your parents react to you becoming a company executive?

Both my parents were very supportive and they instilled in me that money does not come from heaven and that you have to work hard if you want to achieve your goals and this ethic was instilled in me from very early on.

How did you make Hans Wrage Company what it is today?

In the beginning the company was involved with just dealing the single action revolvers, but gradually I started travelling in many countries around the world, visiting various exhibitions as well as contacting trade chambers and well-known producers that looked for more active distributors. In 1993, i.e. as soon as the political situation allowed it, I began also to concentrate on the Eastern European markets. For instance, I contacted the Russian Hunting Association where I met Mr. Anatoly Golubev, being at that time a member of the Board of this Association. Mr. Anatoly was a professional Sport Shooter and Champion in Trap Shooting in the former USSR. I invited him to work for our

Frau Frauke with MD. Andreas Rohwer.. company as an expert in hunting and shooting questions, mainly focusing on our Eastern European business.

So due to the political changes that have taken place in Eastern Europe it became a big market for you.

And over a period of time and after some negotiations with the manufactures we became the exclusive distributor to Russia and the CIS States for such prestigious brands like Benelli, Beretta, Browning, Krieghoff, Winchester, RUAG (RWS/GECO), BSA, Diana Air Rifles and Leica rifle scopes, etc.

Yes I saw an opportunity to open up these markets and I suppose it was at a point in time for the business that it was right for me to do so. In business you do sometimes have to have luck on your side, but I have always been one to seize an opportunity should one present itself. ›

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exclusive interview

Frau Frauke with Husband Otto and Andreas Rohwer

Yes I have heard it said that the harder one works the luckier one gets! What about Western Europe, how much business do you do there?

Well Germany is relatively a small part of our business as our main focus is on export, but in terms of products that we sell we have a huge Western European supplier base, mainly from Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain, etc.

For instance we export Blaser, Diana, Sauer, Sig-Sauer, Heckler & Koch, Krieghoff, Benelli, Beretta, Browning, Steyr-Mannlicher and RUAG (RWS/GECO) etc. to name some.

Your Company does export a signiďŹ cant amount of hunting and sporting guns and cartridges, but do you also import from Eastern

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Europe for the Western market?

The volume of our imports does not match our exports, but we are the biggest importer of Russian producers of hunting and sporting guns and cartridges such as the full range of Baikal products and Barnaul cartridges which we distribute to many countries all over the world.

How do you market your inventory, do you take your clients orders ďŹ rst then forward order them to your supplier?

No, not at all. Every month we take large deliveries from all factories which we are distributors for. We always have a very considerable inventory in stock which we

store in two huge bonded warehouses in Hamburg. We can usually fill orders from stock but we can also fill special requests on a turnaround basis due to the excellent relationships we have with all of our suppliers.

Our clients appreciate our ability to deliver quickly and as you will be aware the documentation required for shipping firearms is very strict and has to be totally correct.

To ensure that our staff know what they are doing we only employ people that are hunters and are familiar with the products we sell.

We also make sure they are multi lingual so that they can speak to the client in his, or her, own language. This way we give our clients confidence that we are fully in control of all aspects of the transactions.

You are currently here in the UAE, do you tend to travel a lot.

Yes I do. In fact as I leave Dubai in two days’ time, I will first travel to Brazil for a week before going back to Germany. We also attend numerous shows and exhibitions throughout the world and in fact we were a pioneer of the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX), back in 2003 when we were asked to participate there.

I am also proud to say that we have a number of regular and long standing VIP clients from the UAE to whom we have the privilege of supplying equipment to.

We attend all the big exhibitions of course such as IWA in Germany, the Shot Show in the US, the Arms & Hunting Exhibition in Moscow and the LAAD (Defense and Security Exhibition) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

What would you say is the best part of your job?

Well I do like to travel as I have met some really great people who over the years have become not just clients or colleagues but friends. And anyway I love my work.

You have built Hans Wrage into a very successful company. What do you credit this to?

Hard work, excellent service, competent staff and quick decision making. Being 100% owner I can make an immediate decision without referring to others. People also know that we do not have to wait for everything to be confirmed in writing. If, Frauke Lohmann, shakes your hand it means you have a binding contract. This has always been our family’s philosophy which I grew up with.

Do you use advertising as a marketing tool?

Yes we advertise in magazines and our ›

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exclusive interview

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international distributors advertise and we sponsor those local adverts. And as mentioned above we attend many international exhibitions and sponsor events and contribute to charitable organizations.

Moreover, we support young sport shooters in various countries.

motivated team and I hope that hunting and sport shooting will always keep its fascination and passion.

How do you see the future of Hans Wrage Company?

Yes I do, and if I say so myself I am a pretty good shot, but unfortunately I do not have a great deal of time to do much hunting these days. But I have hunted in a number of countries, of course in Germany, but also in countries such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Africa with both shotgun and rifle, but I prefer the rifle to the shotgun.

I have set wheels in motion already and have brought my nephew, Andreas Rohwer, into the business as Managing Director. He is 31 years old and has the ability, the vision and the education to take the business forward.

He knows the business very well and brings new ideas into it. It is always good to bring in young blood provided they have the same basic business ethics as those that the company was founded on and Andreas has these in plenty.

Finally Frau Frauke, with all this weaponry around do you actually hunt yourself?

Frau Frauke, it was a pleasure speaking to you and on behalf of H&S, I thank you so much for giving us this interview.

I see a very good future for the Hans Wrage Company together with the professional and

RNC.

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hunting season

Jolly Ole’

Goose Hunting

and Iced Over Eye Lashes with Jacquie Gross

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and I were up and at`em with the good ole smell of coffee brewing. I walked into the kitchen to check the temperature gauge and saw that it read -5ºF, but with goose hunting on the brain I really wasn’t worried about the chill. Katie (our dog) was up at this point tail a wagging knowing we were about to be on our way for some shotgun action. I opened the door to let her out and wow was it ever so cold. Brrrr….

Living on the river is always an advantage for us because once we are ready we just head out the door and walk a few 100 yards and goosing here we come. We hiked down to the river, glassing to see if they had any deer or elk grazing late morning; just enjoying the moment of being in the outdoors. Once getting into our blinds the sense of cold started to set in. It was so cold that I immediately started to wiggle my toes and my fingers to ensure blood circulation would move through my feet and hands so they wouldn’t freeze. The snow had been so deep that when I had set my gun down snow had covered my chamber. So I was quickly rubbing the snow off my gun so that my old trusty Mossberg wouldn’t jam.

The morning started off slow with only a few birds flying high. It was foggy on the river so the visibility made it a little harder than usual. The sun started to perk up over the mountains and I could see something big flying over the river, “What is that?” I asked TJ. As it came closer and closer it was a bald eagle. The Eagle was soaring over the river and as soon as it flew by us we could see duck action, but no geese. We waited and waited, which felt like forever. I was really starting to get cold. My eyelashes had ice on them from the steam off of my breath and they were literally freezing. At this point we

could hear the honkers and the sound kept getting closer and closer. My heart started to beat faster; I am wide eyed looking to see where they were. At this moment the feeling of cold had disappeared. They were flying down river right towards us. Katie started to get anxious as she could feel my nervousness, I am telling her, “wait, wait, wait,” then in a split second they are right in front of us. I shot off two rounds watching a big Canadian tumble into the river and Katie took off. The flock was flying in the middle of the river so Katie was out swimming in the worse of it. I

bailed out of my blind running down river to keep up with my dog and the goose. With me being a worrier I always meet Katie down river so she won’t try to swim up river to me, especially in this type of weather conditions.

I am trotting as fast as I can to keep up with them, WOW does the river run fast, or am I just out of shape? LOL When Katie catches up to the goose she starts nudging it to me. I yell, “Fetch it uppp!” She is doing what she is best at, RETRIEVING! As she has that big ole` jolly goose in her jaws I can see that it is as big as she it. Finally she was in safe waters and drops the goose onto the ice shelf. She climbs up shaking and wagging her tail. I continue to tell her, “Good Girl, come with it.” I was so proud of my dog. Katie and I walk back up river to show TJ our prize. He was hugging me all smiles. We got our first goose of the season! We were so happy. Even though I was all warmed up at this point from running down river and walking back, I had to call it a day with one goose. We had enough for dinner and I was ready to eat some breakfast!

The most important thing is being able to experience these adventures with not only my best friend but my future husband, TJ Guccini.

As always, Smiling Big. Jackie Gross.

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hunting season

Ducks Before Breakfast Pot Roast for Dinner

By Jackie Gross

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D

reaming of a duck limit I woke up in just enough time to realize that I was only dreaming, and it was time to catch the ducks before they started to take flight on the river.

My lab Katie was sprawled out on the end of the bed glaring up at me. I started the coffee pot and I could smell the sense of being at home.

As a little girl that is how I always knew it was almost time to wake up because my Dad (George Gross) would start the coffee going.

It wasn’t about an alarm clock but about the smell of the coffee brewing. I would stretch and get my eyes all wiped up so I could see and walk into the kitchen. My Dad would be drinking his 1st cup of coffee watching the weather channel. He would tell me if the ducks were going to be flying high or staying in cover, if it was going to rain or be windy.

My Brother (Chris Gross) would then get up and at this point our black lab would be all tail wagging knowing we were about to hit the lake for some quackers. Growing up in Louisiana it was never a rush in the morning.

My Dad always had to finish at least 1 full pot of coffee, leaving my Mom (Jody Gross) just a cup. She would then wake up right before we were leaving and tell us, “Bring back some ducks so I can make ya’ll brown gravy, and I will have breakfast when ya’ll get back.” I could already feel my mouth watering knowing we were going to have some good ole’ bacon sandwiches on Evangeline made bread! So Yummy!

So even now being a grown up and having a family of my own those same memories come to mind every time I smell the coffee brewing, especially during duck season. It makes my heart smile really big and it also makes me miss my home of Louisiana. Like they always say, Home is where your Heart is!

By this point I am dressed in long johns, dogs fed, TJ has coffee poured, and we are ready to get to quaking. Living so close to the river it doesn’t take us long, we only have to walk just a couple of hundred yards and we are duck ready. Most mornings are cold, very cold,

in the low teens and sometimes below 0ºF (-17C). As we walked to our blinds the only warmth that I feel is the steam off my breath.

TJ sets up ensuring that the ice shelves are safe and then Katie and I crawl into our little honey hole. No decks, just the natural flow of the river which makes hunting tuff but it is worth every shot. TJ watches down river and I watch upriver waiting on some quack action. A couple of mallard drakes and a few hens come our way and we shoot for height.

Katie hits the water swimming after a cripple that crossed the river. Katie is sliding along an ice shelf watching the duck under the ice swim back and forth, and Katie is running back and forth like a silly prank that you would play. I am worried that she might fall through because I worry too much. I am trying to call her off, “Katie, HERE, HERE, HERE!” Katie is more than just a hunting dog she is our family pet.

Katie gives the duck one last look and comes back across river. The river is flowing at such a fast pace that I trot down river a ways and keep up with her so she won’t try to swim up river towards me. She comes out the water, tail wagging and kind of mad that I called her off, but for me I know she is back in safe

waters. We start walking back to our spot and two ducks fly over us, boom, boom, TJ shoots knocking down a mallard hen! Katie hits the river and to her success brings us back some dinner. All I can think is, “Umm just a few more and we will have enough for a pot roast!” Back in the blind we wait. It is cold!

Katie is shaking, her body is iced over and I pat her to keep her blood circulating, and then here they come, Greenheads! TJ and I shoot to another great success. Katie comes back with our birds, tail wagging! At this point we are all cold, my belly is growling and it is time to call it a day for a bit and eat us some yummy ole breakfast.

Breakfasts in our Cajun house usually consists of crawfish omelettes, pan fried pork chops with hash browns, yummy ole sweet pancakes, and always your choice of eggs. It just depends on what me, the cook feels like fixing. As TJ calls me the short order chef, but as I call it, get your tail feather out there and clean those ducks, so I can get them in a pot, as always smiling big! This is usually how our duck hunts begin and end. But the greatest moments are making the memories.

Quack Jackin~Colorado Style

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big game hunting

One Blazing Safari!

Dad & Daugther's Adventure

by Stuart Pringle

M

y first hunt of the year was a hell of a hunt for a first timer to the Dark Continent, Brian Veer and his daughter Tara!

Brian was after Sable, Nyala and Kudu being his main animals. I had decided to hunt two different areas for the species Brian was after. First been the Orange Free State Province and the second being KwaZulu Natal provinces of South Africa.

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Our first day had us sighting in the rifles and then off into the field to see what we were in store for. We spotted a group of Waterbuck bull on the side of the hill. We started our stalk. The bull did not give us a chance and headed off quickly. We soon spotted a large group of Lechwe and there were some great bulls in the group. We picked out a real wide and long horned bull and he leaped forward to the shot. He did not manage to go far and

We got up to him and I could not believe how big he was. I got the recovery team in and we carried him out of the mountain for some wonderful pictures of a wonderful bull. Wow, Wow, Wow! What fantastic trophies we have so far. Great shooting Brian!

our first prize was in the bag. What a fantastic start to our safari.

That afternoon had us out in the plains looking for Springbuck and Black Wildebeest.

We found three groups of Wildebeest and we tried to close the gap. They knew there safety zone but did not know how far Brian could shoot. 250 yards and down he went to a fine shot by our new Daniel Boon. Even better still that was not to be our longest shot of the safari.

Our next day had us out looking for Kudu, but as we passed this large open plain we spotted a very good White Springbuck. Was he going to give us a shot at him? He finally stopped and I asked Brian if he could make the shot.

YES! Was his answer and down went this excellent buck. What a start to the morning!

No luck further that morning, but we were rewarded with another gold medal trophy that afternoon. A Red Hartebeest! What a bull. We shot him out of a group of 12 bulls.

Brian made a perfect 150 yard shot on him and down he went.

Returning to camp while the sun was setting the trackers caught sight of a huge Blue Wildebeest bull. We got within 250 yards of him and Brian was steady and knew the shot was on. He was quartering onto us and Brian placed the bullet into his front shoulder. He leaped into the air to the shot and took off in a cloud of dust. With fading light we followed too soon and spooked him, so we decided to back off and return the next day. We knew he would not go far as it was a perfect shot.

The next day we were ready to find him. We followed his blood and not far down his trail he lay dead. Wow! What a bull. We took pictures of him and recovered him in no time.

The skinners had their work cut out.

We were back out in the field after a light breakfast, but soon knew we were in for a tough day due to the strong winds. We tried for Black Springbuck and yes Sir it was tough.

We then got our break as a very good male had not seen us and was feeding towards us in some scrub brush. Brian was on the sticks and he fell to the shot. What a lucky break and a great shot. Fantastic! ›

We took off to another ranch to look for Gemsbuck. There was game everywhere.

It felt like we were on the Serengeti. After plenty of glassing we spotted some Gemsbuck we would like to try and get. We finally closed the gap and Brian made a perfect heart shot on a really fantastic Gemsbuck. When we approached her we did not realise how big she really was. Brian was taking some of the best trophies this ranch has yielded. We were on a roll. Tara was loving the outing too and could not come to terms at the amount of animals we were seen. I kept telling her his is Africa. She just smiled and said it’s surreal isn’t it?

The day did not end there as we were out for the finale hours of the day and again spotted those Waterbuck bull together. Then we spotted him. I don’t know who got more excited. Brian was on him and waited for him to clear and made a great 250 yard shot and down he went.

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That afternoon the wind dropped right down and we knew the Springbuck would settle especially when the sun starts to go down.

We peeped over a ground pond wall and there was a single Common Springbuck way out there. I guessed him over 350 yards.

Brian wanted to try and make the shot. He lay over the ground pond wall and squeezed off his shot. The buck reacted to the shot.

What a shot! We soon found him down and finished him off. A 400 yard shot was to be our longest shot of the safari. A great old male with heavy horns!

This was to be the day for the Sable hunt.

We left really early as we had a 2 hour drive to where I had organized to hunt Sable. The brush was thick and we knew there were quite a few Sables in the area. After covering plenty ground and spending many hours in the field without a trace of a Sable we took a break for some lunch and would try again that afternoon. After lunch we spotted a group of Sable with a very good bull in it, at the same time we also spotted a group of Kudu bull too.

They gave us the slip, so we went after the Sable. The bull we were after stepped into a clearing and he bucked to the shot. He will not go far I said! What a bull man, so majestic are these beautiful animals.

The next day we decided to take a day off and visit the sites around Bloemfontein. Brian needed a day off from all that hard work.

Work really!! Tara really wanted to visit an orphanage and get out of the warm African sun, which she was lapping up coming from the icy cold Alberta Canada. We set it up and she was in her element. Brian’s heart was also stolen by the kids and he donated some funds towards the home. We then went off to visit

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a Lion park as Brian was very keen to see the king of beasts in person. Was this going to be his next quarry on his next safari?

Our last day in this area and Brian wanted to complete the grand slam on Springbuck. We had seen some very good Copper Springbuck and this was to be the last one for the slam.

We spotted a great buck and the stalk was on.

He gave Brian a great chance and he dropped

to the shot. Another wonderful trophy! What an end to Brian’s slam! Heading back to camp after some great picture and reminiscing on the safari so far, I spotted a wonderful Mountain Reedbuck. Brian was on him in no time. Bang! Down he went. A great trophy to add to Brian’s bag!

The next day we spent the day on the road heading to the other area were we plan to hunt Kudu, Nyala, Impala and Warthog. After a long drive we settled in and had a great meal, with a good night’s sleep. We were ready for our last few days.

We were to hunt on a 100 000 ace reserve with all of the big 5 on it. This was to be a treat for us. On our way into the park we bumped into a small pride of Lion’s. Wow! Turning down many great Nyala bulls, we finally decided on a wide heavy horned bull.

Another wonderful trophy! We had him in the salt in no time. It helps to have great skinners.

That afternoon we found a few small groups of Kudu bulls, but not what I wanted Brian to take. We bumped into a group of Elephants and enjoyed the moment. Moving around and again turning down some good Warthog and

Impala, we found the ram we wanted. Down went a great Impala ram to a frontal shot at 70 yards. A great end to a fantastic day!

Was today going to be our day for Kudu?

After many hours that morning we spotted a couple of young bull’s but not what we wanted. Later that day heading back into the park after lunch we spotted him with a group of Kudu cows. My heart was beating in my mouth, were we going to get him? Oh yes Sir we had the grey Ghost of Africa. I could not stop telling Brian how lucky we were to get a bull like this.

I nick named Brian, Mr. Lucky because of the

quality of the trophies he had got throughout this safari. This was truly a legendary HUNT! We did not get a Warthog, but that’s a good excuse for Brian to return. We spent some time sight seen the beautiful province of KwaZulu Natal before heading back to Johannesburg in time for Brian and Tara to catch their fly back to Canada.

Brian and Tara thank you for the great laughs and the legendary memories we shared together over the 12 days. Keep warm! Mr. Lucky don’t let anyone rub the mojo off those rifles of yours. Remember to live it and love it.

Keep in the shade until next time. Legendary Safaris were hunters become legends!

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big game hunting

Romanian Bear Hunt No Teddy Bears Picknic

T

he bear hunt in the Romanian Carpathians is always challenging and unpredictable.

It is an adventure in a natural and unspoiled habitat where the predators mingle with the human communities. The hunter needs a lot of skill, starting with their physical condition, patience and good shooting ability. The brown bear is the largest carnivore in Europe and lives in a totally wild environment.

This year we planned a hunting trip in the Romanian mountains at the end of March.

Our group was formed by some very skilled hunters, ( HE Marwan Kheireddine, HE Marwan Charbel, General Abdo Berbari and Captain Hadi Hammoud ). The internet weather forecast was quite normal for this time of the year but when we arrived at our hunting destination we found a fairy Christmas landscape. Our base was literally a mansion and its courtyard was covered with snow, the tree branches were hanging low due to the weight of the snow. The mansion interior atmosphere, however, was warm and welcoming, and the food excellent.

After a quick lunch we climbed aboard our Land Rover Defenders and were introduced to our rangers, guides and drivers and we drove up in the mountains. The scenery was incredible, snow everywhere, the mountain roads where covered with half a meter of snow and the Defender was jumping in a zigzag pattern over the frozen rutted ground as we drove.

Our hunting destinations in the mountains were in three different locations, so let me tell you the adventure of one of the location of the hunt. It was March 28th around 4pm when we had left the mansion and after about 40 minutes drive the Land Rover stopped due to the depth of snow on the road and so we had to disembark and walk for about one hour on a mountain path covered with a lot of snow at 1200 metres altitude. The rangers helped with carrying the hunting gear as the climb was very difficult but despite their help we had to stop many times to recover.

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tiring that the climb up it. But we managed to get back to the Land Rover and headed on back to the mansion where, after a welcome rejuvenating hot shower and a change of clothes, we all rendezvoused in the dining room for a delicious dinner.

Anyway, at about 6.30 pm we finally reached the hide. What a relief. After taking a few minutes welcome break we unpacked our kit and prepared the rifle and ammunition and set up the scope, whilst outside a cloud of fog was covering the meadow where the bear was supposed to appear.

Inside the hide was total silence and when it was necessary to communicate with the rangers and guides it was done in a very low voice hardly above a whisper and hand signals were used as much as voices . Then after about an hour waiting in the cold of the hide a bear appeared in the meadow like a phantom coming slowly and wearily out of the fog. It was very difficult to keep the bear in sight as the fog was drifting around the meadow but we knew that he was there as we could hear him. There were four large trees in the middle of the meadow and we could barely make him out as he stopped in the vicinity of these trees scenting the air.

The following day we were driven to another location which was not quite so demanding but unfortunately our arrival and that of the bears coincided at the same time. Just as we were entering the blind the bear walked out of the wood and spotted us and immediately shot off back into the woods. If we had arrived five minutes earlier we would have stood a good chance of taking it. Never mind.

As we knew we would not see another bear in that location that day we decided to move on but despite the fact that we waited for some time at the third location we were not fortunate enough to see a bear.

It was now about 3.00pm. The same routine.......drive......climbing....stops to recover.....and finally the hide. At this location we arrive earlier so we had time to relax in the hide and even to converse. After a while

we prepared ourselves for the bears arrival which we knew was imminent if it was to come at all. Then at about 7.30pm with the precision of a Swiss watch the bear came out of the forest looking for food. We waited for a good position to shoot but darkness descended very fast accompanied by a heavy fog. We spotted the bear through the carbine scope but it was an almost impossible shot, even as we could hear him grumbling and growling for the next half an hour. As the light and fog descended and restricted the view too much we decided to postpone everything until tomorrow, the last day of the hunt.

On this the last day of hunt we relax in the morning and after a lazy breakfast we played cards to pass the time. After a light lunch we got ourselves prepared for the hunt and at around 3.30 we left the mansion and headed in the same direction as the previous days location. The weather changed dramatically as the temperature had risen a few degrees melting the snow and turning it into water, but high up in the mountains the temperature was still in the minus category and the snow was still deep and frozen. ›

We decide to light the torch and try to locate him but as soon as the torch was lit the bear exploded into action and disappeared before the hunter had time to take his shot. We believe the bear was suspicious and suspected that there was some trespasser on his land and was gone in an instant.

So we knew that it was over for the day as the night had come and there was no chance of sighting another bear that day. Coming back to our transport the road back was a joke compare with the climb up. We had to be very careful not to slip as the road was icy and uneven but going downhill was much less

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Eventually we reached our hide and prepared for the hunt and we even had the time to have a nap. But after a while we got ourselves prepared as we knew we had to hunt the beast and we knew that it would be showing itself very soon as it comes out looking for an evening meal. We thought that he would show himself from the same direction as he had on the previous occasion, but no. At 7.28 sharp he walked slowly out of the wood into the meadow coming from a different direction.

He took us a bit by surprise and we had to adjust our set up but the light was quite good, definitely much better than on those other occasions, so the moment he stepped into the margin of the meadow for the final time, it was 7.30 pm. The bullet was sent from the carbine. Bang!!!..The sound in the hide was deafening. The bear fell down instantly...... but then he stood up again and disappeared back into the forest behind him. We all knew the shot was good and very precise, but the bear is strong and he managed to recover and disappear back into the forest.

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We knew we had to track him and make sure of the kill so in complete darkness with our light torches on we follow the bear tracks for about 100 metres, accompanied by three rangers with carbines at the ready to shoot in case of a bear attack, but strangely, initially there was no sign of blood on the snow as we followed its footsteps. We knew that the shot was lethal and that the bear had to succumb to the bullet very soon so we stopped for about fifteen minutes to give time for this beautiful creature to prepare himself for his last journey.

We then moved out again and after about another 200 metres we saw the first few drops of blood, then an area of flattened snow where the bear had lain down. As we progressed we started to see more blood..... then the colour changed from deep red to rose coloured a sure sign that he was hit in the lungs and would soon expire. We moved carefully ahead always conscious that no matter how bad he his hit he still could attack with his last ounce of strength. We continued to follow his tracks and we again found the flattened snow where he had fallen down.

Then after about another 300 metres, the forest ended and right in front of us it opened out into a huge valley about 600 metres

deep and at about 65% angle.....and there we could see the bear going down the valley. The pursuit was quite difficult because the snow was melting and it was very slippery, then just down below where the valley ended the

beautiful brown creature was waiting for us, quite with the eyes wide open.....but silent and sleeping showing no sign of life in this world.

He had gone on his last journey. Maybe his soul was still there near him in the forest so we gathered around him and stood silent for few minutes giving our highest respect to this beautiful creature of the mountains.

We were respectful to the beast as we took pictures in silence and chatted quietly about the hunt and the last moments of this animal’s life. We were happy for the successful hunt but now the snow started.....and because we had to go back up on the same tracks that we came down and this time carrying the bear, it was very difficult. We had to make a huge effort to climb on the slippery snow and we had to stop every twenty metres or so to relax. Maybe we lost 2000 calories on this journey through that valley. After two hours we reached the hide and after another forty minutes we reached our mansion.

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Hunting the

Big Cats

Africa’s big cats are quite literally the greatest hunting trophies in recorded history. Powerful, majestic, savage, dangerous: The lion and leopard stand supreme.

By Cameron Hopkins / Photos by Author & Green Hills Media, LLC

Big lion in swamp water

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H

unting Africa’s great cats is like proposing marriage or packing a parachute, an endeavor to be carried out calmly, intelligently and with keen cognizance of the consequences if you make a mistake. Do it right and you’re in for a glorious time; do it wrong and you’re in for unspeakable horror.

The African lion is the greatest hunting trophy in the history of the world. Four-thousand years ago, Egyptian pharaohs hunted Barbary lion, the biggest and best maned of any race of lion. Kings and potentates, sultans and viziers, khans and maharajahs all have given chase to the King of Beasts. It’s no exaggeration to say that every culture in every land where lion ever roamed esteem this great cat. The heraldic crest of the British monarchy depicts a lion; England’s most famous king was Richard The Lionheart.

offer lion hunting so there are significantly fewer licenses available for simba than for chui.

For instance, there were roughly 2,200 CITES permits issued for leopard in 2010 while perhaps- and this is a generous guess, only about 200 lion tags. (A lion does not require a CITES permit, so no one can say exactly how many are shot a year.) But as a wonderful illustration of how responsible and self-governing the safari hunting industry is, lion are kept on a self-imposed quota jointly between safari operators and local game departments. For example, a top-notch operator might be limited to three or four lion licenses a year compared to 15 to 20 leopard permits.

Lion on sand

So majestic is the mighty lion that the Holy Bible (Genesis 49:9) says, in Jacob’s blessing, that tribe of Judah is “like a lion.” Amos 3:8 says, “The lion has roared- who will not fear?”

to herd- but there are between 50,000 to 75,000 lion and at least 700,000 leopard in the wilds of Africa today, still stirring primeval fears.

No question, hunting lion is enthralling, but the Dark Continent’s other great cat, the leopard, is not without his own historic allure.

Cleopatra kept leopards as pets, tamed as cubs. A leopard cape is the traditional garment of a great African chief. Thrones are draped in leopard skins. Crowns are adorned with leopard tails.

Lion are pocketed in relatively narrow ranges compared to leopard. About a dozen countries with strict, self-imposed quotas

Neither cat is for the shy of wallet, but lions make your nose bleed. Figure to spend at least one-hundred Large for a simba in Tanzania, the best lion country in Africa where a 21day booking is required to obtain a permit with one lion (and one leopard) on license.

By contrast, a 15-day leopard hunt, like I took last year with Mazunga Safaris in Zimbabwe’s midlands, a top spot for really monster leopards, set me back about 20 percent- onefifth- the price of a lion. ›

Today, lion and leopard are dispersed throughout southern, central and eastern Africa so a safari to hunt simba or chui, their Swahili names, is still very much a going thing, despite what anti-hunters might have you believe.

Leopard are the most widely distributed of any wild cat in the world. I can’t think of a more prolific mammal in Africa than the leopard. Certainly not impala… not zebra… not giraffe… I can’t think of anything more broadly populated than chui.

Estimates on the number of Africa’s great felines vary considerably- cats being hard

Young leopard in tree

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The Danger Factor Are Africa’s big cats really all that dangerous?

What makes these felines so daunting? And why is hunting them so compelling? Good questions all.

I’ve queried literally dozens of African professional hunters on which of the Big Five they consider the most deadly. Invariably, the reply is, “Wounded or unwounded?”

Alive and well, or gut-shot? It’s a crucial distinction that makes a monumental difference in the danger factor.

Unwounded, the top vote-getter for MostDreaded is the elephant, specifically females.

Elephant are herd animals living in groups of cows and young led by a matriarch. Mature bulls putter around by themselves, preferring not to be annoyed by the antics of calves or the haranguing of cows except during breeding season. These matronly herds are notoriously protective. A nursing cow, a sourpuss matriarch or a short-tempered tuskless are more likely to charge than not.

That’s the key to the danger factor in dealing with unwounded game- how likely is an unprovoked charge? No other member of the

Big Five is nearly as cantankerous as a female elephant.

What about the big cats? Lion might possibly charge if stumbled upon, especially a lioness with cubs. Normally, a lion encountered by dumb luck is more anxious to get away from you than to start a ruckus. As for chui, the leopard is far too sly to even be spotted (no pun intended) in a happenstance encounter.

In the course of 34 safaris, I’ve seen a leopard precisely twice by chance, both from long distance. The moment each saw me, both disappeared like dappled F16s with afterburners flaming.

Now when it comes to the flip-side of the danger coin- a wounded cat, leg-shot, gut-shot or however badly missed- the tables turn.

Lion and leopard both go from slinking ‘fraidy cats to savagely threatening, whip-smart, conniving, calculating, blazing Tasmanian devils of viciously hooked claws and pointed canines evolved purposefully to rend meat. You can’t design a better animal to kill you than a cat.

Well, okay, possibly a great white shark.

Conversely, a wounded elephant (or rhino) is deemed the least dangerous in my informal survey. Elephant and rhino are runners. A

Lion chest poorly shot pachyderm rallies to Monty Python’s battle cry of, “Run away! Run away!”

Wounded elephant rarely charge; normally you’re lucky to just catch up to one to stick in a finishing shot.

The leopard is the smallest, hardest to see and fastest to close of the Big Five. He can hide behind a twig. He waits until you’re within his “certain” distance before releasing like a javelin. A wounded leopard is the most likely to tag you and then wreak grievous bodily harm: raking, scratching or chewing as you proffer hands and arms while fending him off.

However, the survival rate is high. A man weighs as much as a leopard so it’s the rule rather than the exception for a victim to survive a scratching. In fact, there’s an informal organization among African PHs called the CBC Club, the Chewed By Chui Club. It’s not a small club either!

Lion eating kudu

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There’s no such organization for lion survivors for the simple reason that there aren’t many of them. Bear in mind, the term “man-eater” is derived from the culinary habits of the lion, not the leopard (although there are rare cases of man-eating leopard). A lion’s jaws

can easily encircle a man’s head, neck or even chest. You’re Captain Crunch and he’s having breakfast then, pal.

Unanimously, my straw poll shows these PHs would rather get mauled by a leopard than nailed by a lion, but as to which one they would rather follow-up, it’s a toss-up. The votes come in about 50-50. It’s one of those “no good answer” questions.

A lion announces his charge with a thundering roar of literally Biblical proportions (remember Amos?), a violent swish of his tufted tail and then a series of throaty grunts as he rushes in ground-eating bounds. A lion shoots out of the blocks like it’s a 40 yard dash but just keeps accelerating in leaps covering 10 yards or more with every gallop.

To stand calmly and face a streaking lion, bellowing with rage as he locks eyeballs with you is, in my opinion, the greatest test of a man’s mettle in all of hunting. (A charging elephant is a close second.)

A leopard makes no noise, launching himself as quietly as a bishop kneels to pray. He bolts from zero to full-speed faster than a turbo-charged Ferrari. Even worse, chui comes low to the ground, a blindingly fast spotted blur, making him much harder to hit. The typical follow-up weapon is a shotgun loaded with 00 buck. You’ll only get one shot. If you hold steady, remain calm and wait for the last second to shoot, you’ll avoid an honorary membership to the CBC Club. Muck up that shot, and you’ll be buying surgical twine by the yard.

Hunting Methods Africa’s big cats are opportunistic feeders.

They’ll eat whatever comes along: small game like guinea fowl, a new-born foal, a maggotcrawling carcass and, yes, a nice, fresh kill of their own, preferably served with a sauce Bearnaise. Cats eat anything. Their other dominant behavioral trait (that watching any housecat bears out) is that the great cats are sneaky, sly and secretive. That’s why the primary method of hunting them is to bait.

Leopard prepares to charge Baiting sounds so very simple. Hang a few Swanson frozen zebra dinners in a tree, sit back and wait for your MGM lion to stop by for a snack. Wallop him, then shake hands, slap backs, take photos and pop back to camp in time for a sundowner. Nothing to it.

Right. And shooting a full-curl Stone sheep is just a matter of strolling up any old hill.

Hunting cats over bait is so not-what-youthink. Baiting is unquestionably the most demanding, difficult, dull and depressing method of any hunting in Africa. Fascinating, yes. A game of wits, absolutely. Compelling, of course. But fun? No way.

It requires endless hours of driving to find suitable tracks (size XXL please) then you have to hang baits properly- the operative word- and then you repeat the procedure of searching for tracks and hanging baits until you have a sufficient number out to have a hope a cat will return to those particular areas of his territory that you’ve baited. All this while driving dusty roads in with a noxious bucket in the back of the truck. Baiting is more than strewing the trees with meat. It’s dragging a scent trail of putrid guts day after day after day.

Dragging is interesting. In the back of your Land Cruiser is the most putrid smelling bucket of rancid matter that can be organically concocted- intestines, blood, offal, stomachs, guts, anything that stinks. Chunks of this foul mix are dragged (hence the term “drag”) for a mile in each direction along a road close to a bait. Cats are lazy. They’ll walk on a road if there’s one around. Hopefully that delectable odor of putrefied goo will catch his attention and he’ll follow the scent to your bait. There might be more unsavory things that driving around for endless hours with a “gut bucket” (the actual term) in an open-air vehicle, but I can’t think of any.

Leopard patrol a territory of roughly 10 to 12 square miles, “making the rounds” as they see fi t and according to what they’ve found to eat.

The range of a lion is considerably larger, as much as 40 square miles. Somehow you, your baits and his territorial wanderings all must coincide.

Your big cat safari will likely last between 14 and 21 days, but will you overlap a full moon, a hunter’s moon, when a cat is most likely to make his own kill and least likely to find your bait? Will he wander past your drag? Will he like your bait? Will your blind be accepted ›

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as a natural part of the landscape in his highly critical eye? Will the wind be right? Will he feed in daylight? Will he be of sufficient size or age to warrant shooting? These are just a few of the things that go into baiting for cats.

On top of all that, leopard and lion are nocturnal predators. It’s simple behavioral science. Carnivores kill grass-eaters at night because it’s easier, the odds of success higher.

However, it’s illegal to shoot cats at night in most African countries, so now you must entice a highly suspicious, highly recalcitrant carnivore to a place of your choosing, to eat a meal he didn’t kill during daylight (usually the last remnants of dusk or dawn). No wonder cat hunting has one of Africa’s lowestpercentage success rates. Author and TV host Craig Boddington writes of spending more than two months worth of hunting days in a blind before shooting his first leopard.

They don’t call the leopard “The Prince Of Darkness” without a reason.

Lion are just as fickle as leopard and just as prone to feed at night, but you have the additional onus of shooting a male past breeding-age, a male no longer with a pride, which means a six-plus-year-old male. It

was found that when a younger male is shot out of a pride, leaving his cubs as orphans, a new alpha male will move in to take over the pride- a natural occurrence- but the new pride male promptly kills the cubs of the previous male in a tragic act of fratricide.

Without cubs, the pride’s lionesses come back into estrous so the new pride male can impregnate them in accordance with his instinctual imperative.

Cat Encounters Of course there’s a possibility of a chance encounter with a lion, far more so than with a leopard. Last year, I was changing camps in the Central African Republic, driving from a savanna area where we’d successfully hunted Lord Derby eland to a forest area where we hunted (unsuccessfully) for bongo. We left the savanna camp at dawn with the truck loaded down with supplies like the Beverly Hillbillies.

We weren’t hunting at all, just motoring to a new area. I was dozing when Mahamat, our lead tracker, frantically yelled, “Bamara!

Bamara!”

I woke up as Christophe Morio, my Frenchborn PH, stomped on the brakes. The Land

Leopard eating in tree

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Small leopard Crusier slid to a stop in a cloud of dust and there to our left, about 60 yards away, stood a magnificent male lion. Apparently the local word for lion is bamara.

I bailed out of the truck- it being against my ethics to shoot from a vehicle and I snuck to a nearby clump of bush where I was well clear of the truck. Luckily, the lion hadn’t moved.

He was alone, no pride, and from his scarred face and saggy jowls, droopy like a middleaged man, I knew he was six-plus in age. My .375 H&H bloomed orange flame in the early morning light and the lion was down within 40 yards, heart-shot with a 300 gr. Swift A-Frame.

A year before, in Tanzania’s Lunda safari area bordering Ruaha National Park, I hunted a renowned cattle-killing lion using bait.

However, since this wily old cat had eluded every conventional attempt to shoot him and because he was Public Enemy Number One to the local cattle-herding natives, my professional hunter, Michel Mantheakis, decided to buy a steer to use for bait instead of the usual zebra or buffalo. He also decided to build a tree blind instead of the usual ground blind. This lion had been seen several

Blondie and Cam times, but never shot. Michel had nick-named him Blondie for his Marilyn Monroe colored mane. Blondie was one smart cat.

To ensure that we’d have every last ounce of daylight for legal shooting, Michel said we would sleep in our tree blind so we’d be in position at the first glimmer of dawn. He figured Blondie would never come before dark, but might, just maybe, linger until dawn around his favorite meal of fresh filet mignon.

Sure enough, Blondie came and fed an hour after sunset when it was pitch black and then spent the night roaring and eating, growling and snarling, all around our tree. It was a night I’ll never forget!

As the first sliver of yellow-pink sunlight peeked over the horizon, Blondie’s silhouette could barely be discerned at the base of the bait tree. I could only see his head and neck, so I did the only thing I could, something not to be recommended on lion, I neck-shot

him. This is dicey because the mane gives a misleading perspective on where the spine is, but I shot him “in the big middle,” as Jack O’Connor liked to say of shot placement. My .416 Rigby smashed his spine and Blondie died before his massive head hit the ground. He would stock raid no more.

I finally managed to shoot a fantastic leopard, using zebra for bait (not the usual impala or warthog) and again from a tree blind with PH Shaun Buffee last year. It was technically my second leopard, but the first was a mercy killing of a small female that had been caught in a poacher’s snare, poor thing. My leopard took 15 out of 18 days to finally bag. He was the “Musomberi Monster,” Shaun said, named for the riverine county he called home. He was Shaq-size.

I should note that in addition to baiting, the use of hounds to tree leopard is another hunting method. Also, it’s possible to track

lion if the ground is sandy and the cover thin.

To me, the ultimate cat hunt is to track lion on foot. I’ve booked just such a safari in 2014 with Mazunga Safaris in Zimbabwe, where I shot the Musomberi Monster, one of the last remaining areas to still track lion on foot.

As repulsive as the practice is, I would be remiss as a reporter if I didn’t note that there is also a method known as “canned lion” hunting. It occurs only on high-fence ranches in South Africa. Lion are raised in pens until the age of three or four (just as soon as they develop a full mane) and then sold to a “sport” who pots the hapless cat that’s been released into a “hunting enclosure” a day before the client arrives. Thankfully, the South African government has passed strict laws to curtail “canned lion” hunting, although the disgusting practice continues. Hunting Africa’s big cats is the greatest of challenges against the greatest of adversaries.

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The Boar’s Are Back in Town Trouble on the Hoof?

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unting wild boar in Medieval Europe was a pastime reserved for the nobel land owners and their cohorts. And as I mentioned cohorts let me digress slightly and refer to the meaning of the word other than that which I alluded to above. A Roman Cohort, being an ancient military unit brings me on to the fact that when Rome was at its height and conquered most all of Europe hunting the wild boar was considered a sport and something

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to while away the hours when not conquering another country or building straight metaled road and aqueducts, for which Europe and Great Britain will be eternally grateful.

However, I digress. Yes the senior officers of the roman legions would mount their horses and take a pack of dogs into the forests of England or the greater Europe to hunt the wild boar that proliferated there.

On the other hand the medieval Europeans would use the hunting of wild boars as a training method to hone their combat skills.

These hunts would normally be conducted par force, that is on horseback with a pack of hounds. The usual practice was to let the hounds lose and locate the boar and hold it at bay until the hunter had caught up with it.

The hunter would then dismount his steed and finish off the boar with a boar spear or

if he was feeling particularly brave a dagger, which was not a task to be undertaken lightly as a fully grown wild boar could weigh in at over 200kg and have a body length of 200cm and standing 110cm at the shoulder. Its main weapons of defense and attack are its tusks that can vary in size and whilst 6cm would be normal it is not uncommon for mail boars to have tusks of 12cm in length. The upper and lower tusks are positioned such that as they work their jaws the tusks rub together ensuring they are kept permanently sharp.

You can see from this that dismounting your horse and approaching such and animal, which will be pretty annoyed at all the attention the dogs are giving it, and sticking it with a dagger is not for the faint hearted. But as I mentioned earlier the medieval knights would look on this as a form of battle training and as such expect to face a certain amount of danger.

A fully grown wild boar can easily kill the dogs that are annoying it as well as the man whose intention it is to kill it, and if his horse should get in the way the boar would have no compunction in killing this also.

However, the pastime of boar hunting was so popular in the Medieval times that the boars were hunted to extinction in Britain and stayed that way until in the 1980’s when boar farming was introduced due to the popularity of game meat. As with most introduced animals into any country the security of their enclosures sometimes leaves a bit to be desired and inevitably some escaped back into the wild and from the 1990’s till today the number of boar colonies continue to increase.

As a consequence some people are getting a little concerned that they are reproducing at a level where they will soon become a nuisance in the same way as they are in some parts of Germany, and therefore hunting of wild boar in the UK is on the rise.

As with all game culling you have those that are for and those against, and admittedly the total boar population existing in the wild in Great Britain is currently not at epidemic proportions but concerned parties

angle of aim for frontal shot

Photo Credit: © The Deer Initiative 2010 www.thedeerinitiative.co.uk

Fig 1 Yellow/red star indicates aim point for a broadside chest shot.

Yellow/red area in the skull shows the position of the brain

can see that unless steps are taken now it will inevitably lead to a boar explosion as has happened in other parts of Europe.

The largest single boar population of approximately 200 animals is located around east Sussex and Kent. In Gloucester, and Herefordshire there is estimated to be just over 100. On the fringes of Dartmoor there is estimated to be a breading population in excess of 100 and around 50 in west Dorset. These statistics are based on previously obtained surveys and the current total estimate in the UK is around 600. Not a huge amount you may say and culling is going on to keep the population down, but as we all know wild boars are pretty clever animals and tend to come out at night, which causes a problem or two especially in light of the gun and hunting laws in the UK. Most culling of boars are undertaken by forestry commission rangers or government approved wild life professionals, because to obtain a rifle or shotgun capable of humanely killing wild boars one has to apply to the police for a FAC or, Fire Arms Certificate, and these are not that easy to come by. Even a person that has an FAC may not be permitted to shoot wild boar as some counties make the certificate game specific. So if you have a FAC for hunting Red Deer in Scotland or you are

a farmer plagued with foxes and you have, Game and Vermin classification, on your FAC, as wild boar is not considered either then you cannot legally hunt them, even if they are ripping up your crops or digging up your petunia’s in your back garden. The FAC must specifically mention that you can shoot wild boar.

OK so why would you want to shoot wild boar. Well for a start they taste nice cooked, hence this is why we are seeing the growth of farmed boar and which the escaped versions started the trouble in the first place. Also they are, as mentioned above, a nuisance to land owners who are planting crops and saplings for their livelihood and a sounder of wild pigs can do a lot of damage to the countryside whilst they are rooting for food.

Some of the conservationists say that they do the countryside a service by digging up the ground and removing choking undergrowth such as bracken which permits other plants to flourish as well as digging up the ground which produces tilled ground for seed germination.

The droppings of the boar also act as a natural fertilizer.

These are the pros, the cons have a different view. There is no doubt that if left ›

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uncontrolled an increased boar population could have serious adverse effects on the land in terms of destruction of planted crops and seeding’s and saplings as well the possibility of spreading foot and mouth disease. As well as the potential damage to the above mentioned flora, the fauna could be at risk as well due to the boars penchant for rooting out and eating the eggs of ground nesting birds, some of which are already endangered species.

Well you might say just how much damage can 600 pigs do in the whole of the UK. Well admittedly not as much as they did in France where between 1984 and 1992 the government paid out nearly US$20 million in compensation to farmers for the damage resulting from wild boar activity, and that was back in the days when US$20 million was worth something! But Frances boar population, at one time, must have been just 600.

So can we benefi t from having a wild boar

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population again in the UK, or in any country, for that matter? Well yes I suppose we can, with the proviso that they are controlled.

There is the revenue that comes from the harvesting of the meat as well as the license fees from hunters who want to hunt them but if they are not controlled no amount of revenue derived from their meat or the money gained from the hunting of them can compensate for the potential damage that they can inflict on the land.

First off the main thing that we should consider is the firearm that you should use for a humane kill. A minimum caliber of .270 Winchester is required and an FAC will only be grated for this or .380 or a .30-06 calibers.

Bullets of 150 grain minimum are required and contrary to what I have just stated above in some parts of Europe it is mandatory to use .30 caliber or larger and 180 grain bullets.

Which just reinforces my comment about checking specific requirements yourself?

OK, so as we are a hunting orientated magazine we should at least tell you what you need to know to hunt wild boar in the UK and what best practice you should follow.

Accepted different countries have different best practices but I would venture to say that knowing the requirements of the UK which tend to be conservative bordering on the strict side they ought to stand you in good stead in other countries, but don’t count on it, check out specific requirements wherever you are hunting.

Shotguns can be used but there are specific requirements once again. The shotgun should be minimum 12 gauge with minimum 3in chambers and fully choked. Cartridge shot size should be full load AAA or SSG shot. In the UK a cartridge containing less that 5 shot or any shot bigger than .36 inch diameter which corresponds to LG size, has to be on a FAC. If a rifled slug is to be used then it should be not less than 350 grains and you should make sure that your shotgun is capable of safely firing rifled slugs from a competent

person preferably a gunsmith. Keep ranges down to 20 meters or less, don’t go in for long range shooting, a wounded wild boar is not to be messed with and you will have to go after it to make sure that it is dead. And it will attack you if cornered. So don’t take chances.

Shot placement when hunting wild boar is the same as most other game animals but it will do you no harm to familiarize yourself with the internal vital organs of the boar. The best shot is the heart and lung shot, followed by a frontal brain shot. The heart and lung is the largest and therefore the most forgiving shot to take when the beast is standing broadside on to you. Aim one third of the way up the body in line with its front leg. If you have to take an angled shot make sure you compensate for this and picture in your mind’s eye the location of its vitals and adjust your aim accordingly.

A boars brain is located high in the head approximately on a line with the base of its

RECOMMENDS

ears in the center mass of the head. The boars brain in not a large organ so you need to be pretty accurate for a clean kill.

Wounding from a head shot is more likely that a heart and lung shot and therefore is not ideal. However, if you are close to the animal and shooting from a downward trajectory then this would be a humane shot to take.

Provided it is an accurate shot.

As wild boars tend to be nocturnal it is often the case that the hunt takes place during the hours of darkness. Again if you’re not used to hunting at night get some night time practice in. It doesn’t have to be a hunt just a walk through the woods getting used to seeing things in the moonlight or under torches. If you are using a scoped rifle, which would be recommended, make sure your rifle scope is suitable for night time shooting with image intensification properties. N.B. Just a point to mention here, if you do intend to go walkabouts in the forests at night with spotlights and torches make sure you get

the permission of the landowner and that he knows what you are about, otherwise you might find yourself accosted by a number of police officers and if you happen to be carrying you trusty firearm at the time those officers might well also be armed. It is best not to go there.

If you are not used to shooting with the kind of weapon needed to hunt boar and it is your first time doing it, the old adage, “practice makes perfect”, is very relevant and highly recommended. Finally if it is necessary to cull the female of the species in an effort to keep down the population it is incumbent on the hunter to make sure as far as is possible that the sow does not have suckling offspring, but if it is necessary to shoot such an animal then any such offspring should also be killed before or straight after killing the sow. In all instances remember a wild boar is not just a pig. Its big, can be aggressive and has sharp teeth. Take Care. .

RNC.

Winchester Model 70

Calibre Capacity Action

.300 H&H Magnum 4 + 1 Mauser magazine system Dual locking lugs, three-position safety, controlled round feed

Stock

American Classic style in black walnut with handcut multi-point checkering

Barrel

24 inch Douglas Premium air gauged match barrel, chrome-moly steel

Sights

Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x

Overall Length Weight

42 inches 9 lbs.

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Buffalo Hunting

in Matetsi Zimbabwe with Stuart Pringle

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ell it never rains in Africa and there are no snakes! I had the honor of hunting with Mike and Karen Egan of Manitoba Canada. This was their second trip to the Dark Continent and they were after Africa’s Black Death the Cape buffalo and to try out their skills on some Tiger fishing. This was to be a great start to my hunting season.

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We met up in Johannesburg and all flew up to the famous Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Our plan was to spend a couple of nights at the Ultimate Lodge owned by a good old school friend of mine Russell Caldecott. We were to visit Victoria Fall, do some sightseeing and fishing on the mighty Zambezi before we embarked of our quest to hunt Cape buffalo.

Victoria Falls, which is needless to say a spectacular sight! We were showered from the mist rising up from the mighty thunder of the falls. What a great place! Being soaked by the spray we were still able to get some wonderful pictures of the falls. The water levels were pretty high from the recent rains, so the falls were in a full roar. Magic!

The next day had us up early and after a huge breakfast we were on the mighty Zambezi for a day of Tiger fishing! This year they had, had a large amount of rain and the river was swollen to its maximum. Would we get lucky with this large amount of water? We were in luck as soon as our live baits hit the water we had our first fish on, but being a Tiger fish you are not guaranteed to land them, then finally Karen had to show us how it is done and landed the first fish of the day. What excitement! Soon after Karen, Mike was rewarded with a good fish. Then finally I got a Tiger. We moved to the banks of the river during the heat of the day and enjoyed our lunch under a spectacular tree. With a short swim in fast running water to avoid crocodiles to cool down and a lunch time siesta we were back on the river for some more fishing. The day ended with a beautiful sunset and a Zambezi lager in hand we made our way back to the lodge. To end off this wonderful day we were treated to the best local cuisine and traditional dancing.

What a day!

The next morning we set off to our hunting area in the Matetsi unit 4. After driving through what was old ranch land brought sorrow to our hearts. What have they done

to what was once the bread basket of Africa?

Greed, what a shameful thing. We got to the hunting area and our spirits were soon lifted.

We are going to be hunting, Cape buffalo!

Wow! We settled in, checked the rifles and were off to see what was in store for us. No Buff, but some Livingston Eland and Impala. The next morning at sun rise we headed out with our Zimbabwe PH, Darren, to an area where on the previous hunt we had spotted a big heard of Buffalo, but unfortunately soon after we had headed out the rain came down in buckets. There was a lot of ground to cover so we pressed on hoping it would let up.

We soon bumped into a large heard of Elephant with some young bull and cows with their calves. Avoiding any confrontations with the cows we pressed on and the rain started to slow down.

There was a tap on the roof of the land cruiser as the trackers had spotted a large heard of Buffalo. We back up to make sure they had not spotted us and to get the wind in our favor. We planned out our stalk and what we would do once we were in position if we spotted a trophy bull. The progress was slow

as we were on our hands and knees moving through the grass and mud. We made our way to within 50 yards of the closest Buffalo.

A cow spotted us but was not sure what we were and after a long period she lost interest in us and carried on chewing on her cud.

After quite some time we spotted a couple of good trophy bulls, but we felt that as the herd was so large there would be a better bull amongst them. Jed, one of the trackers, spotted him, a gem of a bull, just what we were after. The stalk was on. He was lying down so it made it easier to get closer to him.

We were in position and on the shooting stick, now we need him to stand up. Some Buffalo to our left were spooked and the bull jumped up in a flash. They were all bunched up now so there was no chance for a shot.

The bull that we were after finally took a step forward for Mike to steady on him for a clear shot. The buffalo were oblivious to what had disturbed them. Mike squeezed off the shot.

There was an almighty whack as the bullet found its mark. The bull bucked with the shot and curled his tail, which is a great sign for a well-placed shot. The sound of the shot had the whole herd thundering off without presenting another target on our bull. ›

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We gave him 15 min before we took up the tracks and followed to see if we could find any blood. After all the excitement, Mike needed a cigarette and he had not smoked for 15 years! His heart was pounding as was all of ours. Africa’s Black Death was going through Mike mind. Really, was it all over so soon? The trackers soon found blood. We followed the blood trail and there he was not 200 yards from where he had been shot with his nose in the air, stone dead. We were not to experience this fierce beast’s anger as Mike had made a perfect heart shot on him.

After some great pictures, we recovered the Buffalo and after what seemed to be a red carpet moment for my good friend and his wife they spent a few idyllic hours driving back to camp with a couple of cold ones in hand.

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What a day! Mike was in seventh heaven. To end off this perfect day we were greeted with the trumpets of Elephants in the distance whilst sitting around an African camp fire.

What a dream come true for Mike!

The next day found us back in camp early for a wonderful breakfast as the late summer rains belted down again. As if on cue, that night we were treated to the roars of a pride of lion’s not far from our camp. A true African experience! Wow! Day 3 had us out before sunrise and after Impala for bait. We were after the joker of the animal kingdom, the Hyena! After all the rain the ground was soaked and we soon became bogged down and were stuck, but Luckily Darren’s vehicle was well equipped and we were soon out of the mud. On our drive to

find a suitable baiting location we found s huge Puff Adder. We jumped off to take a look at this fat snake. He was not impressed with our presents and was giving us a warning blow (puffing sound), which is where he gets his name from, so we left him in peace and hung the bait. However, on our return journey we saw another couple of Puff Adders.

They are not called Wiley Hyena’s for nothing as they knew when the legal shooting season was, as every time we got to the bait they had gone, only to return after we had to leave the bait site. We needed to establish their movements so we set up a trail camera. Yip! Two huge Hyenas’ came in every night and left before we got there. They had done this gig before.

On our drives looking for tracks of Eland and Zebra we spotted many snakes so to say there are no snakes in Africa and it does not rain, well I may have to rethink this comment We spotted a huge Baobab tree and stopped under the tree and tested our throwing skills to try and get some of its wild fruit for Mike and Karen to taste. They were impressed with the fruits tartare flavor.

Day 5 was our first day that we did not have any rain so we were out in a flash to see what would be moving around. Late that afternoon on our way back to camp we spotted three Eland bull’s crossing the road ahead of us.

We found their tracks and were after them.

After a mile or so the trackers spotted a herd of Zebra. We got Karen ready and onto the sticks, but there was no shot. Suddenly we caught sight of the Eland bulls and Mike took over. Mike got onto the shooting sticks and

as soon as one of the bulls walked into his shooting lane, he bucked with the shot and I knew it was a good hit. We picked up the blood trail and followed. There he was not 100 yards from where we had shot at him.

What a beauty! Darren and the trackers took off to fetch the hunting vehicle and left us with this wonderful trophy. We were greeted with the loud roars of Lion’s not too far from us. As we were losing light fast Karen started to panic and she did not want to become Lion food. We could have negotiated with them as we did have a dead Eland on our hand was Mike’s comment! Haha. The truck soon arrived and after some quick photo’s we loaded him and were out of there.

We truly wanted to find a Zebra for Karen.

She was tenacious and grinded on with failed results. It was tough going and many hours on foot she was finally rewarded after

a long tough stalk and a great shot. What a magnificent stallion indeed. Karen was in tears of joy especially as she had really worked hard for her prize. An awesome end to an awesome hunt!

Mike and Karen checked their trophies one more time in the skinning shed before heading back to Victoria Falls for our flight back to Johannesburg, South Africa.

What a wonderful safari with two great friends. Thank you for sharing your legendary experience with me - it was a real privilege!

Live it, love it and remember to keep in the shade..

Pringle’s Legendary Safaris.

WHERE HUNTERS BECOME LEGENDS!

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Judging Trophies in the Field

Here are some parameters used to assist in trophy judgment, we give to all the Learner Professional Hunters in Zimbabwe in their study packs to help them judge trophies! Only experience and time will make you proďŹ cient.

SCI Minimum

Approximate Horn Length / Spread

BUFFALO

100

spread 40

BUSHBUCK

31

13

CROCODILE

9

DUIKER

11

4

length eye to nose = 5"

ELAND

77

30

length eye to nose = 14"

ELEPHANT

100

GRYSBUCK

5

HIPPOPOTAMUS

50

IMPALA

54

23

length eye to nose = 7"

KLIPSPRINGER

11

4

height of erect ears = 2.5"

KUDU

121

52

length eye to nose = 10"

LEOPARD

14

body length over 3' good! Pads 2.5"

LION

23

body length over 4' good - MANE!

NYALA

63

26

length eye to nose = 8.5"

ORIBI

13

5

erect ears = 5"

REEDBUCK

34

14

length eye to nose = 8.5"

SABLE

100

42

length eye to nose = 12"

STEENBUCK

11

4

erect ears = 3.25"

TSESSEBE

40

4

length eye to nose = 11"

WARTHOG

30

12

you'll know him when you see him! Males have 4 warts females 2

WATERBUCK

70

27

length eye to nose = 11"

WILDEBEEST

70

spread 28

Species

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Parameter Used to Estimate between ear tips held out and up = 36" length eye to nose = 6" length eye to nose in inches = length in ft

circumference at lip of tusk in inches x exposed length in ft 1.5

if you can see them its in! big protrusions of tusks under lip behind nostril

width between pointed ears = 26'

FP Pending

big game hunting

Hunting Africa The Dark Continent?

A

frica, arguably the paradigm of hunting locations, is a destination, I would venture to say, that every true hunters aspire to visit and once done so the draw to go back and do it over and over is inexorable.

Why do you think that is when there are so many other hunting destinations in the world? Well I suppose it goes back to the period when it was actually called, The Dark Continent, so before we look at why it’s the epitome of hunting let’s consider why it’s so

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called. There are a number of reasons and none can truly be said to be the actual answer but some we can dismiss straight off the bat.

It is not due to the skin tone of the original inhabitants nor is it due to the lack of light, far from it. Africa is blessed with a good deal of sunshine which goes someway to explaining the complexion of the original African people.

So what are the possible answers as to why it got its name? Well back in the days of the original European visitors and indeed settlers,

little was known of this huge land mass with so much of it covered in dense vegetation.

The first explorers from Europe tended to stick to the coastal regions and the interior was not explored until way after the first none indigenous people visited the continent.

It was the last of the major continents to be explored and so little was known about the place that only the very brave or some might say foolish and intrepid folks dared to venture into the interior. But such is the thirst for knowledge of the human race and to go

There are a number of African countries that offer great and safe hunting experiences and some countries it is best to stay clear of right now, but places like South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania offer great hunting adventures with the biggest variety of games you will ever find anywhere else in the world but probably the country that most of us would associate with African hunting and safaris would be, South Africa.

where none has gone before that it eventually gave up its secrets. But before much was known about it, it held a fearful fascination and hence what people don’t understand can be described as being dark.

There is also a darker reason than that, and this can be attributed to the exploitation of the indigenous people by European settlers who develop plantations by using the local people to work as slaves and as early as the 1400’s slaves were used on farms and plantations and even traded and exported to the rest of the world. A pretty dark situation to be sure.

However, nowadays, despite some parts of Africa still having problems, The Dark Continent, is becoming less dark and when one considers its natural resources the potential is available for it to lose its past description altogether, but it still has some way to go no doubt.

So now to the reason why Africa is held as the top hunting destination in the world. Well it’s obviously got the most prolific variety of game animals in the world and it also has what are generally accepted as being the five most desired trophies in the world, those being the, Big Five, dangerous game animals. If you want to hunt squirrels, jack rabbits or prairie dogs, stay home, but if you hanker after the most exciting hunting in the world then you have to go to Africa and take on the Elephant, Rhino, Cape buffalo, Lion and Leopard in their own back yards. And where is that, of course Africa. OK maybe you are not as adventurous as that and you put more value on your skin than taking the chance to meet your maker on the horns of an old Dagger Boy in the bush or end up as dinner to a pride of lions on the savanna grasslands, but it’s only in Africa where you can get such a variety of game animals that you can hunt in relative safety. I emphasize relative.

In South Africa if you want wing shooting you can spend your time with the trusty shotgun and take to the fields and the plantations where you will be shooting doves, ducks, geese, quail and pheasants as well as numerous indigenous variety of game birds of which there are about 50 species. Then at the other end of the scale both in terms of size of animal, size of rifle as well as the size of your pocket, you can take a tag on one or more of the big five mentioned above. In between these extremes you have so many other game animals to choose from. I stand to be corrected in that I find that there are 26 different species made up from 205 specific animals, ranging from the aforementioned big five, to around 30 genera of antelope, to wart hogs and bush pigs, hippopotamus, zebra, giraffe, crocodile, elephant, rhinoceros, hyena and wild dogs as well as numerous variety of birds for the wing shooting enthusiasts.

With a population of approximately 52 million spread over an area of around 1,221, 000, sq/km you can see that there is plenty of room to go hunting those 205 game species and not feel overcrowded. There are nine provinces that make up South Africa, those being, The Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape. Regarding your choice of weapons, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Rifle, pistol, shotgun, bow and even crossbow, but check with your outfi tter as some states do differ in their requirements both in terms of the animals that can be hunted and the weapons that can be used to hunt with. ›

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If you have a hankering to hunt specific game then you best do some research and make sure you chose the right province for the game you’re after. For example, if it’s a hippo that you want to hunt then take a look at, Mpumalanga, as this province boasts upwards of 90% of all hippos shot come from here.

You will undoubtedly be able to take a Cape buffalo in, Gauteng, where it is estimated that around 65% of all buffalo shot are taken in this province. Then again lions dominate in the North West, and in excess of half of all elephants taken are taken in the Limpopo.

Hunting South Africa goes back a long way.

If you ask most people what is the first thing that comes to mind if you mention, Big Game Hunting, a good proportion would say, Africa, because Africa is synonymous with it and everyone will have seen the film, King Solomon’s Mines. Well almost everyone. The first film was produced back in 1937 with Cedric Hardwicke playing the explorer and

white hunter, Allan Quatermain, but the film most people will recognize is the later version produced in 1950 with, Stewart Granger, in the leading male role. However the book that these films are based on was written by, Sir H. Rider Haggard, much earlier back in 1885 and it is said that the character of Quatermain was based on the real life, some would say larger than life, hunter and explorer, Frederick Courtney Selous. In most eyes Selous was the quintessential Great White Hunter and along with other renowned professional white hunters of the period like, Alan Black, R.J.Cunningham, Philip Percival and Harry Selby was responsible for opening up the continent to safari hunters of the day.

Back at the beginning of the twentieth century the British Colonial Government saw the opportunity to make some revenue from this burgeoning pastime by issuing hunting licenses to wealthy out of country hunters looking for excitement in the Dark Continent. Typically these licenses cost the hunter the equivalent of $US 80.00, not an inconsiderable sum in 1910 but in the East African Protectorate such a license entitled the hunter to kill two Buffaloes, two Hippos, one Eland, twenty-two Zebras, (Yep 22!) six Oryx, four Waterbuck, one Greater Kudu, four Lesser Kudus, ten Topis, twenty-six Hartebeests, (again yes, 26), two hundred and twenty nine other antelope, (you read it right) eighty-four Colobus monkeys, and unlimited Lions and Leopards.

The no limit bag on the big cats was due to the fact that they were killing livestock on the farm so were looked on as vermin.

As time went on and as the intrepid explorers opened up the interior Africa became more and more popular as a hunting destination and it was around the start of the 20th century that it became the fashion of the rich and famous from Europe and America to hire professional hunters to take them on safari. Not the least famous of these was of course was ex-US president of the day, Theodor Roosevelt. After his presidential terms ended in the first quarter of 1909 he

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embarked on his much publicized safari to East and Central Africa. Landing in British East Africa which is now Kenya, he travelled into the Belgian Congo as the DRC was then known and traveling up the river Nile ending up in Khartoum. Whilst ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt undoubtedly enjoyed hunting this safari was more than just for personal enjoyment. In 1901 at the age of 42 Roosevelt became Republican president after William McKinley was assassinated and in 1904 served a second full term on his own merits. Prior to this he was always involved in politics and was a New York police commissioner and a serving military man and resigned as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the outbreak of the Spanish American war when, as a colonel, he formed the first US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, colloquially known as, Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.

So, a man of action throughout his life and also a man dedicated to working on behalf of others he embarked on the African safari which he financed, along with Andrew Carnegie, to hunt for specimens for the Smithsonian Institution and the American museum of Natural History. His party included scientists from the Institute and was led by the renowned big game hunter, R J Cunningham and periodically that other hunter of hunters, Frederick Selous. In all the safari accounted for well over 11,000 animals of the widest variety of species from insects and butterflies right up to hippos and elephants, in fact out of the 11,000 a recorded 512 were big game animals of which all were prepared for shipment back to the US as museum specimens preserved on the journey by using the four tons of salt he bought along for the purpose. About half of the game shot was eaten by the safari and the rest of the meat was given over to the local villages.

His armory for the safari was varied as you would expect from the wide variety of animals hunted. All of his guns were specific in nature and famous by manufacturer. They include his A.H. Fox 12gauge double barreled shot gun, his .500/.450 Holland & Holland double rifle,

a .30.06 Army Springfield and probably the most well-known his .405 Winchester 1895 lever action rifle.

Today’s safari typically comprises maybe one or two paying hunters, a professional hunter, a native head man tracker and five or so other locals to help out. You will be driven in a 4x4 vehicle and maybe the trackers and helpers will come along in a 4x4 pick-up to transport the game back to camp. It is not unusual to go for days and not shoot your designated animal but if you’re lucky and can afford it you will be able to take a four or even five animal hunt.

Back in the days of the emergence of African hunting at the turn of the 20th century you hunted on foot or horseback, slept in tents and the retinue of professional hunter, trackers, horse handlers, cooks, guards, porters, personal attendants and gun-bearers

would account for well in excess of 50 bodies and some of the bigger safaris would run into a retinue of well over a 100 or more and the game bag limit was almost, well, limitless.

Times have changed, Africa has opened up, the environment has to be looked after and game stocks protected as the animals are now much fewer than they were back in the halcyon days before the land was fully explored, and the days have long gone when, for an US$80.00 hunting license and the cost of the hunt, a person was allowed to shoot 391 game animals along with unlimited lions and leopards, but after all is said and done the thrill of Hunting Africa has not diminished, and for a true hunter there is still nothing quite like it, nor I venture to say, will there ever be.

RNC.

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Antelope of the Northern Canadian Savannah

by Savanna Koebisch

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O

n the horizon, a mirage hovers lazily above the Albertan prairie. Cloaked by this heat’s illusion, it is difficult to make out the delicate silhouette of the pronghorn antelope. Ghosting over the featureless, cacti dotted, northern savannah, this Antilocapra is just as enjoyable to hunt as its southern doppelgangers. Its hide featuring fawn, ebony, and ivory tones, this ungulate not only looks African, but its migration habits mimic those on the Serengeti. The Canadian population resides on the northernmost frontier of the species’ habitat. Their appearance is misleading. The dainty structure it flaunts gives the impression of a weak nature; it is anything but. Pronghorns are survivors.

Having recuperated from a struggling population of 13,000 in the 1920’s, its numbers has regained momentum and nearly reaches one million. Alberta herds epitomize their toughness. From -40 Centigrade to +40, local weather is far more temperamental than a teenager. Could an African antelope endure these drastic climate swings? A unique and respected quarry, this animal is the second fastest in the world. Furthermore, it is the only fauna, who’s horns are branched (pronged) and also shed yearly. The first

hunt I was ever on, at 12 weeks old, was a pronghorn hunt in Montana. This inaugural experience seemed to have launched my love for the American antelope and the plains which they call home.

Alberta offers an abundance of opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. Teeming with wildlife, it's no wonder that this is a desired destination for international hunters.

Pronghorn antelope numbers, due to the unmerciful seasons we experience, are somewhat limited though. Therefore, in order to obtain a license as an Alberta resident, a long wait, sometimes up to ten years, is required. This draw system increases the popularity of this species substantially, and has inspired conservation efforts. Unlike African antelope, these creatures do not jump fences.

Instead, they slide under them! An extremely agriculture based province; Alberta's prairie houses many large ranches, often fenced to contain their cattle. Barbed wire fences are a major obstacle for the pronghorns. Sustaining substantial injuries to their backs or becoming entangled in page wire happens while they are traveling their natural migration routes. Thus, the Pronghorn Antelope Travel Corridor Enhancement Program was conceived.

Albertans have reduced the number of injuries and deaths of antelope, by replacing the bottom fence strand with smooth wire. Active conservation ensures a healthy population. Although residents have to patiently wait for their chance at an antelope hunt, non-residents are able to book directly with an outfi tter. What an opportunity to pursue an animal, which most of the residents are still looking forward to! For information on outfi tters, contact APOS and search the directory for guides and outfi tting services.

By the age of 16, I had been lucky enough to›

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harvest two pronghorn bucks. How was it possible that I could draw tags so quickly and without the enormous wait time? Fortunately, I have very generous parents who were willing to share their tags with me. In Alberta, it is legal to buy a partner license for select species, and allow youth to hunt with the tag.

This program is a wonderful opportunity for youth to experience and enjoy hunting, under the dedicated mentorship of their elders.

The fall of 2011 was mild. Temperatures were moderately high and the cruel winter hadn't set in. Towards the end of September the pronghorn season commenced. Cruising along oil lease roads and covering hundreds of kilometres of territory, my parents and I scanned the smooth prairies for an opportunity to stalk our animal of interest.

The technique often used to hunt antelope with a rifle is to drive searching for their general location, and then shorten the distance by stalking in on hands and knees.

Watch out for the cacti! For bow-hunting a different technique is used. Rather than stalking, the buck comes to you. By crouching behind a pronghorn decoy, aggressive bucks sprint in from kilometres away when in the rut. The fall before, when my dad allowed me to share his license, we partook in the

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best stalk I'd ever been on. After over an hour of cat and mouse approach through bone dry sand and wet irrigation ditches, we crawled to within 110 yards of my buck. A well placed shot behind the shoulder instantly dropped my first pronghorn. Then, in 2011, my mother accompanied us as well. As she is also a passionate hunter, it was extremely touching when she offered to let me harvest a buck through the partner license system as well. Due to two very challenging winters, the population size was considerably lower than usual and this made finding a mature buck complicated. We searched for three days before finding a male we were content with. At twilight, we memorized where the buck and his ladies laid down and returned shortly before sunrise. Luckily, we were able to locate the herd again. The animals, not being nocturnal, had not ventured too far from their beds. This technique of bedding down the herd had worked to our advantage once before, almost with consequences though. On an antelope hunt in 2001, my family said goodnight to a herd and started driving back to our camp. In order not to spook the sleeping beauties, Dad chose to drive without the headlights on. His eyesight was apparently "perfect since childhood."

Explain the glasses please. He drove using only oil wells as landmarks. Mom suddenly shrieked. Our tire was within an inch of diving into a very deep excavation. Mom would for years recount the tale of us almost "plummeting into a fiery death." Now, let us return to the 2011 hunt. Despite crawling on our stomachs and remaining tucked behind the sparse cover, the herd knew something was amiss. Their keen senses, especially eyesight, kept them spooky. An elegant mating dance amongst the tumbleweeds kept them milling about for another three hours. Rutting season wasn't improving our situation either.

The buck was completely preoccupied with rounding his herd together, and would barely stand still. Finally, after six or more fruitless attempts at a shot, we were able to train our sights onto his chest cavity at around 300 yards. My Remington 7mm-08 barked and shortly afterwards Mom shot with her 7 mm Remington magnum. Reloading with lightning speed, I connected with another shot as he was dropping. Thanks to our wonderful guide, my dad Peter, my mom, Brigitte, and I shared a wonderful kill and a memorable stalk.

Gems of the Albertan prairie, a northern savannah, and these antelopes are attractive both in appearance and difficulty to hunt. It is an honour for any nimrod to display this North American antelope next to an array of trophies. As global human populations increase, it is evident that this species will face even more challenges in the future. Hopefully this resilient antelope will thrive and add more of its colour to the lonely windswept plains. I will continue to enter the draw system and eagerly look forward to pursuing another antelope, perhaps with a bow next time. Additionally, I will show my support for the conservation programs designed to protect and allow our pronghorn population to flourish. Let there be many more sunsets, which cast a glow upon the pelage of the last North American antelope species, king of the unforgiving Northern Savannah.

Savanna Koebisch

Hunting Packages / September - February 2013

travel

Romania ‘Duck and Wild Goose Chase’

PACKAGE INCLUDES:

FP Pending

• Board and lodging 5 night accomodation (4 days hunt)) starting with the arrival evening until in the breakfast morning of departure.

• Lodging in single room with bathroom.

• Romanian shooting license during the whole hunting time with official invitation card.

• Customs assistance for arrival and departure.

• Transfer airport - hunting box.

• All transfers inside Romanian borders include driver and escort.

• Hunting set-up.

• PACKAGE WITHOUT KILL LIMITS. • Head game preservation in cold storage room.

AT YOUR DISPOSAL: • Guns Beretta cal 12, - 35 Euro / day.

• Guns bullets/cartridges 16 euro per box.

• 6 Volt e 12 Volt rechargeable battery and corresponding cells boost 10.00 Euro per day.

THE PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

• Out and home airplane / bus ticket.

• Alcoholic drinks.

• International veterinary certificate.

IMPORTANT!

• Counseled fowling time from September 2012 to January 2013.

• Reservations must be done 1 month before, with our acknowledgment.

• Additional hunting day 500 Euros

NET PRICE: 2,450/- Euro for 4 days hunt NET PRICE: 1,950/- Euro for 3 days hunt (minimum of 3 hunters per group for that package)

* Full payments should be done on booking and any cancellation will result in 30% deduction if cancellation is done less than a month prior departure.

For more information about Hunting Packages please contact:

Mr. Joe Balesh, at Hunting & Safari

Tel: 00961 71 768211 • Mob: 00971 50 551 5957 Email: jbalesh@mailme.ae / hsmagazine.travel@gmail.com

www.huntingandsafaris.com

hunter legacy

Master Taxidermist & Hunter C

Carl Akeley

arl Ethan Akeley (1864-1926) was a taxidermist, sculptor, biologist, conservationist, inventor, and nature photographer, noted for his contributions to American museums, most notably to the American Museum of Natural History. He is considered the father of modern taxidermy.

He was born in Clarendon, New York, and grew up on a farm, attending school for only three years. He learned taxidermy from David Bruce in Brockport, New York, and then entered an apprenticeship in taxidermy at Ward's Natural Science Establishment in Rochester, New York. In 1886 Akeley moved on to the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he created the world's first complete museum habitat diorama in 1890. While working at the MPM and at Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, he developed his innovative techniques of taxidermy, perfecting a "cement gun" for improving exhibits. He later applied this method to patch old buildings with concrete, and is today known as the inventor of shotcrete.

Akeley specialized in African mammals, particularly the gorilla and the elephant. As a taxidermist, he improved on techniques of fi tting the skin over a carefully prepared and sculpted form of the animal's body, producing very lifelike specimens, with consideration of musculature, wrinkles, and veins. He also displayed the specimens in groups in a natural setting. Many animals that he preserved he had personally collected.

In 1909 Akeley accompanied Theodore Roosevelt on an expedition to Africa and began working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where his efforts can still be seen in the Akeley African Hall. Akeley joined The Explorers Club in 1912, having been sponsored by three of the Club's seven Charter Members: Frank Chapman, Henry Collins Walsh, and Marshall Saville. For qualifying, Akeley wrote only, "Explorations in Somaliland and British East Africa." He became the Club's sixth president in 1917-1918.

Carl Akeley and the Leopard he killed bare handed

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In 1921, eager to learn about gorillas to determine if killing them for museum dioramas was justified, Akeley led an expedition to Mt. Mikeno in the Virungas at the edge of the then Belgian Congo. At that time, gorillas were quite exotic, with very few even in zoos, and collecting such animals for educational museum exhibitions was not uncommon. In the process of “collecting” several mountain gorillas, Akeley’s attitude was fundamentally changed and for the remainder of his life he worked for the establishment of a gorilla preserve in the Virungas.

In 1925, greatly influenced by Akeley, King Albert I of Belgium established the Albert National Park, (since renamed Virunga National Park). It was Africa's first national park. Opposed to hunting them for sport or trophies, he remained an advocate of collection for scientific and educational purposes. One of the members of his 1921 expedition was six-year-old Alice Hastings Bradley, who later wrote science fiction under the name James Tiptree, Jr..

He improved the motion picture camera for working in nature. Akeley also wrote several books, including stories for children and an

Carl Ethan Akeley (1864-1926), Master Taxidermist & Hunter

autobiography, In Brightest Africa (1923). He was awarded more than thirty patents for his inventions.

Akeley died of a fever in the Congo during his fifth expedition to Africa. He is buried in Africa, just miles from where he encountered his first gorilla, the “Old Man of Mikeno.”

His wife, Mary Jobe Akeley, married him two years before he died. He had previously been married to Delia J. Akeley (1875–1970) for nearly twenty years. Delia Akeley accompanied him on two of his biggest and most productive safaris to Africa in 1905 and again in 1909. Delia later returned to Africa twice under the auspices of the Brooklyn Museum of Arts and Sciences. She organized and led both trips and lived for several months in the Ituri Forest with Pygmies.

The World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships awards gold medallions that bear Carl Akeley’s likeness-based on a photograph he had taken at Stein Photography in Milwaukee-to its “Best in World” winners. There is also a Carl Akeley Award for the most artistic mount at the

Carl Ethan Akeley (1864-1926), Master Taxidermist & Hunter

World Show. The medallions were sculpted

by Floyd Easterman of the Milwaukee Public Museum. The Akeley Hall of African Mammals of the American Museum of Natural History is named for him.

Mr. Akeley and dead Lioness h&s l May 2013

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cartridge legacies

The 20th Century’s

Top Rifle Cartridge

by Layne Simpson, Field Editor, Shooting Times

T

here can be only one top rifle cartridge of the 20th century, and Field Editor Layne Simpson has a handle on what it is. Here is his selection along with its 11 runners-up.

The greatest centerfire cartridge of the 20th century? Even though the answer to that question should have come to me as easily as falling off a greased log, I found it difficult to single out one among so many great ones.

An early example among great cartridges is the .300 Savage, which offered original .3006 performance in a package small enough to cycle through popular rifles such as the Savage 99 and Remington 81. But is it the greatest of the great? Hardly. Then we have other candidates. Although ignored to death

by American hunters, the .307 Winchester is a great cartridge simply because it squeezes .300 Savage performance from America’s favorite deer rifle, the Winchester 94. But that alone does not place it among the list of top candidates for it is now a dying cartridge. And what about the .22-250? It began life as one of the most popular wildcats ever created, was available in Browning rifles before Remington started factory loading it, and is now one of our two most popular varmint cartridges.

Great though it is, the .22-250 has yet to earn a big shot at the No. 1 position like other cartridges.

The .17 Remington is a favorite I hated to eliminate from my short list, mainly because it is uniquely American and so much fun to shoot. Then we have others like the .22 Hornet (my first varmint cartridge), the .35 Remington (my first store-bought deer cartridge), and the .225 Winchester (which accounted for my first sub-minute-of-angle group). Sentimental fellow that I am, I could very easily have listed either of those among the greatest of the great. Other favorites I hated to weed out are the .280 Remington (almost as good as the .270), 6mm Remington (actually better than the .243), .257 Roberts (better than the 6mm or .243), .25-06 (I used it a lot when it was a wildcat), 7x57mm Mauser (which will do anything the 7mm-08 will do), 7mm-08 Remington (which will do

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anything the 7x57mm Mauser will do), and the .416 Weatherby Magnum (my favorite cartridge for the big stuff of Africa). But they too had to go. As for new cartridges on the scene, the 7mm STW and .300 Remington Ultra Mag might eventually earn enough stripes to be included in such a list by another writer at the end of the 21st century, but as I write this neither has proven capable of weathering the test of time.

As it turned out, I simply could not come up with the single greatest cartridge without at least mentioning those that have given it a run for its money in not only popularity but usefulness as well. So I took the easy way out by naming not only the cartridge of the century but, as they say in beauty contests, its 11 runners-up as well. Here, then, in the order of their introduction are all too brief comments on what I consider to be the fantastic dozen of the 20th century, with the 11 runners-up first and the winner last.

.375 Holland & Holland Magnum I chose the .375 H&H Magnum as one of the top dozen of the 20th century simply because few other cartridges do so many things so well. It is just powerful enough to handle game too nasty for smaller cartridges, yet it is not ridiculously overpowered for nondangerous North American game such as elk and moose. I also chose it because the level of recoil it generates represents about the upper limit most hunters can tolerate.

Even though the .375 H&H Magnum was introduced by Holland & Holland in 1925, most American hunters ignored it due to the high cost of imported rifles chambered for it.

But that changed for the better in 1937 when Winchester added the chambering to its list of options for the Model 70 rifle. When loaded with good bullets and fired in an accurate rifle, this old English cartridge is capable of remarkable accuracy. It’s good too; I would not hesitate to hunt any big-game animal presently walking the face of the earth with the .375 H&H Magnum.

.270 Winchester What can I say about the .270 Winchester that was not said far more eloquently by Jack O’Connor, the greatest firearms writer of the 20th century? The most famous and by far the most successful full-length offspring of the .30-06 Springfield, the .270 had it all back in 1925 when it was introduced and still has it all today. Need a flat-shooting, mild-recoiling, super-accurate cartridge for shooting deersize game at long range? The .270 loaded with a good 130-grain bullet fills the bill with room to spare. Heading out west for an elk or moose hunt? Don’t overlook the .270 loaded with a premium-grade bullet weighing 150 grains. Does your shoulder scream out in protest each time you squeeze the trigger on that new .409 Pooper-Scooper Magnum? If so, relief in the form of a .270-caliber rifle is no further away than your friendly gunshop.

.220 Swift Exceeding 4000 feet per second with a rifle bullet seemed about as far out of reach as man’s first step on the moon back in the

1930s, but Winchester accomplished the impossible in 1935 by introducing the great .220 Swift. Loaded with a 48-grain bullet at the previously unheard of velocity of 4110 fps, the Swift made plenty of noise, shot flatter than a moonbeam, and electrocuted a varmint in its tracks. And if that alone wasn’t enough, the new cartridge was extremely accurate in the Winchester Model 70 rifle. During its heyday the Swift took its licks from critics who were obviously jealous of its success, but those of us who use it today recognize it for what it is—the greatest varmint cartridge of all time. True, the .22-250 is more popular, but it simply follows the trail blazed over half a century ago by the .220 Swift.

.300 Weatherby Magnum Roy Weatherby didn’t invent the .30-caliber magnum cartridge; among Americans that honor goes to a fellow by the name of Charles Newton. Weatherby did, however, cause more hunters to want to own .30 magnum rifles than anyone before or since his time. More important to the success of his company, those hunters wanted Weatherby ›

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7mm-08 Remington, and .358 Winchester.

Probably the best thing to be said of the .308 is it is capable of phenomenal accuracy; it is possibly the single most inherently accurate cartridge of a caliber larger than 6mm ever designed.

.243 Winchester

rifles in .300 Magnum. I saw my first Weatherby rifle while still in high school and swore then and there that I would someday own one, and sure enough I eventually did. I’m sure many other youngsters my age shared the same dream. Roy’s .300 Magnum with its distinctive double-radius shoulder has long been and probably always will be the belted magnum by which all others of its caliber are measured. You can say what you want about its recoil and muzzle blast, but no one who has used the .300 Weatherby Magnum on big game will deny that the hunt almost always ends quickly just after the first trigger squeeze.

.222 Remington A brainchild of Remington’s Mike Walker, the .222 was made possible by the introduction of the Remington Model 722 bolt-action rifle.

That combination, the .222 and the 722, ruled the accuracy roost among varmint shooters during the 1950s, and the little cartridge even went on to absolutely dominate registered benchrest competition until the 6mm PPC came along in 1975. In addition, the .222 eventually spawned the .17 Remington, .221

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Fireball, .222 Remington Magnum, .223 Remington, and the European 5.6x50mm Magnum, making it one of the more prolific cartridges introduced during the 20th century.

Today, the .223 is more popular, but when all is said and done it really won’t do a lot that can’t be done about as well with the .222 Remington. If ever I decide to build the six most accurate rifles in the world, one of them will be chambered for the .222 Remington.

.308 Winchester The .308 Winchester, or 7.62x51mm NATO as it is also called, was not the first highintensity centerfire cartridge designed for short-action rifles; that distinction goes to the .300 Savage. The .308 was, however, the first cartridge of its kind to enjoy worldwide popularity. On several occasions I have hunted moose in Sweden and am always surprised to see how many of the local hunters are armed with rifles in .308 Winchester. Among calibers larger than 6mm, the .308 is by far the most popular short-action big-game cartridge among hunters worldwide. The .308 has also fathered a rather large clan of offspring with names like .243 Winchester, .260 Remington,

The .243 Winchester was not the first cartridge of its caliber, but it was the first cartridge to really put the caliber on the map among varmint shooters and deer hunters. The .243 plays its dual role as a combination varmint/big-game cartridge like few other cartridges are capable of, and it possesses incredible accuracy potential. Mild manners combined with energy delivery quite adequate for game up to the size of whitetail deer and pronghorn antelope make the .243 as close to ideal as we are likely to ever get for those who are sensitive to recoil. The 6mm Remington (alias .244 Remington) might be just a tad better and the .240 Weatherby most definitely is, but neither has enjoyed anywhere near the popularity of the .243 Winchester.

.458 Winchester Magnum The .458 Winchester was America’s first factory-loaded elephant cartridge. Prior to its introduction in 1956, American hunters who ventured to Africa either used American-built rifles in .375 H&H (which some considered a bit small for elephant and such), a custombuilt rifle chambered for a wildcat such as the .450 Watts, or they bought an expensive English-built rifle chambered for a cartridge of English design. Then along came the Model 70 in .458 Magnum, which not only duplicated the performance of the ever-popular .470 Nitro Express, it cost but a fraction of the price of a British double in that caliber. The .458 Winchester went on to become the most popular backup cartridge among African professional hunters, and to this day it is the dangerous game cartridge by which all others are judged.

.338 Winchester Magnum

6mm PPC

I like the .338 Winchester Magnum but not quite as much as the .375 H&H Magnum.

It is a good cartridge, but I’m not sure it is a lot better than one of the .300 magnums loaded with a 200-grain bullet. The .338 shoots flat but not quite as flat as one of the 7mm magnums. The .338 hits hard downrange, but it also hits hard back behind the recoil pad. Through the years I have heard all those statements used to describe the .338 Winchester Magnum, but the fact remains that it has enjoyed and continues to enjoy more popularity among biggame hunters than all other medium-bore cartridges combined. The last time I looked at ammunition sales reports from Winchester, Remington, and Federal, the .338 ranked 10th among all big-game cartridges, reason enough to include it among the 12 greatest centerfire rifle cartridges of the 20th century.

Chances are the 6mm PPC has never killed a single deer, and it most definitely ranks near the bottom of the heap among varmint hunters. It doesn’t shoot as flat as a banjo string, and it doesn’t deliver gobs of energy downrange, make a lot of noise, or pound one’s shoulder to a pulp. The 6mm PPC is anything but cheap to shoot; last time I looked, cases were selling at 75 cents each, and they still had to be fine-tuned before being used. Even though Americans Lou Palmisano and Ferris Pindell created the little cartridge, it is foreign to most American shooters. On top of all that, while the 6mm PPC has been around for over 20 years not a single American ammo manufacturer has chosen to load it. What the 6mm PPC has done and continues to do is break more world accuracy records in registered benchrest shooting than any other cartridge, and it shows no sign of slowing down. When firearms correspondents of the future write about such things, the 6mm PPC will be mentioned most often as the accuracy cartridge of the 20th century.

7mm Remington Magnum The 7mm Remington Magnum and I go back to 1962, the year Remington introduced it, so it has long been one of my favorite cartridges.

Other cartridges of the same caliber came before Remington’s version, but all combined did not cause as much excitement among American hunters. In fact, prior to its introduction, most Americans ignored 7mm cartridges.

Not so for the new one from Remington.

For several years after it was introduced, the demand for Model 700 rifles chambered for the “Big Seven” far outpaced Remington’s ability to produce them. Even today, over three decades after its introduction, only the .30-30, .30-06, .270, and .308 are more popular among big-game hunters. Why the 7mm Remington Magnum enjoys such popularity is no big mystery-it shoots flatter and hits harder than the .30-06 but generates only slightly more recoil. It is truly one of the 20th century’s greats.

And The Winner Is... The .30-06 Springfield Then we come to the .30-06 Springfield, my pick as the greatest rifle cartridge of the 20th century .Before you disagree, take a look at its track record. For starters, the .30-06 was the primary battle cartridge of American military forces from its introduction in 1903 until it was replaced by the 7.62mm NATO in 1954. That’s over half a century of military duty. During that time the United States and its allies won the two greatest wars in the history of modern mankind, and while they would likely have done so had the .30-06 not been around, the cartridge played a key role nevertheless. Long before the old soldier retired from military duty it was enjoying tremendous popularity among hunters and target shooters. Today, the .30-06 is No. 1 in sales among all big-game cartridges with the major ammunition manufacturers, and it is seldom out of the top five most popular

chamberings among builders of bolt-action rifles. The grand old cartridge has long been available in all types of rifles: bolt actions, slide actions, single shots, autoloaders, and even a few lever actions. A great abundance of factory loadings are available not only from U.S. manufacturers but from those in other countries as well. Federal alone, as an example, offers almost two-dozen different loadings of the .30-06 Springfield with bullet weights ranging from 125 to 220 grains. Handloaders who load the cartridge have a great variety of brands, styles, and weights of bullets from which to choose, and dozens are suitable for this grand old cartridge. The popularity of the .30-06 is worldwide; it accounts for a big chunk of sales among many foreign manufacturers of sporting ammunition, and any foreign rifle manufacturer who is anybody (and even some who aren’t) offer the .30-06 chambering. The .30-06 got a head start on its competition by being adopted by the US Military, same as the .45-70 Government, .30-40 Krag, .308 Winchester, and .223 Remington. Today, it is a benchmark by which big-game cartridge performance is compared.

So there you have the greatest cartridge of the 20th century along with its 11 runnersup. I’m sure everyone won’t agree with all of my picks, but that was one of the great things about 20th-century America-we could disagree and still be friends.

Cartridge Year of Introduction 1906

.30-06 Springfield

1912

.375 H&H Magnum

1925

.270 Winchester

1935

.220 Swift

1948

.300 Weatherby Magnum

1950

.222 Remington

1952

.308 Winchester

1955

.243 Winchester

1956

.458 Winchester Magnum

1958

.338 Winchester, Magnum

1962

7mm Remington Magnum

1975

6mm PPC

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artist of the wild

Wildlife Artist

Keith McAllister

Born in Ireland but grew up in Africa, this inspired wildlife artist whose passion runs as deep as his talent talks to Cameron Hopkins.

How did you, an Irishman, come to grow up in Africa?

I was born in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. It wasn’t until I was around 18 months old that my family moved to what was then Zaire.

My father was born in Stanleyville [Kisangani] when the country was then the Belgian Congo or the Congo Free State. It’s now the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s changed its name more times than any other country I can think of.

My grandparents were Presbyterian missionaries in Stanleyville shortly after World War II. And even though my father was lined up to be shot with the rest of his family during the 1964 rebellion in Congo- and luckily wasn’t, or I wouldn’t be telling you about it, he still felt the urge to take us back to the country of his birth.

We started off as missionaries ourselves but my father always believed in the more practical approach to helping Africans, and soon got into development work with various overseas agencies and NGOs. Where did you live as you grew up in Africa?

The first six years or so of my life were spent around Isiro, Epulu and Bunia, in the Ituri region of Zaire. And this was followed by another seven years in Nairobi.

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How did you learn to paint?

My father was a good artist and was quick to spot that I had inherited the skill. He taught me himself for a long time and then sent me off to art lessons on the weekends, which I actually really enjoyed despite being a bit of a jock at school and never applying myself to anything that required a bit of thinking. When we left Kenya I spent more and more time painting during the winter months, which were a shock to the system to say the least!

At a dinner party one evening I met Gerald Coulson who is one of England’s most respected landscape painters and aviation artists. Since the party was in the neighborhood, I ran home and grabbed my sketchbook and presented it to him. He looked through the drawings and then asked me my age.

“Seventeen, sir,” I said. “Well, then, there’s nothing stopping you,” he replied.

He wrote down his number and told me to come see him at his studio some time. I visited him and have done so ever since, though now we mostly meet in the pub and show each other our latest works when the beers out of the way. First things first.

What is your medium?

Oil on canvas, and preferably a good linen canvas at that. I sketch out a composition in acrylics sometimes, in black and white, just to get the drawing right before laying on the mucky oils. Doing this makes sure the anatomy, composition and lighting have all been addressed from the outset, and saves time spent second-guessing yourself later on down the line, when the whole canvas is sopping wet.

What other wildlife artists do you admire?

I admire selected works from a number of artists who include David Shepherd (his midcarrier stuff), Simon Combes, Rien Poortvliet (a firm favorite), Donald Grant (pre-stroke), Wilhelm Kuhnert, Bob Kuhn and a handful of others. I like painters who generally appreciate the tactility of oil paints. I have little time for the photo-realists. And I admire the pastel work done by Kim Donaldson and Paul Bosman as well.

What stylistic influences do you express in your paintings? There’s just a hint of French Impressionism in some of your backgrounds and your use of color.

I am happy to say that my style has and continues to evolve. One day I want to paint with a bolder brush, shall we say, but that takes time to develop. My use of color has always been key to my work and over the years I have become borderline arrogant about it, putting in crimson and orange in places where people wouldn’t think to see it.

And then making it work within the painting.

When I first started as an oil painter I relied heavily on photographic resource materiel, ›

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What is your favorite subject?

I like to rotate my subject matter, but if forced to choose I’d say I like painting the big cats.

They are hard to do and rewarding when done well. In the early part of my career, I used to paint elephants around the clock and still have a soft spot for them. As an aside, I genuinely believe we are going to start losing animals in the wild over the next few years, and I genuinely believe too that the work of every wildlife artist and photographer may be the last record of these animals in their natural environment. And that is a cold truth.

I accidently saw a Hirola in Kenya as a kid, and they are now thought to be the most endangered antelope species in Africa today.

So naturally I relished the chance to recreate him on canvas.

What is the hardest thing about painting wildlife? Is it more the composition and arrangement or the actual detail work? and I stayed so faithful to them that my work started looking photographic itself with outof-focus backgrounds and perspectives that you would only get from telephoto or wide angle lens.

I then made an effort to loosen up, and that’s where my use of color stems from. The results were a little but too loose and started lacking appeal, so I tightened it all up again, but this time without relying on the camera.

I started getting a bit more adventurous and inventing scenes and scenarios based on the knowledge I was building up about both the subjects I was painting and the techniques I was using.

Does any one of your paintings stand out in your memory?

The most unapologetic painting I’ve done is “The Man Eaters.” I say unapologetic because it is paint on canvas applied with a brush and it looks like paint on canvas applied with a brush. There’s no cover up job here, it is what it is. And the colors in it are again very bold.

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And, as I’ve said to you before, if you can use color like a Frenchman and brushwork like a Dutchman, you’re at least on your way!

Finding a new angle, so to speak, that makes your work significant is the hardest thing to

achieve from an objective point of view. But coming down to the day-to-day of painting, it is probably finding the self-motivation. Luckily, motivation usually comes in bucket loads when you are out collecting good resource material in the bush, and you can thrive on this for a few months between safaris.

Every subject matter has its nuances and things to look out for and learning them can be rewarding one day and a real chore the next, but that’s life.

Is there a “typical” McAllister painting?

I don’t build my paintings up to the same level.

I allow myself several freedoms, as it were.

When it comes to the level of detail I put into a painting, it comes down to the individual piece. If I think a painting will suffer by being over-worked, I put my brush down. Other times, some paintings need days and days of fine, detail work to make them appealing.

Ultimately I would say that the biggest freedom is to not feel obliged to stick with whatever was the original concept. I see so many artists draw out everything first and then painstakingly painting in the detail. If, half way through a painting, I think it needs changing, then it gets changed.

Even if a paintings been signed and is happily sitting on the wall and I fancy reworking it. then the frame comes off and it gets a facelift. I am not an illustrator and I don’t mind messing around with the work. So to answer your question, no, there is no such thing as a “typical” McAllister painting.

watching on a safari in Kenya. This isn’t why we split up, incidentally, but it was getting to the point where the guide books and binoculars were a permanent fixture and I couldn’t pass a single bush or tree without glassing it. I had seen most of the other wildlife and fancied studying a new element.

You incorporate birds into your paintings quite frequently. What’s the significance?

Birds are great for contextualizing your work as well. If you get a local species of bird matched with an animal only found in that area, it gives your work an authenticity. It becomes an accurate depiction of a landscape or ecosystem. ›

Curiosity more than anything. My ex-girlfriend got fed up with me when I took up bird

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You paint the Big Five frequently yet you also paint all sorts of antelope, like bushbuck and sitatunga and kudu. Is your selection of subjects more a matter of catering to what your clientele desires or do you paint what you want to paint and just let it sell?

A large percentage of my work is to commission and therefore it is up to the client to decide the subject matter. However, I do like variety and love painting some more exotic animals than just the more popular subjects, like the Big Five.

As a lover of the big cats, though, lions and leopards feature quite regularly in my work, but there was a time when I seemed to be painting cheetahs back-to-back. I love cheetahs. As a subject matter, they can look quaky one minute and totally elegant the next. Painting spots into their fur can be challenging and a bit therapeutic at times as well.

But animals like kudu and bushbuck are very special because in my experience encountering them in a small break in the

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vegetation is usually a one-on-one experience.

There is not the intimacy in seeing lions surrounded by dozens of tour vans in some popular game park as there is in catching a glimpse of a startled bushbuck in a glade while on foot. And seeing kudu in East Africa is a rare treat. If you blink, you’ll miss them as they soundlessly vanish into the scrub.

You’re obviously an accomplished wildlife artist. What other subjects interest you?

I painted racehorses in Ireland for awhile, and got to meet the champion Irish racehorse Moscow Flyer, which was interesting. But that kind of fizzled over the years. I also like

painting village scenes from across central Africa as well as painting Maasai warriors, the Turkana, Samburu, Rendili and other traditional East African tribes people. Portraits are also one of those things that have never gone out of fashion, so I like to turn my hand at those from time to time.

Tell us about your fascination with the Arabic culture and your work with subjects like camels, Arabian stallions and other traditional Arab scenes, like a caravan stopping at a waterhole in the desert.

I grew up with only three or four VHS cassettes to watch on the rare days when you were too tired to shoot your bow and arrows or chase chickens, steal fruit, spy on the girls, or play with the African kids hanging around the mission stations. One of these cassettes was Lawrence of Arabia, which set the whole fascination off.

I later read accounts from both T.E. Lawrence and Wildfred Thesiger and did my own camel

trekking across the southern stretches of Lake Turkana and into the Saguta Valley. It’s the hottest place in East Africa, so bloody hot! I had an armed escort consisting of one Turkana with a .303 Lee-Enfield, a Samburu camel handler, a Samburu translator, and four camels. We headed off on foot, nearly getting killed on a daily basis, and never having had more fun.

When one of the Sheikhs commissioned me to paint some Arabian oryx, I jumped at the chance of painting yet another animal on the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, however, this meant painting an animal and habitat I wasn’t familiar with. Flicking through old photographs of Saudi Arabia, I figured the landscape wasn’t dissimilar to the images I had brought back from a trip I made to the Sudan some years before. I modeled the painting on the resources and references I had at my disposal and went from there.

You work from the premises of Anderson Wheeler in the tony Mayfair district of London.

Anderson Wheeler is a premium brand of fine, bespoke hunting rifles and guns. How do you find the association of working to produce art in a gun shop?

It’s quite the symbiotic relationship. People interested in pursuing animals to hunt and kill or just photograph have a deep love and appreciation of the lands and animals they have had the privilege of being exposed to, generally speaking. Sportsmen and women do, for the most part, want to be reminded of their passion for the outdoors and a painting of the lands they have visited can be as significant, or even more so in some instances, than a head on the wall.

I also appreciate the relationship between hunting and conservation. I will be keeping a close eye on Botswana in the next few years as they are imposing a hunting ban fairly soon.

In my experience, poaching increases when professional hunters and their paying clients move out of concession areas.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Keith and how can a reader of H&S contact you to commission a painting or make an enquiry?

My email address is kam@andersonwheeler. co.uk if you want to deal with me directly.

My website is www.keithandrewmcallister. wordpress.com

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hunter's lounge

The MusĂŠe de la Chasse et de la Nature Contributed by Tom Caceci

View of the antechamber. The painting of the hounds coursing a hare is on the left rear wall.

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Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature ( Luc Boegely )

P

aris, “The City of Light,” is renowned as a center of culture, learning, and the arts.

It’s museums are world-famous repositories of the highest expressions of human artistic endeavor; and among them is one gem that deserves to be better known, certainly to readers of this magazine. Not many guide books-except one or two that specialize in somewhat off-the-beaten-track listings-include the Musée de La Chasse et de La Nature, devoted to hunting in the classical European style, and much more.

Thanks to the current climate of Political Correctness and anti-hunting fervor sometimes even magnificent historically and zoologically significant exhibits-for example, the New York Zoological Society’s National Collection of Heads and Horns (many of which were donated by no less a notable than former President Theodore Roosevelthave essentially been banned from public display. That the Musée de La Chasse et de La Nature exists at all, let alone that it’s such a stunning display of the inter-relationships between some of Man’s oldest concerns is a remarkable and very wonderful thing. Possibly because in Europe hunting has been mostly a pursuit confined to the relatively rich, it seems to command a level of societal respect that’s vanishing in other places.

The Musée de La Chasse et de la Nature is a celebration of the semi-mystical threads that tie together Man’s oldest pursuits-hunting and art-and their roots in the natural world in which we live. We humans are hunters by nature; and all living humans are the

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature ( Sylvie Durand )

The Arms Room, with open drawers to display the collection of flasks, horns, swords, and other paraphernalia of the chase

descendants of successful hunters. The truth is that we were hunters before we became human. The Musée predicates its existence on understanding this basic truth.

But humans are also artists. Art is the reflection of Man’s unique ability to contemplate and recognize the complexity and beauty of the world around him and to visualize his place in it. The cave paintings at Lascaux-the oldest known work of human creativity-are hunting scenes. The Musée carries forward this tradition as well, and uniquely depicts the intimate relationship between these two characteristically human activities. In a world that seems to have forgotten-or that refuses to recognize-that those connections exist, its mission is all the more important.

The Musée is the loving legacy of Monsieur François Sommer (1904-1973) and his wife Madame Jacqueline Sommer (1913-1993). M. Sommer was an industrialist whose youth was spent in the field, and whose love of nature and the outdoors was matched by his

wife’s. Together they established a foundation whose purpose is to support ethical hunting which respects the natural balance; and to display the magnificent collection of huntingrelated art and artifacts they collected. Today it occupies a pair of fully restored former private mansions. The Hôtel de Guénégaud on the Rue des Archives was restored and opened as the first incarnation of the Musée in 1967. In 2002, the Foundation acquired the neighboring Hôtel de Mongelas, which was similarly restored to its former glory. I first visited the Musée in the mid-1990’s and have had the opportunity to see it in its original and expanded states.

The Musée is palace devoted to the art-in every sense-of hunting and its relationship to Nature. Paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art and artisanal creativity celebrate the beauty of Nature, the rituals of the hunt, the legends and stories told for centuries, and the relationship of Man to his environment.

The exhibits are on three levels, of which the entry level is the most sumptuous, each room devoted to a more or less specific theme. ›

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eye-popping levels of craftsmanship. These elaborately-embellished masterpieces are not just killing machines-probably most of them have never fired a shot in their hundreds of years of existence-but the fusion of high art and lethality that characterizes many human artifacts. That melding is here perfectly placed in the context of the chase.

The walls of the Blue Room are adorned with 17th and 18th Century paintings depicting hunting scenes and still lifes from the period of King Louis XIV and his successors. These works are mostly the work of François Deportes (1661-1743), who was commissioned by the King to represent the glories of the Royal hunt. Desportes often accompanied the King into the field and drew sketches from Nature from which the final work emerged.

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

The boar is the "host" who welcomes the visitor. M. Sommer held this animal in such high esteem that he choose it to be the symbol of his family's felt manufacturing company.

The Wild Boar Room includes a display of hunting swords and lances, of the types that in the 18th and 19th Centuries were the traditional means of hunting boar. The boar was one of M. Sommer’s favorite quarries and much of his legacy revolves around this animal of the European forests.

No one can deny that firearms can be, and often are, works of art. The Weapons Room is an eclectic collection of hunting weapons that includes a number of 15th and 16th Century wheel-lock arms. While work-a-day guns are important and also represented in the collection (not just in the Gun Room but in other locations) some of those in the Weapons Room’s glass-fronted cases are spectacular presentation pieces, intended simply to display wealth through

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Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

The Blue Room houses many paintings by one of Louuis XIV's favorites, Francois Deportes. The lovely fox who guards these treasures can be seen in the chair by the doorway

Entrance to the Weapons Room

The Blue Room is guarded. Not by the usual docent or bored watchman, but one of the most appealing and humorous exhibits: a remarkably pretty red fox, who rests eternally in an armchair near the door. Monsieur

Renard is curled up keeping a watchful glass eye out for those who would profane the tapestries or sit on the furniture. He bears a small sign politely requesting the visitor to “Ne me touchez pas, s’il vous plait.”

The Wolf and Stag Room is devoted to two creatures who have loomed large in the context of European hunting for centuries, and to whom many very human attributes have been credited: nobility, grace, and courage in the case of the stag; intelligence, ferocity, and cunning in the case of the wolf. The “perception” of distinctly human traits in animals is not a paradox, nor is it confined to hunters of the past. No true hunter, even today, is without some feeling of kinship for the animals he pursues, and that bond between hunter and hunted (which can sometimes be reversed!) is one of the underlying themes in all of the Musée’s exhibits.

In addition to a full-body mount of a very fine stag, in the corner is what is alleged to be a wolf. I am compelled to say that to me this animal looks a lot like a coyote. We have many coyote where I live, and this beast is the sort of lean, rangy, and snouty-looking animal I associate with the ones I’ve seen. If it’s a wolf, it certainly isn’t the North American strain. North American wolves are far larger.

Even making allowance for “inflation” by the taxidermist, it couldn’t have weighed more than 20 kilograms.

The Wolf and Stag Room is hung with tapestries that continue the theme of the relationship between Man and the animals, and somewhat changing perceptions of what exactly that relationship is. One such depicts the legend of St Hubert, whose miraculous vision of the True Cross in the antlers of a stag he was about to kill led him to convert to Christianity. In Medieval times the annual shedding and regrowth of the stag’s antlers was seen to mimic the death and resurrection of Jesus. The stag was thus a symbol or analogy for the Christian promise of eternal life. ›

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

The stag is the "King of the Forest" and a symbol of Christianity. The ten points of a mature stag;s antlers are allergories for the Ten Commandments; their loss and regrowth every year symbolizes the promise of ressurrection.

Only the most exalted nobility were permitted to hunt this lordly creature.

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smaller Bird Room, which includes a glass case with any number of game birds mounted and on display, all with their scientific names as well as the common names on note cards.

Most of these are ducks and pheasants, but a few are birds we in the USA don’t normally consider “game.” My late grandmother told me once that her father in Sicily hunted larks, and indeed, there were larks in the case.

One incongruity in the Bird Room is the presence of a most-unbirdly creature, a huge Polar Bear who might more appropriately have been housed in the Trophy Room. The Bird Room has a case full of what look like musical instruments at first glance, but in fact are bird calls. Though they look very different to what is now sold, they served the same purpose of luring birds into range of the guns.

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

The Dog Room

Another recounts the legend of Actaeon, the hunting companion of Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. Artemis was beautiful and Actaeon attempted to force himself upon her. His punishment was to be turned into a stag and ripped to shreds by his hounds.

The allegorical depiction of a stag in the clothing of a man denotes the hazy boundary between humanity and animal existence. This room houses one of the few examples in the Museum of modern art. “The Wolf Hunt” (c.

1930) by André Derain depicts two hunters and a dog of unspecified breed. Regrettably, this painting isn’t up to the esthetic standards of the rest of the collection, nor is its symbolism (if any) very obvious to the viewer.

My favorite part of the Musée is the Dog Room. Dogs and hunting are inextricably intertwined and furthermore, Man’s relationship with dogs is unique, in that the Dog is the only animal that is voluntarily domesticated. Genetic studies prove that wolves are the ancestors of all our domestic breeds, and the Man/Dog partnership began (some say as much as 50-100,000 years ago)

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when wolves recognized the superior hunting power of groups of men with weapons. A bargain was struck between these “predogs” and our ancestors by which they would use their superior noses to find the game, we would kill it with our weapons, and in return they’d get the offal. Much the same relationship is maintained today.

The Dog Room contains many paintings of canine companions, sculptures, and other doggy things, including a tender portrait of maternal love over the fireplace, “La Lice et Ses Petits” (“The Bitch and Her Pups”) by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. By the 18th Century the view of animals was changing. In the Romantic period dogs came to be regarded as not just “things,” but sentient beings with feelings and sensibilities. Oudry’s 1753 canvas expresses this emerging point of view elegantly. The affection with which she nurses her young is matched by the obvious respect that the artist had when dealing with his subject.

Beyond the Dog Room is the somewhat

The Bird Room also contains another example of Modern Art, the rusted hulk of a threewheeled automobile that was abandoned in a forest many years ago. Tree trunks have grown through it, all the interior is gone, and the front door is missing. It represents the concept that Nature will not tolerate intrusion

by Man without reaction; and that in time all artifacts will return once again to become

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

Behind the Polar Bear is a case containing mounted game birds.

part of the Earth. It was lifted bodily, trees and all, from the forest floor, and installed in the Bird Room. To complete its transition from junkyard relic to Art, the artist created artificial birds’ nests from rope, and placed them in the branches of the trees. Recognizing the truth of its symbolic representation of the tensions between Nature and Technology, I can’t help but feel that this particular item of Modern Art is jarringly out of place in a building filled with so much classical painting and sculpture.

The second floor of the Musée houses the Trophy Room, a massive display. It, too, has a guardian, the mounted head of an albino Russian Boar. This would be sufficiently striking simply by virtue of being pure white, but the taxidermist went beyond the usual by fi tting it with a recording and a motion sensor.

As you enter the room, the boar’s jaw moves, and he starts to grunt and squeal. It is almost as if he were warning the visitor that Nature still has many surprises, and one can never become too comfortable with feeling superior to Her. To be honest, I hadn’t expected anything like it, and it gave me a bit of a start.

As noted above the boar is a revered game animal, whose flesh was one of the staples of every nobleman’s table in the past. No feast or celebration was complete without a dish of boar meat. Scattered throughout the museum are many tureens shaped like boars’ heads, some silver and some porcelain, paying tribute to the boar as a source of both the excitement of the chase and sustenance.

The Trophy Room contains many heads of awesome size, including that of a huge Lord Derby Eland. This is casually hung on the wall with any number of other heads-andhorns specimens from all over the world. The collection includes a Gaur, an animal seen alive these days only in zoos. In addition there are full-body mounts of two enormous leopards.

These leopards were bigger than any I have ever seen; taking even one, let alone two, that size, must have been a daunting and very dangerous thing to do.

A few of the magnificent heads on display in the Trophy Room. The large, dark head at left is that of a gaur, or Indian Bison. This room includes trophies from several continents.

Copyright Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature

The Trophy Room walls are also lined with gun cases. Many of the trophies shown were taken with the guns in them. Most are flintlocks, but there are many modern ones, including a Jeffrey bolt action and a Rigby double.

There is much more, including a room dedicated to the horse; and one depicting a collection of artifacts that M. and Mme. Sommer kept in their cabin during their active hunting life. The top floor of the Musée has exhibits devoted to the “modern” view of animals as a source of food and fiber; and to the changes in the depiction of apes over the centuries. These latter two were not in the original collection I saw many years ago, and seem to be concessions to present-day sensibilities and tastes. Whether such things are appropriate for inclusion in a hunting museum can be debated; but it can be argued that these exhibits show some of the changing interaction of Man and Nature as well. In terms of their overall artistic value they are not up to the rest of the collection.

The Musée de La Chasse et de La Nature is a unique and exceptional place, one that won’t be found in the ordinary tourist guidebook. In fact it is far enough outside the mainstream of modern day Parisian life that even the concierge at my hotel had never heard of it. But to anyone with an interest in hunting or the story of Man’s relationship with the natural world and the species that share it with us, it is a must-see item for your agenda.

The web site is: http://www.chassenature. org/site_musee/musee-home.html, which lists opening hours, days of operation, and current exhibits. The very modest boutique on the ground floor sells many excellent works, including a reprint of the famous Livre de Chasse by Gaston Prebus, books on dogs, and of course, cookery books for game. The Foundation also has a library of original works and documents related to the theme. These can be viewed by appointment and pre-arrangement. Individuals interested in furthering the Foundation’s work and supporting the Musée can submit a dossier to apply for membership.

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Segera Retreat

Kenya, OfďŹ cially Opens

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enya, one of East Africa’s premier safari destinations, has just welcomed a unique new destination for the ultimate safari experience. Segera Retreat, a new iconic property on Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau that will set new standards for sustainable tourism and inspire its guests through personalized luxury experiences, has just opened its doors.

Segera Retreat, which has also just won the much coveted Newcomer Award 2013 at ITB in Berlin, one of the world’s largest tourism trade shows, inspires and engages guests through private luxury experiences.

A part of the Wilderness Collection, the newly completed camp promises to be an absolutely unique destination within Kenya, characterized by exceptional attention to detail, craftsmanship and a rigorous implementation of sustainability practices.

The activities offered – each tailor made and facilitated through a personal Villa Attendant – include day and night game drives, picnics

and sundowners, guided walks, children and family activities, a wellness centre including a gym and spa, sleep outs and many more.

In addition to offering exceptional game viewing and other unforgettable experiences, a visit to Segera provides other unique opportunities to engage with a range of conservation activities that are ongoing both on Segera itself and in neighbouring community areas. Guests may want to actively contribute to reforestation efforts by planting indigenous trees in the ‘Wangari Maathi Memorial Forest’ at the Zeitz Foundation Headquarters or a local school, or take part in daily tracking and monitoring activities of the endangered Patas Monkey or Grevy’s Zebra.

In the midst of Kenya’s fascinating biodiversity and wildlife, luxury at Segera still takes front and centre. Six timber and thatch villas – each individually curated with art from Africa’s most inspiring artists and featuring a large

bedroom and en-suite bathroom, a private sun deck in the garden with sun loungers and a Jacuzzi bath. The gracious Segera House and perfectly positioned Villa Segera boast spectacular views and even greater privacy and luxury. Run on solar energy, with water being sustainably harvested and recycled, the villas gaze out over the Laikipia Plateau towards the spectacular Mount Kenya.

Guests are further spoiled for choice with a spa, gym and central pool offering an outdoor dining area with a deck and sun loungers. Meals and private dining are served al fresco in a number of locations throughout the Retreat. The superb cuisine comprises Segera’s unique 4C dining menu, which provides guests with a variety of delicious and healthy meals. All of this is complemented by Segera’s outstanding service.

For more information on Segera Retreat, visit www.segera.com.

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Hunters Lounge

Suckling Pig

by Brian ‘Raphael’ Ralph

A

s I have travelled extensively around South America and Spain, I thought I would give you the benefi t of my experiences and recreate some of the dishes that would be popular in the Latino areas. I should warn you that if you are not a carnivore this menu may not be for you!

One thing you do notice straight away in these countries is the desire and passion for meat, so much so that they compensate for the lack of vegetables by drinking, Mate or Tererre a herb infused beverage to help with their digestive system, especially in South America. When I lived in Paraguay it was hard to resist the asado, the barbequed chicken rotisserie on the corner of the road where we

lived. As you drove past the delicious aroma would be the first thing to hit you and then you would see row upon row of glorious roasting chickens turning on spits. Each chicken would be served with a portion of mandioca, the local root vegetable.

Most weekends I would take a drive to the interior but any trip would include a stop at one of the local watering holes, renowned for their home cooking which would include such things as empanadas (extremely tasty small meat pies) and the delicious small crispy cheesy bread rolls known locally as, chipa bread, so popular that the car parks would always be full to bursting. It would be difficult to go hungry in this kind of environment what

with the abundance of fresh mangoes that would fall from the trees and collect on the roads.

This recipe has suckling pig (good alternatives would be to use lamb or goat) as the main attraction. This is a dish perfect for this time of year when the climate allows some great opportunities for al fresco dining, with a few friends around enjoying a glass of wine (Argentinian wines from the Mendoza region are my perfect choice) and savoring the prospect of the meal to come. All this dish needs as accompaniments is braised red cabbage, crispy roast potatoes and a simple to prepare homemade apple sauce.

As a starter and to whet the appetite while the meat is roasting I would serve, morcilla con revuelta, (black pudding with scrambled eggs) with slices of fresh crusty baguette warmed in the oven. As a prelude to the impending feast I would serve some tasty tapas of dates wrapped in bacon, or Carpaccio if preferred, which my dinner guests can enjoy whilst sipping on their predinner drinks.

And for the dessert courses, in the event anyone has any room left for dessert, two of my guests kindly bought along their own signature dessert dishes for us to share.

Melanie made her delicious banoffee pie, and Jad made a rich homemade chocolate cake complete with homemade chocolate sauce.

Two great puddings as a finale to the event.

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Starter and Tapas Method: For the wrapped dates you will need fresh dates, pitted and stuffed with almond. Simply wrap in streaky bacon or carpaccio and bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 - 30 minutes until the meat is well cooked and starting to crisp. I particularly like this served with a dip of Thousand Island dressing, but you could choose any dip that you prefer and compliments the sweetness and savory flavors of the dates and the meat.

The morcilla con revuelta is best prepared with, Morcilla de Burgos. This is a Spanish black pudding that is cooked with rice and has a softer consistency than the English equivalent. This is hard to come by however outside of Spain and so as a substitute I find that using the English variety of black pudding and crumbling it into small pieces works just as well. Simply fry the black pudding with a

little olive oil for 5 - 10 minutes and then add the whisked eggs and stir over the heat until it has a creamy consistency and not quite set.

Remove from the heat and serve immediately over slices of crispy warmed baguette. To add a touch more flavor I like to add some finely chopped chorizo to the black pudding before the cooking. The chorizo is traditionally a Spanish spiced sausage made from pork, but young goat or venison chorizo is also a tasty alternative. As an accompaniment to the dish serve some cherry tomatoes that have been baked in the oven until hot and ready to burst. ›

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Suckling Pig (8kg) Method: The preparation of the meat is most important and should take place some 48 hours before the cooking starts. Massage the whole animal with olive oil, rock salt and lemon juice at least four times over a period of two days and on the final massage add a thin coating of honey - this will help produce a great crispy skin.

The red cabbage and apple sauce can actually be prepared the day before and allows for more time on the day of the dinner.

For a more controlled cooking of the meat I recommend cooking slowly, on a low heat in a closed barbeque over a 4 - 6 hour period depending on the weight of the animal. Cook slowly until the flesh reaches a temperature of 77C (use a heat probe to check that the meat has reached temperature all the way through).

Once the meat is cooked you can increase the heat for a further 15 - 20 minutes to achieve the perfectly textured skin. A tip is to cover the head/ears with aluminium foil to stop them from burning.

For the roast potatoes you will need: Ingredients: • 3kg of good quality potatoes of medium sizes. • 250 g of vegetable oil or for the best and most tasty results use the fat from the meat you are barbequing. • Rock salt to taste.

Method: For perfect crunchy roast potatoes put the oil or fat into a good quality solid based roasting dish and place into a preheated oven at 220 degrees Centigrade (425F/Gas mark 7). Meanwhile thinly peel the potatoes and cut into even sizes, then put them into a pan and pour boiling water over them, adding a little salt, and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain off the water keeping a little for the gravy and put the lid back on the pan and vigorously shake them up and down as this is how you achieve the crispy edges.

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Carefully remove the dish with the hot fat from the oven, using your oven glove or cloth, and place on the stove on a medium heat to ensure the fat stays sizzling as you carefully place in the potatoes, basting them all over.

Once basted put the dish back in the oven for a further 40 to 50 minutes, turning the potatoes once half way through the cooking procedure. When ready sprinkle with a little rock salt serving straight away as you do not want them to lose their crunchiness.

For the red cabbage you will need: Ingredients: • 1 medium red cabbage.

• 2 tablespoons butter.

• Brown sugar. (To your taste).

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.

• 1/2 teaspoon salt.

• 6 prunes pitted and roughly chopped.

• 1/4 cup raisins or Sultanas.

• 1/4 cup of red wine.

• Juice of 1 orange.

• 1 cinnamon stick.

Method: Quarter the cabbage and cut out the core, then cut quarters crosswise into slices about 1/8 inch thick. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.

Add cabbage, wine and vinegar. Cover and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cover and cook on a low heat for about 2 hours or until the cabbage is tender. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve.

sweetness of your apples, use less or more.

If you use less sugar, you'll likely want to use less lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the apples and balances the sweetness.

Put all ingredients into a large saucepan, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peel. Mash the apple to a smooth consistency with a potato masher.

Once the meat is cooked to perfection, carve into thick slices and serve with the hot apple sauce, red cabbage and roast potatoes.

Delicious!

Desserts The dessert recipes below are provided by my guests, as mentioned above, starting with: Melanie’s Banoffee Pie. Ingredients: • 1 packet of digestive biscuits.

• 5 tablespoons of soft butter.

(Room temperature not melted).

• 3 bananas.

• 2 tins of condensed milk. (South African “Caramel Treat is great if you can get it).

• 300 ml of double cream.

• Two chocolate flakes.

Method: If you have to use the basic condensed milk rather than the South African version you will have to immerse the tin of condensed milk in boiling water, after taking the label off, for about 2 hours. The longer you boil it the darker and thicker the toffee becomes. Make sure you cover the tin completely with water to prevent it exploding and check regularly that the tin remains covered throughout.

Whilst this is boiling crush about 350 grams of the packet of digestive biscuits into small pieces and mix them in with the soft butter until they are of a consistency that enables you to compact the mixture to make the pie base. Press the mixture into a 23cm pie dish with a fork, making sure the base is evenly and completely covered.

Cut the bananas into thin slices sufficient to completely cover the biscuit base. ›

For the apple sauce you will need: Ingredients: • 1.5kg to 2kg of peeled, cored, and sliced apples.

• 4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths.

• Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 tablespoons.

• 3 inches of cinnamon stick.

• 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar.

• 1/2 cup of water.

Method: The sugar amount is just a guideline, depending on your taste, and on the

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Once the milk has thickened and the tin cooled to handling temperature open the tin and spread the resultant toffee over the bananas.

Then whip the double cream until it stands in peaks and spread over the toffee. The cream can be as thick as you want it to be.

Then, to add a final touch, crushes the chocolate flake into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of the pie. Delectable!

Jad’s Chocolate Cake Ingredients: Cake mix.

• 2 cups of flour.

• 2 cups of sugar.

• ¾ cup of cocoa.

• 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

• 1 teaspoon of salt.

• 1 cup of corn oil.

• 1 cup of milk.

• 2 eggs, beaten.

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence.

• 1 cup of boiling water.

Ingredients: Chocolate Sauce.

• 1 cup of cocoa.

• 2 cups of evaporated milk.

• 3 tablespoons of butter.

• 2 cups of sugar.

• ½ cup of sweetened milk. (Nestle).

• ½ cup of Hershey’s chocolate syrup.

Method: Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Centigrade (350F/Gas mark 4) and grease a 23cm round cake tin. The type Jad used was one with a funnel in the middle which produces a ring of cake with a hole in the center. (See picture).

In a mixing bowl pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder and whisk until it is perfectly smooth with no lumps.

Whilst this is cooling down sift the flour, baking powder and salt and put to one side.

In a larger bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until mixed together to a creamy consistency.

To this mix gradually add in the beaten eggs,

about equal to one egg at a time, and then add the vanilla essence. Sift in the flour and cocoa mix gradually, alternating between the two mixtures until all the ingredients are evenly mixed to form a smooth creamy batter.

Pour this mixture into the lightly buttered cake tin and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. To test for done-ness insert a wooden skewer into the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean then the cake is properly baked.

Allow to cool slightly and then turn out on to a cake plate liberally pouring the Hershey’s chocolate syrup over the top and serve with the chocolate sauce for added pleasure.

Mmmmm!

Recommended Wines: Whether it be red or white wine you really can’t go wrong with any of the wines produced in the Mendoza area at the foot of the Andes. They are produced from an excellent pink skinned grape, grown at altitude of around 3,000ft.

On this particular occasion l am going to choose two favorites of mine which I think will complement the meal perfectly and are very pleasant to drink.

The first is the white, well more of a pale yellow, a Malbec, Terrazas de los Andes Reserve. This wine gives off pleasant aromas of freshly crushed violet flowers that envelop a deep core of jam preserves and ripened plums typical of Mendoza´s Vistalba region.

The floral palette is complimented by the taste of cherries and berries leaving you with a delicate herbal aftertaste.

And for the red I would recommend the Malbec, Triviento Reserve. This red is a light fresh wine with a palate of blueberries and boysenberries and a pleasant hint of herbs.

A bright red in color it gives off an aroma of plums and raspberries with a hint of vanilla. It is very soft on the palate, ripe yet fresh.

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IBC Pending

OBC Pending