Trad Gang
Main Boards => The Dark Continent => Topic started by: doctorbrady on July 09, 2007, 04:37:00 PM
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OK Globe-trotting Tradgangers,
I leave for Africa in 3 weeks to start hunting a filming. In the meantime, I know that some of you have recently returned. We are waiting on seat's edge to here your stories and see your pics. Brady
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Yea, come on guys. Let's hear about it.
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Okay...great adventure was getting my luggage from three different flights yesterday when we came in to Atlanta. We were on ONE flight, however. How does Delta do it?
Leaving for Jo-Burg this afternoon. My grandson, Paulie, will be bowhunting for the first time!!!! Very exciting for me. He's 14 and shooting a Morrison recurve.
More when we return...
Too Short
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Paul,
Have a great trip. Very exciting about the Grandson. Shoot well and stay safe. Brady
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Paul..you should have called me I'd have taken you guys out to eat last night. Have a great trip.
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The time is growing short Doc. Soon we will have our own stories to tell and pics to post! :bigsmyl: Anticepation is killing me. :bigsmyl:
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Soon, very soon, my friend. The bushmen will speak of the time when there were still animals in Africa, before the Tradganger arrived with bows and arrows :biglaugh:
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Hey Doc, what bows are ya taking this time , what will be you're Broadhead and arrow set up?? I wish and pray for you all to have success!! Mark#78
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Hey Mark, I'm not sure but I think Doc and I will both be shooting Dakotas. I'll be shooting a recurve for sure though, and he may be shooting the longbow.
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Good luck Im excited for ya buddy! :)
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Mark,
I am going to be bring along a couple (maybe more) of my Dakotas. Rick just sent me a new 62# osage and black micarta longbow last night, and he is making some new 70# cocabola limbs for one of my recurves. Then there is the 70# longbow I took on my last trip, and of course I have to take the 45# recurve he made for my wife that's now wearing pink giraffe skin limb wraps (I'll post pics of this one soon). I've also been shooting my 58# bacote recurve that can really sling a Grizzlystick Alaskan. So many bows, so little time :) .
In all likelihood, I will be taking my new longbow 62# @ 28 (tuned it up this morning) and my 70# recurve. My wife will bring her 45# bow for small game as well as her ccccomp---I just can't say it, bow for bigger stuff :) . We will both be shooting Grizzlystick shafts. She shoots the Sitkas and I shoot the Safari shafts which way in at an even 800 grains. They will be tipped with nasty sharp Eclipse broadheads.
Thanks for your prayers, Mark. We'll keep everybody posted. Brady
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well it looks like the Red Arrow crew has all chimed in so i better follow suit. i will be bringing my Morrison Dakota, 56# @ 28", using alaska grizzly sticks tipped with Eclipse heads.
i will also have with me "Miss Hope". although most of my time will be behind the camera i'm sure Brady will have me hunting some so i won't be getting all of his bloopers on film.
by the way,he will be on his honeymoon so you can guess what he will be doing most of his trip. i think Doc said something about "if you hear strange noises coming from his blind, to just disregard". :scared: :pray:
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Rob,
Now you have to promise to keep your filming to hunting :) .
Miss Hope is gonna get some African blood on her.
22 days. Seems like Christmas is coming.
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I have stories just no computer skills. If I can figure out how to post pics I will do so. I am reluctant to admit this because of the problems it may cause but here goes. My boss took me to Africa and paid for my hunt including the first four animals. There I said it. It was my reward for 30 years of blood and sweat. I am as grateful as can be but I know how hard many work and are never thanked like this. It was truly a great trip and as I get time I'll try to share. I learned much that may be useful to others going for the first time so feel free to ask. No we are not hiring more help, unless you are a really good bricklayer.
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Holy smokes sparrow! No problems here. Congratulations on a great reward for all of your hard work! Can't wait to hear the stories. My wife and I are leaving in...28 days and a wake up!
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Sparrow,
Great for you. Nothing to be ashamed of, and goes to show that there are many different avenues of making a dream for adventure a reality. I can't wait to see the photos and here the stories. My first trip to Africa seemed like a fairy tale, and I bet yours was no different.
BTH, my crew and I are down to 21 days and a wake up!!!! Best regards, Brady
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Thats great Sparrow. My boss is sponsoring a trip to Africa for me too that I leave for on Sunday. I just happen to be self employed. :) Seriously though, I think it is great that an employer would think enough of an employee to reward them like that. I would guess that it was very well deserved. Gotta go, lots of packing to do!
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I just finished 10 days at Dries Vissers River camp. I had a blast. It rained 2 days and really slowed things down but I was still able to whack a few. My wife helped me out one rainy day by joining me for a spot and stalk hunt. She took a Gemsbuck
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I was shooting a 74# Black Widow with 180 grain Silver Flame heads. I hit this first Kudu in the shoulder but the 700 grain arrow still reached the lungs.
(http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/kudu1.JPG)
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A couple of hours later my first Impala came in and hung around long enough to give me a shot.
(http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/impala1.JPG)
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Later that same day I had a nice Warthog show up (http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/warthog.JPG)
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The next morning when we arrived at the blind there was at least 40 Blesbuck already there. They never came back but 5 Zebra showed up. I hit him in the spine and then again through the front of the chest with a second arrow I don't ever remember reaching for. The Silver Flame head penetrated the Zebra length wise. I was very impressed with the German Kinetic heads as far as penetration went but started using the bigger 1-9/16" Zephyr heads as there was not much of a blood trail from the 1-1/8 Sliver Flames. (http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/zebra.JPG)
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The next morning we got to the blind long before first light. The Blesbuck showed up before daylight but I was able to show my PH how we shoot Hogs in East Texas by moon light. (http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/blesbock.JPG)
video http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/Blesbuck01.wmv
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After the rains let up I shot a nice Waterbuck quartering away and lost him after following a really good blood trail for 1/2 mile. He just vanished. Luckly I got a call this morning from Stephon saying they had found him yesturday afternoon, so all I need is a cape. We hunted 2 days for Mountain Reed buck before getting one close enough for me.
(http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/reed.JPG)
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I took this second Impala from the same pop up blind the next morning (http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/impala2.JPG)
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The next to the last day I was setting with my wife and let this Kudu walk once. When he came back she demanded I shoot him. It was the worst shot I made all week. The arrow went in in front of the shoulder and out behind the other. We left him over night. The next day we jumped him and he ran about 100 yards before falling over dead. I felt very lucky to get him as he didn't leak a tea spoon of blood. My tracker Pete followed his trcks in the dirt. He had bleed out between his ribs and his skin and felt like a water balloon to the touch (http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/images/kudu2.JPG)
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I was on the same hunt with Buff but stayed in a differant camp, had a great time as well, shot a big Zebra an Impala and a Bushbuck. Here are pics of the Impala and Bushbuck. (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/africa/africa008.jpg) (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/africa/africa018.jpg)
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Welcome Back! Nice animals. We're leaving for Visser's in 26 days. How were things at the camps?
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here is the Zebra (http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k209/hogdancer/africa/africa045.jpg)a.
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nice Bushbuck. I really wanted one but I guess you can't have every thing :) Thye camp and pretty much everything about our hunt was top notch.
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Good job guys! Buff, did you leave anything for the next group :) ? Great looking animals. I can harly wait to leave.
Buff, the pics don't bother me, but the moderators will pull your wife's picture as they won't allow any postings of pics of critters taken with non traditional archery equipment. Just a heads up. Brady
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Nice animals and it appears that my hunt in September better hurry up. There will be no animals left to shoot. Thanks for the up-date and the photos.
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That is ok if they pull it. I posted it because it was just part of the story, no biggy
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Buff,
I am glad that your wife got to enjoy the hunt along with you, and I am glad that I got to see the pic before they took it down. Congratulations! I told you your broadheads would get the job done. Well done, my friend.
Hogdancer,
Great animals, and excellent photos. Was this your first trip?
Brady
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A few videos
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/warthog2.wmv
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/Blesbuck01.wmv
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/kudu001.wmv
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/Impala01.wmv
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/zebra01.wmv
http://www.buffsblackwidow.com/videos/kudu002.wmv
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Buff,
The pictures made me want to get there. The videos make me down right crazy. Now how am I supposed to get anything done in the next 2 weeks? Awesome job, and great shooting. Brady
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Buff congratulations!! Very good video's. You have a little better technique for video than I have. I like to turn the record button off just before the shot. I blew a couple of real good shots like that last year.
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Buff first congrads on the hunt x2, having your wife made it even more special. i had my son with me last year and it was the best. looks like your taxidermist is going to get that new shop and truck he has always wanted.
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Thanks Doc, yep it was my first trip, I had a great time. I brought my wife with me and she had a blast as well, she took plenty of great pictures and sat in a blind on her own a couple of days. If it was'nt for the flite over and back I'd be itching to go again.
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hogdancer,
Give it a year, and you will have forgotten about the terrible flight. I more excited this time than last! Glad the two of you got to experience it together.
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Thanks for the video Buff, that was cool and just helped me relive my own hunt all over again! Congratulations! joseph
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I look at the plane ride like I do packing back into the high country. It is no fun but it is just part of thye price you pay to get to the best hunting
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Great stuff guys. Thomas, glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. And I'm envious, because I too wanted to kill a zebra! What camp were you in? Was it the mountain camp?
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I was at Citadel with Gene, I think Buff was at the mountain camp. Did'nt really plan on a Zebra, but hey he showed up. He was a huge stallion, my wife was pretty excited.
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your Zebra is a great trophy. are you getting a rug or mount?
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Planning on a rug, just something classic about a Zebra skin rug.
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That zebra rug sounds very cool. My wife won the debate over shooting a zebra. :knothead: That is I won't be shooting a zebra since it "looks too much like a horse". :banghead: She's a horse person. We'll see what happens when we actually get there. There's enough in the fund to cover an extra addition ;)
20 days and a wake up!
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Take a look at the Zebra rugs with a 3D head... it's a good looking mount.
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a zebra shares basic design with a horse and that's about it. I used to think they looked too much like a horse too but then I did some reading and then when I saw them that convinced me. There were maybe 20-30 animals at the waterhole when they showed up, nothing stuck around when the Zebra arrrived.
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Yep, I'm with Thomas on that one. When I was over there last year, I found zebra to be the warriest of them all with the possible exception of baboons. Kudu are smart too. It seemed like a tossup between those animals as to what seemed the toughest to kill. Zebra look like horses, but they ain't horses!!
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but of course the most stupid has to be the waterbuck, specially the females, we called them donkeys, although a donkey is probably smarter.
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i hear or should i say just read, "Double Helix", and Don mentions in there that they are excellent table fare. something about grilled fillet and not needing any help from the spice cabinet or crock pot. 10 days and counting, are there any Zebra where we are hunting Doc?
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Zebra are smart, stallions wont tolerate jackals or other feral canines around their herd. I had a friend who bought a farm and started to stock it with game but there were lots of feral dogs about, they cost him a packet. Then he got two zebra stallions and a few mares. There was not a single dog left in two weeks. Every one was happy.
chrisg
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I shot this stallion at Melorani about a week ago...it will make a great rug.
Bryan
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip157.jpg)
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Last ate grilled zebra fillet ten days ago -- very very tasty.
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I recently returned from a great bowhunting trip at Melorani. Here is a pic of my first Kudu. I'll post a few more pics as well. This was my first trip to Africa and I plan on returning in 2009. All animals were taken with a 61# Cari-bow Featherhorn longbow, 750 grain tamarack shafts footed with purpleheart and Eclipse broadheads.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip091.jpg)
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They had some great warthogs!
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip029.jpg)
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I had two nice Gemsbok show up as well. The female had much taller horns but she was very pregnant so I shot this nice male.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip256.jpg)
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Here is Impala #1
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip037.jpg)
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Here is Impala #2
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip241.jpg)
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Didn't expect to shoot a Duiker but he was browsing behind the double bull and I was able to get a shot.
(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p293/shootsarrows/2007SouthAfricaBowhuntingTrip217.jpg)
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You guys have to stop posting the pics. Pretty sure at this point, I'm not going to be able to hold out until 2009!
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looks like you had one heck of a hunt Bryan. outstanding animals. your taxidermist is going to love you.... :biglaugh:
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Congratulations on a great first African hunt.
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Bryan,
Congratulations on what appears to have been an outstanding hunt. Hunting Africa is kind of like eating a Dorito, one is never enough :) Brady
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good stuff thanks for posting
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guys, congrats, and thanks for posting the photos AND video!
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OK I'm going in 2009 (2008 will be a fancy elk hunt). Those last pics pushed me over the edge!
I thought if I eat PB&J at work 5 days a week instead of eating out, if I carpool, if I quit spending money my wife will let me go. Nope. It was much more easy: She won't let me go unless she goes as a nonhunter to do the sight-seeing thing. DONE! Now it's 2 years away...crap.
Congrats on great hunts, pics, and video!
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Michael, you might as well go ahead and book a trip the following year too. Nobody goes to Africa just once. I thought it was a "once in a lifetime trip", and I'm already going back!
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Rob, I met with the taxidermist this past weekend and you were right...he was pretty happy.
Brady, thank you and pass the Doritos :) ...2009 can't come soon enough.
Great videos Buff!
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I think once was enough for me.
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Not me. I don't think I have ever enjoyed anything as much as I did my week with Dries. I'm booked up for next year but I hope to go back in 2009 for a Cape Buffalo
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Buff if you go back in 09' you will most likely want you buffalo on film, just give me a ring and i will be there camera in hand. o' one thing. i run pretty fast, specially when i'm fraid. i don't need to be able to out run that nasty criter just out run you. :biglaugh:
2 days and a wake up, look out Africa here i come! :jumper:
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I just returned Sunday from two weeks with Too Short at Greater Kuduland. What a trip! Paul shot a beautiful Giraffe while I was there and had a Leopard water at 10 yards! He got it all on film.
I arrowed some great animals while I was there and could have shot many more but wanted to leave something to come back for!
Sorry guys but I'm a Banana Head when it comes to computers and I don't know how to post pics!
All total, three hunters arrowed 19 animals in ten days of hunting. The experience far exceeded our expectations.
Thanks again Too Short!
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8 days and a wake up! I have my arrows all set, the Morrison is all set, and I'm starting to get packed up.
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c398/tfr270/IMG_0412.jpg)
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c398/tfr270/IMG_0411.jpg)
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Looks like you are setting on go :goldtooth:
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Bushwood, Sounded like a great time. I hope Too Short has vaulted ceilings for that giraffe mount.
BTH, It looks like you are set. I'm digging your set up. It will do the job with style. Have a great time.
I'm looking at the photos on this post everyday...10.5 months.....
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BTH,
With all those arrows I hope you've got about $30K set aside for trophy fees!
Good luck, you'll have a great time.
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Tilzbow...better to have and not need, then to need and not have! I also have a mini-pro shop in a box!
We are counting down to just four days left. I won't be sleeping that fourth night, that's for sure.
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Love those BH's !!! :)
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Hunted Greater Kuduland from 7/30- 8/11/07. This was my first trip to Africa and it was amazing. My wife and 16 year old daughter went along as observers and had as much fun as I did. Hunted with TG's very own Too Short(much better looking in person)and some other great folks in camp. My final tally was two impala rams, a 10" (outside the jaw) warthog, kudu cow and nyala Bull. My first shot was at an impala that I hit too high and never found blood. My second impala and the nyala I can not claim as bow kills as they were hit too far back. If not for a lot of luck and a quick shooting PH I may not have recovered either. Other than my bad shooting this was a fantastic trip all the way around. Accomodations, game sightings, camp mates, everything was great. My daughter photographed a Bull elephant from 20 yards. We saw cheeta, rhino, etc. I can not wait to go back. What makes this extra special is that I am the idiot that ran his RH middle and ring fingers into a moulding shaper on May 29th. Some of you responded to my TG plea for advise about shooting a trad bow with a release. I was able to shoot my tab in RSA. After I blew up my osage/sinew bow made especially for this trip I borrowed a recurve and was able to get set up with just two weeks to go. All and all I felt extremely blessed to be there and harvest anything. If you are thinking of going,stop thinking and go. I borrowed money to do this with my family and would do it again in a heartbeat. Remember, noone in the history of mankind has ever said on his(her) deathbed..."I wish I had worked more"!
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Just back from a seven week hunt. The first 5 weeks were mostly used helping my 14 year old grandson get his first hunt under his belt. He got a Guinea Fowl and an old boar Baboon.
I finally took a Giraffe, something I had wanted for years. Didn't get a Cape Buffalo this time. Saw and filmed two different Leopards and filmed five Cheeta in a pack for over 20 minutes about 10 yards from me.
Got a big Eland, Kudu, Waterbuck, 2 huge Warties, Impala, Baboon, and some other shots.
I no longer m-m-m-miss! I now fire warning shots! I fired a warning shot at a Mamba that was drinking about 25 feet from my blind. Dang, I hate when that happens!
I'm not a booking agent, but I do arrange hunts for people with Greater Kuduland Safaris (I don't get paid). I have two hunts held for next year and three hunts for 2009 if any of you are interested. I had several hunters in camp with me for two week hunts that came from Tradgang.
Got LOTS of video footage this year, something I have never done before.
Too Short
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7 weeks, WOW!... congrats on the video it ads a whole differant challange to the hunt. O and welcome home