Want to Go To Africa?

Maybe it’s time. MDF Livermore-Pleasanton will have a trip to Africa in the Live Auction this Friday night.

Thormahlen & Cochran Safaris, with camps in South Africa and Namibia has donated a seven-day hunt which includes $1,000 credit towards trophy fees.

Go to www.africatrophyhunting.com and read about them.

Do your homework before the dinner, or you’ll have a hard time making a decision.

Here are the hunt donation forms for South Africa and Namibia: Donations SCI SA Nam13

Here is a list of trophy fees: trophy fees

I purchased my trip to South Africa at an MDF event. It’s a bit of a leap, but we’ll have a representative on hand at the dinner to explain the details.

Here’s a flyer. Only a few days left.

Livermore 2013 flyer

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The Wildebeest

The wildebeest is a distinctly African animal. If I’d seen “The Lion King” prior to going to Africa, I might have made different decisions.

The blue wildebeest in the above photo was observed and photographed from a vehicle at Kruger National Park.

I took the  photo on week two of our African “safari.” On week three, I stood in a pit blind looking at a wildebeest and zebra 20 yards away. With bow in hand and a broadhead tipped arrow on the rest, I considered which to shoot.

I have to admit that the wildebeast seemed more appropriate and when it turned broadside, my arrow was released without regret. It pierced his hide right behind the shoulder and ended his life quickly. I didn’t think much about passing on the zebra, until my wife stated that she didn’t want a zebra rug anyway. That seems strange to me now.

One of the risks of traveling to Africa is that you may change your some of your opinions. I did and I don’t regret it. I like the music from lion king, but I doubt I’ll ever watch it.

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Warthogs in South Africa

Warthogs and baboons feeding at Pillainsberg Wildlife Refuge near Sun City South Africa.

Although not considered high on the list of African trophy animals, warthogs are a very significant animal for several reasons. First of all you’ll see them often. They are interesting to watch and strange looking with their large tusks. And, they are fun to hunt.

While we stayed at the Nagala Camp, warthogs would occasionally roam through camp. The first video is a clip of a large warthog as it grazed in camp. Note how it feed from its knees.

http://www.youtube.com/v/7SdX475eYWw

The second video is a clip of a warthog I killed at Sitatanga Safaris. It is one of the two animals (both warthogs) I was able to bag while still hunting with my bow. Hunting from a blind over bait was more effective, but still hunting was the most fun and more satisfying. You will see that this was an enclosed ranch and it wasn’t large, only a few hundred acres, but the fences played no role related to the warthogs as they were frequently observed crawling under the fences.

I started the hunt at first light, not far from our camp. I spotted this pig about 60 yards away standing very still and broadside from me. At first I thought that he had seen me, but stepping back behind a bush, I was able to slowly approach to thirty yards.

At that range I decided to shoot and hit him, but it didn’t appear to be a great location. Off he went and it wasn’t until later in the day that we recovered him after a trail of about 300 yards or so. The South African speaking in the video was my professional hunter Kobus Grobler – a fun guy to hunt with.

http://www.youtube.com/v/Ed1QJqhCtQo

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Fair vs Fare Chase

Joined the B&C Club today. For some time, I’ve been thinking about Fair Chase, what it means to me. The Boone and Crocket club defines fair chase as: “…the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild native North American game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.”

(Caption: No fences here where my friend Keith holds the horses while my guide scans for stone sheep.)

Apparently the Boone and Crocket Club thinks that fair chase only applies to North America, but most of us who believe in fair chase would disagree. The words North American are irrelevant. B&C apparently didn’t want to get into the politics of other countries where fair chase has been largely overlooked.

In Africa, for example, I found little thought being given to the chase. Most of the energy was centered on procurement of the physical trophy. In fact, I could have had anything delivered to me for a fee. Africans are closer to their subsistance hunting roots than we are. (The old phrase, all’s fair in love and war could be changed to love, war and subsistance hunting. Native Americans chased buffalo herds over cliffs.)

(Caption: Kudu bull taken with bow and arrow at a waterhole blind.)

However, it’s North America where fair chase has its roots and we should be proud of that. It’s the North American system of wildlife management that has created an environment where fair chase is been embraced and practiced by hunters.

The part of the B&C club statement that has wide ranging implications is the last 15 words, “in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals.”

What is improper?

I don’t believe that all hunting must be by the rules of fair chase to be valid and honorable, so long as hunters know the difference.

Call a spade a spade so to speak.

One thing is very clear to me. My most meaningful hunts are the ones where fair chase is the medium. Know the difference!

In Africa, I participated in a week of archery hunts that were not fair chase. Why not? To begin with, all the hunts took place in enclosed hunting areas. I do not know how large the enclosures were and I didn’t ask, but they restricted movement of game.

I cannot determine how much impact the fences had upon the ability of the game to escape. Probably none, however, the fences did have an impact upon my psyche. In the dense thorn-bush country, I knew that if I were patient while still hunting into the wind, eventually, I would find game because I was guaranteed that certain animals were inside the fences. I could cover much of the area in a morning. Therefore, I hunted with extra conviction – a tremendous psychological advantage if compared to hunting an area that might have been void of game.

 

Animal behavior can be manipulated even in extremely large enclosures. The most common method is to control water supplies so that animals are forced to enter the danger zone to survive. Is it wrong, or just intellegent behavior?

I enjoyed the hunt very much. And, I enjoyed success, a prize to take home definitely improves one’s attitude. I will display my African trophies proudly, but not quite like I would the mule deer buck I didn’t get on the fair chase archery hunt that took place in Alberta Canada this fall. If I ever succeed at taking one of those huge mule deer bucks with my bow, or rifle, it will be the trophy that hangs over my fireplace.

Unfortunately fair chase “corruption” did come into play on my deer hunt as well. Here are a couple items to watch for:  Radios: These should only be used to organize the hunt, not to monitor game while the hunt unfolds. Automobiles: These should be used as transportation, not as mobile blinds. When looking back at Alberta, I can see that we went over the line a couple times, something that I will work hard to avoid in the future.

The key difference between fair chase hunting and other hunting is that fair chase hunters pay for a hunt, not a trophy. When one pays for the trophy, it creates a conflict between the Professional Hunter/Guide and the rules of fair chase. This conflict cannot be resolved. If you want fair chase, pay for the hunt. If you must be guaranteed a trophy then pay a trophy fee. I’ve done it. And, I like my trophies, but a trophy fee hunt will never be the best hunt money can buy.

The rules of fair chase are designed to make hunting more rewarding, not less.

     

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