ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

Oct 10, 2018 | News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F110-111||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Africa will never be the same…but there’s plenty of good with the bad.
By
Craig Boddington

Sometimes history is easy to pin down. We define the Victorian era by Queen Victoria’s long reign (1837-1901). We can generally determine when wars start and end, though not everybody gets the word right away. Other times it’s a bit squishier. As far as Westerners were concerned, Africa’s age of exploration started before recorded history with the Phoenicians, then the Greeks and Romans, followed centuries later by Dutch and Portuguese seafarers. It’s more difficult to put a precise date when the last blank spots were inked in on the map of the Dark Continent. To this day, knowledge of D.R.C.’s vast forests is sketchy, and major species like the giant forest hog, mountain nyala, and okapi weren’t identified until well into the Twentieth Century.

We like to say that the history and tradition of the African safari began with the Roosevelt expedition in 1909-10; the epic nine-month Roosevelt expedition was for neither conquest nor exploration. It wasn’t entirely for fun, with the majority of the profligate “collecting” under the banner of science, but it created Africa’s sport-hunting industry, and most of the guides engaged by the Roosevelts conducted safaris for decades to come. Phillip Percival, one of the youngest, remained active until his death in 1966 and, as founder and perennial president of the East African Professional Hunters Association, became known as “the dean of professional hunters.”

The Roosevelt safari makes a good beginning, but the golden age of safari hunting probably didn’t start until after World War I…coincidental with the coming of vehicles, which simplified logistics, extended range, and foreshortened the time required to traverse Ruark’s MMBA (Miles and Miles of Bloody Africa). There was another hiatus during World War II, but safari hunting and the safari industry, centered in East Africa, and continued with minimal changes from 1920 through the Sixties.

Kenya was the most popular destination, but Tanganyika was also important. From the Sixties, Uganda was a player, and some safaris wandered up into Sudan. This is the Africa most English speakers know about. Far to the west the French sphere of influence was also important. The enormous colony of Oubangui-Chari that became Chad and C.A.R. was an important safari destination in the postwar years…but few Americans or Brits hunted there. This is, of course, oversimplification. Ethiopia and Somalia were possible, along with various West African countries. Angola became a popular destination after World War II, and Mozambique opened in 1959, but through the Sixties and into the Seventies the major safari industry remained in East Africa, with Nairobi the epicenter.

Nairobi served as base for my first safari in 1977. Kenya was pretty much the last of the “block” system. The outfitter reserved hunting blocks, no long-term concessions and no permanent camps; everything went into the “lorry,” a 2 ½-ton truck, followed by the hunting party in a Land Rover. We hunted first on the slopes of Mount Kenya above Nanyuki. After a week or so the lorry was packed and sent ahead. We overnighted in Nairobi, then drove southeast to Voi, then south along the eastern edge of Tsavo, spending our last two weeks on the Tanzanian border. Today exclusive concessions and at least semi-permanent camps are the norm across Africa.

In my entire African experience I have seen a completely self-contained roving safari just one more time. That was nearly a quarter-century later, in Chad in 2001. It wasn’t exactly the same because, in that desert climate, we used lightweight backpack tents…but in three weeks we roved more than a thousand kilometres, hunting for specific animals in several areas.

That first safari in Kenya was both magic and bittersweet. Certainly it started an African addiction that I’ve not been able to kick. We failed to get the lion I wanted so desperately, but we heard them roar, and at the tail end I turned down my choice of two young males. Not shooting one of those lions was clearly the right thing to do, but one of the hardest hunting decisions I’ve ever made. Though Kenya was nearer to the end than anyone knew, game was plentiful; I took a full complement of East African plains game, and some of the trophies hold up well to this day.

A few weeks later Kenya closed hunting with no warning; safaris in the field were ordered to cease via radio. “Closed” is an all-pervasive word; it wasn’t completely true in Kenya, and it is not true in Botswana. Bird shooting is open in Kenya, and there is culling and problem animal control ongoing…but in 42 years no nonresident big game licenses have been issued. Every few years rumors surface of Kenya reopening, but after all these years I doubt it. Kenya’s Parks are magnificent, but I don’t believe wildlife exists outside her Parks to make even a token safari industry sustainable. But that’s now. In May of 1977 Kenya’s closure hit the hunting community like a nuclear strike. The Nairobi-based safari industry was destroyed, and the outlook was so bleak that the venerable East African Professional Hunters Association ceased operations.

In that year of 1977 the classic East African safari was indeed finished. There were good reasons for gloom and doom, but Kenya’s sudden closure was just one of several coffin nails in a very bad decade for African hunting. We remember Kenya’s closure, but we forget that Tanzania closed hunting in 1973, not to reopen for eight years. We forget, too, that in 1973 Kenya closed elephant hunting, though all other species remained open for another four years.

These were the only full-out closures, but continent-wide the entire safari industry took a beating. The Portuguese pullout in both Angola and Mozambique was hasty and messy. Hunting didn’t exactly close, but ground to a halt because of civil unrest. The last Mozambique safaris were probably in 1975. At about the same time, and for the same reasons, hunting in Idi Amin’s Uganda ground to a halt. Chad followed a couple years later. Some Kenya hunters continued in Sudan for a few seasons, and Ethiopia was open and producing some of the continent’s last big tuskers. Revolution in both countries would soon end sport hunting. Southern Sudan (now South Sudan) has not been hunted since 1983. Ethiopia would reopen in the early 90s, would close again, and now seems solidly open.

So, between 1973 and the mid-Eighties the hunting map of Africa shrank dramatically and alarmingly. There were reasons to believe the end of the game was near, but there were bright spots. In those days few of us understood that East Africa was no longer the epicenter. In 1963 Harry Selby and other East African hunters pioneered newly independent Botswana. By 1977 Botswana was a popular and successful safari destination. Before 1965 Malawi, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) were loosely joined in Federation. Under Federation there was no safari hunting because no legal facility existed to issue licenses or export trophies. Malawi has never opened safari hunting, but after Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) Ian Smith’s government fixed this, as did newly independent Zambia’s President Kenneth Kaunda. Rhodesia’s long bush war greatly inhibited safari hunting (and everything else!), but by 1977 both Rhodesia and Zambia were well-established safari countries. After hostilities ended and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, her safari industry blossomed; in the 1980s she became Africa’s third-most-popular safari destination. Zambia has had a couple of brief suspensions of hunting but remains open. Tanzania officially reopened in 1981 and remains a committed hunting country.

Then we have what might be called “recycled” hunting countries. Mozambique’s civil war was long and brutal, hard on both her people and her wildlife…but the shooting had barely stopped when new outfitters started up in the late Eighties. Thanks to their conservation efforts many areas have recovered well, and Mozambique is again a fine and growing safari destination. Uganda’s game was similarly ravaged, left only in pockets—but those pockets were good and are expanding. Uganda reopened in 2009, and although her hunting industry is still small her game is increasing and the potential is marvelous. Much of Chad’s wildlife was destroyed during the Libyan invasion. Today Chad is a highly specialized destination, offering several species not found elsewhere. Chad reopened briefly in the Nineties and is open again.

Elsewhere around the continent there are several other hunting countries not yet mentioned. Cameroon and C.A.R. have long been the most reliable destinations for some of Africa’s great prizes, Derby eland in the north and bongo in the south. Hunting in C.A.R. has been on-again, off-again, but is technically open as conditions allow. Congo (Brazzaville) and Gabon have also been episodic, but at this writing both are open, Congo for the major forest species, and Gabon for forest duikers. Hosting the greatest variety of pygmy antelopes and great prizes such as water chevrotain and zebra duiker, Liberia has been open for nearly ten years, with hunting more successful every year. Ghana has been open, with her great prize the tiny royal antelope. Morocco and Tunisia host driven hunts for Barbary wild boar, plus bird shooting. Benin and Burkina Faso are open with small but reliable safari industries, both holding good populations of western species such as savanna buffalo, western roan, harnessed bushbuck, and more. There are a few countries that do not offer organized safari hunting, but where it is possible for intrepid do-it-yourselfers to obtain hunting licenses and pursue limited species. These include Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.

Altogether more than 20 African nations allow legal and licensed sport hunting by foreign nationals. This is much more opportunity than existed in the darkest days following Kenya’s closure. I suppose it depends on whether your glass is half-full or half-empty. Back in 1977 it seemed an impossible dream that I might someday hunt Chad, Mozambique, Uganda, and so many other places. My glass is more than half-full! Although in many cases hunting is limited, today the vast majority of Africa’s diverse game species are available, certainly many more species than was the case in 1977. Continent-wide the only major losses have been the great desert game: Addax and scimitar oryx are gone, aerial gunned to feed opposing armies. Neither Barbary sheep nor Nubian ibex are currently huntable, but have been in recent years and could be again. I will never hunt a black rhino but I think it’s wonderful that permits are available, and their great value contributes hugely to the survival of the species.

The cornucopia available in today’s Africa reflects the reality that well-regulated sport hunting places value on wildlife, and that visiting hunters and outfitters, area by area, are performing effective anti-poaching, and funding community projects. In Third World economies, regulated sport-hunting works

This is not universal, though certainly not applicable only on the African continent. Today we know that Kenya’s closure was fostered by the Kenyatta government so the poaching gangs could have full sway…and they did. Botswana is not “closed.” Private land hunting remains open, but hunting on government concessions has been suspended. Somewhat similar to the disastrous Kenya model, it is known that Botswana’s suspension has much to do with government ties to the lucrative photo-safari industry. Ecotourism is important, but central Botswana is not the Okavango, lacking in both natural beauty and species diversity…and this is common throughout Africa. Ecotourism is highly profitable, but focuses on special areas: Kenya’s manicured Parks, the Okavango, even Kruger (the continent’s first protected Park).

We can argue to hunt or not to hunt, but Botswana’s real problem is her overpopulation of elephants. By recent survey Botswana hosts a quarter-million elephants. This could be a third of the entire continent’s remaining total…or it might be half. The entire Chobe region is like a nuclear blast zone, and all other species are suffering from inability to compete. Long-nurtured sable and roan antelopes are now scarce…even buffaloes are nowhere near as common as 20 years ago. Botswana has more of a management problem than a hunting problem.

Across the hunting map of Africa few blank spots remain. I believe Botswana will reopen safari hunting but, unfortunately, hunting cannot solve her elephant problem. Disaster looms. Despite numerous efforts, no one has been able to crack the code to open hunting in huge Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, former Zaire). Too big, too corrupt. There is potential in Angola, and huge opportunity in South Sudan. So I expect the hunting map of Africa to continue to change.

There are two more hunting countries that have become the epicenters of today’s now far-flung safari industry. In 1977 South West Africa (SWA), now Namibia, was a sleepy backwater. Long ago a German colony, it was a popular destination for European hunters, and was the site of Jack and Eleanor O’Connor’s last safari, but the American market had little interest. Still, hunting was good, primarily on private ranches.

In 1977 I think it’s fair to say that SWA had more hunting going on than South Africa. Pioneering outfitters like Norman Deane’s Zululand Safaris and Bowker and Scott in the Eastern Cape were getting things going, but after a century of rapacious farm development game was scarce, and hunting opportunities were few. I hunted both countries in 1979. Both were good, but nothing like today. Serious game ranching began in South Africa in the 1970s and blossomed in the Eighties. SWA became Namibia in 1990, and her wildlife industry also exploded.

My, have things changed! It is estimated that South Africa’s wildlife has increased about thirty-fold since 1970, and that country holds some 9000 registered game ranches. The increase in Namibia is similar, and both countries now offer untold acreage in game. Both nations are the only two countries in Africa where the Big Five (and/or Dangerous Seven) may be hunted. That said, both Namibia and South Africa are primarily plains game destinations…and this has been their greatest gift to the hunting world. The short, inexpensive, and incredibly productive safari for a variety of non-dangerous species hardly existed in 1977. Today the plains game safari owns the lion’s share of the market. Annually thousands of hunters flock to both Namibia and South Africa, right now in similar numbers. Altogether Africa hosts about 20,000 hunting safaris annually. Namibia and South Africa together account for between 75 and 80 percent of the entire continent’s total. They have no close competitors.

This was unimaginable in 1977, and also unthinkable that the safari industry could ever be as large as it is today. This is a direct result of the short, inexpensive plains game safari that makes the dream of Africa come true for so many sportsmen and women from around the world. And, as we know, once one sees even a small slice of Africa one is almost certain to return. So, the plains game safari whets the appetite, creating dreams of a return engagement to hunt buffalo, perhaps other dangerous game, or one of the great antelope prizes. We can all lament the loss of the East African safari of yesteryear, when the average safari was three or four weeks and included three, four, or even all of the Big Five.

Those days are over, but what we have now is in some ways better, a bigger Africa and a bigger industry, shared by more. What really happened in those dark days of the 1970s, is safari moved south. Today’s primary epicenter is Johannesburg, jumping off point not just for South African safaris, but many Namibian safaris, and a major share of hunters bound for Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. At this writing the game is far from over, and my glass remains much more than half-full.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17662,17663,17664,17665,17666,17667,17668,17669,17670,17671,17672,17673,17674,17675,17676,17677,17678,17679,17680,17681,17682,17683,17684,17686,17687″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F110-111||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

NEW SHOTSHELLS FROM NAMIBIA…NOW

Oct 10, 2018 | News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F18-19||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]NEW SHOTSHELLS FROM NAMIBIA…NOW
By
Craig Boddington

As a lifelong U.S. citizen, it’s difficult to avoid an American perspective! We’ve had ammo shortages in recent years, but common types of ammunition are readily available in sporting goods stores, “big box” stores, hardware stores, and in small towns, sometimes in gas station convenience stores. This is probably amazing to hunters and shooters in many parts of the world, but I find it equally amazing that, until now, not a single self-contained cartridge has been produced in Namibia! It is, after all, a country much larger than France or Texas. It is also very much a hunting country, with the second-largest safari industry on the African continent. Ammunition is required, and in a farming and ranching society, a necessity for pests and snakes and such. But, until now, all available ammunition is either imported or hand-loaded.

Hanns-Louis Lamprecht of Namibia’s new Lamprecht Shotshell Company told me that when he went to the appropriate government agencies to obtain the necessary permit they were supportive, but uncertain…it had never been done before so what, exactly, was needed? It took nearly five years before everything was in place!
Hanns-Louis Lamprecht is 30-something, but perhaps he will forgive me for thinking of him as “young” because I became friends with his parents before he was born! His late father, Joof Lamprecht, was a farmer and well-known outfitter and PH, and for some years owned a gunshop in Windhoek. His mother, Marina, has always been equally involved in the business and has been a leader in NAPHA (Namibia’s professional hunter association). His older brother, Jofie, is also a well-respected outfitter and PH. Hanns-Louis wanted to try something slightly different…but, at the outset, I don’t think he guessed it would take five long years! It did, but that’s past history, and Lamprecht shotshells are now hitting the market in southern Africa.

I was in Namibia in July ’18 and I knew the shotshell project was coming to fruition, so I spent a few days on the Lamprecht home farm, Rooikraal, and got a quick tour of the factory. Understanding production was just starting, I guess I’d expected to see a production line of progressive loading machines. Uh, no, this is a serious and professional venture, using an automated and sophisticated European loading machine. At this time cases, primers, plastic wads, and propellant are imported from Europe. Shot is locally made Lamprecht “L” shot; that apparatus occupies an entire building. A short indoor range houses a pressure barrel linked to a computer, tracking velocity, ignition, and pressure curve. Starting from zero, initial production capacity if five million rounds per year, with pallets of ammunition being delivered.

Shotshells are manufactured in myriad array, but at the start it makes sense to keep things simple. At this time all shells are 12-gauge 2.75-inch, which is surely the most common in southern Africa. Initially Lamprecht is offering three loads. Target loads are Fiocchi, manufactured under license with versatile U.S. No. 7 ½ shot. The box is the familiar blue-and-white, the primary difference being the notation “made in Namibia.” Target load hulls are Fiocchi blue. Two game loads are currently offered under the new Lamprecht brand. Using U.S. No. 5 shot, this load is intended for tougher birds such as guinea fowl and ducks. Yes, I know, No. 6 is more popular, and some hunters prefer the coarser No. 4 shot…but No. 5, right in the middle, is extremely effective, to me a great choice. Then there’s a “mini-buckshot” load using lead T shot, deadly on geese and effective for close-range work on smaller antelopes and predators. This load has a clear plastic hull. Other loads will be added over time, but what a great start!

I had a chance to do some excellent sand grouse shooting with the Fiocchi (“made in Namibia!”) target loads, and we shot a few guinea fowl with the red-hulled No. 5s. When I did my part birds fell, and when I didn’t get the lead right nothing happened. The sand grouse is perhaps the most humbling of all gamebirds. Nobody hits them all, but I had the impression these were very good shells. Crimps are consistent and even, and both the target loads and game loads were noticeably clean-burning, with little powder residue in the barrel and no blow-back in a semiauto. Here in the States we have lots of choices in shotshells; in southern Africa you don’t have that luxury, but now there’s another option, locally made and it is good stuff! Check out Lamprecht Shotshells at www.facebook.com/lamprechtshotshell.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F18-19||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17599,17600,17601,17602,17603,17604,17605,17606″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

THE MOYOWOSI MAULER

Oct 8, 2018 | News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F40-41||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By George Gehrman

The drone of the Cessna 206 was getting monotonous. We’d been in the air for some time on a flight from Arusha in Tanzania to Wengert-Windrose’s camp in the South Moyowosi concession, far to the west of the country. PH Natie Oelofse was in the process of learning to fly, and was at the controls getting in some flight time. Three hours after departing Arusha, the plane dipped down over a broad, green plain bisected by a wide river gleaming in the sunlight – the Moyowosi in the remote west central region of Tanzania.

“So what do you think about this Africa?” asked Natie with a broad grin.

“Pretty impressive,” I replied. As we descended to the landing strip, herds of buffalo could be seen, along with vast numbers of topi and zebra. A line of gray toward the horizon was a herd of elephant filing along to the river. We weaved and bobbed a bit as we lowered towards the ground. Turned out Natie was quite adept in the air, but he still needed some practise on his landings!

Natie had been after me for some time to get away from the southern Africa countries where I’d been hunting, and see his “real” Africa in Tanzania. I had to admit that what I’d seen so far in the Masailand was impressive enough, but the wildness and remoteness of this area could take one’s breath away. Camp lay about one hour’s drive into the miombo forest away from the airstrip. Game of many species stood watching, or sometimes bolting off into the cover as we drove by. The camp was typical East African style – sleeping tents with an en suite toilet and shower facility on concrete slabs covered with thatch roofs and surrounded by reed walls. There were hard-packed walkways between the various sections of the camp which consisted of a kitchen, large open-air dining area, and, of course, a fire ring surrounded by chairs. The camp itself was situated under trees around a natural spring which attracts numerous animals, including elephants from time to time. Everything out here is BIG: the Moyowosi South hunting concession covers over 1,200 square miles.

The order of the day was Cape buffalo, and not just any buff. I’d already taken one over 40 inches, and wanted a true old Dagga Boy with character to show what kind of life it had lived. At this time of the year, early October, just as the rains start, the huge herds of buffalo on the flood plains start to break up, some with the old bulls heading off in the miombo scrub.

After a great dinner of roan steak, it was time to make a plan. The resident PH of the Fish Eagle camp, Wayne Hendry, suggested that we follow a trail along the edge of the flood plain of the river and check for tracks of the bulls as they moved off the open areas. And so, early the next morning Natie and I headed out along the track we came in on the day before. We’d hardly gotten a good start when Natie braked to a halt. Warthog! It stood still as a statue in the middle of the track ahead of us – difficult to see in the deep shadow of the forest and the gloom before sunrise.

“Want him?” Natie whispered. “He’s huge.” He was indeed the largest warthog I’d ever seen and I did want him, but declined the shot since I didn’t want to take a chance of alarming any buff that could be nearby. I’ve regretted that decision ever since! We broke out of the forest just as life on the river plain was waking up. We stopped and glassed for a bit, but no buff, and so we continued on the trail along the edge of the flood plain. It was only a short while before the trackers spotted buffalo tracks – three bulls crossing our trail and heading into the bush. The hunt was on!

It was vintage buffalo tracking. The going was slow as there was still a lot of dead grass in the bush – the trackers would lose the tracks in the grass in the open areas, then pick them up again as they moved through the scrub across bare patches of ground. Every stop for a suspected glimpse of our quarry heightened the tension. An hour passed and the sign became increasingly fresh.

Then the adrenaline rush as the lead tracker dropped to a knee and pointed ahead – he’d seen them. More accurately, he’s seen bits and pieces of them, just a black spot there and there in the brush ahead. And they know where we are, as the breeze in the trees is squirreling around every which way. Natie used his binoculars to try to sort them out, but we were pinned down where we were. They moved away a short distance and we sneaked into a new position, but I still hadn’t got a look at them.

“They’re all good bulls,” Natie whispered, “but we won’t have a chance to pick the best under the conditions we’re in.” He checked again then whispered urgently, “There, crossing ahead of us, take the last one!”

“What last one? I can’t see them!”

“Just there, 30 yards out.” At the very last moment the scene jumped into focus and I saw a buffalo moving to my right across a short opening in the trees. One fast shot from my .375 H&H and they were gone, disappearing into the thick brush.

“How was the shot?” asked Natie

“A bit high and too far back, but was definitely a hit into the chest area,” I told him. The trackers confirmed hearing a hit that sounded solid. We waited for a good 20 minutes, then headed off toward where we’d last seen the buff. We came into an open area and moved slowly ahead towards another grove of trees. We hadn’t quite reached the edge of the trees when Natie froze, and we saw that my bull was down. But a second bull had stayed with him and stood guard. The guard bull broke, and my bull was on his feet and off on a run.

Natie threw “Baby”, his .470 Nitro Express double, into action and I added my .375 into the fray. We took off running after the bull, dodging through the thorn bush and trees in a manner that would do a pro running back proud. We slammed on the brakes as he came into the clear for a moment and got off a second volley toward him. He disappeared into some thick stuff for a moment, and when he reappeared, he staggered and went down. We approached, and after the obligatory insurance shot, we went up to him. My first shot was right where I called it, passing through the top of the lungs. He would have died from it eventually, but it would have taken a while.

He was a splendid bull and exactly what I was looking for. His horns spread nearly 44 inches and carried heavy, thick bosses. But it was upon closer examination that we discovered what a tough life this old boy had led. His ears were tattered and torn from various scrapes with lions and sharp horn tips of younger buff bulls. On top of his back was a large scabbed-over area, still with an open wound in the middle, signs of an attack by lions some months earlier. But it wasn’t until he was being skinned that the final passage was written about him. Noisy chatter from the normally silent skinners indicated that something unusual was going on. The head tracker came up to Natie and me, carrying a soft iron ball which they’d dug out of his neck, evidence of a poacher’s failed attempt to kill him many years earlier. Measured back home I found the ball to be .75 inches in diameter and it weighed an even one ounce.

Truly, this bull was a mauler.

Bio:

George Gehrman has hunted in nine states in the western U.S. plus Alaska, British Columbia and Saskatchewan in Canada, and Sonora in Mexico. His African experience includes 13 safaris spanning 34 years in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. He is the owner/operator of the safari consulting and booking agency – Tracking Africa. George is a long-time member of the AH Guild, now known as the African Hunting Gazette Life Membership program.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F40-41||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

After 16 months, we have the following updates.

Sep 4, 2018 | News

After a 16 months, we have the following updates.

• We have implemented NightsBridge, the leading hospitality booking software for guest houses, to improve and offer seamless online reservations
• Elize, (coincidently a similar name of the previous owner J) has immense guest house experience and has taken over from the previous Manager.
• We have a second PDP-qualified driver living on the property – Joseph who has worked with me for many years.
• The Selous Trophy & Reading Room is open for guests’ enjoyment. I am sure guests will enjoy the range of trophies, butterflies, books and art.
• The catering offer is continually being improved
• And guest feedback, while mostly very positive, continues to have valuable insights where we can improve, which we take seriously. This ensures Afton literally takes the hassles out of travel to and from Jo’burg.
• Our rack rate now includes an industry 20% discount for Agents and Outfitters booking in their clients and
• The offer of free accommodation for Outfitters and Agents, plus free parking of safari vehicles while Outfitters are away on travels – remains

Finally, from all of us at the African Hunting Gazette and Afton Safari Lodge, it is September, there are just more hard months of safaris before we catch our breath, start the marketing program for the year ahead and all continue hard to promote hunting in Africa.

Best regards,

Richard Lendrum – Publisher

Ludo Wurfbain’s Letter to Richard

Aug 24, 2018 | News

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dear Richard,

I have just read “Give an Inch” in the summer 2018 issue of African Hunting Gazette. I agree with your disdain for those who “chase the inch,” but Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game is not a book for inch-chasers. I know, as a publisher, that space is limited in a magazine, but I hope you will publish this letter and allow me to mention a few items possibly overlooked in the editorial.

Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game lists all animals whether they are shot by a hunter, owned by a game department, picked up, or even if killed by a car. Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game lists the animal on the left side of its pages, thus placing the animal first and the hunter later. Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game has entries with “Anonymous” and “Name Removed by Request.” Rowland Ward does not have separate categories for bow-, muzzleloader-, and handgun-hunted game. In short, the animal is honored, and it does not matter if it was hunted; indeed, multiple world records in Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game are pickups.

Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game will not accept animals from fenced areas unless those animals came from self-sustaining, breeding populations that do not receive year-round supplemental feed. The “hunt” for a particular animal cannot be preordained; thus, this excludes from Rowland Ward any ear-tagged animals that are shown on photos before the “shoot” begins. Rowland Ward will not accept buffaloes, lions, leopards, or any other predators that have been shot from behind a fence, nor do we have categories for color-phased animals or darted animals. Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game will not accept any introduced (“exotic”) animals from behind a fence. I could go on, but I encourage you to read our “Guiding Principles,” which state all of the above in greater detail. Our guiding principles have been on our website for several years now.

You mention the influence of America on big-game hunting, and I would like to respond with the following: It is widely accepted that free-ranging game herds in North America that produce top-of-the-record-book antlers or horns are considered healthy, are a good sign of well-managed populations, and a clear indication of sustainable conservation at its best. Game animals don’t grow those world-record antlers/horns unless environmental conditions are optimal.

Finally, it should be noted that Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game has been in existence since 1892, so I think the game breeding that started in Southern Africa in the 1990s can hardly be connected to our record book since the genesis of the two are a century apart. Please keep publishing your interesting and thought-provoking magazine; I enjoy every issue.

Kindest regards,
Ludo J. Wurfbain,
Editor, Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]