My brother hadn't really seemed very interested in hunting for a long time, I would say about 17 years. We were kids the last time we did a lot of hunting together, mainly for whitetail deer in the hills of Van Buren, Missouri. At the time we were both passionate about hunting. We learned how to hunt together and killed our first big game animals together.
It was the end of the season for me, September 15, 2014. I was in Tanzania trying to find a way to get back to the states ASAP. I had had a long but good season. 6 months of hunting in 5 different countries was about all I could take. The longest stint was in the wilderness of Tanzania for our dangerous game season. We had had 5 successful leopard hunts back to back, 100% success on big cats. I have always been good at hunting leopard but this season was a real test, finding that many cats takes time and a lot of planning. All of the leopards where above average in size and age, ranging from 6-9 years old. Some of these cats I had been after for more than 2 years. I hesitate to talk about weight of cats as this is highly exaggerated among clients and PH’s alike, I will just say these five leopards were better than most and 2 of them are cats of a lifetime.
"You have really lost it... this is above and beyond the call of crazy and you have completely lost your mind..." That is what the small, rational part of my brain was trying to tell the rest of my being in 2002 as I boarded a plane to start my career as a professional hunter in Africa. All hunters have experienced various states of insanity at one stage or another but seldom has it taken place on such a grand scale - and in a setting as interesting as Mozambique. Ten years later I still attribute my success and abilities as a Professional Hunter to the first two years that I spent in Mozambique and the experience acquired in the wilderness of the Zambezi Valley.
"What gun do you use?" That is the most common question that I get from hunters, clients, and people interested in what I do for a living. It's a bit of a unique situation to make your living with a gun in your hand. This privilege is reserved for a hand full of professional hunters, certain law enforcement agents, the military elite, and unfortunately, criminals. Each profession has its own specific needs when it comes to firepower. Being a Professional Hunter I can provide some valuable knowledge from the hunting side that may save hunters quite a bit of money and disappointment when it comes to wounded and lost animals. This knowledge may also save them, me, and my staff from injury – especially when it comes to the pursuit of dangerous game.
Read more: Guns and Ammo that may save your Wallet and the Ass Attached to it
When most hunters think about losing a trophy it's because of a poor shot or tough tracking conditions. Few people give much thought to the care and preparation of their animal once it hits the ground. Thousands of trophies are lost each year due to poor field preparation and taxidermy problems. My point of view is that the hunt is over only when my client hangs his trophy on the wall – nothing can leave a worse taste in a hunters mouth than a list of trophies that he hunted and didn't get to enjoy as they were somehow 'lost' on the way to his house. This article is aimed at outlining the basics of trophy care and giving some simple tips from my experience and the basic facts from some taxidermists that I know.
As long time friends and hunting buddies, Wendell Daniel, Bob McDonald and I decided to make an African Plains game hunt. After checking around we booked a hunt with Nathan Askew of Bullet Safaris.
We arrived at Johannesburg on April 29th, meeting Nathan at the airport. After retrieving our luggage and rifles and going through all of the formalities such as obtaining our gun permits, etc., we were ready to depart for parts unknown with Nathan.
As a first time Buffalo hunter eager with anticipation of my first dangerous game hunt, I asked my professional hunter Nathan Askew what to expect. He answered me with a smile and said you can expect two thing, cookies & Tsetse flies. The cookies were the best I've ever had after walking for hours in the bush. As for those Tsetse's well let's just say words can't explain it. I thought of my self as physically fit, mentally ready, and a pretty good shot. I soon found out that Mozambique was going to challenge all of these things.
It was June 2007 that crushed my dream of hunting the magnificent Marco Polo Sheep. I'm not sure weather it's the Tajikistan Government or our all knowing Fish and Wildlife service that was more to blame, but the fact remained that the hunt was off – at least for this year. Upon my realization that there was no way I was going to Tajikistan, I began scratching around trying to find another suitable hunting adventure. That when I crossed paths with American Professional Hunter Nathan Askew.
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Chuck Cage 662 820 3134 |
Dr. Brad 515 231 6944 |
Gary Bartels 618 829 3413 |
Gary DeWitt 573 380 2299 |
Dr. Chouinard 573-703-4352 |
Chris Gouras 601 529 9899 |
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Jim Bucher 573-471-8580 |
Justin Daniels 601 421 9943 |
Jeff Kelley 573 380 1773 |
Robert Blum 916 799 7621 |
David Hyde 225 763 1314 |
Dr. Flowers 601 497 7660 |