ttha_aggie_09 said:

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What is the in the picture of the camp pet? Image is not showing up for me...

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Puumba is the range officer lol

That is cool!

HoseMad said:

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japantiger said:

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I felt something come under my chair and started brushing against my legs.

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i was going to ask if you ever get nervous getting down in the prone position. have ya'll encountered any creepy crawlers that make you say "nope" ?

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Only a couple of centipedes...it's just hard to get prone here given the flat terrain and how tall the grass is. Shooting sticks are a must.

HalifaxAg said:

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great thread! ...would love to hear the story how you got to pet the warthog?

someone slap that idiot Jeep driver, this is how to do Africa!

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He made that decision...as I mentioned, I was in the chair at the range about to fire a round to re-check my zero. He just pushed under my chair and started nuzzling against my leg. After that, he was kind of like the pet dog.

Back in Johannesburg tonight. Fly to Namibia (Windhoek) and then to the Elephant camp. Will be in camp by noon and start hunting.

Last SA photos below...I'm sacking out very early, so just going to put these last photos of the SA hunt out there for questions and comments. I'll respond as I get time in the coming days. Access will be more limited and hunting days will be longer until we can get on an Elephant.

They will follow below...having to go back to phone to get them to post correctly...

I was unaware there were hunting populations of rhinos or elephants. I suppose it's like a lot of things, too many in one place, too few in others.

I stupidly tried to support the killing of the rhino a few years ago that some Texan won in an auction. It was a male past breeding age, and was killing younger rhinos. But the animal rights idiots scream NO HUNTING, even to save the species.

Stupid.


Fantastic animal in your rhino photo. Funny coincidence that it shows up on the same day that a famous RINO is also (politically) taken out.

The most famous (or infamous) case was the guy that paid $600k to hunt a Black Rhino and all those $$ were to go to support the APU's (anti poaching units). The anti-hunters delayed it so long the Rhino just died. As a result, the APU went unfunded.

My hunt was supported by a Game Warden and three members of the APU. This area in SA has healthy-growing Rhino populations. There's a clear economic incentive to support hunting (you can see in one of the photo's there were 12 people working on the animal + the Game Warden and the APU guys). That's jobs and money for them and their families. So the locals are avid anti-poaching as poaching takes their jobs away. In hunting areas, the populations grow...in places where there is no hunting (like Kruger Park); poaching is decimating the population (down to 1800 from 10,000).

As for Elephants, most of the countries have elephant hunting now that have hunting...Botswana just opened it back up last year. They were being overrun by elephants and needed hunting to help control populations...too much animal/human conflict. Namibia Elephant populations are growing at between 8% and 10% per year. They give licenses for 90 animals a year. So the % harvested is going down as they haven't raised the quota in 10 years I believe. I think it's about .003 currently. So probably too low; but at least they endorse it and the APUs there are very active.

Oh, and I like the RINO comment.

In Matetsi in Zim this summer. Way too many elephant on the ground. Destroying mopani forests. Messing up the roads something awful. By the end of the week I was ready to put a bullet in one.

lurker76 said:

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What are your plans for the rhino and elephant, if you bag one, as far as mounting them? Can you bring the elephant tusks into the country these days? I don't know what has happened with ivory importing anymore; just that for a very long time, no matter the circumstances, it wasn't allowed in any form.
Again, thanks for letting all of us share this experience with you. Greatly appreciated.

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Rhino is already approved by both US and SA authorities. Should not be any issue there.
Elephant filing starts after the hunt is over. There are a whole series of requirements regarding where the animal is hunted, $$ that go to Anti Poaching or habitat funds, etc. It will take two or three years.

MAROON said:

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In Matetsi in Zim this summer. Way too many elephant on the ground. Destroying mopani forests. Messing up the roads something awful. By the end of the week I was ready to put a bullet in one.

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Yes, in the Caprivi in 2019 and in Bwabwata there was nothing left over 4 feet tall in most areas. They were coming into camp at night snapping off trees. Pretty scary when an elephant brushes your tent and then you hear a tree snap (sounds like a cannon) outside the tent.

Do you have like a giant room with blank walls waiting, or are you going to start construction on a trophy room when you get home?

That sable is drop dead gorgeous! It's on my bucket list. Your lechwe is top notch too, biggest I've seen.

Yes,, that was the hunt to which I referred.

I expected the answer to my curiosity about rhino and elephant hunting to be what you said, but I really appreciate the detailed explanation

Side note, how much is that horn worth on the Chinese aphrodisiac market?

chase128 said:

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The US still isn't allowing the import of elephant parts from hunting, right? That really kills the incentive for American hunters to go after elephants in Africa since you can't bring any trophies back with you.

I've heard about the elephant population exploding in Botswana. It's become a serious problem.

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Commercial import is banned...private is not. It is slow, but is happening.

This thread is by far my favorite thing on TexAgs.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Do you have like a giant room with blank walls waiting, or are you going to start construction on a trophy room when you get home?

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I have a trophy room...and a rough plan for how to mount the dangerous game as it comes in.

I'm not worthy to ever do a live thread again

None of us are worthy of a live thread after this.

"Nice buck…. But it's no Rhino"
"John Wayne enjoyed sighting in rifles… but he's no warthog"
"Beverage of choice… not South African lager"

"Giddings has a new family?"…. "Yea, some badass dude that's as good of a hunter as me called japantiger on TexAgs adopted me and John Wayne"

There's been a line formed for a while. Keep heading towards the back.

Reading through this I'm reminded of the line from Jaws-

"That taxidermy man, he gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him!"

The only way to top this thread is for someone to hop on a plane and start hunting japantiger
Ok maybe just dart him but still…..would be a helluva turn of events :-)

if I ever get rich enough im going to go on a 50 day tree safari getting the rarest and finest of woods and milling them up. I'll post a thread about it, bur probably still won't be 1/100th as awesome as this thread!

CanyonAg77 said:

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Yes,, that was the hunt to which I referred.

I expected the answer to my curiosity about rhino and elephant hunting to be what you said, but I really appreciate the detailed explanation

Side note, how much is that horn worth on the Chinese aphrodisiac market?

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Rhino horn is worth more by weight than platinum, gold or cocaine. Was in a camp with another hunter who shot a rhino and the horn was removed immediately after photos and carried back to camp for locked storage before the field dressing had begun and word of mouth of it could travel around locally. Outfitter said he was afraid of armed poachers taking it from the skinners before they had finished. That was in 1994 and the horn prices keep going up.

So crazy, frustrating, and sad. Wonder if viagra is helping to save the rhinos?

drred4 said:

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I am guessing your walls in the trophy room have heavy plywood backing. Guided on a gentlemans ranch in Rocksprings that was a very avid hunter. His trophy room was this way with nice wood paneling over the plywood backing. Had tons of animals from everywhere. It was just awe inspiring to see every time there and something new each time. Very beautiful and incredible animals you have harvested. Thanks for sharing with us

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Just arrived at Elephant camp. I'm +7 hours to Texas. An all day treck.

Yes, walls are plywood covered in a heavy grass cloth so moving trophies is easy and no issue with car vering holes. I'll get some photos and put here. Moved into it last October.

For some of you wondering what a trophy room would need to look like or what a bull ele mount would look like. This is a pay hunt operation in Lampasas and the owners trophy room. He's a friend. Photos from their website. Bar-H-Bar