50 Day Africa Hunt

[japantiger 4,051]

Range Card for .375 H&H with Barnes ammunition

[AURex 2,006]

So, let me try to understand this.

You go to Africa with the sole purpose being to kill animals. Job #1 = kill animals.

You dispose of the dead animals by depositing the carcasses with locals. Thus they get some protein in their diet. 

Have I got this right so far?

Despite all your lengthy rambling justifications, it all boils down to a couple of simple truths.

1. You are ending the lives of animals that were getting along just fine until you decided to kill them
2. You dispose of the carcasses by dumping them with locals, who apparently are incapable of doing their own hunting so they need you to do it for them

I am not anti-hunting. I am totally supportive of hunting for sustenance -- hunting to live. Simply killing animals for sport (or some psychological motivation for "bang-bang, let's kill living breathing creatures") and then trying to justify it by "I gave the animals I slaughtered to locals" is just a vapid attempt at rationalization.

Face reality. You went to Africa to kill animals because you get a real orgasmic kick out of killing. You have a litany of "explanations" why this is okay. But it doesn't change anything. You went there to kill animals. Not for personal sustenance. Just to have fun killing animals.

Did I miss anything here?

 

 

[SLAG-91 1,483]

8 hours ago, AURex said:

So, let me try to understand this.

You go to Africa with the sole purpose being to kill animals. Job #1 = kill animals.

You dispose of the dead animals by depositing the carcasses with locals. Thus they get some protein in their diet. 

Have I got this right so far?

Despite all your lengthy rambling justifications, it all boils down to a couple of simple truths.

1. You are ending the lives of animals that were getting along just fine until you decided to kill them
2. You dispose of the carcasses by dumping them with locals, who apparently are incapable of doing their own hunting so they need you to do it for them

I am not anti-hunting. I am totally supportive of hunting for sustenance -- hunting to live. Simply killing animals for sport (or some psychological motivation for "bang-bang, let's kill living breathing creatures") and then trying to justify it by "I gave the animals I slaughtered to locals" is just a vapid attempt at rationalization.

Face reality. You went to Africa to kill animals because you get a real orgasmic kick out of killing. You have a litany of "explanations" why this is okay. But it doesn't change anything. You went there to kill animals. Not for personal sustenance. Just to have fun killing animals.

Did I miss anything here?

 

 

There aren't enough facepalms on the Internet for this post, but you do you...

[Tigermike 3,035]

13 hours ago, AURex said:

Did I miss anything here?

Just about everything

[AUBwins 10,075]

On 12/1/2022 at 2:39 PM, japantiger said:

Longman raises goats and subsistence farms when not hunting. A hyena broke into his goat pens and killed all his goats. He tracked the hyena for 6 miles and crawled into it's burrow with a knife and killed it. He then cooked and ate it. Said the only way to have his goats was to eat what ate his goats.

Wow.  That's incredible. 

[AUBwins 10,075]

On 12/5/2022 at 9:43 PM, japantiger said:

This one you need to have the sound on.  On the first night in Limpopo the lions let us know they were there.

 

 

That could be quite intimidating to hear at night before sleeping. 

[AUFAN78 3,911]

On 12/22/2022 at 9:13 PM, AURex said:

So, let me try to understand this.

You go to Africa with the sole purpose being to kill animals. Job #1 = kill animals.

You dispose of the dead animals by depositing the carcasses with locals. Thus they get some protein in their diet. 

Have I got this right so far?

Despite all your lengthy rambling justifications, it all boils down to a couple of simple truths.

1. You are ending the lives of animals that were getting along just fine until you decided to kill them
2. You dispose of the carcasses by dumping them with locals, who apparently are incapable of doing their own hunting so they need you to do it for them

I am not anti-hunting. I am totally supportive of hunting for sustenance -- hunting to live. Simply killing animals for sport (or some psychological motivation for "bang-bang, let's kill living breathing creatures") and then trying to justify it by "I gave the animals I slaughtered to locals" is just a vapid attempt at rationalization.

Face reality. You went to Africa to kill animals because you get a real orgasmic kick out of killing. You have a litany of "explanations" why this is okay. But it doesn't change anything. You went there to kill animals. Not for personal sustenance. Just to have fun killing animals.

Did I miss anything here?

 

 

No question you just landed in the annals of ignorant posts. I wish I could add shocking or surprised, but no that is not applicable. 

Oh well, Merry Christmas!

[alexava 6,973]

I really enjoyed this JT. I only hunt ducks and dove anymore. Deer just don’t excite me but I’ll take all the back strap I can get. I envy anyone who can afford such a trip. I would love it and wouldn’t even care to shoot. Just watching (except for the cats). Do they eat cats?  If crocks taste like alligator I hope you got a couple meals for yourself. I’ll bet the the buffalo and antelope are good eaters too. 

[alexava 6,973]

On 12/23/2022 at 3:40 PM, AUBwins said:

That could be quite intimidating to hear at night before sleeping. 

I wouldn’t be sleeping in a zipper tent. 

[AUBwins 10,075]

4 minutes ago, alexava said:

I wouldn’t be sleeping in a zipper tent. 

Agreed

[japantiger 4,051]

On 12/25/2022 at 8:46 PM, alexava said:

I really enjoyed this JT. I only hunt ducks and dove anymore. Deer just don’t excite me but I’ll take all the back strap I can get. I envy anyone who can afford such a trip. I would love it and wouldn’t even care to shoot. Just watching (except for the cats). Do they eat cats?  If crocks taste like alligator I hope you got a couple meals for yourself. I’ll bet the the buffalo and antelope are good eaters too. 

Everything is eaten....and I mean everything.  I didn't realize until I saw it that you could skin an elephant ear, dry it and eat it.  I can't remember if I talked about Hippo; but I shot one for the big fall festival in Zambia...the locals love the mountain-oysters (deep fried) and hippo tail soup; in addition to the parts you would expect folks to like.  The cook made hippo mountain oysters, hippo tail soup and backstrap....we called it "sack, crack and back".....

Buffalo is fantastic and all the various plains game is pretty good eating...some better than other, but everyone's tastes are a little different.  

[japantiger 4,051]

On 12/23/2022 at 5:40 PM, AUBwins said:

That could be quite intimidating to hear at night before sleeping. 

You get animals in the camp most nights.  In Zambia had a hippo, hyena and leopards that came thru most nights...the hippo would be quite noisy grazing in the middle of the night.  Hyena can either "whoop" as they move around or just walk thru; but they're not usually too silent as they walk thru.  The leopards didn't make noise; but you saw the tracks when you came to breakfast.  

On previous trips (in Namibia and Tanzania) have had leopard, lion and hyena come thru.  The elephants come thru and snap off and strip trees during the dry season looking for water.  It sounds like a gun going off when the trees snap...that's usually what wakes you up.   

[japantiger 4,051]

Hippo outside my cabin early AM in Zambia...

[AUBwins 10,075]

2 hours ago, japantiger said:

Hippo outside my cabin early AM in Zambia...

My youngest daughter has a fascination with hippos.  Are they an attacking species as depicted in films?  Or only when protecting young?

[AUBwins 10,075]

Side note.  In 1923 (the new Yellowstone origin show on Paramount) I thought of JP hunting in Africa when seeing the hunter on that show (trying not to play spoiler)

[japantiger 4,051]

21 hours ago, AUBwins said:

My youngest daughter has a fascination with hippos.  Are they an attacking species as depicted in films?  Or only when protecting young?

Short answer is yes...on being an attacking/aggressive species. 

They move out of the lakes or rivers foraging for food; mostly at night.  The old huge males love getting into a big pond left by receding water during the dry season to be away from rival males and the cows/calves.  They will just set out in the middle of the pond defending it from all comers.  Most of the males have huge scares on their bodies from all the fighting they do when in the bigger bodies of water. I think you can probably see them on the one I shot in the photo's on this thread.  I watched a hippo fight in the Luangwa in Zambia.  They approached each other from a couple hundred yards apart; and then the water just boiled...with their big bodies flying up out of the water; which is remarkable considering they can launch those big bodies into the air.  It lasted a full 2 minutes before one retreated.  I couldn't tell how wounded either was at the distance we were.  

They will come back to the bigger body of water usually on the same trail during the night or before the sun gets up too high.  They attack when surprised while foraging; or when you get between them and their water on their return.  They go from 0 to pissed off in an instant.  I think I told the story of the 3 people attacked on the Okavango while I was in Namibia on this trip.  In each case, a hippo was returning to the river and attacked.  

[AUBwins 10,075]

2 minutes ago, japantiger said:

Short answer is yes...on being an attacking/aggressive species. 

They move out of the lakes or rivers foraging for food; mostly at night.  The old huge males love getting into a big pond left by receding water during the dry season to be away from rival males and the cows/calves.  They will just set out in the middle of the pond defending it from all comers.  Most of the males have huge scares on their bodies from all the fighting they do when in the bigger bodies of water. I think you can probably see them on the one I shot in the photo's on this thread.  I watched a hippo fight in the Luangwa in Zambia.  They approached each other from a couple hundred yards apart; and then the water just boiled...with their big bodies flying up out of the water; which is remarkable considering they can launch those big bodies into the air.  It lasted a full 2 minutes before one retreated.  I couldn't tell how wounded either was at the distance we were.  

They will come back to the bigger body of water usually on the same trail during the night or before the sun gets up too high.  They attack when surprised while foraging; or when you get between them and their water on their return.  They go from 0 to pissed off in an instant.  I think I told the story of the 3 people attacked on the Okavango while I was in Namibia on this trip.  In each case, a hippo was returning to the river and attacked.  

Very insightful.  Thanks.  Cincinnati zoo just had a baby hippo born this year and been following its growth.  Seen them run pretty fast around the containment.  I imagine it takes a pack of lions or crocodiles to take down a full grown male

[japantiger 4,051]

4 minutes ago, AUBwins said:

Very insightful.  Thanks.  Cincinnati zoo just had a baby hippo born this year and been following its growth.  Seen them run pretty fast around the containment.  I imagine it takes a pack of lions or crocodiles to take down a full grown male

Mostly other males either outright kill or weaken another male to the extent it is vulnerable to other pray animals.  The young are the most vulnerable to predators.  But the reality of Africa is every animals death is the result of predation and violence.  It's not a Disney movie.  

[japantiger 4,051]

Animals taken in South Africa are back in Houston. 

US Fish and Wildlife sent me the import permit for the leopard; so in a couple of months most of the Zambia animals will be head this way. 

Waiting for the  Elephant and Lion permits to work their way thru the bureaucracy. 

[WillMunny 1,378]

On 12/27/2022 at 8:35 PM, japantiger said:

Everything is eaten....and I mean everything.  I didn't realize until I saw it that you could skin an elephant ear, dry it and eat it.  I can't remember if I talked about Hippo; but I shot one for the big fall festival in Zambia...the locals love the mountain-oysters (deep fried) and hippo tail soup; in addition to the parts you would expect folks to like.  The cook made hippo mountain oysters, hippo tail soup and backstrap....we called it "sack, crack and back".....

Buffalo is fantastic and all the various plains game is pretty good eating...some better than other, but everyone's tastes are a little different.  

I ate some BBQ bison sandwiches while on a business trip to Alaska a few years ago.  Really good food.  Wish I could get some in Alabama.

Trivia: American bison, although traditionally referred to as "buffalo", aren't buffalo at all, and aren't even related to buffalo.

There are two types of buffalo: Water buffalo (South Asia) and Cape buffalo (Africa), neither of which are indigenous to America.  No buffalo ever appeared in the Old West (or new west), contrary to what we hear in movies.

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-buffalo-and-bison

Edited January 26, 2023 by WillMunny

[I_M4_AU 7,856]

15 minutes ago, WillMunny said:

I ate some BBQ bison sandwiches while on a business trip to Alaska a few years ago.  Really good food.  Wish I could get some in Alabama.

Trivia: American bison, although traditionally referred to as "buffalo", aren't buffalo at all, and aren't even related to buffalo.

There are two types of buffalo: Water buffalo (South Asia) and Cape buffalo (Africa), neither of which are indigenous to America.  No buffalo ever appeared in the Old West (or new west), contrary to what we hear in movies.

https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-buffalo-and-bison

Well, it’s time to correct history and refer to Bill Cody as Bison Bill and Buffalo NY and consequently Buffalo wings as Bison NY and Bison wings respectively.  Let’s set the record straight.

[WillMunny 1,378]

9 minutes ago, I_M4_AU said:

Well, it’s time to correct history and refer to Bill Cody as Bison Bill and Buffalo NY and consequently Buffalo wings as Bison NY and Bison wings respectively.  Let’s set the record straight.

I think we just did.

[I_M4_AU 7,856]

1 minute ago, WillMunny said:

I think we just did.

No, I am unaware of the name change to Bison Bill, much less Bison, NY.

Yes, this is in jest.  I visited Wyoming a few years ago.  Spent most of my time in Jackson Hole and asked our Snake River guide when did people start referring to buffalo as Bison.  He said around 1840’s.

I took a trip to Cody, Wyoming to visit the Buffalo Bill museum, as I am fascinated by that time period, and asked the question why wasn’t Bill Cody known as Bison bill and was asked why I would say such a thing.  I told them the in Jackson Hole they referred to buffalo as bison and its been that way before Bill Cody was born (1846).  They told me that is all they had to know, as Jackson Hole was really not part of Wyoming.  Even Wyoming is divided.

[WillMunny 1,378]

On 12/16/2022 at 12:22 PM, japantiger said:

Range Card for .375 H&H with Barnes ammunition

I can't imagine shooting one of those.  I guess the barrel porting helps.  My 20 gauge slug gun starts hurting me after about 5 rounds at the range.  Because of that, I now use mostly 30-30 for deer.

[BigBlueWDE 1,136]

I just stumbled upon this thread this morning, and I have to applaud @japantiger for fact-based, rational responses to some pretty stinging criticisms. The lack of civility on tough topics is rampant, and it is always refreshing when folks genuinely want to understand why somebody does something that they instinctually don't agree with. Not saying that happened in this case though :-)

I have only started hunting western states over the past 3 seasons in Oregon and Washington after about a decade in tree stands in AL. Branching out to pronghorn in Montana this coming season, and currently planning my first elk hunt in 2024. I am extremely grateful for the hunters that came before me that are largely responsible for still having sustainable populations of these animals in the wild during the modern era.

Stay safe out there and thanks for being a great example of how to handle yourself in a tough conversation.