Free Hunt for Two Hunters from HartzView Hunting Safaris for 2011

[wheelz99]

Running Down a Dream...

This is one of the special moments of my life. My first record book animal. After chasing this dream all of my life, I caught up to it on the grassland plains of northeastern New Mexico.

I spotted this giant pronghorn during the very last minute of our last scouting trip the evening before the season opened. The next morning, we were back in the exact location as dawn cast its light across the countryside, but the big boy wasn't there.

We found him a mile away in a little bowl with two does.

My dad and three of my best friends were there to help me. They we all at my side when I pulled the trigger on this one-in-a-million goats.

It marked the beginning of my post-injury big game hunting, and it would lead to me becoming an outdoor writer. This day helped me reach a lot of disabled hunters out there who didn't know what could be possible.

 

[Alaska Hunter]

Warthog from South Africa

I was lucky enough to harvest this warthog after we changed blinds and got the wind right. This was a fantastic hunt with SS Pro outfitters

 

[DOC]

Warthog in CAR

My first Time in Afrca ever!

 

[Wannabe]

My Favorite African Hunt

My husband and I have a friendly little competition. Which most of the time..he lets me win.
On this particular hunt I had harvested a huge Kudu.



Clent told the PH he wasn't going to shoot a Kudu unless it was bigger than mine. WELL, after picking through and turning down a few he finally sees one he wants to take. When Clent and our PH Hein stretch the tape a bit it turns out Clent's Kudu is 1/4" smaller than mine!! WOO HOO!



Well Guys, with a hand shake and a smile....better luck next time!

 

[cookedoa]

Daughter's Hartebeest

2010, Limpopo, South Africa. My daughter and her Hartebeest, her first antelope.

 

[enysse]

Wheelz99
He a giant...90+ inches for sure! Congradulations! It would be a dream for me to get one that nice!

 

[enysse]

My husband and I have a friendly little competition. Which most of the time..he lets me win.
On this particular hunt I had harvested a huge Kudu.

View attachment 6070

Clent told the PH he wasn't going to shoot a Kudu unless it was bigger than mine. WELL, after picking through and turning down a few he finally sees one he wants to take. When Clent and our PH Hein stretch the tape a bit it turns out Clent's Kudu is 1/4" smaller than mine!! WOO HOO!

View attachment 6071

Well Guys, with a hand shake and a smile....better luck next time!

View attachment 6072

Judy your Kudu is absolutely beautiful! Congradulations!

 

[enysse]

I was lucky enough to harvest this warthog after we changed blinds and got the wind right. This was a fantastic hunt with SS Pro outfitters

Scott has some monsters at his place....one of the best places in Africa to hunt warthog!

 

[Big B]

I admire the "scope bite"Steve. Those of us who have be had the same adventure can really appriciate the sensation.

Waidmannsheil!

 

[graybird]

A friend and I decided to head to Texas and add scimitar horned oryx to our trophy rooms. After the oryx hunt was concluded, I decided to add a blackbuck.

We spotted two males feeding along the edge of some native grass. We made a stalk to a small tree, but I couldn't see the blackbucks as they were feeding just over a slight rise. When the wind would blow hard enough, I could see portions of them thru the grass. Deciding we were out of luck at our present position, we crawled thru the grass to our left to get behind some cedar trees. We moved slowly from one cedar tree to the next until we were in the correct position. My guide and I were discussing which buck to take, when they started feeding towards us to our left. We were standing on the left side of our chosen cedar tree and as the bucks fed we quickly became exposed. My guide kept hissing to take the shot as they were going to see us. However, I waited until the selected ram stopped at about 70 yards. The buck ran about 25 yards before expiring and I had a trophy I have wanted to add to my trophy room for many years now.

 

[graybird]

Probably one of my favorite pictures taken Nov. 2010. Colorado elk hunting.

SUCCESS

 

[hlf]

Essence

Essence

That was a beautiful day. Only two of us, with my best friend in the hole territory, in Hungary, in the western part of the beautiful Bakony Mountains. We stalked a lot on the nicest part of our hunting area, after talked a lot in our hunting lodge.
In a day, after an all day walking, just berfore the dusk, we’ve realized a small herd of red stags. They were in front of us, on the other part of the valley, and - because of the falling lights – we coudn’t stalked closer to them. There was a good stag standing in the middle of a little clearing. Despite of a long distance my shot was good and straight enough, and after a hitting, the stag jumped once, and collapsed.
My first stag!

At the hunting lodge we made a small campfire, took my stag aside, drunk a few cup of best hungarian red wine, and just had beeing under that brightening, silence stars.
Almost all night.

When I see this picture, or this trophy on the wall, I feel again all that days, and all that hunt.
Anyway, that’s why we have trophys, haven’t we?

 

[Jambo]

Not "quite" a trophy...yet!

Waiting on a brushed up feral hog at Vandenberg AFB, California.

They're very tasty by the way...

 

[Jambo]

Future trophies

Sable nursery--Johnny Vivier Safaris--Wintershoek RSA

This is just one of those 'in the right place at the right time' photos...

 

[Jambo]

Why I hunt...

My best trophies are memories of with whom and where...as much a the 'what' I hunted...

Johnny Vivier's "Wag-'n-Bietjie" (named after the 'wait a bit' thorn) Camp, Wintershoek RSA September 2010.

 

[Wannabe]

Hunt of a Lifetime

For the last three years my husband,Clent and I have hunted a whitetail, bow hunting only, lease in Goliad, Texas. We always have such a good time but thought it would be even better if we could share the good times with some friends. We put out the invites and and in the end there were five of us.
I got everything off to a good start the very first morning with a beautiful 8-point. I had been sitting for about an hour when I first saw him wandering slowly in. He was a little nervous and kept moving in and out of range. Soon he popped his head up, started fluffing out his hair and posturing. I'm thinking there must be another buck coming in and I was right. It was the grandfather of all grandfathers! If you can picture an old man's wrinkled gray face, that is what this buck looked like. For an old guy, he had to be a heck of a scrapper because he had broken off one main beam clear down to the brow tine and all that was left of the other was the main beam (minus tip) and the brow tine. He was quite a sight.
They circled each other for a good 20 minutes and then they BOTH decided to walk off. "Walk off! No, come back here!" They went off into the woods but about 10 minutes later the 8-point came back. This time he gave me a shot and I took it! It was a perfect shot and he had run only about 20 yards into the woods when I heard him crash.

Here he is!

Happy, happy!

Clent listening to my story

Next day our friend Brian took a nice 8-point with a couple kickers

Then that night it was Denny's turn

We have three days left and Clent and Ryan were holding out for the big ones. We all know they're there because we've seen them on the game cameras.
The next morning passes with some good stories but no deer. That evening just as we were getting ready to go out, the guide calls Clent to take a look at a game cam pic he had just brought in. Clent took one look and was out the door before Ronnie could ask him where he wanted to hunt. It was about an hour and a half into the evening when I get a text from Clent. "I just shot a monster" It was a long wait and when we got to Clent's location it soon became apparent, the shot was a little far back. We all looked for several hours before we called it a night and reluctantly came in. Ronnie, our guide, told us we would go out first thing in the morning but needed to watch for the buzzards and they would tell us where the deer was. It was a long night with little sleep and Clent just sick at the thought of wounding and loosing a beautiful animal. Next morning we searched and searched with no luck and no buzzards. Clent and I spent most of the day searching and the rest watching the skies.

That evening Ryan bagged a nice 8-point

The next morning everone went out except for me. It was 30 degrees, I had my deer, and turkeys and hogs aren't worth freezing for! As it gets daylight I hear Ronnie say "we've found Clent's deer." I jump out of bed look outside and sure enough, there's a ton of buzzards flying over the woods. Some time later Ronnie comes driving back with a big smile AND the deer! Unfortunately, the coyotes had gotten to him first and eaten about half of the deer. Luckily the shoulder and one front leg, the head and antlers were all in tact.
WHAT A DEER!

We didn't tell Clent untill he came in from is hog hunt. He was so relieved he didn't know wheather to laugh or cry.

Measuring up. Clent looks just a LITTLE happy.

Ronnie documenting the moment

What a beauty!


This is one of the best hunts we have ever had and being able to share it with good friends made it all that much better. If you ask each and every one of us "how was your hunt" , the answer will be the same. "It was the hunt of a life time!"

 

[Wannabe]

Kids in Camp

We've always enjoyed having kids come to the ranch. Especially when we get to be part of the first kill. Here are a few pics of some of our friends kids.

Our God Children, twins Clent and Kelli

Hayden's first doe

Hayden's first buck

You shoot, you haul it!

Cory and Kyle"s first kills

First kill, blood on the face and a bite of the heart. NO, WAIT! We were joking!

Another first with blood on the face

You kill it, you clean it. First cleaning lesson

 

[grizzkiller]

My daughters first BULL MOOSE

Here is a picture of my daughter Alexis and her first bull moose. Myself and my daughters Alexis (12 yo), Eden (10 yo), and Skye (6 yo), took off at 6 am and drove 90 miles up a non maintained highway with 18" of fresh snow on the road. The temperature was -27 below zero. We spotted a bull about 2 miles off the road. Unloaded the snowmachines and headed over towards it. After getting stuck a few times in the deep snow, we got to within 1/4 mile of the moose and then went on foot. We stalked the moose down into the trees, but it heard us coming and took off. We walked back up the mountain and got back on the snow machines. I then spotted this bull coming out of trees, so we took off again on the snowmachine straight down hill towards the moose. We ended up having to stalk the last 50 yards in waist deep snow as we got stuck in a ravine. The moose was about 350 yards away and knew we were there. I put my daughter on the shooting sticks (after using them in Africa, I made a pair for myself when I am hunting with my daughters) and she fired a 180 grain barnes triple shock from the Tikka .300 wsm right into the boiler room! The moose immediately fell to the ground and my daughter had her first moose! It took about and hour of trail breaking to get the machines to the moose. I knew it was a big bull, but wasn't sure how big. After 2 1/2 hours of butchering, we got it done and ready to be hauled out. The snow conditions were horrible, so I could only take a quarter at a time! I hauled the kids out to the truck where they waited. It took me 3 hours to get all the meat hauled up the steep hill and loaded into the truck. When I was done, it was 11 pm and was -35 below zero! I got the machines loaded up and we drove home arriving at 2 am! The pictures say it all. I have some happy hunting daughters! The bull ended up being 62.5"!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Probably one of my favorite pictures taken Nov. 2010. Colorado elk hunting.

SUCCESS

Just the right height for a Grizzly Bear bait!

 

[haf photo]

Great Friends, Great Hunting Memories

Hi all, I'm new to AH, and I'm excited to enter the HartzView Hunting Safaris photo contest. Thank you for considering my photos. Here's a mix of pics I've shot on various hunts across the U.S., Canada and Africa over the past few years. Caption info. below.



photo #1: I snapped this pic of our guide shooting iPhone pics of my friend Mike and his great Texas whitetail.

photo #2: My friend Steve shot this Merriam's gobbler in Wyoming on a bitter cold spring morning.

photo #3: My friend Donnie fulfilled a lifelong dream when he shot this Dall ram in the Yukon last year.

photo #4: Donnie packing his ram down the mountain.

photo #5: My friend Jim poses with a Kansas buck I was very fortunate to shoot in December of 2009.

photo #6: My friend's son poses with a pheasant he shot during a late-season Utah upland bird hunt.

photo #7: My buddy Robb admires his first Merriam's gobbler.

photo #8: My outfitter friend Tom poses with his awesome Kansas buck (right) and my buck (left). We shot the bucks a day apart during the 2009 Kansas rifle season.

photo #9: My friend Dwight, his trusty Kimber rifle, and his impala (Namibia; 2010).

photo #10: Rick's PH congratulates him after a well-placed shot with his TenPoint crossbow (South Africa; 2010).

photo #11: Tom is all smiles as he checks out his first gemsbok - a fine bull that was his reward after a great stalk (South Africa; 2010).

photo #12: Tom relives his exciting red hartebeest hunt as his PH picks him up (South Africa; 2010).

photo #13: Mark and his cameraman preserve the memory of Mark's first Africa kill (Zimbabwe; 2009).

photo #14: My friend Mike and his trophy gemsbok - the first animal taken during an incredible safari in Namibia last year.

photo #15: Mike admires his gemsbok as his PH approaches (Namibia; 2010).

photo #16: Mike and his PH relive their successful kudu hunt. I used a very slow shutter speed to capture the stars in the sky (Namibia; 2010).

photo #17: Tom and his fine gemsbok trophy (South Africa; 2010).

photo #18: My friend Randi admires her first-ever game animal - a gobbler she shot during a great fall hunt in Montana. She's now hooked on hunting and ready for spring turkey season!

photo #19: My friend Tom takes in the reality that he's just arrowed a giant Kansas whitetail (2009).

photo #20: My friend Robb is overcome with excitement and pride after he shot this great Wyoming gobbler. I thought a silhouetted photo of Robb and his bird would be a great souvenir for him.

photo #21: I used a fisheye lens to shoot this photo of my friend Mike and his impressive Texas whitetail (2009).

photo #22: My friend Jim, again posing with my Kansas buck (2009).

photo #23: Another shot of Jim and my Kansas buck (2009).

photo #24: My buddy Brad checks out his fine Texas whitetail, taken with his Traditions muzzleloader (2009).

photo #25: Brandon admires his tall-tined Iowa whitetail.

photo #26: My friends Tom and Jacque share in the excitement of Jacque's first bowkill - a great Kansas buck she arrowed at close range.