It sounds like you have a very bad hunt and were trying to make the best of it from your point of view. I’ve been on a hunt where the outfitter was preoccupied with other things and it impacted the hunt.
I personally wouldn’t mind hearing the PH/Outfitters side of the story. As with everything there are two sides. I’m not saying your side isn’t correct or that you were the nightmare client with unrealistic expectations they could never make happy, just that everyone has their own version and then there’s the truth that generally lies somewhere in between. From your photos I’m not super impressed with the trophy quality or hunting from the truck in the breeding pen. I’m not someone who’s going to just “go along” because I think it’ll ruin the rest of the hunt. I’ve had to speak up to an outfitter or two and had no issues. Communication is key, and if I’m not happy about something they can’t fix it unless they know.
The yelling ….. unprofessional/wrong. Sounds like everyone was pretty emotionally charged. I think the outfitter was upset because he was of the mindset you pulled the trigger and you should’ve known on the waterbuck. I think he had a different view on the giraffe and his views/ethics were different than your views. Not saying either of your views/ethics are wrong. Seems like you felt a little pressured on the reedbuck and some other species and weren’t happy with some other facets of the hunt which might’ve tarnished some parts of your hunt/experience. I’ll reiterate, his handling of it was wrong even if he thought you were wrong, two wrongs don’t make a right.
I agree with you on the observer portion. Did you ever express this to him?
I wouldn’t have liked other stuff taking priority over my hunt, sometimes things can’t be avoided, other times they can.
There were a few comments you made Pre-Hunt that raised a few flags with me. I’ve done several auction hunts including some in Africa. I try to go into auction hunts with a lower expectation or standard and generally the standard I have for full priced hunts met or exceeded. Ive had one bad auction hunt but the hunting itself was actually pretty good.
I differ from a few people on a couple things and this is where I’d like the outfitters side ….
1) I understand not liking the idea of the PH finishing your giraffe, BUT I also understand not wanting an animal to suffer longer than it needs. Your PH had seen you shoot previously, Giraffe can be extremely tough animals to kill specially when wounded and maybe he was forced to make a decision, maybe he was being spiteful, maybe it was his rule. I’ve heard some horror stories about wounded giraffes and the goat ropes that ensue chasing them. He might’ve been trying to avoid this, I wasn’t there so I’m not going to armchair quarterback his decision. Head shooting it and ruining the skull when he was already down I 100% think crossed the line. A PH knows the anatomy and could’ve put another insurance shot in him elsewhere.
2) Waterbuck …. You saw it multiple times, if you didn’t look at the horns that’s on YOU. You pulled the trigger. You were trusting your PH on whether or not he was mature, but your PH can’t know if you’ll be happy with him. Seeing the other photos and looking a little closer he does look a little more mature than I first thought from your hanging picture. Your PH can’t read your mind on what shape you like. He could’ve overheard you make the comment about not liking ugly or odd horns if he wasn’t doing his firewood, or he might not have overheard it if he wasn’t on the phone because the comment wasn’t made to him. YOU’RE the hunter, YOU’RE responsible for communicating what YOU want and for not pulling the trigger unless YOU’RE happy with the animal. You said you’re a duck hunter mainly, do you just shoot any bird out of a flock or do you ID them first? What if you’re hunting and you’ve already got your 1 duck down for a species like a Black Duck or Pintail that has a smaller bag limit than the overall bag limit. Do you just shoot at a mixed flock or pick a specific bird out? Ground shrinkage is real, if we all could not pay a trophy fee or crab walk backwards after pulling the trigger outfitters would go bankrupt. It’d happen left and right. Guys would call trophies a cull to them. It sounds like your PH did work hard to get you that animal. It sounds like they made you out to be the bad guy to the other hunter as shown by his comment. As I said there are two sides to every story but IMO you’re ending something’s life it’s on you to make sure that reason is justified, which in this case is being happy with the trophy shape, not size.
3) Reedbuck … no one held a gun to your head forcing you to pull the trigger. If you didn’t want something from a breeding pen or a truck speak up. Tell the PH thanks, but if we can’t hunt on foot let’s spend more time looking for Black Springbok, or the Waterbuck. I don’t know a single PH or Outfitter who’d be mad about not wanting to shoot from the truck and you caving probably helped impact what he thought of you as a hunter even though he had a hand in it.
These are all my opinions with some speculation until we get the outfitter/PH’s story. I think many of your frustrations are valid. I know we all leave outfitter reviews but has anyone ever wondered what outfitters would review us as to other outfitters as a hunter? I’ve seen an outfitter tell another outfitter not to book a client because of their experience with them. Just a thought of mine that I think about when I’m hunting.
I’m truly sorry your hunt went the way it did and you weren’t happy with the experience or end result. I sincerely hope it doesn’t prevent your girlfriend from wanting to join you in Africa again.
