Bob Nelson 35Whelen
AH ambassador
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2018
- Messages
- 10,780
- Reaction score
- 26,531
- Location
- Wyong new south Wales Australia
- Media
- 130
- Member of
- SSAA
- Hunted
- Australia
@TroubleshooterVirtually all of my friends own firearms, and have a good concept of hunting; otherwise they likely wouldn't be friends. Granted that very few of them still hunt these days due to age and various other priorities and commitments.
Acquaintances are another matter.
Like many of the other respondents to this thread, the #1 question is "what do you do with the meat?" or permutations thereof such as "do you get to eat the meat?" Most are unaware of the legal issues involved with importing game meat from Africa, nor have they considered the potential logistical difficulties, even if it were legal.
And like the others, I also encounter the mindset that "trophy hunters" (whatever that means) do not utilize the meat, and I try to point out that the two are not mutually exclusive. In fairness, these stereotypes are perpetuated by the actions of poachers who do exactly that (leave the animal to waste).
I get that on occasion, and my answer is generally along the lines of "Yes it is! " If pressed, I will add that the ability to afford a safari (like any other objective in life) is the result of hard work, saving, and good life choices (or at least more good ones than poor ones)and yes -- luck. Having never drawn a six-figure salary, I try to keep hammering home that it's not about how much money you make, but how much you keep. But as you mention, some just don't get it.
You're a lightweight; my daily driver is more than 30 years old and is approaching 404,000 miles!![]()
I drew a six figure salary once but my wife screwed the picture up and said I was silly. All I did was draw a stack of money and wrote six figures beside it.
Bob