Eric Anderson
AH enthusiast
I stumbled into Africa Hunting. I manage the family farm in southern North Carolina. We have an old tenant house that we rent out, one renter was a former Rhodesian who’s family had to flee. Simon was in the US on a student Visa getting his masters. We became good friends. He ended up marrying a wonderful South African lady and had 4 kids here. After 10 years, they moved back to RSA. He is an avid fisherman, but knew I loved to hunt. I rubbed off on him enough that eventually I had him shotgunning whitetails off his back porch in his underwear.
So before he leaves he invites me to visit and to come hunting. He knows an old farmer who was as anti-social as they come but liked him because he had done some work for him before.
A year goes by, and I get my shit together, or so I thought. Turns old the old farmer had passed away just a few months before my trip. No problem, have fun, will travel, I have my 4457, I have a thousand dollars in my pocket. In the US there is always some public land to hunt even if you really have to work it hard.
The fun begins at JNB. Here is my form 4457, start to fill out the RSA paperwork, what is a letter of invitation? Oops... only time I had ever traveled international with a weapon was an M-16A2... I did not know about these things.
Simon and I drive to his house in Pottchefstroom. Then Simon starts working the phones. It is August, seems every PH is booked and in the field. Finally get ahold of a part time PH who has some free time. I meet him, he gives me a letter of invitation. I was just glad to get my rifle out of jail. I wasn’t expecting to be able to hunt. Mr. Mueller says he can help me out, give him a day.
Calls back the next day, how does a blue wildebeest, a blesbock, and an impala sound? Sounds great! It has to be in two days time and we only have one day.
On such a short notice, it is a rather small high fence operation. Whatever, I am just glad happy my rifle and I are not in jail and I am impressed Mr. Mueller can pull this together so fast. Had a great time. Hunting out of the bed of a truck with my good friend and another who had stopped by to visit who had a break from his school in Italy. Mike has MS and is wheelchair bound. Brilliant thought and an amazing wit that really comes out when he stops with the truly awful puns.
We spend the day driving around in the back of a Bucky looking for animals to shoot. I know that offends a lot of the purest here, but it tickled this redneck Marine pink. Had a great time with two good friends and made a new one.
Spent two way to short weeks visiting Simon and Nell and their adorable kids. Get dropped off at the airport. Penny pinching me had bought a Hotwire ticket with a different return route. Flying through Dubai on Emirate Airlines. Big problem checking my rifle. I do not have an importation permit for a two hour layover. Not a changing airline thing, just you need a $200 permit which takes two weeks to get so the police will walk my rifle two gates over.
Now I am stuck, 4 hours to takeoff. I do not have the cash to buy a last minute international plane ticket to fly back through Germany. I can’t check my rifle. I have learned some of RSA’s firearms laws and realize I can’t call Simon to come back and hold my rifle for me at his house. This goes through my head as the Emirates Airlines employee finishes telling me the procedure for flying through Dubai with a firearm. He asked me about rebooking and starting the process for a permit, but I cut him off and tell him that I am going to surrender my rifle to the SAPS police to cut up.
I walk into the SAPS office at JNB and tell them I wish to surrender my rifle and why. They remember the dumb redneck from two weeks ago. The Sgt there ask me if I am going to come back withen a year. I tell her yes wondering why that is relevant. She tells me she is going to keep my rifle in the safe until I come back next year. Wow.
Uneventful flight home.
Lessons learned:
First and foremost, God takes care of fools and drunks. I know the fool part applies, and I guess the drunk part still applies from my misadventures with Uncles Sams Misguided Children.
Second, do not fly through Dubai, ever. Fly through a first world country like Germany.
I went back the next year for a real hunt with Michael Mueller, still a high fence, but very challenging terrain in driving rain. Haven’t run up and down mountains like that with a rifle with a long time. Brought back some fond, and not so fond memories. Got a zebra I was after along with another blesbock to fill up Simon and Nell’s freezer who now had 5 kids.
I had mentioned to Mr. Mueller that I had a dream to hunt Cape Buffalo one day, but right now US cattle prices are in the pits and don’t look to be recovering for a while. He made me an offer I could not refuse about November. I worked my ass off trying to raise just enough cash, and I am heading back to RSA in June to hunt Cape.
Life is good, if only June would hurry up!
So before he leaves he invites me to visit and to come hunting. He knows an old farmer who was as anti-social as they come but liked him because he had done some work for him before.
A year goes by, and I get my shit together, or so I thought. Turns old the old farmer had passed away just a few months before my trip. No problem, have fun, will travel, I have my 4457, I have a thousand dollars in my pocket. In the US there is always some public land to hunt even if you really have to work it hard.
The fun begins at JNB. Here is my form 4457, start to fill out the RSA paperwork, what is a letter of invitation? Oops... only time I had ever traveled international with a weapon was an M-16A2... I did not know about these things.
Simon and I drive to his house in Pottchefstroom. Then Simon starts working the phones. It is August, seems every PH is booked and in the field. Finally get ahold of a part time PH who has some free time. I meet him, he gives me a letter of invitation. I was just glad to get my rifle out of jail. I wasn’t expecting to be able to hunt. Mr. Mueller says he can help me out, give him a day.
Calls back the next day, how does a blue wildebeest, a blesbock, and an impala sound? Sounds great! It has to be in two days time and we only have one day.
On such a short notice, it is a rather small high fence operation. Whatever, I am just glad happy my rifle and I are not in jail and I am impressed Mr. Mueller can pull this together so fast. Had a great time. Hunting out of the bed of a truck with my good friend and another who had stopped by to visit who had a break from his school in Italy. Mike has MS and is wheelchair bound. Brilliant thought and an amazing wit that really comes out when he stops with the truly awful puns.
We spend the day driving around in the back of a Bucky looking for animals to shoot. I know that offends a lot of the purest here, but it tickled this redneck Marine pink. Had a great time with two good friends and made a new one.
Spent two way to short weeks visiting Simon and Nell and their adorable kids. Get dropped off at the airport. Penny pinching me had bought a Hotwire ticket with a different return route. Flying through Dubai on Emirate Airlines. Big problem checking my rifle. I do not have an importation permit for a two hour layover. Not a changing airline thing, just you need a $200 permit which takes two weeks to get so the police will walk my rifle two gates over.
Now I am stuck, 4 hours to takeoff. I do not have the cash to buy a last minute international plane ticket to fly back through Germany. I can’t check my rifle. I have learned some of RSA’s firearms laws and realize I can’t call Simon to come back and hold my rifle for me at his house. This goes through my head as the Emirates Airlines employee finishes telling me the procedure for flying through Dubai with a firearm. He asked me about rebooking and starting the process for a permit, but I cut him off and tell him that I am going to surrender my rifle to the SAPS police to cut up.
I walk into the SAPS office at JNB and tell them I wish to surrender my rifle and why. They remember the dumb redneck from two weeks ago. The Sgt there ask me if I am going to come back withen a year. I tell her yes wondering why that is relevant. She tells me she is going to keep my rifle in the safe until I come back next year. Wow.
Uneventful flight home.
Lessons learned:
First and foremost, God takes care of fools and drunks. I know the fool part applies, and I guess the drunk part still applies from my misadventures with Uncles Sams Misguided Children.
Second, do not fly through Dubai, ever. Fly through a first world country like Germany.
I went back the next year for a real hunt with Michael Mueller, still a high fence, but very challenging terrain in driving rain. Haven’t run up and down mountains like that with a rifle with a long time. Brought back some fond, and not so fond memories. Got a zebra I was after along with another blesbock to fill up Simon and Nell’s freezer who now had 5 kids.
I had mentioned to Mr. Mueller that I had a dream to hunt Cape Buffalo one day, but right now US cattle prices are in the pits and don’t look to be recovering for a while. He made me an offer I could not refuse about November. I worked my ass off trying to raise just enough cash, and I am heading back to RSA in June to hunt Cape.
Life is good, if only June would hurry up!
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Sounds like a cost effective hunt.
You got first prize in that department 
I'm glad it all worked out. Post some pics of that buff.
