Water Buffalo from Down Under pedestal mount

[deewayne2003]

Very nice... you got a hunt report to go with that trip?

If so, please post a link.

If not..... Why not? Looks like an amazing trip

 

[Ku-winda]

Many thanks for all of the kind words, gentlemen - I am very pleased indeed with how they turned out! @Tim Blackwell , I passed along your comments to Matt Otten and he was honored to hear that compliment coming from you, so thank you very much for taking the time to post! Please do share some pics of your work. @deewayne2003 , I did not do a report on that hunt, but probably should. Maybe I will do one when I finish up with my current report on Coutada 11. The OZ trip was one of the coolest hunts I've ever done in my life and I'd go back in a heartbeat! I am actually scheduled to go hunt with Simon again next year and can't wait!

 

[deewayne2003]

@Ku-winda

Thread 'AUSTRALIA: Back Country Hunt - NT Australia'

Oct 13, 2023

This hunt (Back Country NT) was 3 years in the making and I cannot do it justice with a few paragraphs; so to capture all the nuances of the experience, I'll be presenting in a format of the events that lead up to it, followed by the events of the hunt and what I've taken away from what has been a truly life changing experience.

Prologue: 2019 Wonnangatta Valley Victoria Australia - Sambar Hunt

In the Spring of 2019 I was dealing with the loss of the longest tenured job of my career and subsequent deaths of friends and family in the following weeks and I decided to clear my head by...

• deewayne2003
• Replies: 75
• Forum: Hunting Australia & New Zealand

• 

And yes I’ll be expecting write ups for both Coutada 11 & the NT hunt from you in the future…

 

[Ku-winda]

@Ku-winda

Thread 'AUSTRALIA: Back Country Hunt - NT Australia'

Oct 13, 2023

This hunt (Back Country NT) was 3 years in the making and I cannot do it justice with a few paragraphs; so to capture all the nuances of the experience, I'll be presenting in a format of the events that lead up to it, followed by the events of the hunt and what I've taken away from what has been a truly life changing experience.

Prologue: 2019 Wonnangatta Valley Victoria Australia - Sambar Hunt

In the Spring of 2019 I was dealing with the loss of the longest tenured job of my career and subsequent deaths of friends and family in the following weeks and I decided to clear my head by...

• deewayne2003
• Replies: 75
• Forum: Hunting Australia & New Zealand

• 

And yes I’ll be expecting write ups for both Coutada 11 & the NT hunt from you in the future…

Ah, now it's all coming back to me @deewayne2003 - that was an absolutely fantastic accounting of your hunt in the NT and I enjoyed it immensely. Extremely well done all the way around and you can see my comments at the time. Your report may have been the reason I didn't one on my OZ hunt, because it would have been such a hard act to follow, lol! That said, I still probably ought to do one at some point, if nothing else for Simon Kyle-Little. I'm at the very tail end of my Coutada 11 Report right now and you can follow if interested at:

Thread 'MOZAMBIQUE: 15 Day Hunt Report With Zambeze Delta Safaris In Coutada 11'

Jan 4, 2025

PROLOGUE

Sometimes in the hunting world, the correlation between one’s expectations and reality never quite intersect - such was not the case with our October ’24 safari with Mark Haldane’s Zambeze Delta Safaris (ZDS). I’m getting way ahead of myself though and probably ought to go back and provide a little background on the genesis of this hunt. I first met Mark Haldane through my role as Treasurer on the board of The Dallas Safari Club Foundation. Over the course of the last three or four years I got to know him through our support of his anti-poaching efforts in his hunting concession...

• Ku-winda
• hunt reports zds moz
• Replies: 82
• Forum: Hunting reports Africa

• 

Many thanks again and glad to make the connection!

 

[deewayne2003]

Ah, now it's all coming back to me @deewayne2003 - that was an absolutely fantastic accounting of your hunt in the NT and I enjoyed it immensely. Extremely well done all the way around and you can see my comments at the time. Your report may have been the reason I didn't one on my OZ hunt, because it would have been such a hard act to follow, lol! That said, I still probably ought to do one at some point, if nothing else for Simon Kyle-Little. I'm at the very tail end of my Coutada 11 Report right now and you can follow if interested at:

Thread 'MOZAMBIQUE: 15 Day Hunt Report With Zambeze Delta Safaris In Coutada 11'

Jan 4, 2025

PROLOGUE

Sometimes in the hunting world, the correlation between one’s expectations and reality never quite intersect - such was not the case with our October ’24 safari with Mark Haldane’s Zambeze Delta Safaris (ZDS). I’m getting way ahead of myself though and probably ought to go back and provide a little background on the genesis of this hunt. I first met Mark Haldane through my role as Treasurer on the board of The Dallas Safari Club Foundation. Over the course of the last three or four years I got to know him through our support of his anti-poaching efforts in his hunting concession...

• Ku-winda
• hunt reports zds moz
• Replies: 82
• Forum: Hunting reports Africa

• 

Many thanks again and glad to make the connection!

Turns out I had been reading the Coutada 11 report all along

 

[Tim Blackwell]

Many thanks for all of the kind words, gentlemen - I am very pleased indeed with how they turned out! @Tim Blackwell , I passed along your comments to Matt Otten and he was honored to hear that compliment coming from you, so thank you very much for taking the time to post! Please do share some pics of your work. @deewayne2003 , I did not do a report on that hunt, but probably should. Maybe I will do one when I finish up with my current report on Coutada 11. The OZ trip was one of the coolest hunts I've ever done in my life and I'd go back in a heartbeat! I am actually scheduled to go hunt with Simon again next year and can't wait!

Cheers mate. I don't mean to detract from your post. Here's the last pedestal buff I did. Something different for a nice old central Arnhemland bull.

 

[Ku-winda]

Not at all! I love it and wonderful use of a termite mound! Very creative - well done Sir!!!

 

[Ku-winda]

Got a call from Matt Otten yesterday that the European mounts for our other bulls were ready. Once again, Matt did a fantastic job and I'm including before and after pics for comparative purposes.

Craig's last day, last hour bull on the hoof

Otten's Euro mount

Cameron's old bull

Same bull already at home on the wall

 

[PCC600]

Got a call from Matt Otten (Otten Brothers Taxidermy, Pipe Creek, Texas) earlier in the week, indicating he had finished my water buffalo, along with oldest son Cameron's, as well. Consequently, I stopped by yesterday to check them out and thought both turned out fantastic and wanted to share. I had told Matt I wanted people to be able to fully appreciate the size of these animals, so we did mine on a pedestal mount. He has a source in Utah for aged Utah Juniper that for all intents and purposes is as dense as ironwood and we used that for the pedestal. I asked him to get the biggest one he could find for mine and he indicated the base alone weighs somewhere in that 300-350 pound range, so won't be moving it around once I get it settled. He did Cameron's as a typical wall mount and that looks great as well. Definitely brings back fond memories looking at them! Also including pics on the hoof for a before and after look - as, you can see Cameron's bull had beautiful jet black hair, while mine was a bit older and follically challenged to boot (a bit like me). We still have three European mounts as well and I will share those when complete. Anyway, I hope our Aussie brothers approve and comments are welcome as always.

Craig's bull on the ground
View attachment 673551
Pedestal mount
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Cameron's bull on the ground
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Wall mount
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They are really impressive buff that you shot up in the NT . They really are big animals and tougher than many think . The mounts are magnificent .