flatwater bill
AH legend
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2013
- Messages
- 3,294
- Reaction score
- 7,732
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- Member of
- NRA endowment member/Life member
- Hunted
- All 6 Continents
I was fortunate to meet with three other AH members at the WHCE in Salt Lake City last week. Putting faces with the familiar names was nice. This is a well organized expo well worth attending. The speakers were excellent, and regardless of your political bent, Donald Trump, Jr., The Secretary of the Interior, and Uncle Ted all proved to me that they were hunters and strong advocates of hunting. I also attended the evening auctions, which is the purpose of this post. For those who have not attended this show, but have attended various SCI shows, you know the format. But the auctions in Salt Lake City are higher octane. Jet fueled. A few examples: The Arizona state-wide mule deer tag sold for $220,000. A muley tag in a single Utah hunt unit sold for $105,000. The state wide Utah muley tag....the "Governor's Tag" as it is called, went for $190,000, and the Antelope Island Utah Mule Deer tag went for a crisp, tidy $290,000. Some tags a little higher, some a little lower than previous years. These auctions raise a great deal of money for conservation. They also make a mortal man very, very envious.
After a little reflection, I realize how fortunate we are to have reasonably priced hunting in Africa. Right now it is the best deal in hunting. And how nice it is to have this website to both display and arrange for our own "Governor's Tags" at a fraction of the price. Sometimes 5% or so.
Last year I stayed in a camp with some high rollers. One man, Mark, arrived at 5PM and unpacked. He hunted the evening hunt and with a great guide, shot a 386 bull elk just at sunset. He was not at breakfast the next morning. He had risen early, and drove out at 5 AM headed to the city to catch an early flight out. A hunter?.
I would not trade even one of my African hunts for a canned, pre-scouted trigger day in Utah or Arizona at a quarter of a million dollars. This auction put AH in perspective. This is the place. The time is now.
Flatwater Bill
After a little reflection, I realize how fortunate we are to have reasonably priced hunting in Africa. Right now it is the best deal in hunting. And how nice it is to have this website to both display and arrange for our own "Governor's Tags" at a fraction of the price. Sometimes 5% or so.
Last year I stayed in a camp with some high rollers. One man, Mark, arrived at 5PM and unpacked. He hunted the evening hunt and with a great guide, shot a 386 bull elk just at sunset. He was not at breakfast the next morning. He had risen early, and drove out at 5 AM headed to the city to catch an early flight out. A hunter?.
I would not trade even one of my African hunts for a canned, pre-scouted trigger day in Utah or Arizona at a quarter of a million dollars. This auction put AH in perspective. This is the place. The time is now.
Flatwater Bill