billrquimby

It is not an ordinary virus because it attacked my Mac also when I opened the email that said I had a card from Amanda. It's the first virus I've ever encountered in more than 20 years of using Macs. Most outlaws ignore us Mac guys and attack the larger PC market. This @##%$#! was an equal opportunity attacker. Bill Q

Many years ago, we found a hunter who had died of a heart attack on the very top of Biscuit Peak in the Mustang Mountains between Sonoita and Sierra Vista. I've told the story about the incident on this forum a while back, but when the deputy arrived to make sure there were no crimes done he brought a stretcher and five of us packed the dead guy and our gear off the mountain long after dark. If you've been on that peak you know it is covered with catclaw. We started out trying to keep our cargo from being scratched, but soon started using the stretcher and the corpse to protect our own hides. So I have to say if you must go into that stuff, find yourself a dead guy first. Bill Quimby

Putting your shots into a the 8- to 10-inch vitals of a deer at 400-500 yards can be done regularly and ethically with modern rifles with crisp triggers, high-power quality rifle scopes, rangefinders, bipods and trajectory charts. Years ago I competed regularly in the silueta metalica shooting matches in Nogales and Hermosillo, Sonora, and we shot OFFHAND without slings or shooting aids at 200, 300, 400 and 500 meters (not yards). I used a different scope for each range, so it wasn't bullet drop that gave me problems, it was the wind drift at the longer ranges. Although long shots are entirely possible, I have not heard folks on this forum bragging about making them, either. Bill Quimby

I'd like to do that, except we're heading up to the cabin on 24 April and won't be down until late October. Also, that cold one will have to be a caffeine-free diet cola. My cardiologist says I can't have alcohol and other stimulants. Bill

Scottyboy. I'm an SCI life member, but am not a chapter member at present. I hear good things about the Tucson chapter, and know many of its members. They're good guys. Bill

Years ago I came up with my own definition for "ethics" as it pertains to hunting. It goes thusly: "Ethics are the standards accepted by the majority of hunters in a particular region." Thus, hunting deer with dogs is unethical (and illegal in most places) in the West and East, but perfectly acceptable in certain areas in the South. Hunting from a blind at a waterhole is ethical in North America; unethical in South Africa. Etc. Etc. Using my definition, I tallied the "not opposed to baiting" and "against baiting" in this thread and found the issue is tied 7 to 7 (counting myself as not opposed). So much for surveys. Bill Quimby

I find it interesting that local hunters in Africa feel the same way about the hunting operations that build elevated blinds for bowhunters over waterholes. Some say it is unsportsmanlike to shoot an animal within 1/4 mile of water, even with a rifle.

Well said.

THIS IS FROM AN SCI BULLETIN -- BQ Animal Rights Groups Convicted ?An animal rights group and six members were convicted Thursday of inciting violence against a company that tests drugs and household products on animals. The group, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, maintained its actions were protected under the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech. The charges carry two to five years in prison and fines up to $250,000.? For the full story, visit: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/new...on/14001141.htm (Source: Charlotte Observer)

I've hunted whitetails in Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, and all my hunting there was done from tree blinds in thick timber. The bucks I saw gave me only a couple of seconds to decide whether to shoot or not. I've also hunted from blinds in Texas, but the country was open and we could be more selective. Bill

Thank you, Casey. I'm an old codger who has lived my entire life in Arizona, and I have been fortunate to do a bit of traveling and lots of hunting on six continents because of my occupation as an outdoor writer/editor/publisher. I envy you young guys because you have an entire lifetime ahead to chase your dreams. Hang around as long as I have and you'll rack up a few interesting experiences, too. At age 70, it's all downhill for me. BillQ

Guys, South Africa is a lot like Arizona. It has all types of terrain and vegetation ranging from sea level to high mountains (although not as high as ours). Some places around Kimberley remind me of Marana. Cape Town looks like San Diego. Johannesburg could be St. Louis or Atlanta. It also large modern cities with skyscrapers, excellent roads, water you can drink out of any tap without worrying, great hospitals, libraries and universities, huge shopping malls and plush resorts -- and 3-meter gameproof fences around everywhere you will hunt. Namibia is a bit more "wild," but most of the packaged hunts offered there also will be conducted behind wire. To see the Africa of your dreams in southern Africa you must go to the third-world countries. The most primitive are those that have had their "independence" the longest. In the seminars I've moderated at SCI conventions for first-time safari hunters I tell everyone to hunt South Africa for its unique species (there are many) before going elsewhere. That's because people who have hunted in Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe first usually are disappointed when they get around to hunting those unique species on South African game farms. Don't get me wrong. Hunting is South Africa is not like hunting on a Texas game ranch. For one thing, most of the animals are indigenous and some of the farms are truly huge. It's just not what you've seen in Out of Africa or a PBS documentary. Beware, though. It's true what they say about no one hunting in Africa just once. BillQ

Found it!

I must be blind, but I haven't found whatever it is. Where is it in relation to the elk quarter?

Desertsheep: We could set up a weekend outing sometime this summer. Our place has only one bedroom, but we could gather at Hoyer or Benny Creek and attack whatever lake is hot at the time. One proviso, Bullwidgeon must plan, coordinate and execute the thing. It can't be in July, because my grandson and I will be in Australia all that month. He wants to catch a barramundi and learn to play the didgeridoo; I want to see the penguins and do a bit of 'roo and boar control. Bill

Bret: As always, you're invited to Chinese (or even Booga Red's) anytime we're up there at the same time. Compared to the 10,000-15,000-sq ft "cabins" sprouting up around us in Greer, my place is a shack. Your grandparents' places are not. Bill

Jason, if you hunt near Kimberley, you should know that impala are not indigenous to that area. Also, if you do go, be sure to the see the diamond museum, the Big Hole, and the "glacier paintings" from the last Ice Age. BillQ

If you want to raise the hair on the back of your neck, check this out: http://forums.accuratereloading.com/groupe...043/m/310102644 BillQ

I wasn't as brave as my brief little tale made me seem. All that roaring ahead of us in the pre-dawn was downright spooky. My Adam's apple was so high up my throat I was gulping air as we approached that bait. Later, when I asked the outfitter why he didn't have our tracker carry a gun, I learned that a man with an axe was better equipped to fend off a big cat that wants to argue. My lawyer friend who has been buying up northeastern Botswana has me beat, though. He shot his lion on foot with a single arrow! There is no way I would try that, even with a .600 for a backup. Lions and elephants scare me greatly. BillQ

Sorry I overlooked your question, Jason. Their winter months -- June, July,August -- are the best times for hunting in southern Africa. The weather is tolerable in April and May, but the grass still is up and it's harder to see the game. You won't like their summer. The snakes and bugs come out and the humidity is unbearable, especially along the Indian Ocean. Just remember to take warm clothing. I've seen snow in Johannesburg in July. It can freeze at night, even in the lower elevations as far north as Zambia and Zimbabwe. Believe it or not, there is a ski resort in the mountains near Durban. BillQ

I've been all over the planet and haven't found anywhere else I'd rather spend the few years I have left. We pack up, winterize the cabin, and get the heck out of there before the first big snowfall, however. Bill

I've written about the hunt in magazines and a couple of books, but a quickie version goes like this: C.J. McElroy, the founder of SCI, had a booking agency and asked me to accompany him to Zambia to check out an outfitter's facilities in 1994 and write about what we found. There was no way I could refuse. I shot a zebra the first afternoon we reached our camp in a concession called Mumbwa, just outside Kafue National Park. After the zebra was skinned the outfitter had the carcass hung legs up where we had found lion tracks. He then had his men clear a two-foot wide path for at least a quarter of a mile and mark it with pieces of toilet paper so that we could follow the path in the dark. They removed every stick and leaf that we might step on. They also built a blind (a flat screen of long grass) just twenty yards from the bait tree and set up shooting sticks for my rifle. I am 6 foot 4, but I could just touch the zebra by standing on my toes. Before we left they covered the zebra carcass with brush so vultures would not find it. When we reached the start of the path in the dark we could hear lions roaring and fighting over our bait. Walking in the dark with me was the outfitter with a .458, and a black man with an axe. I had a .416 Weatherby Magnum on loan from the factory. Each step took us closer to the roaring. It still was dark when we got into the blind to find the cats had knocked down the shooting sticks. As black began turning to gray I could see a lioness stand on her rear legs and jerk off a two-foot length of backstrap from the zebra. She then walked toward us and plopped down just a foot or so from where we were standing behind the grass wall. A short time later I could barely see this big lion walk up. Visibility was very poor, and (as I learned) the scope the Weatherby people put on my rifle did not gather much light. The outfitter had told me lions would leave the bait at first light, and I was excited about being so close to those big cats. I quickly found what I thought was the male in the scope and ... shot a bush! I cannot describe how awful and dumb I felt. As we headed back to the truck we found lion tracks in our blind and on the trail. I was doubtful when the outfitter said the lions might return to the bait that afternoon but he knew what he was talking about. The sun had been down only five minutes or so when the lioness walked up and began chewing on the meat I'd scared her off that morning. Right after that the big guy showed up and I shot it. It was all that six of us could do to load it into the truck. We had no scales but the men estimated that it weighed more than 500 pounds. Could be, but for sure, it was a very big lion. Over the next 20 days I shot waterbuck, bushbuck, hartebeest, oribi, reedbuck, grysbok, warthog, impala and I've forgotten what else. It was my most memorable safari, and the lion is my finest trophy from Africa. Any hunter who says he has never missed an easy shot is a liar, but why do my misses always happen when other people are watching? And why are my best shots always made when I'm alone?

Firstcoueswas80: We live in Greer from about May 1 to November 1. Little Badger Creek runs through our property, which is just over the hill from Molly Butler's Lodge. Compared to the 10,000-square foot "cabins" going up around us, our place is just a shack. The best I can say is that it's comfortable and I built it myself over the past 30 years. We often have elk in the yard at night. BillQ

Looking forward to getting back to my cabin in God's country. When I grow tired of watching the trees grow I drive around and look at elk. I sometimes fish for trout at Becker Lake and Big Lake when friends come up. BillQ

Jason: Shipping heads and hides from Africa, expediting your trophies and mounting them back home CAN cost more than the price of the animals you'll take on a South African budget bowhunt package. One of my hunting buddies here in Tucson, owns a considerable chunk of land along the Limpopo River in the Tuli Block in Botswana and has a bowhunting operation on one of his properties. He and his wife (she runs the business in Africa) are straight shooters, and if you want I can hook you up. Email me at billrquimby@cs.com I have no idea what they charge but I have seen some good kudu there. They also have free-ranging lion, leopard and elephant. (No buffalo.) Compared to South Africa, Botswana still is wild. Scottyboy: I've never been to the Thornybush Reserve, but I have been all over that part of South Africa. In 1983, when the government wanted to promote tourism, I was the guest of the South African Tourist Agency at several of those expensive, exclusive lodges in the Sabi San just west of Kruger's Skukusa on my first trip to Africa. In the late 1990s I drove a rental car just about everywhere in and around Kruger for an article I was writing. Then, in 2002, a friend took me to one of the farms not far from Thornybush to see where lions were being raised commercially. I have good friends in Vaalwater and know the Waterburgs. (It has lots of leopards!) I've been fortunate to have taken a common waterbuck in South Africa and a Crawshay defassa waterbuck in Zambia. They are nifty antelope, but they are not as great a trophy in my mind as a bushbuck with 17-inch-plus horns hunted by stalking in thickets. Waterbuck are much larger than they appear so be sure to place your bullet properly. BillQ