The New Hunter Program at FTW Ranch turns novices into well-rounded, ethical, and skilled hunters. If you want to become a hunter and you don’t have a hunting mentor, where do you start? Sure, a hunter education course is usually mandatory, but where does a novice go for information beyond the basics—how to aim and …
Where to hunt “Africa’s whitetail.” Photo credit: An old harnessed bushbuck with one horn tip broken, taking a drink along a river in Benin. (Photo by Christophe Morio) On a hunt in Uganda this past March, we spent our last few days hunting sitatunga in riverine papyrus beds, and we were successful on the last …
Braving COVID and travel hassles to experience an unforgettable adventure in Tanzania. East Africa feels like southern Africa without the guard rail. Anyone who’s ever spent any time there can attest that its danger matches its startling beauty, making the region a premier destination for the traveling hunter. Tanzania is massive, and still very wild; …
International hunting travel is different, but still possible, in the era of COVID. Photo above: Boddington tracking buffalo between palm islands in Botswana’s Okavango Swamp in 1985. Botswana is open, and elephant hunting will resume this year. Unfortunately, there is no longer any hunting in the Okavango. My rationale (“excuse,” if you prefer) for my …
International travel may be out of the question this year, but you can still put together an interesting late-season hunting adventure. Covid-era travel restrictions continue to be devastating to the hunting industry worldwide. Outfitters, guides, PHs, travel agents, taxidermists, shippers, camp staff, and wildlife are all suffering. With international travel mostly prohibited, we are left …
Rowland Ward joins other conservation groups in taking a stand against the shooting of captive-bred lions. Rowland Ward Ltd. has united with several highly regarded international conservation groups to take a firm stand against the practice of captive-bred lion shooting.The shooting of lions bred in captivity not only has no conservation benefit, but also it …
A quest for a very old dagga boy in the Zambezi Valley. “A buffalo hunt has been a lifelong dream of mine,” said seventy-eight-year-old Frank after introducing himself to me at a recent Dallas Safari Club Convention. “I’m told you’re Mr. Buffalo, so can you please help me make it happen?” What a nice request this …
It may not be the most beautiful of Africa’s plains game, but the hartebeest is fascinating and challenging to hunt. Featured Image: A Cape hartebeest. Photo by Dirk de Bod Among the millions of words I’ve written about African hunting, this is the first piece I’ve devoted specifically to the hartebeest. This is odd, because …
Having your firearms appraised helps safeguard your family from getting ripped off after you’re gone. When I reached Duke McCaa of Gulf Breeze Firearms by phone, he was in the middle of appraising a hunter’s gun collection. This isn’t particularly surprising, considering how many appraisals McCaa does a year and how in-demand his services are. …
The biggest bucks live in the highest, loneliest places. Photo above by Vic Schendel After spending about half my autumn hunting time pursuing mule deer from Sonora to Alberta over the past several decades, I started to envision mule deer range as a loose ocean of deer, filling the western portion of the Mississippi River’s …
