Black Rhino Hunt in RSA

[Mooseman]

You guys are going to have a fantastic time by the sounds of it. Enjoy!!
Take some pictures and put them in here so we can see waht a South African birthday camp looks like.

[Franko Manini]

IMHO, the story does nothing for me ... actually makes me gringe as a hunter. It's pure wealthy testosterone in action ... makes me shake my head in shame.

Agreed... to have the money and opportunity to hunt such a revered animal and then the arrogance and disrespect to disallow a follow-up shot from the pros is disgusting.

Perhaps if the client had some more trigger time and confidence under his belt he would have been sure to make his head shot and would not have had to worry about the PH's backing him up since he would have got it right the first time.

I'm not going to claim that I am some kind of uber-marksman, but I would damn sure be prepared to make a head shot at 75 yards if I had the opportunity to hunt such a magnificant animal. I am proud of the respect I have for the game I hunt and I give myself a big pat on the back everytime I decide to NOT SHOOT, and successfully recognize my limits. That's what keeps me at the range year round.

[huntwriter]

It is a childhood dream of mien to go hunting in Africa. At one time I had a chance to become a PH but had not the cash to pay for the very expensive training course.

Nice story, thank you for sharing it.

[Mooseman]

I am not saying that I disagree with all of what you wrote but things are always a bit different when it's "you" standing in that position.

I was not there, nor do I know the client and therefore I could not ever comment on what and why things go the way they go. But I would like to give you an example of something interesting that made me think and might perhaps make others think too.

Last year for example I had two groups of bear hunters. One was sport shooters. Top in the world for running target shooting. They practise "very" regularly and shot at the European- & World Championships and the Olympic Games. When checking their rifles in camp before we went out you can guess that they punched the inner circle out of the targets we hung up for them. Simply unbelievable shooting.
The other group was "just" hunters. When checking their guns they had 3" groups at 100 yards. By far not good for any competition. Right?

Take a guess who got bears and who didn't. Lets just say that my tracking dogs had a lot of checking to do, to make sure they really missed.

(the group of hunters had been nicknamed "one shot" and that is what it took them to get their bears)

What I have no respect for, is people that make a bad shot and don't do everything possible to try to recover that animal. We are all not perfect and will make bad shots in our lifetime as hunters. But what we decide to do after such a shot is what deserves respect or makes me shake my head in shame.

There is nothing unethical about that story. That first shot was surly not intended to miss its target. Any hunter stating that they have never made a bad shot have either not hunted much and will still learn that lesson or.........

[huntwriter]

I am not saying that I disagree with all of what you wrote but things are always a bit different when it's "you" standing in that position.

I was not there, nor do I know the client and therefore I could not ever comment on what and why things go the way they go. But I would like to give you an example of something interesting that made me think and might perhaps make others think too.

Last year for example I had two groups of bear hunters. One was sport shooters. Top in the world for running target shooting. They practise "very" regularly and shot at the European- & World Championships and the Olympic Games. When checking their rifles in camp before we went out you can guess that they punched the inner circle out of the targets we hung up for them. Simply unbelievable shooting.
The other group was "just" hunters. When checking their guns they had 3" groups at 100 yards. By far not good for any competition. Right?

Take a guess who got bears and who didn't. Lets just say that my tracking dogs had a lot of checking to do, to make sure they really missed.

(the group of hunters had been nicknamed "one shot" and that is what it took them to get their bears)

What I have no respect for, is people that make a bad shot and don't do everything possible to try to recover that animal. We are all not perfect and will make bad shots in our lifetime as hunters. But what we decide to do after such a shot is what deserves respect or makes me shake my head in shame.

There is nothing unethical about that story. That first shot was surly not intended to miss its target. Any hunter stating that they have never made a bad shot have either not hunted much and will still learn that lesson or.........

That reminds me of a time when I guided a top archery shot on a whitetaideer hunt in Illinois. he was a very nice guy and very dedicated to his sport, he even had wall of archery trophy pocals to show off.

Sitting in our treestands for about an hour a little buck came down the trail, my archer friend pulled the string back and had a perfect stance. The arrow left the string and smack hit a tree five feet above the deer. The deer was only 15 yards from the stand yet the archer couldn't hit a barn door.

What happend? He admitted that he simply lost his nerves. To him that little buck was more nerve racking than the American archery tournament. The leasson learned here is this. Just because someone is a good shot does not make him also a good deer killer. Target and hunting shooting are two completely different pair of shoes.

Some outfitter friends tell me similar stories, they are of the experienced opinion that. The better a target shooter is the worse he is a hunter. Or, as a Missouri Outfitter told me. "The better they are with their fancy bows and guns at the traget range and bragging about it the more I worry taking them to the woods." There is no substitute for getting as many critters under the belt as possible in order to become a proficent hunter.

[huntwriter]

Agreed... to have the money and opportunity to hunt such a revered animal and then the arrogance and disrespect to disallow a follow-up shot from the pros is disgusting.

Perhaps if the client had some more trigger time and confidence under his belt he would have been sure to make his head shot and would not have had to worry about the PH's backing him up since he would have got it right the first time.

I'm not going to claim that I am some kind of uber-marksman, but I would damn sure be prepared to make a head shot at 75 yards if I had the opportunity to hunt such a magnificant animal. I am proud of the respect I have for the game I hunt and I give myself a big pat on the back everytime I decide to NOT SHOOT, and successfully recognize my limits. That's what keeps me at the range year round.

Have you ever stood in front of such a "magnificent" animal? I have, many times, albeit not as a hunter but as an animal behaviourist, my profession, and let me tell you. A lion, tiger, elephant or rhino will do something to your confidence even when they stay 100 yards away from you. You will feel all of a sudden very small, meaningless and unimportant in this world. Not a good condition to make a perfect shot at anything. You will get this sudden inferior complex even if you know that someone else with a gun stays right behind you.

This is the reason why the PH always ends up putting the last shot into a big African game animal. This is not the exeption but rather the rule. This PH must have been confident that his client can make the shot. Would he not have been confident then he would have done what's very common in such cases and shoot at the animal the very instant the client shot.

[johnes50]

Welcome Riaan, that was an interesting read. You sure earned your money on that hunt. By the way, how's Rudi doing. Not everyday somebody gets chased by a Rhino and lives to tell about it. If you have anymore stories I'm sure we would all like to hear them.

[Walksalot]

Can't say as hunting out of province turns my crank. A guided hunt appeals to many people but not to me.

The Black Rinos were killed for the medicinal qualities of their horn which almost led to their extinction. In actuality the horns were removed from many animals to lessen the threat to the species. The government even sent troops afield with orders to shoot to kill any poachers.

If the numbers were sufficient to allow some to be cropped off maybe relocation for a number of the animals might have been a better choice.

.02

[jackson13]

I wonder how Black Rhino tastes?

[death-junky]

Holy crist that thing took alot of fire power and still kept on going remind me never to shoot a rhino
ttyal
Riley