I like Jan and his wife. I knew I should have gone to the Harrisburg show this year. I usually go, but got side-tracked. I spoke to Mark in December. I really like Mark and have most, if not all, of his hunting videos. There has been considerable banter about him encouraging his clients to shoot to wound game so that he can instigate and film charges. Of course that is absurd. I know Mark and he is a master at marketing himself, but to accuse him of no scruples is slanderous. No one would bite the hand that feeds him and he would not do unethical things on camera or otherwise. Mark conducts many hunts and certainly not every animal charges. His videos are but a representation of some of his hunts. Should I decide to hunt with Mark (probably will), I certainly am not interested in being filmed and no one, absolutely no one could convince me to shoot to wound and animal. It just isn't done. I feel badly that Jan was talked into the leopard thing. I am sure he got caught-up in the moment trying to please clients and strayed a bit. I am not excusing him. Sometimes good people do things that are not so good. We have all had a lapse in judgement. It is most unfortunate that Jan strayed as it has hurt his reputation. We all say things like "that is not his character", but we must realize that maybe that was not in character for Jan, but it was certainly "part of his character". After all, we never do anything totally "out-of-character" because we can't separate ourselves from our self. I will chalk it up as a lapse in judgement. Mark has been accused of ridiculous things. A fool he is not and if he was so immoral or illegal, he would certainly have lost his PH credentials. It is sad that he was ban from SCI, but that is just a "big boy club" and he will survive. I am sure you all remember the beating Peter Capstick took when he passed away. Some awful dreadful things were said about him. If one has read his library, one can easily see that he never claimed to be the subject of many of the stories in his writings and honestly, all of us embellish from time-to-time. It comes with the gender. I really want input about options for a hunt for Cape Buffalo and Hippo. Mark is my first choice, but I have an open mind and am less than a rookie. I only claim to be very experienced at shooting great big holes in paper with great big guns. I have been an avid hunter all of my life, but have never been to Africa. I have longed for that experience since watching Ramar of the Jungle as a child and watching the movie Hatari with John Wayne. I know I am dating myself, but it is what it is. I am an older guy with a need to do Africa the way I want; a .500 Nitro double and a good PH with plenty of stories. I want to see plenty of game and maybe even shoot a buff and a hippo. I will at least give it my best shot.

Nyati50