Larcher, I grew up hunting blacktail deer, mule deer, pronghorn, and rocky mountain elk here in Oregon and the surrounding states. Glassing is a big part of the ballgame when it comes to hunting in our part of the country, and well as the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, where I have also done a great deal of hunting.

So when I first went to Africa some 11 years ago, I took glassing to heart, as I always have, and I took a very active part in glassing from game. It was second-nature anyway, so why not? After a week of hunting, my PH told me, "You're only helping your own cause by working as hard as you do with your binoculars". In the years since, I've never let up. In fact, on many occasions I've spotted game before the PH or trackers have, and in some cases this has resulted in some of the best African trophies I've ever taken, some of which would not have been taken at all if I hadn't spotted them to begin with.

Almost to a man, every African PH or NA hunting guide I've ever been out with has complained about clients who sit on their dead a$$ and do nothing while the professionals do all the looking. This is the wrong approach for the client to take. The client needs to see the hunting party as a team, and as such, he needs to pull his weight and look for game along with everyone else. The PH will respect those efforts, and the work will ultimately pay off in spades, believe me...........

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