NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
04/01/13 07:41 PM
Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

http://youtu.be/5FNKiFVyRt8

Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris promo video. Good music too.

Brought to you by

Salome and Marcel de Villiers



VonGruff
(.400 member)
04/01/13 08:07 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I saw what apeared to be shooting a buff into the herd at the 9 min 25 - 9 min 30 and wondered about pass throughs and wounding an animals behind.

grandveneur
(.400 member)
04/01/13 08:21 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Time after time i see a bad shooting and wounded animals on the majority of this videos !

Referring to my comment about the first rifle for started big game hunting on another thread , there is a part of the problem !

What the need of a PH for this situation , i dont know , poor image !

And shooting on a water hole and feeding place !


SAHUNT
(Sponsor)
04/01/13 10:56 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

There are a couple of good scenes in the video. There was a couple of very bad shots, the blue wildebeest that was shot in the stomach and the other one very high, that was a long follow up.

What I did not like is hunting (read shooting) at the feeding through, at the water and shooting with a rifle out of a hide. This is not stuff you put on a marketing video. I know some people do not have a problem with it, so be it, I cannot dictate personal preferences to others, for me it is not right.

That brainshot on the baboon was amazing, never seen that before with an arrow.

The one ph, Bart Grove was working during the school holidays at the school whwere I did my ph training, then he was only 17 years old. Was good to see his face again.


lancaster
(.470 member)
05/01/13 01:00 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I can Never agree with shooting into the herd
- shooting on the water hole when there is another and better possiblity, most times it is( ok for pest control and warthog)
- bow hunting is an art for itself and I respect it but this looks like "he you can do it also, we have a comfortabel blind near the water hole, common, try it"


the scene with the baboon looks cruel. I am sure it was a chance hit but it brings no understanding by the masses to show it in public!

its all not unsportsmannlike in the same way like canned hunting but I dont want this


tophet1
(.400 member)
05/01/13 08:39 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Excellent production quality of the Video I thought. The content is just standard industry 'product'.

They seem to have used video sources from numerous outfits towards the end, so not sure if they are plugging the video co or a safari co..

'Gunter' looked like a bit of a unit.


Claydog
(.375 member)
05/01/13 06:49 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I watched the video last night and I am glad to hear the comments about shooting from the blind and at a feed bin. Really not hunting to me. A trophy taken like this for me would mean nothing but obviously some must go for that style of shooting. I would rather miss out. Different if you want some meat but not for a trophy. Shooting from that blind seems like poking a gun or bow out your motel window.

NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
05/01/13 08:22 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Some good comments for the outfitter to learn from on this thread I think.

I watched it only briefly to start off with and not much of the second half, only a bit here and there, as my download was very slow.

Feeding animals from food troughs AND shooting them over feed troughs ... definitely not for me. Lots of bow hunters shoot over waterholes I know. The herd buffalo shot, a good point raised for that as well.


ozhunter
(.400 member)
06/01/13 12:34 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Not a terribly appealing way to experience Africa imo.
What's with the shooting of game from a hide above a water hole (and feed trough). Particularly common kill method with bow hunters it seams. This was considered bad form and illegal in the good old days.
Sadly seems common practice with RSA shooting trips.
The music was certainly not my cup of tea for a hunting promo.
Perhaps I'm just old fashioned??


Cazadero
(.375 member)
06/01/13 01:11 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

A very nicely done video showcasing EVERYTHING that is wrong with the hunting industry in South Africa.

And the music sucks too.


aromakr
(.375 member)
06/01/13 02:56 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

With the talk of some bow and arrow hunters, I thought I would watch the video. I didn't see a bow in the entire film. Those machines with wheels on the ends are as far from archery as you can get. Did you see how much penetration they were getting? They should have been shooting completely through those animals. light carbon arrows are not conducive to pass thru's, and an experienced bowhunter should know that. And besides my dislike for compounds, I have to agree it was not a very good video, either.
Bob


ozhunter
(.400 member)
06/01/13 09:27 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

aromakr,
If you like traditional Bow hunting, try to get your hands on a DVD called "Boars and Barramundi1"by John Teitzel.
Filmed in the north of Australia where a group of hunters spend a few days canoeing down a remote river hunting great Boar with Bow and catch large Barramundi on Lures.
Watched it the other day and was impressed.


SAHUNT
(Sponsor)
06/01/13 03:00 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

A very nicely done video showcasing EVERYTHING that is wrong with the hunting industry in South Africa.

And the music sucks too.




Your comment is not wrong at all, but there is also another side to the story. Why did a lot of this practises started. On this forums most of the members want to do their hunt on a fair chase basis, something I agree with and I will always promote it. Unfortuneately all hunters does not think that way, there are many hunters out there that do not participate on this or any forums. Many of them does not care how they get their trophies.

The beginning of last year a ph aproached me to enter in a joint venture with him, he arranged a hunt with a to be agent and to make a promotional video of the hunt. The to be agent said to me that the type of clients we will be getting will mostly be old, very wealthy people who does not care how they take their trophies, they just want their trophy. I was very upset with that remark, because that is not the way that I hunt. On another occasion we was following the spoor of a kudu, the kudus saw us before we saw them, gave a snort and ran off. If you know kudu, you will know, if they give a snort and start running , you are wasting precious hunting time to keep on following them. His remark to me when I told him we are wasting our time was, Don't ever say that to a client carry on with the stalk and make the exited, make him feel he has a real chance to get the animal. That is not the way to treat a client. The eventual hunt report on another forum was so full of lies it is not even true. I broke off all ties with that ph and the to be agent, all their hunting, the hunt report and the video was so full of lies and bullshit, that I would never be able to live with it.

Where did all this bullshit came from? Greed from a large group of hunters, they reason that they pay a lot of money to come and hunt in Africa and they want as many trophies as possible in the shortest time possible. If the outfitter/ph does not get him enough trophy trophies, he gets bad hunt report, where did canned hunting came from, again greed and market pressure.

All hunters are not as ethical as they sometimes pretend to be. I agree that there are unfair hunting methods that are used by some outfitters, but why, to stay in bussiness they must keep on producing clients with their needs or they loose bussiness. Aren't the clients to blame as well for their greed and treatening the outfitter\ph with a bad hunting report. It is a catch 22 situation. The truth of the matter is that it happens everywhere, not only in RSA, sometimes it is just covered up very cleverly.

I am very outspoken about unfair hunting practises, what do I do when a client tells me he want to sit at a waterhole to shoot his trophies or shoot them from the bakkie? Do I let him do it or say no that is not how you do it. If the client tells a long story afterwards on how he took his animals must I spill the beans? On who's concious is it how that person took his animals, mine or his?

There are much more to this than what is seen, there are 2 sides to this story.


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
06/01/13 05:01 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

With the talk of some bow and arrow hunters, I thought I would watch the video. I didn't see a bow in the entire film.




I'm sorry but the above comment is ridiculous in terms of 95% of modern bow hunting.


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
06/01/13 05:28 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:


All hunters are not as ethical as they sometimes pretend to be. I agree that there are unfair hunting methods that are used by some outfitters, but why, to stay in bussiness they must keep on producing clients with their needs or they loose bussiness. Aren't the clients to blame as well for their greed and treatening the outfitter\ph with a bad hunting report. It is a catch 22 situation. The truth of the matter is that it happens everywhere, not only in RSA, sometimes it is just covered up very cleverly.

I am very outspoken about unfair hunting practises, what do I do when a client tells me he want to sit at a waterhole to shoot his trophies or shoot them from the bakkie? Do I let him do it or say no that is not how you do it. If the client tells a long story afterwards on how he took his animals must I spill the beans? On who's concious is it how that person took his animals, mine or his?

There are much more to this than what is seen, there are 2 sides to this story.




Very true. One large forum is absolutely full of it. One year they have a thread condemning "back of the bakkie safaris" ie shooting all the "trophies" from the back of landcruisers. Then the next year all the same clowns are admitting they do it all the time, probably most or all of their 'trophies' were shot from the back of landcruisers. No hunting at all. Bet their online stories are full of long stalks, daring hunting, probably even mixing it up in the middle of prides of lions ... Give it another year or two and they will be all "non-bakkie" hunters again.



Myself, I tell it as it is. I have shot an impala and a warthog and a ? from a bakkie. The warthog I did not want to but the PH was yelling and insisting so I did. The impala was running away and I just felt like doing it so did. No big deal. I also once shot another impala over a waterhole. We had resorted to the waterhole as the game on this high fenced property at the end of the season was so skittish and over hunted that they ran at the slightest thing. Hunting free range in Zimbabwe was much easier than this so called "canned" (some would label it so, even though it was say 4000 acres plus or minus) high fenced hunting area. A zebra I once shot on a property where they were being fed out of the back of bakkies. I did not know this until after the mornings hunt, neither did the PH. I wondered why the game did not run away like other areas. We stopped hunting there after that. An American hunter raved the previous night about the wonderful hunting he had had. How he managed to shoot game animal after game animal. No wonder as he was shooting semi-tame animals. A real hunter would have worked it out however ...

On the other hand some game took many many combined kms of hunting, a wildbeest, probably over 30 kms, a zebra, maybe 5 or 7, an eland maybe 5 kms. Maybe much easier.

What I think?

If you hunt or shoot, admit how you do it. If you have to lie, that you shot that grand kudu from a landcruiser, shot an eland over a feed trough, shot a tahr or chamois from a helicopter, then admit it. Pose with the chopper or car in the background, or the bags of stock feed around the eland. Be proud of how you did it! If you are not, tell lying stories, then don't argue about it being ethical, because you have already admitted it is shameful to tell the story.

The trouble is often one does not know what the practices are. Are the amimals on the property all purchased at auction at the beginning of the season? Personally I find this completely unacceptable and a form of canned hunting. Are the animals extensively fed at feeding stations, or bakkies? Again a form of canned hunting. The property may also be overstocked so needs supplementary feeding. Results in semi-tame animals. The usual issues of too small high fenced properties. Intensive breeding of animals. PHs wanting to shoot from bakkies, over waterholes, over feeding stations. Btw never seen a feeding trough yet on a safari thank goodness! etc etc

Sorry Jaco, but these things are FAR more common in South Africa than elsewhere in Africa. There are far more PHs, more outfitters, more game ranches than elsewhere, so the competition is also stronger and the need to supply the unscrupulous client. I know there are good guys and crooked guys though. The challenge is always to pick the right one for the clients own desires.


SAHUNT
(Sponsor)
06/01/13 05:47 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

Quote:


All hunters are not as ethical as they sometimes pretend to be. I agree that there are unfair hunting methods that are used by some outfitters, but why, to stay in bussiness they must keep on producing clients with their needs or they loose bussiness. Aren't the clients to blame as well for their greed and treatening the outfitter\ph with a bad hunting report. It is a catch 22 situation. The truth of the matter is that it happens everywhere, not only in RSA, sometimes it is just covered up very cleverly.

I am very outspoken about unfair hunting practises, what do I do when a client tells me he want to sit at a waterhole to shoot his trophies or shoot them from the bakkie? Do I let him do it or say no that is not how you do it. If the client tells a long story afterwards on how he took his animals must I spill the beans? On who's concious is it how that person took his animals, mine or his?

There are much more to this than what is seen, there are 2 sides to this story.




What I think?

If you hunt or shoot, admit how you do it. If you have to lie, that you shot that grand kudu from a landcruiser, shot an eland over a feed trough, shot a tahr or chamois from a helicopter, then admit it. Pose with the chopper or car in the background, or the bags of stock feed around the eland. Be proud of how you did it! If you are not, tell lying stories, then don't argue about it being ethical, because you have already admitted it is shameful to tell the story.





This is the bottom line, tell it as it is, why lie and pretend, it is totally unexeptable.


SAHUNT
(Sponsor)
06/01/13 06:09 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:


Sorry Jaco, but these things are FAR more common in South Africa than elsewhere in Africa. There are far more PHs, more outfitters, more game ranches than elsewhere, so the competition is also stronger and the need to supply the unscrupulous client. I know there are good guys and crooked guys though. The challenge is always to pick the right one for the clients own desires.




John, you are right, maybe I did not explain myself properly. I am a boertjie speaking Afrikaans and sometimes I do not express myself properly in the English language.

It is true that it happens mostly in RSA, but it also takes place in other parts of Africa.

What stuns me if I read some of the hunt reports is the amount of animals that are hunted on a 7 day safari, if it happens once in a while yes, but if a specific outfit does it year in and year out with every hunter, I get concerned, how the hell do they do it, only 1 way. All of this is happening to satisfy the market of hunters with bags full of money and greed.

The best times I had with hunters, were the ones that were not interested in inches, but a real hunting experience. There is nothing more satisfying for me to spent time in the bush with the hunter, telling him about small things, seeing animals, deciding on what to hunt finding them, stalking them and eventually hunting the animal. Yes I use my vehicle to move around on the hunting area, it saves time to get to another area.

Bad practises comes out more frequently in RSA because there is such a huge amount of foreign hunters that visit us. What is also true is that the wildlife in RSA bloomed compared to some other areas in Africa. In the end the hunting industry gave a monetary value to the game and that is the bottom line why they are conserved. Without value animals would have been killed without any consideration of conserving them for the future generations. In the early parts of the 1900's animals were killed by the thousands in RSA, some were almost on the brink of distiction, we are lucky to have the abundance of wildlife left in RSA and we can thank the hunting industry for that.


EricD
(.416 member)
06/01/13 09:33 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I wonder what kind of clients they are trying to get? The music alone forced me to switch it off after only a couple of minutes...

lancaster
(.470 member)
06/01/13 09:47 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I understand that a PH is a business men try to made a living. they looking for the clients out there now.

grandveneur
(.400 member)
06/01/13 10:22 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris *DELETED*

Post deleted by grandveneur

aromakr
(.375 member)
07/01/13 10:11 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

John, its true compounds are a very big part of bowhunting today, however the sport is going in the wrong direction. Today its all about gadgets and how fast the arrow is. Its range finders, lazer sights, release aids and light arrows at 300+ FPS. Archery is suppose to be a primitive sport, a simple bow & string and getting close to the animal. Its gone from a primitive sport to a multi-billon dollar industry, where the emphesis is on creating more and more gadgets to sell, with no thought of where its leading the sport. I realize this is off subject, so I'll leave it here.
Bob


Cazadero
(.375 member)
08/01/13 06:20 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Jaco/SAHUNT,

I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you run a fair chase operation and an honest business, as I am sure others in South Africa do as well.

I also agree with John though that the prevalence of unscrupulous put and take operations in South Africa, and I think more and more in Namibia, exceeds the rest of the industry as far as African hunting is concerned.

Understanding also that demand and supply are linked, the question always remains as to where the majority of the fault should belong, (as it does with the drug dealer and the addict, which is the worse?) but what is lacking here [and desperately needed] is any sort of collective condemnation by those operators who choose to operate at a higher level, and/or their professional associations.

Given my experiences with South African operators it is doubtful that my personal opinion will ever change, and my unwillingness to even think about doing so is solidified that much more when I see a video like the one above. (I actually know one of the PH's shown, having spent a few days in the same camp with him. Individually a great hunter and a nice guy - and obviously working to feed his family as we all do.)

But that the company purposely chooses to show animals being shot over food or water troughs suggests that not only do they do this on a regular basis, they also think it's completely acceptable and should be exhibited as a promotional effort. Many of the angles shown suggest to me that they are shooting from a slight elevation - possibly a vehicle. No I can't actually see this anywhere, but it sure looks like it to me. And the shot of the arrow into the forehead of the baboon? First of all, I doubt it was on purpose, and while impact shots are common and for the most part acceptable on hunting videos, I think that the inclusion of this particular one is in very poor taste, sensationalistic, bordering on the level of mind-dissolving reality television, and in my opinion is a reflection of the absolute worst of the entire outdoor industry and whoever was involved in the production as well.

And I still think the music sucks.

Just my opinion, not that anyone cares.


tophet1
(.400 member)
08/01/13 07:01 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

There is nothing new or out of the ordinary in that video. It has all been shown before and most promos have part of, or similar content.

For time poor consumers or the trophy 'collector' it would be totally acceptable.

As for the music, I'm 53yo and didn't find it obnoxious. Looks to me like the marketing used in this video is progressive and may very well appeal to a younger consumer niche, just as the Mark Sullivan videos appeal to a certain market demographic.

The industry (and that's what this is promoting) won't stay in the 19th century for ever. It's a bit like hunting organisations saying that video games promote violence. That's a great way to alienate the under 35's and future members because of the way that message is currently being delivered.

That video will sell 'hunts', and those that don't like it won't buy.


MarvelAfrica
(.224 member)
08/01/13 12:35 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Hi Gentlemen,

I am Marcel de Villiers, Outfitter of Marvel Africa Safaris,
Sorry for joining the discussion late, i only picked up on this discussion today.

Based on the comments above, i have to admit mistakes.
The first mistake was a lack of detail in the hunting section,
i see the rifle blind hunting has raised some contention, i definitely should
have included that the hunt was done by an older gentlemen whom was unfortunately not able
to walk and stalk/spot and stalk ANYMORE, this was at the end of his hunt, most of the hunt was conducted in a reasonable way, the reason for including it was exactly for that reason,
showing that we can cater for Older and disabled hunters, but i should have been more clear about that.

There was another scene where hunters sat in a makeshift blind, that was not over a watering or feeding area, it was on an animal track where we knew animals would pass, this is rather standard practice world wide as far as i can make out !

We do not hunt with able bodies clients over water holes !!!!!!
unless there is a extremely good reason...
As for feeding areas, be realistic about that, if a animal cannot be hunted while eating they cannot be hunted 90% of the time.. but yes, understand the point that was tried to be made here.
this is a practice we use with bow hunting, not ideal i must admit. but that is standard practice over Africa.

Response on some other statements.

The Baboon head shot, a contentious issue, I agree, but we are marketing to hunters, and yes that shot was intentional, the fact is the Baboon came in a few times and and rarely offered an opportunity, then this shot came, we were not at all aware the head shot was the clients intention but it turned out very well, it is not something any PH would motivate a hunter he only knows for a few days to do.. and we did not do that.
But the customer pulled it off, the fact is, it was a clean kill, i would have been less surprised if the contention was around the first baboon shot, that was not the fast and clean kill, the shot was a bit low..

As for the bad shots referred to, unfortunately we are guided by the availability of the footage we have, yes some shots could be better, but all trophies was recovered, without second shots needed (Bow Section) and without unnecessary pain and suffering.

As one person wrote about his angle observation, keep in mind that the camera is not always right next to the shooter, there is a perspective difference in those shots, what appears to be bad shots could be very good shots, and this is an inherent problem with all hunting video..
For example, the bow kill on the Blue wildebeest, a quartering away shot, i personally filmed that shot, camera was almost 2 meters away from the client at a tilted angle, the penetration was right in the vitals, that blue wildebeest did not go more than 150 meter and we picked it up right there.

So yes, it might appear to be elevated etc, as i realize most of you are experienced hunters, and yes you have the right to your opinions..
but please keep an open mind, and watch your own footage with the same criticism, you will find similarities which might surprise you.

As for the Buffalo herd, that is nothing new, stalking a herd of buffalo that close is a challenge on its own, separating the specific bull you want to shoot from the heard without spooking the heard a near impossibility.
But we do take the precautions we can to manage the risk 99% of wounding any other animals,
and in this case as in most we ensure the client shoots with soft point ammunition which has a very low risk of actual trough and trough penetration.

Just a realty check here, you guys with Africa hunting experience should know what the price of a buffalo is, you would also know that most all big game hunting is done on some or the other concession, we pay for what we kill or wound !, would you from a pure business perspective think that we would risk paying for two buffalo's because of a bad call, we would be out of business in one season if we paid for 2 Buffalo's for every one we got paid for.

I thank everyone who've taken the time to view the video, and all the comments and remarks on the video, i will take every word as constructive input and ensure that i learn from your input.
Thanks..

But i have to throw in a BUT here, i realized reading these comments, and some very negative comments why we as hunters are a dying breed, we can be positive towards each other,how do we expect the opposition to be any less critic about us, in some posts i was not sure if i was on an anti hunting forum or a hunting forum, yes i made mistakes.. and i will take my due criticism for that.

As my fellow South African did, i need to remind you that the client in a lot of cases is just as guilty of certain practices that developed as the outfitter, as an example i will take the Buffalo example, if i had my idea circumstances i would also wait for a better opportunity, and yes wait for an isolated moment.
But you the client book an instant hunt, a hunting trip that should be 30 to 60 days, we need to fit into 14 to 21 days or we get reviews and get accused of not satisfying the clients needs.
Where we should actually camp in the bush and pick up the track early the morning as was done by Harry Selby, John Dugmore and the other legends of Africa hunting, we have to accommodate the hunter every night in a warm bed hot meals and creature comforts.

So yes we are all to blame for a lot of things, but one thing i cannot take blame for is publicly humiliating an individual i do not know, i have never met by saying thing like mentioned in some posts while me and my kind are being threatened on a daily bases, Zambia closing for hunt point and case..

So guys, educate me, do not humiliate and insult me by assumptions and opinions, if you want come hunt with me, i will let you stay for free, then you go back and write your review, if then i deserved the above comments, i will take them without any argument..

Thank you again for all the constructive inputs, i will learn from this.

Thanks to Nitro/John for posting this and this result was not our intention.

Best Regards
Marcel


ozhunter
(.400 member)
08/01/13 06:32 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

A good honest reply and it would be great if these posts are taken as constructive criticism as we are all in the spotlight of the common public.

SAHUNT
(Sponsor)
08/01/13 09:10 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

A good honest reply and it would be great if these posts are taken as constructive criticism as we are all in the spotlight of the common public.




I fully agree with you and thanks to Marcel for his post.

I think one of the big issues we as hunters are having is the perceptions of the non hunting community. Not all of them are greenies, but they have a wrong perception of hunting.

After reading an artlicle by Ian Michler about the cancelation of hunting licences in Zambia and some of the other articles he wrote, I again realise the seriousness of the wrong perceptions. The problem with perceptions are that they are seldom true. To change that perception takes a lot of effort and a very long time. Take the canned hunting of a Lion by Sandy McDonald, who knows what really happened there? Sandy was lured into a trap by a person pretending that he was unable to walk and filmed the hunt, we all know what happened. The perception is still clinging. In the article of Ian Michler South Africans are accused of flying Sable calfs out of Zambia, it is possible that it is true, but a perception is created that all South African hunters/outfitters/ph's are bad, which is very far from the truth. Yes we have a few bad apples, that creates a lot of bad publicity for the rest of us who is just like everybody else try to make a living. We are fortunate that at least we earn our money out of something we love.

The way hunting areas are closed in Africa, South Africa might be the last place on the continent where you will be able to hunt. Why are hunting closed in Africa? Are perceptions not playing a big part, I'm just wondering.

I think what happens in the bush must stay in the bush and with that I am not promoting unethical behaviour, the problem is that it does not matter what we do, we get hammered for it. In RSA we are very quickly accused of canned hunting etc, but it is only a very few guys who is doing it and the rest of us must fight out hands off to try and proof that we are not like that.


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
08/01/13 10:51 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Marcel

Thanks for joining and especially for commenting.

I planned to drop you a note to have a read of the thread comments on the weekend but saw your member application and approved it for you so thought you may have seen them anyway.

I think the some of the comments can be read constructively especially in regard to video presentation and material. As you say with regard to some of the criticism and feed/waterhole etc hunting being an elderly client, I would point out, MANY outfitters use less than sporting methods for some clients, elderly, crippled etc, to enable them to enjoy a safari, so that isn't really out of the ordinary. Unfortunately a video often doesn't put it in perspective. I know outfitters who have been praised for providing a hunt for a guy in a wheelchair, with a special shooting frame as a maneuverable shooting rest.

Not specific here in any way, I think fat unfit clients, should NOT (edited to add missing word!) fit into any special category of crippled, disabled or elderly clients getting special "methods".

One thing about NitroExpress.com, is many of the persons commenting have extensive and varied safari experience. So it can be unlike say facebook, which have a lot of people with little or no safari experience. The reaction can be far different, from clicking LIKE, which really means "follow a discussion" in any case.


As per my comments elsewhere, I think the video has a professional presentation feel to it. Irrespective of some of the footage subject matter. Something to consider for the next one maybe and also for your possible youtube planned TV "channel".


Mike_Bailey
(.400 member)
08/01/13 11:54 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Marcel, a good reply I think. The water hole thing always puzzles mea bit,if youareafter croc or hippo then youare next to water but, for example, my KuduI spotted on my own while the PH wasaway looking for Buff spoor (main quarry), by the timeI found himand got him back, the Kudu was 500 yards or more from the the water,I nailed him eventuallyaftera bad first shot but does that count ?? The bow thingIam baffledabout, when doesa bow cease to bea bow ?Iam full ofadmiration foranyone who can shoot one of the buggers, of which ever variety. Timeas you sayis of the essence,I guessall of us would prefera 30-40 day hunt under tents butI canīt seeit happeningin the modern world. Lastly experience,I donīt knowabout the rest of you on here but thereare moments on the 4 safarisI have undertaken whereI would have gonea different route visa vis situation on shot butasa completeamateurI can only keep learning.I shotand killed the biggest crocI will ever seei n Mozambique 2 yearsago butI never recovereditasI tooka shot from the wrong positionand hit himin the lungs.As they say, "Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement"

sorry the editing isnīt working
best
Mike


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
09/01/13 01:34 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

The seven day modern safari needing a 40 day time period as compared to 50 years ago is just mis-direction in my opinion.

The amount of animals actually shot, the quotas on a licence were also a hell of lot more generous back then, including numerous cull animals for rations, baits etc. Hell I can remember the days when all culls for lion bait were completely free. No "trophy fee" required for them.

The no shooting over water thing has also been pushed a little extreme here IMO. It depends on how many watering points there are. If there are natural water holes spread along a river, or a flowing river, a person would have to be a complete idiot not to take an animal near water if presented.

The issue is these fenced properties with scarce watering points, sometimes only one or two. The sporting part of it becomes a little too easy as an animal must approach the only waterhole to drink.

Marcel mentioned the feeding issue. I too found that odd at first, not hunting an animal in a feeding area. what the? I thought, not hunting say antelope feeding in a field? Of course one will! But shooting an animal over a stock pellet trough is a big thing different. IMO anyway.


MarvelAfrica
(.224 member)
09/01/13 04:47 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris


Hunting a passion, and a emotional topic with most serious hunters, the reason is simple as hunters and lately as gun owners we are aliens in the world.
The world around us is changing, and they think we have the wrong way.. but it is the way that got the world where it is today.

i can completely understand the responses and comment, from the ones that appear unreasonable to the ones making lots of sens,because it is a emotional subject and a passion every person reacts to it in accordance to their framework and exposure with the "Antienemy"..

And the most difficult challenge is finding that balance, i have posted vids on many forums with many different communities trying to find that perfect spot..
this video finally brought me to a point where i combined a combination of inputs and opinions i received from forums youtube and many other individual, and there i thought i understood the market..
i understood what hunters wanted to see..

And then NitroX introduced me to this forum, a completely different group of people, who from my short visit appears to be extremely passionate, emotional and protective about hunting.. my type of people i will add :-)

and everything changed.. i realized one thing, there is no one size fits all..

So as a topic, i would rule this "different folks, different strokes" and that is just that...

As from a critical ethical standpoint i got schooled !!!!, sometimes when you stick your head into something for to long you tend to miss allot of things around you, and this might be what happened with me, i started missing important things, not picking up on the small things that could create misleading ideas and perceptions.

and for that this topic was invaluable, just look at everything a second time and ask yourself what could i negatively perceive from this, had i done that it might have been just that little bit more acceptable.

My point is, thank you i learned from my brothers in hunting, even though we do not know each other,
i will certainly remember this forum on my next edit, i might just post it for scrutiny here before i publish it..

As for hunting practices, i am personally a walk and stalk hunter, even when i shot with the stick and two wheels :-), i prefer that close personal connection in the stalk, the challenge and the gain.

and i am also against this shopping basked hunting where clients "order" the species according to size area and qty..

so i can assure you, we do everything in our power to keep hunting as real and ethical as we can, we want even the newbie to go back and say, hell Africa is a challenge, but it is great..
instead of them going back and saying we fulfilled the order on date as specified.

So i will say thank you again..

But now i have a question for you guys, i just got a .44 Magnum scoped hunting revolver, my preference is walking and stalking as mentioned, but as i understand "Please understand that i am personally completely new to handgun hunting.." people hunt with handguns from blinds as would bow hunters..

What is your thoughts, handgun hunting, walk and stalk/Blinds ?


grandveneur
(.400 member)
09/01/13 06:11 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I dont know what to think about your statement .

MarvelAfrica
(.224 member)
09/01/13 06:40 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

I dont know what to think about your statement .




Could you please clarify what part, i have this bad habit of saying many things at once :-)


VonGruff
(.400 member)
09/01/13 06:54 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

I dont know what to think about your statement .




I do and that is a respectfull re-evaluation of some of my judgements after Marcel's honest apraisle of his video and the explanation for some of the segments that were not self explanetary. Maybe Marcel could include captions with some of the segments that give an outline for some of the shots. IE a cation (or voice over) that simply states that disabled, elderly, etc hunters are catered to in special circumstances. The herd buffalo might have a simple caption to explain that only soft point ammo is used in these circumstances to eleviate through & through's and suplementary wounding. Water hole shooting may indicate that many waterhole choices for the animals in that concession are available so give the understanding of choice for the animals rather than life or death need. And while Topheti may not have found the music hard to listen to there may be less edgy choices for the sometimes conservative hunting comunity.
I think we can all apreciate Marcell's posts for what they convey rather than the somewhat contreversial impression the video may have apeared to show and wish him the best.


ozhunter
(.400 member)
09/01/13 07:05 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

The feed trough is a tricky one as Cats and Hyena are often taken from bait. However,it does involve so deception to get a predator onto a bait.
Hunting Crocodile or hippo on a river is certainly different than taking them from a water pan for obvious reasons.The saying "shooting fish from a barrel" comes to mind.


grandveneur
(.400 member)
09/01/13 07:47 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

Quote:

I dont know what to think about your statement .




I do and that is a respectfull re-evaluation of some of my judgements after Marcel's honest apraisle of his video and tthe video may have apeared to show and wish him the best.




I dont know because after a statement by default a question arises whether we tried to justify ourself honestly or it is again marketing .


MarvelAfrica
(.224 member)
09/01/13 08:08 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

I dont know what to think about your statement .




I do and that is a respectfull re-evaluation of some of my judgements after Marcel's honest apraisle of his video and tthe video may have apeared to show and wish him the best.




I dont know because after a statement by default a question arises whether we tried to justify ourself honestly or it is again marketing .




Unfortunately the only way of knowing my true intention would be to get to know me, words can only account for as much, the rest is made up by deeds..

I am sorry you feel that way, but i would believe over time you will get o know me and maybe you would find the answer..


MarvelAfrica
(.224 member)
09/01/13 08:12 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

Quote:

I dont know what to think about your statement .




I do and that is a respectfull re-evaluation of some of my judgements after Marcel's honest apraisle of his video and the explanation for some of the segments that were not self explanetary. Maybe Marcel could include captions with some of the segments that give an outline for some of the shots. IE a cation (or voice over) that simply states that disabled, elderly, etc hunters are catered to in special circumstances. The herd buffalo might have a simple caption to explain that only soft point ammo is used in these circumstances to eleviate through & through's and suplementary wounding. Water hole shooting may indicate that many waterhole choices for the animals in that concession are available so give the understanding of choice for the animals rather than life or death need. And while Topheti may not have found the music hard to listen to there may be less edgy choices for the sometimes conservative hunting comunity.
I think we can all apreciate Marcell's posts for what they convey rather than the somewhat contreversial impression the video may have apeared to show and wish him the best.




Thank you !


grandveneur
(.400 member)
09/01/13 08:15 AM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

That is right , i dont know you . OK ! I believe them .

HuntingSchneider
(.333 member)
09/01/13 02:07 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris



Quote:


Not specific here in any way, I think fat unfit clients , should NOT (edited to add missing word!) fit into any special category of crippled, disabled or elderly clients getting special "methods".





Did somebody call me?
To a degree (a large degree) that's a good description of me, but I have never expected or received any "special methods". The only difference is I'm slower and need (or want) to have a break more regularly.
My Eland hunt in Namibia in 2005 was probably the hardest hunt that I have had to do. No concession from the PH. It was late November, so very hot. Hour after hour of squatting, crawling on hands and knees (bleeding knees by this point) with an occasional 5 minutes walking on hind legs as we were designed to do. That animal means more to me than any other because I worked BLOODY hard for it. It would have meant nought if I had shot it at a trough in the first hour.

Quote:


and i am also against this shopping basked hunting where clients "order" the species according to size area and qty..

so i can assure you, we do everything in our power to keep hunting as real and ethical as we can, we want even the newbie to go back and say, hell Africa is a challenge, but it is great..
instead of them going back and saying we fulfilled the order on date as specified.





I think I have only taken 3 animals on each of my hunts in Africa. To me the quantity of animals is not so important. I'm not a collector.
The important part for me was time in bush, things to see/hear/smell, small bits of random trivial info from the PH as we see things in the bush.
It is a total experience, not the number of animals in the salt.


Anyway, that's just my 2 bobs worth.




.


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
09/01/13 04:08 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Axel/HuntingSneider,

Ha ha, referring more to the back of bakkie "hunters" who give up on "long stalks" twenty five metres after leaving the bakkie. Your appearance in your photos is not the same as these sorts of guys. Ha ha, I can be arrogant about it having lost lots of weight myself in the last twelve months.



I am being a bit facetious when I refer to "special methods" for "special clients". Sure many things may be legal, but still not sporting in my opinion and often according to older and often still existing game laws. For a guy in a wheel chair, or so old he can not walk very much, if is IS legal (often it is not it seems btw) it is a way for these guys to enjoy a bit of life still. But lets not confuse enjoyment with sporting hunting fair chase. I am not being hypocritical. I enjoy a bit of spotlight culling, I would have a go at helicopter shooting of ferals if given the chance. I have shot game from a bakkie, over a waterhole etc, but lets not confuse it with sporting fair chase hunting.


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
09/01/13 04:15 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

And the most difficult challenge is finding that balance, i have posted vids on many forums with many different communities trying to find that perfect spot..
this video finally brought me to a point where i combined a combination of inputs and opinions i received from forums youtube and many other individual, and there i thought i understood the market..
i understood what hunters wanted to see..

And then NitroX introduced me to this forum, a completely different group of people, who from my short visit appears to be extremely passionate, emotional and protective about hunting.. my type of people i will add :-)

and everything changed.. i realized one thing, there is no one size fits all..

So as a topic, i would rule this "different folks, different strokes" and that is just that...




I find this interesting. I belong to many forums. These sorts of questions come up a lot on many of them. Especially where there are people that have hunted Africa a lot, especially with reputable guys.

As for facebook, it is quite a superficial environment, where everyone LIKES and has FRIENDS and serious discussions rarely happen. More an environment of the "Ooh and Aah" factor. The majority are complete new chums in a lot of ways.

NE may be different in that even if many members are not "old farts" most of us seem to like "old things" and also older ways of doing things, and perhaps older value systems.


Quote:

But now i have a question for you guys, i just got a .44 Magnum scoped hunting revolver, my preference is walking and stalking as mentioned, but as i understand "Please understand that i am personally completely new to handgun hunting.." people hunt with handguns from blinds as would bow hunters..

What is your thoughts, handgun hunting, walk and stalk/Blinds ?




Ha ha, someone else can comment on this.


NitroXAdministrator
(.700 member)
09/01/13 04:27 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

The herd buffalo might have a simple caption to explain that only soft point ammo is used in these circumstances to eleviate through & through's and suplementary wounding.




I have to say when I read that comment, about shooting into a herd, I went back to look for that scene. I remembered seeing herd of buffalo approached and then it ran off. Finding the scene a second time, the criticism was spot on in my opinion. It was a shot I would not have taken, irrespective of using a soft point or not. On my last elephant hunt, we stalked in and out beside a feeding herd of buffalo seven times looking for an old hard bossed bull. We never spotted one, but saw many impressive long immature soft sets of horns, which looked great to my inexperienced eyes! But the PH had been instructed, ONLY hard bosses! Anyway, while looking at the herd in the jesse, I had trouble picking safe shot paths with my open sighted .450 double, so the PH and I swapped rifles, I used his .416 Remington with a scope, while he watched the three or so elephant bulls walking in the same direction a few metres in front of us the whole time. They never knew we were there, the ele bulls or the buffalo. The point of this long winded story is, I would only take a shot with the .416 with soft points IF THERE WAS A CLEAR PATH BEHIND AS WELL.

A softpoint in the shoulder will probably stop. Through the lungs behind the shoulder? Maybe, maybe not? A fmj will penetrate through in a lot of places.

I think if we had a discussion on shooting buffalo in a herd, separate from any particular video, most experienced guys would say the same.


Cazadero
(.375 member)
10/01/13 02:51 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

Quote:

The problem with perceptions are that they are seldom true.




Jaco, the real problem is that even when based on truth, perceptions are usually worse than reality.

Which is why ethical hunters, while not apologizing for anything, should probably 1) constantly work to educate individuals who don't participate in hunting or other outdoor activities, and 2) avoid complacency with regard to participation or involvement in activities that will obviously spur a negative response.

Such as this particular video.

And in this day and age that also means internet distribution of any material that can fuel anti-hunting sentiments or otherwise be sensationalized.

I know, I know, ANYTHING can produce a negative response from the extremists. But since radical anti-hunters cannot ever be expected to approach the subject rationally, the line should drawn where good common sense will dictate.

I know dozens of people who look down on hunting but consume animal protein every day. Their hypocrisy lies in their daily denial of from where it came. The same people will have no problem with hooking a fish in the mouth and dragging him to his death in the boat, probably because fish can't be anthropomorphized so easily as animals. (in spite of Disney) The return on investment that comes from how we are perceived by the MAJORITY of the [voting] population will be far greater if we remember as hunters to police ourselves.

And just so everyone knows, AND to be 100% fair to Jaco, the SAHUNT cover page on his website specifically outlines the differences between stocked animals on fenced properties in South Africa as opposed to the other countries and their truly wild animal population.

Well done Jaco.


SAHUNT
(Sponsor)
10/01/13 05:17 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

[quote
And just so everyone knows, AND to be 100% fair to Jaco, the SAHUNT cover page on his website specifically outlines the differences between stocked animals on fenced properties in South Africa as opposed to the other countries and their truly wild animal population.

Well done Jaco.




Thank you Chistopher for your comment, I appreciate it.


DaggaBoyBlog
(.275 member)
12/01/13 03:17 PM
Re: Marvel Africa Hunting Safaris

I thought the video was very well edited. It's not the music I listen to at home but a ratty cool, modern production that would certainly appeal to my decade-younger brother.

Definitely would not have shot at the buffalo in the herds nor any animal in a feed trough. However I have sat on waterholes in dry rivers for bushbuck, warthog, bush pig and baboon. The sable I took in Zim was an ambush at a small pan of water that would dry up soon after. We would started our buffalo tracking from spoor leading out of a waterhole at dawn, old school. If the right bull happened to be at the waterhole when I got there would I shoot? Think so. I certainly wouldn't shoo him away and then follow up.

Stay off the game farm hunts if you want a full on old school hunt, which for the most part means RSA and Namibia and Botswana plains game are out given the recent ban. I guess the limitation here for most will be dollars! Day rates, minimum days etc.

In 2009 I spent some time on a ranch and realised that it was a proper "ranch hunt" after day one. That was the nature of their business. So on day two the bakkie gt us to where we wanted to hunt then we got out on foot. The waterbuck and nyala were much less cooperative once we were on foot and an hour's hunt out of the bakkie became a few ads of tough hunting.

I think it's what the hunter maes of it. I hunt goats on a block in NSW and the cocky has a rule, if the goats see you the hunt is over, you lose! Shooting them is not very difficult at the bet f times and the mobs in this area aren't terribly bright, or perhaps too trusting. So set your own standards and make the hunt what you want it to be.




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