yorec said:
The morality of shooting trophy game in a large pen aside...
Er, I have the full clip on disk (not this short version) and I'm hard pressed to find a "pen" of some kind as was mentioned here and on the weenie kiddy board. Can anyone clearly point out fencing to me? It appears this was taken in S. Africa and not some "safari park" here in the states.
This unimpressive hunter made a mistake (and almost learned it the hardest way) in not taking a 2nd, follow up shot on a wounded, dangerous game animal a.s.a.p. The clip shows that hunting dangerous animals in Africa is certainly not a sure thing. I don't know what caliber
Bwana was using but I suspect it wasn't any bigger that a .375 H&H which is pretty minimal for Lion. The fact that he was using "shooting sticks" tells me he didn't have confidence in his abilities (and may not have known how to properly use a sling or shoot offhand). There is a reason many hunters favored the .416 Rigby for African hunting!
Rules for hunting in Africa:
- In Africa, everything bites! Animals, insects even the plants!
- You are not at the top of the food chain.
- Stupidity is a capital crime. But carelessness, ignorance and negligence are just as bad.
- The hunt is not an equal contest and a rifle does not automatically tip the scales in your favor.
- If you take your shot and the animal does exactly what you expect, something is wrong!
- The only thing worse than hearing a lion up close is not hearing a lion up close!
- In Africa, mother nature is a bitch!
- All hunters know that Murphy was an optimist.
- When hunting in daytime, the wind will shift at the worst possible time. (See also #7).
- When hunting at night the moon will be obscured by clouds at the worst possible moment. (See also #8).
I'll also say that I'm pretty offended by some of the comments made on this board with regard to the hunting clip. Some of these were about as "enlightened" as those made by the "uneducated, unwashed" kids on the other board. Hunters are not magically made by reading books and range practice. They learn by doing and this may have been
Bwana's first attempt at big game.
Before painting hunters with a broad brush as immoral, ignorant, cowardly dorks, remember there's a thread going around about "weird things seen on the range" which could paint
you as a stupid, reckless ignorant, retarded bozo cowboy with the
same brush.
Like some of you, I'm not into trophy hunting. But I see no need to slander and bash those who are trophy hunters except for specific acts that go against the tenents of sports hunting (i.e. like using a 20 round magazine).
Remember, there are those who think anyone who keeps a firearm for use against another living creature, especially against a human being, is "sick". There are those who think simply owning a firearm is "sick" because it implies killing.
In closing let me leave you with these words;
Think before you speak damnit!
Flames privately please.