![]() ![]() After a long follow-up buckshot failed to stop the charge fast shooting by PH Russ Broom with his double. No one will stand 40 or 50 leopard charges without people getting hurt.īoddington’s closest call with an animal came from this leopard inZimbabwe in 1992. Remembering that bad things happen to very good people, not all charges can be stopped. “Oh, 40 or 50!” Geez! No one was ever hurt! One can assume correctly that he knows his business, exercises caution and has enjoyed a modicum of luck. I asked him how many buffalo charges he had seen. Franz is a legend, one of very few professional hunters to complete 50 full seasons. Recently, I was in Mozambique with Franz Koupe, now in his early 80s, still hunting. However, unlike you and me, professional guides typically have enhanced knowledge of exactly what lies ahead, and how bad it can be. If they show fear they keep it to themselves. The hunters I respect go in calmly, thinking their way through the situation. Life isn’t always fair, and neither is death. This falls under the heading of “bad things happen to good people.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to happen often to reckless showboats who go around asking for it. The sad thing is that all three of these guys were experienced, competent hunters who consistently used proper caution and good judgment. In the last few years, I’ve had two friends killed by elephants and another by a buffalo. Unfortunately, because the Lord looks after fools, you may get away with idiocy now and again, and often somebody far less deserving will get hurt. If you aren’t at least a little bit scared when you’re working in close with a large animal that can easily gore, stomp, bite, claw, toss, or eat you there is something seriously wrong. I have zero patience with adrenaline junkies who take unnecessary chances. I’m on the fence on wild boars, but I’ve had close calls and I know people who have taken tusks – for sure the pig was dangerous at that moment! However, it’s not so much about the animal as the hunter. Africa’s Big Five is in there, likewise our big bears and other big bovines. You can classify “dangerous game” as you wish. Like so much hunting, and entire careers spent in law enforcement and military, hours and days of boredom may be interspersed with a few seconds of sheer terror. Bad things usually happen when mistakes are made, such as not shooting straight in the first place. Hazard is not constant and, in fact, only rarely comes into play. The operative part of “dangerous game” is danger. ![]()
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