Bad news from the Congo !!!

Wow a new sako safari,a possible chance at sitatunga.Take lots of pics.Make sure you get that horseshoe removed if you don't want to get held up at the airport.Sitatunga.
 
Travel and hunt enough and you'll find out that crap happens. Sounds like the outfitter is being more than fair about it. Nothing really to get pissed off about. Most would do nothing but tell you that you are out of luck. We just found out that the hair on one of our capes from Argentina slipped. The law of averages says it will happen occasionally.
 
sheephunter said:
Travel and hunt enough and you'll find out that crap happens. Sounds like the outfitter is being more than fair about it. Nothing really to get pissed off about. Most would do nothing but tell you that you are out of luck. We just found out that the hair on one of our capes from Argentina slipped. The law of averages says it will happen occasionally.
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I have traveled and hunted quite a bit and with proper preparation it shouldn't happen.I've also taken care of hundreds of capes and pelts myself, no spoilage to date.
I doubt they froze them fresh where a freezer or breaker failed, which leads me to believe they didn't salt them soon enough or used inadequate amounts.
Damage can happen infrequently during tanning but it sounds like this was an initial prep issue.
My point was just that for some this could have been the hunt of a lifetime which they saved up for a long time. Not everyone has the time or money to just hop on a plane and return to the Congo for a repeat.
 
bearkilr said:
INot everyone has the time or money to just hop on a plane and return to the Congo for a repeat.
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Never implied they did but if you are going to travel and hunt you better be prepared that it can happen and not all outfitters are going to be so gracious. If you read the OP, you'll see replacement was an option too....no airfare required.
 
I got room for horseshoes up me arse?
Where do I find them?

Do enjoy your trip.

Now I feel the urge to buy a lotto ticket..........aye Douglas?
 
sheephunter said:
Never implied they did but if you are going to travel and hunt you better be prepared that it can happen and not all outfitters are going to be so gracious. If you read the OP, you'll see replacement was an option too....no airfare required.
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Absolutely, it can happen. I'd just be upset, not happy about it. The outfitter did what's proper, not gracious. This is assuming it's in his care that the capes spoiled, something we don't know.
 
Airfare and hotels coming and going will not be covered of coarse, but the daily rates and trophy fees and ground travel are. Spoiled capes are just a part of life and I've been fortunate so far as to never had it happen til now.

bearkilr.....I watched them skin and salt every one of my critters but trying to dry hides in 100% humidity is almost impossible, using all the salt in the world doesn't help. Their skinning shed had 2' of salt on the floor so lack of salt isn't the issue, and there was no freezer and no power most of the time. I'm thinking I'll take a large waterproof duffel with me this time and salt the sh!t out of them, roll them up, and fetch them back with me. I did this with my musk ox, polar bear, walrus and Altai argali.
That is a whole different world over there, it's like stepping 200 years back in time, except for the trucks and sat phones. It pours virtually every day for about 2 hours and somedays it's all day. There is no power, no communication and if the truck breaks, no transportation. There is no law, no game laws, no COs, no cops, just the odd military check point. It's just you, your rifle and the bush and the only limiting factor is your conscience. Attempting to run a business in this land of chaos is difficult for sure and the few spoiled capes are a minor worry, really. Just trying to get clients in and out alive is hard enough, finding gas, keeping trucks running, preventing trackers and skinners from killing each other, keeping your feet from rotting off and the ants from taking over everything are just more day to day issues, that we here in the civilized world take for granted. Sharing your shower with a spider the size of a king crab is normal, things darting across your bed at night is normal, being covered in biting ants a couple times a day is normal, being chased around the bush by elephants a couple times a week is normal, checking every piece of clothing before you put it on for spiders, snakes, scorpions and other a sundry guests is normal. My point being that what is normal and expected here, may well be way up in the upper echelons of luxury over there.
As far as saving a life time for this hunt and not being able to afford to go back, to be completely frank, this is not one of those hunts. Before embarking on a hunt like this you have to be mentally prepared to walk away from your rifle, your gear, or anything else you may have with you, if necessary. Some Gov't official decides he wants your rifle, it's his period, he wants your sunglasses, there his etc, you even have to prepare yourself that you would be willing to kill another human being, to ensure your own life. It is very, very primal and not for the "saved for a lifetime" hunter. You must also be prepared to get booted out of the country for no reason other than being white, you may get there only to find some Gov't official has decided he doesn't like your name and won't issue you a hunting license or entry visa.
To be totally honest, this is a rich mans game where you must have the disposable income to be able to afford to walk away from a 20K deposit, because some Gov't official screwed you over and it's not the fault of your PH and company, or you never get your trophies as happens from time to time. People get killed, outfitters go broke, capes spoil, it just all part of the game and the risks you take when you invest 60K in a hunt and have to trust other people to hold up their end.
bearkilr....if I never got my trophies back I would still be a richer man just for having the opportunity to be there and hunt in a land like the Congo, the experience itself was worth the 60K. The trophies are superfluous and for others to look at, the adventure was mine, and always will be, till I die or Alzheimers takes over. For me, this is what it's really all about. Not many men now or in the future will have the opportunities I have had, to say they've hunted the places I have. Botswana is now closed to hunting, altais are closed in Mongolia now and may never reopen, Tajikistan was closed for several years but has reopened I hear for Marcos, the Congo was closed for 15 years previous to last year when it reopened again but for how long is anybody's guess. The hunting world gets smaller every day and I'm glad to have done what I've done and the hunts I've experienced, I just wish I had the disposable income 20 years earlier in life.
 
c-fbmi said:
if I never got my trophies back I would still be a richer man just for having the opportunity to be there and hunt in a land like the Congo, the experience itself was worth the 60K. The trophies are superfluous and for others to look at, the adventure was mine, and always will be, till I die or Alzheimers takes over. For me, this is what it's really all about. Not many men now or in the future will have the opportunities I have had, to say they've hunted the places I have. Botswana is now closed to hunting, altais are closed in Mongolia now and may never reopen, Tajikistan was closed for several years but has reopened I hear for Marcos, the Congo was closed for 15 years previous to last year when it reopened again but for how long is anybody's guess. The hunting world gets smaller every day and I'm glad to have done what I've done and the hunts I've experienced, I just wish I had the disposable income 20 years earlier in life.
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Some sage words there!
 
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