Sports Afield

08/07/2024

𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀 𝐍𝐎𝐍-𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐈
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲
Great ideas for fun things to do before and after your safari in South Africa.

In the past when a non-hunter went on safari, there usually wasn’t much for the companion, or observer, to do except trail along with the hunter, sit in camp with a good book, or, where available, go with a camp employee to visit villages or shop.

Times have changed, though, and these days there is a wealth of opportunities for adventure in Africa. This article will take a good look at some of them. South Africa is a common destination for hunters, so we’ll start there and cover some of the side trips, mini-vacations, and travel destinations in that country. We will also discuss how hunting lodges have changed over the past decade or so.


Then and Now: Hunting Lodges I went on my first African safari in 1995. I stayed in a tent in the bush where the shower was operated by a young boy filling a five-gallon bucket with water that had been heated over an open fire. To wash, you called “shower” and the bucket was lowered down by rope and pulley, then filled with water that smelled of the wood in the fire. The bucket had a shower head attached to the bottom, and you showered by turning on the valve, getting wet, shutting off the shower head, soaping, and then turning the valve back on to rinse off. The tents were tastefully furnished with a bed, a dresser, and that’s about it. Mine was additionally adorned with a bright blue spider that lived up high where the sides joined the roof. My wife didn’t care much for this decoration, but I managed to calm her nerves by saying, “Don’t worry about him living up there. ‘Course you might want to be a little concerned when he’s gone.” For some reason, it got very cold in the tent that night.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2017/taking-a-non-hunter-on-safari/

07/07/2024

“𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍’𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊”
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐑𝐮𝐩𝐩
Martha Maxwell left a legacy as one of America’s most influential taxidermists.

While wandering around the fascinating Cowgirls of the West museum in downtown Cheyenne, Wyoming, recently, I came across a photo that stopped me in my tracks. The blurry black-and-white image showed a display of mounted mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep to rival any trophy room in the Great Hunters books, all of them arrayed in natural-looking habitats. Next to this photo was a studio shot of the taxidermist who had created the display—an intrepid-looking woman leaning on a rifle, a hound at her feet. Reading the accompanying text, I learned that the taxidermy display was featured at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and was one of the most popular exhibits at the international fair. The woman’s name was Martha Maxwell, and she was, like me, a native Pennsylvanian who ended up living and hunting in Colorado. Intrigued, I set out to learn more about her.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://sportsafield.com/2023/womans-work/

06/07/2024

𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐑𝐮𝐩𝐩
Hunting the little-known Gould’s turkey in the rugged mountains of northern Mexico.
The truck rolled to a stop on the rough dirt track long before daylight, and when Ted shut off the engine, we all sat for a moment in the kind of deep silence you can only experience far from civilization. As I opened the door and slid quietly out into the desert darkness, the crooked, fingerlike silhouettes of ocotillo plants pointed toward the starlit sky. More than a century ago, Pancho Villa and his revolutionary band prowled this rugged landscape, perhaps gathering in this very spot to plan a predawn raid.

Our purpose here was nefarious as well, at least from a turkey’s perspective. We were preparing to lure an unsuspecting gobbler into an ambush. And not just any gobbler. We were hunting the Gould’s turkey, the largest, rarest, and arguably the most beautiful of all turkey subspecies. These are birds of the borderlands, occurring in small numbers in the far southern regions of Arizona and New Mexico, and more commonly in northwestern Mexico. They’re well suited to this rough desert country, frequenting rocky canyons and high mountains.

Like all turkeys, however, they need mature trees to roost in and openings where they can feed and strut. Our guide, Ted Jaycox, had found just such a location here on the grounds of Rancho Mababi in northern Sonora, and had placed a pop-up blind in a likely spot a couple of days earlier. We made our way by starlight, walking as silently as possible in his footsteps, crossing a dry wash and emerging into what I dimly discerned was a meadow. My hunting partner, Kristin Alberts, and I crawled into the blind while Ted sneaked out to set up a decoy.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2024/birds-of-the-borderlands/

05/07/2024

Congratulations!!

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗧𝗼𝗽-𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀: 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁'𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁!
In the fast-paced and competitive world of real estate, standing out from the crowd is no easy feat. However, there are those exceptional brokerages and professionals who manage to rise above the rest, demonstrating unparalleled expertise, dedication, and success. The Land Report, a prestigious publication known for its coverage of land sales and transactions, has once again released its highly anticipated annual report on America's Best Brokerages, and we, again, have taken center stage!

The Land Report's exclusive annual report serves as a testament to the cream-of-the-crop experts in land sales across the nation. It meticulously evaluates brokerages based on their performance, regionally and in terms of volume, recognizing those who have made significant contributions to the real estate industry.

Our success can be attributed to our relentless pursuit of excellence, extensive market knowledge, and unwavering dedication to our clients. We have consistently gone above and beyond to understand the unique needs and goals of their clients, resulting in successful transactions and satisfied customers.

Congratulations for the well-deserved recognition. We continue to set the bar high for the real estate industry, serving as beacons of excellence and inspiring others to reach new heights in their respective fields!

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚: https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=61105&i=825234&p=6&ver=html5

05/07/2024

Fi****ms secured ✔️
Home protected ✔️🐶
visit us at www.sportsafieldsafes.com

04/07/2024

03/07/2024

𝐃𝐒𝐂 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞!

03/07/2024

𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐒
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐭𝐳𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤
In search of tundra grizzlies on Alaska’s North Slope.
It was just after two o’clock in the morning, but in the high latitudes of the Arctic, darkness had not fully fallen. Sitting on a knoll a hundred feet above a nameless river that rushed through the gray, treeless tundra, I scanned the empty landscape while raindrops filled the eyepiece of my spotting scope.

“What do you think?” I asked my nineteen-year-old guide, Geordy Pine. Though young, Geordy has spent much of his life in remote corners of the Alaskan bush and his depth of knowledge of Arctic game exceeds that of hunters twice his age. I waited for a response while he sighed and looked up from his own spotter.

“It’s getting dark, and this rain and fog isn’t helping.”

“Should we get the others or leave them?” The plan had been to watch for game around the clock since we’d been delayed for a day and a half in Fairbanks and lost that hunting time, but the weather conditions were making glassing futile.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2022/arctos/

02/07/2024

02/07/2024

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐎𝐔
– by Kelly Ross
Where and when to hunt these big-antlered bulls of the high country.
Photo above by Donald M. Jones/donaldmjones.com

My wife, Wendy, and I were sitting by the fire in the crisp morning air planning our day. We had spent the previous day leading a string of pack horses on the twenty-mile ride from our main camp in to our caribou spike camp, which was located right at timberline next to a high mountain lake. Several caribou hunters were due to arrive in a week’s time, and we had decided to make an advance run with supplies to reduce the amount that would have to be packed in with the hunters.

The plan for the next few days was to check the trails into the alpine. It had been several months since we had last ridden into the area, and there was a good chance that a few rocks had rolled onto the trails, or that blowdowns might need to be cut out of the way.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://sportsafield.com/2023/the-magnificent-mountain-caribou/

01/07/2024

30/06/2024

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝
These magnificent mountains in southern Alaska are a sheep-hunter’s mecca.
The state of Alaska is larger than many countries. You’d need a fat book, if not a small library, to describe all of its lands and many hunting opportunities.

Let’s limit our exploration to just one small corner of The Great Land, the Chugach Mountain Range, which covers an area “only” 300 miles long by 100 miles wide, running west to east from Anchorage to the Canada border. That’s roughly 30,000 square miles of floor space and considerably more if you add the vertical terrain—and most of the terrain is vertical.

These young, rugged mountains leap from the east edge of Anchorage and heap one atop another almost nonstop to the Copper and Chitina River valleys on their northeast edge. Many peaks stretch above 11,000 feet. Mount Marcus Baker towers to 13,176 feet. Such elevations tend to wring moisture from the air, and there’s plenty of moisture blowing up from the soggy south coast of Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. An average of 600 inches of snow falls in parts of the Chugach Mountains each year, one of the highest totals on earth. Prince William Sound averages 150 inches of rain annually. Both the Chugach Range and some of its 150 glaciers plunge hundreds, even thousands of feet into the sound, creating a formidable barrier to exploration. Nevertheless, the first highway into Alaska’s interior passed from the port town of Valdez through the heart of the Chugach Mountains.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2016/featured-destination-the-chugach-range/

29/06/2024

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐙𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐒
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬
In pursuit of a striped stallion in the rocky highlands of the Namib Desert.
At the farthest edge of the Namib Desert is a land that seems caught in a different time. Game roams free. Water is scarce. In this forsaken place, some of the first Bushmen, Ovambo, Kavango, Wambu, and Herero peoples left their footprints in the rocky sand. Little remains save remnants of Stone Age tools and cliff paintings, yet descendants of those tribespeople today stand watch over the same terrain that now holds the riches of gold below ground and rare marble above, jutting like tumbled dice from towering hills.

This land is hardly untouched; the evidence of human encroachment is unmistakable. Massive blocks of white, gray, and blue marble line the first few kilometers of dirt track leading into one of Namibia’s best-kept secrets. But past the antiquated mining machinery, wickedly dangerous stone cutters, and large trucks hauling stunning cubes of future countertops and towering columns destined for the United States and China, lies another world rich in adventure and challenge. Those who make a living here still find greater value in a hindquarter of game meat than in a ton of pure marble. We were able to gain access to pursue the elusive Equus zebra hartmannae in its wild home, so long as we’d provide our hosts with an animal for meat.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2024/marble-mines-and-mountain-zebras/

28/06/2024

✅𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲: on your person, cable lock, lock box for your home or car, lockable gun case, or a full size safe.
❌𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗘: on top of refrigerator, closet shelf, nightstand drawer, glove compartment.
𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: www.sportsafieldsafes.com

26/06/2024

𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲
𝐌𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭-𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫,
𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐜, 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚, 𝟒𝟏𝟕.𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐬

26/06/2024

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐎
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 Boddington
The classic way to shoot a Cape buffalo is up close with a double rifle, but that’s not always possible.

As the herd moved closer, our little tree seemed to offer less cover. At thirty yards the group split; we had buffalo passing to the right at twenty yards, and another bunch coming straight toward us on the left. The breeze was strong on my face, quartering slightly from right to left. The buffalo to the right were good, and for the moment we were OK on the left, but as they strung past they would eventually catch our wind. We needed to make a decision before that happened.

I was hunting in Namibia’s Caprivi Strip (now officially known as the Zambezi Region) with Dawid Muller. In arid Namibia, buffalo habitat is limited to the well-watered Caprivi and a few other spots in the north. This means buffalo permits are limited, but with little hunting and good genetics, horn quality is very good. Muller’s Daggaboy Safaris, with his concession sandwiched between two parks, has one of the larger quotas. Because of small supply (and plenty of demand), Namibian buffalo are a bit pricier than some other areas.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2019/close-encounters-with-buffalo/

25/06/2024

𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://sportsafield.com/subscribe/

24/06/2024

Join us! Sports Afield will be there!

24/06/2024

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆
– 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬
Getting as close as possible to a game animal is an exciting and rewarding way to hunt.

Photo: In spot-and-stalk hunting, you’ll spend a significant amount of time glassing. Good optics are a necessity. Photo by Kelly Ross.

A few years back, a friend and I were hunting pronghorn antelope in southern Alberta. We were excited to finally be out on opening morning, glassing the open plains for “speed goats” after eight long years of applying in the draw. Lots of advance planning and scouting had been done so that we could make the most of this rare opportunity, and the first light of day found us glassing an area where we had seen a number of good bucks.

It didn’t take long to locate a herd of antelope with several bucks, including a couple of shooters, so we immediately began working on a strategy to get us within decent shooting range. Unfortunately, while glassing the terrain for a suitable route that would allow us to stay out of sight of the antelope on our approach, I soon found that we were not the only ones interested in these bucks. I could see a pickup parked in the distance and my binocular quickly picked up a couple of hunters lying prone in the sagebrush a few yards from their truck.

There was no way for us to proceed as planned, since the other hunters were between us and the antelope, on the exact route we would have used for our stalk, so we decided to sit tight and wait to see what the other hunters did. If they put a stalk on the antelope and bumped them, there was a good chance the herd might follow the ridgeline we were glassing from and give us a chance at one of the bucks.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://sportsafield.com/2023/the-lost-art-of-stalking/

23/06/2024

𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄
– by Diana Rupp
Creating corridors that allow wildlife to move is not only good for our game populations, it’s good for people, too.
Photo above: This wildlife crossing, one of dozens in Banff National Park, allows animals to cross the busy Trans-Canada Highway. The tops of these structures are planted with natural vegetation. Data shows they are used regularly by bears, cougars, bighorn sheep, and many other species.

In deer-rich northern Pennsylvania, where I grew up, an apocryphal story used to make the rounds every few years. An adjuster for a large insurance company in Harrisburg, the story went, got very suspicious of all the deer-car collision claims his company was getting from the northern part of the state. Figuring the rubes up north were committing insurance fraud, the adjuster decided to take a road trip to investigate. By the time he arrived in the region, he was frazzled from half a dozen close calls with deer that jumped out into the road in front of him. At that point he turned his car around, headed back to Harrisburg, and stamped all of the deer-related claims “approved.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://sportsafield.com/2023/clearing-the-way-for-wildlife/

22/06/2024

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝐊𝐔𝐃𝐔
– 𝐛𝐲 Craig Boddington
The “gray ghost” is widespread in Africa, but some regions are better than others.

With attractive gray hide, bright white vertical body stripes, and those magnificent spiraling horns, the greater kudu is among Africa’s most striking antelopes, and perhaps the most eagerly sought. Everybody who goes on safari wants a greater kudu!

First, you must seek them where they live. After the bushbuck, the greater kudu is the most widespread of the spiral-horned antelopes. Except for an isolated pocket where CAR, Chad, and Sudan meet, the greater kudu is primarily an animal of East and Southern Africa. It is found from Eritrea and Ethiopia down through Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique; then on west through Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia, and down through much of South Africa. Even in parts of this region where the kudu is not native, it has been widely introduced.

Read more here: https://sportsafield.com/2022/best-places-to-hunt-kudu/

21/06/2024

Sports Afield, since 1887, has been the world's premier hunting adventure magazine! Every issue is a treasure trove of thrilling hunting stories, expert tips, and breathtaking photography that transports you right into the heart of nature.
𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 and bring the wild home!
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21/06/2024

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬!

21/06/2024

Sports Afield Real Estate!

20/06/2024

𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲!
𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐋𝐭𝐝,
𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐰, 𝐒𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐧, 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚, 𝟒𝟕𝟕.𝟎𝟎 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐬