# African trophy bragging board ...



## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Didn't get a buck this year ... so *inspired by Swampus* and reminiscent of hunts past ... I thought I'd ask everyone to share some African trophies.

Pictured are the best 5 of 15 we brought home.

I'm headed back for buff, grants and gerenuk in 2010.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

You headed to Tanzania next? Who with?

I do not have anything worth bragging on but will post some pictures to keep you company:


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Uhhhhh ... I'd say you've got a few nice animals worth talking about myself ... !

I'm pretty jelous of that last one.

We hunt with Phillip du Plessis, Intrepid Safaris and have gotten quite close to him. He's South African but hunts most of the surrounding countries for a special request.
http://www.intrepidsafaris.co.za/index.html

His SA concessions have treated us very well and he just purchased a pretty good tract on the Limpopo with probably some of the best buckbuck, waterbuck, and nyala I've ever seen. Last year they shot several waterbuck that taped out near 38" ...


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Spec-Rig.006 said:


> Uhhhhh ... I'd say you've got a few nice animals worth talking about myself ... !
> 
> I'm pretty jelous of that last one.
> 
> ...


That last one is a cull. I did a tuskless hunt in 2007. It was a great way to spend time up close with dangerous game on a budget.

Good luck on your next trip. I was planning to do something in 2010 but there is a good chance I will postpone until I make sure I can take care of little things like being employed and paying my kids' tuition.


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## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

Spec - I love the crumple-horned hartebeest. 

Here are a few - some others are in my posted photo albums.

My biggest thrill.









My best shot.








My longest shot.








Didn't shoot a rhino, but will never forget being charged by one right after loading my first warthog in the truck.


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## Josh5 (Jun 27, 2007)

ya'll throw some inches in with those pics if you don't mind. especially, kudu, gemsbok, and impala... Great pics, please share more.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

SCI score on my kudu bull was just under 145", which places him in the top 70 ever killed. 13" bases, 59.5" x 59" ... one hell of a bull. I got very lucky.

My impala scored I think 76" ... bronze range if not mistaken ...


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Spec-Rig.006 said:


> SCI score on my kudu bull was just under 145", which places him in the top 70 ever killed. 13" bases, 59.5" x 59" ... one hell of a bull. I got very lucky.
> 
> My impala scored I think 76" ... bronze range if not mistaken ...


That Kudu is a big boy, no doubt. Three full turns on the horns is a good indicator.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

TXwhtlHNTR said:


> Spec - I love the crumple-horned hartebeest.
> 
> Here are a few - some others are in my posted photo albums.
> 
> ...


Did you take that Kudu with a recurve? Well done.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Charles Helm said:


> Did you take that Kudu with a recurve? Well done.


Seriously ... what an accomplishment ... !

TX ... that crumple horned animal was another lucky find. Phillip had been chasing him for several years with higher paying clients and after we decided to look for him ... we found him within an hour. It was the first time he had been seen away from the backyard watering hole in daylight.


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## Pablo (May 21, 2004)

That crumpled horn hartebeest is outstanding. Way cool. I met Phillip at a hunting show last year. Seems like a nice guy.

Here's some of mine. This young Cape Buffalo came up too close for me. 

There are two different types of measurements that they use: SCI and Rowland Ward. Mine were like this

Critter RW SCI
Red Hartebeest 20.5" 66"
Blue Wildebeest 29" 80.25"
Bushbuck 14.5" 41"
Gemsbok 27.5" 70"

Whenever I get to go back I'd like to get a kudu, waterbuck and a nyala. I only had one opportunity at a kudu, and a cow was standing in front of it.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Pablo said:


> This young Cape Buffalo came up too close for me.


But the excitement is half the fun!

Being up close to an aggressive animal you are not supposed to shoot cannot be comfortable. Lots of fun explaining the self-defense shooting to Parks, although it happens every year.


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## John Paul (Feb 22, 2006)

Very nice trophies !

Here are a few form my 07 trip, we had to postpone our 08 trip until Sept 09.


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*How 'bout an Eland to add to the mix?*

Limpopo, RSA May 2008. With Jan Duplessis of Select Safaris.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Johnboat said:


> Limpopo, RSA May 2008. With Jan Duplessis of Select Safaris.


Nice bull!


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## bzrk180 (Jan 7, 2008)

Man, incredible hunts...Nice pics!!

Dont want to hijack the thread I am curious though... In regards to the elephant, as much as we hear about them and them dissapearing, why are they hunted?

Please dont take this as judgment, I am just curious and not in the know.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Elephant are mostly dissapearing on the Asian front ... African elephant are quite prolific and in many countries over populated (to some extent of the term), causing a lot of devestation to crop land that interfaces wilderness as well as causing problems with the native people.

Usually a tuskless hunt, and often most tusked hunts, are for a problem animal. Most countries that do allow elephant hunts have very strict quotas to keep the carrying capacity at it's prime.

Some countries actually still have culling programs for elephant and remove entire family groups because of what they're doing to the land.

This is aside from the thousands of pounds of vita food distributed to the locals after the hunt. I once saw an elephant hut video, where the old bull was dressed and distributed to over 300 people in less than an hour. And in Africa ... they eat it all ...


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## John Paul (Feb 22, 2006)

Short version , While it is true that they are in trouble in some countries, they are OVER RUN in others. The parks and other areas that they live in can not support the numbers so they crop them for control. The parks need money to operate so they sell hunts.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

bzrk180 said:


> Man, incredible hunts...Nice pics!!
> 
> I am curious though... In regards to the elephant, as much as we hear about them and them dissapearing, why are they hunted?
> 
> Please dont take this as judgment, I am just curious and not in the know.


You should not believe everything your hear. Elephants are doing very well in most of the Southern African countries and are overpopulated in many areas. When elephants are overpopulated, the habitat damage can be incredible and can take a very long time to repair.

There are definitely countries where they are in trouble and I do not believe those countries have hunting.

Unfortunately it can be difficult to implement the type of large-scale culling that controlled populations in the past but was discontinued. The equipment has been dismantled and "friends of animals" protest efforts to reinstate them. By the time the habitat can no longer support the elephants many of the other animals have gone and much of the vegetation, including ancient trees, has been destroyed. Because the elephants can travel large distances from water to food they can devastate the area around the water to the point it will not support other wildlife, yet still use it themselves.

My sources are biologists who worked in national parks and others who are involved in elephant conservation and not just the general media. You can search "elephant overpopulation in Africa" for some articles. Some want to relocate the excess, which is very difficult and costly and there are not many places that can take more. Some support contraceptives, which seems silly to me.

There is a decent short overview video on elephant conservation by Dr. Stephanie Romanach here. It may take a while to load.


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## bzrk180 (Jan 7, 2008)

Thank you for explaining this...I was not aware of this. I had seen a video or read an article somewhere that told of how the African hunts feed the locals and there is nothing that goes to waste. I think that is GREAT. 

I also have a friend who has hunted in Africa for many years but he has not taken an elephant. I knew there were places they were problematic but was unaware of the culling policies. For some reason, I assumed that they just dealt with the problems... Again, like I said, I am not in the know.

Now I am...Thanks guys!


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*Elephants*

As long as it remains as expensive as it is (even by african safari standards) I doubt hunting trophy tuskers will hurt the population. By the way, last weekend I went to a party at a friends trophy room. He just got back his Botswana elephant from Lifeform. I guess I had never comprehended the amount of trophies you can make from one elephant. Here is the list:

1. The two real tusks mounted on bases on the floor.
2. The huge skull (with two reproduction tusks matching the real ones) on the wall.
3. The four feet made into stools with zebra tops.
4. The two ears tanned and hand painted...one with a map of Africa and the other with a montage of the big five.
5. The trunk was mounted as a floor lamp where the nose end curled and held a suspended lamp fixture and the base of the trunk was mounted to a wooden floor base.


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## Bone Pile (Jan 23, 2009)

Johnboat said:


> As long as it remains as expensive as it is (even by african safari standards) I doubt hunting trophy tuskers will hurt the population. By the way, last weekend I went to a party at a friends trophy room. He just got back his Botswana elephant from Lifeform. I guess I had never comprehended the amount of trophies you can make from one elephant. Here is the list:
> 
> 1. The two real tusks mounted on bases on the floor.
> 2. The huge skull (with two reproduction tusks matching the real ones) on the wall.
> ...


That would be some neat pics to see. In fact if someone would start a thread about trophies from differnt animal parts. Probably be very interesting.


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## huachinango (Jun 21, 2007)




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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

Good pictures. Nice looking bosses on that buff. Where did you hunt?


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## Hydrocat (Jun 30, 2004)

I think I just soiled myself! These are all awesome photos. You are all lucky gentlemen.


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## chad (Sep 7, 2006)

Johnboat said:


> As long as it remains as expensive as it is (even by african safari standards) I doubt hunting trophy tuskers will hurt the population. By the way, last weekend I went to a party at a friends trophy room. He just got back his Botswana elephant from Lifeform. I guess I had never comprehended the amount of trophies you can make from one elephant. Here is the list:
> 
> 1. The two real tusks mounted on bases on the floor.
> 2. The huge skull (with two reproduction tusks matching the real ones) on the wall.
> ...


I think my wife would have drawn the line right above "elephant trunk" lamp...


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*Surprisingly attractive*



chad said:


> I think my wife would have drawn the line right above "elephant trunk" lamp...


May sound a little grotesque in my description, but the lamp actually looked nice. So did the stools. On the other hand the huge skull with false tusks seemed to me to overpower everything else on the wall. His room has an adjoining fully roofed patio BBQ area with an outdoor fireplace. I would have put the skull out there....maybe on the floor.


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*Huach, I like your buffalo*

Love the football helmet boss on him. What country? or countries?


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## trophyhunter01 (Jun 20, 2008)

Namibia May 2007, I have over 500 pictures but these are some good ones. Enjoy!!! Can't wait to go back.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

trophyhunter01 said:


> Namibia May 2007, I have over 500 pictures but these are some good ones. Enjoy!!! Can't wait to go back.


Nice pics.

I definitely have to try to fit a warthog in sometime soon.


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## essayons75 (May 15, 2006)

Nice pics by all.

TXwhtlHNTR:

Anyone every told you that you look like Herman Brune, my favorite outdoor story writer? Only seen pictures of your both.


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## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

Charles Helm said:


> Did you take that Kudu with a recurve? Well done.


Thanks - Black Widow Silver Anniversary TD Model - Thunderhead 125 gr. broadheads. Took most with a rifle, but used the Widow for the kudu and one of my impala.










Spec-Rig.006 said:


> Seriously ... what an accomplishment ... !
> 
> Than you, it was quite a thrill.
> 
> TX ... that crumple horned animal was another lucky find. Phillip had been chasing him for several years with higher paying clients and after we decided to look for him ... we found him within an hour. It was the first time he had been seen away from the backyard watering hole in daylight.


I got a similar break on an impala with a fair cant to one horn. Was the fourth(?) client to play hide and seek with him up in the scrub of the little foothill valley he stayed in.











essayons75 said:


> Nice pics by all.
> 
> TXwhtlHNTR:
> 
> Anyone every told you that you look like Herman Brune, my favorite outdoor story writer? Only seen pictures of your both.


Never heard that. I'll have to look up his work.

__________________________________

A few others:

The first is the warthog I mentioned putting in the truck just before a mama rhino charged us. 

















I'll try to post some pics sometime of the mount from this guy. He has one ear chewed off, and deep furrowed scars around the neck from what appears to be an old leopard attack.


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## joliefisher (Jun 22, 2004)

Here are a few of my favorites from Namibia 2008 hunting with my son Bucky. We are getting our capes, rugs and skulls next week and I do not have measurements on any animals yet but the kudu green scored right at 54", also Bucky's wildebeest was pretty nice.

I'll be back, probably in 2010 to South Africa with my daughter, she wants to top her brother by taking her animals with archery equipment. Taking your kids / or wife is definately the way to go.


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## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

:smile:

Thanks for reminding people to take family. Green to ya. I *NEED* to go again, but I will have my wife and son enjoying it with with me when next I go.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

God ... there are some bloody nice kudu bull on this thread ... you boys are making the itch worse ... !

Huachinago ... the boss on that ole daga boy are insane ... !

And TX ... that warthog is phenominal ... !

I had a pretty bad mishap with my hog hunt, the guy we were after was every bit as big ... but he just wouldn't hold still, and at 200 yards with a 7mm Mauser ... it wasn't going to happen. I had to settle for a "nice" hog instead on the last day.

The real bummer is one of the best animals I shot had the worst photo ... I'll try and dig up my waterbuck pictures ...

My new Reezen is coming with me on the next trip ... I want to stick a baboon.


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## Bone Pile (Jan 23, 2009)

TxwhtlHunter looks like Sam Elliott,not Herman Brune. I was raised with Herman,infact we rodroed together and this guy is going to be offended when he looks up Herman and sees his picture.HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
Herman is the most staight forward guy I know especially when he is "just sneaking along".


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## marshmadness (Oct 22, 2007)

These pictures are awesome! I have to do that before my time is up on earth. Awesome


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Here we are ...

My modest hog ... and my _____ to the wall waterbuck hunt.

He's not the biggest waterbuck on the plain but I took him after a hike up and over a mountain saddle into a cobble rock filled swamp which left me soaking muddy wet, exhausted and winded. Off hand at 200 yards ... probably one of the most "true" hunts I've ever had.


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## MAROON (Oct 12, 2005)

I don't have anything as nice as the animals posted earlier, but here is what I've taken. All taken in the Selous, Tanzania in August of 2007.

My Cape Buffalo - not huge, but an old guy with worn off horns. Crawled to within 35 yards of him and shot him from my knees with the 470NE resting on a small branch of a tree. One shot. Still the greatest stalk and hunting memory of my life.

Nyasa Wildebeest - shot at 150 yards on the sticks with an open sight 45-70. One of my better shots. I like him because you rarely see one in someone's trophy room.

Impala - I was asked to shoot him on the first morning so we would have meat in the camp. He's not big, but he is my first African animal.

The last two pictues are just two pictures we took that I thought were cool. The last picture is on a fly camp our next to last night. We had already shot all our animals so we wanted to spend a night out in the bush. It was rustic, but a great memory.


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## Third Wave (May 24, 2004)

I would love to do that someday.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

MAROON said:


> I don't have anything as nice as the animals posted earlier, but here is what I've taken. All taken in the Selous, Tanzania in August of 2007.
> 
> My Cape Buffalo - not huge, but an old guy with worn off horns. Crawled to within 35 yards of him and shot him from my knees with the 470NE resting on a small branch of a tree. One shot. Still the greatest stalk and hunting memory of my life.
> 
> ...


I like the looks of that Wildebeest sub-species. Nice worn tips on your buff as well.


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## ROBOWADER (May 22, 2004)

Whats up with the monkeys? How do they eat?


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

ROBOWADER said:


> Whats up with the monkeys? How do they eat?


They pick the food up in their hands and put it in their mouths.

They are a nuisance animal, causing damage to farms and villages.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

The PH's and landowners just absolutely hate baboons as they are quite prolific, can carry disease, and can be aggressive ... kind of like how a lot of use view feral hogs. A lot of times they'll let you shoot them at no charge.


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## ROBOWADER (May 22, 2004)

Interesting......


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*nice buff Maroon*

That is a classic old dugga boy, hair missing, horns and boss worn down, tired of fighting the young bulls, past breeding. And....you shot him up close with a double rifle....and in the Selous for Pete's sake. Well done!


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## huachinango (Jun 21, 2007)

I hunted in South Africa, Limpopo Province, near Hoedspruit.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

huachinango said:


> I hunted in South Africa, Limpopo Province, near Hoedspruit.


Thanks. Looks like you had a busy trip.:cheers:


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## trophyhunter01 (Jun 20, 2008)

speaking of monkeys/baboons look at the choppers on this male, the baboons are hard to get close to where we were at, they know the game to well..a few more I did not get to yesterday...makes me want to go now.


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*A few generalizations about horns*

One thing that strikes me in Africa, when contrasted with whitetail hunting here (maybe has a lot to do with the fact that whitetails shed horns annually but african animals keep theirs for life), is that you are more likely than not going to be pretty happy with the horns on your animals. Seems like, once your PH helps you reject the youngsters, the mature males generally have an overall high level of nice horns. Sure, sometimes a lucky hunter gets an exceptional monster. I personally like old boys with rounded off edges. Some species, like Kudu and Gemsbuck seem to me like they are all so beautiful that a few inches here or there is beside the point. Cape buffalo at first all look similar and then you begin to appreciate all the horn variations. Some are wide, some are old, some are gnarly, some have deep curls, some have big bosses. Its like they all have the same amount of horn material, but each bull arranges his own horn mass in a unique way. One PH told me on a buffalo hunt: "we have wide horns and we have tall bosses, but it is hard to get both on the same animal". I think if you take a tape measure with you, you may miss out on the pure fun of it.


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## Spec-Rig.006 (Nov 2, 2007)

Johnboat said:


> One thing that strikes me in Africa, when contrasted with whitetail hunting here (maybe has a lot to do with the fact that whitetails shed horns annually but african animals keep theirs for life), is that you are more likely than not going to be pretty happy with the horns on your animals ... I think if you take a tape measure with you, you may miss out on the pure fun of it.


How very true ...

The younger bulls and with some species, the females typically have the longer horns ... but a good mature bull of any species in Africa has character riden horns and are true war horses of the range. And a PH worth his salt is going to put you on a bull that's been pushed out by the breed stock unless you're after a specific horn length.

Phillip will not let a hunter pull a tape out of his bag on any of his hunts ... it detracts from the spirit of the game.


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## girlsfishtoo! (Jun 27, 2006)

*Lady's hunt*

Oooh let me brag on my co-worker! she's a big huntress and these are from her African hunt last year. She even had these mounted and now hanging on her wall at home.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

girlsfishtoo! said:


> Oooh let me brag on my co-worker! she's a big huntress and these are from her African hunt last year. She even had these mounted and now hanging on her wall at home.


I can't believe she shot that poor dog.

:slimer:


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## HTM (Dec 27, 2007)

*WOW*

don't know what you Guys think but a Hot woman like her needs a good man to keep up with her and her hunting.



girlsfishtoo! said:


> Oooh let me brag on my co-worker! she's a big huntress and these are from her African hunt last year. She even had these mounted and now hanging on her wall at home.


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## girlsfishtoo! (Jun 27, 2006)

*Run!*

jav - Moni just read your post! you better run cause you're gonna be hanging on her wall next!


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## Syncerus (Oct 18, 2005)

Did you use a .45/70 to shoot that buffalo?

:slimer:


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## Hydrocat (Jun 30, 2004)

Charles Helm said:


> I can't believe she shot that poor dog.
> 
> :slimer:


That's the best laugh I've had all day! Good stuff.


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## TXwhtlHNTR (Nov 19, 2008)

:smile:

More?


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