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I recently returned from a 21 day safari in Tanzania with Danny McCallum Safaris.
After numerous guided hunting trips around the world, this is the one I feel most compelled to comment about.
General information:
It had been a long tiem since I had been to Tanzania. If I remember correctly, it has been about ten years since I have been to Tanzania. There are without a doubt some changes in how things are done and I thought I would provide some of this information.
First, it is optional as to whether you get your Visa before you leave here or you can obtain it at the airports in Tanzania. Personally, I chose to get mine before I left. This can be done by contacting:
The Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania 2139 R St., N.W. Washington, DC 20008 202-939-6125
There is a fee of $50 that has to be paid to the Tanzanian Government. It is a very simple process. I personally didn't like waiting in line in the Kilimanjaro Airport trying to get this Visa.
I also would think that most people would travel to Tanzania via Amsterdam flying KLM. If one is traveling with guns on KLM there are certain documents that have to be filed with KLM. You have to give them the information about the guns and the amount of ammunition that is being taken. We've attached a copy of this particular form.
Professional hunter:
The professional hunter on this safari was Boetie Bothma. Boetie has been hunting for approximately thirty years. Boetie's skills are outstanding. He gave 100 percent every day, even in the light of adverse conditions, which will be discussed later. He is one of the most skilled and professional hunters I have ever had the pleasure of coming across or encountering on any trips. I can't say enough good about Boetie.
The Hunting Areas:
Originally, I was scheduled to hunt in two areas. These areas were Piti and Chunya. However, after the first clients came back I spoke to them and received a very negative report. John Barth with Adventure Unlimited was adamant that I was not going to go to Piti and Chunya. He contacted me after personally speaking with the clients who had just returned. I concluded I had no interest in going to Piti and Chunya. I would have rathered stayed home. John pressed the safari company very hard to get me moved and he was successful. They agreed to move me to the premier area, which is part of the Lukwati Game Reserve, however, I would have to hunt for approximately two days in Chunya. I offer the following comments on each of these areas.
Chunya:
As noted above I spent the first 2 ½ days hunting in Chunya. First, the tsetse flies were the worst I have ever seen and this is my twelve trip to Africa. I have never, ever encountered anything like this. We got in a truck and drove all day, generally speaking, about 125 miles per day. During these 2 ½ days of extensive travels we saw not a single lion track. We came across buffalo tracks perhaps twice a day. We saw a handful of plains' game animals. These animals (with the exception of sable) were very skittish and took off instantly at the sight of a truck or a person. There was little sign of any recent animal activity in these areas. In most of the area you would go for miles and miles and miles without seeing anything. It is very difficult to drive for several hours and not see a single animal.
There were in excess of twenty baits leftover from the previous safari. Those baits had been out a minimum of eight days. We checked all of those baits twice. Of all those baits, three had been hit by leopards. None had been hit by lions. The leopards that hit these baits were very small. They were not worth pursuing. This was also somewhat disheartening. I might add that I have hunted extensively in Africa and the placement of these baits were masterful. There were some incredible places well off the beaten path that I absolutely could not believe that no leopards had even touched these baits. I might add we did not see a single lion track, in addition to not having any lions hit the baits.
There are several possibilities for this, including the following:
I personally believe that all the big leopards have been shot out in the Chunya area. I can't imagine that there could be over twenty baits out in prime habitat and water nearby and they did not have a single mature leopard hit any one of the baits.
Poaching is a distinct possibility. There was a lot of activity by both loggers and honey gatherers. Perhaps they are poaching. Further, Chunya is an open area, which means that residents can come in anytime they want to, since it is not a game reserve. There could also be local meat hunting as well.
The drought could certainly have an impact upon this area. The area was very, very dry. There was very little water and many of the animals could have simply moved off.
Lukwati:
We spent the majority of the safari hunting the Wuku River Camp in the Lukwati Game Reserve. Boetie had opened this area as part of Safari Royale several years ago. He and his partners were responsible for having the Lukwati area made into a game reserve by the Tanzanian Parliament. He is very familiar with the area. The hunting in Lukwati was considerably better than Chunya, but still not good. Many days we were leaving at 6 am and coming home at 9:30 pm. We would ride for hours and hours and not see game. By way of example, we left one morning to check some lion baits that were near the Rungwa River. We left shortly before 6 am. We had driven three hours and 45 minutes before we saw the first animal. These animals were zebras. It is difficult physically and mentally to drive in a truck twelve to fourteen hours a day and see virtually no animals.
Some of the highlights of our trip to Lukwati included the following, as relates to the animal populations:
We did see herds, sometimes large herds of buffalo. However, it was very far between these herds. It may be possible to see 1,000 buffalo in a day, but those 1,000 buffalo may have been made of two herds of 500. After you see these buffalo it may be hours before you see another animal. The herds are very difficult to hunt. The herds also seem to be very wild. We did experience hyenas chasing a herd of buffalo sending them on a stampede. Perhaps the predators have made them wary. Boetie did comment that even as late as last year the animals were not that wild. He is not sure what caused this.
As far as lions go, we saw lion tracks a grand total of four times during the entire trip to Lukwati. We did manage to get one of these lions on bait. It proved to be immature, which I had no interest in shooting. It should be further noted that I was the seventh hunter to go through the Wuku Camp this year. Not a single one of the seven hunters has taken a lion.
I did manage to take a reasonable leopard early on in the hunt. To be perfectly honest, after I killed the leopard we had a number of other leopards that hit our lion baits, some of which were probably considerably bigger than the one that I shot. I would have to conclude this place has a much better leopard population than it does lion population.
As far as plains game, the plains game had pretty much disappeared from this area. While we did see some, it was a very small fraction of what one could expect to see based upon past experience. I can't tell you the number of times I heard Boetie say things like, "This place used to be crawling with impala. Now there is not a single one." Or "I can't believe we see virtually no hartebeest. This place use to be crawling with hartebeests." Those plains animals that we did see were very skittish, did not stand around very long, and presented very little opportunity for a shot.
I know several people personally who have hunted this area in prior years. One of which hunted it last year. What I experienced was 180 degrees opposite of what they had experienced in the past. Something has clearly gone wrong. What could cause this? Who knows. There was ample evidence of poaching. I personally noted the following.
Shelters built by poachers, including drying racks. Numerous camp sites. A fresh camp site with a kill there. Poachers' tracks in a game reserve, where it is illegal to be. We found the skeletons of three elephants that had been machine gunned. The buffalo I shot for bait had been wounded on two separate occasions by muzzleloaders. We retrieved a musket ball and a huge piece of lead from the buffalo. We heard muzzleloader shots on two separate occasions. While sitting a leopard blind, I could clearly hear voices. It is evident that someone was there that should not have been.
Personally, I feel that the poaching affected the area near Lake Rukwa pretty severely. It was pretty obvious that the poachers were out of control. I do find it hard to believe though that in other areas poaching caused the disappearance of the animals. Perhaps the drought has had something to do with. Perhaps they have moved off because of the drought. I don't know. Whatever the reason is, this area contains a small fraction of the game it did in prior years. It is also possible this area has simply been over hunted. I was the seventh hunter in the season and my hunt started the first of September. A lot of people may think that's an awful lot of pressure on an area.
Other Matters:
One thing that I think is very important to discuss related to safari is the conduct of the game scout. This gentleman's name was Geoffrey Azinga. I urge you if you find this gentleman as your game scout to get rid of him as quickly as possible. He can ruin your hunt. When I arrived I could tell there was some tension in the air. For the first two or three days I couldn't exactly tell what it was, then fairly early on in the hunt, I think the third day in the Lukwati, Mr. Azinga proceeded to tell us we were guilty of various game law violations, including such violations as:
Speeding through a game reserve (keep in mind these are two rut roads full of bumps and rocks. It was pretty much impossible to go fast).
Illegally cutting trees in a game reserve. (It seems we had committed the serious offense of trimming bushes that were covering parts of the road).
We were in a game reserve in illegal hours. (He thought we should be in the camp before dark.)
This annoyed me, but not greatly. At this point I still thought everything was fine. This was, at least, until we went to get in the leopard blind. There was a major confrontation between the professional hunter and this idiot from the game department. Before we got in the leopard blind, the game scout announced that we had to be back in camp before dark. The leopard blind was an hour and 45 minutes away from camp. There was a huge confrontation. We got in the leopard blind anyway. I was livid. I told the professional hunter that if he was going to hold us to these hours that I was not going to stay and was going to go home. He had further told us that we could not hunt any earlier than thirty minutes after sunrise and we could hunt no later than thirty minutes before sunset. This is obviously ridiculous. I had no desire to hunt lion and leopard during the middle of the day for the next three weeks. As luck would have it, I shot my leopard at 6:00 p.m., about an 1-112 hours before dark. We drove back to the camp. After we got to the camp there was a huge confrontation between the professional hunter and the game scout. Lots of yelling on both sides. Frankly, the professional hunter was standing up to this idiot. Personally, I was scared. Here we are in the middle of nowhere, two white guys, surrounded by about twenty black guys. It was extremely uncomfortable. The next morning the professional hunter contacted the home office of the safari company and told them of the situation. He told them that I was going to go home, because this guy was ruining the safari, which he was. The safari company contacted the game department and a letter of reprimand was delivered to the game scout. He changed his tune considerably. He was apologetic.
However, he continued to have an adverse impact on the hunt. The professional hunter was very concerned about the game scout's real agenda. He felt that the game scout was just waiting for us to make a mistake so he could turn us in. This, without a doubt, had an adverse impact on the hunt. For example, we saw a herd of 24 elephants one afternoon. There was a bull that was definitely legal. The bull was standing about ten yards inside our concession. Some of the herd of elephants were a few yards into the other concession that joined Lukwati.
The professional hunter did not want me to shoot this elephant, because he was afraid it would run off, in the other concession, and there would be a big problem. By the way, this is the only legal bull I saw the entire time.
Booking Agent: John Barth of Adventure Unlimited.
They did an outstanding job and as noted above, John went above and beyond what he had to do to protect me. I was very satisfied with them, in spite of the fact that this hunt did not turn out the way I would have liked it to.
I flew to Kilimanjaro using Northwest I KLM. The outgoing trip was uneventful. Everything worked out pretty much perfectly. The same seemed to be true on the return trip until I got to Detroit. There I received a surprise that caused me some considerable stress and cost me a lot of time. I had never encountered this situation before. For whatever it's worth, my last international trip hunting carrying guns was in July. I didn't expect any monumental changes.
After going through passport control, I went to baggage claim. I waited and waited and waited and there were no bags of mine seen on the carousel. I waited until all the belts stopped moving. I asked one of the baggage gentleman if that was all the bags from that particular flight. He said it was. At this point, I would speculate that I had waited between thirty and forty-five minutes. I inquired where to go to file a missing bag claim, as I had not received any of my bags. No one seemed to know. Finally, I got a hold of a lady with Northwest. She was helping me and we were walking to her office. By this point, I would estimate that I have spent somewhere in the area of one hour and fifteen minues waiting for my bags and trying to find out how to file a missing bag claim. As we were walking to her office, I happened to look to the left and I saw, much to my surprise, that the customs' officials had all my bags. I am the veteran of many dozens of international hunts, for which I carried guns abroad. I have never, ever had customs take my bags and have them waiting in the customs' area for inspection. They informed me that this was a new law. I was shocked. Had I known this, then I could have saved myself a whole lot of time and a whole lot of stress.
Let me say this is the first time I have ever flown through Detroit carrying guns coming back from an international flight. Perhaps it's a special rule there. I can assure you that the next time I go to Tanzania, if I ever go again, I will go straight to customs to wait on my bags and not wait the length of time I waited by the baggage carousels.
Concluding Comments:
Would I go back to this place? There is no way I would ever go back to Chunya under any circumstances. If it was given to me without a cost, I would not go back. As far as Lukwati goes, I would definitely not go back for lion. I would definitely not go back for plains game. I would consider going back for a short term buffalo hunt or a leopard hunt. Realizing, however, that this is a physically and mentally brutal hunt just from the sheer amounts of time one has to spend riding in a truck. Much of the concession is just completely empty that it serves no purpose to get out and just walk across country to see what you can see, because there are miles and miles and miles of land that is actually void of any game whatsoever.
Am I upset and angry? Not in the least. I have been on many, many hunting trips. Some work out and some don't. It is clear to me that this area has taken a complete nose dive in a very short period of time. Who could have predicted that?
I will be happy to answer anyone's questions on this matter
Larry Shores
Agent John Barth Rebuttal:
"Don, I would like to address the hunt report filed by Larry Shores regarding his hunt in 2006. First and foremost I believe that Larry's intentions in this report are only to share his experiences with other interested hunters. He is not writing this out of spite or to try and tarnish anyone's name or reputation. He has tremendous respect for both his PH and the safari outfitter. And I have great respect for both Larry Shores and Danny McCallum. I hope that everyone who reads these reports can see things from both sides. From my personal point of view I can tell you the following. I was in Lukwati year before last, and we saw huge herds of buffalo everyday (and have several hours of video with several 42+ bulls just standing there), as well as sable, hartebeest, eland, zebra, etc. I was not hunting but merely an observer with a client doing a hunt. I have visited several hunting blocks throughout Africa and have seen no better buff herds anywhere on the continent. So when I heard the first report from my client JR Turnbull I was very cautious about Larry's hunt. JR was on his second hunt with Danny McCallum Safaris and PH Boetie Bothma. JR had hunted 21 days in 2005 and while he had seen lion he did not manage to take a trophy. He returned again in 2006 just prior to Larry's hunt, but again experienced very bad luck and turned down a mature 6+ year old lion, but not the trophy he was looking for. Upon his return he spoke with Larry and told him about his experience. Larry in turn called me and told me he was not interested in going to this one particular block. I immediately called Joanna McCallum, and asked her what could be done. I think it should be clear here that she and Danny did go out of their way to make alternate arrangements for us, and both Larry and I very much appreciate their efforts in accommodating us in Lukwati. Few other outfitters would go out of their way to make such changes for a client. In regards to poaching, I believe there is a certain amount of it everywhere in Africa but even seeing another person in these particular hunting blocks is a very rare event. There are however lots of old logging/timber campsites in the area. Some of the rough old timber campsites are seen daily, and they usually consist of a long dug out trench, and then two racks running parallel alongside the trench, and a couple of small shelters. When I first saw these I assumed they were poachers camps, until their use was explained to me. Even being several years old you could still see where they had built their fires, built there sleeping areas, etc. And the parallel racks look similar to what many poachers use to dry their meat. I do not think their is significant pressure from poachers, but if there is I doubt it has affected the trophy game, especially the cats.
There has been an ongoing drought throughout Tanzania, and this has possibly had an impact throughout the entire region on game populations, migrations, etc. However I do not have enough experience in the area or in Tanzania as a whole to comment any more than that. Regardless of the climate conditions they do still take great trophies out of all of their blocks as can be seen in their 2006 trophy gallery at- http://www.dannymccallum safaris.com/hunting-gallery2006.1.htm. Larry had been planning this hunt for several years, and had looked forward to hunting with Boetie in this area for at least 4 years. He was expecting the ultimate safari, and this trip did not live up to his expectations. Larry was successful in taking a huge kudu, a good leopard, a very good buffalo, sable, hippo and other game. He did fail in taking a big lion which was his number one priority, and he did have a very hard hunt. He put in lots of time and effort with his PH, but in the end I guess conditions for this hunt and this year were just less than favorable compared to our hunts in these blocks in the past years.
I think hunters considering a trip to these blocks which are operated by Danny McCallum Safaris should look up all the other Hunting Reports for Danny McCallum Safaris and Safari Royal. Look at Danny's website www.DannyMcCallumSafaris.com and get the most up to date list of references available. Sincerely, John Barth
Rebuttal comment from Danny McCallum of Danny McCallum Safaris
I have just returned from my last safari to be confronted with your report. I would like to comment on your report, plus to some of the correspondence between yourself and our office here in Arusha, so please bear with me as I deal with each item.
Yes, you were booked to hunt in Piti and, as you state in your report, you flatly refused to go to Piti based upon the comments of JR who did the first hunt of the year there. Your PH who also hunted with JR told your booking agent not to let you go to Piti, also according to your report. Your booking agent and our office corresponded and we agreed to put you into Lukwati (Wuku) and put our own clients into Piti.
Piti:
The first client's main priority was for leopard. On this safari they collected buffalo, hartebeest, impala, warthog, sable (42 inches), zebra, hippo and one of the largest leopard taken in any of our areas to date. They saw a number of sable, reedbuck, greater kudu, bushbuck, buffalo including a good population of roan antelope (one of which was exceptionally large but failed to collect this trophy). They also had lion hit some of their leopard baits and tracks were also seen. This I can support with photographs and a report from the hunter if you so wish.
Our second lot of clients to go to Piti were two gentlemen on a 2x1 10 day companion hunt with a 21 day license. They were hunting for buffalo and a few of the other species but no cats. They were able, between them, to collect 4 buffalo, one 45" sable, one impala, one hartebeest and one zebra. This I can also support with a report and photographs.
CHUNYA:
Chunya where you hunted for 2 1/2 days, the reason being that, because of changing camps to accommodate you, was that there was already another party in Wuku and you had to wait for them to finish their safari. In fact I was there with the Robinson party.
Tstse Fly: My clients and I, of which a number of them are ladies, have in the past 40 years hunted in fly country in most parts of Africa. The fly are very important to the well being of the wildlife in uninhabited areas, as they discourage cattle, sheep, goats and human habitation. I have to admit, that you are the first person in my 40 years of hunting, who has complained bitterly about the fly. No one particularly likes the fly, but there are ways of keeping them at bay.
125 miles a day. Well, I must sympathise with you, because in order to cover that amount of milage, you must have been flying along at a considerable pace and no wonder that you did not see any tracks or animals, apart from the fact that you must have been exhausted at the end of the day. On my safaris, I do not even cover half of that mileage. I can imagine how physically and mentally draining it was for you, to drive flat out 12 to 14 hours a day without seeing anything. It would drive me nuts.
In excess of 20 baits still up from the last hunt. Quite a lot of baits for such few animals in the area! I shall have words with the PH who hunted in that area, as it is company policy, that a maximum of 6 baits per cat at any one time can be hung.
Just after you left, one of our PH's went into Chunya camp with two of our clients on a 21 day companion hunt. In six days they collected 3 buffalo, 44" sable, one greater kudu and an excellant dark maned lion. They still had two weeks in hand to try to collect whatever else was left on their license. They also confirm that they had three other good shootable lion that had hit their leopard baits. Photographs and report can be supplied. From this PH, I was told that some of the fantastic locations of the baits you mentioned in the report, were just off the main tracks you were hunting on, hence the complaints about some of the company vehicles that were travelling from one camp to another, ferrying supplies, or whatever other duties they were conducting. These baits must have been on some of the main tracks.
"Nothing but small leopard on these baits. " You and your PH came to the conclusion that all the mature males had been shot. I wish to refrain from making a comment on this one, because I can give GPS co-ordinates of several mature males that have been recorded within the area since your safari there. It is company policy that we record on GPS, sightings and tracks of lion and leopard and sightings of sable, buffalo, elephant, roan antelope and wild dog for my end of year report.
LUKWATI SOUTH (WUKU):
July of this year when the grass was long and conditions difficult, we had a 2x2 21 day safari for buffalo and lesser non dangerous game. They collected what they wanted and saw alot of buff, few zebra, sable, and hartebeest because of the long grass. Mr. Mike Bartlett one of our PH's on this trip can confirm that he saw two good lion. These particular clients come out every year and have done so for the past ten years. They spend their time and effort looking for a 50" buff. They are back with us again next year in the same area. A report from them can be obtained if needed.
The next trip in there just before yours was a 3x3. Two of these were there for 21 days and the other for 7 days. Gerard Miller cleaned up in 7 days with 2 buffalo, 42" sable, zebra and a hartebeest. My client collected a nice old buff, 42 1/2" sable, impala, warthog etc. but failed on his leopard which was a priority even though we had two big leopards on bait, but they were night feeders. Mike Fell with his client were primarily after a big lion which they had feeding but also at night. I will not blame the moon for this and can only blame ourselves for not delivering. That's hunting. Be happy to send photographs. While we were hunting our leopard, which is in the area you shot yours and I gather off one of my baits, we saw greater kudu regularly as well as impala, buffalo, bushbuck and roan antelope. Out of interest sake, I recorded in this small area on GPS, two large male leopard, one other male not quite as large, but shootable, one lone female and one other female with a cub.
7th hunter in that camp this year. That maybe so but yourself and the Robinsons were the only ones hunting cats. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you in not taking that immature lion.
Comment about 'this pool being full of hippo" Well Mr. Shores I can assure you that hippo tend to move to different locations depending on forage. This even happens in the Ngorongoro crater. Just fly over and along the Rungwa River and see the abundance of hippo. Mike Bartlett and one of the pilots from Northern air can confirm this.
The buffalo you shot with the musket balls embedded in its torso. This I am afraid to tell you have been going on for as long as I can remember. Hunting this same area, including Rukwa, Katavi and Chada in the 60's we were experiencing the same thing even with roan, sable, lion, elephant and hippo. Yes, we do have a poaching problem with wildlife and timber. We are aware of this and trying to the best of our ability to try to curb this problem with the meager finances available to us. This is a problem that has been ongoing for the past 60 years and more, therefore the lack of game you saw does not change in one year. The problem has been there for years. This year was a dry year and game tends to move and PH's should venture further afield, stay off the roads and explore a bit more.
Regarding the Game Scout problem you had. I apologize for this as it was only brought to my attention a couple of nights before I came down to your camp. Your PH had this same game scout with him for the past six weeks or so in Chunya, but the problem was not brought to my attention even then. If I had known about this earlier, I could have dealt with it before the start of your safari.
As far as your being afraid for your safety because of this game scout issue and being in a camp full of local Tanzanians, I can understand your concern because you are in a foreign country and do not know what to expect. I can assure you that the Tanzanians are not barbarians but a nation of people with a friendly and gentle nature. You are of course not expected to know this, but I think your PH should have assured you that there was no need for concern. I have lived here for 59 years.
The legal elephant you saw. Well Sir, if it was on the boundary or close to it with our next door neighbor, were you not able to get within close quarters and give it a decent brain shot? If anything were to go wrong and he happened to cross next door, it just takes one phone call (Sat phone) to the neighbor's office in Arusha. I had a similar incident with a zebra and a year or so ago Gerard Miller had a similar incident with a buffalo.
There are no large tuskers in our concessions and as a rule I do not sell elephant hunts in our concessions.
Well if your PH quit after your hunt, that is his prerogative and I cannot stop him. Thank you for being patient with this letter and I apologize for rambling on. Also I am very sorry that you were disappointed with your safari and Tanzania.
Danny McCallum
Additional Comments from subscriber William Parker
Dear Don:
We have been subscriber to "The Hunting Report" for a number of years, and I always enjoy reading the latest of what's going on weather it is polar bears or positive and negative hunts. In the last issue that I received - Vol. 27, No. 5 - I happened to catch the short notice on page 15 concerning a Critical Hunt Report referencing Danny McCallum Safaris in Tanzania.
Don, I do no know the gentleman that sent in the critical report, but we did pull up this information from the website and I read it with interest, but I have to admit, with great dismay. I do not know Mr. Larry Shores, but I do know Danny McCallum and have known him for probably twelve years or so. It is from my personal knowledge of Danny McCallum and Danny McCallum Safaris that I write this letter.
First and foremost, in all of my trips with Danny McCallum, I have never run into any of the circumstances that Mr. Shores describes in his long dissertation. I do not know Mr. Shores, Professional Hunter, and Mr. Boetie Bothma, but I do know Danny McCallum, Chris Trent and Mike Fell, and they are all AAA-1, top-line professional hunters, but in addition to that, they are all very fine people and quality gentlemen in every way. The Tanzanians that I have had any associations with, whether they be game scouts, trackers, skinners, drivers or working for the Tanzania Government in any capacity, they have been interested, caring, helpful, and most of all, very, very supportive, and in some cases have worked just as hard as anyone else on a safari to be sure that the "client" had a successful hunt. It is hard for me to imagine any person of the kind described by Mr. Shores lasting long working for Danny McCallum Safaris.
Next, I will point out that I am convinced that at no time in hunting with Danny McCallum is anyone going to break any law, much less a Tanzania law. If anything, when you are hunting with Danny McCallum, you are hunting with a true professional who is truly committed to obeying the laws first, but most importantly, he is fully committed to obeying the laws of fair chase, and those things are just not violated under any circumstances. I can attest that sitting in a leopard blind hoping to get a shot at a leopard day after day, hour after hour can be a little frustrating, and maybe that's what Mr. Shores is talking about.
Anyway, that's what hunting is about- the good, the bad and sometimes the disappointment. I would have to agree with the comment on poaching, and that is that there is always going to be some poaching, but it's certainly very, very limited.
Next, I would like to say that I have never hunted anywhere with anyone that worked harder at making me happy and making me feel that we were trying to get a shot at some game of quality than did Danny McCallum Safaris, Chris Trent and Mike fell. To me they are all top of the line in every way.
I am sorry that Mr. Shores did not have a good time, and had a bad experience, but it's awfully hard to believe, having been there and done that myself, that it could have been as bad as he outlined. Danny McCallum's letter in reply was well in reply was well written, and to me, expresses his side of the story in exactly the way that I would have expected him to do - in detail, completely, and not dodging a single question, but written as the gentleman he is.
No one asked me to write this letter, but knowing Danny McCallum, I felt that I should write it.
With every good wish.
Most sincerely,
William A. Parker, Jr.
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