“I HAVE HUNTED EVERY YEAR SINCE 1955”

And Darryl Hastings is still hunting at age 84. He just completed a successful hunt for Canadian Lynx in British Columbia. He started as a kid hunting Whitetail in Michigan. The stories of the “between hunts” are endless. He attributes his successes to being knowledgeable, prepared with shooting skills and physical conditioning, and ALWAYS hunting every available minute on every hunt.  

EFFORT PAYS OFF

As an example (and no doubt with the best results), Darryl hunted Giant Eland in the C.A.R. with PH Phillippe Clero in 2004. By agreement, they hunted dawn to dusk (which is rarely done due to the mid-day heat sometimes reaching 120 F). The quantity of sign was great, but no big bull could be found until the 8^th day when, just before dark, a lone bull started breaking off mopani trees to eat the tender leaves on top. Darryl and Phillippe moved 600 yards to the sounds until the big bull was spotted.  One look and Darryl thought: “Put him down … DON’T look at the horns.” Those horns were later measured by a Master Measurer at over 56” with matching bases of 15-4/8” (and were measured even bigger by Dr. Gerald Warnock, who was in the same camp, prior to boiling and drying). To this day, Darryl’s Lord Derby Eland remains #1 all-time by both the SCI and Rowland Ward scoring systems.   

DOZENS OF SELF-GUIDED HUNTS

It’s great to be a Client on a guided hunt. But for a real test of preparation and ability, self-guided hunts can be rewarding. Darryl has been on dozens, but just a few are his most memorable. The first was a mixed bag hunt in Alaska in 1971 “for $595 including flying into a tent camp … no guide, carry in your groceries.” He got a Dall Sheep, Grizzly, Wolf, and Caribou on that one! Over the years he was incredibly fortunate to have drawn 3 state tags for Bighorn Sheep and all 3 were self-guided and successful! His most memorable self-guided hunt was for 12-days in Cameroon with 9 Pygmies!

HANDGUN HUNTS

After befriending the late, great Larry Kelly, Darryl embarked on numerous hunts with his T.C. single-shot .375 JDJ handgun. Among over 50 species taken with his handgun, Darryl has shot 9 Cape Buffalo plus Leopard, Rhino, Bongo, Zambezi Sitatunga, and Alaskan Brown Bear. On one Cape Buffalo hunt, 3 old bulls charged Darryl while standing side-by-side with his PH, Stewart Findlay-Cooper. “Stewart took out the one on his right with his double. I was lucky to put down the one on our left with my handgun. Then we both reloaded one round and shot the one in the middle at 6 or 7 yards and quickly got out of the way, like matadors, as the bull rolled between us. Stewart later said he would have me beside him anytime.”   

NEXT YEAR, ANOTHER ELITE HUNTER WILL BE PROFILED. WE ARE PROUD THAT OUR SELECTION COMMITTEE IS COMPOSED OF RENOWNED HUNTERS: ED YATES, REX BAKER, and RENEE SNIDER.

For the second half of 2021 and all of 2022, 18 consecutive monthly Elite Hunter selections were made and profiled. Beginning in January, 2023, selections were made quarterly and published the first month of each quarter (January, April, July, and October). Starting 2025, the selections are made annually.