January 2026

The Danger of (some) Hunt Auctions/Donations

Having just attended the TTHA Outdoor Extravaganza in Dallas, which was excellent by the way, I wanted to bring to your attention the danger of some auction hunts.

Whether you are bidding through DSC, SCI, a Chapter of these organizations, Ducks Unlimited, RMEF, you name it, you really need to check the facts about what you are bidding for and what the expectations are.

Here’s a real example that started last year and came to a head this week. Ronald (actual name) messaged me to see if I could help. He paid $8000 at a Chapter fundraiser last year for a hunt in Tanzania. Now he is struggling to bed down the details with the Outfitter. “I will see you in Dallas, Richard, because this Outfitter is advertised to be there.”

Skeptical of this working out, as I knew more of this Outfitter’s story, I was looking forward to the meeting but sadly for Ronald, their booth was empty. There is little to zero chance of the hunt materializing and now it is up to Ronald to fight for a refund from the Chapter sitting with his money.

The organization that auctioned the bid took it at face value that the Outfitter’s claims of being able to sell the hunt was correct – and was legally able to be fulfilled. Ronald’s sorry story was the first one brought to my attention this year. Last year I engaged with four hunters that were similarly burned.

Auction bids can be a great way to:

1)    Raise awareness for the Outfitter,

2)    Get a deal for the highest bidder, and

3)    Raise funds for the hunting organization.

There are three variables here that make the hunt work. Not easy.

Many Outfitters want to recoup the money lost on the donation. It is not just about marketing purposes. So, there is pressure on the hunters, sometimes before they even arrive, to shoot more animals. Then there are other hidden costs that need paying, and there is pressure to do the taxidermy through their preferred taxidermist. It can be a very unpleasant experience. So just check things out.

That said, with one show behind us, and many more ahead, including all the Chapter fundraisers, there are some wonderful safaris out there to choose from, and some fantastic outfitters to talk to.

Talking of Outfitters – the African Dawn 2026 Group is out. This exclusive group across Africa offers you one thing for sure – peace of mind. Enjoy doing your research.

And lastly, one of our Dawn members, African Frontier Safaris has put up an incredible Black Death Buffalo safari. The safari, as well as the trophy, taxidermy and trophy shipping supplied by TTS, will be won by one very lucky subscriber. Sign up before the drawing on March 15^th.

NOTE – If you are considering coming to Africa in the next three years, I really urge you to look at our subscription specials and what actual, real, tangible benefits are included.

Enjoy researching and selecting your next safari.

Regards, Richard Lendrum

We all love reading about your African hunting adventures. Let’s spread the word.

Submit your story, and we’ll clean and edit it to be published on Africanhuntinggazette.com

Horns and All

By Ray Cox

To leave footprints in the ancient homeland is a privilege, and earning its bounty comes with three possibilities: a great deal of gratitude, being humbled, or both.

“Did you hear that?” exclaimed my son, Sean, from across the pitch-black chalet. “Yeah,” I said, speculating wishfully. “Sounds like it’s a couple of miles away.” It was 2.30 a.m., our first night in the Zambezi Region (the Caprivi Strip) camp. After a few minutes the lions roared again. Our senses now quite alert, we lay quietly, eventually drifting off to sleep until the generator rallied us around 5 a.m.

In the Eye of the Beholder

By Ken Bailey

Kudu were not on my “want” list. But they invariably become part of conversation whenever you’re in kudu country, for these regal spiral-horned antelope have a way of capturing the imagination like few others. And so it was, that Aru Game Lodge’s PH Stephan Joubert and I talked kudu as we sat high on a hill glassing the vast bushveld below, while searching the thorn bush for eland! The truth is that I had no intention of shooting a kudu. Having taken a respectable bull on a hunt years earlier in South Africa, on this Namibian hunt I was focused on the kudu’s big brother, the eland.

The Magnum Caveat

By Terry Wieland



Forty years ago, give or take an eon, basking in a reawakened passion for rifles after a long sojourn pursuing journalism to the ends of the earth, I was leafing through Cartridges of the World and came upon the .257 Weatherby.

My Nyala

By William Archibald

This time last year, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. There was surgery. Clean margins, they said. Great News. I’m riding a commuter train into Philadelphia to Jefferson Hospital. It’s a routine follow-up, and I’m hoping for a zero PSA reading. I shouldn’t, but I have more apprehension now than when we were looking for my friend’s wounded buffalo. Cancer scares me a lot. The train is full. It’s raining and everyone is a little wet. The windows are dirty. We’re passing through Camden. Not exactly a garden spot.

I close my eyes and I’m following PH Roche du Preez through high bushveld, a mixture of thornbush, high yellow grass, and a scattering of trees. The sun is bright and warm on my face.

From the Archives: Q&A With PH Alex Thomson

 I was born in Pietersburg (now Polokwane) on 8 March 1980. I grew up in Polokwane, and the holidays were when my brother and I spent our time on the family farm with my parents and grandparents. I got married in October 2008 to my beautiful wife, Tamryn. Luckily, she loves the outdoors and farm life as much as I do! We have two very busy children, Alex Jnr who is turning five this year and Lexi who is two (going on five!).

The One That Didn’t Get Away

By Ken Moody

Richard, our client, was cheerful as always, never doubting that we would persevere in the end, but those of us in the know were becoming a bit anxious. Day in and day out, we had spotted, tracked, crawled, snuck into, and engaged dozens of buffalo bulls within the large herds we were hunting. Still, no dice. Everything so far had been soft bossed and too young to consider. ‘Where are the big boys?’ I pondered as we pulled off another group of six bulls not up to snuff. Returning to camp that evening, I decided that we would implement a new plan and split up our resources to cover more ground and find more buffalo. It had been a hard hunt to this point.

Not For the Faint-Hearted

By Kim Gattone

It was a calm, cool morning, wet with dew, the low-lying fog quickly evaporating in the rising sun.

These are perfect conditions for scent dogs and, sure enough, the strike dog Blue, was already “giving tongue” from the back of the truck before his feet ever hit the ground!



Blue is an older, three-legged bluetick hound; he’d lost that leg in a close encounter with a bushpig, and is a better dog on three legs than many are on four! Blue, leased to a houndsman, bayed the pigs in their nest. Unfortunately, the pigs “broke their nerve” quickly and scattered rather than holding up.

Across the Kalahari

By Terry Wieland

Almost all of the really great hunting books are less about hunting than they are about journeys. Sir Samuel Baker’s Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, Theodore Roosevelt’s African Game Trails, even Ruark’s Horn of the Hunter — are less about being there than getting there.

This element has been largely removed from both modern hunting, and modern hunting writing. Encounters with the TSA, late flights, cramped airline seats, and delays at Customs are hardly material for great literature. Even within a country of any size, such as Tanzania, most movement between hunting areas is now done by small plane. Gone are the long, hot, bumpy, dusty, interminable treks by Land Rover that see you pull out in the pre-dawn and only reach your new camp long after dark.

Chapter 11

The Bennachie Cattle Killer

By Wayne Grant

In June 2002 our agent, John Barth of Adventures Unlimited, sent us a hunter from Miles City, Pennsylvania. His name was Dan Greene and over the course of his safari we became firm friends. Dan had taken two grand slams of wild sheep so he was no stranger to hard hunting. Dan’s hunt was focused on a large male leopard, a kudu of 55 inches plus, then whatever plainsgame time allowed. As usual we had pre-baited and scouted hard during the week prior to Dan’s arrival, and when he got to camp we had two big males on bait. One of these was the notorious Chavakadze male, and the other was a big male down on one of AJ’s ranches. This particular ranch is called Bennachie – apparently a Scottish word pronounced Ben-na-hee.

Who are the African Dawn Outfitters?

The African Dawn Outfitter Program is about working with an exclusive group, to offer one critical thing, and that is peace of mind for you, the hunter.

With over 1000 outfitters to choose from, despite the majority being good and offering a great safari, it is a minefield out there when trying to decide with whom to hunt across the continent. And when it comes to your hunt, why risk anything? This group can deliver the goods.

Book directly with them, go to our website and sign up to receive the weekly posts, Fresh from the Veld. If you’re an agent looking for outfitters to represent or sell; you’ll be safe contacting any one of these Dawn Members.

www.africandawnoutfitters.com

Richard Lendrum - Publisher African Hunting Gazette

richard@africanhuntinggazette.com

2026 African Dawn Members