Here's the next Mia Hamm modeling the prints in 20" x 30" frames along with two prints at their actual size.
Loving the Mountain Goat print ( I'm very tempted to bust the Bank ) and the England shirt and hat model by a soccer star of the future . No #34 " The Visitors " is amazing . I'm still needing your PayPal address Amigo
Very true Steve, while some may consider him a handsome man, he'd be a very ugly girl.....:D Will regardless of how cute your daughter is, though, it would appear her hat may make her look like she's been rooting for the English in this World Cup thing..... :D
Just to be clear there Doug, that's a British flag on her head not English. The jersey on the other hand is incriminating and I agree, Will would be an ugly girl.
Thanks guys! LOL....ugly girl....Rob would know living on Kodiak and all! Halibut are pretty to him! I guess that's not say much for me.
Hey bro, where I'm from British IS English......:D My neck is RED.....:D I'm getting just a little more excited each day.... Will, how well would a smoker work up at that altitude.... I'm thinking of maybe bringing along my smoker to smoke part of an elk back strap after I kill my first elk.....
Doug, I'll bring a couple of grills. One can double as a smoker. No sense in hauling yours all this way. Besides, if you drive with mark thomas, he'll need the extra room for his purse....
Well spotted Rob , the Red in the Union jack flag is the only part English ( its made up of 3 flags , England , Wales and Scotland ) , after watching them the other night .... it hurts to see the shirt . Doug i'm with you on the excitement scale of things , really getting pumped about my second Elk Hunt . Changed my pounds for Dollars yesterday yeee haaaaaa , i'ma comin to Colorado First round of drinks is on Mark , by the way , Cannot wait to read his book , I've been waiting months to get my hands on that sucka
OUCH, he's not gonna "claw the dash" if he gets hungry and I don't stop immediately is he???? :D That's cool will, I'll leave it here then. I know last year, I was glad to have my little charcoal grill at my base when I came in with one of those pretty little Grouse that made a little mistake of flushing out in front of me and stopping on a tree branch... I even had a couple left in my cooler that still had a little ice on them that night...
Will, everyone that fishes with me knows I hate those ornery, smelly, slimy goofy assed fish! Ugly as you are you're more welcome in my boat than those messy things any day.
Hey guys. I'm looking at getting some predator camo pants before I come over. Anyone wear that camo? What do you think of it? Where's a good place to buy from over in the states? I have all ASAT tops but having a real hard time getting pants. ASAT wanted $45US just to ship a pair of pants to Australia so I'm looking for alternatives.
Matt, Give me your specifics and I'll have them waiting when you get here. Rob, I'm feeling better about myself already! Thanks amigo!
Oh but they taste so goooooood, Rob!!! How could you NOT like them, plus they bring a pretty penny as I've heard????
I personally sampled 2 million pounds of them doing at sea set-line surveys one year. I don't care if I never see another one. I think they're up over $4 a pound at the dock but we can't sell sport caught fish here. We put 11 in the cooler the other night after work but none of them touched the deck or boat for that matter. Taking small ones (20 - 40#) straight from the water to the cooler is the key.
It was late August, 2002. I found myself among good friends and on my very first hunting trip to Africa. I say “hunting” loosely though because my official capacity wasn’t “hunter” but rather “hunt photographer”. Seriously, hunting with my camera was all I could afford at the time-even that quickly became a stretch! I had just finished paying off a $4500 hospital bill for my daughter’s birth (she was born with complications), was in the middle of a $2500 hospital bill for my son’s birth, and was about to begin paying the unexpected whopper hospital bills for all the extensive testing and physical therapy performed on my son- the tests revealed a stroke suffered while my baby boy Cory was in his mother’s tummy. Moreover, my wife had been unemployed for two years, I had been working my arse off to make ends meet, and my savings account was nearly depleted. I so desperately needed a break/get away and truly wanted to see this part of the world. I remember, however, if the airline ticket would have been refundable, I would have passed… In the end, I’m glad I didn’t. That two week period made me more of the person I am today. It was an eye opening, life changing, event for sure! With the insistent and unwavering support/plotting from my travel companions (all mentors to this day), I was given opportunities I could not have otherwise afforded. Here is the recount: “Will, now that we have you here”, said Mark Perry. “You can shoot any plains game species of your choice as long as it’s not an elephant. The cost will be on us.” I replied, “No Mark, I can’t do that.” Mark then said, “Son, you do not have a choice in the matter. You either shoot something or we’ll shoot you and use your stinking carcass for lion bait!” His command was further solidified by Cecil Baldwin and Greg Hartsock. “Yes Willie, you’re not getting out of this one” as Greg said. The three of them meant business! You could see it in their eyes… I reluctantly said, “Ok, I’ll shoot a zebra”. Mark started to laugh. He said, “Let me restate that. You can shoot any plains game species of your choice as long as it’s not an elephant and it has to be a gemsbok!” I said, “Ok, a gemsbok then” (I’m laughing as I type-what a good memory). You have to understand here, my friends were taking care of me. We were on a fourteen day lion/leopard hunt in the Republic of Namibia. A zebra could be shot anywhere in Africa whereas gemsbok in Namibia are second to none. They knew this and thus their reasoning. I poured my heart and soul into making this hunt a complete success. I cleaned and polished rifles, packed and re-packed gear, changed flat tires, built blinds, filmed…anything and everything I could do! Mark, Greg, and Cecil were stacking animals up! By day ten, each hunter had collected around 13 individual trophies. Amazingly, each had killed a leopard. It was too cool! I was there to partake in every ounce of the adventure! It was on this day I was also handed a rifle. Mark said, “Buddy, it’s your turn”. The photograph below captured the result. I was also given the opportunity to shoot a kudu cow which was used for lion bait. Sadly, poachers had killed eight lions and the Republic of Namibia revoked legitimate lion hunting permits smack dab in the middle of our hunt (Mark, Cecil, and I returned a year later to hunt when the government reinstated Mark and Cecil’s permits.) On the safaris’ last night, and with a few shots of Jagermeister under everyone’s belt, Mark Perry raised his glass and said, “Here’s to our lucky charm…the guy who pushes us old farts to do things we wouldn’t normally do”. All eyes fell on me-shot glasses were held high. Gunther Heimstadt, our host, said, “Here here! Getting three leopards on a single safari is unheard of!” This was a proud moment for me. I felt like I had earned the respect of giants. The following morning, the four of us were preparing to depart for Windhoek to do some souvenir shopping. It was five minutes to eight and I was busy loading gear into our transit van. Gunther erupted from the main house screaming, “We have another leopard! Who wants it?” Again, all eyes fell on me. I said, “Nope, I cannot afford it guys.” Gunther looked at me and said, “What can you afford?” I said, “No Gunther.” In the back of my mind I knew that Greg, Mark, and Cecil had all paid $6000 each for their leopards. For me, there was no conceivable way. Gunther said, “Will, you have helped your friends like no other man I’ve seen. You are the reason for their and my success. I want to reward you. What can you give me?” I shook my head and thought for a moment. I raised my eyes to meet Gunther’s. I said, “I have $1000 worth of traveler’s checks I was going to use to buy gifts for my family…that’s all I have.” Gunther replied, can you give me $2000? I will let you pay me $1000 later.” I said embarrassedly, “No”. At that point Greg Hartsock screamed “Yes he will! Gunther go in and make the call. Tell the farmer we’re on our way!” Gunther asked of Greg, “Are you sure? Greg replied, “Yes. I’ve got this-GO! Gunther dashed off. I turned my attention to Greg. He said, “Don’t even Willie. You do not understand what has just happened to you.” He continued, “You have been given a 97% chance of killing a leopard for TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS!” I Said, “I realize that, but I do not have the money”. Greg made it perfectly clear to me that he DID…I could use the rest of my life to pay him back. Again, I wasn’t given much of a choice. He also reminded me that the cat wasn’t in the bag…yet. So, with borrowed rifle, I went on my first leopard hunt. I was a nervous wreck! “Great”, I thought. My new babies are going to be orphans. I chewed my finger nails down to the bones on the way to the leopard-I literally had three hours of travel to think about what I was about to do. A borrowed gun….the money….orphans….argh. A problem leopard, which had been tormenting a goat farmer’s herd, had killed and stashed an impala up a tree. The farmer’s black workers had found the kill site and notified the farmer. The farmer immediately called Gunther (the man is a wildlife depredation officer for Namibia). The timing could not have been more perfect as the day progressed. The plan, once we arrived, was to ascertain the condition of the kill site. If the leopard had fed, we were going to track the leopard to its resting place. If the leopard hadn’t eaten, we were going to build a blind and wait for the big cat to come back. Since it was a fresh kill, the chance of seeing the leopard was great, however, getting a shot…well, anyone’s guess. Gunther, the farmer, the farmer’s son, a black tracker, and I set off. The tracker pointed out the hanging impala while we were 100 yards from the tree. We spent a moment glassing from afar. The decision was made to move closer. I was the last man in a single file line. I was walking as if on pins and needles. My senses were finely focused as we advanced. Then it hit me! I was overtaken by that “something is watching you” feeling. I turned my head to the right and caught the tip of a tail roll slightly inward. (Side note: I had just finished reading Peter H. Capstick’s book “Death in the Long Grass”. Somewhere within the pages of that awesome portrayal of killers in the African bush I read ‘a leopard rolls his tail, as if to load his springs, right before his deadly charge.’) I immediately pointed my borrowed rifle at what was obviously a crouching leopard. I leapt backwards and shouted, “THERE IT IS!” The bloody cat was less than 20 yards to our right. During my leap, I managed to snag myself under the arm and across the top of my head in a wait-a–minute bush. Gunther was quick to join in. He told the farmer to train his 12 gauge sawed off shotgun on the leopard (he spoke to him in Afrikaans, but I can honestly say, I fully understood every word of this foreign language). Gunther freed me from my predicament (I can remember the skin under my arm stretching like crazy as I tired to pull myself free). As a group, we backed up and maneuvered around the bush which had held me. Once clear, I told Gunther, “I’ve got the shot.” The leopard made no effort to flee. It simple remained crouched…its eye were fixed on us. I shot. The bullet struck low. I had failed to compensate for the height of the scope compared to the muzzle bore at that close distance. The leopard charged and in doing so tried to jump through another wait-a minute bush. It was stopped and snagged instantly. She struggled to free herself. I quickly racked a second shot and fired. The round found its mark. The beast died hanging. I was elated-as were Mark, Cecil, and Greg upon my return. To think, I almost let foolish pride get in the way of this priceless experience shared with concrete buddies...it took me less than three months to pay Greg back. I thought I would share this with everyone because it really is the driving force for our elk camp (I’m calling it Camp Castonies, by the way. I am going to drill two 2lb rocks and tether them together. Anyone caught whining will have to carry the stones around their neck until the next guy whines.) I am so thankful for having good friends. Again, without friends, I would have never had the multitude of experiences like the one I’ve just described. Bringing you all here to share the natural resources within my wonderful state is my way of giving back. Greg’s words, “Don’t even Willie” echo through my mind. His gift was special. I desire to imitate his brotherly kindness. I hope you all give me the pleasure. I look forward to the day I can say...Don't even Greg!
A great story Will , very fitting of the great man that you are . Your kindness , enthusiasm and eagerness to help others is all to obvious and I for one have a lot to thank you for . You got me out their , after 21yrs of saying i'd love to bowhunt , you invited me out their to Elk Camp and what an experience it was " Cheers Buddy " .... I won't be carrying no stones either , nothing to whine about at Elk Camp
I concur Dave sharing a bear camp with Will was a great experience as was the buffalo killing. I firmly agree with Will's philosophy that you've got to take the opportunities that are presented to you whenever you can or you're going to let life pass you by. We're here to live, not watch others do it.
Will...my initial reaction to your story was "Hell Yes!"...that really put a charge in me, great story...and congrats on getting after it. To see you "pass it on" with this year's Elk camp is just awesome. To think I logged on this site last year to find out more about Elk hunting because for years I had been telling my wife and buddies..."I'm a few years out on an Elk bowhunt" which has always been a daydream. My very first thread was a ? asking advice for DIY Elk hunts...I had one post, nobody knew me, and Will says if I ever want to go to let him know. Before long I realized "this dude's for real"...and my wife's saying "I know you've always wanted to go, so go." Now I'm 2 months out from Elk hunting in the Rocky Mountains...you lit the fire Will! Thanks! ...Then it will be my turn to pass it on...guessin' I could find a few takers for Trophy Whitetails...
