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- Dec 23, 2006
- Messages
- 15,020
Bill was invited back to Africa to do some Bowie training and a bit of hunting.
He was kinf enough to send me this note and some pics of his trip.
I asked if I could show it here and he was kind enough to give his blessing.
Bills words
......................................................................................................
Joe--I thought I would send you some information on my trip to South Africa. I got back on the 28th of October after a very rough flight across the Atlantic and was jet lagged for ten days. The worst it has ever hit me, for sure. That is the bad news.
The good news is that I really had a great trip, both the knife training in Durban, and the hunting part of the trip in the Eastern Cape. I went to Durban first, so I'll start there.
I was the guest of Monty Markow who is the leading instructor of blade techniques in South Africa. He has a number of guys that train with him on a regular basis, and they were quite keen to learn advanced Bowie blade techniques. I was Monty's house guest and had the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate some of the finer points of Bowie technique with him that went beyond what I was able to cover in the two days of training that I did with his class of students. These guys are some of the finest and most dedicated men I have ever worked with, and they absorbed the Bowie technique very well. I spoke with Monty today by phone, and he tells me they are getting better every week and that he is continuing to fine tune their training. They are very keen and enthusiastic over the Bowie technique, and have never seen anything like it. They pronounce it far and away the most effective they have ever seen.
The South Africans have a real appreciation of the blade arts and self defense. Monty and four of his friends met me at the airport when I landed at 9:15 pm and asked me if I minded doing a newspaper interview before we left the airport. They had two reporters and a photographer from the regional newspaper there, and we had coffee and pastries in one of the restaurants while the interview was conducted. Two days later there was a full page color spread in the weekend edition of the paper, and I have to say that it was the most accurately reported interview I have ever had done. We had a meet and greet session at a Firearms and Knife store in one of the malls that weekend, and it was extremely well attended and family oriented.
While I was in Durban, Monty had arranged two days of hunting for me on a property north of Ladysmith in Kwazulu Natal. A very nice place and some extremely gracious people. I took a nice blesbok at 307 yards with the Sharps, and at the landowner's request took a cow kudu for meat for the farm. The kudu was an 80 yard shot and went less than 20 yards after the bullet strike. The blesbok went straight down at the hit. The old Sharps did the job, for sure.
I made some great friends in Durban, and hated to leave. I flew into Port Elizabeth on Oct. 11th, and was met by Marius VanDeventer and Andries Niesenberen of Africa Bushveld Safaris. We drove from there to Addo, and north of there we headquartered in a lodge on one of the properties we hunted.
I took a good warthog at 205 yards with the Sharps and a couple of days later got a very nice zebra with a one shot kill at 161 yards. Zebra are tough, and a one shot kill is unusual. This impressed the locals to no end.
The area had been in a major drought for three months, and this made hunting difficult. However, Marius and Andries know where to go, and worked hard to find the animals I wanted. I took a nice impala at about 145 yards and an old bachelor blesbok at 160 yards with the Sharps to round out the hunting part of the trip. I had a couple of extra days left at the end, and we shot geese one day. I had told them that I could shoot the Sharps, but I was not much of a wingshot--and I think I proved that to their satisfaction.
All in all it was a great trip. This was my third trip with Africa Bushveld Safaris, and I recommend them highly. Everything about the hunt was well thought out and planned, and everyone worked hard to make the trip a success. Monty Markow and his group in Durban could not have possibly showed me greater hospitality. I really am looking forward to my return.
Best,
Bill Bagwell
HUNTING SHARPS RIFLE
He was kinf enough to send me this note and some pics of his trip.
I asked if I could show it here and he was kind enough to give his blessing.
Bills words
......................................................................................................
Joe--I thought I would send you some information on my trip to South Africa. I got back on the 28th of October after a very rough flight across the Atlantic and was jet lagged for ten days. The worst it has ever hit me, for sure. That is the bad news.
The good news is that I really had a great trip, both the knife training in Durban, and the hunting part of the trip in the Eastern Cape. I went to Durban first, so I'll start there.
I was the guest of Monty Markow who is the leading instructor of blade techniques in South Africa. He has a number of guys that train with him on a regular basis, and they were quite keen to learn advanced Bowie blade techniques. I was Monty's house guest and had the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate some of the finer points of Bowie technique with him that went beyond what I was able to cover in the two days of training that I did with his class of students. These guys are some of the finest and most dedicated men I have ever worked with, and they absorbed the Bowie technique very well. I spoke with Monty today by phone, and he tells me they are getting better every week and that he is continuing to fine tune their training. They are very keen and enthusiastic over the Bowie technique, and have never seen anything like it. They pronounce it far and away the most effective they have ever seen.
The South Africans have a real appreciation of the blade arts and self defense. Monty and four of his friends met me at the airport when I landed at 9:15 pm and asked me if I minded doing a newspaper interview before we left the airport. They had two reporters and a photographer from the regional newspaper there, and we had coffee and pastries in one of the restaurants while the interview was conducted. Two days later there was a full page color spread in the weekend edition of the paper, and I have to say that it was the most accurately reported interview I have ever had done. We had a meet and greet session at a Firearms and Knife store in one of the malls that weekend, and it was extremely well attended and family oriented.
While I was in Durban, Monty had arranged two days of hunting for me on a property north of Ladysmith in Kwazulu Natal. A very nice place and some extremely gracious people. I took a nice blesbok at 307 yards with the Sharps, and at the landowner's request took a cow kudu for meat for the farm. The kudu was an 80 yard shot and went less than 20 yards after the bullet strike. The blesbok went straight down at the hit. The old Sharps did the job, for sure.
I made some great friends in Durban, and hated to leave. I flew into Port Elizabeth on Oct. 11th, and was met by Marius VanDeventer and Andries Niesenberen of Africa Bushveld Safaris. We drove from there to Addo, and north of there we headquartered in a lodge on one of the properties we hunted.
I took a good warthog at 205 yards with the Sharps and a couple of days later got a very nice zebra with a one shot kill at 161 yards. Zebra are tough, and a one shot kill is unusual. This impressed the locals to no end.
The area had been in a major drought for three months, and this made hunting difficult. However, Marius and Andries know where to go, and worked hard to find the animals I wanted. I took a nice impala at about 145 yards and an old bachelor blesbok at 160 yards with the Sharps to round out the hunting part of the trip. I had a couple of extra days left at the end, and we shot geese one day. I had told them that I could shoot the Sharps, but I was not much of a wingshot--and I think I proved that to their satisfaction.
All in all it was a great trip. This was my third trip with Africa Bushveld Safaris, and I recommend them highly. Everything about the hunt was well thought out and planned, and everyone worked hard to make the trip a success. Monty Markow and his group in Durban could not have possibly showed me greater hospitality. I really am looking forward to my return.
Best,
Bill Bagwell
HUNTING SHARPS RIFLE
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