http://www.africanhuntinggazette.com 103Myfocuswasonthecharge,andI aimedat
thelion’sshoulderwithmy.458,usinga 510-
grsoftnose.It wentthroughandstoppedon
theoutsideskinof theleftleg.(Youcanseethe
bulletinthephoto).Theshotcrumbledand
thelionslidtoa stopveryclosetous. It was
deadquiet,andI toldBradtogiveit a coup
degrâce.
Afterwehadtakenphotos,I wentlooking
formyhatwhichfelloffas weranthroughthe
bush.I toldBradthatthenoiseweheard,must
havebeenthelionessgoingformyhat! He
laughedandthoughtI wasjoking. I walked
backinthepath,andtherewasmyhat,torn
andchewedon! Bradtooka videoofit and
askedmewhatI hadtosay. I repliedI was
verygladthatit hadnotbeenonmyhead!My
hat wasunfortunately alsooneofthe many
souvenirsI lostwhen our house burnt to the
groundin2004.
AHG:Whatwasyourmostmemorablehunt?
AV: Mymostmemorable hunt was when I
shot a buffalo withmy closefriend Patrick
Caballero. Hewasonthewaytotheairport
in very bad weatherto join me, when his
vehicleveeredinfrontof a truck.I waswaiting
forhimat theairportat Maun,whenmywife
phonedto saythathewasin a comain hospital
andtheythoughthe wouldnotsurvive.He
cameoutof a comaeighteendayslater,butthe
doctorsdidnotthinkhewouldbeabletowalk
again.Ayearlaterwe hada big celebration
whenhecameandshothisbuffalowithme!
Ourcampfirethatnightcould probably have
beenseenfromthemoon.
AHG:Haveyouanycommentsaboutclients?
AV: Over the yearsI was very fortunate t
havehadmanygreatclients.ButonceI had
a very difficult and tiring man who shot a
femaleHartmann’szebra.Duringtheskinning
process,I wantedtotryandusea compressor
toblowtheskinawayfromtheflesh. I ran
thepressureupto3 Bar, whichpumpedup
thezebralikea balloonandmadeherbladder
exploderightovermyclientwhowasstanding
attherearend! All I could do was to hose
himdown...
AHG: What is your opinion about recent
developmentsinhunting?
AV: Fences and more fences, and too
many small game farms with very smart
accommodations. I think the industry has
been trying very hard to create awareness
ofthe role of huntinginconservation. The
incomegeneratedhasdefinitelyincreasedthe
abundanceofwildlifeinsouthernAfrica.
Theimportanceofthehuntingindustryis
illustrated in Botswana, with the re-opening
oftrophyhunting.Thereis stilla futurefor
huntinginAfrica. Weneed tobe hands-on
witheveryoneinvolvedandmakethisindustry
betterthanever.Althoughhuntingis stillgoing
stronginEuropeafterhundredsofyears,it’s
becomingmoreexpensive, and we will follow
thesameroute.AHG:Whatroleshouldtheoutfitterplay?
AV:Theoutfittermustmakesureofdelivering
a qualityhunt,good service,greatfood and
trained staff. The hunt should not only be
about the pressure of trophies, as the full
safariexperiencemustincludetheenjoyment
of being in nature! And do not shoot the
trophiesfortheclient!ToomanyyoungPHs
aretrigger-happy.AHG:Andadvicetoclients?
AV:Makesureyourclientsarehavinga great
huntingexperience.BeforecomingtoAfrica,
they should practiceonshooting sticks and
to getto knowtheirrifle. The huntshould
not only be aboutthe pressure of trophies,
asthefullsafariexperiencemustincludethe
enjoyment of being in nature! I have been
fortunatetohuntandtrainthe2ndgeneration
ofclients. Womenarealsomoreinterestedin
Trophyhuntingandmanysonsanddaughters
havehuntedwithme.
AHG:If shehadthechoiceagain,wouldyour
wife still do it?AV: My wife would definitely run away if
shehadtodoit overagain!Shesaysthewife
shouldnotworkinthebusiness.Havea very
capablepersonwhocando allthe extensive
adminandbookingsrequired! Ratherspend
yourtimebeinga wifeandmotherraisingthe
familyandhavea verygoodbackupsystem.
Pursueotherinterestswithextraincomeforall
thoseunforeseeneventsthathappeninlife!AHG: Given your timeover again, is there
anythingyouwouldhavechanged?
AV:I wouldhavelikeda goodmentor.When
youareyoungyouoftentakethelongerroute,
andthereis nosubstituteforexperience.AHG:Areanyofyourchildrenfollowingin
yourfootsteps?
AV:Becausehuntingis seasonal,mysons are
stillabletohelpona part-timebasis.AHG:Haveyouanylastwordsofwisdomfor
us?
AV: Listentogoodadvice,it willsaveyoua
lot oftime and money!Have faith in your
businessand do not surrender in the difficult
times!Andre is the Principle of the Belmont
Professional hunters Academy &owner of
Onjonas Safaris Africa, and has trained
about 500 PHs over the last 30 years.Jim Hilay and Andre (right) with a great buffalo.Rue Ferguson, Andre, and a 63” kudu.OnjonasSafarisAfricaattheRocky
Mountain Elk Foundation in Reno.