I hate posting on these threads but feel inclined to do so.
My experience in the Omay has been great. I have killed some good buffalo, leopard, and have had a great time hunting tuskless on three separate trips. I also have enjoyed good fishing on the Ume/Kariba. I even stayed in camp longer than my hunt just to ride around with the appy and was charged no extra. Money has never been an issue and Martin has treated me more than fairly. I have even stayed at Martin’s house for nearly two weeks after a hunt.
I have hunted in five countries on nine safaris and every one of them has been great. Once I lost a day of hunting because of quota issues, I stayed calm and we were able to work everything out, turned out to be a fine safari. My last hunt the PH became ill on the day before the hunt started and I ended up doing almost two weeks self-guided in a fly camp on one of the most remote areas in Africa. That story will actually be in Africa Hunter magazine in the next issue. I was on a hunt with one of what I consider one of the best operators, in a great area, with one of the best PHs in Africa and I did not connect with a tuskless. That hunt was one of my finest hunts ever, even though we failed on the tuskless.
Your experience was obviously different. I am sorry for that. Hunting in Africa should always be an enjoyable experience. When things go bad the truth or blame probably lies somewhere in the middle. I wish you and Martin could have worked out an amicable solution.
However, I post on AR under my real name Mike Burke. So I did a detailed search on the guys you listed.
You might also consider what hunt99, badhunt, motorcity, 465H&H, Palmer Allen, w Johnson ("I won't be going back there") and begno have to say about their hunts with Pieters by searching their names on Accurate Reloading.
Please note you reference AR members and their hunts with Martin Pieters.
I performed a search for each of the guys you listed that would return results for Omay, Martin, or Pieters. This is what I found.
Hunt99 had three posts concerning this. His issue was with the PH (who is Martin’s responsibility). They saw buffalo and even stated the two others in his group had great hunts.
There are no posts of any kind for a poster named “badhunt” or “bad hunt” for that matter.
Motorcity was looking for a reference on Martin. Only one post. No report about the hunt or if he even made the hunt.
465H&H has quite a few posts about the Omay. He has hunted there even before Martin had it. This is his latest post about the Omay. He does not sound upset with Martin. In another post he even stated he knows of a guy that took 7 or 8 buffalo in in six days on the Omay.
“Martin,
You are to be commended for your outstanding anti-poaching efforts. I have hunted Omay several times for elephant and we often found the carcases of poached elephants. One time the bones of 5 or 6 in one small area. It was a group of cows and calves. Please keep up the good work. Is there a way for us to donate to the cause?”
http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1411043/m/2751028712?r=2881068712#2881068712Palmer posted this “Some here have had good luck in the Omay but not me. I will not be going back there.”
Begno has hunted the Omay. I know Butch well. His son did not connect with a buffalo in 2012. Butch killed a 13-3” croc and a good hippo but was disappointed for his son. As an aside I understand the area Butch hunted is now part of a hunting conservancy and the game is abundant.
Not all the guys you listed seem to have had problems. If I missed something I apologize.
If you would like I send links to 40 or 50 or more hunts that people were very pleased with.
Between Larry Shores, bwanamrm, and myself we have 8-10 hunting reports that are very good.
The Omay is tough. It can be hot, it is huge, the buffalo are smart. But it can also be some of the most rewarding hunting you can do. Make sure you go at the right time and make certain you have a the PH you want.
