PUT A RIBBON ON IT.

Before we left, I said it was the trip of a lifetime. Well, that has been changed to First of a lifetime. Pretty much sums it up. When we met Denver in person, I told him until further notice this was a whatever it takes hunting trip, meaning physically and mentally. We were all in. The trouble putting that out is that it may make someone on the edge of going think that we are super human 60 plus year olds, thus scaring them off. Please don’t do that. Certainly we were committed, but Denver is just as committed to taking you as you are, anything from a wheelchair hunt to crazy over the top people like us and everything in between. If you can shoot and walk a little, he will put you in a position to be successful.


Our accommodations were incredible. The food was awesome. The personal video hunt they offer is a legacy type of offering. I found myself enjoying the video recollection of a hunt but also see as a way to pass on a piece of who I am to future generations of my kin that may not have been old enough or even born to know who me and their grandma were.


For those who don’t think they can afford it, please don’t let that be an excuse for not checking into it. They offer so many packages, group hunts, partner hunts. Share 10 animals with your son or a friend. Save for it a few years, but if you never schedule it, then it will never happen.


Eric and I have enjoyed a multitude of experiences together before but never the intensity of a hunt like this, and he was only there for the second half. My greatest pleasure was to be able to share it with my life partner of 41 years. She was a ROCK STAR. She didn’t just tolerate it or survive it, but she thrived on the challenge and intensity of it. I won’t need to return home this time and spend the next year trying to paint a word picture of what I experienced because we shared it together. 


Here is how committed we at Hausofarms are to Coppermoon and Denver as the outfitter. If you identify yourself as a friend of HausofArms, when you contact them, we have a special gift for you. The MUTT is now the stuff legends are made of on two continents. It, along with the ammo and Bog Pod system, will be available for your use for your Coppermoon Hunting Safari. Yes, that is what I did when we left on Monday. We started the legal process to transfer the MUTT to Denver at Coppermoon. This makes your trip to South Africa, faster, easier and cheaper. No hassle with firearms travel internationally and no ammunition rules to learn and follow. Simply take a vacation to SA and show up on your scheduled hunt, and the MUTT will be there for your use. And if your significant other wants to be pampered while you play, just have her stay at Kuzuko Resort adjacent to Coppermoon while you play Ernest Hemingway for a week. 


We also want to take this time to thank our industry and business partners for the input and help they provided to make this a reality.


Dennis Brandwein - 30 years of friendship as well as a love for hunting that was contagious

Justin Van Dee - countless hours of ballistic and technical input

JD Jones - ballistic info on the wildcat rounds

Gary Reeder - personal experience and expertise from his 14+ hunts to Africa

Alex Holman - personal experience from his travels

Ryan Kadavy with Top Shelf Adventures - Thank you, Ryan, for making this a reality by introducing us to Denver!

Lehigh Defense/SSK Firearms - Brian with SSK crafted some amazing barrels for our trip, and Dave, Pete and Mike from Lehigh made sure we had all the ammo we could possibly need

Wes Vezza with Custom Leather - Wes' leatherwork is incredible. He provided our HOA slings and ammo wallets.

Pete Cardona with Quality Cartridge - Pete made sure we had the proper headstamps to get our ammo into the country

Nic Wentworth, our amazing tour guide at Schotia Safaris - Nic is not only an amazing tour guide but an incredible artist as well. Check his work out here: http://www.nwentworthart.co.za

Leoni with Africa Sky - Their services made entering the country with firearms so easy.

Kuzuko Lodge - This resort adjoins Coppermoon and gave us a brief break before the 10 day hunt

African Wildlife Artistry - Their gallery in Somerset East convinced us to use their services.

Cannon Osborne and Andy Hogg with Benchmark Visual - These two are not just gifted photographers/videographers, but they became our friends as well, even to the point of assisting with the hunt.

Denver Gowar and the entire Coppermoon staff - We cannot express enough our appreciation for the South African hospitality and expertise from this fine group of people. Rob & Libby Holdt, the caretakers, allowed us to use their pool, wifi and always made sure we had something to eat and drink. Nella Van Huyssteen, our caterer, was more like a lodge manager. She took care of all the details of food, drinks, cleaning, laundry so we could enjoy the hunt (see Ruth's interview below with Nella). Finally, Denver, is one of the finest young men we've ever met. He stayed in communication with us before our arrival, showed his amazing expertise during the hunt, and is just an overall fun person to be around.


And last but not least, our daughter, Emily Benson, who manned the fort while we were away playing. 


We hope you have enjoyed this trip from afar as much as we have enjoyed sharing it with you. 


Marty and Ruth



https://youtu.be/yv5pG9-kBzM