Hello fellow hunters!

[tpe187]

My name is Tom Ehrhart. I'm originally from SE Pennsylvania but have spent the last 25 years all over the US as a US Army Infantry officer. I'm currently stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. I started hunting again last when my schedule became a little more predictable and realized just how much I have missed. I am primarily a deer hunter but have taken up waterfowl as well as turkey hunting. I love all things firearms, so I have a good bit of experience in short, mid and long range shooting to include competitive pistol, skeet/trap, and 3-gun. My interest in African hunting was sparked when I was an Aide for a 3 star general who had returned from a safari the year before and had all these plains game trophies on the wall. I am coming up on retirement (1May22) and I've been thinking that now might be the time go plains game hunting in Africa. I am here to learn from the vast pool of experience before determining the way ahead. My current hunting rifles are a Sako 85 in 30-06 and Winchester super grade in .338 win mag. As part of my gift to myself for retiring, I'm thinking of getting a Blaser R8 in 300 win mag and .375 H&H with some Swarovski glass. I look forward to interacting with the group. Thanks for having me! Tom

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Welcome to AH Tom! Glad you found us and enjoy exploring this great resource. Thank you for your service.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Welcome to AH!
Aberdeen is a blast .

 

[Andrew Short]

Welcome to AH!

 

[JOHN GRENZ]

Welcome aboard!!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Welcome aboard Tom. I'm on the other side of the river up in the People's Democratic Socialist State of Delaware. Beware the enablers here, cough, cough, they will have you hunting the big five with a .500 Nitro Express before you know what happened.

 

[cpr0312]

Hello and welcome!

 

[chashardy]

Welcome Tom! And many thanks for your service. Sounds like you are putting together the right battery for a plains game hunt in Africa.

 

[ChrisG]

Welcome aboard Tom. I'm on the other side of the river up in the People's Democratic Socialist State of Delaware. Beware the enablers here, cough, cough, they will have you hunting the big five with a .500 Nitro Express before you know what happened. View attachment 408246View attachment 408246

Or buying a .375 H&H and then thinking you went far too small for northern deer!

Welcome to AH @tpe187

 

[cls]

Welcome to AH, you picked a great place to start your journey to Africa.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Greetings and salutations!

 

[NKWE SAFARIS]

Welcome sir

 

[mdwest]

Welcome @tpe187 ! Always good to have another soldier hanging around amongst us..

 

[Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy]

Welcome aboard, Tom. Planning that African trip is almost as enjoyable as taking it. Sounds like you're well on your way. The members here have plenty of experience and opinions - but be warned, your planned R8 battery may quickly balloon into a 21 gun arsenal if you listen too closely

 

[Professor Mawla]

@tpe187

Welcome to African Hunting forums and we are all pleased to make your acquaintance . Thank you very much for your service to your country . Is your .338 Winchester Magnum a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 or a new Portuguese Model 70 ? Is your Sako Model 85 the “ Bavarian “ model ? Much like yourself , I absolutely admire the .338 Winchester Magnum . Such a magnificent calibre for Himalayan ibex and Kodiak bear .

My former commanding officers got me interested in big game hunting as well , in 1972 .

 

[tpe187]

@tpe187

Welcome to African Hunting forums and we are all pleased to make your acquaintance . Thank you very much for your service to your country . Is your .338 Winchester Magnum a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 or a new Portuguese Model 70 ? Is your Sako Model 85 the “ Bavarian “ model ? Much like yourself , I absolutely admire the .338 Winchester Magnum . Such a magnificent calibre for Himalayan ibex and Kodiak bear .

My former commanding officers got me interested in big game hunting as well , in 1972 .

Yes, my Sako 85 is a Bavarian. My .338 is one of the newer CRFs, not a pre-64.

 

[Ridgewalker]

tpe187, first, thank you for your service and second, welcome to the forum! Hope we can help you get to Africa.

 

[Shootist43]

Welcome aboard Tom. Grab a cold one and pull up a chair at our campfire. Enjoy chatting with and learning from a bunch of friendly knowledgeable folks.

 

[Firebird]

Glad to have you with us-enjoyed seeing pix of your “kids”

 

[nztimb]

Giday Tom and welcome to the A H florums