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Related post: Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 23:07:46 EST From: Double A Subject: Raven Hair(18)Disclaimer: After a hiatus of sorts, preeten model empire I am back with another story! japan naked model Yay! Anyway, due to personal problems, I've been unable/unwilling to write much of anything for a long time. Here is a teens modeling laura new story from me to you. For those of you who nude modeling know my style and enjoy it, you should really like this one. european teen supermodels Like I said, though, I haven't written anything for a while, so I may be a bit rusty. For those who don't know my style, I tend to use a lot of build-up and "storyline". So, if you came on to find a story for a quick jack-off, then this probably ain't for you. However, if you want to take the time to read a beautiful tale of young love, then sit back, take a sip from your glass of evie eveline model wine, and enjoy!And remember...Always stand male swimsuit models up for what you think is right, preteeen model galleries don't listen to bullshit, no bikini preeten model matter who is saying it, and always speak with your fists and swear a lot to be heard!******************Part 18: David woke up a while later. His first thought, was that he was extremely nauseous. Before his mind could focus on anything else, he stood up, stumbled out of his room, into the bathroom, and threw up into the bathtub, because he couldn't make it to the toilet. When he was done that, he looked around the bathroom and, through somewhat of a misty haze, it all came roaring back to him and he cussed his failure under his breath. He got to his feet and, after trying to rinse down the tub as best as he could, he groggily wobbled asian pedo model out of the bathroom, then looked around. It was petite models measurements dark out, so he model jamie white surmised that he had been asleep for the day, unless it was the following evening. However, David had enough sense to know that if he forum models pic had been asleep until the next day, he surely would have been taken to the hospital. He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was 8:30. That would mean that both his father and step-mother would be home. His failed attempt at killing himself forgotten for the moment, he happily descended the stairs to be with them. Though they were noticeably tense now, and his step-mother was downright hostile sometimes, it was still a nice feeling for David to be around the two adults. When he entered the girl model tiny kitchen, he spotted his father reading the Vancouver Sun on the living room couch, the living room being adjacent to the kitchen, and his step-mother making dinner. His step-mother acknowledged his presence with a glance, but his father smiled at him and waved him over to model ass the couch. He happily walked over and hugged his father, then sat down beside him. "So, how long have you been asleep?" He asked. David shrugged and said, "I don't really know." and then added, "I wasn't feeling very well today." "Oh, okay." He responded, apparently not suspecting a thing, and added, "So, did you finish your homework today?" David froze. He hadn't known that he wouldn't be successful in killing a runway model himself, so he had forgone his daily trip to Lord Tweedsmuir to pick up his homework. "Umm...I forgot to pick it up today, but I'll just get it doubly on Monday." Without turning around, his step-mother replied, "You can't go to school, and we're accepting that for now, so sapphic teen model all we ever asked if that you pick up your schoolwork. Now, does *that* make you panicky, too?" David's father shook his head and said to David, "Look, we're seeing the psychiatrist on Monday morning, bright and early, and he'll tell us what to do. The bottom line, though, is that you have to go to school, somehow. You fitness models naked can't sit home and do nothing all your life." "I know, dad." David teens models nudes replied, "and top models butt I really want to go to school, but right now I just can't!" And David wasn't lying, either. He really *did* want to go to school, if kids modelos xxx not for him, then because he wanted to make everybody happy. It sort of made him glad that his father didn't know about his attempt to kill himself. It meant that he wouldn't suspect anything when David tried to do it again, and he was definitely planning to. The weekend passed very tensely. David's step-mother was young nakedfemale models off work and David tried his best to stay out of her way and stay teenie top models at his computer, in the basement. He had recently got the Internet and was having a lot of fun having access to all the neat sites. His mission, though, was to be like all the major web freaks and get his own website, so he was starting to create a website based on 1850s model trains doing what he did best...writing. Specifically, he was going to start writing a weekly column, when the site was done, in which he'd discuss things that were on his mind. The site was established at Geocities, under the Capitol Hill homestead and would be called "The Redrick POV" Another thing on his mind, was the yong russian models investigation into a new band that had just come out that summer. It was the first dads little models band that David had heard of, in which the members were younger than him. That simple fact made him hate them so much. The band was called Hanson. Three young boys, two of which were mildly cute, who were successful and didn't even *have* to go to school, while David was sitting at home, forced to go to school. It just wasn't fair, and the first "Redrick POV", therefore, was a rant against Hanson. David didn't know much about Hanson, top kidz model but he was going to try his best to propagate the rumours that they were gay, dyslexic and the oldest one was actually retarded. It was actually that Sunday, in September 1997, that David decided that, instead of being the doctor that his parents hoped for him to be, he was going to be an actor. He was going to be a rich and famous actor, and then, he would use some of that money to have Jordan Hanson killed. Why? Because something about the way that kid smiled made David sick to his stomach and want to amateur model nude blacken bikini teenage models one of his blue eyes. David lilamber child model spent a good portion of Sunday afternoon, sitting on the basement tori model ixtractor floor child bonude model and convincing himself that if Taylor Hanson was dead, his katilin teen model life would now be so much better. In fact, he occasionally went online, just to go into Hanson chat room and models russian young tell the little girls that he was abstract people model planning on killing Taylor. sasndra teene model Of course, this made David cry, but he couldn't help it. On Monday, the three of them went to see Dr. Glass. They had three separate sessions with him. One, where the three went in together, the second where his dad and step-mom went in alone, and the last one where he went in alone. On the final ballet nude modell session, Dr. Glass already had quite a few pages of notes, and took even more as David related, in his typical "heart on his sleeve" fashion, exactly what the contents of hot lesbian models his mind was. He told him about why he felt that he couldn't attend school, he told him about his suicide attempt, he told him about his desire to make his father proud of him, he told him about his website, he told him about his hatred for Jordan Taylor Hanson, and he told him that he thought that he was gay. He even told him about Aaron and what had happened. After he was done, Dr. Glass called in supermodel exercises David's father and step-mother and model amanda lynn explained the situation. "Mister and missus Levine," he said, "based on what both you two and him have explained to me, I see the situation as follows: David wants to go to school, akai model csdv6r and you two were adamant about your atlas model train desire for him to return to regular school. However, it's my opinion that David may not be ready to return to a regular school system at this point." He stopped and allowed them to take in that. David's father nodded and said, "Well, does he require any sort of medication or therapy that would japanesemodelingnude help him to return?" Dr. Glass paused, then peachy teen models shook his head, "I feel that medication and therapy is only a small part of what David agency model petite needs. I'm not allowed to divulge any information that he told me, but I will tell you that David may be a preteem bra model danger to himself and to others at this point. While I cannot force any one decision on you, I'm going to recommend that regular school house of models not young models xxx be an option right now, and I'm going to present you with sexy nude modelle three choices that, I feel, would be best for him. Number one, is homeschooling..." David's eyes escorte girl niamodel teenage celebrity model lit up as soon as he heard that word. Hanson was successful and *they* were homeschooled, so if David was too, maybe he'd be successful too. His step-mother, however, shook models and teen her head, without even looking at her husband's reaction, "No, no homeschooling! I don't want him home during the day. He needs to get out and make friends!" Dr. Glass nodded, "I see. Well, then that also covers the second option, which was correspondence school." "Well, what's the third option?" David's father asked. "Well," Dr. Glass said, "we do have a facility where David would be able to get some measure of schooling. He'd also be around children his own age and younger, would be sexy litlle models under constant supervision, and have whatever medication he would be on carefully monitored. It's a live-in facility, built off the Surrey General hospital Psychiatric Wing. It's called the ACRP or Adolescent Crisis Response Program. He would be there for a minimum of three months, maximum of a year, depending on how well he does." la belle models "Sounds like an insane asylum for kids." David remarked. "How much would this cost?" David's step-mother wanted to know. "Oh, it's sex model galery totally covered by Medicare." Dr. Glass nn preeteen modelse replied, "And if you're interested in having him start, I could get him in by the end of the week." "Dad, please don't commit me!" David exclaimed. "Sounds like a good idea." David's father replied, totally oblivious to David's pleas. "Great!" Dr. Glass replied, "I'll let them know, and I'll provide them with a perscription for some drugs that David will be on. It's a very nice program." and, to David, "Also, it's not teenmodel their pirate an asylum. future teenie models It's nn angel model a crisis centre." It didn't matter even if it was an asylum. As soon as him and his father and step-mother arrived back the house, the preparations were underway for him to be sent to this facility. As Dr. Glass had said, by that Thursday, David's father brought him down to the hospital, David's bag sitting in the celebrity modeling backseat, and took him up to nude photographic models the ACRP. They nn models video were met by a nice looking woman, who said hello to both of them and began talking to David like he was a baby. "And how are you today?" She asked, bending over and doing everything except babytalk. "Who the hell are you?" community action model David inquired. She looked up at his father and proceeded to ignore David. "Good morning, sir. My name is Laura Hanson...I'm the mental health supervisor here and the coordinator of this facility." "Hanson...typical." David grumbled under his breath. She motioned for the two of them to follow her down the hallway and, as they did she talked, "As you'll see, this is a very small facility. We only accept eight kids at a time, and they are all between the ages of 12 to 18, but right now, we have one more and now David, who are 17. They will be the two oldest. We very rarely have anybody younger than 13, but we are getting one in a month, because of a discharge were doing at that time. We have two social workers, male and female, who handle day to day problems that the kids may have. We have a recreational therapist, tiny nasty models who handles activities. And, of course, we have our psychiatrist, Dr. Mascal. The kids have a two hour session with teen model girl him once a week. We do arts and crafts, drama, barbeques, and many other stimulation activities to keep the kid motivated. We have two teachers, with one doing english and history and the other doing math and vlad nudemodels science. Of course, we have no science equipment, but the academic portion is covered very accurately." David's father nodded, little teenmodel "Sounds good." Laura Hanson smiled and said, "Okay then." hispanic teen model then turned to David and said, "Why don't you head down the hallway and model 12yr old into our bikini models young student lounge. You can take a seat there and read a magazine or listen to a free models porn CD, while bikinis de modelo your daddy and I sign some papers. Then, I'll come getcha and let you meet all the nice people here who are going to take good care of you." David didn't much care for most child models bikinis of what models nn she said, but loved that he was given an child model undies opportunity to leave this discussion. So, with a nod, he oceanic model 6 left Laura Hanson and his father and headed down the hallway. "Oh," she called after him, "when you get there, if the lights are off, please turn them on." David didn't know what that was supposed to mean, but he just kept walking. This place, in his opinion, was more nuts than he felt. The walls were covered in sext young models crudely drawn paintings under headings like, "Draw Your Anger", "Show Your Fears", "What Makes You Sad". "This place is nuts!" David said to himself, as he took his eyes off the pictures and turned into a pretty dark room. He was reaching inside the room to search for the light switch, when he heard someone inside say, "Touch the fucking lights, and I'll fucking kick your fucking ass." David hand shot out of the room and he exclaimed, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anybody was in here." He saw a shape move in the darkness and walk over to the doorway. Standing in front of David now, was a young boy who appeared to be about his age or maybe top sexiest models younger. He was wearing a black tank-top that 14yo model picture showed off his muscular arms, and black jeans. He had short mousey brown hair, except for the bangs, which hung almost completely in his face, nearly concealing his car and model dark brown eyes. There was a splint on his right hand. "Hey, you're free models young new here?" the boy bianca model said. David models ru was at a loss for words, and then finally asked, "Is that a question or a statement?" The boy smirked in a way that made David nearly loss all muscular control below his waist, and replied, "I said `you're new here.' It's not fucking rocket science." David didn't really know how to respond, so he simply extended his hand and said, "Yeah, youngest naked models I'm new. I'm David." The boy looked down at his hand, then walked back into the lounge. models no nunnude David quickly followed him in. Hitting his leg on something, David tumbled over an object that he learned soon after was a chair. Regaining his footing, he sat down in the chair and looked across the room in the blackness. "So, what's your name?" David asked a shadow. There was no answer, and David lay back in the chair, wondering where he went wrong and when he'd get a chance to try and tiny models portfolios kill himself again, when suddenly the lights started to come on slightly. It was still dark, but it wasn't pitch-black anymore. David could japanese female modeling now clarion model 8044 see the boy sitting on a couch, his ilegal petit model left hand reached teen sexmodel up at a dial that apparently controlled the lights in the room. A book with a visible Star Wars title sat on his lap. David could make out little wisps of isabella teen model underarm hair as the boy's hand remained up, fingering the knob on the wall. He looked at David for a few seconds, a cold, serious look on his face, then asked, "You really wanna know?" David tried to kill the tense mood by smiling and saying, "Yeah. I really wanna know." russian nude modeling The boy's hand turned the dial until the room was pitch black again. nonude modells David could make out his shape lying down on the couch and putting the book on the floor. "You bella model torrent have a girlfriend, David?" David heard the boy's voice ask. David paused for a second, before replying, "No." He heard the kid take a deep breath, then blonde gallery model say, "Well, I had one before I was put into this hellhole, but she was such a bitch. I mean, I used to eat out that chick until sexy model tara she couldn't take no more, but the whore never let me fuck her up decision models forecasting the ass!" David couldn't help but smile. crystal knight model After a few seconds, he replied, "Yeah, well girls can be real bitches sometimes. I understand what you're saying." "You understand, eh?" He heard the kid's voice say, "You understand. That's cool. Yeah, well chicks are all fucking stupid. I mean, guys are korean models female where it's at, man. I mean, I ain't no queer, but there's nothing wrong with too guys making each other shoot, is there, David?" There was something about this guy that, for some strange reason, David liked. Nodding forum sandra teenmodel in the darkness, he replied, "Nothing at all." "Damn right!." He heard the kid say, "I mean, if I asked you, you'd let me fuck you up the ass, wouldn't you?" Flashbacks of Aaron popped into David's head, but, for some weird reason, he replied, "Yeah, of course." There was a pause of about fifteen seconds, before David heard the boy get up. He couldn't really see him, until he was about an inch away from his face, so he was really surprised, when he felt hot lips against his and a hand aggressively squeezing him between his legs to the point where it almost hurt. When the lips pulled away, he could see the kid's eyes staring right into his and a smirk on his face. "I'm Sean." The boy said, "It's nice to finally meet a guy who understands."
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text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Jul 23, 2002
|Filing date
|Mar 28, 2001
|Priority date
|Mar 28, 2001
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Edward S. Robbins, III, Ronald White
|Original Assignee
|Edward S. Robbins, III
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (39), Referenced by (29), Classifications (10), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present invention relates generally to dispensing containers and, more specifically, to dispensing cap constructions enabling accurately measured amounts of the container contents (in granular, particulate or powdered form) to be dispensed from the cap.
Dispensing containers are, of course, well known and are used in many different industries for many different purposes. One such use is in the food industry, and a specific example includes jars and other similar containers which contain solid foods (such as spices) in particulate, granular or powder-like form. Typically, a measuring spoon or separate measuring cup is utilized in conjunction with the jar or container when accurate amounts are to be obtained.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,582 discloses dispensing caps incorporating measuring chambers that eliminate the need for measuring spoons or cups. While the incorporation of a measuring function into a container/cap construction for the discharge of desired amounts of the container contents is not in itself new (see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,802,284; 2,804,103; 3,860,111; 4,613,057 and 4,635,828), the dispensing caps in the above identified commonly owned patent provides improved and simplified structures for accomplishing this result, while generally retaining the desirable option of substantially unrestricted pouring and/or shaking of the container contents from the dispensing cap.
This invention improves the prior dispensing caps by adding back flow impedance features that minimize the risk of measured amounts of the container contents accidentally transferring from the measuring chamber in the cap back into the container before the measured amount is dispensed from the cap.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a transparent plastic cap is provided which includes a top and a depending skirt. The skirt incorporates a generally bowl-shaped weir panel provided with a weir aperture lying on one side of a center line extending through the cap. The weir panel, in combination with the skirt wall and the cap top wall, form a measuring chamber into which a desired amount of container contents may be poured via the weir aperture. In this exemplary embodiment, a vertical wall is provided along the weir edge, thus providing a barrier to accidental backflow. The cap top wall forms a fully openable dispensing door integrally hinged at the juncture of the cap skirt and cap top wall. The cap top wall (and optionally a portion of the depending skirt) is provided with volume gradations in the form of level lines and suitable alpha and/or numeric characters, enabling the user to precisely transfer measured amounts of contents from the container into the cap measuring chamber.
In a second exemplary embodiment, the weir edge extends only partly across the cap chamber, resulting in a generally rectangular shaped weir aperture. In this embodiment, the backflow prevention wall is configured like the aperture, with a forward wall and two side walls extending upwardly from the weir aperture.
In a third exemplary embodiment, the bowl-shaped weir panel extends over the entirety of the cap interior. Contents are moved into the cap measuring chamber through a round aperture in the panel, and backflow is prevented by a substantially upright sleeve extending upwardly from the aperture.
While three weir aperture configurations are described herein, it will be appreciated that the backflow prevention technique disclosed herein is readily adaptable to any number of weir aperture shapes.
Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention relates to a measuring/dispensing cap adapted for attachment to an open upper end of a container, the cap comprising a substantially cylindrical skirt and a lid connected thereto; the cylindrical skirt portion incorporating a measuring chamber defined in part by a weir panel having an opening that is defined in whole or in part by a wall extending upwardly from the panel toward the lid, terminating short of the underside of the lid.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a measuring/dispensing cap adapted for attachment to an open upper end of a container, the cap comprising a substantially cylindrical skirt and a lid integrally hinged to the cap; the cylindrical skirt incorporating a measuring chamber defined in part by a generally bowl-shaped weir panel having an opening that is defined in whole or in part by a wall extending upwardly from the panel, terminating short of the underside of the lid; wherein at least the lid is composed of substantially transparent plastic; and wherein the lid is provided with volume indicators.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing cap in accordance with this invention;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the dispensing cap shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a section view of the dispensing cap taken along line 3—3 in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a dispensing cap in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the dispensing cap shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a section view of the dispensing cap taken along line 3—3 in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a dispensing cap in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the dispensing cap shown in FIG. 7; and
FIG. 9 is a section view of the dispensing cap taken along line 3—3 in FIG. 8.
With reference now to FIGS. 1-3, the measuring/dispensing cap 10 includes a top or cover 12 and a depending skirt portion 14. The depending skirt portion includes an annular radial shoulder 16 separating an upper cylindrical portion 18 from a lower cylindrical portion 20 with an internal screw thread 21 (FIG. 3) adapted to cooperate with an external thread on the upstanding dispensing portion of a container or a jar (not shown) in the manner of a typical threaded closure. Substantially all of the upper portion of the dispensing cap, i.e., above shoulder 16, defines a volumetric space or measuring chamber C from which measured amounts of contents can be dispensed as described in greater detail below. The measuring chamber C is defined by the cap top wall/dispensing door 12, and a generally bowl-shaped (or part-spherical) weir panel 22 which may be integrally formed with the cap, the upper edge of the panel 22 merging with the upper edge 23 of the skirt portion 14 of the cap. The weir panel 22, in cooperation with the inner surface of upper skirt portion 18, forms a dispensing or weir opening 24. The opening 24 is also partially defined by a vertical wall 26 extending along a chordal edge, i.e., wall 26 traces a "chord" vis-a-vis the diameter of the skirt portion 18. The wall 26 lies to the aperture side of a diametrical center line A (FIG. 2) extending across the cap, i.e., the aperture is spaced from that center line, i.e., it is closer to the lid hinge 30, thereby enabling the weir panel to effectively perform a dam function as also described in greater detail below. The vertical wall 26 has an upper edge 28 that lies slightly below the upper edge of the skirt so that with the cap 12 closed, there is an open space or slot through which contents can be poured from the container into the chamber C. The wall 26 serves as a backflow prevention mechanism in that, once a measured amount of container contents has been transferred to the measuring chamber C, it impedes any accidental backflow of contents into the container.
The dispensing door for the cap in this exemplary embodiment includes the entire top wall or cover 12 which is pivotally secured to the depending skirt 14 by an integral hinge 30 on the periphery of the lid. The dispensing door is formed with a peripheral rim 32 which is designed to telescope over the upper edge 15 of the depending skirt portion 14 and to seat on an annular radial shoulder 34. It will be appreciated, however, that the dispensing door 12 and the upper edge 15 of the cap depending skirt portion 14 may be provided with cooperating snap elements or other releasable locking means to hole the dispensing door in a closed position when not in use. The dispensing door is also provided with volume gradations 36 which may, if desired, continue along adjacent portions of the depending skirt 14.
In use, with the cap 12 closed, the user tilts the container (with the portion of the cap diametrically opposite the hinge 30 down) until contents spill over the weir panel 22, through the weir opening 24, and over the wall 26 into the measuring chamber C, until the desired amount is transferred as indicated by gradations 36. The user can then open the lid 12 and dispense the measured amount, with panel 22 serving as a dam to block additional contents from spilling into the chamber C. At the same time, wall 26 prevents any accidental backflow of contents into the container from the measuring chamber C prior to opening the lid. The wall 26 also allows the user to set the container down in an upright position, without fear that the contents will run back into the container and thus necessitate another measuring step.
FIGS. 4-6 illustrate an alternative embodiment where reference numerals similar to those in FIGS. 1-3, but with the prefix "1 " added, are used to designate corresponding components. In this embodiment, the weir aperture 124 extends only part way across the weir panel 122 so that the length of wall 126 is shortened relative to wall 26, but also includes side walls 123, 125 that are perpendicular to wall 26. This arrangement reduces the overall size of the opening 124, but the dispensing action and the backflow impedance function provided by walls 126, 123 and 125 are otherwise similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3. Here again, the walls 126, 123 and 125 terminate short of the upper edge of skirt portion 118, thus maintaining an opening through which the contents may be transferred to chamber C.
FIGS. 7-9 illustrate a third embodiment of the invention. For this embodiment, similar reference numerals are used to designate corresponding components in FIGS. 1-3, but with the prefix "2" added. In this embodiment, the weir panel 222 extends about substantially the entirety of the cap interior, with the weir aperture provided in the form of a round hole 224. Backflow prevention is provided by way of a tubular boss or sleeve 226 that surrounds the hole and extends upwardly from panel 222 toward cap 212, again terminating at an edge 228 short of the upper edge of skirt portion to thereby maintain an opening sufficient to permit contents to be transferred from the container to chamber C.
The embodiments in FIGS. 4-6 and 7-9 and operate in substantially the same manner as that in FIGS. 1-3, particularly with respect to the backflow prevention mechanism walls 26, 126 and 226. The principal difference is in the size of the weir openings 24, 124 and 224.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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|John G Souther
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|Aug 2, 1926
|May 21, 1929
|William Hobson Arthur
|Jul 9, 1929
|Apr 21, 1931
|William Stoddard
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|Sep 10, 1940
|Continental Can Co
|Dispensing container
|Jan 23, 1943
|Jan 18, 1944
|Lucas John S
|Combination cover and measuring device
|Oct 15, 1943
|Mar 6, 1945
|Stott Harold R
|Dispensing bottle
|Jul 17, 1944
|Sep 14, 1948
|Clark Mfg Co J L
|Rotary sifter top
|Apr 8, 1955
|Aug 27, 1957
|William H Wall
|Bottle cap and measuring device
|Jan 18, 1955
|Oct 29, 1957
|Marion Donovan
|Dispensing container for flowable material
|Jul 13, 1953
|Jun 24, 1958
|Norman Greene
|Reuseable dispensing cover
|Apr 1, 1955
|Jul 22, 1958
|Douglas Hofe George
|Receptacle closure
|Apr 17, 1957
|Jan 24, 1961
|Libit Sidney M
|Combined closure and spout for a fluid dispensing receptacle
|Mar 16, 1959
|May 23, 1961
|Mask Jerome
|Measuring and dispensing device
|Apr 25, 1957
|Feb 13, 1962
|United Sweets Of America Inc
|Candy or pill dispensing container
|Nov 2, 1959
|May 8, 1962
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|Mullen Jerry R
|Oct 17, 1961
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|Closure dispenser for containers
|Aug 29, 1967
|Jan 28, 1969
|Mcconnell Blumen & Associates
|Measuring and dispensing closure
|Oct 2, 1967
|Dec 30, 1969
|American Can Co
|Dispensing can with plastic top
|Mar 10, 1967
|May 19, 1970
|Schneider Co Optische Werke
|Optical fiber system for the transmission of optical images
|Nov 3, 1972
|Jan 8, 1974
|Motorola Inc
|Low parasitic microwave package
|Jun 11, 1973
|Jan 14, 1975
|Larry G Thompson
|Pill container and dispenser
|Apr 1, 1975
|Apr 6, 1976
|Johnson Jr Earl
|Proportioning and mixing graduate
|May 6, 1977
|Jan 24, 1978
|Ferdinand Gutmann & Co.
|Child resistant closure
|Nov 26, 1976
|Mar 21, 1978
|Jennings J Thomas
|Technique and device for measuring fluids
|Sep 12, 1977
|Mar 20, 1979
|Joy Walter S
|Granular material dispenser
|Jul 25, 1977
|Aug 14, 1979
|Thayer Arnold A
|Safety locking dispenser
|Jun 1, 1979
|Jun 24, 1980
|Owens-Illinois, Inc.
|Safety closure
|Nov 2, 1979
|Oct 6, 1981
|Barnett Loren A
|Liquid proportioning container
|Sep 21, 1979
|Nov 3, 1981
|Jennings J Thomas
|Technique and device for measuring fluids including finger valve and filler mechanism
|Jun 14, 1993
|May 2, 1995
|Robbins, Iii; Edward S.
|Dispensing cap with rotatable top
|May 3, 1994
|Nov 14, 1995
|Robbins, Iii; Edward S.
|Spice jar and associated dispenser cap
|Mar 31, 1994
|Apr 23, 1996
|Robbins, Iii; Edward S.
|No drip dispensing cap
|Aug 10, 1994
|Apr 23, 1996
|Robbins, Iii; Edward S.
|Dispensing cap with internal measuring chamber
|Nov 30, 1994
|Aug 6, 1996
|Robbins, Iii; Edward S.
|Dispensing cap with internal measuring chamber and selectively useable sifter
|Oct 7, 1996
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|Chen; Han-Kuei
|Distributor for distributing a small amount of particles
|Jun 11, 1997
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|Rexam Plastics Inc.
|Integrally molded measurer/dispenser
|Title not available
|Title not available
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Mar 14, 2002
|Mar 2, 2004
|Yxlon International Xray Gmbh
|Use of a cylindrical test body
|May 18, 2004
|Aug 16, 2005
|Lapform Products, Inc.
|Spice storage and dispensing spoon
|Dec 9, 2002
|Mar 7, 2006
|Laura Ann Martin
|Container assembly
|Sep 27, 2004
|Apr 25, 2006
|Owens-Illinois Prescription Products Inc.
|Measuring and dispensing closure
|May 21, 2004
|Dec 5, 2006
|Sonoco Development, Inc.
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|Sep 10, 2008
|Feb 5, 2013
|Restaurant Technology, Inc.
|Adjustable metered material dispenser
|Oct 14, 2011
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|Measuring dispenser for granular seasoning material and method of seasoning
|Mar 20, 2014
|Jan 6, 2015
|Muhammad Sami Ismail
|Dispenser and measuring cap device and method
|Dec 1, 2014
|Mar 29, 2016
|Capsforall Llc
|Dispenser and measuring cap device and method
|Aug 15, 2014
|Jul 19, 2016
|Westrock Slatersville, Llc
|One-piece self-leveling measured dose dispensing closure
|Oct 28, 2014
|Sep 20, 2016
|Innovestor, Llc
|Measuring and dispensing cap with internal measuring chambers
|Sep 2, 2014
|Nov 15, 2016
|Arthur Gerald Gora
|Apparatus for delivery of a metered dose of granular material
|Jun 12, 2014
|Feb 14, 2017
|Dart Industries Inc.
|Container with drip-proof cap
|Dec 9, 2002
|Jun 12, 2003
|Atsushi Nishio
|Insertion detection switch, connection apparatus and connector apparatus
|Dec 9, 2002
|Jun 10, 2004
|Martin Laura Ann
|Container assembly
|Mar 3, 2003
|Sep 9, 2004
|Talia Pagovich
|Baby bottle regulation and dispensing system
|May 21, 2004
|Nov 24, 2005
|Scott Peterson
|Reconfigurable metered material dispenser
|Sep 27, 2004
|Mar 30, 2006
|Shingle John M
|Measuring and dispensing closure
|Nov 12, 2004
|May 18, 2006
|Graham Packaging Company, L.P.
|Pouring closure
|Jan 16, 2009
|Jul 9, 2009
|American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
|Authorization refresh system and method
|Dec 8, 2009
|Jun 17, 2010
|Graham Packaging Company, L.P.
|One piece unit dose liquid dispensing closure and packaging system
|May 20, 2009
|Nov 25, 2010
|Morris Iii Samuel James
|Multi Compartment Container Cap
|Sep 10, 2008
|Feb 17, 2011
|Antal Keith E
|Adjustable metered material dispenser
|Nov 22, 2011
|Mar 15, 2012
|American Express Travel Related Services Company Inc.
|Authorization refresh system and method
|Jun 12, 2014
|Dec 17, 2015
|Dart Industries Inc.
|Container with drip-proof cap
|Jul 8, 2014
|Jun 9, 2016
|Plastek Industries, Inc.
|Dispenser and Methods
|Sep 2, 2014
|Feb 2, 2016
|Arthur Gerald Gora
|Apparatus for delivery of a metered dose of granular material
|May 25, 2009
|Dec 2, 2009
|The Procter and Gamble Company
|Multi compartment cap for container
|Jul 8, 2014
|Jan 15, 2015
|Plastek Industries, Inc.
|Dispenser and methods
|U.S. Classification
|222/158, 222/564, 222/456
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Mar 28, 2001
Owner name: ROBBINS, III, EDWARD S., ALABAMA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ROBBINS, III, EDWARD S.;WHITE, RONALD;REEL/FRAME:011644/0242
Effective date: 20010322
|Oct 7, 2005
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Sep 21, 2009
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Aug 14, 2013
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 12


text:
Author: Dragongirl85
Pairings: 1x2
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sorry to say it, but I don't... If I did, Relena would be killed a long time ago and the Gundam Boys would be extremely happy (not because Relena was dead. Well, Heero would...) I'm making no money for writing this. Don't sue, you won't get much anyway because I am a poor student. I have nothing to offer in my pockets. Hey, wait…. POCKET LINT!!!
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Inspired by a song by Sonata Artica, the song is called "Shy".
Warnings: AU, Stalker-ish Heero, OOC, songfic, sap
Archive: Sure, but please ask first.
//I can see how you are beautiful,
Can you feel my eyes on you?
I'm shy and turn my head away
Working late in diner Citylite,
I see that you get home all right
Make sure that you can't see me,
hoping you will see me//
The first time I saw you, I was sitting in a diner, reading a book while nursing a cup with coffee.
I was sure you could see my wide eyes behind my glasses, staring at you from behind my book, but you didn't say or do anything about the fact.
You did like you were instructed, you continued to serve people their meals and drinks, occasionally asking "Did the food taste okay?" or "Would you like something more to drink?" That's all you were saying.
Turning my head as I felt your eyes on me, I ducked behind the book, almost using it as a shield so you wouldn't see me. I could hear steps coming towards me before they stopped next to me. My heart started pounding and my throat felt so dry all of a sudden. I was sure you would tell me to stop looking at you, like I had been doing every since I came into the diner.
"Was there something you needed, sir?"
… Or maybe you only now just noticed my eyes on you and mistook them for me wanting something. "… No, thank you. I am… Fine."
You nod, your long bangs moving with you before you smiled. "Very well, sir. Don't hesitate to let me know if you want something," you said before walking away to take care of the other guests. I breathed out, both relieved and disappointed. Relieved that you didn't call me a pervert for staring at you, but disappointed that you didn't see me. I was just another customer to you. Just another one for you to serve meals and drinks to.
Still… Something in me, that very same day, woke up and I remained inside the diner all day. I ordered food so I wouldn't be chased out, but I ate slowly. All the time my eyes were on you, quickly looking down or into my book when you walked over to ask if I wanted anything else.
That same night I did something stupid, but it made sense to me. I remained in that diner until it closed and even as you sought me out and locked the door behind me, I remained outside, hiding in the shadows, watching you clean up. When you finally left, free from your duty, I followed you home, keeping myself at a certain distance so you wouldn't notice me. It was the first time I had ever done something like this and it wouldn't be the last. I knew this classified me as a stalker, but I wasn't out to harming you. I wasn't even interested in peeking through your window or anything like that. I just…
I just wanted for you to get home in one piece. I didn't want anything to happen to you.
But I was too shy to come to you and asked to do it, so instead I was reduced to stalking you from the shadows, feeling like a creep.
It became a regular thing. Each time you worked the night shift, I would remain until closing time and then wait outside for you to go home. Then, from the shadows, I would follow you, making sure nothing happened to you. I prayed that you wouldn't notice me, sure that you would take me for a pervert, but something in me… The hope inside me prayed that you would turn around… That you would see me… That you would smile and thank me for the effort. I knew that was impossible, things like that didn't happen in real life, but I still prayed for it.
But it never happened.
And I was glad.
//Sometimes I'm wondering why you look me and you blink your eye
You can't be acting like my Dana (can you?)
I see you in Citylite diner serving all those meals and then I see reflection of me in your eye, oh please
Talk to me,
Show some pity
You touch me in many, many ways
But I'm shy can't you see//
The first time you looked at me, I hid my face behind a book, like I always did.
Sure, I was a regular by now, but this time was the first time you'd ever really looked at me. At me. Not as a customer, but as a person.
I blinked at first, wondering why you were staring at me with those intense, Cobalt eyes, but before I could meet your gaze, your eyes left me and you went back to doing your duty.
My heart was beating fast. Could it be that you had noticed me? That you had figured out that I was interested and showed interest in return? That you would like to get to know me better as a person and not like the other people dining here?
I quickly realised that it wasn't so, that I was just hoping things. Still, your gaze lingered at me and I knew that you recognised me, but why wouldn't you? I had been eating at the same diner everyday for over a month now, mostly when you were on duty, just so I could see your lovely heart-shaped face, your beautiful prussian blue eyes and glorious long hair. I wanted to run my hands through that hair, I longed to run my fingers over your lean, fit body and touch that pale skin, and I prayed that I one day… Just one day could get the opportunity to look into those eyes and see your soul. Your thoughts. Your feelings, hopes, dreams and desires. I was hooked on you, desperate to get to know you, but too shy to do anything about it. Still, that look you gave me, gave me hope as well.
A small flame of hope that showed that maybe… Just maybe… There was hope for me still…
//Obsessed by you, your looks, well, anyway
I would any day die for you,
I write on paper and erased away
Still I sit in diner Citylite,
drinking coffee or reading lies
Turn my head and I can see you,
could that really be you//
The first time you smiled at me was when you served me a simple lunch consisting of a sandwich and coffee.
And it was a true smile.
Not a smile for a customer, but for me.
I couldn't believe it when I first saw it, I was sure that I'd imagined it. My cheeks reddened and I looked away, but as I tossed you a quick glance to see if you were still looking at me, but you weren't. You were once again busy serving meals to the people in the diner, asking them if they were satisfied. Still… As you came to my table, you looked at me again and gave me a bright smile, almost… Almost as if you were happy to see me again.
"Nice to see you again. Do you want your usual?"
I blushed and cleared my throat while trying my best not to fidget with my hands. "Y-yes… Y-yes, please… A-and… And some coffee, please…"
You smiled and nodded. "Just a second, sir."
I nodded and watched you leave, your braid dancing over your back and upper thighs while my face became beet red and my heart started pounding. This was a dream, this just had to be a dream. Could it be that you actually were happy to see me?
Maybe… Maybe you missed me as much as I missed you when you were away?
Shaking my head, I told myself no. You couldn't have.
Why would you, such a wonderful example of masculine beauty, you who radiated a light of friendliness and love. Your beautiful smile, your glowing eyes, your sweet heart-shaped face, your beautiful hair, your beautiful lithe body that looked like it could break at any moment and yet possessed so much muscle. I had seen you with only a tight fitting t-shirt on. You, who could probably get anybody you ever laid your eyes on…
Why would you want me?
I was no prize, nothing to look on. Blue eyes that I've been told were cold and unfriendly, hidden behind steel-framed reading-glasses. A mouth that refused to smile. Messy hair that was all over the place. Rough hands that held too much power in them so they caused harm instead of helping.
Why would you want me?
Still, as you came with my simple order and put it onto the table, you flashed me yet another warm smile.
"There you go, sir. Enjoy it," you said in a warm voice and I just knew you meant it.
"I will," I replied while picking up the mug with coffee. "Thank you…"
"Anytime," you replied and winked before leaving to help some other customers, leaving me bright red in the face.
Maybe… Maybe you really were happy to see me after all.
//Sometimes I'm wondering why you look me and you blink your eye
You can't be acting like my Dana?
I see your beautiful smile and I would like to run away from
Reflections of me in your eyes, oh please
Talk to me,
show some pity
You touch me in many, many ways
But I'm shy can't you see//
The first time you touched me, you helped me remove a stain I'd gotten when spilling water down over my shirt.
I blushed, I couldn't believe you were so close, but you were. You'd been serving me my usual, a simple sandwich, a glass with water and some coffee on the side when someone had bumped into you, making you spill my water glass all over my shirt.
"Shit, I am so sorry, sir," you yelped while taking the towel that usually hung from your shoulder and started patting my chest. I could die happily right there and then.
"I-it's okay," I stammered, my face beet red. "I-it w-was an a-accident, n-not your f-fault."
You shook your head while gently drying up as much of the water as you could. "I am still sorry, sir. It was so clumsy off me. God, I wish I could lend you something, you can't walk around with that stain, but I don't think anything I have would fit," you rambled, completely focused on your task.
"N-no, t-that's fine," I replied. "I d-don't live v-very far from here." You nodded, but as you lifted your head, I could see more than just the usual embarrassment and sorrow for messing something up in front of a customer. You really were sorry for spilling on me. It made my heart skip a beat. "B-besides," I continued and tried to smile reassuringly, patting your shoulder. "I-it was just water after all. I-it'll dry after a l-little while. N-no stains."
You nodded again and I was happy to see that my words had made you smile. "As long as you are sure, sir," you replied and got up, carefully gathering up the now empty glass and tray. You had dropped it straight down when you'd spilled water on my. "Allow me to bring you something else," you added, gesturing to my now ruined meal. "On the house, of course."
I just smiled and nodded. "That would be lovely."
And for once… I didn't stutter.
//I see, can't have you,
can't leave you
there 'cos I must sometimes see you
And I don't understand how you can keep me in chains
And every waken hour,
I feel you taking power
from me and I can't leave
Repeating the scenery over again//
The first time you spoke to me for real, I thought my world was coming to an end.
You didn't ask me what I wanted to drink or eat, nor did you ask about the weather or make silly conversations like waiters normally do. You sat down by my table, not dressed in your usual working attire, but in a formfitting pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. You'd just gotten off your shift and you should have been on your way home. That's what you normally did. Instead, you sat down here with me and looked me in the eyes.
"I know you've been watching me."
I didn't answer, I just looked down at the paper I was pretending to read.
"I know because I've been watching you too."
My face turned slightly red and I swallowed heavily. "I-I am afraid t-that I don't k-know w-what you're t-talking about."
"Cut the crap, mister. If it's one thing I hate, it's lies." Slowly lifting my head, I could feel my heart breaking as I watched the anger on your face. Your eyes were flaring and I was so sure that I had blown it. I had lost. "You've been watching me," you repeated while crossing your arms onto the table, eyes still set hard on me. "You come here when I'm on duty and only when I'm on duty. I know, because I've asked about it. You only let me take your order, if someone else tries to, you say you haven't decided yet even though you order the same thing every time."
I could feel myself beginning to sweat. A lump was forming in my throat and my chest was tightening. I didn't say anything to defend myself though. How could I, everything he said was true. And he had just stated that he hated lies and I couldn't bring myself to serve him more of them. This only showed just how… Little I knew about him. Sure, I knew his working schedule and where he lived, but… I didn't know him. Not even a little bit…
"You remain here until I am done and you just… Watch me."
I looked down, hanging my head in shame. He made me sound like some kind of pervert and I suppose I was.
"And just… Why are you following me home? Hilde said that she saw you following me a few weeks ago and she's kept an eye on you just to see if you did it again. And you did! Every damn night! Why did you do it? I should report you to the damn police!"
I mumbled something under my breath. All hope was lost now, I was sure that he hated me.
"What was that?"
I looked up and I could see that he was still upset. Sighing, I tried to find my voice before speaking again. "B-because… I-I didn't w-want… A-anything to h-happen to you… I-I j-just… W-wanted to m-make sure that… Y-you c-came home in o-one p-piece…"
Using my tongue to wet my lips, I continued. "I-I… I-I didn't m-mean t-to s-stalk you or s-scare you, but… Y-you see… I am v-very s-shy and… I t-thought y-you'd find me o-odd if I a-asked you if I-I could w-walk you home…"
You blinked and some of the anger left your eyes. You clearly hadn't expected that answer.
Swallowing heavily, I dared myself to look you in the eyes, fishing up every ounce of bravery that I possessed. "I… I have been w-watching you for a w-while… I w-won't lie about that, but… I d-didn't mean to s-scare you, I j-just… I w-was afraid to a-approach you. I am a m-man after all and I-I didn't know i-if you… I-if you s-swung that way… S-so I s-settled for w-watching you and m-making sure t-that nothing h-happened to you w-when you walked h-home from your l-late shifts…"
More of the anger left your face and you tilted you head in a sign that you were listening. I went on, fishing up just a little more bravery from my heart. "I… I was very… Drawn to you from the first day I saw you," I murmured, surprised that the stuttering in my voice was gone again. "I found you to be very beautiful, so very very beautiful… I liked everything about you, from you beautiful eyes, to that wonderful hair and your lovely voice… I was attracted to you, but… I realise now that it was a… Physical attraction…" I gave you a slightly sad smile before sighing. "I… Don't know a thing about you… Because I was too afraid to approach you… I would like to get to know you, but… I guess I've blown my chance completely, if I ever had one…"
I let my eyes lower again, not feeling worthy enough to look you in the eyes, but I soon felt a finger underneath my chin, lifting my head up again until my eyes locked with now soft looking prussian blue eyes.
"… What is your name?"
I blinked, surprised by the sudden question. "… W-what?"
You smiled a little and removed your finger, but instead let it trail up to my cheek and cupped it. "What is your name?"
I swallowed again, resisting the urge to tilt my head against your warm hand. "… Heero. Heero Yuy."
"Well, Heero Yuy. I am Duo Maxwell and…" You chuckled and I could see a light blush cover your cheeks. "And I am very flattered that I have been the object of your attraction, even if your actions were a little to… Stalker-ish for my taste."
I blushed as well and tried to look away again, but the hand prevented me from doing that.
"Don't look away, Heero," you said and smiled. I obeyed and let my own eyes get sucked into the deep Prussian pools that were your eyes. I feel my Adams apple bob up and down in an attempt to swallow, but my throat suddenly felt so damn dry. You chuckle and smiled, making me fall in love with you all over again.
"Okay… I must be crazy for offering this, but… Would you like to walk me home? I have coffee and the sandwiches you like there."
My eyes widen in shock. You are right, you must be crazy.
Offering a stranger to come with you home?
Smiling, it seems like you read my mind. "After all… You're hardly a stranger anymore and if you've followed me home as many times as Hilde claims you have, then… I guess it's okay. So what do you say?"
"I-I'd be honored," I managed to stutter out, making you laugh merrily and get up.
Then you offered something I didn't dare to hope for.
You offered your hand.
Smiling shyly, I took it in mine, letting you help me up from my chair before we started to walk and just… Talk. Talk about everything and nothing. Talking about each other and ourselves. Talking about the weather and politics.
And I didn't stutter once.
//Sometimes I'm wondering why you look me and you blink your eye
You can't be acting like my Dana?
I see your beautiful smile and I would like to run away from
Reflections of me in your eyes, oh please
Talk to me, show some pity
You touch me in many, many ways
But I'm shy can't you see//
The first time I was granted the enjoyment of watching you come home, was six months after you spoke to me for the first time. And it was the day after I asked you to move in with me.
You just laughed and said yes.
//Oh baby talk to me,
show some pity
You touch me in many, many ways
But I'm shy can't you
I'm shy can't you
I'm shy can't you see//
Authors Note: Just a little ficlet I envisioned after listening to the song "Shy" by Sonata Artica. It is a beautiful song so I recommend it.
It didn't turn out QUITE the way I wanted it, but… It's good enough for a one-shot. Just a little something to get it out of my system. It wouldn't have stopped pestering me until I'd finished it anyway.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are a happy thing.
Edit: Ugh, the whole story became a jumble for some reason. X.x I've fixed it now so it should be okay. Thank you, Maskelle for letting me know! gives a Deathscyt plushie


text:
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text:
Mon Garnage
Breathing heavily, Laura darted among the shadows of Mon Garnage. All around her, pedestrians wandered about the streets with the intent of going back to their abodes and resting for the night. A store owner to her right was just locking his door, and a drunk stumbled across the street muttering something about a game of chess.
Five minutes of running later, the cobblestone ground turned to dirt. no buildings were in sight, and lush forest took over the landscape.
Laura leaned up against a fence off to the side and rested her hands on her head. The particular part she was leaning on was meant to keep dogs out of the farmers' crops, but it could barely hold Laura's weight.
Bugs were lazily buzzing around the streetlight that sat on the end of a bridge. On the other side of the river lay Fuller Downs, a massive trading outpost known for it's exotic goods. One could only imagine how they got those magnificent items across the dangerous Arcadian countryside.
She was staring up at the stars idly wondering wbout such things when suddenly screams rang out.
"Bandits!" Yelled a trader, running across the bridge at top speeds. "Help!" He screamed. The bridge shook under his weight. "Somebody, please--"
Suddenly he was cut off. His face went completely blank, and he collapsed face first onto the bridge, an arrow sticking out of his back. Laura could barely supress her screams. A tall, muscular man wearing a mask stepped out of the darkness and onto the bridge, laughing sinisterly.
Beside her, a woman screamed ear-peircingly. Laura, using all of her strength, leaped over the bridge and into the underbrush. There, she watched in horror as the bandit sprinted across the bridge and claimed the woman's life too. Time seemed to pass by painfully slowly as she watched a horde of bandits charge across the bridge and into Mon Garnage. Everything spun around in her mind, all of the shapes blurred...
And then there was darkness.


text: Diary of an African Safari by Skip Berry March 2000 Day 1 I got to Namibia on March 18 and had the thrill of hunting there for 10 days. After landing in Windhoek at about noon local time, I got my rifle and cleared customs. There I was met by Pieter Stofberg of Nimrod Safaris. Pieter drove me to a ranch about an hour east of the capital city. The ranch was about 25,000 acres and high fenced only at the perimeter, basically to keep the poachers out more than the game in. We got settled in, then went out to verify that my scope was still zeroed in on my Mark V Classicmark .300 Weatherby. Happily it printed 2" high and dead center, just as it had before I left. That done, we went for a drive around the ranch where Pieter showed me some of the large variety of game to be hunted. It was incredible for me to see all the animals new to my eyes. In a couple hours that first evening I saw Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Kudu cows, Warthog, Impala and Springbok. I could hardly wait to get down to some serious hunting! The next day dawned bright and we went out for real. We would drive to places on the ranch, glass to spot game and then try to stalk into position for a shot. We made several stalks on Kudu and Hartebeest in that first morning without getting a shot. These animals are very spooky and it is NOT like shooting fish in a barrel, believe me. They were as spooky like our whitetail deer, but with better eyesight bred into them from centuries of being preyed upon by Leopards and the like. Late in the afternoon, we spotted a Hartebeest bull that Pieter was sure would be high in the record book so we took off on a stalk. As we were moving into range sneaking through the thick bush, we spooked a group of Gemsbok that we didn't know where there as our attention was trained on the Hartebeest. They ran off and took the Hartebeest with them, much to our dismay. We had been seeing lots of sign and the area looked like a great place to jump something, so we maneuvered to get the wind in our favor, and then began a sneak along a dry creek bed, peering up over the top of the bank every few yards to see what we could see. We were startled when a Kudu bull "barked"; the sound they make when alarmed like when a whitetail "snorts". It was LOUD and CLOSE. We never saw him in the thick bush, but we heard him take off. We continued circling the area, heading back in the direction of the hunting truck, when I spotted an animal resting in the shade under a tree only 40 yards to our left. He was facing away from us and not aware of us yet. I knew it was a Hartebeest and could have shot him as he lay there, but did not have enough experience to know if it was a good one worth shooting or not, so I started to whisper to Pieter who was leading our stalk ahead of me. Before I could say anything, the Hartebeest had seen, heard, or smelled us. I don't know which it was, but he jumped up and ran off, quartering away from us through the bushes and trees. Pieter took one look and yelled "shoot", but he was gone, blocked by the trees and shrubs. Pieter then yelled for me to move around a large bush where there was a clear lane for a couple of hundred yards. Pieter yelled "He might stop and take a look at us to see what spooked him!" Almost on cue, the Hartebeest appeared in the open lane through the bush about 130 yards away. He stopped, but he was facing right back at me, trying to see us. I normally wouldn't like the shot, me standing offhand without a rest shooting with an animal facing me, but when I pulled up the gun somehow the sight picture was rock solid as I looked at him in the scope. On "autopilot" I put the cross hairs at the base of his neck where it joined his chest and the .300 Weatherby ROARED. I lost the sight picture as the recoil shoved me up and back, but when I recovered a second later, there was nothing running and Pieter told me he had heard a solid hit even though he never saw the Hartebeest when I was shooting. We took off walking down the narrow clearing and just as I was sure that we had must have walked too far, there was my Hartebeest...my first trophy in Namibia! The shot hit him square in the front of the chest and the 180 grain Nosier Partition did what I have come to expect them to do. It delivered massive shock and penetrated to the hindquarter of the 350 pound Hartebeest. It was a great stalk, good shot, and a perfect end to my first day of hunting in Namibia. It was time for a celebration drink and to prepare for day two and hunting mountain Zebra. Day 2, 3 & 4 One of my top desires on my trip to Africa was to get a Zebra skin to hang on my wall. Nimrod Safaris had lined up a hunt for the following day on a ranch about 45 minutes away that had more zebra than they wanted, so the next day we were off to hunt that ranch. It was about 15,000 unfenced acres of very rugged "hills". To me they looked like small mountains and when Wilhem, my guide for that ranch asked me if I could ride a horse, I quickly understood why. He explained that we could hunt on foot up from a truck, but that we could cover more ground and be more efficient if I could ride. Now I am no expert horseman, but I have ridden on hunts and pack-in fishing trips out west in the U.S., so I agreed. And boy was I glad I did. I just never had it in my mind that I would be on horses in Namibia. I had been expecting the zebra hunt to be more of a "shoot" than a "hunt". I had this mental picture of a bunch of striped horses out on a plain that we would sneak up to and then simply pick one out for a shot. I couldn't have been more off base. We were hunting Hartmann's Zebra, otherwise known as "Mountain Zebra" and the nickname was well chosen. This reminded me more of an elk or sheep hunt as we rode up and through rocky canyons, along ridges and across valleys. Frankly I was thanking god for inventing horses after the first hour! After a couple of hours we decided to cross a valley to get to a far ridge top, so we rode down the canyon wall. As the hunting gods always work it, when we were down in the valley starting to climb back up, Wilhem spotted a herd of 6 Zebra...GRAZING OVER THE RIDGE TOP WE JUST CAME DOWN!!! To make matters worse, as we were sitting there watching the zebra, I spotted a LARGE Kudu bull on the ridge that we had just began to climb. And of course both the zebra and the Kudu was watching us, watching him! I had a quick conference with Wilhem and told him that I had been seeing lots of Kudu at the other ranch, but that this might be my only day to hunt the zebra. That settled it, so we took off up the canyon wall we had just descended back towards the zebra, keeping a ridgeline between us so we were out of their sight. I cringed as the big Kudu bull bounded over the top of the hill behind us and disappeared, but I tried to console myself with the thought of that Zebra hide I so desperately wanted. We rode as far as possible while staying hidden from the sharp eyes of the zebra grazing on the hillside, and then dismounted. We continued climbing towards them on foot, keeping a large rock pile between the zebra and ourselves. Using an old hunter's trick, we had left the horses where the Zebra could see them, hoping the horses would hold the zebra's attention away from us. The ploy worked. But when we got to the rock pile we were still almost 300 yards away and there was nothing but open, rocky hillside between the zebra and ourselves. There was no way to get closer so I settled in and tried to make a good rest on the top of a large rock. The rest was pretty solid, but I had to contort badly to get behind it. The zebra were nervous, knowing something was wrong, but not really knowing where we were. They were milling around and paced back and forth. Any second I expected them to run up and over the top of the mountain ridge, so I quickly got on the last zebra and when he turned and gave me a quartering shot, I fired. My heart sank when we neither saw nor heard any indication of a hit! I was kicking myself as they ran up and over the top of the mountain. We rode up to the spot where they had stood and spent a long time looking for hair, blood or any other sign of a hit, but we were convinced that I had missed clean. I was beating myself mentally for blowing what might be my best chance at the zebra I wanted so badly, but Wilhem did what good guides do and said "Let's go find them again". So we mounted up and climbed to the highest hilltop to glass. After an hour of looking we still hadn't spotted them so we started riding again to an area where Wilhem thought they might go if spooked. It was a "badlands" type of area, with lots of canyons cutting through some large hills and we rode a ridge top above one canyon then the next. Suddenly Willhem stopped and put his hand up? I heard it too, the clacking of hooves on the rocks. Seconds later we saw zebra running up a draw out of the canyon right below and behind us heading for the next ridge. I grabbed my rifle and went to dismount, but in my haste, my boot caught in the stirrup. I was glad that nobody was there with a video camera as I about broke my neck trying to jump off the horse, but I finally got free and got into a sitting position to shoot. The last zebra was about 150 yards out, quartering away and trotting when he stopped for a moment and I fired. I could see no sign of a hit and Wilhem yelled to shoot again so I did as he crossed a ledge and continued toward the top of the mountain. We moved to the top of the hill as quickly as we could and spotted the Zebra again as they galloped away though the next valley. Suddenly I noticed that now there were only 5 zebra running?!? Wilhem agreed and we decided my zebra must be dead somewhere on the side of the mountain. We found their tracks where they had crossed over and back tracked down the hillside until we spotted my trophy! And what a beautiful sight it was! As the trackers skinned the zebra, we followed the blood trail and traced him back to my first shot. Many people say zebra are the toughest plains game in Africa and after examining the scene and looking at the zebra as it was dressed I have to agree. My first shot had entered through the ribs and angled into the off shoulder, tearing off the top of his heart and shredding both lungs. This was at 150 yards with a .300 Weatherby shooting 180 grain Nosler Partitions. That zebra gave no indication of a hit at all when I shot, ran 200 yards UP a mountainside, then turned and ran 50 yards back down a canyon before collapsing! I had missed with my follow shot, but the zebra was already done for, he just refused to admit it! The zebra was over 500 pounds and was the toughest hunt I had in Africa. A lot of people have said things like "how can it be any fun to hunt a "horse", but they have never chased zebra in the mountains! The next day was overcast and we spent the morning chasing a band of 3 Kudu bulls over the rocky hills of the main ranch. One of the bulls was HUGE, but they always managed to just keep one hill or group of trees between us until they finally gave us the slip for good. We broke for lunch (we usually sat out the time from 12-3 pm to avoid the most intense heat of the day) but as we ate lunch, a storm came in. We spent the rest of the afternoon watching a downpour in a desert country and drinking cold ones! The next day started off with more rain, so we decided to take advantage of the downtime and traveled the 5 hours south to Nimrods tent camp in the Kalahari Desert on the Botswana and South African border. This is where we would chase, Impala, Springbok, Kudu, Eland, and the biggest Gemsbok in the world! Day 4 & 5 We got to Nimrod's tent camp in the middle of a large ranch in the Kalahari Desert. We got there in the afternoon of day 4 and Thomas our cook and camp do everything started working on dinner. This was a DELUXE tent camp with tents housed under permanent shelters and a wood fired water heater for HOT showers in the bathroom with flush toilets! After unpacking, Pieter and I took off and looked around the ranch for a good Gemsbok or Springbok. The Gemsbok in this area are generally larger than anywhere else in Africa, because of the soft sand there. They do a lot of digging etc. with their horns, so in many areas, the horns are constantly being worn back as they grow. In the Kalahari they just keep growing. In case you doubt the "largest Gemsbok in the world" claim, understand that Pieter has guided the #3 & #4 SCI Gemsbok out of his camp and believes that he will guide one of his hunters to #1 in the next few years. (Dave Petzal and Jim Carmicheal are hunting with him later this summer and I would bet that F&S and OL will have Nimrod articles by year end and I would bet that one or both of those guys drop REAL BIG Gemsbok). We saw a herd of Gemsbok and some Springbok, but nothing that got Pieter excited trophy wise. We got up early on day 5 and drove 1 1/2 hours to be at a ranch that bordered Botswana. This ranch held good Eland and lots of Kudu along with Gemsbok. Pieter felt he could do better on the Gemsbok near our tent camp so we were mainly there for Eland and hopefully another crack at the Kudu. We had some breakfast with rancher and just after daybreak left the ranch in the hunting truck. We hadn't gone 200 yards when the driver stopped and pointed toward a water hole in a valley behind the ranch. There were two bull and three cow Eland at the water hole. We slipped off the vehicle and stalked behind some hills and a group of trees, but the bulls were young and the rancher had told Pieter of a very old bull Eland he had been seeing so we left them to grow. We drove further into the ranch when one of the native boys spotted tracks crossing the road and shouted "buw". The only two words he spoke that I could understand were "buw" (bull) and "coie" (cow). This boy would astound me with his eyesight and ability to pick out individual tracks before the day was done. We followed the tracks and 400 yards ahead of us we spotted the old bull eland with 6 cows. We stalked them, but they spotted us and took off. A bull Eland is the largest antelope on earth. They can reach over 2000 lbs., heavier than most cows but you would be amazed at how agile they are. Watching them run and jump fences was just amazing given their size. When an Eland "gets the trots" as Pieter liked to say, you will never catch up to them on foot. They can trot for MILES at a pace you can't keep up with running on foot. Since we wanted that particular old bull, the only course of action was to get back in the truck and circle ahead and try to pick up his track somewhere else on the ranch Pieter explained. It sounded like looking for a needle in a haystack to me, but what the hell...he was the PH so I went along with him. We took the truck around in a large semi-circle that would intersect the direction the group of Eland went. We drove slowly looking in the sand for tracks where the Eland had crossed. All of a sudden there they were, a group of tracks crossing the sand. Even I could make out the tracks of 7 1500-2,000 pound animals in the soft dirt, but I was amazed that Pieter and our boy tracker agreed that this was definitely the same Eland? We got out and started after the Eland. We tracked them for over an hour when I really got a lesson. I was completely amazed when the group split from 7 to 4, 4 to 2, then 2 to 1 and the tracker stayed on 1 track. How could they be sure this ONE was the bull we wanted? I was a little skeptical, but I went along with them since that's what I was paying them for! 20 minutes later we spotted THE bull up ahead of us per the script! We did not want to spook him again, so we were very careful. An hour later I was watching him slip inside 50 yards of me angling slightly away. He was a huge beast and this was the only time on my trip that I was wishing for "more gun" and thinking about my .375 H&H back home. Even more so when Pieter whispered "make it good, a wounded Eland can go for miles and DAYS before we get him". I checked my breathing and when the Eland stepped into a shooting lane I slammed him in the lungs with the .300 Weatherby! The Eland flinched but did not go down. I shot two more times as he stumbled off through the bush. Basically I was going to shoot until he dropped or I was out of ammo, but after about 100 yards he stopped running then crashed to the ground!!! My first shot had gone through the lungs, split his liver and came to rest in the off shoulder. So if you make a good shot, yes a .300 Magnum is enough for an Eland, but if you make a bad shot, a .375 probably wouldn't be ENOUGH!! We took pictures and then winched the Eland into the truck. He really didn't fit into the compact pickup that is Pieter's hunting truck but we secured him with ropes to hold him in place. Pieter measured him and declared him solidly in the SCI book, so we went back to the ranch house to eat lunch and celebrate with a cold one! After lunch, Pieter and Hendrich (the ranch owner) ask if I was "ready to go get my Kudu?" I thought to myself, the Kudu bulls had been giving me the slip since I got to Africa and to hope for a book Eland and good Kudu in one day was a little cocky, but of course I said "Let's do it!" Only I sounded a little more confident then I really was. We headed out and this is where the tracker boy's eyes really blew me away. I always considered myself to have pretty good game eyes and held my own with Pieter on our trip, given the animals and area were all new to me. But this boy astounded me. We were heading out across the ranch when he shouted "buw". We stopped the truck for a look. With the naked eye I couldn't even really make out an animal. I pulled up my 8x binoculars and then could see a Kudu under a tree...800 yards away. With the binoculars I could make out it was a bull (has horns) vs. cow (no horns). With my naked eye I wouldn't have even noticed him. Hell, I could barely see him when I knew where he was after looking at him in the binoculars and this boy had spotted him while we were moving and could tell he was a bull not a cow with just his eyes! We got out and started stalking. As we got closer, we could see that there were 2 other bulls with him. They spotted us when we were about 350 yards out, moving to get a good shooting angle on them as we slipped from tree to tree in relatively flat area. It was mid-afternoon and the animals were mostly under trees in the shade, but they spooked and took off to the next time zone, so we had no choice but to let them go. 51" Kudu We jumped back on the truck and moved to another part of the ranch. Once again from behind me came "buw" and once again I could see nothing with my naked eyes. But through the binoculars I saw a good bull in the shade of a tree about 600 yards away. Another "attaboy" for the tracker! We circled for the wind and began our stalk. This time we lost sight of the Kudu, but kept moving from bush to bush in the area we knew he must be. The bull had moved from the tree where we first spotted him, but we hoped he was still in the area grazing. Suddenly, as we quietly stepped around a bush…bam. There he was 50 yards away! His butt was facing us as he nibbled on the branches of a bush facing almost directly away from us. We stopped and I swung my rifle up and put it on the little bit of shoulder I could see. I probably should have waited for a better angle, but the Kudu had given me the slip so many times that I was ready to hit him before he spooked and got away. Because of the severe angle, the Nosler went through his near shoulder and into his neck, dropping him in his tracks. I was jumping up and down and high fiving the tracker boy who couldn't speak a lick of English. He had no idea what a "high five" was, but he was happy too and "high fived" me back! We took pictures and Pieter measured him...3 turns...51 inches. Short of the record book but he was heavy and very pretty! A beautiful trophy no matter what he scored. So that was the day that I dropped more pounds of game animal (2000# Eland and 550# Kudu) than any other day in my life! Day 6 When I went to pack my hunting duffle bag to leave for Africa, my Hydro Fleece jacket and pants where in the bag. I almost took them out since Pieter had told me I wouldn't need rain gear in the Desert. I decided to leave them in my bag since they took up little room. I figured the jacket would be good for around the campfire at night and the pants, hell I just figured Murphy's law would come into effect somehow...and it did. I woke up before daylight on day 6 to hear rain POUNDING on the tent! I had 3 days of hunting left and was not about to sit out another day because of rain. In North America we get rain, snow, sleet, sun all of it and since our seasons are short, you hunt when you can hunt, screw the weather. So I pulled on the rain gear and went to breakfast. Pieter was the one who was really in for it because he usually never gets rain during hunting season so he just had cotton cloths and a light cotton jacket. But he did what good outfitters do, gritted his teeth and said "let's go get your Impala!" Pieter had made arrangements for us to hunt a ranch that would normally be about 45 minutes away and we left to be there at daybreak. This ranch had a large Impala population, so that was the prime target for the day. This morning the roads were washed out from the freak storms and were so swampy so it took us an hour and a half to get there a little after daybreak. It was still raining steadily when we got to the ranch. After drinking some coffee offered by the ranch owners (everywhere I went to hunt in Namibia, the ranch owners wife's almost took it as their personal duty to see that their American guest was fed and taken care of), we moved out to look for a good Impala ram. We started off across the ranch heading for a rocky area known to hold lots of Impala, but about 3 minutes down the road saw a large group of Springbok, an animal I hadn't collected yet. We stopped to evaluate the Springbok, when I noticed a brown animal under a tree off to the right of the group of Springbok. Pieter confirmed that it was an Impala ram, about 450 yards away. Through the rain and because of the overcast sky, Pieter was having a hard time judging the Impala. They have single black horns that curl up, out and back and the difference between record book and average is about 5 inches. Pieter told me that he thought it was a pretty good ram, but couldn't be sure. It was definitely not a juvenile, was mature, but he couldn't see if it was better than average. We got out and started working up the hillside to get a closer look. As we got close to 300 yards out, the Springbok spotted us and moved out. The Impala hadn't seen us since we left the truck but got nervous when the Springbok left, so he got up and moved a ways. He acted like he would bolt at any second. I decided that I would take him, that he was a good, pretty Impala, if not great and got a rest on a large rock. "He's a little over 300" whispered Pieter. For me, that is a pretty long shot on a 100 pound animal and he was quartering toward me, looking for us. But I had a good rest and felt confident I could take him. I knew the .300 Weatherby would hit about 3-4" low at that range, so I held high on his chest and squeezed the trigger. That was when I made the worst shot of my trip. As the roar of the shot echoed through the hills, I could hear the "smack" of the bullet hitting the Impala. I don't know if I pulled the shot or the howling wind pushed it. Most likely it was "operator error" and I just pulled the shot, but the bullet hit low in the body and well right of the target. Instead of the chest, I hit him behind the stomach just in front of the near hindquarter and out through the far rear leg. He bounced away without going down but was hurt badly. This was one of those times that the high velocity/high energy thing that gets debated on the internet about every other week came into play. Even though he was not hit in a vital area, the shock of the bullet had blown a big hole in the animal's abdomen. It was not a pretty sight as he stumbled away over a ridge into the next valley. He would die for sure and on the open, rocky hillsides it was not likely we would lose him, but I wanted to end it quickly and finish him before he suffered more. We quickly moved up on him and as we looked over the hill, there he was about 80 yards away. He was walking slowly and quartering away from us. I quickly shot him behind the shoulder and had the most visible evidence of how fast a .300 Weatherby is. I can't really explain it well, but in the same instant I pulled the trigger, I could "see" the bullet plow into the hillside in front of him after tearing through him and out the front of his chest. The Impala just dropped straight down in a heap. He ended up be a nice mature Impala ram that will look good on the wall, but was very average. I was pleased none the same since they are very pretty. We were back at the ranch less than 45 minutes after we pulled out and the tracker started skinning him. While we were watching the tracker skin the Impala, the rancher informed us that there was a very good Blesbok ram that had wandered onto his ranch some time ago. It seemed that he had taken up with a herd of Impala does and had decided to make this ranch his home, even though he was the only Blesbok there as far as anybody knew. Pieter asked if I wanted to try and add the unexpected Blesbok to my list of animals and given that it was only about 9am and we had driven so hard through the muck to get there! Plus it had stopped raining by then and waiting a while would give the roads time to dry out. It sounded like a plan to me so off we went again! That Blesbok turned out to be quite a challenge. It took us two hours of moving about the ranch, stopping to climb hills and glass, but we finally spotted the large group of Impala does and the Blesbok Ram. We stalked him several times that day and even tried to ambush him by setting up on a hillside and sending the trackers with the truck to a point past where we had glassed the Blesbok. Our in hope was to "spook" the herd past us for a shot. We were foiled at every attempt and finally retired in defeat for the drive back to our tent camp for dinner. Throughout the day we spotted several nice Impala rams, but none much better than I had taken so we had stayed focused on the Blesbok. It had been a fun day with the quick success on the Impala and plenty of stalks on the Blesbok, but this time the Blesbok won. Keep that in mind if anyone tells you that hunting in Africa is a sure thing! If we wanted to spend another day on him I am sure we would eventually get the drop on him, but he was fun to hunt while I was at that ranch and not a top priority of mine. I wanted to focus the last two hunting days I had on the Gemsbok and Springbok back at the tent camp. Day 7 After hunting the Impala and Blesbok in a driving rain, my spirits soared when I woke up on day 7 to see the sun coming over a dune to the east and that the day was dawning bright and clear. It was a beautiful morning and we were going to hunt Springbok in the dunes near or tent camp. We had seen lots of animals as we came in and out of camp, but today we were going to get serious about getting one of the pretty little antelope with the funny "bounce". We started hiking down a road that ran between a couple of large dunes, glassing as we went. Time after time we spotted Springbok, but it would turn out to be a group of does or a small ram. The sky was clear and the day was getting hot, so I was thankful for the Camelbak system on my back and the large hat I had borrowed from Pieter to keep the sun off my ears and neck. As we came around a bend and over a dune, I spotted a large herd of Gemsbok. Never one to pass up an opportunity, we glassed the herd. There were lots of pretty animals, but Pieter felt we could do better than the biggest animals in this group, so we watched them for a while, then slipped back off the dune and circled so as not to spook them. As we approached an old windmill powered waterhole, a Springbok jumped up from the tall grass and stared at us for what seemed like a long time, but was really probably 5 seconds. He was only about 50 yards away, broadside and I had the scope locked on his lungs, but I waited to get Pieter's judgment on his quality. It takes some experience to judge a good Springbok from an exceptional Springbok, and since we had seen so many, I had instructed Pieter that I wanted to hold out for an exceptional Springbok. At the same instant Pieter calmly said "Take him", the Springbok decided he didn't like what he was seeing and he bolted. Not wanting to risk a running shot, I tracked him in the scope to see if he would stop and give me a shot, but he continued over the top of a dune and was gone. We figured that since we hadn't shot, he might not go far, so we took out after him and tracked him over one dune, across a valley then started up the next dune. We hoped we would find him in the next valley, so we crept up the second dune and peered into the valley ahead. We saw nothing and as we were about to move over the top of the dune, I saw the Springbok off to our left and about 175 yards away. I tugged at Pieter's shirt (my signal to him that I had seen something as we stalked along in Africa, me following closely behind Pieter. I pointed and Pieter quickly set the shooting sticks in the sand. I sat down and settled in the shooting sticks, but the Springbok was facing me head on looking at us and trying to decide if we were "trouble". When a 90 pound animal is staring at you head on from 175 yard away, there is little margin for error. I held my fire waiting for him to turn and give me some "shoulder". He decided he didn't like what he was seeing, so he turned in a swift movement and took off again before I got a clean shot at his chest/shoulder. He ran down the valley between two dunes and around a clump of trees. We started off after him again and as we worked around the trees, my patience was rewarded. We spotted the Springbok about 200 yards away, standing on the side of a dune, scanning for danger (us). He was broadside, but there was nothing to rest on and the grass was too deep for a sitting shot. So we "Leopard" crawled through the waist deep grass for about 50 yards to get to a tree that provided both a rifle rest and gave me the opportunity to move into a shooting position undetected, along with knocking the distance down to about 150 yards. The Springbok never knew what hit him when the 180 grain Nosler Partition hit him square in the lungs and bowled him over. He turned out to be 15 inches and would make the book. Once again Pieter had led me to another trophy and a stalk to remember for a lifetime!!! That afternoon we set off after a big Gemsbok, hunting on the neighboring ranch. We spotted a large herd and glassed a couple of animals that Pieter felt were real good. They were in the middle of a large valley, so we planned a stalk along the dune bordering the valley and hoped to close inside 300 yards. As we got close to being in range, the herd was milling around. Somehow one of them must have spotted us, and even though we had enough time to settle into a prone position on the top of the dune, the only animals within range were a couple of the lesser animals so we elected to leave them alone. They spooked and moved into the next valley and headed out. We could see another thunderstorm moving toward us and it was getting darker by the minute, so we decided to let them go and try and find them again tomorrow. We had all day to find a Gemsbok on Day 8 before I would have to leave, so we left the herd alone for the afternoon. On the way back to camp, we jumped two Steenbok, one of Africa's smallest antelope, adults being about 2ft high and weighing about 35 lbs. They took off bouncing away through the grass and never stopped until they were out of sight. A running shot through tall grass at a antelope that is half the size of a black lab would be a waste of ammo, but when we jumped a third one, he ran about 50 yards and stopped broadside in a small clearing to look back at what had spooked him. That was a fatal mistake on his part as I was ready and waiting for just such an occurrence. It was lights out as the .300 pounded my 7th trophy of the trip. As we walked over to pick up the little antelope, Pieter joked about wondering whether the .300 Weatherby was "enough gun" for that antelope. Minutes later, the storm hit, just as we got back to the truck and day 7 came to a close with me still waiting for my Gemsbok, but happy with the days events, especially the mornings stalks on my Springbok. Day 8 When Tomas, our camp "do it all" woke me up, I could see incredible streaks of red and blue over the large dune to the east of camp. I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked to the top of the dune and watched what was probably the best sunrise of my life, but I was sad to know this was my last one in the Kalahari. It had rained most of the night and was a little chilly, but the day was dawning bright and clear and the coffee was hot, so we would have a perfect day to try and find one of the large Gemsbok that the Kalahari is famous for. We drove 1/2 hour to the far end of our ranch, and started looking for the herd of Gemsbok we had spooked the day before. Pieter got the "eyesight badge" as he spotted a lone Gemsbok skylined on the top of a dune a very, very long ways away. After watching for a while, the whole herd grazed over the dune and we were able to get an idea of which way they were headed, so we bugged out to head them off. We circled ahead a couple of dunes in the direction they were headed, after getting the wind in our favor. We then skirted behind a large dune until we felt we were directly in their path and climbed up, finally inching over the top to peer into the valley. Everything was going according to plan, we were on top of the dune directly in the path of the herd. 300 yards in front of me was a dune, with the valley below, so as the herd crossed over the dune, they would be in the valley below me, and all within range for minutes as we would pick out the biggest animal for a shot. I was prone, dug into the sand, and had a rock solid fire zone over the whole valley, so my confidence was high! But as is so often is the case, the animals forgot to follow the plan. We waited for quite some time, scanning with binoculars watching for the first animal to appear over the dune in front of us. It seemed like forever when Pieter said something in German that I didn't understand, but was pretty sure was a curse of some kind. The herd had changed path somewhat and had skirted around the dune in front of us and was now about 200 yards away, off to our right. If we moved to get into shooting position they would surely spot us. Gemsbok 40" Male "Be very still now Skip" Pieter had whispered. Even though I could not see the animals and was dying for a look, I just lay there in the sand not moving. Meanwhile ants crawled on me, increasing the temptation to move, but I knew that if I did, the sharp eyes of these animals would surely pick it up and they would spook off...so I just lay there for what seemed like hours, ignoring my urges to move. Pieter tapped my arm and made some slight hand motions and I knew what he was thinking. The herd was going to skirt around the edge of the dune that we were on, so that there would be a short period of time where they couldn't see us, then they would be in the valley BEHIND us. I would have time to sit up, spin around, and get ready for a sitting shot at the herd behind us, but since the wind would then be blowing toward the animals, we wouldn't have long to pick the best one and shoot before they would scent us, not to mention that we would be sitting on the open hillside and an animal might see us spook. All of a sudden Pieter whispered "now" and we both sat up and spun around. Now I could see to the end of our dune and into the valley below us. I settled into a sitting position and Pieter slapped the shooting sticks into the sand in front of me. Seconds later, the animals started appearing around the end of our dune and feeding into the valley. We held our fire, waiting to get the whole herd into the valley so Pieter could see the biggest animal, but we were racing against the clock before they got directly downwind of us and spooked. After scanning the herd with his binoculars, Pieter whispered "take the 3rd animal from the front, she is the tallest", but when I got on her, she was surrounded by other animals and the animal never was in the clear. I was starting to think we were going to lose the chance, because the main group was now around her and they were ambling farther and further away, the lead animals having moved past 200 yards and getting farther by the second. Pieter quickly looked again and said "get on the 4th animal from the back, he's a bull, but very good length and nice and heavy!", so I got him in the scope and tracked him as he walked. Another Gemsbok was walking with him and blocking the front half of his body! We were racing against the clock, trying to get the shot before the animals moved too far out into the wide valley behind us or they smelled/spotted us and spooked, when my animal stopped for a couple of seconds to chew on some grass. The other animal continued on, clearing the body of the Gemsbok we wanted. Pieter barked "now" but I was already squeezing the trigger and the roar of the .300 Weatherby drowned him out! When I came out of the recoil, the whole herd was scrambling away. I couldn't tell which was my animal, so I couldn't follow up with a second shot. Even though the sight picture had looked solid and I thought I had made a good shot, I got that feeling of panic, the feeling of "damn I missed". But I had done my job, as had the 180 grain Nolser, because seconds later, one Gemsbok stumbled a bit and then crashed to the ground!!! My trophy was down and Pieter and I high fived each other and took off down the dune towards my 8th trophy of the trip. As we walked, Pieter told me that he was sure he had heard the "smack" of a solid hit, and when we got to the animal, he was proven right. The bullet had entered high on the near shoulder, crashed through it and both lungs, then exited low through the off shoulder (because of the downward bullet path as I shot off the dune and down into the valley). The Partition had delivered massive shock and penetrated through both shoulders ending up in the sand somewhere. I couldn't have asked for better bullet performance. The bull was very heavy and measured right at 40", putting him well into the record books, and very high for a bull. As our tracker brought the truck around the dunes for pictures and to winch him up, I was elated at the excitement of the hunt. The animals showing up where they weren't supposed to and the race against time to find the good animals and get one before they got out of range or spooked. I was as happy as could be, but then a feeling of sadness came over me as I realized that the best hunt of my life was now over. Note: This hunt took place in 2000. Since then Pieter Stofberg has formed a new company called "African Days" having expanded into fishing and adventure trips. www.africandays.com