What keeps you from taking your dream hunt to Africa because you are afraid of coming home empty handed?

Originally Posted by enysse

Your vehicle costs in Africa are crazy! I do feel sorry for how much it costs.

try this a new land cruiser pick up in zambia is us$75,000.00 ..........................

Originally Posted by spike.t

try this a new land cruiser pick up in zambia is us$75,000.00 ..........................

That's just unethical!!!

Originally Posted by spike.t

try this a new land cruiser pick up in zambia is us$75,000.00 ..........................

WOW! and I thought the Vehicles here in the US were over priced.

Originally Posted by spike.t

try this a new land cruiser pick up in zambia is us$75,000.00 ..........................

That almost sounds like Norway....
I guess Zambia has extremely high taxes on new cars too.
Here a new land cruiser pick up costs about US$100-150,000 all depending on speccs.

Enysse

If the Hunter (client) needs to kill something to be successful then they need to find a canned hunt with their target animal all caged up for you to have a go at. Otherwise all bets are off. And no matter what your PH does you may not be successful. Buy the way i have not seen any canned Leopard hunts being offered, even the tall fences can not keep them in.

While being able to obtain your prized trophy is what every hunter would like to see take place. bottom line is, that it does not happen 100% of the time.

All the PH's that i know work there butt off to make sure the client will have a good time and have a chance at their prized trophy animal. No one is 100% all the time. And if that is not good enough for the hunter then they need to stay home.

As others have eluded to the very best will demand more in their daily rates and now get this have a waiting list from year to year.

AS to the Alaska hunting ventures you mentioned i also have seen some heated discussions when the clients did not harvest the trophy animals that they were looking for. To the point of not paying the outfitter and bush pilot.

What this all boils down to is clients doing their leg work and research checking references for the past few years that are both good and poor. Then the client will have to make a decision and say yes i will go or no this is not for me.

Originally Posted by enysse

No James, it's not quite that black and white. It's not all about the money. It's about being success at the end of the hunt. I know plenty of people that have spent 20 grand and went home with nothing. Be it moose, grizzly, sheep or leopard. Believe me there were hard feelings.
I mention kudu because I'd rather hunt 4-5 kudu in the East Cape in Africa for 10 grand than risk 20 grand and have nothing but memories and hunting experience.
But you are right in some ways James, I'm getting old enough to think about retirement rather than take a risky hunt.

I guess, I agree with you James. Hunting involves a lot of research, the right weather, some risk of the stars not lining up, some luck, and a lot of money. There are always the top outfitters and the bottom outfitters for every species and everyone has to weigh the risk vs reward element of any hunting opportunity.

I think everyone's perspective is different on a subject, that's the one thing I've learned over the years. It's nice to have a health discussion once in a while on the subject.

I don't think any hunt should be 100% at all.
But when outfitters sell hunts where the daily rate is very high and the trophy price is very low, he puts all the risk on the hunter.
It doesn't matter financially for the outfitter if the hunter gets his trophy or not.

Sitting in a blind is not for me, so, I m afraid leopard is not on my list.

Daily rates might seem high, but when you take into account all the costs involved, they seem quite reasonable to me.

As for satisfaction, I have always hunted with an open mind, and taken the animals which my PH has recommended, within my wishlist .

Originally Posted by James.Grage

Enysse

If the Hunter (client) needs to kill something to be successful then they need to find a canned hunt with their target animal all caged up for you to have a go at. Otherwise all bets are off. And no matter what your PH does you may not be successful. Buy the way i have not seen any canned Leopard hunts being offered, even the tall fences can not keep them in.

While being able to obtain your prized trophy is what every hunter would like to see take place. bottom line is, that it does not happen 100% of the time.

All the PH's that i know work there butt off to make sure the client will have a good time and have a chance at their prized trophy animal. No one is 100% all the time. And if that is not good enough for the hunter then they need to stay home.

As others have eluded to the very best will demand more in their daily rates and now get this have a waiting list from year to year.

AS to the Alaska hunting ventures you mentioned i also have seen some heated discussions when the clients did not harvest the trophy animals that they were looking for. To the point of not paying the outfitter and bush pilot.

What this all boils down to is clients doing their leg work and research checking references for the past few years that are both good and poor. Then the client will have to make a decision and say yes i will go or no this is not for me.

True MR. Grage you are making a habit of this....

[QUOTE=enysse;76089]For me it's the leopard! He's unpredictable, expensive, and I'm not thrilled about sitting in a blind waiting, hoping, and praying for Mr. Spots to show up.

i dont think anything should stop you from taking your dream hunt if you can afford it, especially being afraid of coming home empty handed. if you cant afford the hunt then it is a hypothetical dream hunt anyway. to me if you are worried that you are not going to get your dream trophy then you are giving up before you have started. you dont always succeed in getting what you are after but that is hunting not shooting.......i dont understand how a hunter can get pissed off because he doesnt get his dream trophy if the ph and everyone has worked hard and done their best, to say i spent so much money so i expect my dream trophy is bullshit. if its in your budget and you want to hunt it then go for it. there is no point when you are passed being able to do your hunt and think "i wish i had done that". unless you are a believer in reincarnation you only get one go at this .....

the subject of leopard hunts seems to be prevalent at the moment, and there is mention of sitting in blinds waiting in hope, mind numbingly bored etc. yes they can be sleep inducing but the experience can also range from slight apprehension wondering what is walking around the blind, to oh shit when elephants get wind of you and start performing and you wait to see if you are going to have to exit quickly with some speed and fancy footwork!! there were other times with people i had booked hunts for and was driving the cruiser when the ph (a good friend) said one shot head back, two shots get your ass back here fast, as we had some problems with lions earlier in the hunt. just as i was going to get them as it was after last shooting light one shot then another sounded. when i got to the blind i stopped the cruiser between half a dozen lions 30yards off, and the blind. they had been a lot closer and had only backed off a short distance at the shots and were heading back in. another time with the same ph and a different client i could tell there was a bit of an atmosphere when i arrived and they got in the cruiser. the client was a bit deaf and wouldnt stop moving around and making noise even though my friend signalled there was a leopard walking around about to climb the bait tree. as the client couldnt hear anything he didnt believe the ph, apparently the leopard studied the blind from the ground before vanishing never to return!! so yes it can be boring but you also never know what is going to happen or show up, so it is definitely worth doing at least once if you can afford it.

True SPIKE for all the non believers who perceive Leopard hunting as a the ultimate mind numbing hunt to do, I only have one thing to say to that you have not hunted Leopard, I can honestly say having been succesfull on most safaris, that it never gets old it becomes an obsession one that occupies your mind and body on a continual basis, you start to eat, sleep, drink, walk, crawl, sit, drive, think and ultimatly become Leopard until one has not reached this level of being one should not consider commenting on such a holy and mind and ultimatly life altering experience.....

It never gets old it never get boring and whether you have taken 20 ina professional carreer or its your first safari, it is one of the most exhilirating things you can do.

I live it, and I breath it, you simply can not beat it. just IMO

My best always.

Originally Posted by Norwegianwoods

I don't think any hunt should be 100% at all.
But when outfitters sell hunts where the daily rate is very high and the trophy price is very low, he puts all the risk on the hunter.
It doesn't matter financially for the outfitter if the hunter gets his trophy or not.

Very good point but heres another question. I know that some African Countrys set a min. amount of days because they get taxes off of daily rates and trophy fees but do they also dictate the daily fees so to get more taxes or is the daily fees at the PH's discretion?

Cost keeps me home. Even with the cheapest hunts, it takes a couple of years on a preacher's salary to come up with the money for the trip, so why not wait a couple of extra years and do a big hunt. Planning a buffalo hunt in Australia for 2016 with some friends. Hoping to get an African plains game hunt in before I'm too old as well.

Been thinking that, depending on health and work status, I might cash my IRA in when I'm 70 and try an Elephant hunt! That's my dream hunt and it's the only way I'll get it done.

Of course, if I ever pick the right six numbers on a Saturday night....

Leithen valley hunts Aus and Nz is all I have to say, George Stewart will sort you out on an awesome Aussie buff experience...

My best always.

Originally Posted by Jay Kelley

Cost keeps me home. Even with the cheapest hunts, it takes a couple of years on a preacher's salary to come up with the money for the trip, so why not wait a couple of extra years and do a big hunt. Planning a buffalo hunt in Australia for 2016 with some friends. Hoping to get an African plains game hunt in before I'm too old as well.

Been thinking that, depending on health and work status, I might cash my IRA in when I'm 70 and try an Elephant hunt! That's my dream hunt and it's the only way I'll get it done.

Of course, if I ever pick the right six numbers on a Saturday night....

Depends on how big your dream Elephant has to be. I can get you an average size 30-45lbs for 20K and if its the good lords will a 100lb will get in the way. But keep saving those pennies thats what most of us have to do to follow our dream.

Yup I'll have some non trophy exportable Elle available for next season around $16 000 opportunities do come up every now and then.

My very best as always!

Originally Posted by Jaco Strauss

Yup I'll have some non trophy exportable Elle available for next season around $16 000 opportunities do come up every now and then.

My very best as always!

Hey Jaco fill me in on these non trophy exportable, for some reason I always linked non trophy with non exportable what size do they run not that that really matters if its got Ivory its a trophy in My Book. Bob

You see good hunts hunts come available on AH, people wonder why they don't sell. The most logical answer should be lack of money or the ability to replace the money you just spent hunting. Common sense 101. Didn't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers. I was wondering if anyone else had more insight. But everything does come down to money unfortunately.
Hunting has changed over the years...and I have a hard time keeping up with the pace of everything. Years ago Zim was a perfect destination now Moz is coming on hard and there are more people and higher prices on everything. It's reality.

Norwegianwoods, would you look at a Leopard hunt on a daily rate of $450 and a trophy fee of $10,000 rather than a daily rate of $850 and a trophy fee of $4500?
I hear where you are coming from, and from the hunters point of view, it makes a lot of sense.
I often say to people "It is very easy NOT to find a Leopard", but if you pay daily rates of $850 and up, the outfitter makes his money hey.
I have a client that postponed his hunt until 2014 and his dates became available for 2013. Short notice however, 20 March to 5 April. I will do it for you on that basis. $6300 daily rates for 14 days and $10,000 trophy fee. Let me know if you are interested.

We manage our own herd on Kwalata and it comes with a CITIES we mostly take cows though we have rested them for a couple of years but will probably take two next season.

My best always