Managment buff hunts???

Good evening ladies and gents,

I am looking to draw upon your collective knowledge and opinions. I am currently researching for what will be my first African hunting safari and i will be hunting buffalo + plains game. I am a young man, with a young family as a result i am on a budget. I have of course trawled through the many pages of post on this website and others and have at times seen managment bull packages offered, but not to often. I hunt an awful lot of deer of varying species here in the uk from a managment angle and this is how i like it. Iv shot a number of medal deer here but like many of you (not all) my enjoyment is from the hunt not specificaly the head size. This is the same approach i am applying to my safari, the terrain, hunt, friendships created and memories retained far outweigh the extra inches of the boss/span of course.

The packages i have seen offered for managment buffs is in my budget but my question is should i treat such offers with caution as there does not seem to be to many offered? Does any body have any experiance with such packages? If common place do such packages get offered contionously or are they late season extra quota jobbies?

Your comments are most welcome, especially if your an outfitter offering me a great deal on a buff:)

Many thanks in advance

You might look at Touch Africa Safari's in Zimbabwe. I am off to hunt PG with them in about 9 days and they offer a very reasonable management buff hunt. In fact my original plan was to do just that but that particular hunt was booked thru 2011 and booking for '12 so I opted to go for PG now. Worth a look.

You may want to contact Elandsbosch, I have hunted twice with Gerhardo, who is a very serious outfitter.

E-mail: info@elandsbosch.co.za

Last time I spoke with him, he had a fully mature buff with small horns at bargain price.

You may tell him that Manuel from Madrid gave you the info.

i will second the touch Africa safari...many satisfied customers...

Gents

Your info is much appreciated. FYI touch africa have sold out for 2012. Nyati, thanks im waiting to hear back from Elandsbosch.

If it is your first african safari, are you really shure it is a good idea to put a buff on your list ?
Once, around a campfire, an old PH told me: "here in Africa, if you look for troubles, you gonna find them". My modest suggestion is: start with 2 plainsgame hunts, different animals in different countries. A good PH 1x1; a good rifle (a good bow would be much better), not really a lot different from the "lady's" ones you are probably used to hunt with. A lot of fun, and a lot of animals, for a very good price. Then, after the first plainsgame one, you buy a cheap but shure rifle, from 416 (Rigby, NOT Remington, of course) to 458, and start training in the difficult matter of getting really familiar with it. Look, it is a lot of work, and a lot of fun, but quite different from the usual shooting. The third year, you go Dangerous Game.
If instead you want to start now, my suggestion is checking with the PH Henry Griffiths, that is selling exactly what you are looking for in S.A., for an exellent price. I hunted with him, and he is a serious and honest man.

Under your circumstances and hunt desires, I think I would give consideration to a buff cow hunt.

Muntjac

If your trying to save some pounds on a bufffalo hunt I might suggest as Phil did that you book a buffalo cow hunt. I've shot several buffalo and I can tell you that a cow hunt is every bit as exciting as bull hunt.

Mark

As far as your concern or apprehension about "management hunts" they are legitimate tools used by reputable outfitters to either fill quota, or reduce herd size within their farms or concessions. Just check the references out from anyone you might choose to invesitgate. You are certainly starting at the right place by asking here.

As an example Marius was just posting about offering Nyala in the packages next year because he has them jumping out of the trees at him and he got scared there were too many and someone might trip, fall and hurt themselves on them. :)

I work with several P.H.'s Depening on what you want to experience, I would suggest a hunt with Wayne Grant he wrote the book on Leopard literally "Into the Thorns" This is old fashion africa hunting good food, tented Safari, with a legend. 10 days hunting and trophy fee for a buffalo: $3,000. buff run 36" - 42" J & M Safaris I will be hunting kudu and I have a couple of clients hunting Leopard.

What are the daily rates?

Everyone here has some good advice and I've heard it said more then once you should hunt plains game first, my feelings on that are it depends on your hunting Experience like me I've hunted from the GREAT STATE of TEXAS to the wilderness of ALASKA and from the state of Alabama to the costal shores of California and have been charged by just about every big game animal that I've taken from wild Pigs to Grizzlies and I just did my first hunt to Africa last year Buff was not on the list but if it were I would not been afraid to tackle it. What I'm getting at is if you have the Experience and are sure of your self and are willing to listen to the PH that will be with you Then Follow Your Dream.

Hi Bob

I agree there is some great advice on here, i to do not asign to the hunt plains game ony first off, i may not of hunted Buffalo before but i did work 2 years as a trails guide in the Kruger national park and then two years conducting safaris in Namibia so am comfortable (as much as one can be) with approaching dangerous game on foot. Heres a few pics from the Caprivi Strip Im in the bush highlighted. It was the perfect spot to get a sanp of the Elephants crossing from Namiba to Botswana heres a few pics you may enjoy.

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Muntjac,
with our operation, here in Australia, we run a series of hunts aimed at Herd Reduction which does not involve the taking of any trophies but rather includes a number of management buffalo over the course of the one hunt.

The Herd Reduction hunts are specifically aimed at hunters wishing to increase their numeric exposure to big game animals, in traditional big game hunting scenarios, without a hefty price tag.

Each year I get numbers of hunters booking these hunts as preparation hunts, familiarisation with firearms hunts or as hunts to test unknown projectiles and cartridges (or themselves).

This allows us to manage numbers within our area and also provide recreational hunters an oportunity to experience a thick-skinned game animal hunt in a volume not seen in many other regions.

A standard 6 or 8 day hunt for 2 hunters, including fees for 5 Herd Reduction buffalo, will cost you far less than a standard Cape buffalo hunt anywhere.
All hunts are conducted in a truly remote, wilderness hunting concession.

If it is experience and exposure your looking for at a reasonable cost feel free to contact me for further information.

Muntjac
Those are some great pics and it sounds to me that you already have the African Bush Experience. Good Luck on your Buff hunt.