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Im planning my first safari. I am looking for a hunt around 15-21 days for a lot of different plains game. I am looking for a hunt in SA or Namibia. I want to see alot of game but do not want a canned hunt. I have looked at hunts with Dries Visser Safaris and T. Jeffeires Safaris. I am open to hunting with gun or bow. Any ideas?
Wow! 21 day plains game, you could hunt South Africa and Namibia. I have heard good things about both of these outfitters.
Hi wanna-be
I can surely help you with a hunt with those specifications.
We have two entirely different hunting areas just in Limpopo that we hunt on and by different I mean the habitat as well as the species.
What do you mean by canned?
We also have our own private plane so if you wish we can hunt the Cape Province as well as Natal the plane is merely a better way to travel to different areas.
This is a Wonderful idea to spend so much time here just on plains game good on you.:thumb:
Cheers Louis
By canned hunt I mean I dont want to shoot an animal in a pen. Ive hunted in high fence operations in Texas. Some of those places have thousands of acres, thats fine. Some have 40 acres. Thats what Im NOT looking for.
That is perfectly understandable and I completely agree.
One should not have to hunt (shoot) animals in pens.
Cheers Louis
Hi there Wanna - Bee,
Hunting is our passion and we offer professional service for both rifle and bow hunters. We would like you to have a look at our website and contact some of our references. We ensure excellent ethical hunting in large areas!!
Kind Regards.
You can have great hunts in either SA or Namibia and in both countries you will usually see lots of animals. A 3 week hunt is rather long or do you anticipate visiting a game park in that time. And yes, canned hunting is unethical and should be banned. Check out my website for hunts, but also lots of hunting related information in sth Africa.
I have done what you are asking twice.
Here are some tips and observations;
As much as it sounds great it's ALOT of hunting to go more than 10 days with out a break.I break my hunts up into segments based on areas and desired game from that area.Just like you find good whitetails in specific states,African animals are the same,research what you want,and where to find good ones.For example,Nyala in Kwa-Zulu Natal are better and cheaper,but Impala are smaller there in general,better to go for in Limpopo areas for Impala.
See more of Africa than the back of a pick up and a hunting camp.Lots of cool stuff to see,an nice people to meet.Can't stress this enough,many hunters I have talked to often just see airplane,camp,airplane;and don't get to really meet different cultures.
I use a different outfitter for each segment.As much as I have enjoyed each PH,after 8-10 days,I'm done.I'd much rather meet several,then decide who I would return with.In the 2 long hunts I used 5,2 the first trip,3 the second.I have gone back to one,and will use another for part of the next trip.I had one that I couldn't stand(lazy and wanted to just ride around),and it was great knowing that it was not forever.I did put my foot down and ended up taking some nice trophies,but having to complain to the owner of the company sucked.
I consolidate shipping and taxidermy dip and pack using one company.It's cheap to get the stuff moved around to one location.I work all this out before hand with the outfitters,so everyone knows going in.One didn't want to accomadate this,so I booked with someone else.He was suprised to meet me in the airport,with a camera loaded with pics,giving another PH a tip.LOL
Work out some cull pricing to get hunting all the time,I book later in the season,so there are always quota to use.I even negotiated right in a store for some Impala culling on a farm near by.I have taken lots of male/female combo's of the same specie.They look great mounted together.And flat skins also for pillows or rugs.
This is just my situation,you may want to spend 20 days moving around with the same crew(PH and tracker/skinners).I take a lot of time to plan everything out,it keeps costs low;which equals more hunting and site seeing time in country.I'm all about making a long trip for more value.I can take the month off of work if I plan ahead.I travel alone,so I can be pretty flexible if need be.
Last long trip in 2007(I did a short hunt in 2008)I was in Namibia and South Africa for 30 days(plus 4 flying),of which 20 were hunting.Shot 42 animals,24 that I kept,9 are trophy males,12 are either varmints or flat skins,rest are culls where the animal is the property owners/outfitters.That's one good animal for 2 days hunting, about average IMO.I did alot of site seeing,Etosha a couple days,Windhoek 2 days,Bass in Jozini Dam for a day...etc.
Good luck,Africa is awesome....
Dinsdale
Dinsdale, which country do you like best to hunt, SA or NB?
My bias is towards Namibia.
A little more rural all over,sparse population.Easy gun import with out the hassle of Joh'burg if you wish to fly direct.That flight however is more costly,thru Germany.
Next trip I will do a self drive tour for 2 weeks and hunt for 6-10 days depending.Hunting on average is alot cheaper for trophy fees.Hunting can feel at times a little more commercialized in SA.
I feel much more at ease there,as opposed to parts of SA.I have good situational awareness for lack of a better term(I have worked in NYC).
Not knocking SA,I will also return there,and some areas are outstanding.They contain species only available there.Vaal Rhebok,Red Duiker,Blue Duiker,etc
If I was going to say one time only or first,Namibia.
Same caveat applies though,you must do your research.I met a guy from Texas in Namibia's airport who was in tears.Hunted 17 days for 2 animals,according to him he was charged for every beer he drank,and his passport was locked up by the outfitter when he arrived;and he had to wire $$ from home to get it back.The other two there booked thru Cabelas on a package deal and shot nothing but dink's.
I never hunt packages,and never book with anyone who has a sliding scale for trophy fees.If I see a 60" Kudu,I'm not going to get involved with calculating how much it costs.
Dinsdale
I'll just add,I'm no expert.
I tell everyone I like to travel,and hunting is an excuse to get there.
And,I'm just a regular run of the mill working guy.Mostly trim carpentry and cabinet making.But I'll do a roof if it buy's me a plane ticket somewhere cool.
:D
Dinsdale
Thanks for all the links and info. I would like to break the hunt up to two or three different areas. I want to go for a longer time because I may not get back to Africa for a while, so Im going to hunt my butt off. Im talking to several companys about this hunt and have a few more that Id like to talk to. With one of them, we are going to go to one of the elephant reserves (or what ever they are called). I WILL hunt elephants if I ever get back to Africa after this trip.
For those of you that have been to Africa, what safari company did you hunt with and would you hunt with them again?
Hallo Wanna-be
I just want to know when do you plan to come and hunt in our country. All the hunts I offer are wild hunt in open areas and we do walk and stalk hunt. Lets give the animal a charge as well.
We offer a 20 percent service to our clients and hunt one on one (PH).
I looking forward to hear from you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hunting Greetings
BENNO & EILEEN LIEBENBERG
Dinsdale, I like a lot of what you had to say. The one thing I disagree on, is package hunts....there are a lot of gems out there and I have had nothing but excellent experiences with them. The reason is...the cost are all included, and they can be taylor made.
I would agree on a whole, Namibia is very rural there are not a lot of people on the road, you can drive for 3 hours and run across 5 vehicles. There is great leopard, kudu, mountain zebra, springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest and eland hunting in Namibia. On the whole the hunting is very reasonable.
But I will not throw the South Africa ph's under the bus either. I would love to hunt nyala in KwaZula-Natal. The Kudu, Giraffe's, Zebra, and Waterbuck hunting in the Limpopo are too die for, the East Cape has bontebok, bushbuck, vaal rhebuck, and red lechwe. And the other Province's have good hunt too....It's just that a guy only has so much time and money.
I do think I qualified my remarks as to SA,again I had mentioned the same reasons to go there..ie..Vaal Rhebok etc...And mentioned I will hunt there again.
Nothing wrong with a package,if you have the research with the outfitter in question.
I see ALOT of packages sold as trophies,THAT is my problem.Lots of 48" turn and a half young Kudu pushed on unsuspecting hunters as once in a life time.Now if this is known going in,thats one thing.......hey I love hunting and have taken a fair share of substandard animals and culls.BUT I knew that going in,to me that is the difference.
All the animals I have taken are hunted,not just shooting off the truck;by cull I mean specific animals that are substandard males or excess females.(you can find both types of culling;hunts or truck shoots)
Part of my hunts center around finding a package to ADD to true trophy hunting.They can be of great value.Read CT Safaris explaination to why there are no substitutions on his donated SCI hunt here.He knows that in a short hunt, he can produce those specific animals in a set area,in a set time frame,and he knows he can produce (hopefully)representative trophies in that time frame.
I have no issue finding a good value,hell thats what its about for me.
It is up to the hunter to make sure he bought what he was sold,thats the research part and that the outfitter is honest in his representation of what to expect.....
Dinsdale
First trip I hunted with Ko-Ka Tsara Safaris in South Africa, had a great trip with many gold/silver/bronze scoring trophies. Ralph Koster was a great PH. Next trip was with Ralph again for 8 days hunting, 4 days sightseeing with wives and then I went to Zim for 10 days for Buff, another great trip.Quote:
Originally Posted by wanna-be
If you do your research well either South Africa or Namibia will be great. Between this website and The Hunting Report website you can find out just about everything you need to know to make a wise decision!
Good luck, your will love Africa and become addicted also!
Dinsdale, I guess I see your point on the package hunts. I can tell you, I wouldn't shoot a immature animal and would tell the PH that we would have to move onto another animal. I know what you are saying though, sometimes PH's just want to fill there clients list and move onto animals off the package hunt list. As a client, you have to decline animals, until the situation feels right. And there is nothing wrong with cull packages! They are great hunts.
Two outfitters, that my SCI Chapter deals with that most people are very happy with are www.kuvhima.co.za (Kuvhima Safaris) and www.ssprosafaris.co.za (SS Pro Safaris). They are both very professional and you will see quality animals. And I feel there are PH's on here like Neil and Louis from RSA that run good operations. Sorry about anyone I left out, only so much time in a day.
I will agree with a lot of what has been posted on here regarding Namibia as well as the good and bad for SA. I will also speak for Kuvhima and SS Pro Safaris. Kuvhima does a great job with the Houston Chapter of SCI and I've visited with the folks at SS Pro and will see them tomorrow and in Reno.
I hunted Namibia with Horabe Hunting Safaris and had a great time and got my money's worth. I shot some great animals and had opportunities at some but didn't score because of me. I'm going back but like was posted earlier, I have to go to SA to get some of the animals because that's where they are. I plan to get all that I can from Namibia or Zimbabwe when it calms down.
Like was posted earlier, you need to do your homework so that you know what trophy quality you are willing to accept as you can get presented different quality animals and you are paying good money and the responsibility for the trophy will be yours after you pull the trigger. So, I would encourage you only shoot what you consider a trophy that is worth whatever you have to pay. Also, don't learn what I learned the hard way---go when there's no moon. The full moon messed up 3 of my days.
Whatever you decide, good luck. Ask more questions if you need.
What you really need to do is sit down and determine what animals you would like to hunt first and then let that determine where is the best place to hunt. While alot of animals are available everywhere the costs, trophy quaility and hunting conditions vary. You need to ask a lot of questions and if you don;t get the answers keep looking.
I offer hunts in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa and book hunters all the time which will hunt two or three countries to get the trophy animals they are looking for.
If interested take a loook at my websites.
Terry
Why don't you take a look at this package that I bought at a charity auction. I bought a donated South African Safari at the Texas Tech Chapter of TTHA charity auction and I'm unable to go. Please take a look and I'll provide ALL the info I have including emails with the PH and the auction form showing how much I paid (only $5000.) It's a good deal with a reputable company, but I cannot go (this year.) Click here for details. Call Steve at 210-288-0962 if you're interested in this fantastic safari deal.