Best country in Africa to hunt Dangerous Game?

I am just curious on the best country for big and dangerous game.msuch as Cape buffalo, lion, leopard, hippo, croc, etc. thanks!

Aleksander I would suggest that you start by reading some hunting reports that are posted here and share some of your impressions from what you ahem read here on AH.

Great information on those hunting reports! Also look at the country conditions reports from the US State department, UN or Amnesty International to get some additional info on the country. I have never hunted anything more dangerous than a moose but I dream about a buffalo hunt constantly. For me I can't get my head around the politics in Zimbabwe so I tend to think more about RSA or Mozambique. BTW, Red Leg did a great hunting report on his trip to Mozambique about eight months ago or so, but there are a lot of other great ones on other countries too. Also, try and find the photo essay that was done on Pakistan. Really great stuff on here. I too would be interested in knowing what your opinion is after looking around.

That would depend on your definition of "best".

The areas with the biggest game regardless of difficulty
The areas with the most game regardless of size
The cheapest
The one with the most comforts and best accommodations
The most wild and remote
etc., etc...

Seldom will one area have more than a couple of these attributes. You need to decide what you want and there will be many who can steer you in that direction.

Learn also about the countries: Hunting Info by Country: http://www.africahunting.com/community/hunting-info-country/.

I don't think there is one country that is best. All countries have there good and bad points, different types of hunt, hard, easy, physical or luxury.

I honestly don't think that one country could be regarded as best for DG. It all depends on every hunters specific needs.
The largest free roaming buff could be hunted in either SA (Letaba ranch and or Mtimkulu) or possibly in Tanzania.
Leopard who knows (SA delivers some rippers, so do, Zim, so does Moz, so does Tanzania)
Lion depends on what your financial situation is, Tanz, Moz, Zambia, all have free roaming lion)
SA have ranch cats
DG in country is area specific and outfitter related (PH even more so)

Apart from trophy quality, every hunter's needs differ, -experience, -accommodation, -wilderness, free ranging, free roaming or fenced large areas or fenced small areas?

The combinations are endless.
Once a hunter knows what his specific needs and requirements are, he will generally find an area that suits a number of those specific requirements.

I just think it is to broad a spectrum to answer or to pin to one country.

My best always

Jaco, I don't think any area beats the Zambezi delta in Mozambique for buffalo. To stand and watch literally thousands of buffalo is mind blowing.

Try Matetsi unit 6, unit 1, or 2000 buff on Letaba... Same deal bud! COUTADA 10 and 14 are good yes (personally I don't like the hunting method that much in the swamps).......but.......

That's the thing there are hidden gems in every country.
My best always

I think 14 has over 12000 buff now, but agree it's hard hunting. 14 doesn't use argos.

I agree hidden gems.

Ya ya... herds of 2000 at a time watching them come down to the small Letaba river to drink....

Or following a dust cloud out of the Gusu (red sand and Rhodesian teak forest) down towards the Matetsi river and being within 35 yards from an ocean of buff it is absolutely incredible...

But not within every mans means or physical ability... I am just not a fan of the Argo's I like the forest and bush and or mountain type hunts with miles and miles of tracking.

Picking Dugga boy tracks of three or 4 buff tracking them down working around'em and possibly leaving them again in search of what you really want......

But that's just me

PS I remember the Argo days on 10 when Johan Strassheym and Gert Saaiman had it.... (How could I forget)

Shit it's fun talking about our passions!

I think that Rhodesia, bacause in Rhodesia I took first Buffalo.
Witold

Thank you Jaco.
Witold

Hello Aleksandar,

Welcome to the best forum.

Only hunted DG once so far (buffalo shown in my avatar here).
It was on a South Africa private concession (I think it's called "Maruli" or something like that) of about 100,000 acres, open to The Kruger Park/not fenced between the two, only common boundary was The Olifants River.
Lion tracks indicated we were not the only hunters watching the buffaloes there.
I even saw a skittish lioness just as she darted into the thorns.

We also had to be careful of elephant as they seemed to appear out of nowhere now and then.
According to the land owner, so few permits are available for that place, the buffaloes are not especially shy but, instead are cheeky toward people, probably regarding us the same as they do lion.
When we were crouching behind some bushes, watching some bulls bump heads, a cow busted us and so a half dozen bulls began to "one-up" each other, moving closer and closer to us in relays, obviously trying to push us off.
As per the PH's whispered description, I marked my bull.

Smooth and swift the PH set up my sticks and quietly said "take him".
I shot him in the throat / brisket juncture with my .450 No2 NE / 480 gr soft and seemingly knocked him off his hooves (recovered bullet is shown in photos under my screen name).
Mortally wounded he nonetheless got back up and ran with the herd (perhaps 150 buffaloes), now thundering off toward The River and The Park.
So, I gave him my other barrel with 480 gr solid and he again went down hard but was all in this time.
We also encountered many other species such as waterbok, impala, warthog and others in plentiful numbers, always fun to see while otherwise looking for a buffalo spoor.
Likewise, more than once I have seen leopard in broad daylight while hunting PG on other lands within Limpopo District of South Africa (borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique both).
So, I presume leopard hunting there would be tip top (provided you hire the right Outfitter / Safari Company / PH, etc.

My point ?
Hunting DG is where you find it, and probably not especially country specific, except maybe hippo on land.
Lake Kariba (Zimbabwe) seems to have more opportunity for hippo on land than many places but, on the other hand, all you need is one opportunity.
South Africa may not have the "status appeal" of places like Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Cameroon or Mozambique but, where I hunted this buffalo, in spite of perhaps well-to-do opinions to the contrary, there was every indication that I was hunting buffalo in "Wild Africa", at least as far as my dumbass could tell.

Just make sure (as others here have already said) that you thoroughly research "who, why, what, where and when" prior to plopping down your deposit on a DG hunt, or any hunting / fishing adventure for that matter.
One thing I personally cannot abide is "hunting" on a tiny farm for pen-raised animals that are pre-measured and other such nonsense.
I do not mind fenced property at all, but for me it must be quite large and containing only animals that have been born there in the bush, nurtured only by their natural mothers and not come trotting toward the bakkie, obviously expecting to be hand fed - no thanks.

Stay On That Front Sight,
Velo Dog.

Each country has its unique wonders and hunting challenges. The travelling sportsman should really not limit himself to 1 country if possible. There is just too much beautiful Africa to see.

I think the same as Gawin.
Witold

Thank you Simon.
Witold

Jaco Strauss said:

Try Matetsi unit 6, unit 1, or 2000 buff on Letaba... Same deal bud! COUTADA 10 and 14 are good yes (personally I don't like the hunting method that much in the swamps).......but.......

That's the thing there are hidden gems in every country.
My best always

Click to expand...

Second you on Matetsi 1-was there in June 2013 and literally lost track of how many herds we saw. Obviously, there was probably some overlap-but still pretty awesome. Was told that there were 2 permanent herds in Matetsi 1 and the rest were floaters.

Aleksander, I think the key to your question would be how deep are your pockets. If you can afford a 28 Day full bag safari I would probably head to Tanzania.

If you are not going to hunt Cape buffalo, lion, leopard, hippo, croc, on the same safari I would suggest doing it in a few african countries. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Namibia. That way you will get to hunt in some of the most amazing areas in the planet. If your after somewhere really exotic try Benin with someone like Christophe Morio.