What animal do you think is the most overrated for the trophy fee? Or daily fees that make it expens

So, this whole birthrate thing is what is driving the cost of a wateruck? I see the kudu as the most sought after PG species out there, but a waterbuck is rouhly $1,000 more expensive than a kudu? That's what I don't understand and why I believe it is the most overrated trophy fee.

Very simple, Graybird, there are just more Kudu around than Waterbucks, simple law of supply and demand !

Nyati said:

Very simple, Graybird, there are just more Kudu around than Waterbucks, simple law of supply and demand !

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You're exactly right and the only reason I can come up with the price differences!

You have to remember where you are hunting in Africa? Comparing East Cape Kudu prices vs. Limpopo Province prices for the Southern Greater Kudu? The waterbuck is priced with the Southern Greater Kudu price.

Yes, I agree breeding and birth rate have a huge effect on availability and abundance of a species. Springbok, warthogs, impala really boom in population growth when things are going well weather and habitat are in excellent shape. Kudu for sure have there ups and downs. Look at Namibia with there rabies outbreaks. Some species are tougher. Some survive in their niche environments. Some animals take 10 years to become mature and fine trophies.

I think the red lechwe is a little pricey...don't get me wrong. I went to the right place...where the price was where I felt comfortable, then I shot one. I have seen a lot of pricing...where I would have taken pictures too. There are damn pretty species though! I think KMG Hunting Safaris has a fair price!

There are most certainly fewer big waterbuck than kudu. Supply and demand for sure!

Great topic--supply and demand and want!

1. All sheep hunting in the US. When I was a young chap in my late teens early 20's. One of my best friends always hunted Montana and Colorado for big horn sheep. I had a chance to go a number of times but would have messed up my College classes so missed out on that. Now I cannot afford it. 18-50K for a damn sheep come on!

Tie with 1. Lion come on 50-60K. that is a lot of green, maybe Lion hunting is not for me.

2. Roan. Hey I know its supply and demand but WOW 14-18K the time your trophy fee and time on ground, I'm all up to the experence but that is a steep price tag for me.

3. Mule Deer...Dont get me started! You can still shoot a good buck for a over the counter tag, but...Ohhhh..... the time you are going to spend! Get a good guided hunt and you will be spending close to the Roan!

4. Whitetail deer, I'm a little biased I grew up on a 7,000 ac ranch in west texas. I hunted all the time, I would not pay 3K-5K for a whitetail deer--or a lease... much less 6K-8K for a trophy!

5. Elephant-- why cant I find an exportable bull for around 5K-7K I dont care if he is 30lb for 50lb, if there are so many in some areas like botswana why are they not hunting some of the not so "trophy" bulls.

Tie with above--elk. Lots of elk in certain spots why tags are so limited floors me.

Ed

To me, it's nyala. They're nice looking but don't seem particularly challenging.

505ED said:

Great topic--supply and demand and want!

1. All sheep hunting in the US. When I was a young chap in my late teens early 20's. One of my best friends always hunted Montana and Colorado for big horn sheep. I had a chance to go a number of times but would have messed up my College classes so missed out on that. Now I cannot afford it. 18-50K for a damn sheep come on!

Tie with 1. Lion come on 50-60K. that is a lot of green, maybe Lion hunting is not for me.

2. Roan. Hey I know its supply and demand but WOW 14-18K the time your trophy fee and time on ground, I'm all up to the experence but that is a steep price tag for me.

3. Mule Deer...Dont get me started! You can still shoot a good buck for a over the counter tag, but...Ohhhh..... the time you are going to spend! Get a good guided hunt and you will be spending close to the Roan!

4. Whitetail deer, I'm a little biased I grew up on a 7,000 ac ranch in west texas. I hunted all the time, I would not pay 3K-5K for a whitetail deer--or a lease... much less 6K-8K for a trophy!

5. Elephant-- why cant I find an exportable bull for around 5K-7K I dont care if he is 30lb for 50lb, if there are so many in some areas like botswana why are they not hunting some of the not so "trophy" bulls.

Tie with above--elk. Lots of elk in certain spots why tags are so limited floors me.

Ed

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Hi Ed, It hard to justify paying for some of the mule deer, sheep and elk hunting in the USA. Plain and simple it's not affordable! It's a darn shame for sure. I think our forefathers had a vision of everything being more "equal". But to thanks to crafty lawyers and politicians. Most of the top tags for animals go to the people who have the biggest pocketbook. In the form of landowner tags, govenor tags, conservation auction tags...raffles....etc. I am sick of it and hope the system changes. I have been putting in the public draw for a dozen years have drawn...much of anything....yet the cost keep going up and odds of drawing too. If I was young and starting out....I wouldn't put in for anything. All you are doing is filling the coffers of whatever state you are applying for...end of story. Yes, you draw lesser regions...but the best areas are next to impossible to draw.

Baydog said:

To me, it's nyala. They're nice looking but don't seem particularly challenging.

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Well, it depends, you can hunt Nyala in an enclosure of a game farm, where you basically walk in, choose one and shoot, if you can call that hunting !

Or, you can go to a 50.000 ha. game reserve in KZN and hunt Nyala in the hills. If you look for a 30 in + animal, it will be even more challenging.

enysse said:

Hi Ed, It hard to justify paying for some of the mule deer, sheep and elk hunting in the USA. Plain and simple it's not affordable! It's a darn shame for sure. I think our forefathers had a vision of everything being more "equal". But to thanks to crafty lawyers and politicians. Most of the top tags for animals go to the people who have the biggest pocketbook. In the form of landowner tags, govenor tags, conservation auction tags...raffles....etc. I am sick of it and hope the system changes. I have been putting in the public draw for a dozen years have drawn...much of anything....yet the cost keep going up and odds of drawing too. If I was young and starting out....I wouldn't put in for anything. All you are doing is filling the coffers of whatever state you are applying for...end of story. Yes, you draw lesser regions...but the best areas are next to impossible to draw.

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The other side of the coin is that if someone is willing to pay $200K for a sheep so that he doesn't have to wait for the lottery, that one sheep can do a lot of good for the population.

When America was basically frontier, there was game enough for everyone and our forefathers wanted to avoid the situation of having the King control the game. Thus, in America, hunting became a sport for the common man. Now, open space is very expensive. It looks more and more like we are heading towards a European approach to hunting where it is a sport of the economic elite. I'm not saying that is a good thing, in fact, it may be a bad thing if so few people hunt that popular support erodes for it, but as our population grows, it will be harder and harder to be able to afford to maintain hunting for all of us.

We haven't reached that point here in NC with whitetail deer yet. I see far more deer than rabbits around here. Not that many people hunt and there are deer enough for everybody who wants them.

Bert,

The flipside and probably the better side of that same coin is that, if you can afford a 200K sheep, you can instead of buying the sheep you could buy the land and hunt them all you want. Remember the free range animals are not owned by anyone, they are owned by everyone. Free range being the key words here, that is the priciple that you speak of. The private land owners and tags that these guys that spend 200K to hunt are just capitalizing on what this whole topic seems to be about, "supply and demand".

The problem with landowner tags, is you can hunt the public land in those regions too...some tags are specific to the private land, but the majority are not. Hence why they have a excellent value. The people can skip the public draw...right to the head of the line. A majority of those auction and conservation tags are on public land, not private land. It is supply and demand for sure.

And that expensive sheep tag...you would be shocked on how the money is shared...not even 50% ever makes it to the sheep, you have the auctioneer, the conservation organization cut, the states cut....etc.

If we are talking about Africa my vote goes to sable. I didn't shoot one on my last trip that would have been 42" bedded down in front of me at 50 yds. The trophy fee alone was 7000. More than the trophy fee on the buffalo. North America my vote goes to stone sheep. 35 to 40 thousand because it has grey on its hide?

I think the stone sheep price is crazy nuts, I would never it do for that price.

High fenced whitetail without a doubt waaaaaay over rated. I have seen many 30k+ dollar whitetail hunts for super genetic deer. That's insanity! No deer on earth is worth that to me. I could care less if it out scores a big elk. I've also seen breeder bucks sell for 100k. Unreal

I'm with you Gizmo! Some deer hunts are just crazy

Anything over $6000 on whitetail hunt is expensive.

This still is a touchy subject, something not too many talk about on a public forum.

Thankfully I still love plain game hunts.

I know for north america, sheep hunts are crazy and going higher at a rate faster then I can save. I think some of the slam craziness will go down and hopefully the costs will level out.

Mule deer to me is crazy stupid expensive, I have seen hunts for 15k plus. Those are for monsters, I would settle for a good representative one but even those hunts are 5k+. I will try to bargain shop for one and hopefully get a 3k hunt someday.

Alaskan moose hunts are 20k plus no thanks ever.

And the price of elk have left me with no desire to ever hunt one, I will go to Africa.

As far as Africa goes, some of the tiny ten are expensive over 1000 for something the size of a large rabbit just hurts.

I am just learning about African Dangerous Game hunting and getting familiar with the prices so to me it doesn't seem over priced. Leopard and Buffalo to me gets a bit confusing. Leopard the price varies by country so much, I was quoted 36k for a Zim hunt (ouch). Buffalo are all over the map, I have seen prices as low as 8 and as high as 22, and I honestly haven't quite figured out why as both were free range.

Here is my problem with plains game I equate everything back to this, at the higher end would I rather shoot a kudu or XYZ animal. At the lower end would I rather shoot a bushbuck or XYZ animal. When I go back there will be a lot bushbuck hunting.

That is the way I am....I love plains game hunting. I can't get enough of it. I think the tiny ten are competitively priced and I would not complain about it. They do have to do a lot of fine work for a full mount. Plus they don't run everywhere in Africa, they are in unique environments.

enysse said:

That is the way I am....I love plains game hunting. I can't get enough of it. I think the tiny ten are competitively priced and I would not complain about it. They do have to do a lot of fine work for a full mount. Plus they don't run everywhere in Africa, they are in unique environments.

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The tiny 10 are difficult and a challenging hunt. Personally not for me , however I understand and respect the reason to chase after the complete 10.

I would much rather spend the same money on other quarry .