Planning Future Buffalo Hunt

sestoppelman said:

Bob, I'm talking about the top three he listed from RSA, not the Zim hunts below.

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Hi ses I just added the zim in My 5 day hunt is in RSA all inclusive.

That would be a heck of a deal then Bob, though I personally would prefer at least 7 days and 10 is better. Obviously it doesnt always take that long to get a good buff. I shot my first buff in Tanzania on the first day of my first safari! Talk about a shock to the senses!

Bobpuckett said:

Hi Ses if that 10,000 5 day one is mine it is all in 5 hunting days 7 total from pick up at airport to drop off at airport. and I think he forgot about the import fee for his rifle in Zim payable at the airport on arrival and departure.

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I hunted in Zim just a couple of weeks ago and didn't pay a dime to get my guns in or out of the country.

sestoppelman said:

That would be a heck of a deal then Bob, though I personally would prefer at least 7 days and 10 is better. Obviously it doesnt always take that long to get a good buff. I shot my first buff in Tanzania on the first day of my first safari! Talk about a shock to the senses!

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Thanks ses I try to set them up where the hunter isn't anymore out of his pocket then he wants to be. Talking about 7 days I'm working on one right now for 7 days that would include a Cape and Asian Water Buffalo. :thumb:

jduckhunter said:

I hunted in Zim just a couple of weeks ago and didn't pay a dime to get my guns in or out of the country.

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Some outfitters do pay these fees for you last cost quote I got was only $30 each way.

sestoppelman said:

Do those RSA prices reflect the daily rates and are they all inclusive as the others? The trophy fee alone often equals the prices you show for RSA.

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All three are listed here on AH.
"All in" prices from what I read.

and yes, the deal is 7 days total. 5 days hunting.

Good deals without a doubt.


It all still comes down to the experience you want and your budget.

Thanks for all of the replies. This is really helpful information. Having been to the RSA once (not to hunt buff - though we did walk into a herd at dark walking back to the bakkie on evening!), I think I have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Now I think I have a much better idea of what to expect in Zim. Don't know which way I will go, but I have the info to ponder.

If you do opt for Zimbabwe you need to research the individual area VERY carefully indeed because if you hunt an area that has previously been seized from the legal owners you (as an American citizen) can be prosecuted under the Lacey Act.

Yikes!!! Thanks for the heads up, Shakari. I would not even have considered that.

shakari said:

If you do opt for Zimbabwe you need to research the individual area VERY carefully indeed because if you hunt an area that has previously been seized from the legal owners you (as an American citizen) can be prosecuted under the Lacey Act.

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Very true indeed also be sure to hunt a good area as many areas will collect ample daily rates and deliver few buffalo .........

Please note that this is by no means an anti Zim statement but rather fair warning as it is but one additional factor in an African country that finds itself in everything but a ideal situation,,............. exactly the same as Moz NO DIFFERENT IN FACT in my mind without any contestation or argument.......and in many ways worse due to corruption and smoke screens.....been there got drilled as a outfitter and had to deal with it.


As far as zim goes, MARTIN PETERS, Wayne van den berg , Buzz Carlton are on this forum regularly and I would settle between one of these guys and possibly one or two others.

This is what I would do if I as an outfitter had to work with anyone,.... if I would not be able to source a viable deal for myself and my client I would do exactly as I have done.............. find my own area in Moz,.......due to the fact that as you I do not wish to think twice with regards to the credibility of the areas to which I take my clients or hunt myself.

The brutal honesty is rough at first but once we think about it it makes complete sense


My best always

Hi Custom,

I'm chiming in a bit late, jut finished up a bunch of gator hunt in Louisiana.

1. I think the experience differs greatly. Hunting true wilderness, watching elephant, lion, buff etc coming and going is an amazing experience. driving seemingly endless miles of old forgotten tracks or following elephant paths to get to your destination is something that is hard to equal.
2. A quality hunt in RSA and one in Zim are priced pretty close. By quality I mean either a large concession or one of the few free range areas by Kruger. NOT the small put and take operations.
3.charters run from $1,000-5,000 depending on area and what size plane.
4. Safety is pretty much the same, i prefer Zim as the areas are more remote, less local people drifting through.

Spot on again I have to post the following though seeing that the anti South African as well as Mozambique sentiment seems to prevail....

If I dont it seems that no one else will, so here goes.

Once an area is found try to figure out the outfitter , once you have established this try to figure out who is the funder after you have established this try to figure out who's the general.

Once you have figured this out try to figure out if the area is any good as well as trying to figure out wether the situation on the block might change while on route to the hunting area.

JUST AS UNCERTAIN

I have to be frank, while I operate on a large area in SA which is home to 4 of the big 5 and also hunt large areas in Moz which pretty much entails the Same I am finding the opinions very one sided without any real substance.

If you stick to reputable zim outfitters you'll do well, but on an EQUAL FOOT should you stick to reputable outfitters in SA you'll have a good experience as well same for Namibia and so in Tanz as well as Moz.

Jaco has it right. There are good & bad operators in all countries. Part of the answer to that is to choose the good operators instead of the cheapest........ Always remember you don't get what you don't pay for & quality always only ever comes at a price.

I have hunted buffalo in MKuze Falls PGR, 45.000 ha (big enough ?), I have seen the Big 5, plus hippo and croc.

Yes, it s not cheap, but I feel safer in Natal than in Zimbabwe. I am also quite sure there will be no unexpected circumstances.

I ll take SA :thumb:

I was in Zimbabwe in June. I was after Buff and Plains game. This was my first Africa trip and I wanted lions and elephants and Wild Africa as others have said. I got that as well as all 6 animals on my list-Impala, Buff, Waterbuck, Warthog, Zebra and Kudu.

I also ran into permit problems which severely cut into my hunting time and forced a move to village lands later in the hunt. While frustrating, I had the attitude of TIA (This is Africa.) My wife was along and , in some ways, the problems were a blessing in diguise. We used one of the down days to tour Chobe park in Botswana and another to go tiger fishing on the Zambezi.

After much reflection, I would not trade my hunt, even with the problems, for a predictable ranch hunt in SA. We saw literally thousands of buff in my hunting area and saw lions hunting buff and walked within 100 yards of a breeding herds of elephants.

Oddly, enough I often tell people here that the main regret of the trip is that there was so much game that I didn't get into the back country much. Another trip, I would insist on going to the back sides of the hills and just looking. Hunting days lost to permit problems hurt me in this area, because we just didn't have much time for that. Plus, I was a newbie.

Nothing against SA and I am thinking of a cheaper hunt with my kids.

I would recommend Zim or Moz for something wild.

"and saw lions hunting buff"

a contest well worth watching. the outcome does not always go to the lions. it will if they can get a young one, but an old male buffalo is a different story.

Upepo

Upepo said:

"and saw lions hunting buff"

a contest well worth watching. the outcome does not always go to the lions. it will if they can get a young one, but an old male buffalo is a different story.

Upepo

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Just to clarify-we didn't see them actually taking the buff. Right at evening-We saw 3 lions on one side of a herd, then we saw the herd, then saw 2 male lions on the other side of the herd. We stopped to take pics.The large male growled at us-You could plainly hear his thoughts-"Get the Hell out of here, you are messing up my hunt." As my PH said, he was saying-"I have 300 buffalo on quota and you only have one."

One of my favorite memories of the trip was the skinners/trackers and the game scout getting as excited about seeing the lions as I was.

My wife's biggest regret of the trip was that she did not feel well that afternoon and stayed in camp. Her main hope of the trip was to see lions. As she decided to stay-we both knew we would see lions.

More great information, thanks. Nyati, we hunted the Zululand Black Rhino Reserve, which is a 23,000 ha big five reserve. It can't be that far from where you were. Mkuze was the nearest settlement. Hunting is limited there - the lodge we stayed at is the only one that hunts. They do issue a limited number of buffalo permits each year, and I will strongly consider going back as we had a great experience. Who did you hunt with at Mkuze Falls?

Custom said:

More great information, thanks. Nyati, we hunted the Zululand Black Rhino Reserve, which is a 23,000 ha big five reserve. It can't be that far from where you were. Mkuze was the nearest settlement. Hunting is limited there - the lodge we stayed at is the only one that hunts. They do issue a limited number of buffalo permits each year, and I will strongly consider going back as we had a great experience. Who did you hunt with at Mkuze Falls?

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I booked through Mbogo Safaris, a spanish agent. The outfitter was Anton Marais, the PH Kobus Scrivante, tracker Sipho.

The result

Awesome buff, Nyati. Thanks for the info.