Animal wish list

[Hamy]

Hey guys looking for some advice. Do I need to tell my PH all the animals I am interested in taking or Can I just decide as they come available?
Bow hunting in South Africa
Thanks

 

[bluey]

if you let the P.H know what your ,cant go home without trying for list, in advance , theres a good chance he will be able to get you into a good area , where there may be older ,and better trophies .
it may take a wee bit of travelling ,to do this ..........

 

[JustinC]

Its always exciting to leave it to fate but there are those species only found in certain areas.

The other issue would be budget, you will probably not have enough time to discuss price once you see a trophy you would like to take.

I would say that you should at least have a rough idea of the target species so that the Outfitter can plan your trip and give you the best possible chance of success.

 

[Ryno Botma]

Hi Hamy it helps to know what animals you want most so they can put out trail cams and scout different areas to find good quality trophys and you can always change the list when you see something you like

Time of year also plays a big roll when it comes to bow hunting

and as always it is called hunting not shooting the list is your guideline but don't turn down a good trophy if it is not on the list

Happy hunting

 

[ActionBob]

Discuss it but be careful to not get the outfitter or ph too excited about selling you everything they can find! After I took my first kudu, I mentioned if we came across a better one, my wife could take it... Well that PH had a bit if a fetish for kudu so was hunting kudu full time after that... But we did manage to get everything else on the list anyway

I had wanted a blue wildebeest as well but all they had in that area were on small fenced properties and this was free range outfit so they shied away from that, so we skipped it an I got one this year. Conversely I had not planned on red hartebeest until I got there, took one look and wanted one! Etc.!

I studied the price list before hand and made notes, if something is too expensive, cross it off... And if after you cross it off, one walks out that is a World record, aim carefully, squeeze the trigger, and figure out how to pay for it after the pictures are done

 

[Royal27]

Discuss it but be careful to not get the outfitter or ph too excited about selling you everything they can find! After I took my first kudu, I mentioned if we came across a better one, my wife could take it... Well that PH had a bit if a fetish for kudu so was hunting kudu full time after that... But we did manage to get everything else on the list anyway

I had wanted a blue wildebeest as well but all they had in that area were on small fenced properties and this was free range outfit so they shied away from that, so we skipped it an I got one this year. Conversely I had not planned on red hartebeest until I got there, took one look and wanted one! Etc.!

I studied the price list before hand and made notes, if something is too expensive, cross it off... And if after you cross it off, one walks out that is a World record, aim carefully, squeeze the trigger, and figure out how to pay for it after the pictures are done

Really good advice.

the one thing I'd add is to make sure you know what the particular geographic area is for the species that are important to you. for example, last trip I wanted both blue duiker and steenbok, bit of which were almost two hours away and in opposite directions. So it made for a bit of driving and broke up the rhythm of the hunt a bit. it certainly wasn't undo-able, but don't think that just because your outfitter has 30 species listed on the price list that you'll be able to walk out the lodge door ans see them all.

 

[bbjavelina]

I think it's helpful for your PH to have a good idea of what you want to take, and, surely, for what you're not interested in. That goes for trophy quality as well as species.

On our first trip my wife made us some small laminated flash cards. We had been to the Houston SCI show and collected all the brochures available. She cut out photos, wrote the trophy fee on them, laminated them, and put them on a ring. Since I didn't have a really good grasp of some of the critters, I found this very helpful. Every time I saw a Sable I'd look at the price on the card and shake my head at the PH.

The last trip worked a lot different. I had three species as my number one goal and told the outfitter and PH what I wanted. They got me 1, 2, 3 in order of availability. Worked out great. That would not have been a good idea on the first trip. The second trip was a bit of a cross between the first and third in the way we worked it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Interesting idea.
A true take it as it comes hunt.

 

[Limcroma Safaris]

Hamy,

You have received some great advice.... It's always a good idea to have a "wish list" of species for all of the aforementioned reasons.... The only thing I would add is to keep an open mind during the hunt. When I remember back to our very first safari, animals that did not appeal to us during our research, looked very different and quite impressive on the hoof. I believe we added 4 or 5 additional trophies to our "list" on that trip..... Also, one of the main reasons we all go to Africa to hunt is for the abundance of species and the opportunity that this abundance offers. To this day, we always take more trophies than we had intentionally planned for, and I suppose that is true for most hunters....

That said, one visit to Africa never satisfies.... You will be planning your return even before your first safari is over.

 

[Hamy]

Thanks guys
We purchased the hunt at an auction and doubled our time there. There were three animals included in the auction. I was alittle concerned they would hunt the new wish list and leave the three that were already purchased!

 

[ActionBob]

Just be sure you hunt those three purchased first... But don't let it stop you from taking a nice trophy you encounter by chance while hunting those three... But if you have 2 chance encounters and no sign of the three yet.. I would ask hard questions!

I should not be this way but I am very skeptical of these auction hunts! If I was you I would look at reputable outfitters web sites from here and check out the trophy fee prices to compare with the place your going. I ran into a guy who got a great deal on an auction hunt and was adding a kudu... The outfitter told him that was $4500... But he would give him a deal for "only" $3500.... I think if you check around, you find that is close to double the going price!

Educate yourself first! Rather than letting someone else educate you on your checkbook.

Having said that all, hopefully you are tied in with a good reputable operator and will have no worries!

 

[Hank2211]

There seems to be a lot of suspicion on this thread!

I have never had an experience where a PH tried to sell me more animals, or went his own way, etc. I think it would be a mistake to approach a hunt this way - if you really think the outfitter/PH is out to take you, you wilt enjoy yourself and you need to find another outfitter/PH. This doesn't mean you shouldn't say what you want and what you don't want. You not only should, but you must. When you walk into Sears looking for a pillow, and someone shows you a washer/dryer, do you buy it? Same deal in Africa.

My advice is to be upfront with your PH or outfitter. If you really want a particular animal, you need to tell the outfitter in advance. If they don't have it, you may have to go elsewhere to get it, and that may require some groundwork before you get there (and you'd need to be clear on how you want to hunt it - fences, size of property, etc). If, while you're hunting, your PH shows you some animals you aren't interested in, then you need to say so. His feelings won't be hurt - he'd rather focus on things you want to shoot, rather than wasting time chasing Springhares.

 

[Hamy]

Thank you Hank2211 very good advice

 

[Diamondhitch]

Good stuff so far.

I say choose a couple must haves to concentrate on and take any quality animals that interest you that you come across while pursuing your must haves. Know your game and prices, one squeeze of the trigger could be anywhere from free to $10,000 so you want to know beforehand. Your PH will coach you as to price when you see things but this just takes precious time that you may need to take a critter.

 

[JimP]

If this is your first hunt in Africa then I would suggest that you set your priorities on what animals that you really want to shoot and then concentrate on them first.

On my first hunt this last May I had 5 animals that I wanted to take and out of those 5 I came home with 4 of them and hunted hard. The one that I didn't get was a warthog. The ones that we were seeing while hunting other animals were just not the size of one that I wanted to take and by the time that I had all of the other 4 taken care of there just wasn't any time left to just concentrate on the warthog.

 

[bbjavelina]

If this is your first hunt in Africa then I would suggest that you set your priorities on what animals that you really want to shoot and then concentrate on them first.

On my first hunt this last May I had 5 animals that I wanted to take and out of those 5 I came home with 4 of them and hunted hard. The one that I didn't get was a warthog. The ones that we were seeing while hunting other animals were just not the size of one that I wanted to take and by the time that I had all of the other 4 taken care of there just wasn't any time left to just concentrate on the warthog.

I don't have enough experience to know for sure, but I think a true trophy Warthog is as difficult as a true trophy Kudu.

 

[ActionBob]

I don't have enough experience to know for sure, but I think a true trophy Warthog is as difficult as a true trophy Kudu.

In 4 hunts in Africa, it has proven more difficult for me! I got a couple decent kudu and passed lots of good ones as well as not getting a shot on a darn fine one. Have yet to even see a real good wart hog in the wild...

 

[Ryno Botma]

Warthog hunting is very tough if you go the wrong time of the year
Late season July ,August is best for warthog that is when food and water gets scarce and they move around a lot more and as mentioned you might see a lot of warthogs but you might need some luck on your side to bag a really good one

Also female warthogs are the territorial ones and they attract the male warthog into the areas so if there is big warthog females in the earea they wil atrack the male warthogs

Happy hunting

 

[Bos en Dal SAFARIS]

All have been said that you need to now!! Enjoy your hunt and i hope you get a monster warthog!!
Enjoy

 

[ActionBob]

Warthog hunting is very tough if you go the wrong time of the year

Thanks for the info... I've gone in April and November... Probably why I'm not seeing good wart hogs!