Hello Everyone
I have joined this forum in order to learn as much information as possible for when my friend and I go on our first African hunting safari to celebrate our 30th birthdays in 2017/2018 - a while away yet but I have always been taught it is best to be prepared! We shoot regularly in the UK and both have good weapons handling skills and are able to hit a target repeatedly at distance so feel it is the right time to step up our hunting level.
We are not sure whether to do 1x1 hunting or to share the adventure/hunting each day and do 2x1 hunting - I would be interested to hear the forums opinions on each option (I could not find a discussion on this on the forum but may have missed it). Having gone through a few websites for PH's and Outfitters it looks like we would not save a great deal by hunting 2x1 but would have a lot fewer trophies each - am I right in understanding things this way?
I would welcome any advice you are able to offer on which animals are best to go for on a first trip (I would love to hunt Kudu but not sure if this is a good starting point?) and also on which area of Africa would be best to visit - at the moment we are thinking South Africa so would appreciate view on the different regions within SA. We would be looking to go for 10 to 14 days in total so potentially 7 - 10 days for hunting - I am unsure how many animals would be possible in this time and also what would be the best length of time for a first hunt. I have read a few threads on the pros and cons or package hunts vs "a la carte" but am not yet sure which option we will go for so any pointers on this would be gratefully received.
We would not wish to take our own rifles (to avoid the hassle of travelling with them) and would instead look to hire them from the PH - is this something that is easy to do? Here in the UK we have "estate rifles" but I am not sure if this concept exists in Africa?
I have also noticed that Taxidermy forms a large amount of the cost of a Safari and whilst I have been able to find some price lists online I am unsure of how much it would cost to ship mounts to the UK (I would be looking for one or two shoulder mounts and the rest skull and horns only) - does anyone have experience of shipping to the UK?
In terms of budget we would probably be looking at about $8000 as a starting point - but this could increase as time goes on if we are able to save more each month.
I am sorry for the length of this introduction but had a lot of questions to start with (and will inevitably have a lot more in the future)
Thank you in advance to those who are able to offer help and advice, I look forward to being a part of this forum!
James
I have joined this forum in order to learn as much information as possible for when my friend and I go on our first African hunting safari to celebrate our 30th birthdays in 2017/2018 - a while away yet but I have always been taught it is best to be prepared! We shoot regularly in the UK and both have good weapons handling skills and are able to hit a target repeatedly at distance so feel it is the right time to step up our hunting level.
We are not sure whether to do 1x1 hunting or to share the adventure/hunting each day and do 2x1 hunting - I would be interested to hear the forums opinions on each option (I could not find a discussion on this on the forum but may have missed it). Having gone through a few websites for PH's and Outfitters it looks like we would not save a great deal by hunting 2x1 but would have a lot fewer trophies each - am I right in understanding things this way?
I would welcome any advice you are able to offer on which animals are best to go for on a first trip (I would love to hunt Kudu but not sure if this is a good starting point?) and also on which area of Africa would be best to visit - at the moment we are thinking South Africa so would appreciate view on the different regions within SA. We would be looking to go for 10 to 14 days in total so potentially 7 - 10 days for hunting - I am unsure how many animals would be possible in this time and also what would be the best length of time for a first hunt. I have read a few threads on the pros and cons or package hunts vs "a la carte" but am not yet sure which option we will go for so any pointers on this would be gratefully received.
We would not wish to take our own rifles (to avoid the hassle of travelling with them) and would instead look to hire them from the PH - is this something that is easy to do? Here in the UK we have "estate rifles" but I am not sure if this concept exists in Africa?
I have also noticed that Taxidermy forms a large amount of the cost of a Safari and whilst I have been able to find some price lists online I am unsure of how much it would cost to ship mounts to the UK (I would be looking for one or two shoulder mounts and the rest skull and horns only) - does anyone have experience of shipping to the UK?
In terms of budget we would probably be looking at about $8000 as a starting point - but this could increase as time goes on if we are able to save more each month.
I am sorry for the length of this introduction but had a lot of questions to start with (and will inevitably have a lot more in the future)
Thank you in advance to those who are able to offer help and advice, I look forward to being a part of this forum!
James