Does Africa ruin you for North American game?

[rookhawk]

Yes. It ruins you. A proper elk hunt is $8000-$18000. A proper Muley is $6000-$9000.

When you look at how much jerking around you must do for preference points and landowner tags and travel and all the nonsense, Africa looks mighty cheap. Expensive hunts in Zim, Tanz and Zambia even start to look cheap.

 

[Savage Hunter]

My favorite animal I've ever hunted/taken is the elk I killed this past October.
The only other animals I've shot in North America outside of Mississippi are whitetail, mule deer, pheasant, and coyote.

My experience with guides? The two I hunted mule deer, whitetail, pheasant and coyote in west Texas I would NOT recommend and will not go back with.
The elk outfit in New Mexico. I liked my guide. he worked hard to get my elk. the outfit I have some misgivings about, but overall positive about.

My 2 trips to Africa? the hunting was great. We were catered to very well.
The taxidermy from the first trip was just awful and the price of shipping was somewhat surprising.
Did dip/pak on second trip with better results, only disappointed with the hide of one animal.
But, my taxidermist here is excellent.

Africa hasn't ruined me for hunting other places. I have a list of things I want to go and hunt.
1. New Zealand for chamois and tahr.
2. Black bear hunting somewhere.
3. Scotland for stag and roe deer.
4. Alaska or BC for Mt Goat, moose, etc
5. caribou

But, my wife has demanded that my next hunting trip is to take her back to Africa. This time to do a combo rifle/archery.
So, we are studying up on that presently. She is saying it will likely be her 2nd and last hunt in africa. She knows I want to go back one day for Cape Buffalo and doesn't want to tag along on that.

The issue for the other trips I want to do (apart from black bear and Scotland) is that they are so expensive compared to Africa. Can hunt a buff for the price of a quality trip on those other animals.
So, Looking at black bear in 2018 and possibly buff after that.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Yes. It ruins you. A proper elk hunt is $8000-$18000. A proper Muley is $6000-$9000.

When you look at how much jerking around you must do for preference points and landowner tags and travel and all the nonsense, Africa looks mighty cheap. Expensive hunts in Zim, Tanz and Zambia even start to look cheap.

I agree 100%. Paying five thousand for one mule deer, literally thousands of dollars for licenses, the byzantine state and federal regulations, and the extreme crap shoot with outfitters, non resident western U.S. and anywhere in Canada hunting is nowhere on my bucket list.

 

[lwaters]

Actually I feel Texas is about the best bet in the US. I think Wyoming if your a resident is a great hunting state. Here in Kansas I own 170 acres and I have fair deer and great turkey hunting because I can take my time and am aware where the game is. At 65 I not going on the do it yourself elk hunts out west anymore and Texas is a short drive for me. There some good prices come up on broken horned gemsbok or cow eland if you can pick up and go you also get the meat alot of places will give you the hogs if you hunt something else. I have shot alot of plains game in Africa so I really have no more room for mounts but I just have to go and get a cape buffalo and a bushbuck.