Last minute PH change...should I be concerned?

[Philip Glass]

We can run through every conceivable option or alternative but it's AFRICA and it's hunting. Doesn't matter who or where, with any other outfitter, venue or PH, things can change in a day.

Gotta be flexible for sure

 

[Philip Glass]

That's kinda where I am.
I'm calming down a bit, however I'll still be having a talk with the outfitter.

This soon will pass. Have a great safari!
Philip

 

[johnnyblues]

Same thing happened to me on my first safari to Namibia. Got a call my PH twisted his knee and would not be able to guide me. Turns out the fella he hired was super in everyway. And I was on a leopard hunt with PG. My PH claimed he knew more about leopard hunting than he did... Whatever. You should express your concerns for sure. You may have to just go with the flow. I d feel much more comfortable if the PH is one of our sponsors, I d think he wouldn't want any bad publicity here. Oh by the way two days after I got to Namibia my hurt PH flew to Germany to do the sportsman show...

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

I don't want a young PH, them old buggers are tough enough to keep up with

too true
one thing i had to teach a young ph who works for me......was to slow the hell down!!! he is much better now

 

[buck wild]

I'm wondering if we hadn't of found out, if they were just going to spring this on us when we arrived.
Anyone had this happen to them?

Yep- I was a little shocked when upon arrival I was told I had a diferent PH than the person I had been conversing with and basically "booked" with altho I understand the money goes to the outfitter for booking. In the end, things went ok, altho I do believe I was dumped for a high paying customer in camp.

The bottom line--I have never had a bad day in Africa over three trips--it beats my normal office routine and rat race pace of life in the states.

Agreed !

I booked a hunt and was told by the outfitter/ owner that his AH clients were very important to him and he would personally be my PH, when I got to camp after refreshments he informed me that he wouldn't be able to be my PH for a couple of days that he had other clients but then he could, to make a long story short 2 days turned into 3 before the other clients left but he still never hunted with me except for a couple hours one day, ....

Seems like my experience above


In the end, I'm betting you have a great trip. As noted by others, see how first couple of days go, if not up to your expectations, address with the Outfitter.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Sometimes in these situations, you can play Monte Hall and get some free animals, get a discount on the day rate or some other extra thrown in at no cost. BTDT

 

[barbells.and.arrows]

From a female's perspective, maybe your original PH and his wife made the decision to not announce the pregnancy to the whole world until closer to the due date? Furthering the inconvenience for everyone involved, but I can see the reasoning. I would be upset if I had specifically requested someone, and then "accidentally" found out about the change.

However, having hunted with a young PH on our trip to Africa, don't count them out. Ours was very driven, and had the knowledge of someone much older, and was truly a class act.

 

[NYAMAZANA SAFARIS]

From a female's perspective, maybe your original PH and his wife made the decision to not announce the pregnancy to the whole world until closer to the due date? Furthering the inconvenience for everyone involved, but I can see the reasoning. I would be upset if I had specifically requested someone, and then "accidentally" found out about the change.

However, having hunted with a young PH on our trip to Africa, don't count them out. Ours was very driven, and had the knowledge of someone much older, and was truly a class act.

Totally agree us older PH’s may have years of experience however younger PH’s who have had the correct tuition can be more driven to prove themselves and may go the extra mile to make your hunt a success .. bear in mind nothing is guaranteed in hunting especially if you hunting free range dangerous game and especially the cats .. not even with a older more experienced PH .. so my advice is go into this hunt with a positive attitude because trust me negativity will ruin the whole trip for everyone.. “we make our own luck” I truly believe in that .. have fun try not to put too much pressure on your PH and work with him .. and though he is younger than your first preference doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t do the job ..

Hope you have a great hunt .. remember stay positive.. best of luck ..

Wayne Van Den Bergh

 

[barbells.and.arrows]

@Nyamazana Safaris put it right when he said "we make our own luck I truly believe in that .. have fun try not to put too much pressure on your PH and work with him."

I have fished with guides far more extensively than I have hunted with guides, and 9 times out of 10 a younger guide has a better attitude and drive than an older guide. Sometimes it has to do with lack of "image" to uphold, sometimes it has to do with lack of "annoyance with clients," etc. Being a female, I am a pretty harsh critic on guides (hunting/fishing), and three that come to mind were all 19 the first time we went out with them (this includes our PH in Africa), and they were all exceptional young men, and have brilliant futures ahead of them.

It's not the replacement PH's fault that all this has gone on, and hopefully he will come in and do a wonderful job. Even if you have a bad day here and there, has anyone really had THAT bad of a day hunting in Africa (minus getting trampled or something)?

 

[MMAL]

It is important to note that TIA, This is Africa, things go wrong and not as planned. In three safaris, nothing was absolutely perfect. I say this because given the situation you may be inclined to blame this new PH for the unavoidable TIA that comes up. Although you did not say in what country you are hunting I will state that in hunting Plains Game it is more important that the PH knows the area well. If he is familiar with the area, he is familiar with the animals on it and he will get you opportunities. Good luck, have fun and I would not want to be going into my first safari with any negative feelings. You are gonna have a blast. I look forward to the report.

 

[jeff]

I've had 17 african hunts and have had some young PHs that were awesome, but I've also had 4 that were not up to par!!! It's a crap shoot but give them a chance with a good attitude and you'll probably have a good hunt!

 

[Art Lambart II]

I have only been to Africa twice so I am by no means an expert but I wouldn't worry about who your PH will be. What I will recommend is that you are very clear with you PH about your expectation for the hunt. Talk to him about your preferred hunting style, what distances and shot angles you are comfortable with, be honest about your fitness level and shooting skills, discus the pace of your hunt do you walk fast or slow, review the type and quality of the animals you wish to hunt, make sure he knows which animal is your top priority and if you are on a package hunt discuss what additional animals you would like to take. Good communication between you and your PH has the biggest impact on the outcome and quality of your safari.

I'll pass on one more piece of advice, always carry and emergency PH survival kit, this kit is small, light weight, it only has two items but it could save your hunt. Whenever you leave the truck make sure you have a few cigarettes and a lighter, most PH's smoke and if he runs out of smokes on a stalk you could find yourself on a speed march back to the truck.

 

[Bsto270]

I can say that two of the best guided experiences I have ever had, hunting or fishing, have been with a younger guide and a young PH. One was a 23 year old fly fishing guide in MT (who turned out to be from my home state of PA) and absolutely rocked a walk n wade trip my dad and I took. Another was the 25 year old PH I ended up with on my only trip thus far to Africa. He was knowledgeable, driven, and determined. If I would ever hunt with the same outfitter again (or one of the others I know he works with from time to time) I would absolutely request him. @Newboomer was that Lammie Ferreria (man I know I messed up that spelling) you hunted with?

 

[jeff]

Don't wait until your hunt is over to let the outfitter know of problems, after a couple of days make sure that you communicate your concerns if there are any, he can't fix a problem if he is not aware of it!

 

[Hogpatrol]

Here's a good way to start out on the right foot. Find out what your PH likes in the way of candy, snacks or other munchies and bring some with you or buy them before getting to camp. One of my PHs loves Life Savers in spearmint and wintergreen and they weren't available in RSA. Two bags of them the first day and we were gold. Little stuff like that goes a long way to building a good relationship with your PH.

 

[jeff]

Yep- I was a little shocked when upon arrival I was told I had a diferent PH than the person I had been conversing with and basically "booked" with altho I understand the money goes to the outfitter for booking. In the end, things went ok, altho I do believe I was dumped for a high paying customer in camp.

Definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth to be shoved aside for higher paying clients ! I've had a couple of times been bumped out a hide for high rollers to hunt it!

 

[kevin masters]

My two cent's may not be worth even that, but here's my thoughts. you should definitely communicate with the outfitter, he cant
guide you through the process or eliminate your concerns if he doesn't know what they are.
And as far as age is concerned my PH was twenty one and I have never been more impressed with some one's skill as a hunter, tracker
and all around great hunting partner! He told me ha was the youngest licensed PH in south Africa until his brother took the title
earlier that year! and last but not least pray about it.

 

[BeeMaa]

I would like to thank all the members for the advice, I truly appreciate it.
Not pissed anymore, matter of fact I'm getting back in the right frame of mind...calm and centered.
Thank you all for helping me calm down and put my mind at ease.

Update from the outfitter:
The owner (also a PH) is on a hunt and will not be available until next week.
They sent along most of TJ's qualifications, apprenticeship info, years with the company...etc.
It's all very good and I'm wrapping my head around hunting with this guy.
I'll email back and get the rest of what I would like.

From the sounds of it, TJ and I should be just fine (insert "I told you so" here).
I'm not going to make a big deal of it, because the gap between TJ and CH isn't nearly what I was lead to believe.
If things aren't going well, I'll let TJ know in a nice way...after all he can't fix what he doesn't know is broken.
Communication is the key, lack of it is what started this whole thing.
I think they understand how they handled this was poor and should prevent further issues of this sort.

The only thing I would really like to do is a little FaceTime with the PH, just to talk a bit.
Doesn't have to be long, just to get to know each other.
How do you hunt/what's your plan/how's the weather/anything I can bring from the US for you...stuff like that.
I was going to ask the outfitter if this is OK as long as TJ is available.
Anyone think this is over the line?

 

[Hogpatrol]

Facetime? Probably ok if he's in that space. Let him know you are excited and just curious about a few things. I'd keep it light and not make it sound like you are a job interviewer. If he's not in to the facetime thing, are you on WhatsApp? It's used quite extensively in Africa amongst PHs and outfitters. You can send and receive voice messages through it.

 

[Hogpatrol]

"This is Africa", and "this is hunting", yep things can change in an instant. Same goes for anywhere else. I'll give you an EXTREME example. Got a prairie dog hunt in Texas lined up, six months in advance, deposit made. Going to meet a buddy down there and we're going to team up and hunt with a guide for three days. Hunted with him before so I know the drill. Eight hundred rounds of two different cartridges sent UPS a couple months in advance to the guide. Rifles dialed in to 800 yards, leaving on a Sunday, airline tickets bought, motel and car rental reservations made, two rifles packed with cleaning rods, rangefinders, binos, all the junk I figure I'll need. Clothes packed for a week, carry-on ready to go. Plane leaves at eight, I'm up waiting for my wife to get ready to drive me to the airport. Bags and gun case are in the trunk of the car, garage door is open, I even got my jacket on. It's around 5:00 a.m.
Phone rings. It's my buddy in Texas. Guide got in to some sort of pissing match with his lease holder and was told to get his shooting trailers and clear out. No backup plan, the hunt is cancelled. Closed the garage door and went back to bed.