WANTED: First Plains Game Hunt - Where/When?

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum, and would like to do a africa hunt at some point next summer. This will be my first hunt in Africa and thus I'd like to do 8-12 days of Plains Game. I am a complete newby to Africa hunting, besides having a few conversations with friends that have hunted there before...

Ideally I would like to go in August or early September? Is this a recommended time to go for plains game (if so, which month is better)? Also, where would you recommend to go for a first timer? My wife will be joining (as a non-hunter), so I would like it to have nice ammenities for her as well... Not necessarily the 5-Star luxury thing, but it needs to be a nice experience for her as well... I would like to be able to go back to Africa with her in the future again... Happy wife, happy life, you all know how it goes...

I've tried to search a little on this forum, and I'm sure this topic has been discussed many times, so if you have links to recent threads addressing my questions, I sure would appreciate it as well.

Thanks in advance,

Charlie

Welcome to the forum Charlie.

I've done a couple of hunts in South Africa in late August and early September, and they were fine.

Of the four hunts that I have done in South Africa, each with a different outfitter, I think my hunt with Johnny Vivier was the best.

August or September are good time to go. As far as where as to go there are some really nice lodges in every country, all depends on how much you want to spend or what you all looking to hunt? But if you are looking to do multiple trips, it doesn't matter to much where you start. Maybe the best thing to ask is what your wife expects to be doing with her time in Africa and try to match, what you want to hunt.

Welcome to AH Charlie !

The date is fine, and there are a few outfitters in this forum ready to accommodate you either in SA or Namibia.

Do you have a wishlist of the animals you would like to hunt ?

Welcome to AH. :welcome:

Start reading the hunting reports. You will find names of various outfitters and hear more about them.....good and bad. Go to their websites and see if they offer the animals at the price range and have the facilities you want. If those outfitters post on AH look through their posts. You will learn a lot about their personality by reading their posts. When you start narrowing the list down, feel free to ask about them here on AH and you will get feedback.

Best of luck on figuring out who you want to hunt with. That is part of the adventure.

Damn good advice Wheels.. This forum is an excellent place to start. I didn't know of AH until after my hunts, but thankfully I got lucky. I would give almost anything to be planning my next adventure to Africa.. Keep us informed!!

Wheels said:

Welcome to AH. :welcome:

Start reading the hunting reports. You will find names of various outfitters and hear more about them.....good and bad. Go to their websites and see if they offer the animals at the price range and have the facilities you want. If those outfitters post on AH look through their posts. You will learn a lot about their personality by reading their posts. When you start narrowing the list down, feel free to ask about them here on AH and you will get feedback.



Best of luck on figuring out who you want to hunt with. That is part of the adventure.

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Welcome to AH.

After you have a look at some Hunt reports. (Lots of excellent outfitters)

http://www.africahunting.com/namibi...return-ozondjahe-hunting-safaris-namibia.html


http://www.africahunting.com/botswana-hunting-reports/12443-diary-day-blind-kanana.html

http://www.africahunting.com/hunts-...unt-wanted-nyala-waterbuck-bushbuck-kudu.html


Look through the history here and you'll see some options.

GREAT DEALS on Hunts Worldwide

Welcome to AH.

You will find some great assistance here.

You are looking at a 7 to 12 day safari - for 2014. The length and trophy list will help you determine your safari length to match your budget.

Countries that i would suggest you look at or consider.
Namibia - Zimbabwe - Botswana & Zimbabwe. This is not in any order as they all offer great experiences and PH's.

Each country will provide you with a different selection of native trophy's to have on your trophy list. You need to come up with a trophy list and then match the country to your list.

The various safari hunting report from members are something for you to have a look at. Our members have many good to great PH - Outfitters that we could or would provide additional information on our experiences.

We have some very good members who will provide you with a great experience.

As far as times go that will play into PH open dates and prime time dates for some trophy's. Any time from April to November is good depending on what country you decide to select.

You will find that different PH have different daily rates and trophy rates and you will need to compare the different PH's and countries to make a guided decision on where you want to go.

There are always some package deals being offered, that you could add additional trophy's to.

Or you could go to the DSC convention in Dallas or the SCI convention in Las Vegas and book a safari there.

Charlie, congrats on the planning your first safari. Lots of great advice on this thread, but let me recommend cruisers safaris Cruiser Safaris: safari hunting South Africa. for your first trip. You can check here for others who hunted there and have had great experience. They have a great 10 day package and their prices are hard to beat. They will do a great job of taking care of your wife while you hunt as well. Good luck on your first hunt and feel free to pm me with any questions.

Some good advice. If it were me I'd look at Kanana. Bruce

Welcome to the best forum on the internet. You will find everyone is more than willing to help and guide you in the selection process. These are some great guys here. The planning will be half the fun.
If you want to go late 2014 (your time is fine) you need to really get busy and get booked. The good guys fill up early. I would strongly suggest that if you can, get to DSC (Dallas Safari Club show) in about 10 days, you do that. You will get a PHD education in 2 days being able to talk directly to the outfitters themselves. SCI in Las Vegas in a month will accomplish the same but at a higher entrance cost per day. There are also several excellent outfitters on this forum to check out.
I would recommend Namibia or South Africa as first time destination. I have helped six friends get over there in the last 4 years (by having them go to DSC first) and they had a ball and all are planing their next trip or have already gone back.
In my 5 trips there I have never had a bad experience but good planing is the key. Don't go on price alone! Look at everything in context and then make your decision. Good luck and keep us informed and ASK QUESTIONS. We're here to help.

Charlie,

You see from the posts that your time in August/September is fine. Besides looking on this forum, my recommendation is to attend one or both of the big conventions coming up. Dallas Safari Club and SCI both have their conventions in the next couple of months. Attending and having a face to face conversation with different operations and PH's is highly valuable. Then check references for folks that have hunted on those properties.

This is the path I took before my first trip over and it turned out great with an excellent experience for my first safari.

Hi Charlie,

Welcome to the forum, there is plenty of good information available here. I'm an agent in Houston and I specialize in hunting trips. Why don't you give me a call sometime and I'll answer any questions you may have as well as give you some additional information. I also work with some of the best outfitters anywhere and can help get you set up for your trip.

My number is 281-814-2398

Happy New year

Hi Charlie,
Welcome to our great community. All the best with the planning of your trip.

Take Care,
Marius Goosen

Hey Charlie

Welcome to the forum.

Happy new year.

Guys,

first off, thank you guys for this wealth of information! What a fantastic forum... I will give consideration to all of the recommendations (also in the PM's) and use this forum to get as well educated on the matter before pulling the trigger (no pun...)

How many animals does one generally shoot on a 8-10 day Plains Game hunt? How does a typical day look? Can the wife join on the hunts as well (as a non-hunter)?

Thanks for helpful feedback!

Charlie

Another note:

Since I'm going with the wife (as already) mentioned I really want to make sure that accomodations are somehwat more luxurious... If I was going with just guys, well I have no problem roughing it... But as I said if my wife doesn't have a good time, it will be hard planning a second trip...

On that note: Which of the outfitters provide a bit more of a "high-end" accomondations in that regard?
Thx

Charlie45 said:

.............

How many animals does one generally shoot on a 8-10 day Plains Game hunt? How does a typical day look? Can the wife join on the hunts as well (as a non-hunter)?

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Glad everyone is being helpful.

Depends how aggressive you want to be and how picky you will be with trophy size.
One a day is possible without too much struggle. But, some days you get nothing and other days luck may shine and you get two or three.
Less if more relaxed and not a pressure cooker for the PH and you.


Typical day....hmmm. Depends on the outfit and where and what you are hunting.

Get up have breakfast or just coffee and rusks, go hunting, come back for brunch 11:30, chill out , go out again in the afternoon 14:00, come back have drinks and dinner.

OR Get up grab a sandwich on the go in the baakie, hike/hunt your butt off; Come back to the vehicle or meet it and have a box lunch; nap; Hunt your butt off until dark; back to tent or lodge for dinner.

OR
Get up in the dark, have some sort of breakfast, head to the blind, sit on your butt and watch the critters come in all day long. Box lunch, back to lodge, tent for dinner and drinks.

OR.....???

You are already paying for your wife to be along as an observer have her join you.

Charlie45 said:

Another note:

Since I'm going with the wife (as already) mentioned I really want to make sure that accomodations are somehwat more luxurious... If I was going with just guys, well I have no problem roughing it... But as I said if my wife doesn't have a good time, it will be hard planning a second trip...

On that note: Which of the outfitters provide a bit more of a "high-end" accomondations in that regard?
Thx

Click to expand...

I know all these AH guys have a set of facilities that your wife will enjoy. There are others. Go to the websites and look at the accommodation and amenities .

Leeukop Safaris at Pongola KZN.
Kwalata
KMG
Hartzveiw
Ozondjahe

Hi Charlie,

A tent in Africa is different than a tent in the USA.

Usually on a platform, inclosed shower and wash room. Some locations will have upgrades like a rock walk in shower and water fall shower head. All camps have been a little different as they try to add there personal touches to set them selves apart.
All tents will have either, singles 2 to 3 beds - queen 1 to 2 beds - and some will have a king bed. and will a table plus have 1 or 2 and chairs to sit around and work on your computer or use as a base for charging your electronics. the out side will have a few chairs to sit and enjoy the camp and country side. you will have a nice view.

If you are looking for a 4 - 5 star lodge there are many available to select from. I know that when i hunted with Trevor Lake (Lake Safaris) in 2011 we stayed at and hunted out of a lodge that i considered to be a 4 star lodge. It was great place to stay, however, i as the only one staying in the lodge. PH and trackers were in near by cabin.

Almost all PH's will allow your wife to come along and will work with her to show her a great time. If she ask questions, they are johnny on the spot to answer her. Have her along as your camera man is a wise decison, just remember to have her dress for the field.

You have some good information here for your use.

Charlie45 said:

Another note:

Since I'm going with the wife (as already) mentioned I really want to make sure that accomodations are somehwat more luxurious... If I was going with just guys, well I have no problem roughing it... But as I said if my wife doesn't have a good time, it will be hard planning a second trip...

On that note: Which of the outfitters provide a bit more of a "high-end" accomondations in that regard?
Thx

Click to expand...

My wife & I had fantastic luck in central Namibia in mid August.