Looking for outfitters

JPbowhunter

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Hi,

Firstly, please note that this is not designed to be a debate thread. I'm all for people doing what floats their boat, this is simply what floats mine.

I have spent probably 12 months really toing and froing about what to do in 2021, somewhere between burning my Wyoming preference points on a diy hunt, moose in Canada and an African hunt.

I always lean back towards Africa in particular SA and Namibia so would like to start talking with some outfitters.

What I would like to do first and foremost is hunt eland via tracking. I've included a list below of things I'm looking for or not looking for, if you think it may be a match with what you can offer please let me know.

Musts:
- Eland tracking hunt on foot with my 9.3x62 using the open sights. I'm not opposed to using a vehicle to get to the hunting area but just driving around looking for game isn't really my thing.

- Eland itself - I have no interest in score whatsoever. My perfect eland is a mature old bull hopefully turning blue with a big ol' dewlap and plenty of bulk. That's really my preference for all trophies I harvest, it's about being mature not above a certain number.

- low or no fence, the size of property doesn't matter I don't want to hunt within a high perimeter fence.

- ability to be an active participant, I fully respect the knowledge and experience of the PH but I don't want to simply be a trigger man. Along with that I want to be able to help out with things e.g. chores, cooking, packing out and breaking down game etc.

- please no quotes in USD. Aud, SA Rand or Namibian dollar is my preference.

Preferred:
- smaller outfit, I enjoy the serenity of smaller camps. A heap of other hunters in camp is not for me.

- opportunity to hunt one or two other game. My passion is hunting, not shooting so I don't require a 5 animal package or anything like that. I always thought 2 or 3 well earned animals was worth ten on a drive around and shoot trip. I like the addition of a kudu, or kudu and something e.g. impala, steenbok would be a great trip. Not absolutely set on a kudu but I've heard countless times they're a challenging hunt.

- nothing fancy with accommodation, I feel uncomfortable being doted upon. Hunting for me usually means camping under stars in a sleeping bag for nights on end in the same pair of clothes eating game or whatever I can carry in. A backpack hunt would be my absolute number one pick but these seem to be pretty rare. So modest accommodation is absolutely fine by me.

Other:
- I love game and certainly am not opposed to eating it every day!

- by no means a requirement but if there was time remaining I do enjoy a little bird shooting

- I have a friend showing tentative interest in coming along. I think his big thing is a 50" kudu.

- any other information is greatly appreciated.

I'm sure I've missed something but hopefully it's enough to start.

Thank you
 
Good day JPbowhunter

We can also assist you, I will send you a PM with more detail.

Regards
 
I know you said no Quotes in USA, so you would probably not be interested then, but I thought id post this in any case. Good luck finding your dream hunt.

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So I gotta ask a stupid question. Why no quotes in US Dollars and only the mentioned currencies. I'm sure you have a reason. I just can't figure it out and its bugging me.
Bruce
 
If the dollar gets real strong he may be able to buy more of the other currency.
 
So I gotta ask a stupid question. Why no quotes in US Dollars and only the mentioned currencies. I'm sure you have a reason. I just can't figure it out and its bugging me.
Bruce

These days more and more South African and Namibian outfitters are able to arrange a quote or price list in AUD. This is an excellent competitive move, as it gives us a firm, fixed price in case our dollar plummets against the USD. For many of us, booking a safari is a little daunting, and even more so when you are gambling on how much it will cost. For my first two safaris I paid in USD. Back then our dollar was stronger, and it was almost unheard of to access AUD prices. For my recent safari my PH was happy to provide a package / prices in AUD.
 
Thank you for the replies,

I didn't expect to get as many private messages as I have. I'm just about to head off on a fishing trip for a few days so I'll reply once I'm back.

Thank you.
 
I know you said no Quotes in USA, so you would probably not be interested then, but I thought id post this in any case. Good luck finding your dream hunt.

View attachment 315249

Thank you,

I apologise I should have mentioned that I'm after cape eland.

For what it's worth, I've always said if I could hunt one animal in the world it would be a LDE but they a bit out of my price range.
 
Thanks for the reply. Makes sense. Good luck on finding a great hunt.
Bruce
 
Hi JPBowhunter,

We have good numbers of Cape Eland on our properties, I’ll send you a message.

Regards,
Craig
 
So I gotta ask a stupid question. Why no quotes in US Dollars and only the mentioned currencies. I'm sure you have a reason. I just can't figure it out and its bugging me.
Bruce

Bruce, I too thought this was a bit odd, then I realized the OP, @JPbowhunter , isn't in the US. The AUS dollar vs USD is the issue. Currency fluctuation risks are a real pain.

upload_2019-11-22_9-9-5.png
 
I booked my hunt in 2021 based on the rand. Due to current exchange this saved each of us several hundred dollars.
 
We can help you out as well. PM sent
 
I'm not sure what prompts you to limit your search to Namibia and RSA? What experience do you have in Africa? There are other equally accessible countries to choose from including such as Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia... among others. Plus the stipulation about free range?... which generally means no high fences. I'll guarantee 200,000 to 900,000 acres within a high fence is a very large area and in many places plenty large enough for completely self sustaining populations of lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, leopards, eland, giraffe and so on. If you go to a ranch/farm area that is without high fences and is called "free range" you will not be able to hunt certain areas. Sure the animals are free range and can cross property boundaries and regular cattle fences but you may not be able to because of land ownership and trespass agreements. So in effect the hunter is not free range... just something to keep in mind.

Plus, while price shopping is certainly something to keep in mind, it may not be best measure for choosing an outfitter. There are other equally if not more important considerations. And I'm not sure about the insistence on using local currency for quotes?... simple online realtime currency converters are always available and could be used when communicating with the outfitter and they will have access to the same converter anyway. How the bank funds or money transfer is done is something else and up to the banks used and the outfitter's bank, no matter local currency or home country currency. Backpack hunt? Sounds good on paper, but mercy! depending on area and season, the mosquitos, tsetse flies, ants, ticks and other various unfriendly types may cause a change of plan in a hurry. But as you say, "whatever floats your boat". But it should be a relaxed, enjoyable hunting trip not an audition for a "Extreme Survivor Show" I would think. After all you could easily do that without hunting or shooting anything. In any case, good luck!
 
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You sound alot like what i was looking for in an outfitter i settled on Eintracht jagd safaris in Namibia with pieter delport there have been a few good reports posted on the forum here lately outta there camp. Give them a look you i think ud be happy!
 
G’day JP,

Here’s a video from a YouTube channel I’ve been watching a bit of, just an example something along the lines of what you’re searching for:



Yeah I saw the video, I asked them in the youtube comments and then on this forum who they hunted with but they never got back to me.
 
Dear @JPbowhunter & @BenKK

Out if interest...
- What would you say should the hunt costs be of a safari like in the video with Stefan Fouche?
- Should it cost more, or less than a regular hunt?
- I mean, the PH & Trackers still has to putt in their time and effort, and the logistics will be harder...

I'm very curious... Because hunts like that intrigue me as well. It would be great to hear your comments.

My Best,
Jacques
 

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