Experience & Value Versus Cost

[jeff]

Everyone perceives value a little different. Just got a phone call from a guy about a reference and he seemed the most interested about the food and the lodge. Myself if the hunting and trophy quality is good I'm not all that concerned about gourmet food and a 5 star lodge, simple and basic is fine. On the reverse I've had very poor hunting but nice accommodations and great food and found that didn't really make up for the poor hunt, as I can go down the street and have a great meal and sleep in my own bed.

 

[gizmo]

James you are spot on and that is some solid advice. Believe me the joy felt for saving a few bucks will be long gone after the misery of a horrible trip becomes reality. Unfortunately nice things and great trips cost money. I've never known anyone who went on a bargain barn hunt and came out the other side happy. I like to think of my life long frustrations with shotguns. My whole life I was always buying shotguns that I thought "would work" instead of what I actually wanted. Well I own 30 some odd shotguns now and I shoot exactly 2. Why, because after spending enough money to buy 10 of what I actually wanted and always ending up disappointed I broke down and bought the two I wanted. I could have saved longer from the get go and spared myself a hellava lot of grief!

 

[Royal27]

@Lrntolive there is a definite difference between value and cheap. Lots of the deals posted here represent a great value without being just a cheap hunt. Some guys sacrifice the value in lieu of the price. Comparing two hunts side by side apples to apples, the cheaper one being the same quality, i would take the cheaper one, that's a no brainer. But along the lines of the original post, staying in a terrible lodge, eating bad food, taking mediocre animals, when you could have spent a bit more money and had a great experience represents true value. Sometimes the difference may only be a couple hundred dollars over the course of the entire hunt.

And this is where I personally hate when people go into an offer thread and say a hunt is too expensive (or a great deal for that matter) and can be had for less. They often aren't taking anything but price into consideration, and also often have their facts wrong. Value is nothing but an opinion, and one for me to decide personally.

Is it their opinion? Yes. Do we have to share an opinion every time we have one? Nope. To me, it often just comes down to good manners.

I'd much rather see an opinion from someone about their experience with hunts than the cost value. I even appreciate someone asking why there is a cost difference between hunt A and hunt B. Let the outfitter explain the difference, but don't just say "that hunt is too expensive." It add nothing to the conversation and again, I just see it as bad manners and rude.

 

[Mike70560]

This a good thread with plenty of good comments. I did read all eleven pages, but please keep in mind the my memory, reading comprehension, and attention span is not what it once was.

We all hunt for our own personal reasons. My biggest enjoyment is walking and tracking in remote areas off the beaten path. It has been my good fortune to have hunted areas where few white men have ever set foot. Some of these hunts come at a price and I have not killed a long list of animals. Even going to Mozambique or Zimbabwe will require more time because of additional travel time and expense along with higher freight for trophies. We do not even want to talk about the expense of charter aircraft.

Other people want to hunt to kill 10 or 12 specific animals and want to do it in a week. This is the experience they enjoy. I will not criticize a hunter for this and just hope they do not do it in a 200 acre kennel on animals release that day.

That being said I have never hunted a fenced operation in South Africa. The closest I have come to hunting a fenced area was the Save Valley Conservancy. It is 850,000 acres with only perimeter fence. The only time I saw the fence was driving in and the day we left. It is a beautiful area, I hunted with one of the best operators in all of Africa, and had a great time. BUT, (there had to be a but) it had a different feel. Multiple roads, bridges, watering holes, ranch houses, etc just did not make it feel like old Africa. Again it is a great area, the hunting was very good and not easy, and many people think it is the best place on earth. I do feel a little sorrow for hunters who have never slept in a fly camp, have not been the only hunter on 1/2 million acre concession and not see another person the entire trip, never tracked an animal for 10 hours without crossing a road, never spent time in a true East Africa tented camp, have not been charged by elephants or walked up on a wild lion in the dark, or be one of the few white people a tribe has ever seen (that takes days of traveling by truck, canoe, and walking in the Congo)

Do we at times place too much emphasis on cost, of course we do, it is human nature. One of the last threads I started on AH was about how high conservation efforts ranked when choosing an operator for Africa (Conservation, how important is it when choosing an outfitter: https://www.africahunting.com/threa...rtant-is-it-when-choosing-an-outfitter.25518/). It did not generate many responses but it is very important to me. At times we (meaning me) beat up the south African operators a little, but without them there would be little to no wildlife in South Africa. Just another good example of if it pays it stays.

Save your money, buy the best possible hunt you can that fits your needs. Personally I could never afford a cheap hunt.

 

[Mike70560]

The types of folks I really appreciate and whose opinion I really put value in, even if I don't always agree with, would include gents like @Mike70560. I have met Mike in person on a few occasions, he is a true southern gentleman and has made numerous trips to Africa. His opinion carries with it weight from the experience he has gained. Furthermore Mike is not afraid at all to take on tough subjects but he does so in such a way that I can best describe as professional.

I wish he and others I know like him, some of whom are also members here, would spend more time here posting. Why exactly they don't I can't say with certainty. But I can say generally speaking, not necessarily for Mike, AH is seen primarily as a RSA PG hunters website. Nothing wrong with RSA PG hunting, but there's more to hunting in Africa as you say.

That is definitely using the term gentleman loosely, but thank you for the kind words. I general I do not post as much as I did at one time. While Africa Hunting does tend to focus on RSA PG (as you said there is nothing wrong with that) there is plenty of information about other hunting. There are well known and respected booking agents I see on here that book all over Africa, Christophe Morio posts here and is somewhat of a legend in Central/West Africa, there are operators in Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe etc that also post.

In the future I plan or at least will try to share some positive or informative posts. I actually have a hunting report or two to post.

 

[Mike70560]

Since we have been talking about buffalo, take a look at Mike70560's avatar. This has got to be one of the largest free range buff taken this millennium. In the golden age of East Africa it would have been a monster. Compare it to his rifle. On top of size, it is a mature old bull. If I remember correct, it was the only buffalo he saw on the entire safari in Mozambique. If it was a farm raised buff, a collector might pay hundreds of thousands if not more. As a stud it would probably go in the millions. As a free range bull, it cost normal rates. The experience, PRICELESS..........................................



View attachment 172062

Wheels,

Your story is accurate. I was on Coutada Nine with Neil Duckworth (Mokore safaris). Since then they have move buffalo to the area from another Coutada, have performed vigorous anti-poaching, and will be hunting buffalo in a few years. With the addition of buffalo Coutada nine will be a true gem of Africa, right now it is one of the finest unfenced plainsgame areas in Africa at around 1/2 million acres.

 

[BRICKBURN]

The current creative offers I have seen here for Leopards are demonstrating some of the Outfitters responding to the concerns surrounding Value and Cost.

Some of the commentary in some offers can use a review of the discussion in this thread.