Greetings, first time heading to S. Africa

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to AH.

 

[LIFE-FORM TAXIDERMY]

Welcome to AH. Congrats on your upcoming safari! Planning is half the fun! Enjoy the forum, it's very addicting.
Let us know if we can help

 

[TAG SAFARI]

Welcome to AH! Let us know if you have any questions...

 

[TAG SAFARI]

Welcome to AH! Let us know if you have any questions...

 

[horsebackhunter]

You are obviously very experienced with guns and hunting. The more experience you have the better your hunt will go much like the hunters you guide in the mountains. If you can hunt harder, are more motivated and can shoot better than the average hunter your PH will get along great with you. Again, much like your horseback hunters. Think about what it means when a guy shows up on one of your hunts and brings his own saddle. You know you're in business. Your PH will take you to hunt places a less experienced hunter may not go and you may get some better trophies.

I had some of the same reservations when I went on my first Safari. By the end of day 1 the Ph and I and our tracker were like buddies out hunting together. We had a great time, hunted hard, walked dozens of miles and got some hard-earned trophies. And just like the saddle I'd take your own rifles too

dhoover , i think you understand what I was getting at. Your response has definitely been noted thanks. Your comment on the saddle is spot on... when a client shows up with his own saddle it's a sigh of relief, maybe we can take this dude on some of the harder trails to the less pressured honey holes.

In my opinion, as wrong as it may be, kudu and zebra are most iconic of the list. Split these two between the hunters, or add each on the list for each hunter.

We haven't really discussed who gets what yet, kudu was the only species on the list I recognized that also doesn't come in animal cracker form haha. So I keyed in on that without even knowing it was the "main event" for the package. Like I've said a hunt in africa has never crossed my mind before a week ago.
The fella who won't he auction is wanting a gemsbok. I'm sure we will sort out something we are both happy with and I've always lived by the rules of you get one attempt, if you miss your chance the next guy get a crack at it. Has always worked when hunting with buddies that have matching tags, the youngest or the guy who doesn't have one in the freezer always gets first attempt, after that it's the next guys turn. Generally for sheep we go with who actually spotted the rams first.

..., but I am a bit surprised that the son of an outfitter would ask such questions on a Forum. As a professional, his father should theoretically have contacts with outfitters in Africa, so information would have to be obtained from there first. Sure, It is certainly not the client's point of view, which perhaps explains the question on the Forum

Outfitting isn't my father's profession, more of a moonlighting situation. His outfitting license is a very unique situation for the area. He has a very short list of repeat clients, and when he takes someone new on its because past clients have either vouched for them, or he knows them personally, or he's helping out another outfitter in the area. Not really that embedded in the industry to have contacts in africa. It's not like he advertises or hits the trade shows.
I have questions because not every outfitter/hunting area/country is the same, everyone offers something unique and gets it done a different way. Outfitted Elk hunts in our area are very different from say Colorado, which in turn is different from a elk hunt up in the Yukon. From a high viewpoint they all are the same hunt. Africa is something completely new which I've never even thought of before, hence my questions on the Forum.





Thanks for all the responses everyone, this is all very good info and food for thought. I finally got some second hand info out of my brother's friend who went to Namibia on a hunt a few years ago which seems to confirm what I've read on the forum and other places online.
The only contact I've had with the SA outfitter is a response a few days ago saying congrats on the auction purchase and that they will have their rep back is actually returning from africa in a week, so we get to have a sit down and set a solid date in september. Seems to be a newer/smaller operation. I can't find a reference to the company on this forum, their Facebook page indicates they only finished construction of their hunting lodge in 2021. Their web page seems to not be online yet.

 

[Philip Glass]

With your unique Hunting experience you are really rolling the dice with an auction hunt from an unknown outfitter. To answer your main question: yes many hunts are super easy and on small acreage. Especially these auction hunts. This will disappoint you due to your background. You want to go in your first safari with a well known outfitter who owns large acreage. Compare a quality package hunt with a reputable outfitter with what this auction hunt will cost you in the end.
Yes, if you go with the auction hunt, you will need to plan to shoot more animals and tell the outfitter this now. This way you will be treated better.
Please use a hunting Travel Agent, follow my advice and videos, and take your own gun! You are a real hunter and need your own gun! DO NOT follow the advice of the dunces who recommend using a camp gun. I as well as many others here are happy to help in any way.
Don't get pressured into doing taxidermy there if it does not suit you. I Do it both ways but I know the people.

 

[Acopperdawg]

I have been twice, once to Namibia and once to Tanzania. I have found that while the hunting does tend to go like you said where you are tied to the PH. I have found both of my PHs more than willing teachers and are always happy to discuss the local fauna and animals. I found I had just as much fun talking about the animal life and culture over there as I did the hunting. Yes you will feel uncomfortable with the level of service, but I found the staff and locals to be amazing people willing to discuss their lives and other interesting items.

 

[grand veneur]

@horsebackhunter

As far as the rifle is concerned, you are always better off with your own rifle, but I would not reject a borrowed rifle in advance. If you see how some things are developing in this world, such as problems by taking rifles on planes, exporting and importing rifles from and to different countries by avoiding embargoes and so on, something like this can become a vision of the future. It certainly depends on the circumstances under which you have to shoot the game, especially if long range shooting is necessary at times. In this case it can be problematic with a rifle that you don't know very well, but otherwise it depends on what you can get. Things like that can be clarified in advance with the outfitter. I have hunted several times in Africa with borrowed rifles and have always hold good rifles of different calibers.

 

[Troubleshooter]

horsebackhunter: Rather than repeat most of the good advice that you've already been given, I'll just add a few points. Conduct of the safari will depend on the outfitter and PH, your input to them, and the animals themselves. I've only been on two safaris, so not an expert but have scouted from hilltops (having driven partway there and then walked the remainder) followed by a stalk; have driven to a likely area and then still-hunted looking for animals; and have sometimes spotted animals while driving between areas and then dismounted the bakkie to begin a stalk. The resulting stalks might be 100 yards or several miles in length. It just depends.

One of the major differences from your sheep-hunting experiences is that in Africa you can start out the day looking for one type of animal and then switch (legally) to a completely different type based on what you encounter that day. Big difference in mindset from what you are used to, where hunting is limited to a license or tag for one particular species of animal. This is what people mean by "taking what Africa offers."

Regarding taxidermy, my personal observation has been that whether it is performed there or if you have it dip & packed and shipped for mounting in your home country, it will add about 30% to the total cost of your safari. Consider not only the actual cost of the taxidermy, but also the cost of transportation, Customs clearance, and whatever other hurdles are necessary to get it into your country and eventually to your home. Both SA-based taxidermists and your local taxidermists are equally capable of doing a good (or bad) job. Your due diligence is required; see whether your outfitter will bring you to visit their local taxidermy shops as part of your decision making process.
My advice regarding backskins would be to have a plan for what you want to do with them first. Plenty of hunters use their backskins for a myriad of projects; others have stacks of them sitting in the closet because they don't know what else to do with them.

This will be a very different experience from your usual mode of hunting. Be inquisitive, roll with the punches, and enjoy it!

 

[grand veneur]

...

One of the major differences from your sheep-hunting experiences is that in Africa you can start out the day looking for one type of animal and then switch (legally) to a completely different type based on what you encounter that day. Big difference in mindset from what you are used to, where hunting is limited to a license or tag for one particular species of animal. This is what people mean by "taking what Africa offers."

...

The great difference of most African savannah and bush hunting areas compared to other hunting areas of the world, is that you can always and almost everywhere sighting game.

Side comment because the topic is mainly about PG hunting in South Africa: That above is true for PG hunting, but not for DG hunting. Anyone looking for a good old buffalo or a trophy elephant for example, hunts more like he is looking for an elk, moose or a sheep trophy. In the majority of cases, despite constant sightings of various PG, nothing is shot before the bigger one is shot.