Hunting SA or "Wild" Africa - Which is Better

[raytraps]

Just got home from Nashville. My first SCI show. Much bigger than I thought. Great time and now I'm more pumped(if that is even possible). Going back to the Caprivi for 25 days. Went with Omujeve and had such a great hunt I am going back with them again.
Still looking for a Kimber 8400 Caprivi in 375 H&H. Went to the kimber booth and was told that they may start making them again this fall. Too late for me. Their rep is going to check with some of their dealers to see if he can locate one.

 

[Scott CWO]

Just got home from Nashville. My first SCI show. Much bigger than I thought. Great time and now I'm more pumped(if that is even possible). Going back to the Caprivi for 25 days. Went with Omujeve and had such a great hunt I am going back with them again.
Still looking for a Kimber 8400 Caprivi in 375 H&H. Went to the kimber booth and was told that they may start making them again this fall. Too late for me. Their rep is going to check with some of their dealers to see if he can locate one.

When are you going?

 

[raytraps]

I am leaving on the 6th of July and returning home on the 3rd of August

 

[Fatback]

Raytraps,

Sounds like a great trip. Good luck in finding the rifle you want. What are you going to be hunting?

 

[raytraps]

buffalo, hippo,eland and other plains game. tried for croc but they were sold out.

 

[Fatback]

Can’t wait to read your hunt report when you get back.

 

[raytraps]

Can’t wait to read your hunt report when you get back.

One short story. On my trip last July when I shot my buff he was in a herd and we were in the high reeds. The shot was about 25 yds. After the shot I couldn't see a thing from the dust cloud. When it settled i asked me PH where the buff went. He said it ran in the reeds we were in. The rest of the herd went to the river and into Botswana. My PH called for the truck and we climbed up on the back. We started to go ni the reeds and we heard the buff thrashing around. We quicly backed out and here he came with two male lions hanging on him. I shot and knocked him down and the lions took off back into the reeds. They must have been within 50 yds of us hunting the same heard as we were. Pretty exciting to say the least.

 

[Gerry Addison]

Just got home from Nashville. My first SCI show. Much bigger than I thought. Great time and now I'm more pumped(if that is even possible). Going back to the Caprivi for 25 days. Went with Omujeve and had such a great hunt I am going back with them again.
Still looking for a Kimber 8400 Caprivi in 375 H&H. Went to the kimber booth and was told that they may start making them again this fall. Too late for me. Their rep is going to check with some of their dealers to see if he can locate one.

There was a Kimber Caprivi listed for sale on GunsInternational.com today!

 

[raytraps]

There was a Kimber Caprivi listed for sale on GunsInternational.com today!

I emailed at 6am and am waiting for a reply

 

[raytraps]

Thank you Gerry, I was able to purchase the Kimber. Now I have to decide on which one to take to Namibia. My CZ550 Magnum,my Christensen or my Kimber. The Christensen is probably out as it is a push feed. I will shoot the cz and the Kimber to see which one feels the best to me. The Kimber has the mental advantage because it is a Caprivi and that is where I am hunting.

 

[Hookboy88]

I just read several pages on this thread trying to get caught back up on it after not seeing it since right after it got started.

Wow. Interesting at times to say the least.

 

[Dhutson]

It is really all about what you are looking for, collecting animals or the experience of the Robert Ruark's of the world. Wild will create memories of the total experience. And for an old man that is what is is all about.

 

[raytraps]

It is really all about what you are looking for, collecting animals or the experience of the Robert Ruark's of the world. Wild will create memories of the total experience. And for an old man that is what is is all about.

100%

 

[Gerry Addison]

I wanted to follow up on this thread as I just returned from my trip to South Africa. I have to say I had more fun on this trip than any of my previous trips. We hunted on 50,000 acres and the place was beautiful! We hunted hard every day and found great animals which were wild. All animals were from self sustaining herds and the buffalo were difficult to find and stalk. I hunted with Alex Goss of Blackthorn Safaris and I can't recommend him highly enough. I wrote a report on our hunt with pictures of the animals we took that you can read in the hunting report section. As I said in the very beginning of this thread both the "wild" and the fenced hunts have good and bad things, although on this trip I didn't find any of the bad. I would go back and hunt this area again in a heart beat. They has a picture of a bull that was at least 47 inches wide and at least 12 years old. As pretty of a bull as I've ever seen anywhereThey said he had been seen only twice, the last time in February of this year. Believe me he is a monster and I never saw him but I did end up finding the bull I was looking for. Whatever hunt you choose, do your research, check many references, read reports, and know what you are getting into before you arrive. There are always some surprises on any of these hunts, but how you deal with them can determine the outcome of your trip.

 

[Rare Breed]

This is an interesting perspective and quite different than what you normally read. I hear you about wanting to be away from people. I’m working on a trip to hunt the Niassa in northern Mozambique for the express purpose of holding as remote and wild a place in Africa that I can find and afford.

You’ll not hear me bashing South Africa, but there will be those along who never pass up the opportunity to do so.

No disrespect or critisizm intended…I always find it interesting that most not all people from the US who now hunt Africa grew up hunting white tail dear. I have hunted them all over the US including 9 years in Texas where it is an industry. I have found it rare indeed to find people who have hunted a 50,000 acre ranch in the US. The majority have hunted 1,000 or less acres, 4,000 would be the average in Texas at least the 9 years I lived there for white tail. No one ever seems to complain about small acreage or fences for white tails yet they will complain about it when it comes to Africa for other animals.

For me I have found it is the quality and experience of the hunt period not the size of the acreage fenced or not fenced. I am not talking about incredibly small put and take game farms to be clear

Just my POV

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

No disrespect or critisizm intended…I always find it interesting that most not all people from the US who now hunt Africa grew up hunting white tail dear. I have hunted them all over the US including 9 years in Texas where it is an industry. I have found it rare indeed to find people who have hunted a 50,000 acre ranch in the US. The majority have hunted 1,000 or less acres, 4,000 would be the average in Texas at least the 9 years I lived there for white tail. No one ever seems to complain about small acreage or fences for white tails yet they will complain about it when it comes to Africa for other animals.

For me I have found it is the quality and experience of the hunt period not the size of the acreage fenced or not fenced. I am not talking about incredibly small put and take game farms to be clear

Just my POV

You’ll get no disagreement from me nor see me criticize a high fenced area anywhere that provides a good hunt.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The fences on most places in the US West are not "high" and the only game that is in any way affected are pronghorn. So the size of the fenced property really is immaterial.

There are other advantages to hunting South Africa. I'm always there hunting late August and so far have only seen one mosquito ... a dead one in the sink when I first arrived at lodge on my first trip. It's generally cold enough that snakes are either underground or so sluggish they can't move. I have hunted some huge properties (my favorite is 167K acres with less than half huntable - rest inaccessible) and very rough terrain. My lodge often farmed me out to remote properties where I stayed with the owner and his family. Very, very much enjoyed that. Much more enjoyable being a part of a family than sitting around a lodge campfire with a bunch of rich noisy dudes getting drunk. And lordy, no shortage of game. Like mentioned above, I found the animals plenty wild and no one hunting the property but me. A couple of stalks were hardly challenging but most were very much a challenge. Beautiful country, lots of animals of all kinds that are not easy to hunt, wonderful people, ... and very affordable. What's not to like?

 

[375Fox]

No disrespect or critisizm intended…I always find it interesting that most not all people from the US who now hunt Africa grew up hunting white tail dear. I have hunted them all over the US including 9 years in Texas where it is an industry. I have found it rare indeed to find people who have hunted a 50,000 acre ranch in the US. The majority have hunted 1,000 or less acres, 4,000 would be the average in Texas at least the 9 years I lived there for white tail. No one ever seems to complain about small acreage or fences for white tails yet they will complain about it when it comes to Africa for other animals.

For me I have found it is the quality and experience of the hunt period not the size of the acreage fenced or not fenced. I am not talking about incredibly small put and take game farms to be clear

Just my POV

Using Deer is a bad example. Hunting deer free range on 20 acres or 4000 acres is still free range. No one complains about high fence deer because most choose not to do it and those that do know what it is. Outside Texas I’d say 9/10 hunters have no interest in paying to hunt high fence deer if not significantly more. Many game ranches market their hunts as something much more wild than they are and many people don’t immediately recognize what it is until much later. 50,000 acres is a ridiculous number to me, but it makes people confident what’s inside the fence is fully self sustainable eliminating questions in their mind.

 

[375Fox]

There are other advantages to hunting South Africa. I'm always there hunting late August and so far have only seen one mosquito ... a dead one in the sink when I first arrived at lodge on my first trip. It's generally cold enough that snakes are either underground or so sluggish they can't move. I have hunted some huge properties (my favorite is 167K acres with less than half huntable - rest inaccessible) and very rough terrain. My lodge often farmed me out to remote properties where I stayed with the owner and his family. Very, very much enjoyed that. Much more enjoyable being a part of a family than sitting around a lodge campfire with a bunch of rich noisy dudes getting drunk. And lordy, no shortage of game. Like mentioned above, I found the animals plenty wild and no one hunting the property but me. A couple of stalks were hardly challenging but most were very much a challenge. Beautiful country, lots of animals of all kinds that are not easy to hunt, wonderful people, ... and very affordable. What's not to like?

There are a lot of reasons to like hunting South Africa, but it’s a big place. The real advantage I see is it has more distinct landscapes than any other country in Africa to hunt also more outfitters to choose from. You will only find the family atmosphere on private land in Namibia or South Africa. However, several things you said are just incorrect if you don’t specify where you are hunting. From the couple photos you posted I’d assume you hunted somewhere in Karoo or free state. If you hunt lower elevation areas such as near Kruger it will be hot and you will see mosquitoes in August and possibly snakes. The ticks in coastal areas and reclaimed cattle areas that in South Africa that never get burnt and rarely freeze are the worst you will see anywhere in Africa. Camps on concession areas outside South Africa are generally booked as exclusive use, maybe 2 parties, and at very most in some camps maybe 4. There are outfitters in South Africa that take 10-20 clients on a busy week, so that’s the only place you will find “bunch of rich noisy dudes” getting drunk. The question is which is better wild Africa or South Africa. It seems most insisting South Africa is best haven’t hunted outside South Africa. There is a significantly different feel hunting in areas that still have wild lions and elephants that ranch hunting doesn’t compare to. Ranch hunting is fun, but you can’t compare until you’ve done both.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I agree: a fair comparison can only be made when both sides are experienced.

The trouble with making a fair comparison, for some of us, is funding the two sides to make that comparison. Ranch hunting is more affordable, plain and simple. I have had this discussion in various forms over the past week plus with my PH. We both would love to experience a tent camp that offers a truly wild hunt, but that comes at a higher cost. As I consider my own hunting future, I have enjoyed my two trips in South Africa enough to know this is my reality for now. And I am most assuredly happy and content with it.

Who knows? I am 56. Death is not knocking on my door just yet. Maybe my financial picture changes. Maybe my perspective changes, and with it my planning. I am just glad this part of Africa exists to provide folks like me the opportunity to experience it as something more than photos and stories on a website, even if it isn't the Africa of Hemingway and Roosevelt.