New hunter and wife

[JG26Irish_2]

Welcome 11B. I have hunted Texas for exotics too and it can be sort of like Africa but hotter, more humid and much flatter at least where I was. Africa is way better.

Your life will never be the same but it is a wonderful addiction. Africa is magical. Ask any question here. The AH forum is a great resource. As you said there are many quality outfitters and a few bad ones. Ask trusted resources for recommendations. Go to DSC and SCI in the winter to learn more and find your local SCI chapter and go to their meetings.

As for comments:

Pretty much all big game hunting in South Africa and Namibia is behind fences. Most are tall game fences but some in Namibia or simple cattle fences. But you will be on concessions that are mostly huge. I hunted Kudu on a concession in Limpopo that was over 16,000 acres. we saw the fence on the way in and not much more. Plus Kudu can leap over the 12ft high game fences anyway, so nearly all Kudu are free range. Talk to the PH/outfitter about your wife's special needs. They can accommodate anything and anyone. My grandson is autistic and I understand the issues to a degree. She will fit right in.

Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana are all wilder and the concessions larger in most cases. But, for a first trip, South Africa is hard to beat. Affordable, easy to get to and very hunter friendly.

As for rifles any good deer rifle like a heavy 7mm or 30cal is enough for plains game. All of the ones you mentioned are suitable. You can rent guns from your PH but, take your own. It is not that difficult and you will be much happier hunting with your own tools.

Finally, Limpopo is my favorite province in RSA for hunting in May/June winter months. The weather is sunny and cool in the mornings and warm/dry in the afternoons. With highs in mid 70's most days. The only time I wore a coat was night hunting and even then it was not needed. Further south in Free State can be cold. I have never hunted the Cape, so someone else will have to clue you in.

I know one really great PH & outfitter and if you want a recommendation, just let me know. He owns his own spread in Limpopo and has access to dozens of others depending on what you want to hunt. He also has a big concession in Namibia that is over 150,000 acres but is in three large tracts all together. He has some monster Sable on his Limpopo spread and had some huge Kudu also last time I was there but the Kudu come and go. Eland, Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Wildebeest, and others. I have posted two or three long hunt reports on the forum is you have time, give them a read.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well even with 20k acres, it's all on layout. Ox Ranch is 20,000 acres but they have their land fenced off into different hunting areas. I imagine game ranches out in SA aren't internally partitioned as much or at all.

It depends on the outfitter, and/or concession/land owner(s). Some outfitters, concession/landowner(s) also raise livestock so there maybe some 4 foot fenced areas inside the area(s).

No worries as antelope go over or under the fence via warthog ruts. Warthog and other such critters go under the fence, and smaller animals like mongoose ignore the fence going through it.

 

[mdwest]

Well even with 20k acres, it's all on layout. Ox Ranch is 20,000 acres but they have their land fenced off into different hunting areas. I imagine game ranches out in SA aren't internally partitioned as much or at all.

It really depends.. some will partition out small areas to protect certain species or specific herds.. others you'll not see a fence.. every outfitter is different in SA.. and there are a number of different models that the various outfitters will follow..

@Tanks point is valid.. you definitely want to ask not just how much land the outfitter hunts, but how its laid out..

its also important to know how much of that land they control vs how much is concessions that they might have access to, but dont control (others might be hunting there, there may be different herd management practices in place, etc)...

its not uncommon for an SA outfitter to be able to say "I have more than 100,000 acres we can hunt"...

but if thats 100 different 1000 acre parcels.. thats a very different experience than 2x 25,000 acre farms and a handful of 5-10K farms where different species might be present..

 

[Tanner Lee]

Welcome to AH

 

[Ontario Hunter]

95B here (Canadian but US disabled vet).

I hunt every year with my diabetic brother in Montana. I'm familiar with the limitations. Your wife will enjoy South African candy (as the trackers enjoy ours). My late son was Aspergers so also familiar with those "special needs." The inexplicable "meltdowns" can be a bit upsetting for those who are unfamiliar. Folks need to know the switch will go off just as quickly and inexplicably as it turned on. Wait for it patiently. These days the public are usually more enlightened than when I was growing up. Today most folks in North America know what's happening. Mainstreaming "handicapped" kids in public schools has made a huge difference ... for us more than them I think. But you are right to be concerned. Especially staff may not understand what's up with your wife. The safari operators will alert everyone if you alert them. As a park ranger I once had a visitor during one of my presentations who had Torrets syndrome. A fella in the audience became so annoyed I thought he was about to become violent. I didn't want to stop and explain to the audience which would only increase the young lady's embarrassment so I continued and talked over her. The older gent came up afterwards and proceeded to chew me out for putting up with "that obnoxious woman." I explained Torrets to him briefly and I thought the guy was going to break down and cry. The two young couples took the bus tour with me the following day and her husband made a point to thank me for how I handled it. I said I hoped he must do that a lot. His reply: sadly, not very often. Most folks think it must be impossible dealing with special needs people. But if you love them, you don't even notice. Good on you both for taking this adventure. It is exactly what everyone needs.

I generally eat little or nothing during the day when hunting here. Over there they always pack a lunch but I've told them not to waste food and usually only eat half a ham and cheese sandwich with bottled water (+ candy!). I find their pop is quite a bit sweeter than North American same variety. The beer is outstanding but I rarely drink any. Seems to screw up my sleep pattern in my old age.

Kudu on the Eastern Cape can be quite arduous. For her I suggest blesbuck and springbuck for starters. Maybe black wildebeest. These are truly plains animals and stalking them is more flat or semi-flat country with a bit of cover. Kudu prefer more broken terrain and heavy cover. Impala grow like gophers over there. You will find them almost everywhere. Usually flighty buggers because everything wants to eat them. I found sable and lechwe were not terribly challenging to hunt and they are pricey. Kudu and Cape buffalo are top of the list for challenging. Buffalo bull starts ~$10K so keep that in mind. You may be able to cull a cow for $2-3K. Cows can be just as challenging and dangerous to hunt as bulls.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Well even with 20k acres, it's all on layout. Ox Ranch is 20,000 acres but they have their land fenced off into different hunting areas. I imagine game ranches out in SA aren't internally partitioned as much or at all.

Many RSA properties are also running sheep (and a few have goats and cattle) and those areas are usually low fenced separately. Some antelope cannot jump a low fence (e.g. gemsbuck and lechwe) and kudu can jump ANY fence. Warthogs dig under them, giraffe walk through them, gemsbuck can push them over, and waterbuck tear a hole if they want on the other side. Buffalo can go through any fence if they want to. So the fenced areas with game to hunt are typically very large parcels with plenty of feed on the range and controlled hunting to keep the game content with staying put. Keeps the animals wild. As wild as any deer or elk I've hunted on Western US public land.

 

[Tanks]

Many RSA properties are also running sheep (and a few have goats and cattle) and those areas are usually low fenced separately.

They also run cape buffalo as well. Wonder which lucky hunter got this one.

 

[TROPHY SHIPPERS]

Welcome to AH! It is a great site, glad to have you here.

 

[riflepermits.com]

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

 

[RIGBY]

Welcome! You’re in the right place – be sure to reach out if you have any questions about the Rigby arsenal.