I've been doing some daydreaming about another hunt, after an absolutely wonderful hunt with Katzke Safaris (near Douglas, ZAF, report here) last April, and, well, what are hobby forums for if not for public navel gazing? I'm a ways out from the next hunt, so that means I have plenty of time to daydream/plan and ask for advice from folks who actually know what they're talking about.
So anyway, here starts the navel gazing...
Last April, I hunted for plains game, with waterbuck at the top of my list. I ended up with a beautiful waterbuck, a gemsbok, a zebra, an impala, common blesbok, springbok, my wife got a springbok (her first shot taken at game), and my "warthog" was a white blesbok. (Too early/wet for the warthogs to be moving much.)
Logistics considerations:
I'm likely to be in Bloemfontein, South Africa, for several of the next few years, possibly each year from 2020-2023. I'll be there in late march/early April to shoot the target rifle and f-class national championships (SABU) and the world championships (F-class in 2021 and target rifle in 2023). Also, my folks, want to take my kids on safari at some point, so my hunt (or one of my hunts...
) could end up being a family trip. Doing the hunt as part of the match trip would save a flight and the travel days, but I could probably make it work separately. Also, I'd be bringing a fair bit of shooting gear for the matches, so that would limit what I could bring for hunting gear. (I'd be hard pressed to bring a rifle, much less two.)
Since I did a plains game hunt, I think a buffalo hunt with some plains game as well would be the ticket. Elephant would be awesome, but I doubt I could swing the cost for an exportable one. Also, my first hunt was on a game ranch (never felt penned in, and it was far from a gimme, especially the waterbuck), so I'd lean toward a more open location.
So... here's more or less the things I've got in my head:
Buffalo + plains game. (Or, if I could hunt something particularly interesting to me like several of the kobus genus... waterbuck, lechwe, etc., just plains game would be an option)
Open/big hunting grounds
Bring my non-hunting, but not-bothered-with-hunting parents, my occasionally-hunting wife, and my kids (the older of which will probably be ready to hunt too, the younger *might* be, but probably not.) They'd have a great time on a photo safari or something else, and might come along on the hunt some of the time.
And now, if you've hung on long enough, here's where I ask for your advice. What should I look for? (locations, etc.) Any advice on finding a good deal on something? (Waiting for a cancellation hunt probably isn't an option for the big family trip, since there are too many schedules to synchronize. But it might work for making two trips, one with family, one more flexible one that's solo or just my wife and I.) Is a more open/wild hunt feasible with the family consideration? What other advice do you have that I don't even know enough to ask for?
And by the way... I'm posting this looking for suggestions to guide my daydreaming and advance planning, not to try to solicit offers. That said, I certainly won't be offended by such things, but that's not the point of this, and it'd be *way* too early for me to do anything about it any time soon.
So anyway, here starts the navel gazing...
Last April, I hunted for plains game, with waterbuck at the top of my list. I ended up with a beautiful waterbuck, a gemsbok, a zebra, an impala, common blesbok, springbok, my wife got a springbok (her first shot taken at game), and my "warthog" was a white blesbok. (Too early/wet for the warthogs to be moving much.)
Logistics considerations:
I'm likely to be in Bloemfontein, South Africa, for several of the next few years, possibly each year from 2020-2023. I'll be there in late march/early April to shoot the target rifle and f-class national championships (SABU) and the world championships (F-class in 2021 and target rifle in 2023). Also, my folks, want to take my kids on safari at some point, so my hunt (or one of my hunts...
) could end up being a family trip. Doing the hunt as part of the match trip would save a flight and the travel days, but I could probably make it work separately. Also, I'd be bringing a fair bit of shooting gear for the matches, so that would limit what I could bring for hunting gear. (I'd be hard pressed to bring a rifle, much less two.)Since I did a plains game hunt, I think a buffalo hunt with some plains game as well would be the ticket. Elephant would be awesome, but I doubt I could swing the cost for an exportable one. Also, my first hunt was on a game ranch (never felt penned in, and it was far from a gimme, especially the waterbuck), so I'd lean toward a more open location.
So... here's more or less the things I've got in my head:
Buffalo + plains game. (Or, if I could hunt something particularly interesting to me like several of the kobus genus... waterbuck, lechwe, etc., just plains game would be an option)
Open/big hunting grounds
Bring my non-hunting, but not-bothered-with-hunting parents, my occasionally-hunting wife, and my kids (the older of which will probably be ready to hunt too, the younger *might* be, but probably not.) They'd have a great time on a photo safari or something else, and might come along on the hunt some of the time.
And now, if you've hung on long enough, here's where I ask for your advice. What should I look for? (locations, etc.) Any advice on finding a good deal on something? (Waiting for a cancellation hunt probably isn't an option for the big family trip, since there are too many schedules to synchronize. But it might work for making two trips, one with family, one more flexible one that's solo or just my wife and I.) Is a more open/wild hunt feasible with the family consideration? What other advice do you have that I don't even know enough to ask for?
And by the way... I'm posting this looking for suggestions to guide my daydreaming and advance planning, not to try to solicit offers. That said, I certainly won't be offended by such things, but that's not the point of this, and it'd be *way* too early for me to do anything about it any time soon.
