Sable and Roan

[Cme1983]

To support the inquiry, and the outfitter sponsor:
In my country of Croatia, an area can get registered as hunting area if it is 1000 hectars or more (2472 Acres or more)
4000 acres is fine size. There is nothing wrong in the clients inquiry, and nothing wrong with outfitters offer.

Correct, but in Africa how many game animals are going to be in that 4,000 acres? It’s no different than a high fenced hunt here in Texas. I believe that 4k acres is too small to get a genuine African hunting experience. It’s the guys first time over, he needs to hear the good and bad to make an educated decision. I actually believe high fenced operations have their place for providing and enhancing genetics. If you are looking to check a box for the record book this is as cheap as it gets for those two species.

 

[mark-hunter]

Correct, but in Africa how many game animals are going to be in that 4,000 acres?

With numerous species I have no idea.
My measuring stick (as wrong as it may be) is our local European game management practices.
For an area of about 5.000 hectares (12.355 Acres) free roaming and no fences at all, annual quota is about 130 heads of game (red deer, roe deer, and boar) with mediocre trophies, females and males mixed 1-1.
That is three species. And we get one or two tags per year for bear.
But European game is not the same as African game.

Record book trophies, with guarantee (sable, or roan, or other)- can be achieved only in the fence.
Other way is life time dedication, $$$$$$ spent, numerous trips to wild areas, and no guarantee at all that this will be collected.
African experience is one thing, and this is another thing. But what is the definition of African experience?

Some people have said: the last 200 meters of stalking is the same in fence or out of the fence.
It would be hard to make the difference one from another from that perspective.

Hundred years ago millions of plains game moved across the Savanah, in great migrations.
This is maybe African experience, then.
The closest thing today is high density of animals in a fence. Does this count as African experience?

Or go to wilderness areas, where game density today is much less, daily rates much higher, and trophy of record book size not guaranteed.

Safari of yesteryear was up to three months long, full bag accounted, but today usually not much longer from 28 days, and average safari is one week up to two weeks.

Things change.

 

[Cme1983]

Yes sir, I agree. Everyone has the ability to find a hunt that fits their needs.

 

[ActionBob]

Ain't no small fence areas in Africa. Stateside exotic ranches, yeah, if you think 6000 acres are small areas, but I get your point. It's no fun shooting real animals like a carnival shooting gallery.

I hunted a fenced operation in the Karoo that was 75,000 acres. We drove in one gate and 121 kilometers later, after the rather green PH got lost, we drove out another gate.

However when we drove in the first gate. I spotted a massive sable. The pressure was on to shoot it. I noticed the fence was different. Upon more questions and me demanding to look around a bit... thay sable was probably in 10 acres that was fenced off in a corner. Maybe less. The obvious strategy was brag about the huge property and confidently drive through this little paddock before going through a second gate into the real hunting area.

I was on another 20,000 acre property hunting Springbok. We went to the grand colonial house for lunch and there was a huge sable bull in a pen behind the barn.

@greeneduckhead1 My wife shot a 42.5" sable in the wilds of Tanzania on a concession of some 650,000 acres and a few days later in an area as far from camp as we ever got in 3 weeks, I spotted another estimated at 44" of course our quota was used up. I got a very nice Roan on that hunt but not 30". If you want both on a truly wild hunt. Tanzania is your place. But plan a full bag 21 day hunt. Break out $100k plus as you may as well hunt a leopard and 3 or 4 buffalo plus numerous other species as ling as you are there I'm not sure if Sable and Roan are available on the 10 day license. Roan are not plentiful there so 10 days might be cutting it short.

@spike.t has outstanding sable on his 8000 acres fenced on 3 sides with a major river on the unfenced side. Probably the best opportunity at something close to a 48" sable while being a hunt and not shooting it out of a pen.
Edit; sorry Mike just saw you had already responded.

Last year we hunted a large property in Limpopo with sable and Roan but nothing that big. A severe drought was going on and those critters were being fed so if you parked the truck the Roan would walk up looking for hay. Large property but the biggest challenge a PH will have is getting you to shoot before the critter walks up to stick his head in the truck. Now Duiker and Steenbok were still challenging

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

The OP did not want a small fenced area. That’s exactly what this hunt is. It’s the opposite of a hunt…it’s a shoot.

@Cme1983 you are certainly entitled to your opinion. You clearly think 4000 acres is a small fenced area. The OP may or may not agree with you. That's your opinion, but it's not necessarily the consensus or the truth. Would I hunt on a 4000 acre property in RSA? Depends. I've hunted 880,000 acre property in Zim (BVC) and a 2000 acre property in RSA and everything in between in several other countries. A 2000 acre property (about 1 mile by 3 miles) in Free State was definitely too small.