I think you are a little high looking for a 45"Buff. 55" Kudu is possible in the right area. Good luck.
Yep..
55” kudu isn’t hard to do...@Bos en Dal safaris can accommodate that as well as others here I am sure...
45” buff on the other hand is quite a special/remarkable animal... it can be done.. But it’s going to come with a pretty heavy price... 45” exists.. but they certainly don’t exist in every herd... (or even more than a few herds)...
45” on an old dugga boy, no longer in a herd, that has years of fighting, rubbing, scraping, etc and has likely worn down his tips a bit... would be especially rare...
How “big” of an animal to expect will largely be driven by location... in many places anything over 40” would be considered exceptional... in others you would have a great trophy at 38”...
My recommendation for a first safari is to focus on finding the experience you want... and not worry about horns just yet... no PH worth hiring is going to encourage you to shoot an animal that is anything less than something you’d be proud to mount on the wall.. if anything they will ask you to pass on animals that you think are wonderful because they know “we can do better” (you’ll hear this a dozen times on your first African hunt)...
Figure out what’s important to you... 5 star dining and a “comfortable” hunt.. or a tent camp and hard hunting... huge, vast, unfenced land... or a place with several thousands of acres but more control over the days events...
There is no wrong answer... for any type of hunt and experience you want, there are plenty of outfitters that will be able to meet your requirements... even a 45” buff if that’s something you absolutely must do...
Just make sure that the 45” buff doesn’t interfere with your other expectations (he’ll cost a good bit of money that might have bought several other animals on the same hunt.. and put you in a location where other options or experiences might not be available)...