Which country offers the most respected or difficult credential training for a PH?

[Macs B]

Which country offers the most respected or difficult credential training for a PH? It seems that the many nations that you deal with when you speak about African hunting make a single standard impossible.

I was surprised that the country I currently live and hunt in required almost 6 months of classes and shooting schools before being granted a hunting license, even if you were already a life time hunter. The additional training required before I was allowed to take out paying hunters was four more months of game/ trophy evaluation and management classes through the National Forestry office. This culminated with a two day shooting camp and “graduation” range test. The forestry service regularly conducts shooting tests and written exams for guides randomly throughout the year.

It sounds like African nations might consider the Jadgsheim evaluation system we use in Germany. A guide’s license book has several pages of empty comment sheets. A client, revere owner, or forester is authorized to make comments in the back of this license on the skills and ability of the hunter or guide. Each year those comments are noted in the Forestry department’s database. I know of more than one person who lost their guide license or even their hunting license for excessive poor comments on his ability to shoot or track and identify game in accordance with the game laws.

 

[TOM]

I've always heard that Zimbabwe and Tanzania are the most difficult to obtain. Higher standards, etc.

 

[DUGABOY1]

TOM is right, Zimbabwe is hands down the most dificult PH class to pass. In Tanzania money is all that is needed.

 

[Gerhard]

Zimbabwe

 

[Shallom]

Zimbabwe used to have the most elaborate PH training and was very demanding for all the right reasons... I do not know if the system is still in place today. Having said that, I do know of a PH who ran from a buffalo charge once and had very little experience with dangerous game. But indeed, the boys from Zim are highly qualified. In Tanzania, money may be used by foreigners who want to cut short-cuts and use the country as a training ground for experiences that you cannot readily find elsewhere without putting the work as an apprentice and trainee.

There are many dubious PH's in Tanzania, but the truth is that there are also some of the BEST PH's out here simply because REAL hunting and DANGEROUS GAME is a daily experience. There are no easy or lax days for a real Tanzanian PH - the senses are required to be fully alert and danger could be around any turn, thicket or korongo.

Tanzania is lacking in many ways in terms of a system of qualification... but that is when you want someone who is Tanzanian Qualified and Exprerienced. It is very easy to tell whether someone knows their trade or are just guests like the client

For many years I have been exposed to the opposite of the 'norm'. As a local, i have had to always superceed expectations and go beyond the call of duty to prove myself and gain the confidence and trust of my guests. In my view, likewise, the foreigner should have to go the extra mile to prove himself a worthy hunter in any new environment and gain the trust and confidence of the hosts and the guests.

As hunters I think we all agree on the fact that 'real experience' is what counts most and we all know that passing a driving test does not make you a good driver. I must confess though, that most good PH's from outside Tanzania are better equipped to hunt multiple destinations than Tanzanian PH's. Simple fact is exposure, market interaction, affordability and "tools" of the PH trade. My reference to tools, is the knowledge and expertise in supporting skills to any good PH - first aid/mechanics/skinning/cuisine/ entertainment/general knowledge etc. These are what make a complete PH and unfortunately there are fewer Tanzanian PH's with this complete package than other hunting destinations in Africa(IMO). But the few that have these are truly GREAT PH's!

At the end of the day, it's your interaction with nature, wildlife, communities and your guests that give you the rewards of being a good PH. The ego's and competitive nature of PH's is a good thing in the early years, but doing your job well and sustaining your excellence is what will carry your career as a PH - those monster trophies and great escapes and scars and wonderful stories of experiences in the bush - they come with time. The longer you stay in the industry and are successful is testament for being a good PH - ZIM/TZ/ZAM/MZB... don't matter where you are from. It's your conduct

 

[Macs B]

Thanks for the replies folks, it looks like there is a consensus out there that Zimbabwe and Tanzania are the top rated locations. As Shallom so eloquently stated though, it's really the experience that makes the pro hunter. What kind of money and apprenticeship investment are you looking at in these two countries?

Jerome moved this post from a thread about PHs and problems people have had in the past. I'm not implying anything here, it seems a little out of my original context as a seperate thread.