Are there places to be found yet for hunting PG in SA, that hasn`t been fenced?...just wondering ...Or does one has to seek to other african states for hunting on "open range".??

There are plenty of places in SA not high-fenced. Some low sheep fences, yes, but not everywhere has high fences.

There are some very big properties in RSA for Plainsgame, so it is not much of an issue for me personally. Just very good hunting. Fences are there just as much to keep unauthorized folks out. However, if you insist on hunting a non-private area, Conrad Vermaak Safaris has the rights to some of RSA government lands and offer Safaris there which are quite popular. There are also some very large expanses in Namibia.

If looking for the true African Wilderness Experience, would probably be better off looking to the remote areas of Tanzania, Zambia, or Mozambique. But, significantly more expensive, and more famous for Big Game and unique PG species.

Yes there are still plenty of farms that have game and no high fences..but these tend to be the common species eg impala, duiker, steenbok, warthog and kudu; and the game counts tend to be lower than in fenced areas due to human settlement. These areas are not "raw africa" for the most part, they are usually low intensity farming areas with naturally-occurring game. As such, they are probably LESS "wild" than fenced game farms. Can still be a fun hunt though. We work with a landowner in RSA who has some large acreage of this sort but we primarily hunt birds (they are more plentiful in the farming areas) with PG as an aside to break up the monotony of shooting wild Francolin and Guineas ;-) Keep in mind that the more desirable species have considerable monetary value so they tend to be fenced in. Kudu is about the best you can hope for in these areas.

There are some hunts in National Parks in SA that come closest to what you are looking for. These tend to be meat hunts and not trophy hunts though. Hluhluwe and/or Mkuze offer these hunts. I think also Pilanesberg.

The same is true in most parts of Namibia and even Botswana, outside of the true 'concessions'. The latter are MUCH more expensive hunts due to stiff lease payments and the economics of dangerous game hunting. It's not wise to pay DG rates to hunt PG. Daily rates are usually 2.5-3x higher.

The SA National Parks Act specifically forbids hunting in any national park. However, there are "controlled" hunting areas adjacent to some of these parks like Mkuze and trophy hunts are auctioned off to local outfitters and sold onto clients. Some of these trophy hunts are offered to local hunters only, and then there are non-trophy hunts which are also auctioned to locals.

Places I've hunted may have a high fence, some electrified, but the area is so vast, you may never find the animals your looking for. like Arrow slinger said earlier, its to keep the unauthorized out! poaching is still a problem there too. As far as few of the smaller animals, warthogs porcupines etc. will dig under any fence. I've seen the holes! thus, allowing other smaller game to move about. The high fences I've seen will not stop cape buffalo that were also there. Also,there is not that much public hunting land in S.A. and mostly all the hunting concessions are owned by private land owners, Call it what you will, a Ranch etc. But I tell you what, the consessions there, are not like what you'd see in Texas! They are much BIGGER in S.A., and when you are hunting about you might not even see a fence. To me its still hunting at its finest!

If it wasn't for high fences, and private land ownership, and quality management, you'd definetly would NOT have the abundance and quality of game there...everything would be wiped out!!!!!

Thanks Gents

I have some thinking to do when planning hunting next year in africa. I am in for the "fair chase", and would just hate to shoot any animal that is "roped to a pole". A 10-15 mile trek a day would be fine. The old archer Maurice Thompson said/wrote: " There is no excellence without great labor". I believe that saying applies for sportshunting too.

AKsheephunter!
Thanks for posting you pictures..looks great

If you want to be hunting purely fair chase, then book Mozambique, Zambia, or Tanzania, which has already been said. And prepare to spend a lot of money for the privelege.

Gentlemen,

We get into this sort of discussion here quite often.

As stated previously, for purely "fair chase" hunting, go hunt in countries that have concessions without fences.

But, I have hunted often enough to realize that shooting any enimal is more to do with luck rather than where that animal is. Whether in a fenced up area or not.

I have chased an animal inside a fence all day, and never saw him again!

On the other hand, I have shot quite a number of animals in both Zimbabwe and Tanzania that required no more effort than jumping out of the truck and firing a shot at them.

Personally, I would not right off hunting in South Africa just because of the fences.

But, there are animals I personally would not hunt in side a fence.

Buffalo and lion.

how long is a piece of string?

get a reputable Outfitter and you will definitely walk your 15 miles a day

quote:

Originally posted by 375 fanatic:
how long is a piece of string?

get a reputable Outfitter and you will definitely walk your 15 miles a day

375,
A piece of string is as long as you want it to be, but mostly too short to do the job.

I agree with your second comment as well.

I hunted Lemco in Zim, a 500,000 acre high fence area, and saw a fence once. I hunted in RSA and saw a lot of low fences. I hunted one area that was about 25,000 ac and had a high fence, electrified to keep the white rhinos in the area. It was no big deal.

You could hunt a fenced area of decent size ad walk your ass off, the fence being no aesthetic issue or ethical consideration, or you could hunt a 200ha postage stamp and see the fence all the time, which is unfortunate for a visitng hunter.

Similarly you could hunt 500 000ha of Selous concession and shoot everything off the Land Cruiser, in which case the unfenced 'wilderness' would be a moot point.

Size matters, but its got a lot to do without how you choose to hunt.

In RSA, I walked myself into the ground for three days after a Blue Wildebeast that would not play ball. I passed on two Impalas on the way that were 25"+ guarenteed for fear of the shot spooking the herd we were tracking. I never got a bead on the bull I was after in the three days we spent tracking the herd, although he was spotted a couple of times.

I sat in a blind for a couple of hours on the last morning to watch the birds and along came the bull and drank about 5 metres away from me. I took his photo and wished him luck.

The right fenced concession can be as difficult to hunt as anywhere. It's all down to the outfitter.
Rgds,
FB

Jens,
I've hunted many ranches in RSA, and in different Provinces. Most were once cattle or sheep ranches and the stock fences do not hinder some game, and a few go under at will. Some plains game are like our Turkey: they'll run down a fence line for miles and never figure to hop over it. You'll find a high degree of integrity in most South African PH's, and they won't allow you to shoot an animal in a less than sporting position. I've known a few PHs that would spot an injured animal hung in a fence, and we'd cease all hunting until we helped the animal or in one case, put an Ostrich out of it's misery (I think Jackals had gotten to him). No word is ever spoken to take advantage of an injured game animal. Ask questions. Tell a potential PH you don't want to hunt in a penned area (never seen one but I assume they exist?) You'll find plenty of ranches in RSA that have vast land to hunt on. It took me 9 days to kill my first Kudu. Saw them everyday, some huge bulls. But they weren't standing around waiting to be shot and try and sneak up on one in the bush. I finally managed to do just that. He was so close I could almost touch him...220 yards. I had to use my rifle
Good hunting,
David

I have several Safari Companies that hunt on ranches that are in excess of 500,000 acres and have only a 3 strand barbwire fence around them..I have also have areas that are high fenced but are in excess of 25,000 to 75,000 acres. I also have Buffalo hunts in marked off hunting areas for Kruger National Park buffalo and they are very large in size...

Not all of RSA is fenced, but a good portion is and there are many 3000 to 5000 acre hunting consortums.

Come to think of it the same thing can be said for Texas, they have big areas and then the smaller areas also.

North West Province of South Africa seems a nice area to hunt in. I am a complete novice in african hunting..however I do have some expectations, but not everything can be judged on the internet, sometimes one have to jump out and go for it and get firsthand touch.
My .333 Jeffery mauser will be prime gun.

Thanks again gents...always nice to listen to to more experienced

jens

dont tell me that you will be going to africa and not bring the 10 gauge that is almost unholy.


peter

give a buss, i lost your phone no.

Grenadier

Welcome to the forum...... the SA game farmers prevent too much inbreeding and subsequent abnormalaties by game translocations, either by buying game at game auctions or by mutual swops between owners.

Grenadier, I'm not sure what kind of statement your trying to make, using the words and statements like, "CONFINED" or Captive Gene pool, but Shakari couldn't have said it any better, he just beat me to it. I just recently returned from my hunting safari trip to S.Africa, and by all means I don't think there is much in-breeding going on. I was very observant while I was there, because I believe in fair chase, to the fullest extent, I enjoy the SPORT of big game hunting, and I thrive on the challenge even more whether I bag anything or not. I don't know what you witnessed when you were in East Africa, but I'll tell you the consessions I hunted, were so big and vast, We only saw the fence when we entered the property and very few occasions when we were on a perimeter road. These animals have free range, they feed on the natural shubbery and grasses, of course there are some man-made water holes, but these animals are in their own natural settings. On eproperty I hunted, had 9 rhinos, and I did not see a single one, and this was open country with very little trees. Yes, I have seen some land owners with captive breeding programs there too, I saw some nice Sable, Nyala, black Impala etc.( that we could't hunt) but you have to understand, that without this, there would not be any hunting left. I have met a couple of the land owners while I was there, and I could tell, they took pride in their animals and what they did. You might say they are doing it for business or for money, but call it what you will...at least they are preserving a tradition that our fore fathers took great pride in doing..."Hunting Big Game" I believe in the high fence there, it's more for the protection of the animals.

I talked to several people there in S. Africa, and there is hardly, if any public hunting there at all. If it wasn't for game management and the land owners, the hunting would not be regulated and there would be nothing left.....nuff said.

Grenadier, I'm not sure what kind of statement your trying to make, using the words and statements like, "CONFINED" or Captive Gene pool, but Shakari couldn't have said it any better, he just beat me to it. I just recently returned from my hunting safari trip to S.Africa, and by all means I don't think there is much in-breeding going on. I was very observant while I was there, because I believe in fair chase, to the fullest extent, I enjoy the SPORT of big game hunting, and I thrive on the challenge even more whether I bag anything or not. I don't know what you witnessed when you were in East Africa, but I'll tell you the consessions I hunted, were so big and vast, We only saw the fence when we entered the property and very few occasions when we were on a perimeter road. These animals have free range, they feed on the natural shubbery and grasses, of course there are some man-made water holes, but these animals are in their own natural settings. On eproperty I hunted, had 9 rhinos, and I did not see a single one, and this was open country with very little trees. Yes, I have seen some land owners with captive breeding programs there too, I saw some nice Sable, Nyala, black Impala etc.( that we could't hunt) but you have to understand, that without this, there would not be any hunting left. I have met a couple of the land owners while I was there, and I could tell, they took pride in their animals and what they did. You might say they are doing it for business or for money, but call it what you will...at least they are preserving a tradition that our fore fathers took great pride in doing..."Hunting Big Game" I believe in the high fence there, it's more for the protection of the animals.

I talked to several people there in S. Africa, and there is hardly, if any public hunting there period. If it wasn't for game management and the land owners, the hunting would not be regulated and there would be nothing left.....nuff said.

Sorry, I hit the "post" twice

On my safari to South Africa, I was concerned about hunting under fence in some small pasture. My safari operator, Charles Price told me that the reason that most, if not all, farms are fenced to keep wildlife in or out was simply a matter of ownership. In South Africa you have to have your land that you hunt on fenced, you also have to have a Certificate of Adequate Enclosure from the game department. Meeting these two requirements, you own the game on your property. Hence, you can hunt the animals pretty much as you want.

I only saw a fence once in 10 days of hunting. The Price's have deeds for almost one million acres in four properties and they also have a couple of government concessions. They just purchased another 60,000 acre property adjacent to one they already owned. The Price's have taken down most if not all interior fences on their properties. You will spend a helleva lot of time hunting without seeing any fences.

The bigger fences makes better Neighbours