From both the books and my limited experience, the PH or the trackers will spot the animals, and the PH will lead the stalk. All the hunter typically does is follow along and take the shot. Assuming you don't suffer from buck fever, the skill level is on par with a trip to your local shooting range.

It would be nice to hunt in Africa with no more than a spotter to follow me and my partner. The spotter would be there to nod if the game we found were legal for the taking, and he'd report if we'd shot and lost an animal. Other than lodging, a map, and some advice over meals, the rest would be up to me -- to screw up, according to my abilities.

I'd agree to a higher daily rate to compensate for the reduced number of animals taken, and I'd pay for butchering, lodging, and all the other usual amenities. It's not that I'm a tight wad; I just want to be more responsible for my "hunt."

I don't need a truly "roughing it" hunt, such as are written about in the jungles of Cameroon, and dangerous game I don't desire. A farm in Namibia or South Africa would be fine, similar to my deer hunts on farms near home.

You sure make it sound easy...my experience has taught me that it doesn´t quite work like that. Yes the PH leads the stalk but we didn´t just stroll along in a parklike surrounding!

I don´t know where you´ve hunted but if you´ve felt it to be akin to "going to a shooting range" I´d definetly recommend hunting with another outfit.

It is what you make it. Simple as that. If you are content with sniping roadside animals from the shooting bench mounted on the bed of the truck and call it hunting there are a lot of outfits that will let you do just that.

However if your hunting dreams include stalking for the game on foot and you are physically able to do it, that is what you should insist on when booking your hunt.

What you described as "truly hunting" is possible in a limited number of areas in Africa. Terry Cascek comes to mind. That is exactly what floats his boat. He wrote a book about his experiences, I believe it it called SOLO SAFARI, and also several articles. You might be able to corrospond with him and find out how to set up your own solo hunts.

Please keep us informed of your efforts.

asdf,
Good question.
For a dangerous game hunt forget it but for antelopes in a farm of southern Africa it will be great.

I agree with Muletrain, it's what you make it.
That horrible feeling of just being carried by the hand and hearing shoot this or that will depends of your ph, I think that avoiding this feeling for the client, is one of the principal challenges a ph has.

I have been able to do some antelope hunting by my own, obviously is great, but it's not allowed, imagine if you suffer some kind of accident and the ph is not there...
He will be in big trouble.

Also it will depend if the ph is the owner or not, also he will like to know if you wound an animal or not, he must trust you with something that makes his living.

As you can see it's not so easy...but I have done and it is great

L

asdf

I know people that have done similar to what you detail.

If you are willing to put up the money, do the hard work, and take the risks, it can be done.

Basically you buy at government or concession area auctions for yourself. If you don't know the area or have someone to tell you, you risk what you are buying of course.

If one is not a hunter and a wannabe you need trackers... I am a hunter and I sit on the truck and spot game before trackers...Ph would get upset that I was seeing them before them sometimes...I explained to him I spend long hours in the outdoors spotting game...If I am on one side of the truck I should see some of the animals before them....
Are you going to hunt a ranch?? How about transportation...If you hunt where are you going to store trophies after harvesting...What will you do with meat??? Can you cape out the animals and salt hides??

Mike


Mike

My thoughts run with Retreever's! I find as much game as the trackers, and PH do! Sometimes even pick better trophies than the PH does from a group of animals.

The lack of time, on top off the logistics of running a bush camp are the decideing factors in Safari hunting,not to mention the law. There is a factor of trust the PH might have in your ability to take care of yourself in the bush, and your honesty in reporting what you shoot, and wound! He is responsible for your safety, and what happens on his concession. Simply because a PH points out a trophy, you are not required to take it. You can turn it down, and request to look for a better one, it is your choice!

I could, like most here, hunt on my own in any part of Africa, if I had a camp, and vehicle,cook, and skinner, and a few guys to lift a 1500 lb Buffalo into the bakki, and would absolutely love to do just that. However, there is a big difference between takeing a 75 lb whitetail from a tree stand, or on a corn field fence line, and hunting, on your own, in a 100 sq mile concession. Anyone who thinks the most upscale hunt in Africa is a trip to the fireing range is someone who listens to the press, and animal rights groups too much. The insinuating that Safari hunting is simply "sniping" only feeds the Animal rights web-sites with ammo to shoot at all hunters, and in fact, is an outright misrepresentation of the facts!

I just returned from what I deemed to be the hardest hunt of my life. We averaged at least 8 miles/day of walking, stalking, crawling before I was able to draw a bead on my buffalo. Like Retreever and others, I do my level best to spot my own game. Guess I must have been in another planet because it sure as hell wasn't easy. I didn't sit my ass on a tree stand overlooking food plots or trails all day. Your statement, at least to how I and most of us here hunt could not be further from the truth. jorge

The P.H. that I hunted with last year stopped carrying shooting sticks on the second day.By the forth day he did not even bring his gun.This was on a ten day hunt.When I asked him in front of the outfitter/owner about bringing his gun he simply stated that I did not need backing up.

The P.H. was basically suppling the vehicle,general knowlage and help tracking.He let me hunt pretty much the way I would hunt at home.Only making suggestions and pointing out tracks of the other game I wanted. This was R.S.A. and plains game.I really felt that I was hunting not being shown animal to harvest.

Could it be that your limited experience and abilities led the P.H. to believe you needed more help?I've known the outfitter for six years.This was the first time with this P.H..And bottom line they are responsible for you while your on their place.

First off, I do not intend to belittle the efforts of those who have taken game in Africa, nor do I complain about the services the PH's and outfitters offer. An African hunt is necessarily expensive, and many can afford but one try at taking the game they wish. Certainly, they will need assistance, and I do not argue with that.

However, I do not equate effort with skill. These forums record (one posted this week), of a person who had never hunted having taken big game on their first trip to Africa. Surely, this demonstrates the considerable skill of the PH, not of the client.

I make no claims for my skills; indeed, they are poor. I do know my attempts on a farm in the central US (no deer taken) were far more gratifying than my African trip. The old cattle ranch in Namibia had plenty of native game, and the skills of the trackers and the PH made it truly a "no brainer."

I do not need to go unescorted into the bush, and I can certainly see why no outfit would permit it. If nothing else, a good tracker to ensure my mistake doesn't leave an animal to suffer is necessary. My original post suggested I want an escort, but I want to make the decisions that determine the success and failures of the hunts. If I come back empty handed, that's my fault, but I know I'll have an awful lot of fun trying.

I'm glad to hear some of you have found this. baboon, could you kindly send (PM or post) the name of that place in RSA where you hunted; it sounds promising. Muletrain and others: I have the book Solo Safari, and I admire greatly his determination. I must admit this is currently beyond my abilities, and I will not attempt that adventure now. What I seek is between the completely "on your own" hunt and the "no brainer" hunt.

asdf,

When you book yor safari you can do want you want...You do not have to pull the trigger if you do not desire too...It is your choice to
pick or choose what you want...Game ranches came because they are more lucrative then cattle...Ones skills can be tested and this is what I did on my first safari..I was the only hunter on 50K acres of free roaming animals.. Lots of watering troughs for cattle and a stream which flowed thru property...There was 3 strands of barbed wire but kudu, nyala, bushbucks stayed within the area because of the geat habitat...Three and a half days of not even trying the safety tests ones mettle...But perseverence and hard hunting pays off...I saw plenty of animals but how do you walk after moving animals miles away...heading into the bush...
Frustrating but this was what I asked for and got and I still loved it especially every time I look at my kudu which I shot the last day of the hunt..
I believe this is what you are looking for...

Mike

asdf
Becarefull what you wish for. I just returned from a 9 day hunt in Namibia. This was a 20000 acre working cattle and game farm ( we call them ranches ). The ranch house was located 5 miles off the dirt road and we had to cross 6 or 7 gates to get to the ranch house. Some posters here might suggest I could have the same experience in Texas. They would be dead wrong.

His herds except for Impalia were self sustaining. The Cheetah have taken a toll on his rams. The animals were wild, we walked 3 hours trying to keep up with a herd of eland, (our 2 nd full day of trying to find them )before getting one. It was 4 days before we got our first zebra, I had had 5 or 6 busted stalks on red heartebeest and gemsbuck. We hunted every day from about 9 to sunset for big game, we started the day wingshooting. It took 2 or 3 days to start to learn the lay of the land. If we had left the ranch house on foot, with out the use of the truck instead of 14 animals in 9 days, we would have been lucky to have shot 5. We would not have had the quality in the animals ( 6 out of 10 horned animals were gold, with a silver medal kudu (2 cm shy of gold), and a bronze medal eland (1 cm shy of silver).

I had real concerns I would go home with out a eland and zebra the way the stalks were going. When I got there I was not happy to see the Pens (the smallest was 5000 acres),but after 9 days chaseing game ,and watching kudu and eland go over the wire like it was not there, I did not feel my hunt was any less of a hunt.

You can still hunt the large conncessions in Africia where you will not see wire, but be prepaired to spend
$5000 to $10000 more then I did. Nine days of room and board,all hunting services and the fees for 13 animals (springbuck,hartebeest,blue and black wildebeest, blessbuck,kudu,eland 3 zebra,3 gemsbuck)was $9000.00. I think I got a real value of a hunt.

I found my PH's company a great pleasure, and my vacation whould have been a whole lot less enjoyable with
out him. Most of Africia requires a PH to guide you on hunts,some countrys require a goverment game scout along to over see the hunt. With what it cost to get there and the cost of daily rates a self guide hunt may not be the best use of your time and money. I went on a vacation that involved hunting, not a hunt for a set of horns that had to measure to a set standard. I wanted to harvest as many large quality animals as my funds and time would allow. That is how I suggest you approach your first trip there. I am already saving for my next trip most likely for capebuffalo in a much wilder part of Africia.

JD

Your PH should be able to set up your hunt any way you like as long as its leagal and ethical. You in turn must be able to live with the results. I spent a bit of time alone in a leopard blind and although I felt comfortable if the shit hits the fan you will want a qualified PH standing next to you, just ask Nikki Atcheson. Many bow hunts in south africa are drop off at the blind hunts and you are left with a radio.

One of the best reasons to have a PH is to know what is a good one and not. The first time I saw a young Kudu, I thought it was a really big critter. It was not even big enough to consider a small trophy.
It is also very flattering to find your own game, but the game scouts could spot game with bare eyes better than I could with binocs. They could also tell you within and inch of how big it was at nealy 800 yards. They could see just part of an ear driving past at 20-30 mph and be able to tell you details about it. Then if you can track a leopard up a rock cliff and not miss a step as his soft pads go up the rock pile I will give you you are well equipped. If you can match those abilities you should just do your own safari. I will tell you if you are that good a hunter I will tell you that you are hell on wheels.
However if you pay the money and get a good PH and tracker and staff you will be amazed at the way they can do things that no hunter you ever met can do it.
Try it you will like it.

asdf,
I admire your thoughts and encourage anyone to try to participate as much as they can in any guided hunt. Most PH's will allow you to utilise your hunting skills to the fullest if you are willing to be "pro-active" in the hunt. Your skill levels will determine how much they will allow you to "lead" the hunt, especially on dangerous game.

Next time you book a hunt, speak to your outfitter about your thoughts and wishes and I am sure they will accommodate to them.
Good luck

I see my hunting partner and I must try again. It sounds as if the hunt we wish is available, somewhere in Africa. Retreever: if you think that ranch would be up to another such hunt, I'd like to contact them.

asdf,

You can contact Ian Dodds of Hunters Africa Group...He is the Ph who hunts the ranch.. It is southwest of Durban...Tell him what you want to do and go from there...There are super nyala there30 inchers are a possibility...
Any help will be given...

Mike