Cost of African hunting? I'd say it's realtively affordable and much more equitably priced.

I've hunted in North America. You pay for a hunt and you pay a flat fee. You hunt x days and you are successful or not. Same fee.

In Africa, you pay a per day rate, albeit higher if you hunt dangerous game. However, you hunt numerous species, dangerous game, plains game encountered, etc. You pay the daily per diem, and any trophy fees if, and only if, you chose to pull the trigger.

Some guys have commented on their wives. My wife's a keeper so I don't have to worry about the cost of my hunts. I do generally try to find a jewelry store in some major town over there to find a gift, but frankly, that's not necessary. She does like Tanznanite -- she's pointed out that diamonds go good with Tanzanite. Now that's set me back.

However, she wants a set of tusks for the living room and insists on paying for me to got get a set. I resisted. Really, really hard. Gotta love her.

Now when folks talk about the costs of divorcing their wife, you definitely have to consider the intangible costs. I'll never get there.

I must be really cheap, widower, retired, new pick-up truck, three g/fs, and a safari booked for 2010 (third time). All I do is save to assure I can have all the fun I want, which the politicians are making more difficult, but what the heck. Hidden costs? Yes, that next trip, those next taxidermy fees, that first class airline ticket, the addition to the house....
LLS

Taxidermy is the biggest "hidden" cost for me. The second would be air travel. I am fortunate that my wife bought my first class ticket (and hers) with airmiles. She has also offered me 200,000 airmiles for another ticket. After that I am on my own so she says that I need to do a longer hunt to make it worthwhile. I'm okay with extending the hunt a few day.

quote:

Originally posted by MCA man:
I must be really cheap, widower, retired, new pick-up truck, three g/fs, and a safari booked for 2010 (third time). All I do is save to assure I can have all the fun I want, which the politicians are making more difficult, but what the heck. Hidden costs? Yes, that next trip, those next taxidermy fees, that first class airline ticket, the addition to the house....
LLS

For God's sake don't think of a 4th g/f...LOL

My wife loves Africa. She loves to go on Safari, mainly to tour, meet the people and enjoy the African bush, sights, sounds, towns and cities. She enourages me to shoot game and have them taxidermied for our house. Had it not been for her I would not have had my croc full body mounted. Yes, my hunting and our numerous trips to Africa are the basic reasons behind the need for the new house, but she encourages the taxidermy and has even added to it with her own giraffe mount and soon to be sable mount pedestal mount. Lately she has been telling me that it would be great to have a full body mount Bongo for the house. Now, this is the same woman, who years ago, when I was trying to decide between purchasing a Winchester Model 52-B and a Kimber 22, told me just buy both of them. I didn't at that time, much to the amazement of everyone in the gun shop.

My wife told me the other day to choose between her and hunting
i replied "honey im realy going to miss you "

Reading about all these perfect, tolerant, understanding wives, I am in awe. I'm not saying I don't believe it. I'm just saying that I personaly have never known a woman who loves for me to have an expensive hobby and encourages me to put the petal to the floor and do it in grand style. While awaiting my angel I'll comfort myself in the belief that some of you guys are posting this stuff because you know your wife reads your posts.

My wife doesn't mind my hunting.. And on the topic of Africa, she and I did our honeymoon there in 2006, with 7 days hunting thrown in as well. She had such a good time that she has gotten "upset" with me each year since that Ive gone back without her!!

I plan on taking her on a nice Namibia trip and on a buff hunt in Austrailia in the next few yrs. Plan on taking my mother on the Namibia hunt as well. The old man has no interest in African hunting at all, and my mother has been wanting to go, so I am in the works of taking TWO women over with me!! We are going to Namibia in 2011.

My wife doesn't mind me going to Africa (or any place else, for that matter, as long as I bring her back souveniers.

My last trip to Milan I called her up and asked her what she wanted from the Prada store, since I was standing right in front of it. She replied, "One of each."

Namibiahunter

Two pages and none of you lot got it right.

The biggest reason African hunting is so expensive is......

You cannot just go once.

You have to go again, and again, and again, and again!

Because people will pay it. And there is no real substitute.

Saeed is correct.

Saeed: It's the Lays Potato Chip syndrome!!

You guys are making me feel like an under-acheiver in both the income and the wife picking departments. But who am I to complain. My wife's salary is making it possible for me to go on my first safari in 2011. Have not booked yet but we are going to make it happen. It will be a trio of my wife, my son who will be 17 then and myself. Looking to do plains game but from reading the post's on the question of regretting doing a DG hunt and looking at the replies, we may have to consider some how coming up with the extra $ for a Buff. Man, how can I wait 2 years? Les

My wife went with me on safari #2. A year later she asked me when "we" were going back to Africa. I said that we would need to save money for another year if we were both going to go. She said no, we don't need to save it, it's in the African savings account. I said, what African savings account. She said, the one I started as soon as we got back from that last trip.