I'd love a buffalo. It may be the books I've read. I'd love it with a double. I can't afford to do both. How about "Rent a Double"?

I was looking at prices for a buff for a mate here in Australia.

Fulvio had the best deals by far, but it was still too much, as our dollar is only .75USD.

I'd hunt kudu and bushbuck or eland in preference for a fraction of 20K USD.

Unless you can shoot them like Saeed does, buff are a waste of time

Another perspective is that any sheep hunt you go on will cost $20,000 or more. Same for a top brown bear hunt or elk hunt.

Pick your pleasure and save your money!

True but there are a lot fewer sheep than there are buffalo.

quote:

Originally posted by DCS Member:
I'd love a buffalo. It may be the books I've read. I'd love it with a double. I can't afford to do both. How about "Rent a Double"?

I hunted my first buffalo with Jan Dumon who posts here. Besides a great hunt at an unbeatable price, he also let me use his double, when he heard I always wanted to take a buff with one. "Dreams do come true!!"

Shameless plug over....but on a serious note, there are other great places out there to hunt buffalo much cheaper. Sometimes you have to be able to leave on short notice.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
True but there are a lot fewer sheep than there are buffalo.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^

We as hunters/conservationists hold the Bubye Valley Conservancy in extremely high regard for their game management, infrastructure, anti-poaching, top notch PH's, and overall professionalism.

This all comes at a price. While it may be hard for even me to justify a $20,000 buffalo hunt, I can understand the difference in pricing between this areas and others. And that is not to say that other areas are not practicing good conservation methods, it just seems the BVC is the face of conservation at this time in Zimbabwe.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Regardless of whether the encounter is close or the buffalo is big, so long as buffalo hunts are $20K I will pass. As fun as buffalo hunting is, a 10-day, one buffalo hunt for $20K is simply not worth it to me. Your mileage may vary.

Ditto.

Been watching this thread and agree with the sentiment.
You ultimately have to measure the value you personally place on it
I've done 2 Buff Hunts and I'm sure I'll someday do another. I would love it if Buff/plainsgame hunts were more affordable
But, for example, I did an "anniversary" plains game hunt last year and took 13 magnificent plains game animals for a fair bit less than 20k all in
I'm doing a 4 person Sailfish trip to Guaremala for $11.7K coming up for my sales team.
Ultimately how to you equate and balance your disposable income??
It started reaching a tipping I believe when Tanzania totally jacked up fees and then the folks in Zim and Zambia have had to bid higher and higher first for the Concession fees and now trophy fees
It feels like a bubble has been forming in this market for some time....

To my point about the delta between hunting in Africa or Fishing in South America. For the 20K Buffalo, travel, shipping, dipping and Taxidermy included, I could do 4-5 trips to South America.

I'm an outdoorsman first. I don't and won't define myself as a hunter or a fisherman. I enjoy the wilds of South America every bit as much as my days in Africa, perhaps even more. In fishing, I am in charge of my day. My personal success or failure isn't dictated by a PH. Our boat drivers are just that, boat drivers. They are indigenous Indians and do not offer any advice, help or offer a change in tactics if you're not catching fish. It is all on you.

The pursuit itself is the enjoyment. If I can "pursue" 4-5 times or 1 time for a 20K (30-32K all in) I'll pick 4-5, every time. Also, I go in November-March which typically isn't Africa time of year anyway.

The high price of African Hunting did me in before these threads ever came up. It frightens me to even try to think what I've spend on hunting, travel and taxidermy in the last 15 years. No regrets, just a wake up call.

I did plenty of 12,500 buffalo hunts in Zambia. That's a fair price and I call it a good value. At that, you can come close to all in at 20K.

Steve