Need a few pointers.....

19 December 2010, 20:42

My dad and I are looking to put together our first trip to Africa! Unfortunately all my "info" on Africa comes from Wilbur Smith and Peter Capstick. I am totally unqualified to choose a suitable location and PH. I am hoping some of the much more experienced folks on here could help me out.

Heres what I know: Our budget is modest. A buff for my dad is the number 1 focus. We are both in good shape and are looking for a HUNT....my expectation is putting on lots of miles on foot every day. The quality of the lodging is not a key element of the trip (but it doesn't hurt to be comfortable). Duration of the trip...maybe 10 hunting days? Due to our budget and living in western Canada, we haven't been too exposed to guided hunts...so I think that we would be pretty easy to please as long as the trip is relatively hassle free.

So if these are your parameters, what country would you look at and who would you talk to????

19 December 2010, 20:50

Mad Dog

Oh boy, you will probably get a ton of replies to this one. But for budget/buff Zim has to be the number 1 answer. Lots of good outfitters there. Here are a few names

Charlton McCallum Safaris

Martin Pieters Safaris[who my son and I are going with, next summer]

Zambezi Hunters

Chifuti

Makore

More importantly, you might get in touch with some of the booking agents, that post here, for their input. Mark Young, Wendell Reich, David Keith, and several others. I'm sure all the boys will chime in sooner or later.

Mad Dog

19 December 2010, 21:26

fairgame

quote:
Originally posted by shakari:
You might like to visit our website at www.shakariconnection.com as part of your research.

The site doesn't sell hunting safaris but does give something like 600 pages of accurate, unbiased information about every aspect of how to plan an African hunting safari in 13 separate African countries.

Good advice.

Second tip would be to read through some of the many hunts reports posted here and this would be a good start to your research.

ROYAL KAFUE LTD
Email - kafueroyal@gmail.com
Tel/Whatsapp (00260) 975315144
Instagram - kafueroyal

19 December 2010, 21:35

Mike_Dettorre

I actually I would not go to the SCI show until you have contacted a booking agent and narrowed your searched to 3 or 4 choices.

If you haven't narrowed your search, you:

1) will get information overload
2) may not have access to the key people from the outfitter, they are often very busy and trying to get to 7 or 8 of them may be difficult.
3) will get fair amount of high pressure sales tactics "you have to book not for the best dates, we are running a show special"

Go to SCI or any other show afterward to meet the narrowed select few that you are contemplating booking with.

Contact a reliable and established booking agent. Not a part timer who every single booking makes or breaks there year.

Tell them exactly what you told them here.

Budget, type of accommodations, etc...

Besides, you will get very distracted at SCI by all of these...

Mike

Legistine actu quod scripsi?

Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.

What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.

19 December 2010, 21:55

Gatogordo

A truly "modest" budget and buffalo hunting are not very compatible. If "modest" is a truly major consideration, consider taking just pics and not dip and pack, ship and mount the heads. Or, use only Euro mounts at the most.

Finally, in spite of the "modest" consideration, don't just jump in and sign up for the cheapest hunt offer you find. Sometimes you get less than you pay for. A little more in costs may be well worth it. Do your research, ask about potential outfitters on AR.

xxxxxxxxxx
When considering US based operations of guides/outfitters, check and see if they are NRA members. If not, why support someone who doesn't support us? Consider spending your money elsewhere.

NEVER, EVER book a hunt with BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING or JEFF BLAIR.

I have come to understand that in hunting, the goal is not the goal but the process.

20 December 2010, 01:03

maki

BCJames,

Here is my two cents. Enjoy the research and do a lot of it. It sounds like you're on your way to the most important, which is to clearly define what you want. If you can't afford it now, save up a bit longer. If you want a buffalo hunt and end up on a McShooting Farm to save money, you'll have wasted your trip and all that went into it. Finally, remember the travel issues associated with being in Canada. You can't fly with your rifles directly to Zim and you can't take a route through the US.

Good luck and enjoy the process,

Dean

...I say that hunters go into Paradise when they die, and live in this world more joyfully than any other men.
-Edward, Duke of York

20 December 2010, 01:33

BrettAKSCI

Cheapest probably Zimbabwe or Mozambique. Too much to know on your first hunt. I'd highly recomend using a booking agent. It sounds like you know what you want. So if you find a good booking agent, tell them what you want, and follow good advice......that's as much as anyone can do. For the record Aaron Neilson, Wendell Reich, and Mark Young (all of which post here) are more than capable of helping you find what you want. Talk to all three, ask questions on here, and then when you feel comfortable booking a hunt do it. Just an FYI: You'll likely be looking at 8,500-10,000 minimum just for the day fees and trophy fee of the buffalo alone. Not including flights, transfers, tips, hotels, any other animals, ect, ect. I'd at least budget 15,000 all in, but that's me. As you find out more come on here and ask specific questions and use the search functions for previous posts on subjects of interest. Good luck!

Brett

DRSS
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Life Member WSF

Rhyme of the Sheep Hunter
May fordings never be too deep, And alders not too thick; May rock slides never be too steep And ridges not too slick.
And may your bullets shoot as swell As Fred Bear's arrow's flew; And may your nose work just as well As Jack O'Connor's too.
May winds be never at your tail When stalking down the steep; May bears be never on your trail When packing out your sheep.
May the hundred pounds upon you Not make you break or trip; And may the plane in which you flew Await you at the strip.
-Seth Peterson

20 December 2010, 01:58

Blacktailer

quote:
Originally posted by Brett Adam Barringer:
Cheapest probably Zimbabwe or Mozambique. Too much to know on your first hunt. I'd highly recomend using a booking agent. It sounds like you know what you want. So if you find a good booking agent, tell them what you want, and follow good advice......that's as much as anyone can do. For the record Aaron Neilson, Wendell Reich, and Mark Young (all of which post here) are more than capable of helping you find what you want. Talk to all three, ask questions on here, and then when you feel comfortable booking a hunt do it. Just an FYI: You'll likely be looking at 8,500-10,000 minimum just for the day fees and trophy fee of the buffalo alone. Not including flights, transfers, tips, hotels, any other animals, ect, ect. I'd at least budget 15,000 all in, but that's me. As you find out more come on here and ask specific questions and use the search functions for previous posts on subjects of interest. Good luck!

Brett

+1 Any one of the agents who book here would be a tremendous help on any safari and most especially on your first. You will have a much better time not having to research so much and having many details taken care of by someone who knows the ropes.

Have gun- Will travel
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21 December 2010, 14:05

Scriptus

quote:
Originally posted by Mike_Dettorre:
I actually I would not go to the SCI show until you have contacted a booking agent and narrowed your searched to 3 or 4 choices.

If you haven't narrowed your search, you:

1) will get information overload
2) may not have access to the key people from the outfitter, they are often very busy and trying to get to 7 or 8 of them may be difficult.
3) will get fair amount of high pressure sales tactics "you have to book not for the best dates, we are running a show special"

Go to SCI or any other show afterward to meet the narrowed select few that you are contemplating booking with.

Contact a reliable and established booking agent. Not a part timer who every single booking makes or breaks there year.

Tell them exactly what you told them here.

Budget, type of accommodations, etc...

Besides, you will get very distracted at SCI by all of these...

Damn, I nearly started to book for airline tickets, hotels and the rest. Then I noticed the police tape and all the photographers in the background. She is obviously such an unusual sight at the gathering that she required protection from the mob present.

SUSTAINABLY HUNTING THE BLUE PLANET!
"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful, murder respectable and to give an appearence of solidity to pure wind." Dr J A du Plessis

24 December 2010, 03:50

BCJames

Thanks for all the valuable info! Some excellent advice. A hunt in Zimbabwe seems to be the way to go. As I have been getting more info on the "all in" costs of a trip, my dad and I are starting to contemplate a strictly PG trip, but in an area with lots of the big stuff around. If we are still excited about a buff after that, we can look at booking a DG hunt and spend the $$$'s knowing what we are getting into. I am also trying to work out the logistics of getting to Reno for the show.....looks like a good time and should be very informative.

24 December 2010, 04:05

Larry Sellers

BC - You will enjoy the show and be able to gather a lot of useful information and get to go one on one with some of the outfits you find that might be what you are looking for despite what some here may say.

I would suggest walking the show briskly on day one and make notes of outfitters that catch your eye and pick up some info and move on. In the evening go over some of the info and then make a point to go back and visit with some of the possibles.

Spend the last two days adding to your list of contacts and most of all have FUN. Additional scenery just makes the show a lot more enjoyable and appreciated.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member