Elmo,

There is another way to profit from donated hunts.

If you know an outfitter you want to hunt with has made a donation, you can bid on that hunt to in effect get a discounted hunt. Usually the donations are shorter in length with a few small animals. If you buy that hunt, you can extend hunt duration at the regular rate and add some other animals to fill it out. The cost of the whole thing will be at a discount. I did this once with a 5-day plains game hunt that I extended to a 14-day leopard and plains game hunt.

jim

Copied from a post I made earlier,Relevant to this subject.



All successfully run scams depend on the victim / client being greedy. Don�t try to outsmart a professional on you first trip! You will come out the loser!

Tell outfitters or booking agent your budget, If you must cut down costs. Ask if there is any way to cut down the cost? Are you willing to stay at a local farm house instead of a fancy lodge? This alone can save the outfitter and you, at least $100 a day. Be upfront with your booking agent /outfitter, most will respect you more as long as you are reasonable and informed.
(At least know what animals are native to the area)

I don�t care who you hunt with, or what they claim to have! Get everything in writing! (Keep a copy of everything with you on your hunt) I personally think its much easer to keep an outfitter honest, then it is to find one.

Word of mouth advertising is good, but far from fool proof. Talk to hunters that have hunted at least 2 or 3 time in Africa. I have only hunted three times in Africa and will never claim to be an expert. But believe me I have paid dearly for the little I know!

I personally would only book my first hunt with a US booking agent.

I'm going to the SCI Reno Convention to book an African Hunt and I'm wondering if the auctions are a good option.
I'd like to hear about your experiences,(good or bad) with auctioned hunts concerning everything from price to overall satisfaction.
As I've previewed these auctions online, I've noticed that they vary quite a lot in what costs are inclusive and what costs are not.
Keep in mind that this will be my first time in Africa and I definetly have to stay within a "not to exceed" type of budget. I'm concerned about monetary surprises and I'm wondering if using a good outfitter is the smarter thing for a rookie like myself, instead of the auctions.

It's a "Big Bang for the Buck vs. The Devil's in the Details" thing.

What do you think?

Elmo

I have purchased 3 African safaris from SCI (1 national and 2 chapter banquests) and one black bear hunt from RMEF(national). Before I bid, I did research on the country I was to hunt, the game likely to be found, the type of hunt, the number of hunters in campe, etc.. I also did research on the internet and pulled past HuntReport data for those that had write ups. In all, I spent my time on most hunts knowing what to expect. In addition, I spoke with the outfitters on all the African hunts before the auction, but wasn't able to talk with the bear outfitter and was left with only "past clients" to talk to.

The African hunts were all as expected. You can find my write up on 2 of the 3 african hunts here:

Mulberry Grove

InAfrica

In both these instances, I gave 33% or less of the "donor value". The African hunts were NOT my first time to Africa, so I think having some knowledge of the game, areas, paperwork, forms, etc.. helped me in planning the second, where a booking outfitter would be of benefit.

After I purchased, I met with the PH/Outfitter and discussed dates, what animals, completed the contract work, paid the deposit, etc.. Then it was a matter of prepping and practicing my shooting.

I have been burned before, on the aforementioned black bear hunt in Canada (1992). There were red flags on this one but considering the auction price of $500 for 2 persons, I figured what the heck. The outfitter was "MIA" and hard to get in contact with, but when we did, he talked the talk. The problem was he was all talk. We arrived in bear camp and were informed there was no food included on our hunt (luckily we bought some bread and dry goods in the small town nearby and caught enough walleye to make shore lunch). That was great compared to the bear "baits" - actually half a bag of twizzlers tied to a tree and about 25 yards from the water where you beached the boats. There were bear in that area, as a buddy hunted the next hunting camp down stream and took bear.

If you do your homework and recognize the flags, you can probably save a few dollars going this route.

Good luck.

Brad