After reading SG Olds hunting report, I'm dreaming. How much for a Bongo safari? How about Bongo with Forest Elephant?

Remember the banker's creed... "it's not how much it costs, it's how much it costs a month!" Go for it, my friend...

I hunted the savanna in northern Cameroon in 2004 and the safari outfitter I was hunting with, NGONG Safaris, also did hunts in the southern part of the country for forest game. Bongo, Forest Sitatunga, Forest Elephant, Giant Frest Hog and various duikers were targeted in the forest.

At that time his basic forest hunt was about $30,000 plus trophy fees. Trophy fee for the bongo was about $3,000 and the same for Forest Elephant. Figure about $2500 in airfare, at least $2,000 in dipping and shipping fees. You will not be able to import the Forest Elephant into the USA by the way. About $2000 in pocket money, and at least $3,000 for taxidermy if you do a full body mount on the Bongo. Add it all up and you come out to about $46,000 for the trip. That was 2004 costs. To be safe, add about 10% to that and you have shot the holy hell out of $50,000.

And that my friends, is why I don't have a Bongo in my trophy room.

Mac

For that price I'd go hunt argali in Mongolia!!!!

AK,

What do they cost?..........now they are a gorgeous animal

Blair, check out Four Star Adventures web site.

Stu

Blair 338/378

$55,000 and the first permit available from the Mongolian Government is 2011.

Scott,

If you are going to dream you might as well dream big.

After MAC's post, I've woken up.

Prices are roughly the same in CAR too, ~ $50K.

The wild-card country is Congo-Brazzaville. You can do a 7 day hunt (10 days total) there for Bongo (and other species) for about $11,000 (USD$).

Did the forest hunt in Cameroon for Bongo 10 years ago, and it was $28K then. It's no cheaper now, for sure.

The bongo is a magnificent full mount. It was worth every penny!

Only $50,000.

SBT, that shouldn't be hard on a cop's salary!

JDS

If you can swing it and want to hunt Bongo why leave your money to your kids, relatives, church, or uncle sam?

Sorry but that is how I look at it.

Also I checked and Bongo is now much more than I paid several years ago, but I bought Bongo and LDE hunts at the same time. Check out SCI's blackmailed hunts (for auction) at Reno in 09.

Look over at Alaska forum, there is an post for discounted cancelation moose hunts for 10k. That got me thinking of 2-3 moose hunts or 1 Bongo and either elephant or buffalo or sitatunga hunt.

Gives it perspective I think.

quote:

Originally posted by MAC:
and you have shot the holy hell out of $50,000.

And that my friends, is why I don't have a Bongo in my trophy room.

Mac

dressed carcass weight 70kg deboned weight 35kg biltong and drywors as end product = 14kg

so you paid 3571.42$/kg for bongo biltong what a bargain

jds, Cops make good money in Jackson hole!!!!

if you gotta ask - you can't afford it

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
Blair 338/378

$55,000 and the first permit available from the Mongolian Government is 2011.

Whoa!!. Thanks very much Kathi

quote:

Originally posted by stuey:
Blair, check out Four Star Adventures web site.

Stu

Thanks mate.....

If you are a serious hunter and in shape I offer a self guided hunt for bongo. Sporting chance, but no dogs. We track them up. Hunt over salines. Good chance at duikers and forest buffalo on the hunt. If you want an elephant we can organize it as well.
All inclusive hunt is $6000 if you go with a buddy. Trophy fee is $3500 for bongo (complete list on web site) and a $600 concession fee. That includes your license.
Not an easy hunt but a real one with a chance at the holy grail of the forest on your own.
Take a look at
http://www.bombaziwilderness.com
Go to Hunting and then Cameroun

Camshaft

Bongo are still available in Texas, about $25,000; success rates are excellent, and the airfare ain't bad!

quote:

Originally posted by RBHunt:
Bongo are still available in Texas, about $25,000; success rates are excellent, and the airfare ain't bad!

and if you are really careful, the fence will not show up in the photos. plus on some concessions(i.e. ranches), you can take a nice "wild" cape buffalo!!! such a deal. hell, when you get right down to it, damn near anything available in Africa can be hunted in Texas for less money. why am i wasting all this money on airfare?

SBT
I have always wanted to hunt the bongo ever since I started hunting only eleven years ago.If that is your dream trophy find away to afford it,I myself am not a wealthy man I go to the bank ,borrow money, do the hunt and work like a mad man to pay it off so I can hunt somewhere else . I wish I had a few more things in my life but the trophies I have and the memories of the hunts I have undertaken I wouldn't change for the world.GO FOR IT!!!!!!P.S. love to do the sheep hunting but you can't stop at one and the bank manager isn't THAT understanding,good hunting

Hello SBT,

I hunted Bongo in Cameroun a few weeks ago. Lots of elefants and bufalo there. If you are serious and prepared to walk a lot I can put you in touch with a friend of mine who lives there.
It is a dificult hunt not to be compared with SA, Namibia, Zim. Flying camp, far from villages and cars for days, bad food.

12 days with Bongo or forest Elefant for about
12,500€. He will pick you up in Yaounde and bring you back.


Leupoldo

I had read that the quota for forest elephant is quite low. I'll have to check on that again. The self-guided hunts are tempting but you have to be committed to the experience over a higher success rate. Add together a couple of failed hunts and you have gotten close to a professionally guided one.

Quota on elephant for CITES has historically been at 80. US citizens can not import at this time. Our Fish and Wildlife do not feel Cameroun is doing a good enough job on protecting the elephant so have closed down importation. Most CITES or non-CITES counties can still import.
Minimum weight per tusk is 5kg. Males only.
Camshaft

Hi Cam,

I have yet to find a "buddy" up for this type of hunt and with the required expectations...

How did your jungle hunters do this year, and did the late season savannah ele hunters shoot anything?

Regards,

Bill

Cam,
Can you explain what you mean by "self guided". Does that mean me wandering around in a forest? Thanks.

Here are the links to the photos of my last outfitted safari. (May 2008) (Tried to piost the photos but could not figure it out.) This is a self guided hunt so the hunter is taking the pictures. He took an elephant and then these two magnificent animals. That is a hunt for $7000 if you go solo or $6000 if you have a buddy. Trophy fee and $600 concession fee extra, but I do not believe in “hidden costs†It is all on my web site:

http://www.bombaziwilderness.com/Cameroun/cameroun.html

Go to hunting and then Cameroun for these hunts.

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/Camshaft2008/buffaloMonty.jpg

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn164/Camshaft2008/elandmonty2.jpg

If you are really interested in how all this works I will be giving a talk at the Dallas Safari club on November 20th if anyone is interested in self guided hunting. It will be entitled “Self Guided Hunting around the Worldâ€. I am arriving the day befor and have all of Thursday free until the dinner and talk to meet with people. I believe anyone is welcome to come to the Dallas Safari club events. I can get you details if you are interested. I have had a wonderful life doing self guided hunting and saved buckets of money.
Camshaft

No, you are not just “wandering around†on my hunts…I believe I am one of the pioneers in the self guided hunting arena. Not to brag, just to state that I have done it successfully for over 20 years in almost the whole world. I have been very successful and in Cameroun (I was born there) provide my personal staff to other hunters when I am not there. You will hunt the same places I do and have my personal staff.
In the case of my Cameroun hunts I have a full time staff that will meet you at the airport. I now have vehicles to take you into the field. You borrow a good bit of my gear and you have a staff that has hunted way more than most professional hunters with you. My personal tracker will be in your camp and he has hunted with me and my friends for about 25 years. You will go to an area that is pre-scouted. Salt licks are refreshed and blinds are built in “hot spotsâ€. It is self guided hunts. These are all dangerous game hunts and there is no back up. You can shoot buffalo and elephant on your own. I think the only country that allows this. Last year one of the porters was tagged by a forest buffalo. It nearly got the hunter as well.
I have been on several PH guided hunts where all I paid for was a guy to speak the local language. The national staff did all the work and all the real finding of the animals. This hunt cuts out the expensive PH. No question it is a tough hunt, but no more so than a sheep hunt, in fact probably easier and safer, in my opinion.
Look up the thread by Robert Johnson last year. He did the trip with me and is a hard core AR contributor.
Jim Shocky has re-booked with me for 2009 after a hunt in 2008.

If you want exactly what is offered look at my web site:
http://www.bombaziwilderness.com/Cameroun/cameroun.html

Go to Hunting and then to Cameroun.

Cam

Question of how the jungle hunters did in 2008…
The three bongo hunters for 2008 ended up postponing until 2009. It was Wayne Grant of South Africa, who is a very well known cat hunter (author of “Into the Thornsâ€) who was the leader of this group.
We have scouted some new bongo areas. There are bongos in areas not hunted by any of the professional hunters. I employ a full time tracker year round to scout. He has just reported back on a new area even I did not know held bongo. Interestingly the bongos are actually expanding their range. I think this is due to the extensive logging taking place and the bongo’s shy nature. I have hunted several spots where the local hunters said in their father’s time there were no bongo, but now there are…go figure.
What I am saying is I had no jungle hunters in 2008. I personally feel the jungle is FAST disappearing. Logging is devastating to the wildlife, and especially the bongo that need vast forest. I hunted the deep jungle almost exclusively for 15+ years but had to change locations every year the last 5 to just keep ahead of the poachers. I will not confirm a location for a paying hunter with my tracker until he has been into the spot and then returns with in the month of the hunters showing up. He salts the licks and makes sure we have no major disturbances.
Camshaft

i JUST CAME BACK FROM CAMEROON A MONTH AGO FROM MY SECOND BONGO ELEPHANT SAFARI WITH, FOR ME THE BEST COMPANY OPERATING THERE. THEY WARRANTY A 100% SUCCES ON BONGO. i HAVE BEEN THERE 2008 AND 2009 BECAUSE IT IS THE MOST FANTASTIC HUNT I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE. iT IS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. 2007 COLLECTED BONGO 30 INCHES FOREST ELEPHANT 29 POUNDS ASIDE (NOT BAD FOR THE juNGLE) AND GIANT FOREST HOG. ANIMALS MISSED ABOUT EVERY POSSSIBLE DUIKER IN THE FOREST.I MADE A BIG MESS WITH DUIKERS! tHE CAMP WAS INCREDIBLE AND FOOD WAS OUT OF THIS WORLD BUT YOU MUST BE PREPARED FOR LOOOOONG WALKING IN THE FOREST FOR THE ELEPHANT. bONGO´S ARE PLENTYFUL IF YOU GET SOME RAIN TO TRACK THEM. THE BAKA (PIGMIES) CAN TRACK LIKE NO OTHER TRIBE IN THIS WORLD APART OF THE SAN. TOTAL COST MADRID MADRID TAXIDERMY FULL MOUNTS INCLUDED: 44000$. YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT I LIVE IN SPAIN AND THE AIRPLANE TICKETS INTOURIS CLASS COST ME TOTAL 890 EUROS.
2008SAFARI ANIMALS COLLECTED.BONGO 32,5 INCHES ELEPHANT 32 POUNDS ASIDE FOREST SITATUNGA 25 INCHES PETER´S, BAY, BLUE DUIKER. i TOOK MY VENGANCE AFTER ALL THAT SHOOTING AND MISSING LAST YEAR HUNTING ONCE AGAIN SUPERB. NSOK SAFARIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE IN THE JUNGLE FOR BONGO BUT THEY WARRANTY A SAFARI OF A LIFETIME.
COST 2008 THIS YEAR THEY HAVE RAISED THE PRICES BUT I WAS LUCKY AND GOT A DEALON A CANCELLATION OF LAST MINUTE SO FINALLY ALL INCLUDED FROM BEGGINING TO END THIS TIME NOT COUNTIN TAXIDERMY BUT EVERYTHING ELSE INCLUDING TIPS 43590$. i have plenty of photos but i am to stupid to learn how to post them so if you want to see some i will email tthem to you. I would love if someone convinced saeed to have an easier way of posting phtos. Hope i have helped you

Diego, I can post some photos for you. If you click on my highlighted name at the top left corner of this post, you will see something that says "view public profile". Click on that and you will see my email. Just be sure to put something in the subject line so I know it's Africa photos. Be sure to send some of the forest elephant!

Cam,

Will you be anywhere closer to Wyoming in November than the State of Texas?

This hunt intriques me, but I'm concerned if I'm "tough enough" to endure it.

I live in California, so sorry about that! I am flying out just to give that talk. I plan to be at SCI in Reno if you plan to attend there.
There is no doubt these hunts are tough, but they are also self-guided, so you get to take a break any time you wantïŠ The tough part needs to be mental, not necessarily all physical. You need to be in good cardiovascular shape, but I had one guy over 300 pounds have a very fine tip. He just sat down every half hour and took a break. My staff enjoyed the calm pace.
I always highly advise anyone interested in my hunts in Cameroun to come visit me. I live in California and I would say 50% of the hunters find a reason to be here on business or whatever. We spend a few hours or the weekend going over things. I can often arrange a pig hunt as a venue to discus the finer points of chasing wild things. Anyone interested in finding out more is always welcome. I have extra rooms in the house and we are half way between San Francisco and San Jose airports.
If your goal is a true African hunt for a reasonable price this is a great hunt. I tell anyone who wants to go they need to be in it for the adventure. If this is a means to simply fill a checklist of animals you can not afford with a PH then it is not a good fit.

Cam

http://www.777ranch.com/rates.html
ONLY IN AMERICA, ONLY IN AMERICA.

This is not a typical Toyoda Safari. You will not be driving looking for tracks, no cool boxes filled with cold drinks, no air conditioned lodges and you will not see hundreds of animals. But it is possible to hunt a part of the world few will ever see at fraction of the cost. For the right person this is a great deal! After one unguided hunt you will come back with a far greater understanding of the African people and have a better appreciation of the hardship they face. I will tell you I learned more about Africa on one unguided hunt then I did on five guided hunts. IT was HOT, I got really sick and I had one of the best hunts !
Good luck