I'm a birdhunting nut.

Who takes the scattergun to Africa?

I'm going this summer for plains game and possibly buff, but have heard the bird shooting is quite good there. The big game hunting is my highest priority. Are there enough hours in the African day to get a little wingshooting done, on top of the big game hunting?

Any detail info on permits/license, cost, gun type, good areas, outfitters etc.. would be appreciated.

Thanks
Elmo

I _always_ take a shotgun with me. The pigeon/dove shooting over some of the fields in SA rivals anything offered anywhere else. The sandgrouse shooting in Namibia can be excellent.

First, you'll want to check with your PH to see if he's a bird shooter. If not, he probably won't be able to line up the really good shooting simply because he doesn't have a clue about it. Second, you'll want to pre-arrange the ammo; have him buy it for you locally because it doesn't take too many boxes to exceed your weight limits. By the bye, that means 12 ga. Getting anything else over there is nigh impossible.

You'll probably want to stick with shooting around waterholes and over fields. My wife and I paid for and went out one day with a guy who had an English pointer that was some local champion. The dog knew how to obey the handler, no doubts there, but it was crap at actually finding birds. It sure made me appreciate the qualities of my Gordon setter

If Pyramids interest you, I have hunted Teal, Northern Shovelers, and Palm Doves in the Fayoum Oasis about 90 km southwest of Cairo and am currently arranging another outing in April. No big game to be had in the area but there are darn few more interesting places to hunt birds.

Best,

JohnTheGreek

Elmo
I think it best to arrange a separate bird shoot apart from the big game hunt.
Francolin, Guinea fowl and pidgeons or doves shooting can be great.
Your days will be very full if you are keen in "tiger" country.
Take a shotgun by all means to use if you fill your bag early. Good advice re sounding out your PH on bird experience as well.

I agree with APB. There don't seem to be a lot of operators who do anything with birds because most tourist hunters want to concentrate on big game. However, there are a few who will arrange bird hunting safaris for those who wish to go that route. Some of them are very pricey with private rail cars, white linen and sterling on the table (sigh!). About the next trip or the one after that will be a low budget version.

The bird shooting in the Okavongo is absolutely terrific. Chris Collins in Maun (PH)is a terrific hunter and great person to be with. Also the Okavongo is a wonderful place to vacation with your wife.I can furnish more info if you are interested.

Elmo,
I've carried shotguns with me on hunts to South Africa, Namibia and Zim and never regreted it. I've shot dove, duck, geese, francolin, guinea fowl and sandgrouse. It's a great diversion and break from hunting big game all the time. Not to mention that sandgrouse breast wrapped in bacon and grilled over a mopane fire is about as good an hor d'ouvre as one can find in the bush! Guinea fowl pot pie ain't bad either!
Take a 12 gauge as the shells are easier to come by or check with your PH to see if they have a shotgun in camp you can borrow or rent. And good luck on your safari, you'll have a blast.

Elmo,

As you said that you are “..going this summer for plains game and possibly buff,….†I must assume that you have already made a booking with some hunting outfitter. He should advise you on wingshooting while you are his client. I will try to reply to your questions in the order that you posed them, and then give some comment on the replies that I’ve read up to now.

There are enough hours in the day to get a bit of wingshooting done while on a serious plains game, or even buffalo, hunt. But the fact of life is that the really good plains game hunting areas are simply not the best general wingshooting areas. You may be hunting plains game on a concession that have a wonderful population of Swainsons francolin, but the owner is not going to be pleased with a lot of bird hunting amongst his plains game, 2which is why he has so many Swainsons’! Your concession may be in an area where there is a lot of crop-production in between fenced game areas, and in such a case your PH may very well take you on a few quick, and probably very productive, walkabout along the edges of some nearby croplands. I do however rather agree with APB and Old Sarge: Concentrate on plains game and then take a separate few days for dedicated wingshooting, or do the wingshooting first and then concentrate on the other. As bwanamrm has said, it could be a great diversion from day-after-day plains game hunting, particularly if you have booked for a long time. Naturally once you have filled your quota/blown your budget on the plains game hunt, ask for wingshooting, which would in all probability be of the type that RupertBear mentioned. I do advise that you make sure that your outfitter knows about your plans beforehand, so that he can make the required arrangements to ensure that you do it legally.

The season for different species in the different provinces differ, so not knowing when you are to be in which province, I cannot say anything other than to make sure that you have a specific clause in your booking contract that states that you will be put into a position to undertake “… such-and-such wingshooting…â€, the hunting outfitter will make sure that it is all legal and in season before he dares to put it in a contract, so you’ll be covered. Permits/licenses’ cost varies greatly from one province to the next, and in fact in some provinces there are now total confusion amongst the nature conservation authorities on the matter, but even in the Limpopo (one of the few provinces where hunting of buffalo is possible)where the licenses cost the most, it does not really amount to much if you simply want to shoot a few birds. In my safari business I pay for the licenses as an service delivered from the “Daily Rate†charge.

Feel free to forget all other advice given here, but please heed this advice: Do not even think of bringing any semi-auto shotgun to South Africa! You will not get it past the customs at the airport! (Strictly speaking it is true that you can bring one. But, and this is a big BUT, South Africa has adopted and is attempting the implementation of a new firearms control act. Now I have much positive to say about the act, but it also seems to be aimed, amongst other, at frustrating every gun owner in the world! My advice would be that if you really want to bring your favorite semi-auto shotgun with you to South Africa, you had better tell your hunting outfitter NOW that you intend doing so in 2009, to give him enough time to get the required import permits in order. I advise that you stick to a SS or OU in 12 ga, for which you should have absolutely no problems with the importation. Read the procedures at http://www.mclarensafaris.com/new_page_91.htm. The advice on pre-arranging for ammo is also sound advice, in which case you can even consider bringing a 16ga or 20ga (still only SS or OU), but be warned that ammo in these gauges are still of restricted availability, and you may be forced to compromise on shot size/charge weight.

I claim to be good at arranging a custom safari that will take care of a clients’ desires, so why not browse around on my website a bit and see if you can get any worthwhile safari planning advice there? Also feel free to contact me for any specific advice on the wingshooting part of your intended safari.

Good luck and enjoy.

Andrew McLaren.

In RSA, we always keep some shotguns in camp for a day or two of bird hunting to round out a safari, you buy the ammo locally...The bird hunting is fantastic with 30 some odd species of birds available including ducks and geese...fishing too....

I have been on two buff/plainsgame safaris in Zim. Both times, after I shot my buffalo, I asked the PH to keep the camp shotgun (a 12 gauge) in the Landrover. While driving around, I would jump out and shoot any guinea fowl, francolin, sandgrouse, etc. that I saw. We also hunted and fished in boats along the Zambezi River. I would always be sure we had the 12 gauge and I was able to shoot Egyptian Geese, Spurwing Geese, Knob Nose duck, and a ton of guinea fowl found on the banks of the river.

I think most outfitters can arrange to have a 12 gauge shotgun in camp which saves the hassel of bringing your own. Just tell your outfitter that you are interested in some bird shooting and ask him what is available in his concession.

Tim