I am having the PH with whom I will be hunting in '13 to dinner tomorrow night. We have had several discussions already but am curious. Those who have already gone to Africa...if you had to do it for the first time again, what would you ask of your PH before you went this time?? Thanks.

Apropos to some of the other recent posts, I think one might be: "You aren't gonna bang my wife when I'm in the long-drop, are you?"

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
Apropos to some of the other recent posts, I think one might be: "You aren't gonna bang my wife when I'm in the long-drop, are you?"

Or "while your here do you want to?, and I'll trade you for some trophy fees and save the observer day rate also."

that just ain't gonna happen for a multitude of reasons! first one would be she would slap the s(*&^%#$@#l out of him!

On a serious note, i'd get the whole, "At what point are you gonna start firing at the animal?" Question out of the way. That seems to generate a little bit of worry.

To some extent it depends on what type of hunt you are going on.

I would tend to be more particular with a dangerous game hunt.

Some questions would be:

How often/long have you been hunting the concession I will be hunting?

How much experience do you have with DG?

What would you assess my chances of getting my target species?

Would you select a different area to hunt my principle species?

What will be the daily procedure for the hunt?

Will we be going back to camp at noon each day, or will we be hunting the whole day?

Are there provisions for a spare vehicle if we have a serious breakdown?

(my personal bug a boo) Any risk/relative likelihood of encountering venomous snakes?

Will we be staying in a established camp or will we have the option if needed of spike camping?

How long have you been working with your trackers?

And, of course, what are the ground rules for your back up and for me to start shooting if I feel things are going bad (ele charges, etc.)

Any particular little camp luxuries (battery fan,etc.) that I would like to have?

Really, most of this would have been answered before I got to the point of meeting my PH, but I do like to verify things with them.

Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

Since there always seems to be a great deal of discussion and concern on here about transporting shooting sticks and tripods to the ends of the earth, it might be useful to ask what type of shooting support he will have for you to use, so that you can make or buy a duplicate to use for practice at home.

Islay or Highland, Ice or water?

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
Apropos to some of the other recent posts, I think one might be: "You aren't gonna bang my wife when I'm in the long-drop, are you?"

Almost Bardlike phraseology!

Ask him why he is in the States right in the middle of hunting season.

quote:

Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

Good point and one that may save you some disappointment in the future. Never forget a safari is a business deal plain and simple. Your PH provides a service that you pay for and he provides that service for many people just like you each year.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:

quote:

Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

Good point and one that may save you some disappointment in the future. Never forget a safari is a business deal plain and simple. Your PH provides a service that you pay for and he provides that service for many people just like you each year.

Mark

You mean they don't lay awake and pine away for us after we leave???? WTF???

quote:

Originally posted by JA:
Ask him why he is in the States right in the middle of hunting season.

That was my first thought when I read the question.

they only lay awake if you owe them more money

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:

quote:

Originally posted by JA:
Ask him why he is in the States right in the middle of hunting season.

That was my first thought when I read the question.

..............ME TOO!

quote:

Originally posted by Nganga:
Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

That is pretty cynical. I KNOW I am the favorite client of all the PHs I have hunted. Well maybe with Martin it is a tossup between bwanamrm and me.

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:

quote:

Originally posted by JA:
Ask him why he is in the States right in the middle of hunting season.

That was my first thought when I read the question.

..............ME TOO!

He comes over this time of year to make the rounds of hunting shows. i.e. Southern Trophy Hunter's Big Buck Expo. And I asked the same question.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:

quote:

Originally posted by Nganga:
Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

That is pretty cynical. I KNOW I am the favorite client of all the PHs I have hunted. Well maybe with Martin it is a tossup between bwanamrm and me.

Mike,
I think we all fall for the whole "romance of Africa" thing, I know I have. I learned some sorrowful lessons over the years that if some on this board (some with lots and lots and lots of experience) would take will save them tons of money and hard learned lessons. I have been over an even 20 times now, at 50 years old thats more than my fair share.

I have no regrets but going forward...........

And Mike, its more honest than cynical.

Sincerely

Steve

Ask if the Game Scouts help to make the hunt or ruin it

Shakari,

Islay or Highland is a legitimate question. Ice or water? Complete sacrilege.

I would be sure both parties are on the same page on method of payments at the end of the hunt. If you have a contract, this is a good time to be sure you're both reading the same thing. Be sure you are aware of what costs are excluded from the daily rate and need paid at hunts end. Discuss whether you want a walking safari with little use of the truck or whether you are willing to spot and stalk from the truck. Ask whether game is served regularly and let him know if you prefer otherwise. I don't like liver, heart etc. and have had a couple meals of potatoes and salad because I never discussed menu in advance. My fault!
Ask for his list of items you need. Most outfitters have this to keep down our tendency to bring too much.

Thanks to all .....time for dinner!

quote:

Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

There was a time I would have agreed with that, but now two of my best friends are PH's in SA.

quote:

Originally posted by larrys01:

quote:

Here's one.....Ask him to refrain from the whole: come as a client leave as a friend bullshit, it wont help your tip.

Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

There was a time I would have agreed with that, but now two of my best friends are PH's in SA.

As long as the ATM continues to spit out $$$$$$

I agree these friendships exist, I think they just tend to be one sided affairs.

YOu are about to give him a metric crap tone of your very hard earned cash and for many here this is a once in a lifetiem trip.

I would say feel free to ask him anythign you want.

Personally I met with my PH 3 times when he was here in the off season over 4 years before I finally was able to put it all together. He and his grascious wife answered all my questions and even asked me more back.


I asked questions about such things as average shot distances and the longestpossible shot I might have to make based upon the game I wanted to hunt. WHen I was ther e it was almost exactly as he said.

I asked about what kind of shooting sticks, what woudl be kept on the trucks, what the duites of each person with us would be. basically TONS of questions.

Then I asked what would be involved in transporting me to the nearest town (Rustenberg SA NW PRovince) so that I could referee a rugby match should I be able to arrange it and tehy said no problem. Heck 3 of them came to watch me referee and take some pictures for me.

They asked if I had any special dietary needs (none). Or any thing special I liked to drink. ( I drink very little) Did I have any special allergery? (none) or addictions like caffiene or nicotine? ( I told them yes redheads which got a good chuckle).

I asked about just a heck of a lot of stuff.

If you are going to drop that kind of coin I say ask anything you feel like.

The one question my PH cleared up for me was what loads to bring. Like solids vs. softs etc.

If you are using a reputable booking agent, all questions should be answerable by him

Ice or Water?????????????? you bloody heathens !!!!
The only thing you add to a good Scotch is another one !!!!

Toilet paper or leaves and rocks?
Get the important stuff out of the way.

quote:

Originally posted by Nganga:
Your not even a memory after the cruiser door closes.

Alister said, "Steve ... Steve who???"

Ask him whatever you want. Everyone is different and people care about different things. If something is important to you, bring it up. If you are talking about the hunting, questions will inevitably answer themselves.

Obvious questions are game numbers and quality of each, camp, food, terrain and hunting difficulty. Just get a reasonable expectation as to what this is all about.

The conversation will lead you to ask questions you didn't know to ask.

Ask all the question you want but for me the most important thing is if we will get along well while hunting.

Spending time together will let you know if you will "click" or not.

Ask him if he will pay for dinner.

Make sure he knows you have emergency evac insurance and where you carry your card when you are in the field, don't leave sat phone at the camp! Unless your shooting just plains game then make sure he knows where you carry the no-doz

This isn't really a question but direct the conversation in an way where you will be able to get a better feel for whether this is a person you want to hunt with for whatever duration your hunt is. It sounds like you've already booked with him but first impressions won't reveal whether or not you'll enjoy his company or he will enjoy yours. Find out what would cause a bait and switch (e.g. what other hunts is he advertising or perhaps could get lured away from you with more money or a spendier list of targets that yours). Find out how he responds when the hunting is tough or the hunt is not going as planned and think back to your hunting buddies or hunts that were f'ed up and determine whether you would be comfortable facing adversity with him. Most of these guys have heard all the hunting logistics and small talk a million times so I would take the conversation away from that dribble.

Ask him if he has ever spent any time in a Turkish Prison...

God I crack myself up...

Jeff

"Apropos to some of the other recent posts, I think one might be: "You aren't gonna bang my wife when I'm in the long-drop, are you?"

Made me LOL!

"I think we all fall for the whole "romance of Africa" thing, I know I have. I learned some sorrowful lessons over the years..."

Gave me a bad visual of a night-time leopard blind escapade! (Apropos to some of the other recent posts... forgive me.) No disrespect intended! And an admitted "out of context" bastardization of your original theme... I just couldn't help myself after I started laughing.

"Ask him if he has ever spent any time in a Turkish Prison..."

Made me spew my beer on my dog, who was sleeping on the floor nearby. I have learned to turn my head away from my laptop thru trial and error!

Man, I love this forum!

I found out the hard way never to ask the Ph for a refill on my scotch. MY arm will be out of the cast in a week or two and I have been drinking without the straw for three whole days now. I'm sure he did not know I was behind the truck as he slammed it into revers. you know those dam rd jeeps are a minass

Friends may not be the right word, but you would like to know how you will get along before hunting with a PH. None of my customers are friends, but there are some that I would not mind sharing a hunting camp with and others that I would not be stuck with for 14 days no matter how much they buy from me.