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What do you wish you did differently on your Safari?
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Sometimes the best lessons can be our mistakes. Since we could never make all the mistakes in one lifetime, how about we fess up and share our mistakes so others can benefit and perhaps a good guffaw. Thanks in advance popcorn beer


577 BME 3"500 KILL ALL 358 GREMLIN 404-375

*we band of 45-70ers* (Founder)
Single Shot Shooters Society S.S.S.S. (Founder)
 
Posts: 27615 | Location: Where tech companies are trying to control you and brainwash you. | Registered: 29 April 2005Reply With Quote
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Not worry about shooting "one of everything" on my early safaris as going with the flow is much more enjoyable. The early on taxidermy was a bit excessive...
 
Posts: 11187 | Location: Minnesota USA | Registered: 15 June 2007Reply With Quote
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I would stop the taxidermy and hire Justin Drainer to video my future hunts. I so wish he was in Mozambique with us every time I watch the video of the Dande Elephant hunt he filmed and edited.

Cheers
Jim


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Hunt Reports

2015 His & Her Leopards with Derek Littleton of Luwire Safaris - http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/2971090112
2015 Trophy Bull Elephant with CMS http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/1651069012
DIY Brooks Range Sheep Hunt 2013 - http://forums.accuratereloadin...901038191#9901038191
Zambia June/July 2012 with Andrew Baldry - Royal Kafue http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7971064771
Zambia Sept 2010- Muchinga Safaris http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4211096141
Namibia Sept 2010 - ARUB Safaris http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6781076141
 
Posts: 7625 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 05 February 2008Reply With Quote
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Not one single thing.

Every piece of the experience was worth the price of admission. Everything from flubbed shots to perfect kills, to a brai in the field to white bread sandwiches through spectacular dinners and taxidermy than hangs proudly on my walls.

I would trade nothing and do nothing different. The experience in every way is something priceless, including the mistakes.


Regards,

Robert

******************************
H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer!
 
Posts: 2321 | Location: Greater Nashville, TN | Registered: 23 June 2006Reply With Quote
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I should have tried to reserve quota for sable and zebra in Makuti when I booked a double buff hunt there but the hunt was already too expensive for me.As far as video goes,there was no doubt in my mind about that.I could not go on safari to Africa and not video my hunt.That said the price of video is getting too high.
 
Posts: 11651 | Location: Montreal | Registered: 07 November 2002Reply With Quote
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I should not have passed on a mountain reedbuck my PH said I should take.
 
Posts: 201 | Registered: 10 August 2011Reply With Quote
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=More Euro style mounts, fewer shoulder and life mounts. Less taxidermy in general. Would have saved many, many thousands, not to mention 100K for the trophy room.
-Maybe I should have squirreled away a couple of hundred rolls for my N70. RIP.
-Not called the immigration officer in Windhoeck a cow, though she was.

Ten safaris, very few regrets.
 
Posts: 2827 | Location: Seattle, in the other Washington | Registered: 26 April 2006Reply With Quote
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Not wait 10 years to take the next one!
 
Posts: 13265 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001Reply With Quote
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On my first Safari I let my short legged hunting buddy talk me into flying coach. I've flown BC on every safari that's followed. There are a lot of benefits to flying BC that you really wont appreciate until you get in a bind, and you will at some point, then flying BC will put you way ahead of the curve.
 
Posts: 1835 | Location: Sinton, Texas | Registered: 08 November 2006Reply With Quote
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Quit taking my rifles... It is a pain.
The PH's have good rifles and the rifle is just a tool anyway...
 
Posts: 10432 | Location: Texas... time to secede!! | Registered: 12 February 2004Reply With Quote
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I never take enough photos...just the animals I took. I need to capture, the camp, the people, scenery, etc.
 
Posts: 20174 | Location: Very NW NJ up in the Mountains | Registered: 14 June 2009Reply With Quote
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I wish I would have shot that big ol' stinky black giraffe bull we saw early in my first safari. By the time I'd decided I wanted to, the opportunity didn't arise again.

Aside from that? Take less stuff. Buy more trinkets for casual gifts for friends/colleagues.


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Posts: 3304 | Location: Southern NM USA | Registered: 01 October 2002Reply With Quote
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My 3 safaris were awesome with very little that I would change.
With hindsight though,I would do less taxidermy & had the safaris videoed.


LORD, let my bullets go where my crosshairs show.
Not all who wander are lost.
NEVER TRUST A FART!!!
Cecil Leonard
 
Posts: 2786 | Location: Northeast Louisianna | Registered: 06 October 2009Reply With Quote
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On my first safari as others have said I would have done less with taxidermy. I should have done fewer shoulder mounts and more Europeans. I also would have taken the shots I had on klippie, grysbok and common duiker. I was so ignorant I had no understanding of the value of these little guys.

Mark


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Posts: 13082 | Location: LAS VEGAS, NV USA | Registered: 04 August 2002Reply With Quote
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Biggest mistake I made was not going 20 years earlier. There was always something getting in the way and finances were never quite right. Guess what? The money comes and goes but the memories last a lifetime.


Have gun- Will travel
The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark
 
Posts: 3831 | Location: Cave Creek, AZ | Registered: 09 August 2001Reply With Quote
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Not shooting the biggest horned of the three, old buff. Instead I followed the PHs advice and killed the oldest animal. It was a nice buff and even charged after being hit 3 times, but in reality, its horns weren't much different than the set I already had at home.

BH63


Hunting buff is better than sex!
 
Posts: 2205 | Registered: 29 December 2015Reply With Quote
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Wish I'd shot a gemsbok instead of waiting for my kudu, first trip. Of course, I'd have settled for and never gone back two more times. (Two kudus so far.)


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Posts: 4894 | Location: Bryan, Texas | Registered: 12 January 2005Reply With Quote
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Should have shot the giraffe my wife told me not to shoot. Got home told her how close I got and she says "well why didn't you shoot it?" Next time not going to ask permission, will ask for foregivness.


ZIMBABWE 2016
ZIMBABWE 2017
Zimbabwe 2019
 
Posts: 172 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 22 May 2016Reply With Quote
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Stayed longer.......


Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission.
 
Posts: 3994 | Location: Hudsonville MI USA | Registered: 08 June 2000Reply With Quote
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So true. I've asked for foregivness so many times.


ZIMBABWE 2016
ZIMBABWE 2017
Zimbabwe 2019
 
Posts: 172 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 22 May 2016Reply With Quote
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Other than hunting with a bad outfitter in the Karoo, I usually wish that I got in a bit better shape when I get puffing around in the bush.


IHMSA BC Provincial Champion and Perfect 40 Score, Unlimited Category, AAA Class.
 
Posts: 3417 | Location: Kamloops, BC | Registered: 09 November 2015Reply With Quote
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Wish I hunted extra elephant and lion offered to me just for trophy fee few years back
At the same time I already shot extra elephant and three extra buffs on that hunt so I was sweating bullets thinking how the hell Im gonna pay for it
Nixon was at his best as used car salesman ( well, it didn't take much , but a question and I went for it again and again )
I should have gone for the extra extra...Damn, it was good dark mane lion
Thanks Nixon for I unbelievable hunt and I should have listened to you...


" Until the day breaks and the nights shadows flee away " Big ivory for my pillow and 2.5% of Neanderthal DNA flowing thru my veins.
When I'm ready to go, pack a bag of gunpowder up my ass and strike a fire to my pecker, until I squeal like a boar.
Yours truly , Milan The Boarkiller - World according to Milan
PS I have big boar on my floor...but it ain't dead, just scared to move...

Man should be happy and in good humor until the day he dies...
Only fools hope to live forever
“ Hávamál”
 
Posts: 13376 | Location: In mountains behind my house hunting or drinking beer in Blacksmith Brewery in Stevensville MT or holed up in Lochsa | Registered: 27 December 2012Reply With Quote
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Took one "iffy" shot at a big kudu in 2015 that we never recovered. Only animal in three safaris that I wounded but didn't retrieve. Redeemed myself two days later on a comparable kudu.


Jesus saves, but Moses invests
 
Posts: 1388 | Location: Lake Bluff, IL | Registered: 02 May 2008Reply With Quote
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I wished I had gone sooner. I had a chance to go when I was 22...I did not go until 8 years later...8 wasted years... No regrets here...love the taxidermy I have done, love the animals I have taken, but I see my future...is just more buffalo....

Ed


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Posts: 2289 | Location: Texas | Registered: 02 July 2005Reply With Quote
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I would have stayed longer on every trip, even the time I stayed 4 weeks.

Leaving the buffalo skull I killed with Lindon Stanton on the Omay has bothered me. We worked very hard for it and it would be nice to have.

I wish I would have met Cam Greig ten years earlier. I would love to have made another hunt or two with him.
 
Posts: 2953 | Registered: 26 March 2008Reply With Quote
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I've always wished for more time and money.


...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
 
Posts: 876 | Location: Halkirk Ab | Registered: 11 January 2005Reply With Quote
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Shouldn't have shot the giraffe I did. Waste of money.

Should have hunted bushbuck more.
 
Posts: 15784 | Location: Australia and Saint Germain en Laye | Registered: 30 December 2013Reply With Quote
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should have arranged for more time, saved more money for more trophy fees, should have tried harder for Warthogs, should have shot a 2md Kudu, should have spent more time hunting Bushbuck.
 
Posts: 333 | Registered: 11 March 2008Reply With Quote
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1. Spend the money on a good video cameraman and forego the bulk of the taxidermy.

2. Depending on the hunt, get in better shape than you think you need to be.

3. Spend plenty of time at the range practicing practical shooting, not just sighting in a rifle. Ideally go to one of the safari shooting schools out there.
 
Posts: 344 | Location: Reno, Nevada | Registered: 05 September 2007Reply With Quote
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Starting to see some trends here. Maybe go with a friend to take pics and video? That way you can share the experience and still get some images albeit maybe not as polished. With today's consumer tech and gimbals I think you could get decent video from an amateur.


577 BME 3"500 KILL ALL 358 GREMLIN 404-375

*we band of 45-70ers* (Founder)
Single Shot Shooters Society S.S.S.S. (Founder)
 
Posts: 27615 | Location: Where tech companies are trying to control you and brainwash you. | Registered: 29 April 2005Reply With Quote
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Never killed a wild lion. Am not a dg hunter beyond buffalo. Killing a wild lion has reduced my interest in hunting Africa.

Mike
 
Posts: 13145 | Location: Cocoa Beach, Florida | Registered: 22 July 2010Reply With Quote
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As to boom sticks point do a 2x1 (for good friends only) and one can film while the other shoots OR do one of the deals where 2 folks can share the bag legally with only one paying full daily rate and the other the observer rate. That works nicely and gives time for filming and shooting for both members of the party.

Mark


MARK H. YOUNG
MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES
7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110
Office 702-848-1693
Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED
E-mail markttc@msn.com
Website: myexclusiveadventures.com
Skype: markhyhunter
Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716
 
Posts: 13082 | Location: LAS VEGAS, NV USA | Registered: 04 August 2002Reply With Quote
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No more taxidermy or post safari expenses for me.


BUTCH

C'est Tout Bon
(It is all good)
 
Posts: 1931 | Location: Lafayette, LA | Registered: 05 October 2007Reply With Quote
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Thanks for the info Mark!


577 BME 3"500 KILL ALL 358 GREMLIN 404-375

*we band of 45-70ers* (Founder)
Single Shot Shooters Society S.S.S.S. (Founder)
 
Posts: 27615 | Location: Where tech companies are trying to control you and brainwash you. | Registered: 29 April 2005Reply With Quote
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In 2005 I booked a 10 day late season hunt with Buzz for tuskless and lioness in the Chewore North Safari area of Zimbabwe. This was when Buzz was still freelancing and before he hooked up with Myles to start CM Safaris. It cost me a whole $ 600 a day. We were lucky to get a big old lioness on the first day and a tuskless on the 3rd. Buzz asked me if I wanted to hunt a male lion as there was still one left on quota and I could have it for a $ 4500 trophy fee. We had just seen the fresh tracks of a big male lion. I was too stressed about money and decided to pass and hunt buffalo instead since the trophy was $ 1500 less. What a boneheaded mistake! Oz Hunter was there hunting with the late Ian Gibson and they took a nice big male lion on I believe the sixth day of hunting. To book an importable free range male lion hunt now is just out of the question financially.


STAY IN THE FIGHT!
 
Posts: 1849 | Location: Southern California | Registered: 25 July 2006Reply With Quote
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^
There are a few things I kick myself in the butt for not taking them up. I can see where this is something you would regret for a long time.

Still you had a great hunt at dirt cheap prices.

BH63


Hunting buff is better than sex!
 
Posts: 2205 | Registered: 29 December 2015Reply With Quote
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I regret that I have not hunted a wild lion. As others have said more video. Besides that, a higher paying job or lottery winnings to go as often as I would like! Big Grin
 
Posts: 299 | Location: Kansas | Registered: 13 September 2007Reply With Quote
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I would have had the hunts videoed as opposed dip, pack, shipping, and taxidermy charges.


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.
 
Posts: 10167 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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I wish I would have shot a gerenuk while in Tanzania and not done so much taxidermy


DRSS
Searcy 470 NE
 
Posts: 1438 | Location: San Diego | Registered: 02 July 2005Reply With Quote
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Shot more animals. About the only thing I would have changed.


____________________________

If you died tomorrow, what would you have done today ...

2018 Zimbabwe - Tuskless w/ Nengasha Safaris
2011 Mozambique - Buffalo w/ Mashambanzou Safaris
 
Posts: 2789 | Location: Dallas, TX | Registered: 27 January 2004Reply With Quote
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