The Accurate Reloading Forums
What do you wish you did differently on your Safari?
08 August 2016, 10:04
boom stickWhat do you wish you did differently on your Safari?
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
08 August 2016, 10:21
crbutlerNot 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...
08 August 2016, 11:08
FrostbitI 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
08 August 2016, 11:26
rnoviNot 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!
08 August 2016, 12:24
shootawayI 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.
08 August 2016, 14:56
Upton O. GoodI should not have passed on a mountain reedbuck my PH said I should take.
08 August 2016, 15:44
Brice=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.
08 August 2016, 16:03
StonecreekNot wait 10 years to take the next one!
08 August 2016, 16:48
bwanajayOn 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.
08 August 2016, 18:23
dogcatQuit taking my rifles... It is a pain.
The PH's have good rifles and the rifle is just a tool anyway...
08 August 2016, 18:58
BiebsI never take enough photos...just the animals I took. I need to capture, the camp, the people, scenery, etc.
08 August 2016, 19:28
DesertRamI 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.
_____________________
A successful man is one who earns more money than his wife can spend.
08 August 2016, 19:35
bwana cecilMy 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
08 August 2016, 20:09
MARK H. YOUNGOn 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
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 08 August 2016, 20:36
BlacktailerBiggest 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
08 August 2016, 20:44
BuffHunter63Not 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!
08 August 2016, 21:13
BNagelWish 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.)
_______________________
08 August 2016, 21:41
#1 of 13Should 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
08 August 2016, 23:22
Terry BlauwkampStayed longer.......
Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission.
08 August 2016, 23:52
#1 of 13So true. I've asked for foregivness so many times.
ZIMBABWE 2016
ZIMBABWE 2017
Zimbabwe 2019
09 August 2016, 05:47
Brian CanadaOther 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.
09 August 2016, 06:03
boarkillerWish 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”
09 August 2016, 06:05
Bud MeadowsTook 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
09 August 2016, 08:44
505EDI 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
DRSS Member
09 August 2016, 17:13
MikeBurkeI 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.
09 August 2016, 19:33
makiI'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
10 August 2016, 19:08
Blair 338RUMShouldn't have shot the giraffe I did. Waste of money.
Should have hunted bushbuck more.
10 August 2016, 21:09
Gracedogshould 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.
10 August 2016, 21:31
Jaglav1. 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.
11 August 2016, 05:10
boom stickStarting 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.
11 August 2016, 05:17
Beretta682ENever killed a wild lion. Am not a dg hunter beyond buffalo. Killing a wild lion has reduced my interest in hunting Africa.
Mike
11 August 2016, 05:20
MARK H. YOUNGAs 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 11 August 2016, 05:32
BEGNONo more taxidermy or post safari expenses for me.
BUTCH
C'est Tout Bon
(It is all good)
11 August 2016, 06:08
boom stickThanks for the info Mark!
11 August 2016, 21:45
GunsCoreIn 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!
11 August 2016, 22:13
BuffHunter63^
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!
13 August 2016, 22:37
1BigDeerI 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!
14 August 2016, 23:21
Mike_DettorreI would have had the hunts videoed as opposed dip, pack, shipping, and taxidermy charges.
MikeLegistine 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.
14 August 2016, 23:42
samirI wish I would have shot a gerenuk while in Tanzania and not done so much taxidermy
DRSS
Searcy 470 NE
15 August 2016, 16:39
SevensShot more animals. About the only thing I would have changed.