This is a great site you guys have here, I have never wanted to go to Africa so bad. It has always been something of intrest but I thought it was impossible for me to afford it. After going through the site I have decided it might be something I can start planning for.

Alot of my questions have been answered just by going through the pages here but I have a few I would like to ask you all.

Just to get an feel for what I am thinking about, I am shooting for a safari in 5 or 6 years. This should be enough time for me to build up the cash needed I think.

I have been thinking about Namibia for a limited plains game hunt, for 7 or 8 days. The animals would be Kudu, Gemsbok, Hartmans Zebra, and maybe a warthog. I would be very satisfied taking these trophies on what would probably be my only trip to Africa.

My wife has expressed interest in going with me as an observer, so the lodge and accomidations will come into play. She is mainly going to see the animals and adventure, but if she wants to stay at camp for a few days instead of go hunting, would prefer not to be sitting in a tent.

So on to my questions, I was thinking that 15,000 dollars is what needs to be saved to afford the trip, including everything, hunt cost, plane tickets, tips, shipping for trophys and hopefully taxidermy also. Considering this is roughly a years salary for me, it is a large amount of money. Do you think that is enough or is it going to have to be more?

Would a 280 rem be enough gun for the animals listed? I was thinking of buying a new gun for elk, it was going to be a 25-06, but I thought I might just get a 280 then when I go the Africa I will be plenty used to the rifle. I have no problem shooting elk with a 243, which has been my hunting rifle for years. I don't really care to buy a 338 or something because I will not use it when I get back to the states, but will have to give it some thought if the 280 wont be enough. I am a fair shot and don't get too rattled. This year I shot my bighorn sheep at 410 yards while he was walking, to give you some idea. ( please don't take that as a boast )

How much are you guys paying for your plane tickets from the U.S. to Africa? I went looking on the net and found tickets from Salt Lake City, Utah to Namibia for 2500 to 3300. That sounds pretty steep to me. The flight went by way of London then Johansberg (spelling?), then to Namibia, for a total of 37 hours. Wow!! The plane ride will end up being almost 50% of the total hunt cost. Is this just the way it is or are there cheaper flights out there?

Thanks for any help and I am sure I will have more questions later. Jake

Hello Ross, welcome to the forum.

If you're looking that far ahead of time, there's absolutely no point in deciding on a country or area now. Things change quickly in Africa sometimes - and in that time span, anything can happen. Mad dictators can die or fall, others can take over, drought can change the profile of game populations, areas can change hands and countries can ban and/or reintroduce hunting etc etc etc. And that's without even beginning to consider how currencies and oil prices etc can be affected by fluctuations in the world economy. - Better to start saving your money and about 12 months before you're ready to go, start researching countries, areas, and companies etc.

Regarding calibres, I'd advise you to go for one of the old standards such as a 30.06 if you're only ever going to hunt plains game and if you think you might one day go for a Buff or two or other dangerous game, buy yourself a 375 H&H or a 416 etc.

Don't bet that you'll have one trip to Africa and no more........ African hunting is extremely addictive and once you've done it, I guarantee you'll bend over backwards to do it again and again!

Hope that helps

I agree, I think the 30-06 with good bullets would be a great choice.

Prices will increase in 5 years. I think your estimate of $15,000 is good for the actual hunt cost plus airfare. I would make it $20,000 to be safe and to include any extra lodging, trophy fees, tips, shipping, taxidermy, and any other related costs. Beter to have a budget on the high side I think. Have fun planning your trip. If you frequent this forum for the next few years you should get all the help you need.

What Shakiri says is so true. In 5 or 6 years it could all be different. Tanzania has changed remarkably in the last two years. Many of their trophy fees have gone up substantially. Keep in mind that Tanz is just one country over there.
If you're going to wait for that length of time I'd suggest getting a credit card that offers airline miles. In 5 or 6 years you will probably have earned enough miles to take care of that portion of the cost.

Ross, It is almost never a good practice to borrow money to pay for family recreation but this may be the time. My wife and I have averaged 1 trip to Africa a year since 2000 and the cost of any safari has doubled since then.(maybe more) Bluefin has given you good advice as we have a Delta skymiles card which is used for gas, groceries, drugs and anything else we can. Most of these things accrue double miles. It is imperative that one book about 300 to 330 days previous to your hunt or Your dates won't be available. Also consider arriving in Africa with a day or two to get acclimated to the time change and the joy of no longer being on the plane. Don"t try to kill everything in Africa on your first hunt and visit Kruger Park or whatever is convenient to your hunting venue for a few days. There are so many things to see and enjoy and you will return as Africa changes your priororities. Enjoy!

Hello Ross:

Considering the way the US Dollar has performed against all other currencies lately, your $15,000 estimate in 4 or 5 years might be a good estimate. For now, however, you could probably do it for around $10,000, give or take a thousand.

Accomodations for your wife won't be a problem. Just check out the various websites and click on accomodations. Although I prefer to hunt from tents most hunters in Namibia are housed in guest houses, and some can be quite luxurious.

Don't bet that you'll be making only one trip to Africa.

You might consider the .300 WinMag. I've used it for just about everything, from ground squirrels to elk. I've not taken the .300 WinMag to Africa, yet, but I feel it would be very satisfactory for all the plains game.

Air fare to Africa will vary according to the time of year you will going, and when you buy your tickets. The long trip can be broken up by staying at an intermediate destination for a night, e.g. London or Frankfurt.

I would recommend going sooner than 4 or 5 years from now, if you can get time off from your work. The longer you wait the higher the cost of hunting Africa seems to be getting.

Good luck and good hunting.

5 more days befor I leave for Africa!
Namibahunter

Only you can determine the feasibility of what I'm about to suggest. If you have reasonable equity in your home or have other hard assets that can be used as collateral, borrow the money and go now. Africa is changing and definitely increasing in price. I waited till I could easily afford the trips and upon reflection wish I would have started 10 years sooner. I have a friend that goes to Alaska every three years by borrowing the money. He realizes he would never get there if he had to save for it. There is always competition for that savings dollar. Now every month he makes a "moose payment" and is really enjoying himself.

Pehaps I am wrong but I do not see $10,000 as possible even now (for everything).

hunt estimate $5000
observer fee $1,000
extras, site seeing, tips $1,000
air $3,000

That is $10,000 right there.

Don't forget dip and pack, shipping, brokerage fees, and taxidermy. It all adds up.

There's no getting away from the fact that hunting Africa is expensive, and if money is tight, I'd recommend you plan and select your safari very carefully. - There are ways you can shave money off of costs. For example, if you arrange to borrow/hire a rifle instead of bringing your own, you can buy a cheaper flight from an airline that doesn't have a firearms permit and you'll also get a saving in not paying excess baggage charges that you might otherwise possibly get hit for. It may well mean you travel for more hours, but you can't have everything.

You could also make further saving by either not having any or limited taxidermy done.

Then you're faced with the problem of plains game only or a combined PG & DG hunt. If you have a PG only hunt, it'll be cheaper in the short term, but you can bet your life that once you've hunted here, you're gonna want to come back. So you might like to consider a combined PG/DG hunt. This'll cost more in the short term, but will save you a lot of money in the longer term. Not an easy decision and I leave it to you to find the answer to that one.

I guess if you still have the money problem on your mind, you have to look for ways to rebudget your lifestyle at home. Again, you have to decide if you're happy to do that. If you are, then look for ways to save money such as driving your car for a year or two more before changing it etc. - Alternatively find a way to work longer hours or get a second job etc.

Whatever type of hunt you decide on, my advice would be to try to buy the best quality you can possibly afford.

Hope that helps.

quote:

Originally posted by Grafton

Pehaps I am wrong but I do not see $10,000 as possible even now (for everything).

hunt estimate $5000
observer fee $1,000
extras, site seeing, tips $1,000
air $3,000

That is $10,000 right there.

Don't forget dip and pack, shipping, brokerage fees, and taxidermy. It all adds up.

You're probably right. I didn't include the trophy taxidermy and shipping, so $15,000 would be a fair estimate.

I'm kinda lucky though, as I hunt with friends and the costs is considerably lower for me.

Namibiahunter

There are few good reasons to borrow money. A safari is one of them.
Robert Ruark

Ross, you have a PM

Ross, I take a .280 on every trip to Africa. I have experienced absolutely no problems with any plains game. Same here at home; Elk, Bear, Deer etc. It has the trajectory to perform at long range if you need it. Stay with bullets designed for larger game (Elk/Bear) and you should do fine. Most all of the medium to large plains game on my web site were taken with my .280 (my pics, not clients). Any questions, feel free to ask. What Shakari told you about long range plans will hold true. Africa can change not only annually, but daily. Planning ahead is the way to go, but expect the unexpected.
Good hunting,
David

Ross, I am sending you a PM. I have created a budgeting tool that I use that has just about everything you will need to budget your trip, including a checklist of all the things I like to take along as well as links for things like insurance and gun handling services(in London and Jo'burg). I am taking my wife with me in May to Namibia for her first trip, so I have already made a bunch of the same decisions you are going to be facing.

The only other thing that I would suggest is going to the Dallas Safari Club show or SCI show. You'll be able to meet plenty of PH's and learn about their hunting prospects. This year I started talking to several about booking for two to three years out. If you are willing to book with a deposit, you can lock in current prices for these future hunts which will give you protection against future price increases which are inevitable.

quote:

Originally posted by 450/400:
Ross, I am sending you a PM. I have created a budgeting tool that I use that has just about everything you will need to budget your trip, including a checklist of all the things I like to take along as well as links for things like insurance and gun handling services(in London and Jo'burg).

I'd love a copy of that if you don't mind.

Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
I didn't even think about things changeing over there so much, thanks for bringing that up. 5 years was a conservative estimate, I might be able to raise that much in 3 but not sure.

Borrowing the money to go is an interesting idea I hadn't thought of. At 15000 it would be cheaper than buying a new car or truck also. My wife didn't think it was a good idea but I would rather be paying off a hunting trip than a mini-van.

I will have to think about gun selection I guess. I would feel comfortable shooting a 280 I think but would also hate to fly half way around the world to wound something and still have to pay for it. I do have an old pre-64 model 70 300 H&H that I got from my grandpa, but it needs a new barrel and I would hate to have it lost while flying. I don't know if loseing your guns is a possiblity but would hate to be the unlucky one. So maybe rebarreling that gun and takeing it will be possible too.

Thanks again for all the help.

Ross, find a take-off pre 64 300 H&H barrel and take it, you'll be glad you did.

Okay Frostbit, send me a PM with your email and I will send it over.

quote:

Originally posted by 450/400:
Ross, I am sending you a PM. I have created a budgeting tool that I use that has just about everything you will need to budget your trip, including a checklist of all the things I like to take along as well as links for things like insurance and gun handling services(in London and Jo'burg). I am taking my wife with me in May to Namibia for her first trip, so I have already made a bunch of the same decisions you are going to be facing.

The only other thing that I would suggest is going to the Dallas Safari Club show or SCI show. You'll be able to meet plenty of PH's and learn about their hunting prospects. This year I started talking to several about booking for two to three years out. If you are willing to book with a deposit, you can lock in current prices for these future hunts which will give you protection against future price increases which are inevitable.

450/400 - Would you cc me with that information also? Much appreciated.

I will send the budgeting tool to anyone that wants a copy. All you have to do is send me your email via PM. I just customized it for Ross, but you will get the idea when you open it. It is built in Microsoft Excel in case you were wondering. It's not that big of a deal, I have simply gone to the trouble to put it together.

450/400

Could your budgeting tool be posted in the "Africa Reference and Information" forum here on AR?

Might save you copying for everyone and may be more visible to others in the future!

Les

It's an excel spreadsheet, so I think the best thing is to email it unless you know how to post it there so that folks can save it to their computer.

The first two topics contain a wealth of information.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/122101325

Ross,
Your 280 thought is excellent. Much better for elk than the 25 and will do excellent in Africa for plains game as well. I occasionally guide for Oryx (Gemsbok) here in NM and I've only seen 2 Oryx absolutely poleaxed, 1 was by a 300 WM (bullet placed just between the eye and the ear) and the other was by a 280 shooting 160 gr A Frame (bullet placed through both front shoulders).

Have the 300 H& H rebarreled/ as classic an african round as there is.

Your .280 would be plenty of gun for any plainsgame hunt..Use the 175 gr. Noslers or even the 160 gr. Nosler..

Today $15,000 would get you a good hunt, in 5 or 6 years it may or may not..who knows..

As to where to go, its Africa, it can change in a heartbeat...When your ready, book about six months to a year ahead of time and you will be able to get accurate answers to your questions not assumptions..

I think I will buy a 280, and fix the 300H&H. One can never have too many guns anyway. I will have to start looking for a good gunsmith to put a new barrel on the 300 H&H. Does anyone know of one in Idaho?

I am thinking about saveing as much as I can for the next 2 or 3 years then getting a loan for the rest. So hopefully I will be Africa bound sooner than I thought. Thanks for all the help.