I am looking to plan a trip for 2013. I have never been to Africa and thought this would be a good place to get some info. I haven't decided on where to go or who to check with yet. I'd like to hunt buffalo and do some fishing while there. Anybody have any suggestions?

We have several booking agents who frequent these forums. I'm sure you will be receiving PM's from some shortly. They will be able to answer many of your questions and make suggestions on how to plan your trip.
Welcome to AR and have a great safari!

RP welcome to AR and there many options to you. Sent you a pm

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by r_p_narramore:
I am looking to plan a trip for 2013. I have never been to Africa and thought this would be a good place to get some info. I haven't decided on where to go or who to check with yet. I'd like to hunt buffalo and do some fishing while there. Anybody have any suggestions?

1. My first suggestion is to get names of reference of anyone you might hunt with and actually speak with the references.

2. Before you book with anyone, research the operation/hunting area. Accuratereloading.com is an excellent place to do this.

3. Attend the Safari Club International and/or the Dallas Safari Club convention and talk to outfitters. Also consider joining your regional Safari Club International organization.

If you're not already a member, join SCI and attend some of thier local "Chapter" functions. You'll meet lots of folks that "have the T-shirt" and can point you in the right directions. They will have their favored outfitters and you'll learn that there is a reason these outfitters are "favored".

HHK Safaris in Zimbabwe can supply you all you need in this regard. www.hhksafaris.com

465H&H

You can hunt buffalo in Dande with Charlton McCallum Safaris and fish for tiger fish on the Zambezi with them also.

Buffalo hunting is the ultimate. It will be your best hunt.

Overall Tanzania has the best bulls (referring to horn and boss size) and the most costly. But other countries have good bulls and equally excellent African hunting experience. Best price will be Zimbabwe for Buff.

1. Books you need to read: Get the "Perfect Shot" and "Africa's Most Dangerous" both written by Robertson. In addition, Boddington has good books on buffalo.

Will Stewart has 2 must books..."Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" and "Elephant Hunting"...both of these books cut through all the bullshit on African big bore rifles and you will be able to pick your rifle with confidence.

2. Ask any questions to AR members. You will get a lot of valuable info here.

3. Cannot wait to hear the stories


Dale

Although there is a lot of romance associated with dangerous game hunting (buffalo), and rightfully so, you may want to consider a plains game hunt for your first African venture. A plains game hunt will cost you a fraction of what a D.G. hunt will cost, and you will shoot several times the amount of game as on a D.G. hunt.

Plains game hunting offers some magnificent trophies like kudu, nyala, and oryx, to name a few. It also offers really big game like eland (half again the size of a buffalo) and if you're so inclined, giraffe (triple the size of a buffalo). Our group of three hunted plains game in Namibia, took a total of 27 trophies among us, and grinned from ear to ear the entire duration of our trip.

Also, it may not be always practical to combine D.G. and plains game hunts since the two don't always occur in huntable populations in the same areas.

I'm not at all denigrating D.G. hunting (and hope to make a return trip for buffalo myself), but I'm confident that limiting your first trip to plains game allows you to enjoy that hunting genre more fully than if your were spending the bulk of your time seeking to shoot an expensive and perhaps somewhat elusive buffalo first.

Book the hunt you really want, but don't overlook the low-cost, high-satisfaction of plains game hunting when planning your trip.

+1 on plains game. There is not a thing wrong with going to shoot a buff on your first trip, but you will have much more appreciation and understanding on a DG hunt if you "get your feet wet" first. It's kind of a logical progression. My entry was a South African plains game package hunt with JP Kleinhans about 10 years ago. I ate it up with a spoon, and have since "graduated" to other hunts. Also +1 on the quality and cost effectiveness of buff in Zimbabwe. CM Safaris is a class act, and a good place to start your search if that is your direction. I'd have a look also at CM's new concession in the Save conservancy for quality plains game, as well.

Check with Martin Pieters, http://martinpieterssafaris.com/

drop the fishing trip and do a buffalo and planes game hunt. that's what i did on my first hunt and i do not regret a single second of it. Uganda was great. check with Steve at the shakari connection and kudu land safari's his web site is a wealth of information especially for the first hunt and the book shelf section is great. despite all the hype it's hunting not rocket science. plan what you want most and have FUN

Speak to Buzz Charlton of cmsafaris.

My girlfriend and I are doing the same hunt in 2014. We are doing two days fishing on the Zambezi before the hunt, then a ten day Buff hunt. We then head to Mana Pools for three days on a Photographic safari.

Mike

Thanks for the welcome. I definately want to hunt buffalo and will probably add some PG as well. I am going to try to set it up to get few days fishing after the hunt.

Hunting in one of Zimbabwe's lower Zambezi valley Safari areas in late September would be my pick.
Areas such as Rifa, Nyakasanga, Sapi, Chewore North and Dande North with the likes of C&M Safaris, Chifuti, Roger Whitall, Chipitani or Dough Carlisle Safaris are worthy options .
Fishing the great Tigerfish in the mighty Zambezi is a grand sport.

Ozhunter,

Tough to beat.

Hope you put that fingerling back mate. We use that sort of stuff for bait.

The travel to and from is tedious, to say the least. If you can afford the time you might consider a few days at Kruger National Park, Victoria Falls, or many of the other great experiences available.

Did my first dangerous game hunt in Africa last year and spent three days tigerfish fishing at tafika fishing camp before starting my hunt. I can't recommend this highly enough as it lets you get your mental clock back in order and you get your first African experience in a relaxed mode. When its time to go hunting you are relaxed and ready. I went with Chifuti Safaris and highly recommend them ; they will treat you very well.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
Check with Martin Pieters, http://martinpieterssafaris.com/

Yep, what Frank said!


Mad Dog

One thing that we always do is book 2-3 days sightseeing/photo safari at the beginning of our hunt. This allows you to
1 Get over jet lag
2 Get used to spotting/judging game
3 Leaves time before you start your hunt for lost luggage to catch up

RP

If your in North America, you might as well go for a buffalo on your first trip. Airfare is still the same, weather it be for plains game or DG. Your money your hunt, go for it. I would recomend Zambia, or Zimbabwe.

Good Luck

RP- I would suggest you keep buffalo as your priority. I went on buffalo and PG hunt for my first hunt in Zim. I am glad I did it this way. I did miss out on a nice Kudu and Waterbuck as it took 7 days of a 10 day hunt to get a good buffalo and did not want to get side tracked until buffalo was in the salt. This has given me a good reason to go back this July to get the Kudu and waterbuck. Also, if you never get back to Africa you will be sorry that you did not hunt the "Balck Death"!

Welcome to the forum, great guys on the site.

I just went on my first Safari this year in April (see my report in Hunting reports - Africa)
I also wanted to go for buffalo, but many of my friends that have made numerous safaris, highly recommended that my first be for plains game.
So that is what I did, and I do not regret it.
I took 8 animals; Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Gemsbok, Springbok, Blesbok, Warthog and Zebra, and still did not spend what I would have had I taken a Buffalo.
I think the Blue Wildebeest was a real eye opener for me as to how tough the African animals can be. I hit it in the left elbow, and it went through the chest, straight through the center of the heart, and exited on the other side and it still ran around for 10 minutes before it finally dropped.

The outfitter I used was http://www.jakkalskuilsafaris.com/ I highly recommend him. It's worth a look.

I already booked with him again for 2014, but just may go again next year. I don't think I can wait 2 years!

Go to hunt plains game for a week and get it out of your system. You will see more game in that week than in a decade of hunting back in North America, you will shoot some beautiful trophies that will put a goofy smile on your face every time you look at them for the rest of your life and all will be good with the world.

Then, for the second half of your hunt, you pursue a buffalo, hopefully working hard and shooting a nice bull towards the end of your allotted hunt period. If you're anything like me, that'll be it...you will decide then and there that, although plains game was nice and you're glad to have done it, any future returns to Africa will be focussed on the single-minded pursuit of one of the DG species. If you have even a bit of desire to shoot a buffalo/elephant/leopard/whatever, then spending 24+ hours in a succession of planes flying halfway 'round the world only to hunt the African equivalent of whitetails and elk makes zero sense to me. It's AFRICA...do it right!

I've gotten some good advice in this thread and through PMs and I've contacted a few people about putting this together. How far ahead of time are most hunts booked?

r_p_narramore,

Unless you have a very flexible schedule, an understanding employer and ready cash on hand it would be best to book over a year in advance to get the optimum dates for what you want to pursue and to ensure that quota for those animals is available to you. If you do have flexibility etc you could wait around for a special or discounted offer. That doesn't work for most folks.

The vast majority of my clients are booking 1-2 years in advance which assures them the best dates, available quota and they can pay off their safari in several payments which works best for most people.

Mark

I was told to rty a plains game hunt first & went with that & I am glad I did. I learned a lot about safaris and about how to search for the right PH and place to hunt. After that I did a Buffalo/Plains game and then an Elephant/
Plains game. Tou cant go wrong going plains game first & then progress to DG. One thing you should know before going the first time : YOU
WILL GO BACK ! There is nothing like hunting in Africa.

Contact me on info@victorhunt.com

quote:

Originally posted by r_p_narramore:
I am looking to plan a trip for 2013. I have never been to Africa and thought this would be a good place to get some info. I haven't decided on where to go or who to check with yet. I'd like to hunt buffalo and do some fishing while there. Anybody have any suggestions?

Thanks for all the help guys. Sorry if I didn't get back to everybody's PM's. I've decided to go with Charlton McCallum Safaris the last 10 days of September 2013 in the Zambezi Valley. I'm going to fish for a couple of days before the hunt to give myself time to get over the flights. Myles and Buzz were very helpful.

R-P-N

We are looking forward to having you out with us and the fishing on the Zambezi is not only a wonderful experience but a great way to beat the jet lag! Cheers Buzz

You made a great choice, IMHO.

Great choice, just returned from there and saw one heck of a buffalo, 40" with extremely deep drop. Stayed in their fish camp, very nice. You will have an outstanding trip.