In so many postings, here and elsewhere, I have seen been-there-once-African experts, and even real been-there–many-times-African experts, giving advice to first timers to, as one of the first steps in planning a safari, “make a wish list” of what animals the hunter wishes to hunt. Now this sounds like good advice, but is it worth considering?

How should a guy living somewhere in USA [or in Europe or wherever] decide that he would like to hunt kudu, dik-dik and Cape grysbok? Take a book of African Mammals and page through, looking at the pictures? How, and for what reasons should, a would-be Africa goer decide on any combination of African antelope and other animals? Do you include warthog because it is so ugly? Or because one of the favorite characters in “The Lion King” is a warthog? Or does warthog make your list because you saw a video clip showing the cutest little piglets running off with their mother, all with tails erect like antenna?

But that is enough criticism or negative thoughts. How about some positive suggestions?

Presumably the guy who contemplates a first hunting safari to Africa has at least some hunting experience in his own country? What aspect of this experience does he want to improve on? Or does he simply want to have another experience – as another current thread here discusses so well?

IMHO there are quite a few things that compete to be top of the list of first things to do when a first timer to Africa starts planning his hunting safari. Listed in no particular order these include: An honest self assessment of the trophy quality desires of the hunter. An honest self assessment of which is more important; the success of getting top trophies by any legal hunting method, or, on the other hand, the honesty of the hunting attempt and the methods employed? Another possible the first thing that a first time to Africa goer should decide is: In what type of biome or ecosystem do I wish to hunt?

Hunting in a true grassveld or in the Karoo is a vastly different experience from hunting in a coastal forest or thick woodland. It is a fact that, while hunting in the open areas, you will probably see the quarry in the open for a long or very long time before you actually shoot. In forest there is typically very little time to evaluate the trophy and get a shot fired. Only when you know which type of hunting is likely to appeal to you more can you logically decide to add nyala – a dense woodland/forest dweller - to your wish list or rather a black wildebeest as a true grassland species.

While I have the highest respect for a true trophy hunter (like 505 Gibbs who turns down a 44” sable as “looking a bit immature”) I also appreciate the honesty in the following quote from a recent message by a prospective client, he said: “….. - definitely not interested in trophy animals. At my age I don't have to impress anyone; just please myself.”

But it is not my intention to here spell out in great detail what a prospective Africa goer should do as first (or one of the first) actions to plan his hunting safari. I'm simply not qualified to do that - my first African hunt was undertaken when I was just a small boy! Just throwing a stone into a bush to see what jumps out? I'll be pleased to hear the views of people who have actually done it, or is busy doing such planning now.

When planning for the first hunt,there is a "chicken/egg" situation one must address. (As in: which came first...) Do you choose WHERE to go first...learn what's available in that area,and plan accordingly...OR....does one choose a "target species" the taking of which has priority over all other game options...then choose the best place to go based on that.
For anyone making their FIRST hunt, trying to focus on a single high priority target species might not be the best plan..but everyone has different priorities.
Once this is resolved, everything flows from there.

(The following is an individual experience. Your results may vary... )

I just came back last weekend from my first real African hunting safari (trip report sometime later in the week.) I spent 18 months planning it. A bit retentive, I know, but I am a military guy and we just do that.

I picked adventure as the most important thing. So, I chose a mix of ranch hunting and open country tented safari in Damara Land in Namibia. The tented motor safaris of the 1950's East Africa are long over and Damara Land is as close as you can get today. When I showed up and met the outfitter and PH, the first words were to the effect that I did not bring a tape measure and the most important thing on my list was to just have a good time and see new things. No plan ever survives first contact so I would not be distressed if things changed. For animals, I wanted a good representative kudu, warthog, and zebra. I also had a number of other things on a cull list so I could enjoy the hunting without worrying about running up a huge bill.

Did I have a great time? OMG, yes! I booked for 13 animals over 13 days. We were requested to provide meat for the local conservancy for some special occasions and ended up with an extra 13 animals (26 total)! How often do you get to hunt an extra kudu, couple extra zebras, gemsboks, shed loads of ostriches and springbok,and all for the table??!!

So, from this been-there-one-time expert, I would say anybody planning a first trip should decide on what they want out of it first (specific trophy, specific place,adventure, or just something affordable, etc.) and then go from there.

One thing I would like to offer up; our outfitter and PH on the last day told us that because we had set the bar at an easy level when we arrived it allowed them to be able to raise it and exceed our expectations. If we had come with very high demands (a 60" kudu, say)it would have made it very hard to go above and beyond for us. Just a thought...

Hi Andrew,
The way I did it the first time was to go to the hunting shows. I went to Dallas Safari Club show in Dallas. Met with and visited with a lot of people "in the business". Got a lot of ideas. Had a friend that had been hunting with one of the outfitters I had visited with. He had a great hunt, so that is who I booked with.

I had an idea of what I wanted to hunt, so did not book a package deal. The hunt was based on the daily rate. We just hunted and decided when we came across an animal if I wanted it or not.

I for sure wanted to hunt free range, not a smaller fenced property. There were boundry fences, but to keep people out, not animals in. The property was not fenced entirely, a river was one boundry. It was low, so animals could cross freely. It was very remote, so not much chance of people crossing.

Since then I have become acouiantences with a lot of folks who have hunted a lot in Africa, including Accurate Reloading. What a wealth of information and great network we have if we will utilize the resource.

My buffalo hunt to Zambia was even easier to arrange. It was an end of the season hunt, so it came together very quickly. Resources on this forum gave freely and honestly their opinion of the outfitter to help me make an informed decision. It worked out well.

I will continue to use this resource and others to keep informed for hunting in the future.

Andrew,

First I personally think a prospective safari hunter should give as much consideration to the type of experience he/she wants as much if not more than the animals they want to pursue. Ranch hunt vs conservancy vs wilderness etc. The total experience will vary considerably from one to the other and all will have their advantages.

Second once a hunter has chosen a safari operator that can provide the experience needed and the animals desired they should relax and let the safari unfold as it will. In my line of work I talk to many safari operators and guides. The concensus is that often the hunter who is least concerned about specific goals has the best hunt or safari and often the biggest trophies.

Finally I think it is a mistake for a hunter to tell his PH that he does not care about trophies unless they have booked a cull hunt. It is much better to tell the PH that they are looking for good representative trophies for the area and animals being pursued. Then trust the PH's recommendation on what to shoot. Letting the PH know you don't care about trophies is the perfect scenario for the PH to ride the hunter around filling the wish list with dinks and immature specimens. On the other hand it is just as big a mistake to have unrealistic trophy expectations. Being stuck on numbers is a sure recipe for a ruined safari as all the wonderful things about safari are missed because of the disappointment of not taking top trophies.

Mark

Believe, Andrew, it's worth making explicit what the discussion has so far subsumed: the first issue is how much money a new African hunter has to spend on a)air fare, b) day rates/trophy fees, c) taxidermy with some consideration of gifts for your spouse if not along.

That established, you can engage your philosophical considerations of representative heads versus trophy book entries and the desire for a quality hunt versus single-minded trophy searching.

That discussion must be informed by your physical condition and your shooting ability. No good to hunt the open spaces if you cannot shoot the distances. No good to hunt the forest if you're a ditherer when a target presents. For sure if you've only hunted from a stand or blind, you are in for an African surprise!

Maybe just book where you can afford to hunt and see what's there. All of African hunting will prove to be an amazing experience.

Regards, Tim

My 1st consideration was to visit sites on the internet to get an idea how much I could expect to spend.
Once I got a ball-park figure, I spent more time studying outfitters & what game was available on their locations.
Then I went to the DSC conv., found someone that suited my needs, talked to Craig Boddington, he gave them the OK, so I booked with them. No it was not someone he was affiliated with, but someone he had hunted with years before.
At least thats the way I remember it.

quote:

No plan ever survives first contact so

... Bwana Cole, no truer words were ever spoken. Good advice from all, including Mark and others, who suggest you choose the experience first; worry about the trophies later.