Let's say someone is 46 yrs old. They have roughly a $50k budget a year for hunting (flight costs excluded). How would you plan the next several years for hunting with this in mind:
a. USFW's possibility of shutting down certain species
b. Increasing prices ie mntn nyala

* This person has hunted plains game but none of the big five and has the necessary equipment such as clothing and rifles.

"$50k budget a year for hunting" ..........The world is your oyster!

bluefin,

Some species are a double hit, USFWS issued only three import permits last year for High Altai Argali from Mongolia and the price this year also went from 55k to 65k. There is a huge backlog of hunters who paid in full and are awaiting their import permits so they can hunt and have their trophy imported.

I would go with the species most likely to have import permits stopped as opposed to cost escalation,unless you do not care about importing the trophy.

Who knows what will happen to the lion at the next CITES Convention????

I would take a year and a half worth or even two's worth and book a 21 or 24 day elephant, buff and leopard hunt in Zim. Might throw in lion if the additional cost weren't too high. Don't forget trying for a hyhena, which is good fun. I'm guessing you have shot pretty much all of the plains game species you want so just go with the flow on these. I would book the hunt in Chewore South, which is controled by Chifuti Safaris, but I wouldn't rely on their PH's (except Iven Carter) and would book the hunt through another PH, Chifuti's PH seem maybe a little on the inexperienced side, and certainly are not experienced in Chewore South. Look to PH's who work or worked for Whittall, Makore/The Duckworths or Western/ The Rosenfelts, who shored Chewore South for twenty years befor eloosing it to Chifuti. PM me if you want referals to PH's who are excellent and who lnow Chewore, there are quite a few and not all hunted for Whittall/Duckworth/Rosenfelt.

I would book one trophy bull ele, and also one or two tuskless, and two bull buff. For the buff, I would tell the PH I wanted to hunt one dugga boy bachelor from a small group and one herd bull so that I hade both differering experiences. The two differing ele experiences would also be covered. Book in May if a big bull ele and the cats are what you most prefer, book in late September or early October if an all round great hunt is prefered and a good but not great ele bull will do it for you.

Leopard (and lion) hunting is time consuming, but can have its own rewards. Its not entirely compatable with a mutli ele/buff hunt, so I would make sure that there is an appy and extra truck to do the baiting and blind building and would participate in baiting and blind building just enough to get the taste of it, until the ele and buff quota have been filled.

Screw collecting heads, concentrate on collecting memories!

I've done this hunt three times and, though I've done other DG hunts and had great hunts, I can't wait to do this one again...

JPK

I would go for PAC elephant, PAC Hippo, PAC Buffalo in Zim. This is relativly cheap and than is enough left for aother trip.

I'm with Kathi on this one, find everything threatened under CITES and start hunting it. Once you've got them out of the way, then worry about things like elk and cape buffalo. I guess the answer will depend though upon if the excitement of the hunt or expanding your trophy room is more important.

If I were you, I would book a classic 21 day elephant bull/lion/leopard/buffalo safari with Zambezi Hunters in Mahenye and the Save Valley. Then you would have a good chance of taking fine representatives of all the big four in first class hunting areas. ZH took 5 elephant bulls in Mahenye last season between 55 and 78 pounds, including 2 seventy pounders. Although their ivory was officially weighed too late to enter, they would have easily taken the best average of three elephant for 2008 award. They also take big maned lions that are not canned, monster Save Valley leopards and a number of 40+ buffalo bulls each year. Just search Zambezi Hunters on this forum to take a look at some of their trophies.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Dave

David,

That's a great plan but you'd have to skip one year to get the necessary funds at 50k per year. We worked that exact plan out with Alistair for a client at Dallas. Doable, a fabulous safari and good value for the dollar but certainly over $50,000.

Mark

I would take Ernest Gilbert on two p.a.c. elephant hunts a year. You would have to listen to him in camp over drinks and dinner, so make sure that you book both of you 1x1 for hunting so you don't have to hear his stories both day and night.

I dont have fifty k a year to spend on hunting and somehow i still manage to book three years in advance.I dont have to worry about cites as i live in south africa.one thing i do know is that every second year must be in Zim for ele and buff.I just love huntin g in Zim.Every other year would be hunting something more specelized like lord derby or bongo.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
David,

That's a great plan but you'd have to skip one year to get the necessary funds at 50k per year. We worked that exact plan out with Alistair for a client at Dallas. Doable, a fabulous safari and good value for the dollar but certainly over $50,000.

Mark

Mark,

What would one be looking at?

Dave

Personally, I'd giggle myself to sleep each night.

Lion, as soon as possible. That is what I would do.

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
David,

That's a great plan but you'd have to skip one year to get the necessary funds at 50k per year. We worked that exact plan out with Alistair for a client at Dallas. Doable, a fabulous safari and good value for the dollar but certainly over $50,000.

Mark

Mark,

What would one be looking at?

Dave

Let me try and guess the answer to my own question....75 grand?? Oh dear, you'd only be able to do do that hunt twice every three years bluefin
But you'd only need to do it once anyway, then you could choose something different each year - mountain nyala, lord derby etc....

Dave

"Life is short, even when the days are long." (Quote by John Mellencamp's Grandmother).
Don't skip a year, don't delay! While a long term plan is great, go for a good time!
Just had another healthy friend have a heart attack and six by passes. He will never hunt again; will be lucky to get out of rehab. Low cholestrol, good blood pressure, in good healh, until now.
Go and have fun with friends.
Bfly

Dave,

Done properly the safari would probably be over 50K before you pulled the trigger.

Mark

I would just like to have 50K to LIVE on. Have never had that much discreationary income.

Two words: Botswana Elephant

JPK
How does 100% on ELE bull, buffalo, lion, and leopard so far in Chewore South taken exclusively with Chifuti PH's sound to you ? Most hunters would like the sounds of those odds , certainly our clients who have hunted in Chewore South this year are coming home pretty darn satisfied with both their pro's and their bag.
This is our second full year down south and our track record there is excellent. Our PH team is made up of very experienced hunters of different ages, but all have a lot of experience hunting in the lower Zambezi. Opinions are varied, and we will not always agree, but I simply ask you to not make generalized statements that may lead someone to a conclusion not in line with the results of our efforts in this great area. As to your suggestion of what and where to hunt on his budget,you were "SPOT ON ""
Respectfully submitted
Dave

Go get your Lion, before it's too late.

I agree with LionHunter and Charles Helm on the lion issue.

I bet there are AR Members who had the opportunity to hunt Jaguar or Tiger when it was legal and chose to hunt something else not realizing all hunting of them would be stopped.

Even disregarding CITES for U.S. citizens, China closed hunting (soon to reopen), Botswana closed lion, Kenya completely closed hunting.

If I had to choose specific animals I would pick lion, any Argali, Markhor, Mountain Nyala
(because they are found in only one place in the world, Ethiopia).

Whatever you decide, best of luck and it is a GREAT problem to have deciding which hunts to do.

The three things I'd look at at would be:

1. Personal priorities (Big 5, Spiral nine, etc)
2. Likelyhood of availability and or price changes
3. Personal health

With these in mind, and using my own priorities
I'd do Mtn. Nyala this year if I could get in before the price increase. If not, I'd get a lion before a possible embargo. Then elephant, LDE, and bongo as soon as I could after that.

In my own goals I put the spirals as number one, with a possible Big 5 after that. I try to go whenever I have the money to do so, but I also want to get the more physically demanding hunts done while I'm able to do so. I'm in good health now (39 for the second time), and I don't plan on being in bad health later, but then again who does? I'd really hate to be in the position to later to have the money to go after anything, but not have the stamina or strength to do anything but climb into a ground blind.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Fulson:
JPK
How does 100% on ELE bull, buffalo, lion, and leopard so far in Chewore South taken exclusively with Chifuti PH's sound to you ? Most hunters would like the sounds of those odds , certainly our clients who have hunted in Chewore South this year are coming home pretty darn satisfied with both their pro's and their bag.
This is our second full year down south and our track record there is excellent. Our PH team is made up of very experienced hunters of different ages, but all have a lot of experience hunting in the lower Zambezi. Opinions are varied, and we will not always agree, but I simply ask you to not make generalized statements that may lead someone to a conclusion not in line with the results of our efforts in this great area. As to your suggestion of what and where to hunt on his budget,you were "SPOT ON ""
Respectfully submitted
Dave

Dave,

Fair criticism.

I agree that my comment was too general and, in retrospect, way too overbroad.

In addition, when I typed it, I didn't intend for it to read nearly so strongly or definitively as it does on my reread. I surely meant no slight to Chifuti, which is a first class operation.

Appologies.

JPK

Take your lion on a 28 day. This year you will be about to do lion, leopard ele and buff.
But do the lion now.
Come July you will have your pick of the best places in Africa to hunt.

Your very fortunate. Enjoy!

Lion (wild) first and right away.
I've hunted them myself twice, taking one. I've booked 2010 for another. My fear is they will not be available much longer.
$50K a year is a nice problem to have especially if you can say that the day before taxes are due.

The lion would be real tempting but I just don't have it in for cats. My 'quest' would have to be along the lines of an adventure. One that piques that interest would be a combo hunt for bongo and LDE. It would be 30 miserable days in the jungle. Go in 10 lbs overweight and come out 25 under. Something about hacking your way thru the jungle and making your own huts... I know it's strange but doing a lion hunt with a howitzer and having 3 cannons behind you as backups just doesn't seem adventurous enough.
Another hunt would be a snow sheep and Russian brown bear. Again, it's the foreign travel that not many have done and the difficult terrain inherent with any sheep hunt.
On Africa, would love to get a big tusker and a really nice dagga boy. The gazelles (thompson and grants) are also on the list. The only other would be a really big sable and roan.
New Zealand is on the wishlist as well for chamois and tahr. Maybe a nice stag.
Beyond that, I'd like to finish up my sheep for the grand slam and then concentrate on nice whitetails, muleys and elk.

Still have to find a house to put all this stuff in. I could add on to mine but it would rather find a newer one that had a nice sized game room already done. My fear is having a house that's stuffed with animal heads (like this isn't enough?). I don't find that appealing. Would rather have something with a smattering of interesting game from all over the world. The Grand Slam would be the coups de gras. Hopefully I'll have a Marco Polo to go with it by Dec. The bongo and LDE would be next b/c of the adventure it would have been. Then the NZ animals and the Russian just to show that you've been there. The rest would be b/c they're 'pretty'. LOL

* for you lion hunters please don't take any of this as a knock on your achievements. I love looking at the beast of Africa. And anyone who gets close enought to shoot one has my respect. They just aren't my thing.

What ever floats your boat. That's the beauty of our sport. Something for every taste.
I've been a sheep hunt most of my life, in fact I really can't count how many sheep hunts I've been on, so I can understand your desire. At 46 I'd say climb until you can't anymore. I'm 55 and I can tell you it's a lot harder now then at 46.
Good luck, but the answer to your original question is still LION.

If your into adventure and interested in a big tusker, consider a backpack hunt into the furthest reaches of Chewore South. We got way back, where we walked by 52" kudu at 35yds and duiker and kilpspringer at five and ten and they didn't know what we were. Very cool. But we only touched the area beyond the last road- Pete Fick's road, which wasn't opened last year - and we returned every night.

With a packpack hunt, you could tread ground not traveled by a white man or lkely any man for the last half century, or maybe never.

I hope to have both the time and the time to get fit enough for that hunt. It's rough beyond the last road, heck, even the last road is a bitch.

JPK

Tracking LDE and Bongo on foot with out dogs, For me there is nothing else in Africa that compares! I want a true wilderness hunt and adventure. I don't know why but now that I am older I don't get excited following a guide or driving around looking for animals out of a car. Give me two great trackers, two weeks of food and drop me off at the end of the road!

Someday I would like to hunt Rusa deer, Tahr, Ibex

I'm 25 with a lot of hunting in front of me, but I agree with you, and I have already picked my 35th birthday present to myself as an LD Eland and Bongo hunt. My other suggestion (and personal desire) would be to go sheep hunting. I think the urials look the most exotic, and the argalis look the most regal. if you want to take me, I'll give you an IOU for the hunt (I'm good for it, I promise).

One 18 day Safari to Zim's Zambezi Vally for Lion, Tuskless Ele, Buffalo, Hyena and Plainsgame.
PH; Ian Rutledge, Ian Gibson, Doug Carlisle, Andy Hunter, Derk Mosert.


One 16 day Safari to Zambia's Luangwa Vally for Buff, Leopard and Plainsgame.

One 18 day Safari to Tanzania's Masai Land for Gazelle and other local Plains game with one Buffalo hunted from an area adjacent Tarangire Nat Park and one Buffalo and Bushbuck hunted from one of the local Masai mountains.
PH; Jonathan Taylor, Steve Attwell, Brian Van Blerk, Tony Moore, "Bloodnut".

One 14 day Northern Mozambique safari for Buffalo and Eland.
Stu Taylor, Jaimie Wilson, Derek Littleton.

One 18 day early season Zim Communal area Ele Hunt.
PH Buzz Charlton

Once you do all the above hit the Cameroun for forest elephant, forest buffalo, bongo, Lord Derby...oh ya and roan.

USFWS doesn't affect me. Neither does the desire to bring trophies home. Just another perspective of hunting.

I guess I would buy a traditional Double Rifler and a nice long range shooting rifle in something like 7x64 and hunt the Big Five and some exotic's in remote places over the following few years.

Book a hunt each year with Classic safaris for the next several years and take one out to go and hunt the Mtn. Nyala.

JPK
You are a gentleman and a veteran hunter on top of that. Thanks for the above comeback . True class.
Many thanks my friend.
Dave