I just had a group of Australian hunters with me. Yes it was very hot and the bush was extremely dense. We left camp between 04h15 and 04h30 and hunted on foot till between 11h00 and 12h00. We had brunch and a shower to cool off. Depending on the temprature we left again between 15h30 and 16h00 to hunt till 19h00 when it was dark. After supper we went out to call jackal and do a night drive, this was not done every evening, depending on the amount of slautering and how tired everyone was.

The end of the day a client should spend as much time in the bush as possible, they came out to hunt and that is what he or she should do. Arriving, departure, traveling days and Sundays was charged at a reduced rate.
That is the way it should be, even if I got to pay my ph's for that day.

Jaco Human
jacohu@mweb.co.za
SA Hunting Experience

There's no getting away from the fact that African hunting is expensive...... and there are many out there who want to hunt Africa, but have to do it on a budget and that's understandable.......but life being what it is, you can't buy a Rolls Royce or a Cadillac for the price of a Ford and you can't buy a Holland & Holland rifle for the price of a Bruno or a CZ........you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. In other words, you get what you pay for. Or more precisely, you don't get what you don't pay for.

Very, very true.......

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I do think there are some good deals to be had - Namibia plains game, for example, is very reasonable.

Maybe I don't know what "cheap" is - anyone care to define that?

I went on my first African trip in 95, when I was in my mid-30s and didn't make squat. I budgeted 9K and came right in at that price for a plains game hunt.

anyone hunt Mozambique for buffalo this year?

I go on long hunts and after a couple weeks it gets a little routein so occasionally we go into town and borrow someones pool. I never payed for a day hunting that I didnt hunt unless it was my choice not to hunt.

Anders: That kudu you shot looks real big! 56 in? More?

How does one go about arranging a hunt for wild reindeer (vildren)? Expensive?

Kempe goda billeder!

Cewe

Anders, nine trophies in 10 days is pretty darn good.

I see no reason for anyone to bad mouth RSA, its my favorite place to hunt plainsgame and I have hunted about every nook and cranny in Africa for all species...

RSA has more species, large land holdings, and a lot of good legitamate Safari Companies that work their tails off to keep you happy..You can go on a 7 day hunt, shoot 7 or more head of game and when you get home you have spent about $5000., not any more than some elk hunts that may give you a 19% chance of success rate of killing an elk....

I have hunted a Safari Company in RSA for about 15 years and to date I have never had but one complaint and it was really not jusitfied, although I am sure the complainent thought it was, but after a few more trips he will realise it wasn't...That happens, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing type of deal....

I can also send you on a $150,000 Safari...Of course you get what you pay for but there are some real good deals out there if you know what your looking for and do your homework...Same with a Rolls Royce or Caddalac or 10 acres of land, anybody can buy that stuff, but some will get a better deal that others, Its a buyer market..

Today IMO, the best deal out there is a Tanzanian 7 day Buffalo package 2x1..Ours are $10,550 all inclusive of everything but the $200 per gun fee and tips, some may be cheaper but be sure and ask EXACTLY what they include. I know we could sell them cheaper but at the clients expense, and he would not get the same hunt..Additional plainsgame on quoto is available on these hunts for reasonalbe trophy fees and cheaper than other countries. A deluxe plainsgame hunt will cost you about the same or more, so that may be a consideration...

Do your homework and choose wisely, book early.. I would beware of auctions as some are good and some are hunts from hell apparantly...If you have any questions or problems give me a call and I will do my best to help you, and you don't have to book with me to get my help...I enjoy helping folks, unless they piss me off!

Have a good hunt and remember life is not all work, stop and smell the roses and you'll live longer.......

Some of the driving around on hunts has been as enjoyable to me as the hunting. As long as I knew what I was paying for up front it doesn't seem like a big problem to me.

Both my hunts were in Botswana. Fly in and fly out days are not counted and we started hunting immediately after leaving the camp, in fact my youngest son's kudu was taken 5 minutes after leaving the camp. I did lose a couple of hours while my PH changed a bearing in the truck but I still spent the last 3 days of a 10 day buffalo and plainsgame hunt fishing and taking pictures as I had used up all the licenses that I had bought.
You need to think about the type of hunt that you want to experience. The amount of time that you have to spend traveling to where you are going to hunt is an important facit of the hunt. You need to have discussed this with your outfitter or booking agent before you book your hunt. It is one of the factors, including cost, type of lodging, species avalable, etc. that you consider when you decide where to go and who to book with. I would guess, I don't have the experience to say conclusively, that the lower the cost of the hunt the more you tend to travel or the more limited you are on species. If cost concerns limit your options, go with the flow. Enjoy being away and hunting and remember that Africa runs on African time which is somewhat slower than Island time.

Wow, that's sad. I booked a 10 day plains game hunt, but hunted for 11 days, because a nyala wouldn't go along with the plan.

First day was a safety briefing, sight in rilfes, and the first animal went down by 10:00 AM. There was never a wasted minute, as a matter of fact my nephew wanted to hunt "varmits" so every night he went out after jackals and hyenas.

I think the difference is if you pay a daily rate, in addition to trophy fees, then your PH wants you to be in the field. On the other hand if you pay for "6 animals included in the price", then what is the incentive for the PH to get you your animals? The PH I hunted with, if a vehicle went down, I only found out about it because we were using a diffent one. The PH was the best hunter I have ever been with, both in hunting skill and as a companion.
http://www.sandriver.co.za/

I have to agree, most people don't want to spend any extra days "wasting time" (not hunting) Out of office, to airport, plane flight to wherever, charter to camp, hunt, charter to airport, flight home, drive to office for work.

Your missing a lot. We wanted 5 days extra in Oct. but couldn't get plane seats to work. Take time to enjoy the country, people and etc. Take time you "smell the roses", you only have one life to live. There is more to it than pulling the trigger and seeing how many animals you can kill in "X" days. I am not being politically correct, the word now is harvest. (Such BS, you harvest wheat and corn, you kill animals.)

The old time way of arriving in Nariobi or Mombasa, getting measured for clothes at the tailors for pickup the next day or two, a vist to one of the gun shops to rent a "heavy" rifle if you didn't bring one, last minute supply arangements by the White Hunter were not so bad after all.
It gave the hunter (client) time to get rested up, catch up on time changes and enjoy a little time at the New Stanley or the Norfolk. He would be ready and able to hunt when they got to camp, which might well take over a days time as well.

If one is so concerned about his almighty dollars or whatever coin not doing well while he is away that he cannot spend another couple of days, then maybe he should stay home and guard his money and not hunt. Or is his hunt such a status thing that he much have some animals on the wall to be considered successful. This type guy is not going to take time to "smell the roses" and when on deaths bed he will be sondering why LIFE passed him by. From what I read, I think a lot of todfay's "hunters" fit this mold and that is not good for the future of hunting in my opinion.

I am sure I stepped on some toes, but so be it, it's still my opinion and all don't have to agree.

Anders: Are you shitting me? I counted the spirals, compared it to the one I have on the wall...

Who takes your photos!

A Merry X-mas to all of you!

Haha.. I will never tell you.. My PH took it. He was pretty good at arranging photos, but this picture was actually my idea. To fool you all..
I think the main reason for this one to go "only" 48,5", is that it has pretty thight spirals. Not the depth of curls that 55-65 inchers got..
Merry christmas to you, too!

Anders: 48.5 is a good kudu but I still don�t believe you! OK I guess I thought I was better at guessing horn length.

You have a pm, cewe!