Buffalo are the most popular DG animal in Africa. Let the buff be your first if not your only DG animal.

I would just like to make the point that if you are stretching and scraping to make a DG hunt happen, you may want to reconsider your plans and go for plains game instead. PG hunts are often more enjoyable, there is more variety, you will do a LOT more hunting and shooting, and there is plenty of challenge in taking a good bushbuck or a good kudu, and you won't break the bank doing so.

Many buffalo hunts are tedious. Walk miles in the heat. Get blisters and dehydration. Eventually shoot a buffalo, not much different in most cases than shooting a moo cow.

If you must have the DG "experience", then hunt PG in an area where you will bump into the odd buff and elephant. I can point you in the right direction.

From experience, there is a large correlation between people who can't really afford the hunt and people who have "bad" hunts. In other words, it's the people who can't afford the hunt that come away complaining the loudest. These folks wake up and go to sleep calculating how much money they spent that day and wondering why the beer was not quite cold enough, or the meal not quite elaborate enough, or the trophy not quite big enough, or the suggested tip way too painful etc.

In other words, if you are not wealthy, don't hobnob with the wealthy or indulge in the pasttimes of the wealthy. You will be uncomfortable and every little glitch will seem like a "ripoff" to you. You will likely not enjoy your hunt if you have trouble parting with your dollars. Kinda like going to a fancy restaurant and then sitting there in agony looking for something on the menu that you can afford while the waiter looks down his nose at you.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
From experience, there is a large correlation between people who can't really afford the hunt and people who have "bad" hunts. In other words, it's the people who can't afford the hunt that come away complaining the loudest. These folks wake up and go to sleep calculating how much money they spent that day and wondering why the beer was not quite cold enough, or the meal not quite elaborate enough, or the trophy not quite big enough, or the suggested tip way too painful etc.

In other words, if you are not wealthy, don't hobnob with the wealthy or indulge in the pasttimes of the wealthy. You will be uncomfortable and every little glitch will seem like a "ripoff" to you. You will likely not enjoy your hunt if you have trouble parting with your dollars. Kinda like going to a fancy restaurant and then sitting there in agony looking for something on the menu that you can afford while the waiter looks down his nose at you.

I have to say that the correlation you speak of probably exists simply because the majority of clients hunting buffalo are those who cannot, by the above definition, "afford the hunt". I would simply bet that the "average" buff hunter is a middle or upper middle-class guy which means that the majority of dissatisfied clients, just as a result of the numbers, will also be middle class guys. It's not at all that "average" guys are more difficult to please (I would strongly assert the opposite most of the time) it's that they are most outfitters' bread and butter and maybe have no other international hunting experiences and therefore don't know what to expect. The job of an outfitter is therefore to educate and satisfy those clients that represent their actual (not perceived!) client base.

I would also go so far as to assert that "average guys" are objectively much more likely to have bad hunts not at all because they are more picky or "trying to hobnob with the rich" but simply because this group is much more likely to make compromises when choosing outfitters and areas while trying to save a buck. Of course, the $8000 seven day Buff hunt in a marginal area is a world away from the $10,000 seven day buff hunt in a really good area with a known outfitter. I don't think most average guys see that and it gets them into trouble. It's the agent's job to keep that from happening and to make it clear that there is just more wiggle-room when it comes to getting a decent hunt for a low price when it comes to plains game so fewer "average" clients are likely to shop for bargains and get stung in that DG sphere. I think good advice for most any guy planning to hunt DG is "save another 15% of the current hunt price and upgrade the area or outfitter...it's almost always money well spent".

That said, being an economist, I am sometimes amazed at the bargains that can be had out there if one shops around. I am personally fortunate to have proven wrong Milton Friedman's "no free lunch" mantra...on multiple occasions! I feel blessed but also realize that I spent a whole lot of time researching this stuff to make sure I knew what I was getting into. Unfortunately, I would bet most first time DG hunters do not do that.

JMHO

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
From experience, there is a large correlation between people who can't really afford the hunt and people who have "bad" hunts. In other words, it's the people who can't afford the hunt that come away complaining the loudest. These folks wake up and go to sleep calculating how much money they spent that day and wondering why the beer was not quite cold enough, or the meal not quite elaborate enough, or the trophy not quite big enough, or the suggested tip way too painful etc.

In other words, if you are not wealthy, don't hobnob with the wealthy or indulge in the pasttimes of the wealthy. You will be uncomfortable and every little glitch will seem like a "ripoff" to you. You will likely not enjoy your hunt if you have trouble parting with your dollars. Kinda like going to a fancy restaurant and then sitting there in agony looking for something on the menu that you can afford while the waiter looks down his nose at you.

I have to say that the correlation you speak of probably exists simply because the majority of clients hunting buffalo are those who cannot, by the above definition, "afford the hunt". I would simply bet that the "average" buff hunter is a middle or upper middle-class guy which means that the majority of dissatisfied clients, just as a result of the numbers, will also be middle class guys. It's not at all that "average" guys are more difficult to please (I would strongly assert the opposite most of the time) it's that they are most outfitters' bread and butter and maybe have no other international hunting experiences and therefore don't know what to expect. The job of an outfitter is therefore to educate and satisfy those clients that represent their actual (not perceived!) client base.

I would also go so far as to assert that "average guys" are objectively much more likely to have bad hunts not at all because they are more picky or "trying to hobnob with the rich" but simply because this group is much more likely to make compromises when choosing outfitters and areas while trying to save a buck. Of course, the $8000 seven day Buff hunt in a marginal area is a world away from the $10,000 seven day buff hunt in a really good area with a known outfitter. I don't think most average guys see that and it gets them into trouble. It's the agent's job to keep that from happening and to make it clear that there is just more wiggle-room when it comes to getting a decent hunt for a low price when it comes to plains game so fewer "average" clients are likely to shop for bargains and get stung in that sphere.

That said, being an economist, I am often amazed at the bargains that can be had out there if one shops around. I am personally fortunate to have proven wrong Milton Friedman's "no free lunch" mantra...on multiple occasions! Feeling blessed.

JMHO

I think the problem starts to arise when someone starts looking for the CHEAPEST DG hunt.

The fact that it is being cheapest means corners are being cut.

Also, many people do not seem to realize the logistics of supplying a camp in a remote location like the Selous.

As an example, I was looking at some photographic safari camps, and some of them are priced at over $2200 per person per night!

No doubt, one must spend enough money to avoid
cutting corners, etc.

Mark Young has a non-trophy elephant hunt and a non-trophy buffalo hunt with the Duckworths ( Mokore). That includes the TF & DR. I went on the elephant hunt in July and had a great time, saw a tremendous amount of game, ele and buffalo. Their camp is one of the most beautiful I have been in. You also save huge amounts of money by not having any shipping or taxidermy bills. The money you save there you can hire their cameraman and have a DVD of your hunt for the memories.

Randy,

Thanks. There are some good quality inexpensive elephant and buffalo hunts available now and they are not short notice discounted hunts. The hunts can be scheduled just like any hunt for '14 and some are exportable. Check out the hunts for sale here on AR.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:


Take this advice.

And forget hippo on land.

In my book, it cannot even be remotely described as a dangerous game hunt.

..what if one make them charge??....

Sometimes they just choose to die by way of the rifle.........

Best hunt? Buffalo. Lease expensive, Hippo on land. It's dang near impossible in some areas and easier than Buffalo hunting in others.

Not that Buffalo hunting is easy!

You should combine both since you are flying that far.

My suggestion would be do a buffalo and tuskless elephant and the leave all your trophies there and take some good photos instead.

Reason I would suggest this is that by the time you get done paying for all the dip & pack, shipping, customs fees, taxidermy, etc., you could have practically bought another hunt.

I love my trophies and, don't get me wrong, I'm really glad I brought my buffalo home, but next time if I don't necessarily have a ton of cash, I'll shoot a non-exportable elephant or cull buffalo and not worry about bringing stuff home. The less I have to export, the more I can put into hunting there.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

And forget hippo on land.

In my book, it cannot even be remotely described as a dangerous game hunt.

Saeed,
you have shot a few hundred Cape buff and surely encountered several thousand more in the process,
- without a charge incident. ...Is Cape buff then essentially any more dangerous than hippo?

If a person had paid money to shoot as many Cape Buff as you [but with the personal hopes of encountering serious risk and danger],
they would have become very disappointed, very early on.

It seems evident that you hunt Cape buff simply for the pleasure of it, and not to prove your manhood or because of the commercial hunting industries exaggerated-hyped-up marketing about the 'danger' of Cape-B hunting.