I am planning a big 4 hunt. For reasons too long to go into here, this will probably be my only shot for a DG hunt. If you had one hunt, where would you go (country and area), who would you go with (outfitter and PH), and when would you go (time of year)? In addition to the big 4, a nice sable, eland, nylala, croc, and hippo would be nice, but only if successful on the big 4. I would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, Vince

Geez, Big 4 + hippo, croc and the plains game animals you want have me thinking Chewore North so my recommendation would be Chifuti Safaris and I would ask for Ian Gibson as my PH. No offense to the other hunters that work for Chifuti but Ian knows that area like the back of his hand.

Your other option would be South Africa...

Just my thoughts... and welcome to AR!

Vince,

The posters here on AR have far more knowledge than I do on this issue, but if you want to import the elephant ivory you can cross off Zambia and Mozambique. Lion is closed in Botswana.

I do not know if you considered doing your Big 4 by various countries in one trip. Botswana is shooting great elephants. Zambia, Zim, Tanzania,Moz, great lions. Namibia great leopard along with other countries. South Africa unlimited plainsgame options.

Just an idea,instead of looking for one area take the best of what each country offers.

Good luck on your choice.

Sounds like a TGT Maswa/Moyowosi to me. Maswa for the Big 4 (if elephant is on quota there) and then Moyowosi for everything else minus the Nyala which you could trade for a Sitatunga

Also you could go with Safari Trackers Masailand/Selous and get everything but the Nyala.

If its your only shot might as well come to Tanzania....

I would look at Tanzania with Miombo Safaris or Safari Trackers.

I'll second tanz2007. TGT combo of Maswa/Moyowasi would get you what you want, but at a very high price (I'm doing Moyowsi/Lake Natron with TGT in August). If this really will be your one and only trip, maybe a first cabin East African hunt is what you'd op for.
The other option is Zim. As bwanamrm stated above you could do it all with Chifuti at a more reasonable cost.
As for animal quality, if that's important to you, on average, Tanzania will produce better Buffalo, and Lion, Zim. better Leo. and Elephant. Again I'm talking on average and Elephant are subjective (longer and thinner East Africa, shorter but thicker South Africa) but as Kathi has said you might want to book several hunts back to back, figure 5 weeks to 6 weeks to do it all, go to a few different locations and target specific animals. She gave you the best Countries to focus on.
Good luck, have fun planning and welcome aboard.
Mike

He thinks this is going to be his ONLY hunt. He will be back.

White North

A couple of responses mentioned TGT. While I think they are the creme of the crop for overall services and the most stringent for lion, that's not who you want to go with if you want an elephant. You'll see some elephants in places like Moyowosi, but it's highly doubtful that you'll see a shooter. In about 10 years, if they can control the poaching, that may be different.
One spot that definitely offers the Big 4 in abundance would be a hunt in the Selous. There are several good companies there, with Luke Samaras' four contiguous blocks being very good.
The biggest challenge with a Big 4 hunt is that baiting and hunting cats can be very time consuming. To get your elephant under the time contraints of a 21-day hunt will involve a bit of good fortune, though it certainly can be done. Give yourself 28 days for your best chance of pulling it off.

I'd go with Luke Samaras who hunts both the Selous and Masaiiland. A mid hunt transfer would be required but one gets to hunt two of the premier hunting fields in the world.

Either hunt with Luke or Francois.

Another good choice is Elephant in Botswana with Johann Calitz, then transfer to Zambia and hunt the Luangwa for most of the others. Andrew Baldry who posts here (fairgame) or Johnny du Plooy enjoy impeccable reputations in Zambian hunting.

As Kathi says, the biggest ele. are coming from Bots right now and the Luangwa is hard to beat for most of the rest.

You will just have to get that nyala on your NEXT final trip to africa!

Good thing is, it's kinda hard to have a bad full bag safari. All the above suggestions seem really good as well.

Regards,

Adrian

Adrian,

Thanks for the kind words.

Vince,

My suggestion would be to split this hunt otherwise you may find it hectic and frustrating. There are also many factors to consider for the different species you are after. My recommendation would to hunt the elephant as one safari and from what I am seeing here my recommendation would be Zimbabwe. Do not set your sights too high regarding ivory and rather experience Africa and the excellent hunting it has to offer.

It is well worth doing both cats together and most of the major areas will be able to offer you hippo, sable or roan, and a host of plains game.

There are many experienced hunters on AR who will be more than happy to advise you.

quote:

Big 4 hunt

The best choice are Masailand Kitangare or Selous MS1,U4,LL3,RU1 Luke Samaras blocks.

I shot the big 4 over a period of 8 days with Luke Samaris. Even then, my first to fall, the ele, didn't happen until Day 8. My ele and lion were both good; the leopard wasn't huge, but we worked hard to get him to come in early, and it was perhaps the most enjoyable of the animals I hunted. The buff were nothing to write home about, but I am booked with Samaras in Dec 2011 in Masailand for a big buff or two, so I didn't care that much. Notlim shot three buff, and two went over 40. We saw a lion kill that went over 40 as well. IMO, the Selous has a lot of dinky low to mid 30 buff, but the ones in Samaras's blocks seem to buck the trend.

My lion is one of the nicer ones I have seen come out of the Selous; they are not known for full manes, but I got lucky.

As lucky as I was, I would plan on plenty of time, esp if you book with Samaras. His 4 blocks are huge; we never hunted the whole place, but sure spent a lot of butt time trying find out where the game was.

The sable in the Selous are the Roosevelt's variety. I am not a species collector, so since I didn't see one bigger than one I shot in Kigosi, I passed. But I did see shootable sable.

My PH was Fulvio Gianola. I think Jetdriver hunted with him as well.

Big four PLUS Nyala puts you in Zim, Moz, or RSA. Moz ivory is non-export. Any RSA lion is stigmatized. Looks like you're going to Zim. Congrats.

PM sent.

quote:

Originally posted by Vince Hazen:
I am planning a big 4 hunt. For reasons too long to go into here, this will probably be my only shot for a DG hunt. If you had one hunt, where would you go (country and area), who would you go with (outfitter and PH), and when would you go (time of year)? In addition to the big 4, a nice sable, eland, nylala, croc, and hippo would be nice, but only if successful on the big 4. I would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, Vince

If it were me, I would go to Zimbabwe, Matetsi area, Zambezi Valley, or Chete around Lake Kariba. I took three of the big four the last time I was there; didn't take an ele because I didn't see anything much bigger than 30-35lbs. and I didn't want to spend the money on a trophy elephant at the time. If you want a non trophy elephant, there are several places they can be hunted. You can get a croc and a hippo at Kariba, and Matetsi has some big sable; I took a 43' one there, and saw some that would probably have gone bigger. Zim also offers a lot of bang for your $$'s. If cost is not a factor, there are several countries to choose from.

Look hard at hunting with Buzz Charlton or his partner Myles McCallum of www.cmsafaris.co.za for that laundry list. Tuskers in Botswana, and the rest in Zimbabwe. I took a very nice Cape Buffalo with Myles and we saw nearly 300 (!) elephant in nine days.

Nyala I think with Reon von Tonden in RSA with his www.africanbarefootsafaris.co.za. Reon has guided bowhunters to big, BIG, Nyala successfully for the last several years and knows where to find them. You can also expect to see big Sable and the other plains game to fill out your safari with him. I got great Kudu, Gemsbuck, and Waterbuck in April, and a Caracal. Less than $8000 in eleven days IN camp.

Good luck!

Rich
DRSS

Hunted the Selous with Pierre van Tonder leopard, great elephant, hippo, buf, croc 16 feet plus other plains game animals. Lion eluded me but have not given up on him going back. To try again. I love the wildness of the Selous.

www.pvt.co.za

Mike

I, and many others, have taken all of the Big 4 in the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania.

I did it in two safaris, although some have done it in one.

Not inexpensive, to be sure, but unrivaled by any other hunting grounds on earth, IMHO.

I would time it so that your safari is the second one of the year, commencing in the third week of July.

Although later is better for elephant only.

When you are after the Big 4, plains game cannot be anything other than targets of opportunity. You will need bait for the cats, and when bait is needed, any mature animal will have to suffice.

Although I have been lucky on hippo (on land), and with various nyassa wildebeest, southern reedbuck, warthog, plains zebra, lichtenstein's hartebeest, southern impala, common waterbuck, greater kudu, etc.

If it were me I'd look at:

Tanzania:

The Selous I would look at Luke Samaras Safaris & Tanganyka Wildlife Safaris. They both have the best blocks for elephant in the Selous and plenty of the other three. Luke is the cheaper of the two. There are other companies that hunt the Selous with good blocks for buffalo, lion, and leopard, but not many others seem consistent on elephant. Not as consistent as the two previously mentioned anyway.

Another option which may be doable Luke Samaras Safaris and Safari Tracker's in Masailand. Trophy quality of lion, leopard,and buffalo will likely be much better than the Selous. Elephant are more sparse to my understanding. I would really ask poiniant questions to both outfitters about chances for elephant before doing it if taking the big four was a must. I'd definitely do 28 days if I was serious about taking all four. You might also look into Maswa with Tanzania Big Game Safaris. Again I'd ask poiniant questions about the elephant situation.

Miombo Safaris with lion, leopard, buffalo in the Rungwa, and elephant in the Lukwika would be another option, but again I'd give myself lots of time......and money!

Zimbabwe: Much more economical!

I'd look at the Zambezi Valley. There's a number of outstanding PHs and outfitters, but I'm not as familiar. If someone stuck a gun to my head and said you had to do a big four hunt right now in the valley. Who will you hunt with? (yeah right I wish ) It would be Ian Gibson of Chifuti Safaris in Dande or Chewore.

The other place I'd look is the Save Valley. The two I'd look at would be Mokore Safaris and Zambezi Hunters. I'd favor Zambezi hunters as their concession is the largest by far in the Save. Lion and leopard would likely be higher trophy quality in the Save than the Zambezi Valley.

That's just what my thinking would be if I was faced with the same task. Take it for what it's worth and do your own research.

Mark Young books for Safari Trackers, Mokore Safaris, and Zambezi Hunters.

Wendell Reich books for Luke Samaras Safaris.

Dave Fulson books for Chifuti Safaris.

Aaron Neilson books for Miombo Safaris.

I believe TBGS and TWS book for themselves.

Aaron, Mark, Dave, and Wendell are all forum members.

Brett