I'm not sure if this has ever been asked before and I'm not sure if this is in the right forum, so forgive me. I'm turning 40 next year and figure half my life is over (men in my family have bad genes). So for those who have been there and done it, where would you go and what would you hunt for 15-20 grand. (I know to many that's not much, but that's my budget) Amount to spend on hunt itself. Can be anywhere in the world.

I would go to Zimbabwe and hunt buffalo. I would hunt a concession area that is open range. I would do a 10-day hunt. I would go in May or July when the temperatures are nice. And I would have the time of my life.

A DIY Alaskan float trip for Moose and/or Caribou. You won't be waited on, and weather can suck, the hunting can be hard especially after the trigger is pulled, but what an experience.

The Eastern Cape for plains game as it certainly is the most bang for the buck of any hunt anywhere in the world.

Im taking my wife with me on a plains game hunt

When all is said and done 15K probably will barley cover it

What mjines said or tuskless in the same type area, or an own use bull ele in the Caprivi.

Go to Zimbabwe for a buffalo plains-game hunt. Shop around and if nothing else, try to buy a auction hunt at the DSC convention and make sure of what's included in that hunt.

Dont forget the other cost nobody seems to mention....and it adds up fast

Airline $$
Passport $$
Gun Permit $$
Overnight layover $$
Tips $$
Shipping $$
Extra Animals $$

flip of coin between:
1. cape buffalo
2. Grizzly bear.

I would probably go to Zimbabwe and hunt plains game. It definitely would NOT be buffalo. Most boring hunting with lots of walking I have ever done was hunting Buffalo. Cannot for the life figure the great attraction of Buffalo. Now I would easily choose a Kudu and an Eland with some other plains game,maybe a Wildebeest or an Oribi or some other unusual trophy like maybe a Klipspringer. 15K should get a nice hunt and nice bag of plains game. To me it was always about 'hunting in Africa'. There was and is just something about getting up in the morning to those sounds that are so alien to ones ears and preparing to take a rifle in hand and actually put your boots on the wonder that is AFRICA that makes it worthwhile no matter what you hunt.To me the Kudu and Eland have always epitomized Africa. A Cape Buffalo while a magnificent animal is still just a cow with overgrown horns.

at your point i'd go to the save.

I'd look at two excursions:

1.) Western Africa - Benin or Burkina Faso with a focus on Roan and some of the other PG species found there like Western Hartebeest, Waterbuck, etc.

2.) Somewhere in Europe - Ibex in Spain, Red Stag "on the hill" in Scotland or in Hungary, Mouflon in Croatia, Roe Buck in Siberia.

I am with Mike Jines. go buffalo hunting in Zim. If you go late May/early June up in Dande you may hit the kudu rut.

With $15 to $20K total, by the time I deduct return airfare, dip/pack, tips, hotels, meals, etc. it does not leave a lot and would be borderline even for a buff in Zim. I would not go on a plains game hunt to shoot a bunch of ungulates as I have already shot some and don't judge a hunt by how many times I pull the trigger.

Think I would probably go for one of the reasonably priced mid-Asian ibex hunts.

Not sure what your likes and dislikes are...

Assuming you mean that the 15-20K is just for the hunt, and you have funds for the trophy fees and incidentals (flights, charters if needed, funding the wife bribery act of 2015...)

If you like shooting more than trophies:

First choice would be a plains game/cull hunt in South Africa or Namibia. Lots of shooting, and you generally can pick up a few trophy animals without breaking the bank. This would be a lot less money than pretty much any of the other options. Australia for a cull hunt would also work, but I am not an expert on what they have available.

If you want a wild experience but PG only then a 2 week hunt in Zimbabwe, Zambia, or Mozambique in a unfenced area would be good. If you do Zambia there are some more unusual PG animals available, but it will cost (Sable, Roan)

If you have 20K just for the hunt, you can afford a buffalo hunt pretty much anywhere below the equator; its just that the incidentals are larger and duration of the hunts are cut way back if you go to Tanzania or another high cost place (Uganda?)

A tuskless/buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe is probably doable as well. Given USF&W's acts, I would not be surprised to see the price go up, and Zim is not the best place as far as buffalo TF's. I think that most likely the areas that have this combo will not have quite as good of average buffalo size, and the PG selection will be less extensive, but if you really want just the dangerous game scenario, this would probably be your best option.

Brown Bear in AK is a great hunt as well, and is probably best experienced younger rather than older.

Moose is also great, but unless you know what you are doing, I would pass on a DYI hunt as the first one...

Every once in a while there is a Dall Sheep hunt that comes in less than your target price, and if you are willing to wait for a cancellation opportunity, that may also be a good option, and is really different than the rest of the opportunities.

Goat of some sort in one of the 'stans might also fit. Not something that many have done, if you are looking for unusual experiences.

If you want to lock in a time for something, now is definitely the time to do so. Once the convention season hits, it may be that what/who you want to do is booked up.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
I would probably go to Zimbabwe and hunt plains game. It definitely would NOT be buffalo. Most boring hunting with lots of walking I have ever done was hunting Buffalo. Cannot for the life figure the great attraction of Buffalo. Now I would easily choose a Kudu and an Eland with some other plains game,maybe a Wildebeest or an Oribi or some other unusual trophy like maybe a Klipspringer. 15K should get a nice hunt and nice bag of plains game. To me it was always about 'hunting in Africa'. There was and is just something about getting up in the morning to those sounds that are so alien to ones ears and preparing to take a rifle in hand and actually put your boots on the wonder that is AFRICA that makes it worthwhile no matter what you hunt.To me the Kudu and Eland have always epitomized Africa. A Cape Buffalo while a magnificent animal is still just a cow with overgrown horns.

I respect your opinion....never hunted a CB before but would like to some day when I can afford it...at least once

I was a bit shocked to hear you say what you did in bold above....I thought it quite interesting!

How many CB hunts have you been on???

Kudos for speaking your mind

Thanks to everyone for the input. I've always been the type to look for experiences that are off the beaten path. I went to Africa last year and it was soul changing for me. That was on a PG hunt at Kanana in Bots. I'm thinking I should do some sort of goat or sheep hunt before my knees tell me to go to hell.

Don't overlook a 10 day hunt in Coutada's 10, 11, 12 and/or 14.

Ten days in Zim for buffalo and tuskless plus whatever plains game fits your budget and interests you. What a cool problem to have!

quote:

Originally posted by Biddleman:
Thanks to everyone for the input. I've always been the type to look for experiences that are off the beaten path. I went to Africa last year and it was soul changing for me. That was on a PG hunt at Kanana in Bots. I'm thinking I should do some sort of goat or sheep hunt before my knees tell me to go to hell.

Goat or Sheep?

Now your talking big money......points?

If Africa is not in the cards I'd highly recommend New Zealand...you can do a lot of hunting there for that kind of cash and still some decent free-range opportunities.

Botswana - kanana and shoot a ton of game.

Zim for buff - problem is zim has gotten expensive. Prices are up 40-50 percent all in last 4-5 years.

Forget taxidermy - shipping and trophies ain't worth it on a budget.

Also all the small stuff adds up - flight, tips ect.

My advice - this is a pure discretionary activity. Save up a little more money and don't buy the cheapest hunt possible especially for dangerous game.

Mike

I would hunt Tuskless & buff in zim period!

Look at the classified forum for Martin Pieters offer of Buffalo plus tuskless elephant over 8 days. You could make it 10 days and add a few other animals.

I am booked for buffalo in Sept & I am very tempted to add a tuskless to it!

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
I would go to Zimbabwe and hunt buffalo. I would hunt a concession area that is open range. I would do a 10-day hunt. I would go in May or July when the temperatures are nice. And I would have the time of my life.

+1

It is rather funny how much everything gone up thru economic downturn las 5-6 years.

Late-Bloomer - I am just not very impressed by Cape Buffalo. As far as history goes I went on 8 safaris and have killed most everything but Lion. This includes 3 Elephant,a couple of Leopard and 1 Buffalo. Lot's and lot's of Plains Game which gives me as much satisfaction as everything but Elephant. Those big suckers both impress and scare me and I did enjoy hunting them. I didn't hunt for the killing of things but for the successful hunt. If I could have shot and animal and declared him dead and he could get up and run off I would be just as happy,in fact probably happier. I don't care what anyone says about the satisfaction of the hunt being the thing that is just BS. The success or failure of the hunt is 'Did you get the animal?'. I suppose it's a method of keeping score. One of the top coaches said 'winning isn't everything but losing isn't anything' or something similar. It took me 3 years to finally get a Duiker but it was worth it. My views about African hunting are probably quite different from most on here. To me it was the culmination of a lifelong dream to go to Africa and hunt carrying a rifle of my own craftsmanship. I suppose it started with an Osa Martin Johnson book in Jr High School 'I wanted Adventure' and went on from there. I was 63 when I went on my first safari.

I would call Nixon Dzinga direct and negotiate a price for elephant/buffalo or maybe leopard.

Personally I would spend it in Zambia and you get to see and hunt a variety of game and experience a traditional safari.

Nothing better than tracking buff during the day and listening to the roar of Lion at night.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Late-Bloomer - I am just not very impressed by Cape Buffalo. As far as history goes I went on 8 safaris and have killed most everything but Lion. This includes 3 Elephant,a couple of Leopard and 1 Buffalo. Lot's and lot's of Plains Game which gives me as much satisfaction as everything but Elephant. Those big suckers both impress and scare me and I did enjoy hunting them. I didn't hunt for the killing of things but for the successful hunt. If I could have shot and animal and declared him dead and he could get up and run off I would be just as happy,in fact probably happier. I don't care what anyone says about the satisfaction of the hunt being the thing that is just BS. The success or failure of the hunt is 'Did you get the animal?'. I suppose it's a method of keeping score. One of the top coaches said 'winning isn't everything but losing isn't anything' or something similar. It took me 3 years to finally get a Duiker but it was worth it. My views about African hunting are probably quite different from most on here. To me it was the culmination of a lifelong dream to go to Africa and hunt carrying a rifle of my own craftsmanship. I suppose it started with an Osa Martin Johnson book in Jr High School 'I wanted Adventure' and went on from there. I was 63 when I went on my first safari.

I appreciate your reply...Thank you

And my sincere apologies to the OP didn't mean to hijack your thread

quote:

Originally posted by SBT:
I would call Nixon Dzinga direct and negotiate a price for elephant/buffalo or maybe leopard.

If I only had one hunt, I sure as hell wouldn't burn it on spots. And that can be a tough area for cats.

But ++ for buff or ele!! I hope to see more than my fair share there in just a few more weeks.

I tried to put myself in your shoes, and then with all the hunts I have been on, I would not choose Africa.

I would choose Mountain Goat. Maybe combined with moose or grizzly or whatever in BC. Go late in the season for a great hide with long hair. But that's me and not you.

Why would I choose Mountain Goat? Except polar bear, it's the most challenging hunt in NA. It will forever stick in your memory unlike so many other hunts you could afford.

I would skip Africa unless you want to just experience going there, in which case you should study the game available continent wide and pick your favorite that is in the part of Africa that most interests you and you can afford.
Don't let any of us pick it. That would just deprive you of a critical experience and maybe more. You need to select what to hunt and where to hunt it, on your own. I would hate to see you follow the herd on AR and hunt a buffalo or anything else, because we are not you and like me you may find buffalo and elephant hunts are ok but not as interesting as something else.

Once you decide, come back and fire off some questions here to help you get your chosen hunt lined out.

There are so many adventures to go on I wouldn't know how to choose just one.

I can say this, sitting by the fire listening to a lion roaring in the night is something every hunter should do atleast once.

A good rule of thumb for any safari in africa is double the price of the hunt and you will be very close on total cost airfare shipping etc. so with your budget your looking at a 7 to 10k hunt. SA, Namibia,Zim,would be they places i would look at if i was you. if your not wanting buff. SA,Namibia would be my first choices. 7 to 10k can get you a lot of nice trophies and a great time there

Having said that look to ibex. You could probably go to Spain and shoot two of the 4 ibex species that live there, throw in a mouflon. If woman is traveling with it is very comfortable.
New zealand for tahr and chamois also fits in there, very comfortable lodging.
If you want to be off the beaten path then ibex in mid asia, kyrgizia, Kazakhstan, sheep in Siberia. Tur in Azerbijian certainly under that price. Pakistan offers some fantastic ibex and sheep hunting as well, may be over that price though.

quote:

Originally posted by Biddleman:
Thanks to everyone for the input. I've always been the type to look for experiences that are off the beaten path. I went to Africa last year and it was soul changing for me. That was on a PG hunt at Kanana in Bots. I'm thinking I should do some sort of goat or sheep hunt before my knees tell me to go to hell.

Mark Young just posted some good hunts at great prices in Zim. You could do a tuskless or buffalo, shoot one or two PG and then work in a day of fishing on the Zambezi. Bring one trophy back to look at and remember. Get the WHOLE experience for a reasonable price. I keep saying I'm going to wait and book some of these specials but I get so excited and usually book a year or two out.

quote:

Originally posted by Late-Bloomer:

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
I would probably go to Zimbabwe and hunt plains game. It definitely would NOT be buffalo. Most boring hunting with lots of walking I have ever done was hunting Buffalo. Cannot for the life figure the great attraction of Buffalo. Now I would easily choose a Kudu and an Eland with some other plains game,maybe a Wildebeest or an Oribi or some other unusual trophy like maybe a Klipspringer. 15K should get a nice hunt and nice bag of plains game. To me it was always about 'hunting in Africa'. There was and is just something about getting up in the morning to those sounds that are so alien to ones ears and preparing to take a rifle in hand and actually put your boots on the wonder that is AFRICA that makes it worthwhile no matter what you hunt.To me the Kudu and Eland have always epitomized Africa. A Cape Buffalo while a magnificent animal is still just a cow with overgrown horns.

I respect your opinion....never hunted a CB before but would like to some day when I can afford it...at least once

I was a bit shocked to hear you say what you did in bold above....I thought it quite interesting!

How many CB hunts have you been on???

Kudos for speaking your mind

I have been on four buffalo hunts so far....my experience has been quite the opposite....well one was not as good as the others.....but it was still great.

Hunting a cheap over hunted area in Zim can be hard work with few opportunities.....but some of the better areas you can be in buffalo constantly. Man you are ALIVE when you are in the middle of a herd of BUFFALO!

I doubt I will ever go to Africa without hunting BUFFALO!

.

I'd probably go to New Zealand for tahr and chamois, maybe red stag. Then I'd go to Argentina and shoot birds for a week or two, and maybe pick up a nice blackbuck. Then, if there was anything left, I'd do a free-range auodad hunt in west Texas.

This is an easy one for me. As I have been doing for many years, it would be a double or more tuskless/ration bull elephant hunt in Zim. If you look around you can find just such a hunt for the $$ you have to spend and have a 14 day hu8nt to boot.

465H&H

Zim for buff and plains game in Oct.Area and outfitter is very important.