We have all benefited from this website and forum. I want to re-start an old topic -"If you could give one piece of advice to a hunter for Africa, what would it be?"

Here is mine -

1. Listen to your PH, shoot when he says shoot, watch when he says watch.

Next?

Let the trip unfold on its own,don't get caught up in lists of animals to be taken...

Enjoy it. It should be a dream come true, so savour every moment.

Do it now! Don't wait.

465H&H

Don't overpack. 3 shirts and 2 pair of pants, thats it.

Take time at the end of each day to think of what you have experienced and what your regular day would have been like, if you had not given your self the opportunity to be free from the restraints placed on you by day to day living.
Take the time to think about the smells and remember them, to think about the new flavors and savor them. Take the time to think back to the moment before the shot when you knew that the bullet would fly true and take the time to relish the thrill of the chase and the quiet moment after the adrenalin fades.
If you can do that and carry with you these snippets of your experience then I dare say that your next safari will come that much quicker and the wait will be that much less painful.
Good hunting
Ian

Stolen from Ray...

Put your "Givashitter" in neutral.

In other words, try not to sweat the small stuff and make the best of it.

1. Book through a reputable agent with lots of African expereince.

2. Use a travel agaent that is intimately familiar with African travel and travel with guns.

3. Book as many days as you possibly can afford.

4. Do not book your safari based mostly on price. Safaris are not like used cars. If a safari is really cheap there probably is a reason for that.

5. Don't get yourself in a position where you have to justify the safari cost by the body count at safari's end.

6. Most important: Relax and enjoy the safari. Africa itself is such a magic place you need to allow yourself to drink in the experience of just being there.

Mark

Do your research properly. (That is soon to become much easier)

Buy the best quality hunt you can afford.

If you ask advice of someone, make sure they know what they're talking about and don't have an axe to grind before taking that advice.

Don't come with a shopping list.

Take each day as it comes and don't fret when something like a bad shot happens. - Instead concentrate on correcting the error.

Enjoy the successes.

Don't hunt for the tape measure.

Don't bring a tape measure.

Hunt for the joy and thrill of hunting.

1/ book the best place you can possibly afford
2/choose who you are going to ask for advice and then listen to that advice
the rest has been covered above , one thing i would add , is when you get on the ground , as soon as you make a shot RELOAD and be ready iof you need for a second shot ...

Take more pictures of absolutely everything. It will make the rememberances that much better. Even the most insignificent can trigger memories that will overwhelm.

Enjoy yourself, for there are no words, books, movies or photographs that can truly emulate the experiences of Africa. It really is a land that offers you the sights, smells and sounds you've never imagined.
Cheers,
David

Turn the date and time feature OFF on your camera cause you don't want that on the coffee table book of pictures you will make on www.blurb.com Take a spare camera battery also. All of the above are experience based!

On a practical level:

Take quiet boots.

1. Get in good shape. Start long in advance of the trip. Getting run down physically takes the fun out of things. As you get on a track, you don't want the PH (and you!) wondering if you'll make it.

2. Shoot a lot before trip. If this is your first trip, try to use old familiar rifle(s), The combination of practice and a familiar rifle will decrease your worrying about making shots and you'll enjoy yourself more.

3. As previously mentioned, relax and enjoy! When you're relaxed, things just seem to fall into place.

Learn as much as you can about the animals you will be hunting and add $5,000 to whatever your budget is.

Relax! Roll with it, shit happens so don't get your panties in a knot over it.

1. Decide what animals you want to hunt before you go but remember to be opportunistic if possible and take good trophies as they present themselves and are on quota.

2. Leave the tape measure at home and enjoy hunting for the purity of the sport and taking mature animals by fair chase methods.

3. Use enough gun, take enough bullets and be thoroughly competent with your chosen rifle.

4. Travel light. There are a number of good lists available on what to take.

5. Roll with the flow. It's Africa, baby, and from the flight over to the flight back something will not go as planned and that is what makes it an adventure...

Meet your PH before your hunt. Take him to dinner.
Understand what he thinks is a good trophy for the area your hunting

1-Don't get too excited. 2-Tip the meat people and cook with cash before the end of the trip(my secret).3-Enjoy Yourself

Remember, something unexpected will happen; relax and enjoy someone else changing the tire. On a very practical note - wet wipes and imodium (sp?). Some things always seem to happen in the very deep and thorny bush.

I agree with most everything said, with a small exception. I would say that references from clients, especially experienced clients and repeat clients, are a much better gauge of the quality of an outfit than price alone. You don't always get what you pay for. Outfits that are geared for non American clients can have some unbelievable deals. But I digress......

The best advice I can give is: Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will decide how much you enjoy your hunt. Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure."

Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure.

A client's positive attitude is the most important ingredient for a sucessful safari.

Jason

It is not necessary to make your first hunt a plains game only hunt. Prices are really going up on the dangerous animals. Fourteen years ago when I made my first trip I could have hunted lion for about $14K. Look at today. I shot a sable and my trophy fee was less than $1K. Today a sable is three or four times that. Include buffalo on your first hunt and you'll be glad you did. A PAC elephant hunt would be a wonderful way to start also. The plains game comes along with the dangerous game hunts so if you can afford a little more go for it.

Take toilet paper if planning to be out all day.

LOTS of good advice

I would add, try to spend your first arrival day and night, and next morning, in a hotel resting up from the long flight. Worse thing is to arrive run down. Your first morning hunting you will be up at 4:30, or earlier, and go til at least 9 pm.

Worse thing is to get ill- happened to me 3-4 times, and my son was ill, shortened the trip AND he spent a week in bed and missed a week of school, which really hurt him.

Better to arrive in the afternoon, go to a hotel, have a nice dinner and crash for 12 hours or so, then get up when you want, have a big breakfast, and then off to the hunting area.

Europeans and others may be at an advantage here with a flight of about 10 hours, vs 10 hrs for Americans plus you connection time.

When I was on the west coast, it was up at 3 am to be at airport by 4:30 for 6 am flight to Atlanta. Catch the Atlanta Jo-Burg flight after a 3 hour layover, fly 20 hours, and greet your PH after 40 hours or so with no real sleep.

I am not sure that I can add any more.

Here is what we do, as we go in a relatively large party of between 6 and 8 hunters.

Our sole aim is to have a good time, bearing in mind that with so many participants, screw ups would occur more often than not.

So each of us is actively involved in helping and abating all the others to make mistakes! That adds to the fun all of us have.

Enjoy EVERYTHING! And I do mean EVERYTHING.

Even the things you would normaly try your best to avoid on a hunt.

Like having a flat tire every other day.
Like being stranded 25 ks from camp with a broken truck as the sun goes down.
Like the buffalo herd who were not informed of your plans, and instead of going over a mountain range and meeting you on the other side, they decided to turn back and head to where they came from before. You, of course, have already sent the truck to the other side of the mountain, and your driver is happily waiting for you there until night fall. And then you have to walk back to camp at night!

All this is part of hunting, and I can assure you you will look back at it in the futures, and enjoy it almost as much!

Now, if we can just get the animals we hunt into our plans, things would work like a charm!

There is nothing of value that I can add. So the best that I can do now is to repeat Blacktailers' advice: "GO!"

Andrew McLaren

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Do your research properly. (That is soon to become much easier)

............................

shakari,

I know you are working on something new and big. Care to give us a small bit of info or hint on how the researching will become easier?

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

A sense of humour.
Reliable weapon and ammo.
Good pair of well worn in boots.
A camel back is a must.
Did I mention a sense of humour.

Andrew,

Shhhhhhhhh!

GREAT subject for a 1st timer! Thanks to all that contributed.

Live and breathe Africa. Saeed: Look at all of Walter's screw-ups and how all of us enjoy the reports on the same!

Shoot ugly animals. They’ll grow on you later.

Hunt Cape buffalo on your first safari (and all the others after that).

quote:

Originally posted by CA Safari Hunter:
Shoot ugly animals. They’ll grow on you later.

Funny you mention that.

Our intention is to start a new Forum, purely for that.

We are going to call it the Out Circle!

In fact, I will put a new thread about it right now.

There is a tendency in the US to shoot and then just watch to see what transpires.

Follow Ivan's advice and learn to instantly reload after every shot.

Mostly it boils down to money, like everything else. You get the biggest horns, the biggest leopard, the biggest ivory etc. by going to the the best areas. You too can be the biggest, baddest African hunter if you have the money to buy it!

And follow 465H&H's advice. Just go. Before you're too old to do it.

ITS NOT A FUCKING SUPERMARKET there is no pre planned order of how animals will be taken if a opportunity presents it self take it it might never come again

Take me!!!!!!


have good hunt

Savor every minute and enjoy the experience without fretting about trophy quality.