Originally Posted by
HatchieLuvr
I've always wanted to hunt both & one day WILL hunt in AK but given the global political climate, ESPECIALLY in Africa, I just don't feel it safe for Americans to travel in Africa anymore! I likewise don't care for 20 some odd hour flights nor the extreme remoteness & 3rd world conditions (medical) you are stuck with while in the bush. I have a few food allergies that would require medical attention within minutes of an attack or I'd be dead within 10mins (anaphalectic shock). So those reasons alone will likely prevent me from a true safari. That's a shame as well because with foreign exchange rates many African hunts are in some cases cheaper than the quality trophy hunts in the top areas of North America.
I've shot plenty of game in my life including excellent trophies in NM & WY, I can see myself going along with a camera on hunts while actually letting my sons & one day, grandkids actually pulling the triggers on western hunts.
I've also hunted both Africa and Alaska. Completely different hunts.
My Alaska hunt was DIY with several friends for Caribou. It took us 4 days to get from our homes in Montana to our hunting camp. That included a 45 minute float plane flight from King Salmon, AK to our drop camp, with at that time no communication with the pilot's home base. Alaska can be just as remote as Africa.
As non-residents in the area we hunted in Alaska, we were only allowed 1 caribou each, so on my Alaskan hunt I shot a total of 1 bullet.
I've so far made 4 trips to South Africa and Zimbabwe to hunt. I can get from my home in Montana to a hunting lodge in South Africa in basically 2 days. On my various South African hunts, I have driven the length of that country, from Port Elizabeth to the Botswana border. I would not want to walk alone at night in some of the South African cities, but I wouldn't want to do that in some of the cities here in the US! Other than driving on the wrong side of the road, daytime driving in South Africa was no more dangerous than driving here at home.
On each of my African hunts, I have basically shot different animals, and although I have shot 2 or 3 animals of certain species, I have shot animals of 30 different species. In almost 50 years of hunting in North America including Alaska and multiple hunts in Canada, I have only shot 15 species of animals. It's not that numbers are important, but Africa just has many more species of animals to hunt.
So on my Alaskan hunt, I fired one shot and killed one animal, and on one of my African hunts I was able to fire a few more shots and killed 14 animals.
Both Africa and Alaska require quite a bit of travel time getting there. Hunting in either place can be in remote areas, far from modern medical facilities. Both hunts will probably cost $10k or more, but at least with plains game species, you will be able to shoot several African animals for the cost of 1 Alaskan animal.
And as for keeping our $$ here at home, what we as hunters spend in foreign countries is just a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of dollars our politicians give to other countries in foreign aid.