Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Love to see pictures and stories of your African Safaris. Did you have a great outfitter, did you have a great experience,and will you go back?

http://freewebs.com/hartsafarispictures

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Opps did not add the www. The site is:

http://www.freewebs.com/hartsafarispictures

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

buddy I wish I had a good huntin story about Africa, but I think I can only dream about hunting there!! lol

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Some members have been to Africa, it sounds neat, but I really don't know much about the animals there.

If I were to choose an animal to hunt, the Greater African Kudu would be on my list.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

There are a lot of misnomers about the cost of a plains game hunts in South Africa. You can find great deals on a combination of taking five trophy animals for as little as anElk hunt. I know one package that offers 5 animmals: Cape Kudu, Blesbuck, Impala, Bushbuck, and Springbuck all inclusive for under $3,000. This hunts is a full seven days, great meals,fabulous scenery, great guides, and best of all trophy quality animals.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Can you give me a link to that outfitter? It sounds cool.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

yeah that does sound good! I didn't realize African hunts were priced like that. But like younggun308 I know nothing about the animals over there. I wouldn't even know what I wanted to hunt haha. But I'm sure i'd have a blast no matter what I was hunting over there

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Better check the air fare.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

yeah you're right James
thats where they get ya! hah

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Air fare is quite expensive. The Airlines get you! Travel for two is $3000.00 and its a 33 hour totalflight. 18 hours from JFK to Johannesberg. Here was the total price of our trip in April.

1 X 1 hunt $2995.00
7 full days of hunting - 9 days total
5 animals:
1 Kudu
1 impala
1 blesbuck
1 common spring buck
1 bushbuck
All transfers and transport, meals, accommodation, trackers and
skinners, field prep of trophies, local beers and wines, laundry

Connie is on non-hunter package:
$1050.00
7 full days - 9 days total
All transfers and transport, meals, accommodation, local beers and
wines, laundry

Total package price:
hunter$2995.00
observer $1050.00
________
total $4045.00
airfare $3000.00
dip pack$ 550.00 for 5 animals
grand tot.$7595.00

This is a lot of money, no more than a guided Elk hunt or Moose hunt. We saved for five years for this trip and it was an experience I will never forget. We are saving right now to go back.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Oh yes, Africa! I'll try to condense this as short as possible. Like many other hunters growing up in the U.S., I only dreamed about an Africansafari each timethat I read astory that was printed in the hunting magazines I read over the years, but then it happened. A new friend that had been over there several times started inquiring who would like to go to aSouth African concession that he highly reccommended and that was affordable. He said that he would go along just to video the experience for us. My one old hunting buddy agreed right off the bat but I declined saying that it still was out of my price range, and besides I didn't even have a what I considered an African gun.All summer of 2004 the topic kept being brought up with them prodding me to go with them. Well come Christmas, my wife surprises me with one of my dream rifles, a Ruger #1 in .375H&H. She said there was my gun and being that I was planning on retireing in 2 years, that if I wanted to go, I should, being thatthen would be the only time that I would possibly be able to afford it. Did I mention that I really love my wife? So it happened. With this PH, you only pay a daily rate and whatever animals you decide to shoot. He feels this gives you more opportunity than being stuck to a package of certainanimals. Needless to say, with 16 different plains animals to choose from, and seeing many everyday, it was worth it! The scenery was a lot like south Texas brush country mixed with large open savannahswith magnificent sunrises and sunsets everyday, the temps in the 50s at night and 70s during the day, the accomodations were fantastic, and the food was incredible. The PH's wife is the cook andshecould be a professional chef!Nuff said, I could go on for pages, here are a few of the 350 plus pictures that we took besides over 1 1/2 hours of video.

1. Black Wildebeest, on video 200yd. brain shot.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

2. Gemsbok, on video 250yd. double shoulder shot, dropped in tracks,bullet recovered

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

3. Huge, 'estimated 1700lb.' Cape Eland, video wasn't zoomed in but still there, 175 yd. quartering away shot behind the ribs through THREE feet of lungs and heart, bullet recovered in the heart, perfectly mushroomed, walked 60 yds. and dropped. 270 grn. Remington Express Core-loks, There's no substitute!

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Nice Wildebeest! Alacarte is a nice way to go. Excellent experience you had. Thanks for sharing it. Sounds a whole like my wife and mines. Where did you hunt in South Africa? We were in Komga. This is a shot of my Kudu Bull. It was getting dark! The video is better!

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

We were about 300 miles west of Johannesburg. The outfit is Imphofu Safaris. www.imphofu.co.za The only thing we missed out on was there were no giraffe, elephants, hippo, or lion there. That might be a plus for someone who is a little nervous about dangerous game.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

I've been there and you can see my pictures by doing a search on Archers Choice forum. I strongly adviseagainst a package hunt in RSA** they all look good until you get there and don't get an animal in the package...try getting your prepaid trophy fee for that animal back..ain't gunna happen no matter what they tell you even if it's in writing.A contract with an operator 10K miles away means nothing.
A good hunt can be had in the Limpopo prov of northern RSA. By all means stay clear of the trips to the Cape are of RSA!!!!! you may as well hunt in a zoo...animals such as fallow deer are offered thereif that tells you anything. Good hunts abound in Namibia. Namibia is the best deal I've found and I've been 3 times. As a rule the daily fees are better as are the trophy fees. As for flights from the east coast of the USA to Jo'burg if you pay more than $1500 during the high season you're paying too much. An alternative is to go thru Frankfort Germany then onto windhoek in Namibia or Jo'burg in RSA......I advise staying out of Jo'burg if at all possible when traveling with guns. also skip British Air and transfers in London...major mess.

A great safari in Namibia for 8 days and 4-5 great animals( kudu,gemsbuck,zebra,warthog)with air from JFK rnd trip shouldn't run you more than $6000 all in. And that's staying in a 5 star lodge with 5 star meals.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Having lived in South Africa for 4 years I certainly had my share of hunting experiences. From varmint hunting for baboons, to being charged by a rhino on a plains game hunt. I know a couple of good and honest PHs in central and northern of what used to be theTransvaal Province. One is a good personal friend of mine on the Zimbabwean border near the town of Messina. He does everything from plains game to big five. If you'd like his contact info just shoot me a pm.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

I suspect there's going to also be several $1000 for taxidermy fees, and shipping costs as well. Anybody got a ballpark figure on what that would cost on one of these "five animal" budget safaris?

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

don't give him that info, jpsc is just going to take his .243 with him.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

Our taxidermy work was very reasonably priced but our importer was the one who stuck us. I believe it was around $3000 for 4 shoulder mounts and 1 skull mount. A lot yes, but if I never make it back, I've got these to look at and tell the stories from. It is worth it.

RE: Let's Here About Your African Hunts
 

You got a problem with that? It ought to work just fine on some of the smaller gazelle species... Oh, and Meerkats. ;)

I'd pick something a little bigger for larger stuff like Gemsbok or Kudu. I hear that the .257 Roberts is like the Hammer of Thor by comparison. :D