RWK

Keep your money in the states.

flags

Most African safari outfits have American partners and often have American owners and professional hunters. So, a lot of the $$$ for African hunts does stay in the states.

jessicadiaz

I would choose Alaska. Mainly because I have always wanted to go there and it is in North America so it would be a little easier to get there and get trophies back.

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.

buffybr

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.

Mickey Finn

I'm trying to wrap my mind around your post here. I think we look at hunting differently. I admit I'm more of a do it yourself guy. But I've been to a few camps over the years. I don't look at hunting as a bang for your buck venture. So much as an adventure all of it's own. To me trips have a life of their own which starts with the planning, and organization of gear. And ends when I'm through cleaning and repacking my gear. So to me driving to Alaska, setting up camp, and hunting a Caribou would only be the first part of an excellent trip. Having a PH lead me around, and point out animals to shoot would seem less of an adventure, and more like a guided tour. But different strokes I guess.

Then there is the spending your money at home argument. This is about helping Americans in their struggle for life. It has nothing what so ever to do with foreign aid. Which by the way the United States is shamefully below it's agreed upon .7% of GNI.

ATB

Muley Hunter

I'd pick Alaska without a second thought. Actually, i'd pick anywhere in the US over Africa.

buffybr

I don't know that we look at hunting all that differently. I started hunting the last 8 years that I lived in Colorado. Deer, elk, bear, and pronghorn antelope -- all DIY hunts. I moved to Montana in 1975 and have been doing DIY hunts here every year since, hunting for both mule and whitetail deer, elk, both black and grizzly bears, antelope, mountain lions, and multiple hunts for bighorn sheep, shiras moose, and mountain goats. I killed somewhere around 100 of these animals -- all DIY hunts, and some of the bear, sheep, moose, and goat hunts were solo hunts -- just me or me and my horses. I also packed out and processed all of those animals myself.

The Alaskan caribou hunt that I mentioned was total DIY, except for the flying. We brought out tents and all camp gear from home. Yes it was a great adventure, but my total hunting consisted of a 200 yard stalk from camp the morning after we flew in and one shot. I also mentioned that trip because our travel time our camp in Alaska took longer than my travel times to Africa.

The Canadian hunts that I've done were guided -- Canadian law requires non-resident hunters to be guided. But on none of those hunts did the guide "lead" me to an animal and tell me to shoot it.

A DIY hunt in Africa would be very difficult both logistically and because of the difference in languages. In South Africa most of the game animals belong to the landowners who are either outfitters or lease their land to outfitters. Africa has something like 1/4 of the species of animals of the world and a guide or PH is invaluable in identifying the various animals and judging the trophy quality. Plus they have the staff to retrieve and process the animals.

Any guided hunt is what you, the hunter, make it to be. You can either hunt with the guide, or you can sit back and have the guide do everything for you.

As for spending your money at home, I'm all for buying American and supporting American businesses, but there's a huge world on the other side of our borders, and to experience it involves spending some of our money there, whether we are on a sightseeing vacation or hunting. Our politicians have gotten our country in over $18 trillion dollars in debt, yet we are still supporting the rest of the world, so I don't see how the foreign aid that we give to other countries is "shamefully low."

super_hunt54

Okay, lets not turn this into a political battle of how much the Gov. spends on foreign aid.

I for one quit "trophy" hunting a long time ago. The only time I really pay attention to a rack is if I am trying to genetically manage one of my hunting properties for a higher quality gene pool. That goes more for health of the herd with stronger genes. That being said, I am, with no doubts whatsoever, a MEAT hunter. I've got more heads on the walls around here than I care to imagine. Wish I had about half the money I've spent on taxidermy. I sure wouldn't have to worry about bills for a while! So My choice would undoubtedly be Alaska for the simple reason of meat. That and I'm not really keen on Ebola. I have a strange feeling that little bug would sure ruin your day!

I've hunted Alaska several times and there are MANY drop in hunts that are very reasonably priced for Moose, Caribou, Plains Bison, and several other species. You just have to look for a good deal. They are out there to be had.

IdahoHunt

I would choose Alaska, I've never had much interest in any safari hunts. I've always thought it'd be cool to go hunt in Alaska