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Posts: 46,245
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 46,245 |
I wouldn't do a dang thing different, I had a blast and will be trying for a repeat my next trip over!
Trump Won!
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 10,832
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Apr 2010
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I wouldn't take 1/4 the ammo
I would take more next time.....I took 70 rounds last time for my wife and I
I enjoyed shooting hyrax, vervets and baboons with my wife and PH and as a gift we left our brass and un-used rounds behind.....this ammo was greatly appreciated
Maker of the Frankenstud Sling Keeper
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,709
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,709 |
I wouldn't do a dang thing different, I had a blast and will be trying for a repeat my next trip over! This though only take 40 rounds when I go.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 494
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 494 |
This though only take 40 rounds when I go.
I respectfully disagree here. If your scope gets knocked-off, you don't want to be trying to get it back on paper and burning a limited amount of ammo. Plan for the worst, TIA. Granted, I shoot a .300 Jarrett and doubt a wildcat such as this can be found on the continent. I always haul this back home with me and realize that if my ammo doesn't make it, I am borrowing a rifle. My .308 and .416 Rigby ammo was left as part of the tip in Zim and was greatly appreciated. The extra shotgun shells we left in Botswana (back when you could hunt free-range there) was greatly appreciated. A lot of us take for granted what we can go to the store and purchase today (lipstick for the wife, fishing lures, etc.). For some of these countries, if the natives don't use it, you can't find it. Ammunition in some countries is a precious commodity. Heck, Obama made it like that here for a bit!
Last edited by kscowboy01; 01/05/16.
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,425
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,425 |
Since you only took a fraction of what you could have.............. I wouldn't take 1/4 the ammo
I would take more next time.....I took 70 rounds last time for my wife and I
I enjoyed shooting hyrax, vervets and baboons with my wife and PH and as a gift we left our brass and un-used rounds behind.....this ammo was greatly appreciated
Life begins at 40. Recoil begins at "Over 40" Coincidence? I don't think so.
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,709
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,709 |
That's fine. I have zero issue with disagreement.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,368
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,368 |
Take a laid back attitude if something in your schedule go awry. Missed connections, suitcase shows up late, whatever. Remember it's AFRICA, and things are different. It is the Third World for a reason. Small inconvieninces are part of the experience so don't let something minor tick you off and ruin your day. Some of your best campfire stories may come from those things.
"The Democrat Party looks like Titanic survivors. Partying and celebrating one moment, and huddled in lifeboats freezing the next". Hatari 2017
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 494
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 494 |
Donated Hunts
With the banquets and auctions being just around the corner, I would caution you on getting the details before the auction. If you are really interested in the trip, contact the donor before bidding. I'm not saying everyone does this but some PHs donate hunts and jack-up the trophy fees and daily rates to reimburse themselves for the donation (this is very common).
Be familiar with everything before you bid. What trophy fees are included? Are daily rate fees included? Are there any air charter or transportation fees? Is there a price list for other available species? These are some questions that one should ask. Also, have an idea of dates for when you plan to make the trip. They may have your target month already booked before the auction takes place.
If anyone has any advice here, feel free to chime-in on auction hunts.
If your are interested in RSA, the thread "2016 Discounted South Africa Plains Game Hunts" offers some very good, well-priced hunt packages. I have not hunted with this group nor have I met them.
Last edited by kscowboy01; 01/06/16.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,368 |
I've done auction hunts and it has turned out well for me. If you get a super bargain and have a good time, tip generously since the host is losing his shirt making sure you're having a good time.
Read the fine print before you bid!!!!
Don't win one and then try to make it something its not.
( I know the hunt is for oribi, but can I add leopard and elephant for the same rate??)
"The Democrat Party looks like Titanic survivors. Partying and celebrating one moment, and huddled in lifeboats freezing the next". Hatari 2017
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 18,005
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 18,005 |
Great thread, Hatari! I agree almost completely with your OP. There are a couple things I'd say differently, though: 1. Bullets: Barnes bullets are all the rage these days, but premium lead-core softs like Woodleigh and Swift A-Frame are still the "gold standard". I shot all my game this past August with 300 gr A-Frames. 2. If you are saving money and don't think you're quite there yet, consider borrowing the extra $5000 you need rather than waiting another year to go. I've heard dozens of guys tell me how they almost made it to Africa, but then something came up (usually a health problem) and their dreams were dashed. Go as soon as you can reasonably afford to. 3. If you have the chance to hire a professional videographer, do it. My only true regret from my safari was that I failed to do this. I can't state this strongly enough. As for these characters and their "medical" advice: Visit your Doctor a month before you leave
Tell your Dr you are going to Africa for 2 weeks or 1 month....whatever your trip length is
Have your Doctor write scripts to cover several possibilities
Sleep aid....airplane sleep issue or jet lag trouble after you arive
Motion sickness....jet taxi and stormy weather
Diarrhea.....this happens for several reasons be prepared
Nausea.....same
Antibiotics....broad spectrum to fight off an ear infection or sore throat ect ect
In 2014 my wife made such a bag of meds
She also included Ibuprofen Tylenol Pepto tablets and a couple other things I can't remember
Of the 8 people in our group there wasn't anyone that didn't benefit from this medication assortment
PH's and staff included
I would add to this ( if your Doctor is open to it...) some high octane pain killers if you are going to hunt Dangerous Game. I did and I thought we were going to need them during a wounded leopard follow up. Turns out we didn't, but my PH needed them for a killer toothache 1000 miles from a dentist he could trust.... I heartily concur with this advice. Get a bag of Rx and non-Rx meds, to include: 1) Cephalexin (or Bactrim if you're allergic, and vice versa) 2) Ciprofloxacin 3) Imodium 4) Zofran and/or Phergan suppositories (you can't puke out a suppository, just sayin'...) 5) Melatonin +/- Clonazepam for the flight 6) Ibuprofen AND Tylenol 7) Benadryl (tablets and topical cream) for bites and allergies 8) Afrin nasal spray for sinus congestion. Take it in your carry-on. It can be a life-saver during the descent into Africa. 9) "High-octane" pain-killers. Hydrocodone 5mg is a good standard choice. Oxycodone 5mg is stronger, but fewer doctors will prescribe it. You probably won't need it, but if you DO need it, you'll need it very, very badly. Oh, and when you pack to go home, leave your meds with your PH. He will thank you for it.
"I'm gonna have to science the schit out of this." Mark Watney, Sol 59, Mars
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 347
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Joined: May 2014
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Great thread, Hatari! I agree almost completely with your OP. There are a couple things I'd say differently, though: 1. Bullets: Barnes bullets are all the rage these days, but premium lead-core softs like Woodleigh and Swift A-Frame are still the "gold standard". I shot all my game this past August with 300 gr A-Frames. 2. If you are saving money and don't think you're quite there yet, consider borrowing the extra $5000 you need rather than waiting another year to go. I've heard dozens of guys tell me how they almost made it to Africa, but then something came up (usually a health problem) and their dreams were dashed. Go as soon as you can reasonably afford to. 3. If you have the chance to hire a professional videographer, do it. My only true regret from my safari was that I failed to do this. I can't state this strongly enough. As for these characters and their "medical" advice: Visit your Doctor a month before you leave
Tell your Dr you are going to Africa for 2 weeks or 1 month....whatever your trip length is
Have your Doctor write scripts to cover several possibilities
Sleep aid....airplane sleep issue or jet lag trouble after you arive
Motion sickness....jet taxi and stormy weather
Diarrhea.....this happens for several reasons be prepared
Nausea.....same
Antibiotics....broad spectrum to fight off an ear infection or sore throat ect ect
In 2014 my wife made such a bag of meds
She also included Ibuprofen Tylenol Pepto tablets and a couple other things I can't remember
Of the 8 people in our group there wasn't anyone that didn't benefit from this medication assortment
PH's and staff included
I would add to this ( if your Doctor is open to it...) some high octane pain killers if you are going to hunt Dangerous Game. I did and I thought we were going to need them during a wounded leopard follow up. Turns out we didn't, but my PH needed them for a killer toothache 1000 miles from a dentist he could trust.... I heartily concur with this advice. Get a bag of Rx and non-Rx meds, to include: 1) Cephalexin (or Bactrim if you're allergic, and vice versa) 2) Ciprofloxacin 3) Imodium 4) Zofran and/or Phergan suppositories (you can't puke out a suppository, just sayin'...) 5) Melatonin +/- Clonazepam for the flight 6) Ibuprofen AND Tylenol 7) Benadryl (tablets and topical cream) for bites and allergies 8) Afrin nasal spray for sinus congestion. Take it in your carry-on. It can be a life-saver during the descent into Africa. 9) "High-octane" pain-killers. Hydrocodone 5mg is a good standard choice. Oxycodone 5mg is stronger, but fewer doctors will prescribe it. You probably won't need it, but if you DO need it, you'll need it very, very badly. Oh, and when you pack to go home, leave your meds with your PH. He will thank you for it. #9 is asking for trouble.
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 563
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 563 |
The last day of my hunt, my PH and trackers shot the rest of my ammo. It was great fun and a very rare treat for them.
Last edited by duckear; 01/10/16.
Hunting: Exercising dominion over creation at 2800 fps.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,055
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,055 |
I went to the eastern cape in July (winter time there) I wish I'd packed some flannel PJs and a pair of slippers!
And these zombies line up and eat from the media’s trough
Cowards CANNOT be free. Nor should they be.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,125
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,125 |
Yeah, a few layers of clothes can be handy almost anywhere in Africa. whether for hunting or sleeping, but I always take some light slip-on shoes for around camp. But there's still no need to bring a huge duffle of clothes.
I don't ship nearly as many heads and skins home anymore, instead just take photos.
Iron-sighted safaris are a lot of fun, partly because not worrying about dust on the scope lenses, or whether scoped rifles are staying sighted-in after a bunch of bouncing around in the safari vehicle. (Have also seen several scopes go completely out on safaris, not just a couple of mine but those of companions.) Anybody who's a decent shot with irons will do fine in typical bushveld hunting, especially with an aperture-sighted rifle.
Africa also has very fine bird hunting, and anybody who likes wingshooting will find opportunity on almost any safari. But I finally did an all-bird safari in 2013, which was GREAT!
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 665
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 665 |
Bring your wife so she can get cool photos of you. Take pictures of not just dead animals but everything else Africa has to offer. Some of my best memories were not of hunting on the trip, so take pictures of them. WALK -Driving is great to get you from point A to point B, but you see a lot walking and climbing to the top of hills to glass. ![[Linked Image]](http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d68/sierrabravo45/Zimbabwe/IMGP0838_zpsc7a336f3.jpg)
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 64
Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 64 |
Never pass on a gift from the bush. Over the course of several safaris I've let good bushbuck, nyala, duikers, steenbok etc... walk because at the time I had no interest in shooting them. It is cheaper to take them when you see them than it is to go back.
Don't pass on opportunities for bonus type game. I've let caracal lynx, african wildcat, civet cat, bushpig and jackals walk because we were after "better" game.
Listen to the PH. Once when I was after zebra we saw a really big springbok. The PH kept telling me I should take it but I had already shot one and wanted the zebra. He finally asked if I would loan him my rifle and a bullet and he shot it. It went #4 or #5 in the Rowland Ward book!
Be careful what you ask for because you just may get it someday.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,628
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,628 |
Good points gentlemen;
Medication; even when I was in the NWT guiding I brought enough stuff the other guides called me Dr Feelgood. Rarely needed any of it but when did it was very valuable. On previous trips to Africa Namibia 2009 Eastern Cape RSA 2015 I had a lot of drugs/meds. Left it all behind unused was glad to have it none the less.
Pirate the listen to the PH is good advice, I have also had a lot of fun listening to the tracker. My short time guiding give a rating system;
-don't shoot it
-only shoot it if you really need to
-good mature animal shoot if you want
-shoot it
-shoot it or I will
Other advice I have had from friends experienced in Africa which I have taken; minimal taxidermy skulls and horns some hides lots and lots of pictures and more money into trophy fees.
I hope to take my "learnings" into my next trip.
All the best
GRF
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 18,005
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 18,005 |
My short time guiding give a rating system:
-don't shoot it
-only shoot it if you really need to
-good mature animal shoot if you want
-shoot it
-shoot it or I will
All the best
GRF Indeed, and well-summarized!
"I'm gonna have to science the schit out of this." Mark Watney, Sol 59, Mars
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,425
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 1,425 |
Never smile at the local girls. Ever. Just curious, why you are so adamant regarding this statement. It was back in 2008 I think, but might have been 2007. We were in Zim hunting buffalo and had been stopped at yet another of their pointless road-blocks. There were any number of uniformed, and safety vest wearing people there, though whether their actual function was police, military or just holding up a uniform was never clear to me. Anyway, I'm waiting our turn to go through and looking around like a partly bored, partly interested but trying to look casual tourist would. As it happened I somehow locked gazes with a bright eyed uniformed black girl and returned a friendly smile with one of my own. I wasn't expecting her to consider that all the invitation she needed to try to jump in the truck with me, much to the howls of mirth of the trackers and skinners. Now I had to try and look casual in another direction while the PH talked us out of the situation, perhaps explaining that I didn't want to be sole or part owner of a local girl with limited options. Times were tough, and perhaps jumping in with the first remotely friendly white foreigner seemed one of the better of her limited options. When driving away the PH offered his understated opinion that it was probably best if I never smiled at a local girl again. Ever.
Last edited by Model70Guy; 01/16/16.
Life begins at 40. Recoil begins at "Over 40" Coincidence? I don't think so.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,628
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 2,628 |
Model70guy; thanks for the clarity, story seems funny since it wasn't me that it happened to. Would be quite different if I was sitting in the truck.  I will keep this mind on my next trip. Thanks GRF
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