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Where is the best place to hunt Plains game?

With someone you trust. Welcome to the forum...

Derek is a good guy he was our ranch manager/ guide on the recent campfire hog hunt.
My suggestion would be South Africa or Namibia for a 1st time plains game hunt, but there are many here with far more African experience than me and I'm sure they will chime in
Welcome to the campfire!

Namibia, hands down.

Ingwe's trophy room. Otherwise RSA.

"Plains game" is a catch all phrase.

What are you wanting to hunt?

Choose between Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique.

Look for the best deal and just do it - be careful though, it can be addictive!

PS - click on my YouTube link below!

I'm hardly an expert, but I have hunted both SA and Namibia. Here's my take:

South Africa--the vast majority of operators there operate on a "put and take" basis. They buy animals from auctions, etc, stock their farms, and sell the hunt, much like the high fenced areas in the Texas Hill Country. Ranches tend to be high fenced, and relatively small. There are exceptions of course. If you're interested in SA the first guy I'd holler at would be Marius at KMG. He posts here.

Namibia--much more like West Texas in that it can be somewhat mountainous, large ranches, some high fenced, many are not, vast majority not on put and take basis, seemed much less commercialized than RSA to me. Namibia is roughly twice the size of Texas with less than 2M people. I liked that too.

I personally like Namibia best. Doing the research is half the fun I think. I would never personally hunt with an operator that charges trophy fees on a sliding scale basis.

This comment about RSA being mostly put and take is BS. Most animals are native to the farms where they are taken. Animals may be brought in to revitalize the genetics, but almost 100% of the animals are born on that farm and native to that area. Some area of RSA the animals are 100% native with no animals brought in for any reason.

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"Hunting in Africa"
It is as much fun as you can have with clothes on---
Find a place and go--

I would second the recommendation of Marius Goosen of KMG Hunting Safaris.

As for the put and take allegation, I think for some species, i.e., the less common and more expensive ones, it is at times true. There is not much reason to put and take things like wildebeest, impala, etc. as they breed readily.

Many South Africa game farms are small but there are a fair number that if put in the middle on a hot day you might die before getting out on foot. Do to South Africa games laws most farms are high fenced as when you have fenced in your property, the game within it is yours.

There are some species like bush pig, jackal, baboons, etc. that go under fences at will. Even though a property is high fenced, hunting them is essentially free range. One truly free range hunt I had was in some unfenced vineyards for grysbok.

I have never hunted Namibia. The hunting experience is probably better there but more expensive. Namibia also doesn't permit handgun hunting which is a deal breaker for me.

I hunted in the RSA (Limpopo Province) the first time, 6 years ago, and have plans to go to Namibia this summer. The RSA was fun, but Namibia looks and sounds great.

I will be more than happy to report back after the hunt.

donsm70

Leaving for RSA April 17. I/we will hunt with Huntersgame Safaris for our third trip to RSA at Huntersgame. The Kudu jump the fence at will, the Warthogs burrow under the fence, the Giraffe merely step over the fence, the Cape Buffalo ram the fence, nothing keeping them in, and a myriad of smaller animals come and go as they please. BTW, Nihan Engelbrecht, the owner/PH has brought in white Rhino to help increase the species. Not huntable, but a thrill to get close to. We are taking our only grandchild, grandson, for this adventure as it is safe, the food top shelf, the wine great and a true adventure for all to remember. MTG

I will be a little different. Having only hunted Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania and never have hunted either Namibia or South Africa it is a little hard for me to comment on either of those countries.

However Coutada Nine in Mozambique (Mokore Safaris) has to be one of the best values for plainsgame. It will be a little more complicated than South Africa (An extra leg on the flight), and maybe a little more expensive but for me it is well worth the extra effort.

The area is several hundred thousand acres with no fences of any kind. The camp is East African style. The game is abundant with some of the best kudu and warthogs anywhere. There is also dangerous game in the area. Mokore is one of the finest companies in Africa.

Again just my humble opinion.

Thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like it will be a tough decision! Thanks again!

I enjoyed my plains game hunts in South Africa. Particularly on larger properties with the big five. It is important to talk to your outfitter upfront and discuss what you are looking for.

I highly recommend Pieter Kriel.

Thanks for the heads up...I just contacted them!

A few comments, from somebody who has only hunted plains game in four countries, which isn't a hell of a lot:

1) There is put-and-take high-fenced hunting in both Namibia and South Africa. It is more prevalent in some areas than others, and both countries offer free-range hunting. I have taken three kudu in RSA, for instance, and all were free-range.

2) Free-range, native-game hunting normally offers far fewer species, but in my experiences the hunting is more enjoyable. But some people like to lay 'em low. Know one guy who took 4 kudu bulls on one put-and-take shoot in RSA and the place finally told him that was enough.

3) Deciding on what animals you want is a good guideline to choosing an area, but once over there, many people inexperienced in African hunting find out there are animals they really want to hunt that they never expected to, once they're there.

4) In considering recommendations about countries, areas or operations, consider the experience of the person making the recommendations. Some have only hunted one country, or even one area in one country.

Namibia

Advice from someone who has a lot of experience in hunting any area is valuable, to be sure.
Advice on hunting on the African continent comes from folks who have never been, to those with many trips under their belt, and everything in between, at least as far as we can judge from Internet communication.

The other side of the coin is advice from PH's and outfitters who are active, or say they are, in African hunting. Go to a sport show in a major city, where there are dozens of outfitters touting their hunts and services, and leave with your head spinning with a confusing mix of BS, spin, and hopefully, some truth.

My favorite, and by far most reliable, source of recommendations comes from friends and acquaintences whom I trust, and are going to give me the straight scoop without a lot of BS and hype.

RNG, welcome to the campfire. I am heading on my 9th plains game hunt.(had another in Zim for buffalo) Namibia is a great place to hunt plains game, large properties, lots of free range, mostly reasonable trophy fees. After a couple times of hunting it though you have hunted everything there is as the number of native species is somewhat limited.

South Africa has a wonderful diversity of game and habitats, which can make many hunts unique even if for similar game. There are many different species available to hunt as well. The properties tend to be smaller in RSA (generally) but there are many expections also.

So my recommendation would for this first time, connect yourself onto either an experienced outfitter or friend who can help guide you in your decision. There are many good hunts to be had, and don't forget to check references.

I recommend Limpopo Province in South Africa for a first hunt because the hunting areas are within a 4 or 5 hour drive of the Johannesburg airport, thus avoiding another flight. The PH will pick you up at the airport. Hunts are within high-fenced areas but they are very large and the game breeds there and runs wild in them. My PH owned or had access to 70,000 acres and we managed to shoot 8 animals in 7 days of hunting.

Later I hunted in Zimbabwe. While there is plains game there, the lure of Zimbabwe is dangerous game. My first trip there, for 15 days, I took elephant, buffalo, hippo, and croc. We didn't see any plains game. On my second trip I took elephant, buffalo, hippo, lion, zebra, and three impala. We saw some other plains game (kudu, waterbuck, warthog) but did not pursue them.

I'm retired, so I could do this.
I knew I'd only get to hunt Africa once, so I started researching countries and outfitters in Spring of 2011.
In August 2012 I Settled on Namibia and Omujeve Safaris, purchased airline tickets and booked my hunt.
Arrived in Windhoek, Namibia last week of May 2013 and hunted with Omujeve Safaris for a week. Hunted 2 areas, each over 150,000 acres and took 7 Plains Game trophies.
Great hunt, great trophies and great outfit.
Flight was on Delta from Atlanta non-stop to Johannesburg. Spent the night at Africa Sky and had them do all the Gun paper work. Next morning it was South African Air to Windhoek.
I also found a lot of information on accuraterealoading.com
I'd recommend Omujeve Safaries (www.omujevesafaris.com) and Africa Sky Guest House in Johannesburg.

Lugerman

P.S. And my wife went with me as an observer.

Just depends on how much you want to spend.

I would highly recommend the Save with Zambezi Hunters in Zimbabwe, but its not going to be cheap. I hunted Buf in 2012 with them and my father went for Sable and Plains game. Much different then South Africa, as you don't see fences, but you are also paying double what you would be paying in South Africa.

I have hunted South Africa, it was a great time, and I would highly recommend it for a first trip, but you are technically hunting on larger or smaller ranches. Some area are very open where others seem a bit smaller. Its just your opinion on fences and such. That being said, we tried to cull a blesbok out of a smaller game farm, and they were damn smart. I could never get a shot at them.

I haven't been to Namibia, but I heard that is good. I am going back to South Africa in 2016 to hunt as I got a heck of a deal, but would have preferred to go to Namibia. I have only heard good things about hunting there.

Didn't they try to blow you up there? Talk about a glutton for punishment!!!

I think he's giving them another chance.

They've had five more chances since then! They haven't gotten it done yet!