I know that there is no such thing as a cheap safari,but I guess a frugile one, for plains game,If anyone would like to share/provide info,outfitters,cost,it would really give me some insight.
It would be my only safari trip because of health/age.

thanks in advance

Generally speaking cost and quality separate quickly in the Safari business. However there are some exceptions. You can have fantastic quality accommodations, and equipment, even good trophies. But you have to decide how you want to hunt, and whether the game is actually natural in the location you hunt in. If hunting for natural wild game is important to you then your area of interest will be narrowed down and the costs made much more clear and competitive. Try to level the playing field before you compare costs. An Eastern Cape hunt for non-indigenous game will be less then hunting for the same species where they live wild and natural.

I have taken folks hunting for only a couple animals, but spent a week in the Park with them touring Kruger or one of many other parks. They were able to experience all the big five living wild and in the natural habitat, and then spend 4-5 days hunting for a couple great trophies. This is very affordable and makes for a great hunting and "Africa" experience.

Be forewarned though you will/ can be offered really cheap hunting in many places where the game does not live natural but is farmed or raised simply for hunters to shoot. Don't be fooled with the price tag and believe that somehow these places can offer 1/2 price for the real deal! The cheapest way to hunt Africa is to leave everything in Africa but photo's and memories. Taxidermy and shipping of Trophies is equal or more then the cost of the Safari in many cases. Depending on what you want mounted and how. ( life size VS shoulder VS skull mount)

Single airfare this coming summer in 2010 will be complicated and more expensive then normal with the World cup in RSA. Hunting in August or if possible late July would be much less expensive then trying to go from Late May through June.

Airfare from Atlanta should be in the 1500-1800 range per person, plus the domestic costs to get to Atlanta. Some "do it yourself" on line tickets can be purchased for less, how lucky do you feel? Everyone has a different threshold for this ticket shopping and confidence in what your getting and who will help you should there be flight troubles later.

Funny,.... half the people ask about "trip insurance" with some concern. The other half throw caution to the wind and will buy a ticket to travel half way around the world and not consider that when there is a problem with the travel who are they gonna call to sort it out? How they gonna get their computer on line now? It makes no difference to me, I am not a travel agent and I don't have anything to do with that business. Folks can get through that any way they desire. I just call Elaine at African Odyssey and She handles the details for me. They also provide every bit of service after the purchase should it be needed.

The hunting itself (for a ball park) might be 5,000USD and include several animals. You can do it for less then this but this is a fair industry example for natural wild game. The hunting offered with us for example is 4800 for three trophy quality animals, Kudu-impala-warthog. These will all be great trophies,..... and not stocked, farmed, or relocated to a hunting property for you to shoot.

Additional animals can be shot as desired, paying the trophy fee alone. There are other options for some female culling hunts, and non trophy hunts, We have to sort those out as they are requested. On the website we have a cull hunt listed now for Example. 3800 bucks and I think it's 7-8 animals for Archery hunters.

There are ways to drop costs with less then trophy quality, which allows you to have the "Africa experience" just not shooting exceptional animals. There are ways to balance the price if you're interested in doing this to see Africa and hunt without the absolute need to shoot all super trophy animals.

Blackeyeddueler,

Let me second what Jim Hack told you.

We hunted with Jim in 2006. He set up a 5 day tour through Kruger National Park and then over to the hunting area with Pieter Kriel, who was a fantastic tour guide. We learned a great deal about the flora and fauna of South Africa and the history of South Africa. Then, we hunted with Jim for 8 days, and had a terrific time. There was lots of game, I shot very nice animals, and my wife (a non-hunter) stayed with us the whole time, thoroughly enjoying every minute. She joked that, while sitting in the back of the bakkie while we were walking aroound looking for or stalking game, she probably saw more game crossing the trails than we did. She also said that she came back with tired eyes every night from the constant challenge of looking for animals.

We did that in 2 weeks. The whole trip cost around twice as much as Jim's hunt/airfare for me, and I have 4 Euro mounts and flat skins as well as all the memories and photographs (over 1000) that I took during the trip. The higher cost was worth it-it was the best vacation we ever had, and I'd do it in a minute (probably will do it within the next 2-4 years).

Clarence

I didn't read all the previous posts. I did hunt in Namibia for 6 days, shot 5 animals and my total bill was $1500 and change. I carried my european mount trophies home as checked luggage. Saw a ton of game but had already hunted the area several times before and was there escorting a very good friend. The cost of the hunt is driven by what you shoot, daily rates can be found for 200-300. Shooting smaller antelope, non-trophy, or cull hunts will grossly reduce one's bill.

It is possible to go on an inexpensive hunt but you aren't going to collect a bunch of trophies. On the other hand, it is common in the US for hunters to spend thousands of dollars, hunt for a full week, and maybe shoot one trophy.

Like most things in life, you tend to get what you pay for when hunting Africa but there are excellent deals for those willing to step outside their comfort zones and willing to investigate the numerous options.

Cheap is relative -- to you. When people have asked me "How much?" the answer is simple. About the price of a nice car, or in your case a cheap one. Only you can say what will do for you.

A caution. Once is NOT enough. (But it will start the education.) JJHack has good advice.

One way to streamline things is to rent the firearm(s) and practice with something equivalent beforehand. Of course, only you can tell if that will do.

"I have taken folks hunting for only a couple animals, but spent a week in the Park with them touring Kruger or one of many other parks. They were able to experience all the big five living wild and in the natural habitat, and then spend 4-5 days hunting for a couple great trophies. This is very affordable and makes for a great hunting and "Africa" experience."

This actually sounds really good. I've no need to pile up a vast collection of heads & hides, but would enjoy something like the above tremendously.

I have some cull hunts that are very inexpensive and the Safari company allows one trophy of each animal being culled to sweeten the pot..

We recently returned from a RSA Plains Game Safari with Kubusi Safaris (US Agent is EAI Outdoors). They have some of the best rates I have seen. We had a very pleasurable experience with them. Facilities are clean and tidy, food excellent and always plenty. We originally booked for 5 animals and added 2 more (Blue Wildebeest and Warthog) when we arrived. We got all that we were after and had the opportunity for more. I can personnaly recommend this agent and Safari Operator. All expectations were fulfilled and we were very happy with all asspects of service. Airlines were booked through Safari Line and was worth every penny. Our domestic flight into Atlanta was delayed enough that we could not connect to the Atlanta to J'Burg flight, (which Delta re-booked for the next day) but Delta could not rebook our connecting flight from J'Burg to ELS or rebook our Hotel in J'Burg. One call to Safari Line and they had the other airline tickets and hotel rebooked within an hour and a half. We could not have done this on our own.
Check out the prices on EAI Outdoors (they also offer hunts other than Africa if you are interested).
Go to some Sports shows if you can and check out the competition (I did) and decide for yourself. All Safari Operators have something unique to offer, but what ever you do, Book a Hunt and Enjoy Yourself.

Also check out Settlers Safaris. They are located in the same general area as Kubusi.
I got called away yesterday before I finished my post.
Like I said though, Book, go hunt and never look back (but post pictures).

I have always thought that a cheap hunt meant a crappy one.. Well, based on a good buddies word, I booked a cheap hunt this coming May in the East Cape. We shall see how it turns out!

BLACKEYEDDUELER:
I'm a bit late on this, but hope it helps. It's less than an Alaskan Bear/Goat trip or just a bit more than a trophy Elk hunt based on my shopping. Without airfare, I booked my first African hunt (next April/May) for $5000 (plus tips, trophy taxidermy and return shipping). Several firms offer packages like that, as this thread reveals. My upcoming trip was in that range for 6 trophy animals, ten days. Animals include Greater Kudu, Gemsbok, Impala, Black Wildebeest, Springbok and Warthog.

TRAVEL AGENT? I guess it is a good idea, though I didn't use one. I used DELTA.COM back in September. I found airfare for about $1500 coach (Ft Lauderdale - Atlanta - Johannesberg) but that can change drastically based on dates next year. First/Business Class can bump airfare a whole lot! I am not connecting to another flight in South Africa, the hunter will pick me up at Joberg and return me there. We'll drive to Limpopo and then to another locale in Free State before the trip is over. I am going based on a friends recent experience with this PH. To quote the PH, "You'll not need another cent from the time I pick you up until I drop you back at the airport...", but I figure tipping might be "proper" if things are "properly" done...

I could have cut the price by reducing the take or the days, but the airfare is a big chunk and, like you, there are reasons this may be my only trip. Also, it's a long flight.

The reference I have says it's not "canned" in his opinion, there was a lot of game available, facilities were nice but not the Ritz. (Better than any Deer/Elk camp he'd ever seen though...) Food and drink was all supplied and very good and plentiful. Services at the lodges/camps were more than adequate. Equipment (hunt cars etc) all late model and in good order. PH was interested in providing a good experience and knowledgeable. Trackers and skinners were talented enough to find and prepare all his animals. They hunted a waterhole, and glassed and stalked. Yes there were fences, but he said it was not common to see them, and he never felt it was not "fair chase" hunting.

I think a trip that included Namibia or Botswana might have been more exciting, but this works for my budget and time frames. RSA is probably a lot less "wild" than those places, but I'm taking advice from several sources to make it my first (and possibly last) African hunt destination.

Good luck finding your hunt! PM me if you want any more details - like the web site of the PH. I'm not in the business and I figure there's plenty of references in this thread from those in the biz, and from those who have been on a trip to keep you busy! Advice from someone who's been, not just "going", would be a lot more valid - that's what I based my plans on! I'm sure any others who have mentioned upcoming plans wouldn't mind a PM if you have an interest. Especially the Pros!

Just one thing, it'll never be cheaper, and you'll never get there if you wait for everything to be easy or perfect. Go ahead and plan it, research it and book it. That's half the fun! Good Luck!!

Jim, is all the meat given to villagers?

The meat belongs the possession of the landowner, park, community, or somebody other then the hunter. It's never going to waste and everything is used down to the intestines.

is it possible to substitue animals for the kudu, impala and warthog on your 2010 Rifle hunting package?

It's a package with those because its a "package" if those three animals are not what you want, then why not just go with daily fee and trophy fee?

There are only three animals in that package and you want to substitute all three? What animals would you like instead? I suppose in 17 years now I've never had a first time hunter that did not want a Kudu and an impala.

'Cheap' generally means you're giving something in exchange.
From what I've learned it usually means comfort or quality. Comfort being that you'll be hunting when the weather isn't the best. It will either be wet or 'Africa' hot. Quality being that the area may not hold or have the number of game one would normally expect.
This isn't always true though. And there is no better time than now to get really good deals. Just do some research.
If you have flight miles that really helps if you can find a seat.

It cost x dollars to do a safari of anykind, there are a million ways to market a hunt, and if your not astute you can get burned..simple as that..

I contend like JJ, the best way to hunt Africa is pay a daily rate and trophy fees and shoot what you want or what you can afford..To do otherwise is marketing ploy for the most part..
Probably the only concern you should have is to remember some will have cheap daily rates and high trophy fees, the next guy will have high daily rates and cheap trophy fees, in other words just the opposite..What you want to know is what the total cost will be, thats the bottom line, use your pencil. Then if you know exactly what the total cost is be sure to know also what in includes and what it does not include..

If you do this then you will get your moneys worth. Beware of guarentees unless its a high fenced ranch, but most of Africa is very high in success.

I purchase most of my hunts at SCI chapter auctions & save a lot of money. Many organizations have fund raisers & its for a good cause.

Is it possible to combine a cape buffalo with a plains game hunt, and if so how much does that drive the cost? If it drives it up too much, I may have to go plains game first, then come back. I'll need to buy a rifle too since I gave my 270 to my son, all I have left is my 500 Jeffrey. By the way, I'll be at the SCI Convention in Reno Thursday and Friday leaving Saturday, so if any of you campfire folks are there give a holler. I'm staying at the Silver Legacy.



Thanks,

Chuck

That's kinda like saying I wanna buy new tires for my car, but if I decide to buy the whole car will that drive up the cost?

basic Plains game hunts can be 3 or 4 hunts for the price of a single buffalo hunt. So yeah it's a huge difference in price.

Personally and having considerable years of experience with this now, I think that the basic plains game hunt for real hunting in a region that has natural indigenous game is the greatest hunting value on the planet. Not the put and take restocked un-natural stuff but the real game where God intended it.

Imagine this, you can hunt 10 animals for the price of a buffalo hunt. Every day you start out with a new adventure, VS pulling the trigger one time, maybe twice for a buffalo hunt. At the end of the trip, you will have taken 8-10 beautiful trophies............. or one!

Buffalo hunting can be really fun and exciting, or you can pick one out of a herd and shoot it much like shooting a cow. You never know which hunt you will have. But I will tell you this. For every exciting buffalo hunt with a charging bull, there are probably hundreds that are like shooting a cow in a pasture.

Buffalo hunting has earned a status among international hunters and that has driven the cost to stupid high levels. They are way more Buffalo then good Nyala, or sable, yet the "status" of buffalo has driven the cost out of reach.

Now don't mistake me here, Hunting Buffalo and tracking them to the herd sorting them out and getting a shot is a hella exciting adventure. But once you pull the trigger your pretty much done for the same expense of hunting the same way every day and pulling the trigger several times a day!

Thanks, that's kind of what I figured ... Guess I'm going to break down and buy the 300 Weatherby Southgate (FN action) for $800 that I've been looking at and plan for a plains game hunt first. I can probably afford to book that later this spring for the following year.

Chuck

Well, I actually contacted an individual that a friend used once and he was pretty cool. His name was Rick (I forget his last name) but I contacted him about shooting a buff and the pricing was not too bad. With that said he sent me all the information, that I do not still have, and pricing through email. I apparently stayed on his list because i got at least one a week with hunts that were really cheap because the people that booked the couldnt go. Most of these hunts were plains game and i really wanted to hunt cape buffalo. With all the jabberin' im doing i mean to say that he actually moved not too far from me and is my friend on facebook. If you want i can contact him and, if its not against the rules here, give you his contact info

Colorado,

JJ is certainly more experienced and knowledgable than I am on hunting Africa and his points are good ones. However, if you're like me and your true desire is just to hunt Buffalo, then don't let what he has said deter you. Yes, you will have to pay a higher daily rate to hunt "dangerous game" as buffalo is classified and the trophy fee on a buff is certainly high in most places. But, there are places, like Zimbabwe, where you can hunt buff as your primary animal and still have plenty of opportunity to hunt plains game as well, some of it top quality too. And the plains game trophy fees are not usually that high. So, if you shoot your buff the first day, you can spend all the rest of your time chasing Kudu, Impala, Eleand, Warthog, Sable, etc., so its not just a one and done deal. Now Zim does have it's problems, issues, etc., political and otherwise, but relatively speaking you can do a pretty inexpensive buff/plains game hunt there without too many issues. I do know that if you're wanting to hunt buff in RSA, the trophy fees seem to be really high as compared to other areas. I'm not sure how the daily rates to hunt buff in RSA and other countries compare.
Test

Thanks Test, I hadn't narrowed down anything yet, but I do really want a good buff hunt. I guess that's why I going to the SCI convention in Reno, meet some people, get a real feel for cost and quality. I'm on the AR forum too and a bunch are going to SCI.

Thanks again Test,

Chuck

Sure thanks deerhunter. I'm sure you can PM me and that should be within the rules..

Chuck

The hunt in Zim and anyplace else is not drastically different. Add up every part of the trip and you will see that in RSA a buffalo will be around 10-12K but it's all inclusive for everything. From the moment you walk off the plane til you get back on.

Everyplace else will be daily fee, trophy fee, additional hotel and flights, and permits and on and on. I've not met many folks who have done this for much under 10K in any country when they added up all the little stuff. Yet when they hear 10-12K in RSA they freak out. The point is if it were so much cheaper in other locations RSA would not have many buffalo hunters. To the contrary it's often hard to find an available hunt in RSA for buffalo.

JJ,
Yes, I agree that each hunt is going to cost you about the same, no matter the country and there is a lot to be said for the relative safety of RSA hunting as opposed to hunting in Zim. My biggest point was simply that if you really want to hunt buff, there are other places to look than just one country.

Colorado, the SCI convention is a great place to really get the details on any hunt you're considering. You'll have an opportunity to ask all your questions and hopefully actually talk to a PH that you might actually hunt with. That way, you'll know ahead of time if he is the type of guy you'd want to spend a few weeks with or not. If you've got any experienced friends that have hunted a lot in Africa and keep up with things, they can also be very valuable in steering you either towards or away from outfits that have certain reputations. Meeting these types of people at SCI or at your local SCI meetings can be a tremendous help. And...asking questions here or on AR is very helpful. There are people here like JJ that are a wealth of experience and knowledge that are very helpful.
Test

Thanks Test,

Chuck

Guys,

I hope no-one minds me clearing up a few misconceptions here.

Prices for Buff hunts do vary enormously, not only from area to area but also from country to country.

The other thing that changes dramatically is the type of hunting expperience you get and that also changes from area to area and country to country and that's why you need to do your research before you go along to a convention. If you wait until you get there to do your research, you won't be anywhere near knowing everything you need to know.

I'll give you an example:

If you book a Buff hunt in SA, you'll either be hunting a fenced area or an area adjacent to a park and although there may not be a fence between the hunting area and the park, there almost certainly will be a fence at the other end of the hunting area. In either case, the animals will be considerably more habituated to humans and vehicles than game in a true wilderness area such as Mozambique or Tanzania etc.

If you book a hunt in Mozambique, it'll be a tough hunt due to temperature, terrain and the fact that (perhaps excluding a very few areas such as the Zambezi Delta etc) the Buff are incredibly skittish and once they rumble you, will literally run for miles whereas in some areas such as the Selous Reserve in Tanzania, they'll be more inclined to run a couple of hundred yards.

If you book a hunt in Zim, camps will probably be more comfortable and convenient and despite the political problems etc, general infrastructure is still reasonably established. However, here especially, you need to make very sure you hunt with the right people. Hunt with a srong 'un or on the wrong area and not only will you have a bad hunt and possibly not get your trophies, you may well find yourself tied up with Lacey Act problems at a later date.

If you hunt in Tanzania which incidentally according to the Franfurt Zoological Society has more Buff than ALL the other southern and east African countries combined, you'll probably see more Buff in a day than you'd see in a week in many other places. Weather here is more tolerable than many other places, but even here, areas can vary dramatically. For example a concession in the Selous Reserve is almost always (note the word almost) gonna be better than a buffer zone.

If you hunt the newly issued true wilderness areas in Uganda, you'll probably get the best trophy quality of all the aforementioned hunts, and entry into the country etc is the easiest of them all. Areas are huge and haven't been hunted in 30 years. This hunt will probably be the wildest of all the hunts and not for the faint hearted. So again, a very different hunt to the others...... but a tremendous adventure!

Regarding prices, you can pay anything from less that US$10K to something in the region of US$50K for a Buff hunt. Sure, they're all Buff hunts but they're all very different hunting experiences and all very different prices.

The key is to do your research properly, extensively and slowly and that's the only way you'll get the best package for your own individual needs, tastes and finances. If you wait till you get to the conventions to do your research, it'll be way too late!

I'll also say that most people who hunt Africa are usually fairly experienced hunters in their own right and their own country and consequently a plains game only hunt is to a large extent, just a repeat of their previous hunting experiences with animals that have got different horns etc.

Bearing in mind how expensive flights are nowadays and that time is such a valuable commodity nowadays, it's far better to book a combined dangerous and plains game hunt so you make the most of your time here and the most of your money spent getting here.

Hope that helps and don't hesitate to contact me by email or PM if you need further advice.

Just found some pics that will illustrate how camps and obviously prices can vary. Other factors that can affect price are things like some of these have the nearest shops & fuel etc an hours drive away and others a days drive away.

All are good camps & areas but as is obvious, some will cost considerably more than others.

Thanks, Steve. I think your advice is spot on and is definitely helpful. I suppose my advice and statements were a little short sighted in the fact that I was thinking of only comparisons between RSA and Zim and not really thinking of all the other choices when I said prices would be similar. Obviously, to anyone who has looked, buff hunting in Tanzania is much more costly than in these other countries. I do think after the pricing was analyzed, that most hunts in RSA, Zim, and perhaps Moz might be very similar, although I'm sure you could find some below and above the average in all countries. I also agree that SCI isn't the place to start doing your research. However, I think Colorado has obviously started looking at things already so would have a good start and would know the right questions to ask. I certainly wouldn't recommend booking a hunt at SCI unless you have already done all your research and are certain about who you want to hunt with.

I hadn't previously heard hunting in Moz described like you do, but seeing what the countryside looks like in pictures, I can certainly believe it. Uganda is definitely intriguing, but is still a little unknown as to what kind of hunt you might end up with. If I had a ton of money lying around, I'd definitely give that a try since it sounds like a fun hunt. I also fully agree with you about combining plains game with DG to maximize time and money, especially for the experienced hunter.

Thanks again for taking the time.
Test

Test,

The true wilderness areas in Uganda are only going commercial in 2010 and I'd bet a pound to a pinch of the brown stuff that by 2015, it'll be challenging Tanzania as the jewel in the crown of African hunting....... The areas haven't been hunted for over 30 years and the trophy quality, esp the Buff is simply breathtaking!