I had planned to go on my first Cape Buffalo hunt in 2016. Flights booked and deposit made. Now due to economic issues I will not be able to afford a Cape Buffalo hunt this year (possibly ever). I am not getting younger and the joints hurt more each year.

This question is for those that have been dreaming of a Cape Buffalo hunt for years, but never have.

If you were in my shoes would you 1) hold off and hope that things will get better in the future and you are still physically able, or 2) do a Cape Buffalo cow hunt? From a difficulty stand point it seems the females of the herd animals I have hunted would have been as difficult to the males. The trophy is secondary to me.

Pieter will put you on a nice bull without killing yourself. Trust his judgement on this. He will do whatever is needed to create the best situation for you. No worries, wait it out and get the bull.

Jim,

I am sure you are correct on that. A bigger fear for me is whether there will ever be another chance. If I am pushed into early retirement I will not be going to Africa again. If I knew that wasn't going to happen then I would go ahead and hunt for a bull this year.

Sorry, when I said that I couldn't afford it I wasn't clear. It isn't that I don't have the money. The problem is whether it is prudent to spend it.

Thanks,
Charles

I am the wrong guy to ask, probably, but prudence be damned. The difference in what you will spend on shooting a buffalo and not shooting one, will be amortized into inconsequence over the remainder of your lifetime. There are plenty, plenty of still reasonable Buffalo hunts out there. As for the cow, that's tantamount to kissing your sister. GO.

I look at it like this. Assuming all the regular financial/family obligations are in order....

When you're young you usually have no money
When you gather a little disposable income, you usually have no time.
If you are blessed enough to gather some disposable income, and still have your health, I say go.
Often times when you finally get money and time, you don't have your health.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

I would go on the bull Cape Buffalo hunt and cut back on future hunts and maybe sell a gun or two. Good luck!

I've never been a fan of prudence. I would prefer to live without regrets and have the adventures and live the dreams that have accumulated over a lifetime of work. You'll never regret doing what you want. Good luck and have a blast!

If I was ever that close, I'd go for the bull. Sell the damned truck and buy a used one; sell some firearms, just make it happen.

I went in 2001 on a buffalo hunt in Tanzania that was my "once in a lifetime". Took every nickel I could scrape together from working second jobs as a cop. Cost me a little over $8k. My wife was also very supportive about it and said just go! I, like you fretted over the money and should I go. It was the best money I ever spent. I have been four times since and am trying to scrounge the money together for an elephant. You will never regret going, but you could one day regret not going. We never die with toys, only memories.

Unfortunately I have a 2006 truck that I bought in 2008 and I don't collect expensive rifles. Good advice for most guys though.

Maybe one of our favorite posters, traders, shysters of past will need another kidney.

Money you can always earn but no amount of it can buy back yesterday. The clock always moves clockwise and never counter clock wise. Go while you still can instead of regretting because you did not go as you lie sick and dying.

Good luck.

Jess

If there is anyway you can go do it. It will be a lifetime experience. I always have this dilemma and when I just take the plunge the rewards come back many times over.

Almost postponed a hunt because work was slow but just on the drive back from New Mexico I got something like 13 new jobs.

Same thing on fishing trips. Sitting around waiting for work doesn't pay well and you are not your best advocate. The boost in attitude will help you deal with whatever situation arises after the trip.

Great advice here. Good luck, whatever you decide Charles.

It can be tough when you are torn between passion and responsibility.

If you are smart, you enter the workforce and work hard, watch your expenses, and save for later.

I occasionally need to remind myself it is now "later". I am far enough along in my career where I have saved and invested on the proper track. I can't walk away and retire anytime soon, but I'm doing the right things. I also am young and fit enough to do most any adventure without physical limitation. However, I know there are some things that will start getting culled off the list over the next 10-15 years - which goes by quickly.

Africa is not getting any cheaper, and hunting opportunities are dwindling. Some opportunities won't be there later.

Example, some 15 years ago I did a 18 day hunt in Zambia that included 1 buffalo and 1 cat. My PH had a leopard on liciense, but had sold out his few lion permits. I could have postponed a year if I really had wanted a lion, but never hunted leopard, and we decided we'd do the lion down the road.

Well, not far down the road, Zambia closed hunting for a couple of years, then reallocation came, and then a couple of more years passed and I looked again at Zambia for buff and leopard. sadly, there is no way could jusitify the expense. Now lion hunting is pretty much done. I have no regrets, but that shows that some opportunities will go and be gone forever.

An African Safari is one of life's highlights. If you can swing it and not end up in the poor farm, I am sure the experience will enrich you far more than spending the same money on almost any other indulgence.

Best of luck with whichever path you choose.

If you can semi-responsibly do it, do it. We don't have a unlimited number of tomorrows and things can change in a heart-beat. Age, health, finances, politics, prices and exchange rates can take you from possible to impossible in the blink of an eye and through no fault of your own you can lose that option.

It sounds like its within your reach, you either seize it or risk losing it.

^
I agree with what Mod70Guy posted.

Since you have already paid a deposit, and booked the flights, it would be a shame to waste that (unless you are sure you can get it all refunded).

If funds are tight, but you can still manage a more limited version of the hunt, I would either go ahead with the hunt and perhaps shoot a cow, or maybe work with your PH and see if you can't shoot a bull with a broken horn or some other defect at a much discounted price.

Not shipping the horn/hide back will save you a lot of money (as will not getting a trophy mounted). Just be sure to take plenty of pictures.

Good luck on your decision.

PS I am going back for buff this year after a 13 year hiatus. Health issues stole about 5 years of my life, and I am now trying to reclaim them before I die.

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead"

The only reason to shoot a cow is when your life is threatened as she charges you.

I just can't get my head around travel 1/2 way around the globe for that effort of time and money only to shoot a cow.

It kinda reminds me of the grade school kids getting a participant trophy instead of having winners and losers. I think it would be a let down in your future to default to a cow.

Hope this does not come off too harsh. Just don't think this is a proper decision.

Agree 100% with Jorge. Prudence be damned. Spending that money won't be missed 5 years after you go, and won't make any difference to you then or now. It just isn't "that" much money. However, to miss out on hunting buff is an experience I would never want to miss. I've only been once, but hunting buffalo beats all other hunts for true fun and matching wits with a game animal. I've hunted all over North America, but never Aisa, and I can honestly say that I've had the most fun hunting Buffalo over sheep, goats, deer, elk, caribou, grizzer bears, moose, etc. Go and don't look back.

Oh yeah, hunt the bull. Kissing your sister is never as fun or exciting as making out with the hot cheerleader!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”-Tyler Durden

I say go now for a bull. You've already paid most of the cost. Beg, borrow, and steal for the rest. 2nd mortgage or whatever.

I shot my first Cape buffalo when I was 64 because by then I had the time and the money. I should have gone when I was 44. In the long run it would have made no difference except that I would have had the chance to go many more times.

Now it is almost prohibitive or impossible to hunt lion, elephant, or rhino. Who knows what the future will bring, but it ain't promising.

So go now.

You can save some money by having a skull mount. I have one skull mount and one shoulder mount. Both are pretty impressive.

RAC you suck.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have talked to the boss (aka Mrs. Charles) and Pieter. I am going on the trip and hunting Cape Buffalo. The plan is to hunt a bull, but Pieter says that it is okay for me to shoot either. In the mean time I will be praying for the financial health of my employer.

I am 62 and feeling every day of it so I think it is now or never. At 44 I had just gone through a divorce and a warthog would have been out of my budget. I was thinking skull mount but having it caped for a shoulder mount just in case.

Bravo and good luck. I don't think you will ever regret it. Good idea about the cape.

Charles, I'm glad you've asked the question, got the answers here that you needed, and that you've made the decision to go for it. Bully!

I'm your age, and just 6 months ago fulfilled my lifelong dream of hunting Cape buffalo. I faced many of the same questions and fears as you. But as others have said, one way or another, it's only money, and you can't buy a single second of your life back once it's gone, no matter how much money you have.

If I can add one more piece of advice, I'd have to say I'm solidly with Jorge and JJHACK on this one: do NOT shoot a cow. Shoot a good, mature, tough old bull. Don't worry about the cost. Borrow the money to pay your trophy fee, if you have to. Don't even think about the cost of taxidermy for now, just get the cape and bring it home and make those decisions after you've got the hunt behind you and safely stored in your memory banks.

Charles, great news. I don't care if you live under an overpass for the rest of your life. It will be worth it. when you get there tell Pieter I said hello.

Will do!

Do what you have to do to go this year. It'll never get cheaper, and Africa is always a question yet to be answered. It could be stable and still in the budget next year, and it could be closed down where you're planning or prohibitively expensive next year.

IMO there's little that comes up close to a good buffalo hunt. DON'T lose the opportunity. If you take early retirement go anyway, then find a job of some sort for the next year to recoup the cost.

You can't buy a memory; you need to live it.

I agree with Test, that hunting DG in Africa (expecially buff) is more exciting than any other type of hunting.

For me, I would rather kill another buff, even a cow, over a world record kudu or sable or any other plains game, but that is just me.

The biggest problem is that after having killed a buff or an ellie, (and probably lion, leopard or rhino, which I have never done) hunting deer and elk, and even bear, is not as much fun as it used to be.

Hence, the desire to always go back to Africa for one more DG hunt.

Enjoy your life while you can.

BH63

Charles, I had an experience last w/e that might be pertinent to this discussion.

When I was getting ready for my buffalo hunt last year, people kept asking me how big Cape buffalo were. They couldn't seem to grasp the concept of "1600 to 2000 pounds", so I just started telling them they were the size of a rodeo Brahma bull, a creature most Texans have some familiarity with, and a suitable frame of reference.

As it happens, this past couple of weeks I was providing medical coverage for the local rodeo here in town. Saturday night I was standing behind the gate the cowboys come in from the arena through, which meant I was standing right beside the bull pen. I had time to look the bulls over real well, and I came to this conclusion:

Rodeo bulls are a LOT smaller than Cape buffalo.

Yep. Do whatever it takes to fulfill your dream. You're going to be dead for a loooooooong time. Hunts are not going to get cheaper and your health is not going to get better with age....

It is 83 days until I am scheduled to depart. Finances are looking better, my knees are holding up better than expected when walking 6 - 8 miles per day, and the dollar to rand is still in my favor. Looks like a Cape Buffalo bull in on the menu.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and encouragement!

As Nike says....JUST DO IT!

I went to Africa in 2002, and 2003. Started at the age of 51, and had thought I would go every couple of years. But than the Real Estate market dumped, and my finances went with it! Even though I have been struggling to make ends meet for quite some time, I never regretted my African hunts! Hardly a day goes by that I do not think about returning.
You made the right choice to go now.
Are you hunting with Peiter Kriel?
I envy you, you will have a fantastic time!

Good for you!

Yes I am hunting with Pieter Kriel. It will be my first time hunting with Pieter without the Princess. I warned him that it will be considerably quieter during the drive from the airport.

My advice is go on the hunt, shoot your bull, but decide whether bringing home a trophy is really why you went. Taxidermy and shipping can be a really large bill.
I hunt for food or in the case of Africa for the experience, not for trophies. When I hunt in Africa next time I'm only going to take home a bunch of good memories and some photos. You may be different, but to me hanging some more old bone on the wall has some appeal, but not nearly as much as more hunting.

Hunting is hunting. Better to go than not go. The experience of being there is what counts.