Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Buffalo in Tanzania, etc.

Zero experience in Africa so you get what you paid for.

I would spend 4 days at the next DSC face to face with most everybody.

You're gonna find a newish guy who hunts hard and can't draw the bigger dollar clients yet but has a good area.

Maybe finding the right hunt is just as hard as finding a buff?

As Bob_mt and bowman have suggested, you’d do well to talk with Mark Young. It doesn’t cost extra to book through him, and all details including some you may not think of, will be addressed by him. I’ve booked various hunts with different agents over the years and have found Mark to be one of the very best. He doesn’t work with a large number of safari operators but does work with some of the best in various countries. You’d be well served to talk with him.

Thanks everyone. I am in touch with Mark Young and we are discussing options. I am also in contact with John Sharp.

John B: That would be an absolutely solid plan, but I am afraid I'd go postal being in a crowd such as what I have heard DSC is. Mediocre sized airport lines are bad enough. I don't know if I could handle a big show like DSC, SCI, SHOT or the like. You'd likely see me on the news....and not in a good way.

Mokore Safaris in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. I hunted with Gary Duckworth in Zim for plainsgame , buffalo and leopard, 42" buff taken. Lots of game and a super nice guy to hunt with. I can't recommend him highly enough. Like you I wanted to be in the bush not a fancy lodge. I wanted to see, hear and feel Africa, to absorb as much of the experience as I possibly could. Gary saw to it that my hunt did just that. They can be reached directly at mokoresafarisafrica.com. Good luck in your quest. Hunting Africa is a life changing experience especially Buffalo!

I've taken one safari, back in 1998, and Gary was my PH.

Great adventure, great PH.

I should go back!

Another name, if nobody mentioned him before, is Luke Samaras. Old school safaris in the Selous. Tented camp, two buff and limited plains game on a ten day hunt. Not super big buff, but a lot of them.

Luke doesn't spend a lot on marketing, but he doesn't need to!

LOL.

Somewhere in that big show is the perfect guy for your hunt.

He won't have a big booth on a busy isle.

He will have scraped just to get a 10X10 booth in a slow location and still has a lot of fire in his belly for the hunt.

Probably some shyster in the booth beside him so you will need the BS detector on max gain.

Think of it as getting 2 hunts for the price of one.

Awesome way to look at it.
Do booths at 'lesser' traffic areas of those shows come with lower prices to have a booth? Serious question as I have never been in that line of business.

We'll see what happens. I may look into some shows, somewhere. I am still probably 3 years out from this due to other commitments and I need to keep saving my pennies, so there's time.

No lower price on booth space.

As those big shows are always sold out so the newer guys without deep pockets start at the back, so to speak.

The Dallas SC show is the best of the big shows.

Just sitting back and watching how a booth is worked can tell you a lot about the exhibitor.

Do they get there early and stay to the end? There is a work ethic demonstrated at these shows.

Are they pleasant to everyone?

Day 3 and 4 (4 day show) are the best for attendees as the crowd thins a lot.

Lots of good deals on hunts happen on day 4.

Huh....that is good to know. Thx!

African hunting is a highly regulated industry. Daily rates and trophy fees are pretty much the same across the board. In essence, you get what you pay for and small time operators, AKA "suitcase PHs" (there are some good ones) are often times limited by the opportunities for quotas and areas. I for one simply cannot afford to have a "bad saferi", if for no other reason I can't afford to do so. I STRONGLY recommend you go with a known quantity, you will not only have a great time, but you'll want to go back!

Thanks Jorge.

I see the logic in both arguments. If a guy has a good BS meter to separate the wheat from the chaff concerning new operations I can see how the newer operators could provide a solid hunt at a better price, especially if the hunter is willing to be flexible and hunt harder than average. I am not too experienced in having those discussions however, as I don’t do many guided hunts.


Mark Young is directing me towards an operation in Zimbabwe and I am taking his suggestions seriously.

Jorgel is right ....trying to save money by using someone that is hungry is bad advice...they probably won't have their own area....it would be a shoestring operation.

I am the furthest thing from an expert but a little research into how things are run over there and some common sense goes a long way...bob

Mark is an EXCELLENT choice. Keep us posted.

My Father in Law and I are hunting with Johnny Duplooy the beginning of June. We considered Zim, Zambia, and Tanzania. Tanzania was just more than we wanted to spend this trip, but I will hunt it some day. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Johnny DuPlooy, and we booked through a booking agency that really listens to your desires. We wanted good Buffalo, as my father in law already has a 41” gold medal buff he took in SA. My goal is to shoot one 1” bigger than his with just as much drop. 🤣

Excellent choice... Our own Hatari hunts with them and has been for many years.

I'm a bit late to the discussion, lots of good suggestions here already...

I would definitely drop John Sharp a line, if I were you. He is not as busy as you would think. Bookings have been down in the BVC this past winter and he may have some openings yet this year, although those will be late in the season. John does his own booking so that checks your "no outfitter" box. Now, I know you don't want to go when things are busy here in America, but you should reconsider: you'll be here every August thru December for the rest of your life, but you may only be in Africa once for the rest of your life. So go to Africa when it's best to hunt Africa: late winter, or August to September.

The BVC where John hunts is an incredible hunting area, unlike anywhere else in Africa. It is very wild, both in terms of the ecology and the animals. You will not run across many humans other than your own party. The buffalo are plentiful and there are lots of big bulls. The hunting is true spot-and-stalk. Most of the hunting is of bachelor herds (dugga boys), but under some circumstances you may end up hunting a large herd. We did both on my last safari (2019), and I must say it was pretty exciting being less than 10 yards from multiple animals while the PH and trackers looked over the animals to find a shootable bull. You'll do a lot of walking, a lot of game-spotting, and when it's time to take the shot you'll feel like you've earned it.

Well it isn't a done deal yet but Mark is writing me up a contract for an early July 2025 hunt along the Luangwa River in Zambia with the DuPlooys'. I am having Nile Crocodile written into it as well.

Boy 'oh boy....here we go.....

Whacked a nice 9 inch tom turkey this morning, and now have this deal nearly in the bag. Good day, today has been.

Sounds like a great hunt! Congrats!

You’ve made a really good choice and will have a quality hunt. Johnny is very good. I’ve hunted with Muchinga in 2018 and am booked to hunt with Johnny again in November of ‘24. The DuPlooys are quality people who do things the right way.