Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Am I Off Base Here-Namibia Outfitter Question

Uh.
HMmmm.
Ok, gonna give you a pass and stay classy.

Whatever you decide have nice hunt, JGR.

I'm with ingwe, forget about inches, and concentrate on the fun and adventure of the hunt. The inches will take care of themselves. I've seen guys so obsessed with measurements, that it ruined the hunt for themselves and everyone around them. Skip the guy with the sliding scale, and concentrate on one of the other three.


maddog

^^^^


I agree with Mike. Ask your PHs what pizzes them off, one thing they will consistently mention is guys that show up with a 'shopping list' of animals and the minimum sizes they need to be.

On the other hand if you just plain be a good client, and not obsessive or whiney, they'll bust their butts to get you the best of everything.

I couldn't agree more on the "inches-hunting with a tape measure", which I absolutely do not, and won't. The only reason "inches" entered into the equation was because of the sliding scale deal. Seems like "inches" was more important to this particular outfitter than it is to me.

Thanks for the insight fellas.

Hello JG, I just attended the Great American Outdoorsman Show in Harrisburg PA. There were at least 100-150 Africa PHs there from Namibia to SA and every other African country. I spent 3 full days speaking to Namibia and Limpopo outfits. One thing I did notice was the sliding scale on Kudu. After speaking with outfitters who did not have sliding scales, I learned most of the ones with sliding scales had smaller areas and were "put and take" operations. This means the animals in question along with others are bought at auction and put on the area prior to season beginning. They pay more for the bigger ones and pass this cost on to the hunter. This is what was explained to me and figured I would pass this along. Kevin

I have been fortunate to have hunted South Africa several times, but I have never hunted in Namibia so their policies may be different. I have taken 3 Kudu ranging from 51" to 57". I have never hunted anywhere where there was a sliding price scale, although my PH did talk to me about one place with a sizeable surcharge for a Kudu over 60" A 60" Kudu is the "holy grail"to me so I actually thought about it.

I agree with the people who suggest taking one of the outfitters without the sliding scale. However, I also do not agree with much that has been written about the PH and the size of the Kudus.

At the beginning of the hunt, I think you should discuss with the PH what the Kudu population is like on the property. What are the range of sizes and how common are the big ones? At that point, it is your decision what your minimum size would be. The PH will tell you if he thinks you should have a chance at a bigger one, but it is hunting, not shooting fish in a barrel. The weather can change, a predator like a leopard can move in a scare them away, or you may just not be lucky. You need to decide what the mimimum size you can be happy with is and then go from there. What is the size that you would be happier going home without a Kudu, rather than take one of that size. It is different for everyone.

I will say that I wanted a Kudu for many years before I ever set foot in Africa. My first Kudu was the 51" and I would not trade that one and the memories of taking it for even a 60".

I agree. Pass on any outfitter that you are not 100% comfortable with and just go enjoy the hunt. Look at your kudu on teh hoof and ask yourself - will THAT ONE on my wall make me happy? If yes - BANG. If no, take a picture.

Woods:

Just felt I needed to respond to your post regarding your comment, "most of the ones with sliding scales had smaller areas and were "put and take" operations".

I was corresponding with JG and spoke to him on the phone regarding the PH and location in question. I've hunted that property and with that PH every year for the past 6 years and I'm going back again for 6-weeks again starting 8 Jun.

This particular property is just under 50K US acres. ALL low-fenced, free range, fair chase. There is absolutely ZERO, NONE, NADA put and take on this property.

The PH and I both explained the "sliding scale" would ONLY apply if the client demanded a Kudu of 54" or above. IF the client didn't make that a requirement and they happened to come across one of 54" plus then the lower fee applied. The kicker is this PH's higher trophy fee is about the same price as the average Kudu price of other locations "standard" pricing.

This is a quote directly from the PH posted on another website regarding the sliding scale.

"Some clients insist on shooting, for instance a 40" or bigger gemsbok bull, resulting in passing up a lot of good quality old bulls. (In my opinion a lot of the 40" bulls are still too young to be shot as trophies.) This is not the problem, since everyone knows what he/she wants, and after all is the one that pays the bill in the end.

The problem is that such trophies are not found behind every bush, resulting in me, the PH now having to spend many more days of hard work and a lot of extra fuel driving around to find such a trophy for the same income.

Thus, I have decided to price kudu and gemsbok according to a sliding scale. This sliding scale prices are only applicable to those that have specific high trophy size requirements. If a client is not adamant about certain trophy sizes, and fortunate enough to bag for instance a 42" gemsbok bull, the standard ( lower ) price will be applicable. I hope this clarifies it."

I even emailed JG photos of the 58" Kudu my wife took off this property in 2012 and the 60" I took off of it last year.

This PH and property in question has very limited email and Internet access. There is one cell tower that is solar powered and on the extreme edge of the the tower's reception area. If they have bad weather, i.e. cloudy days so the cell tower batteries don't get charged or rain or the tower breaks or the solar panels get stolen, they have zero cellphone or Internet connectivity. This was partly the case when JG was trying to book a hunt. Plus for some reason his and the PH's emails where not getting through to each other once the cell signal/Internet connectivity was restored.

Unfortunately there has been a bit of misinformation regarding this PH/outfit being posted and while "some" sliding scales are on high-fenced put and take properties that is specifically NOT the case here.

In the end, JG booked a hunt with another outfit and I hope he has a good time and shoots what he is looking for.

I agree with M3taco with the outfitter in question here. I have read thoroughly his price guidelines on his Kudu and Gemsbok. It simply states that if a hunter specifies his need for a Kudu or Gemsbok over a specified size, the price is the higher one. If same Hunter goes out and kills the new World Record on the same trip and did not specify his "inch" need, then he pays normal , lower price. It seems pretty clear to me.

Also, this property is not the type I described previously.

Kevin

Most of these PHs know what they have and pretty much where to find them. Chance also has a hand, but not like hunting deer or elk out here.

Run away from the sliding scale PHs. MANY great outfitters charge the same for an animal of any size and will bust their butts trying to get you a good one.

Namibia has a good code of ethics among the outfitters and a sense of pride.

Listen to luv2safari. I did and have never regretted it. Because of his recommendation I'm making my third trip to Namibia this summer to visit what has essentially become family.

This. And I'll add I would never hunt with a "sliding scale" outfit. A good PH will strive for a good trophy for you and I put my faith in him, which in my case was John Sharp. I am by FAR not a tape measure chaser but when John says "shoot him, that's a good one" my kudu taped out at 58 3/4"...