Hunting Africa has always been way down on the list for me, There are still several species right here on this continent that I want to hunt first. With that being said, I've always thought if I were to go to Africa there are a few species at the top of the list. Eland would be cool, but the Cape buffalo would be the top. I look at hunts on the internet and most range around $15k. Are there any good hunts for a potential at a really nice bull for less? Or is Africa big game hunts only for the well-heeled?
Every time I check out Cape Buffalo hunts it turns out that it's at least a $6,000 trigger pull.....add one of these treasured beasts to your plains game hunt and it costs roughly $6,000 more...it's not just the trophy fee...it's the premium daily fee and then add the extra number of days it adds to your hunt.....
If you have the coin, I can give you names of folks that can arrange for you to hang one on the wall....oh BTW.....hanging on the wall is not included in the six-large.....however the six grand is the "EXTRA".....it don't include airfare and the cost of the plains game hunt.....yup....you're not far from the target at $16,000 total no matter how you cut the cake.
Yes, $15-18k would pay for several semesters of the kids college, pay a fair amount for a new car to replace the wife’s 9 year old Honda with 220k miles on it. I doubt it would fly to kill a Bovine with a bad attitude. I’ve never heard of anyone bringing back the meat from one either. So the argument for I’m filling the freezer would be moot. What’s a good healthy 50 yo non drinkers kidney bringing these days?
Of course you don't have to pony up $15k all at once. When you book you will put down a deposit and since you are usually booking a year or so in advance, you have that much time to come up with the rest.Then you have several months after to get the taxidermy fees together and if you do a euro mount, shipping and taxidermy will be much less and buffalo look cool as skull mounts.
The other thing to consider is that there is a very wide range in "type" of buffalo hunt, and the costs will vary quite a lot depending on how/where you hunt them.
Buffalo hunts can be booked on several thousand acre farms where you stay in the farm house and farm hands basically know where the buffalo are on any given day.
They can walk you around for several days, making you think you are hunting...then on day three or so, they just happen to cut tracks and a few hours later you have your buffalo.
This type of hunt will generally be a lot less expensive than a "wilderness" hunt where everything is brought into a remote area and you have a dedicated support staff.
Some guys are perfectly happy with the farm hunt. It is often easier, cheaper, and you can shoot some really nice looking bulls! The wild hunts are less predictable (of course!) and generally a lot harder and more expensive.
If you think you want to hunt buffalo, I would suggest you give some serious thought on the front-end as to which type of hunt you need, in order to end up happy.
Just my $0.02
Tim
Another thing to consider is that political unrest, law changes here and abroad, etc may make safaris more expensive and difficult to do in the future. Time may not be on our side.
I went in 2014 and paid a $10,000 trophy fee on an archery buffalo. And I paid $300 per day fee and also took some plaines game for a trophy fee.
Many have shot Buffalo, but how many have hunted one.
The other thing to consider is that there is a very wide range in "type" of buffalo hunt, and the costs will vary quite a lot depending on how/where you hunt them.
Buffalo hunts can be booked on several thousand acre farms where you stay in the farm house and farm hands basically know where the buffalo are on any given day.
They can walk you around for several days, making you think you are hunting...then on day three or so, they just happen to cut tracks and a few hours later you have your buffalo.
This type of hunt will generally be a lot less expensive than a "wilderness" hunt where everything is brought into a remote area and you have a dedicated support staff.
Some guys are perfectly happy with the farm hunt. It is often easier, cheaper, and you can shoot some really nice looking bulls! The wild hunts are less predictable (of course!) and generally a lot harder and more expensive.
If you think you want to hunt buffalo, I would suggest you give some serious thought on the front-end as to which type of hunt you need, in order to end up happy.
Just my $0.02
Tim
My $.02
I went on a wilderness hunt in Zimbabwe, the south Omay, in 2012. Paid high daily fees. Walked dark to dark for seven days. Got one shot at a running baboon at 200 yards.
Saw buffalo daily but never came close to getting a shot at a buffalo.
Yup, I went on a buffalo hunt.
The Cape buffalo I've taken have been wild buffalo in Botswana and Tanzania, where other wild African animals from civets to elephants have been encountered along the way. Have had the pleasure of glassing more than 1000 buffalo in a single herd strung out along an Okavango river, and following buffalo tracks for days, often failing, but sometimes ending up within very close range of bulls almost invisible in shadowed thickets. The bulls killed had survived at least a decade in among wild lions and other hunters.
Have also accompanied a couple of friends when they went on farm/ranch hunts. The herds were easily found and seen, because like farm cattle they inhabited the same area every day. There was no tracking, no careful stalking of barely glimpsed buffalo in shadowed thornbush and timber. Instead we found them within an hour of the ranch house, and my companion shot a bull--though not the biggest bull, because those were saved for breeding future calves.
You can hunt one or shoot one. The lowest rates I've seen lately have been about the same for each, but hunting a wild, mature Cape buffalo often costs more.
They are starting to get more reasonable. I did an all in for $8900--in South Africa last year. Killed a nice bull---it was high fence. But it was a real hunt, tracked them for 2 days before I even saw a buffalo. I know of a $9500 special in Zambia this year.
Just to play devils advocate...the same 15k will buy a very nice plains game hunt and get them all mounted and on the wall. I fully understand the buffalo want, I have it myself...but I had a blast on a 10 day plains game hunt shooting whatever got in the way. I enjoy looking at the Kudo, Gemsbok, Wildebeast etc on the wall. Just a thought.
I will go back for the buffalo, and the....
Zimbabwe has the best deals. $12,500 If you can go on a last minute Cancellation hunt you could save $2,500. It would cover the Air Fair. A 7 day hunt is cheaper than a 10 day hunt. On a 10 day hunt you would not only pay for the additional 3 days of Daily Rate's your tip would also be for 3 more days for the whole camp.You PAY more money for a Buffalo hunt to get into better(Bigger Bull's) Wild Area's. It is simple as that. Let's say $17.500 including Airfare. I would not do a high fence hunt in South Africa. If you have any question P.M. me and I would be happy to answer them.
The first Buff I ever killed was on a 21 day Buff/Leopard/PG hunt in Matetsi, Zimbabwe. We tracked a small group consisting of an old bull, a young bull, a couple of cows and a calf for three and a half days. Several lions were tracking them, too and the lions got the calf along the way. We also encountered several puff adders and a cobra. Finally got in position for a shot on the old bull and stuffed a 400 grain Swift A Frame from my .416 Rigby into his shoulder at 25 yards. Waited for 20-30 minutes to let him get sick then and followed him up. Found him dead less than 100 yards away in some jess. Exciting hunt, incredible stalk, lots of adrenalin flowing. Totally free range.
Shot lots of PG on that safari, but didn't connect with a leopard on that trip.
IMHO, nothing beats hunting cape buff and elephant for pure hunting excitement!. A true free range buff hunt is worth the price of admission.
A true free range buff hunt is worth the price of admission.
Will agree 100%...its REAL hunting....
A true free range buff hunt is not judged by the measurement of the horns; rather, it is judged by the quality of the hunt. Following an old dagga boy through rough country and getting in position for a close range shot is one of life's great experience for a DG hunter.
It has been said that if you shoot a buff at 100 yards you can truthfully say that you killed a buff. But you can never truthfully say that you really hunted a buff. The object is to "get as close as you can, and then get 10 yards closer".
I have shot buffalo in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Namibia( Caprivi strip). I have hunted plains game on high fenced ranches in RSA. The buff there were too much like cattle because the super high trophy fee discouraged people from shooting them, so they were docile. There is reason why a daily rate in RSA is $300 and the trophy fee is $10,000. At the end of the day, the hunt will be $12,000-15,000 but the experience is totally different. Dangerous game hunting should not be behind a high fence, IMHO.....
Prices vary. Figure around 10k for South Africa. That said, I had a PH send me an offer for a Buffalo and Sable hunt including taxidermy for 12k.
Hunting Africa has always been way down on the list for me, There are still several species right here on this continent that I want to hunt first. With that being said, I've always thought if I were to go to Africa there are a few species at the top of the list. Eland would be cool, but the Cape buffalo would be the top. I look at hunts on the internet and most range around $15k. Are there any good hunts for a potential at a really nice bull for less? Or is Africa big game hunts only for the well-heeled?
When hunting in Africa becomes top priority it is surprising how affordable it becomes.
When hunting in Africa becomes top priority it is surprising how affordable it becomes.
Isn't that the truth. For most guys, by the third day of their first safari all they can think about is how to get back again for another Safari. The major downside of Africa is it ruins you for most North American hunting.
R
Quit hunting Alaska and Canada after I discovered Africa 20 years ago. More bang for the buck.
Hop on over to AR in August and look for last minute, end of season hunts, that typically will come up for that sept/october time period. Personally, I'd also consider a non-trophy if you are looking for a great experience you could do one of these with Mokore. As others have said, I would focus on Zim, maybe Moz for a reasonable price on a wild buff and great hunting experience. Caprivi would not be my first choice for buff. Zambia is amazing but no deals there. Think same for Tanzania.
I would love to go after Cape Buffalo. How could anyone not, if you've read any of the books on Africa. It's obvious to me those folks that are able to walk from dark to dark seem to they they have the moral high ground. Truth of the matter is, even when I've hunted plains game in SA, I discovered there is no walking 10 miles or more in this old broken down body. I don't mind working for an animal but there's only so much work I have left in me in a day. At this point in my life, if I were to go I'd probably have to hunt a ranch or possibly even high fence, although that doesn't appeal to me as much.
FWIW If you can go, or want to go, don't wait till you are older and struggling to keep up.
Cariboujack,
I don't think preferring to hunt wild Cape buffalo, rather than ranch or high-fence buffalo is taking "the moral high ground." Instead hunting wild Africa, where other dangerous animals from lions to elephants generally live, is a very different experience, just as hunting elk in the high Rockies is very different from getting a game-farm elk. I know this from accompanying friends when they took ranch/high fence buffalo.
But the other factor is that it's not always necessary to walk all day when hunting Cape buffalo. A good friend of mine broke an ankle 2-3 weeks before a scheduled Cape buffalo safari in Zimbawbe. He couldn't walk, but a couple of young, strong black guys carried him a few hundred yards along some buffalo tracks found crossing a road, and he got a bull. And in a lot of wild Africa, buffalo tracks are usually found when driving roads, rather than while hiking around all day.
Deals on Africa are not just in August. They are also available just after the Show season in the spring.(Hunt's that were not sold.) Cancellations are made anytime during the year. I check on hunt cancellations daily.