BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

maddenwh · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:49 pm Post subject:

I've always heard the best bang for the buck is hunting tuskless cow eles. I guess that depends on where you are going. If you're going to Africa, you ought to hunt at least one of the big five. Buffalo aren't that expensive relative to the other 4, and they can certainly be one of the more exciting suckers to hunt. Have fun, and good hunting. :thumbsup1:

JCalhoun · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:15 pm Post subject:

csumerall;
He's in Florida.

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

thanks for all the info ill keep you guys updated

africason · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 1

I’m working for an outfitter in South Africa. Cam69conv was right; you can’t take any meat back to your country. Most of the meat gets cooked for the client if they prefer so. We usually give enough away to our workers and the rest we make biltong from as a lot of overseas clients want to taste it once they visit South Africa. A lot of other outfitters do the same as us or they sell it very cheaply to rural areas. As per CVC’s post, you do not have to do your mounts here, but you have to do the dipping here. It will take about 2-3 months for the dipping, the cost will be $ 80.00, this will include the skin, horns and scull, shipping is not included. As for the stolen mounts, this has never happened to the taxidermist we use. I sure it happened somewhere and I’m not saying it will never happen. According to our taxidermist we if this ever happens he will definitely replace it for our clients. But you must take insurance out for the shipping as it will be out of our hands at that stage. Like 9lxlt said make sure if you use a taxidermist in US that they will have the correct molds. Don’t hesitate to pm me if you have any other questions. I’m sure you will find the perfect outfitter to work with. Just make sure that they will give you a fair chase. Have a great hunt. :thumbsup1:

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

thanks for all the help plenty of reading material in the mail now i guess its time to make some decisions

JCalhoun · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:35 pm Post subject:

Always expect things to cost more than planned.

The trophies will be the most expensive part of the trip once you figure in the dipping cost, taxidermy, international shipping to the US, insurance, customs, brokerage fees, and shipping to you. 4 skins and 3 skulls cost me $1075 last year.

RifleandReel · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 27 Location: South Africa

For your African safari feel welcome to give me a call or shoot me a mail. I'm pretty sure that I can set you up for a hunt of a lifetime and make sure your trophies get back to you...

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

How are your rates on plains game and i also would like to get an eland as well. Nothing too big, Im not sure yet what our budget is and it also may only be me now my buddy had a death in the family so hes not sure if he can still do it or not.

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

also do you have a price list you can send me, in usd that way I dont have to convert everything from Euros

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

ill figure out the full list and email you sometime next week thanks for the info

JCalhoun · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:44 am Post subject:

Here are a few things you may not have considered.

Find out if your health insurance is good in South Africa. No big deal if it ain't but it will be a nice thing to know just in case.

Take plenty to read and a small, soft butt cushion. You'll be on that plane for at least 18 hours and those seats leave a lot to be desired. Also take something decent to snack on. The airplane food is not very good either. You can not leave the plane with food so remember that on the way back.

You may also need to get immunized for various illnesses. Tetanus, hepatitus and malaria come to mind. I already had them except the malaria and we didn't go into a malaria zone so I skipped it.

Take a spare scope and put it in your carry on luggage. Another just in case deal.

You will also need to get your guns, optics and other expensive gear checked at the nearest US Customs house. They will record all the pertanant info on a form and give you a receipt. This proves the items are your personal property and not something you are trying to sneak in. If you don't have it, they can charge you duties on your own property since they will think you bought it overseas.

You are restricted to 11 pounds of ammo. The case head stamp has to match the caliber stamped on the barrel. That means no wildcats like .338-06.

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

thanks j, there is definately alot involved with this process. and not a whole lot of time to figure everything out.

johncxr · Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Marfa, Texas, USA

We have had some Guides that usually operate in Africa on the ranch and they said to us that they saw many more animals, and the scenery was much more interesting here than in Africa.

leopard · Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Chestertown, Md

Having read the encyclopedia of africa hunting, I am curious how things are going for you. My points. I learned the hard way. Should you have any trophies mounted, do them in the U.S. Shipping costs for finished mounts versus dip and pack are ridiculous. Use a proven booking agent. Check their references. Then contact the references for your chosen safari company. The real good ones list not only the successful hunters, but also, the unsuccessful ones. Don't shy away from the specials. I booked back to back leopard and buffalo specials and added 5 hunting days to my trip at no extra cost. Taking your first trip for plains game is a great way to introduce yourself to the dark continent. I chose Namibia first. It's a real sleeper and the hunting is great. My next trip was back to Namibia to look at propery. To make a long story short, the price was right but tribal regulations shot the deal down. My third trip was to Zimbabwe for buffalo and leopard..That is described here in the forum. My fourth trip is taking shape now for elephant in Zimbabwe. They have four times as many elephants than the forest can support. On my last trip, I was charged three times in my hunting vehicle and made up my mind from there. They are BIG,BIG,and BIGGER. Initially I was going for a PAC {crop damage} elephant as the costs are one third that of a trophy hunt. One cannot keep the tusks from a PAC elephant. The tribe gets them. However after due consideration, and the value of elephant tusks on the ivory market, I am going for the trophy bull. I will then get fiberglass copies made of my tusks and sell the real ones.That process is done by many folks hunting elephant in africa. The sale contributes substantially to offsetting your expense of the hunt itself. All the tusks I have seen in africa have been fiberglass copies. Enough said. Again, in closing, how are your plans going?

csumerall · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 588 Location: Eatonville, Wa

Unfortunately my plans have slowed down more than I would like, I recently took a new job that let me be home every night the down side is that I had to take almost a 30k pay cut so Im shooting for '09 now but still looking foreward to going, I found a booking agent who actually lives in the next small town from me and I'll be hooking up with him this weekend, Ive talked to several but it would be nice to work with someone who lives 20 miles away, until then I guess i will be living vicariously through you guys.