Advice on planning a safari

[Ontario Hunter]

Its OK, for plains game hunt.
Of the two, I would take 30-06 with high quality bullets, and if possible heavier then standard 180 grains.
Swift a frame, tsx, trophy bonded bear claw, etc.
Be ready to shoot from standing position, from the tripod stick, at usual hunting distances.
I know a person who made more then 50 safaris with 30-06 on plains game.

I agree, 30-06 is fine for plains game. However, I think 165 gr quality bullets will work and give him more range. I have shot most of 25 plains game with 165 gr Partitions. They performed very well including dropping three wildebeest in their tracks, two in the shoulder and one behind the ear. For standard cup and core bullets you would be best to step up to 180 gr. On my third safari I had to use Hornady c&c bullets due to the pandemic components drought. Made the mistake of choosing 165 gr and they did the job but not as well. One blesbuck required three shots, all well placed. He wasn't going anywhere but the poor bugger just wouldn't die. I had enough leftover Partitions to finish the safari but just barely. Partitions can be messy, especially close range, but they put the animals down with authority.

Edit: Correction, the black wildebeest shot behind the ear was with my PH's 270 WSM. At 370 yards he was too far for my 30-06 and no hope of getting closer.

 

[MATTANJA HUNTING SAFARIS]

Welcome to AH @Bigreach

Planning your first Safari is always exciting and you'll find some good info on here!
You're more than welcome to get in touch if you want to chat about hunting in Africa and maybe we can put something together for you

Cheers
Dieter

 

[Ontario Hunter]

It's always exciting to be planning a Safari.

I’ve done over 16 and still get just as excited for the next one.

So I'm going to bring the negative up front. 5 days is a very short Safari you are going to be rushed to get the species on your list and have very little time to actually enjoy the safari. 7-10 days is my limit of suggestion I have done 5 day safaris, it doesn’t do anything justice. I know money will be the deciding factor but the cost to add 3 more days is very little in retrospect to booking flights to return again. I know you will go back but still day rates are some of the cheapest cost on a South African Safari.

Now you can these species in South Africa & Namibia and have a great experience.
Cost wise you will need to look at the following.
The hunt: Daily rates,package,trophies fees
Tips and gratuities: Tips are not mandatory but I believe necessary, both for the PH and the camp stay as your PH if not the owner probably makes a very small daily rate and hist year end income reflects tips in a big way. Now for the camp staff tips ae huge again they have a daily rate they make or monthly salary but making a few extra dollars in tips can be and is most likely life changing for most folks.
Shipping and dip and pack: I understand your friend is a taxidermist and can help you out.. First question has he ever even done any African game before? I know most people have buddies that can do it for cheaper but what will that mount look like once you get it back?
You can always have capes tanned and saved for later when you have the funds, and with the dipping process in Africa skulls come back in a very nice looking European style fashion maybe not perfect but close enough. So you will need to figure the dip and pack fee plus shipping. at this time the shipping of
Kudu with skull, cape, and backskin
Gemsbok Skull, Cape, and backskin
Impala Skull, Cape and backskin
Warthog Skull
Zebra flat skin
is running a guy about $650 shipped to like NYC, ORD, ATL, LAX, Hot, DFW and SFO
Dip and pack cost for that same shipment would be roughly $830

For flights I personally book them through Patrick Wright of PWP travel he is the best travel agent i have ever used in over 30 international hunts with a rifle. Now you could rent a rifle and book the flights yourself and not have to worry about any permits or paperwork. But if you want to take your own Id suggest a competent travel agent. flights seem to be going from $1,800-2,500 in economy time of the year very.

You cant leave Africa without picking up a few souvenirs from the trip such as a cap, shirt, and some small African made trinkets that shouldn’t break the bank but I would put a few dollars into that cost.

A lot of outfitters are taking small deposits now to lock in prices so if you are wanting to maybe lock in prices of today you could maybe send a deposit typically of $1,00 and that will lock you in with most guys.

I have a list of the outfitters I've used across the continent listed on my website.

https://www.simssafaris.com/

Very excited to see you wanting to plan a Safari to Africa good luck and cant wait to see photos.

Some great advice. However, I would personally not bother with backskin for gemsbuck or impala as those would not be particularly striking although the fur material might be nice for guncase or sofa pillows. I have four tanned capes for possible future shoulder mounts although two may not be usable. In the meantime I have skulls to hang on the wall. If taking a blue wildebeest, I would advise a flatskin as shoulder mounts are not particularly attractive in my opinion. Skull mounts for them display nicely flat against the wall, making it easier to fit into decor. Flatskin of a striped blue wildebeest can be quite spectacular. This was NOT my wildebeest backskin but still displays well (if you need to know which African taxidermist to avoid, drop me a PM).

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Always order both euro skulls AND capes in case the cape is no good. Understand that many hands are involved: skinner, salt shed staff, African taxidermist, flesher, tannery, your taxidermist. Anyone can screw it up making the cape unusable. Skulls can also be screwed up (ask me how I know!) but more likely something can be salvaged. Ordering dip and pack skull is good insurance in case the cape is screwed up.

 

[McKenzie Sims]

Some great advice. However, I would personally not bother with backskin for gemsbuck or impala as those would not be particularly striking although the fur material might be nice for guncase or sofa pillows. I have four tanned capes for possible future shoulder mounts although two may not be usable. In the meantime I have skulls to hang on the wall. If taking a blue wildebeest, I would advise a flatskin as shoulder mounts are not particularly attractive in my opinion. Skull mounts for them display nicely flat against the wall, making it easier to fit into decor. Flatskin of a striped blue wildebeest can be quite spectacular. This was NOT my wildebeest backskin but still displays well (if you need to know which African taxidermist to avoid, drop me a PM).
View attachment 594458

yea to each his own. I do like Gemsbok and Impala flat skins as well as multiple blue wildebeest shouder mounts.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Welcome to AH! Your .270 with a 150gr bonded or 130gr monometal bullet like a Barnes TTSX or ‘06 with same in 165-180gr would be fine I’d imagine for most PG. I think I would go with the ‘06 for the larger/tougher animals like zebra or eland. I used my .300WM on my one PG hunt but didn’t hunt those two animals.

 

[EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA]

Good day to you! Welcome to AH!

 

[cpr0312]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Philip Glass]

Hello everyone I'm new to the forum and graduating from let's just say a professional program in 3 years. I plan to go on a safari in May or June right after I graduate but before starting internships. Money is my short crop so I know I'm going to have to start saving now if I want to go. So my question is who do you all recommend as a host and what is a reasonable amount to save knowing prices will probably go up before I get to go? I'd like to go for a 5-day hunt and my wish list would probably be a giraffe, black wildebeest, and gemsbok +/- a couple of other things depending on where we're at with price. A good friend of mine is a taxidermist so I would probably just need to export tans and skulls if that is possible. Thanks for the help.

Congratulations on nearing the completion of your program. I am sure that will be very good.
Firstly it is too far to go for a 5 day hunt. You can do a high quality package for $5000/10Days/6 trophies as a baseline example. Keep in mind your costs are spaced out. $1000 deposit now, 50% of hunt 6 months out, final deposits 60 days out, airfare 6-10 months out, then shipping etc much later.
The safari planning section here including my videos (here and Philip Glass Hunter in youtuse) will help you get ready.
Don't make a hard and fast hit list. Youve not been to Africa and don't know what any of the animals are like. When you get there you will likely have a different opinion.
Have fun with the planning!

 

[Global Rescue]

Welcome to AH! Glad you found us and joined our community.

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

Welcome to AH! Nice to have you on the site.