Just a few random thoughts
1.) personally, I don't hunt with just anyone anymore.....several years back I hooked up with a guy that I didn't know to do some duck hunting; he had never hunted the area before, and you needed a minimum of two people to hunt the more "successful" areas, so we partnered up for the day. Long story short, I am now partially deaf in my right ear from a shotgun blast that was fired about 6" above my head, at a duck coming in from my immediate left. I now no longer hunt with anyone I don't know unless I get to see how they act on a skeet/trap/rifle range first.
2.) Why just one hunt, or one outfitter? I have to put in for dates well over a year in advance (for my last trip, it was close to two years). Getting time off for me can be a real pain, esp. if I am limited to a small window of dates (covering our time off is difficult in my line of work). If some folks want to go in May, and others in July or August, why not two trips or two different outfitters. I guess that also depends on what species everyone wants to hunt......some species (black wildebeest, springbok, etc) aren't available everywhere, and others might not have the numbers for a group hunt, i.e. if everyone wants a bushbuck, but they are scarce in an area, then it might not be prudent to hunt that area.
3.) Without trying to complicate things, maybe people from the same general areas in the states could get together....might make meeting ahead of time a little easier; might make it easier to get together afterwards for hunts back in the states as well. Might be able to get some discounts on air fare as well if everyone is flying out of the same airport(s) on the same airline(s).
4.) I have to agree with whomever it was that stated they didn't what to hunt with some overly competitive A-hole!!! This could potentially ruin it for someone, esp. a first timer to Africa. I think that all tape measures should be confiscated at the beginning of the day and not returned until well after dinner!
-as to the question as to what was the most intimidating part of the trip the first time going to Africa: to this, I would have to say reading negative comments on websites such as this one about air travel, gun issues, poor outfitters,poor taxidermists, poor dip/pack, etc., etc. I would read these and thing "Geez, something is going to go wrong with my hunt, and it's going to be BAD and COSTLY!!!!" I almost cancelled a couple of times after reading some of these threads, thinking to cut my losses..............in the end, I'm glad I didn't, because I had a GREAT time and nothing happened (I was waiting for the shoe to drop)......I guess I got nervous waiting, because their were NO glitches, which is unheard of in my case.
Anyway..............like I said, just a few random thoughts.
