Becoming an experienced Dangerous / Big Game hunter

[Boela]

I will respectfully exclude the likes of HO's & PH's from this category.

I was wondering what the general consensus is as to when we class a person as being an experienced Big Game / Dangerous Game hunter. I am talking about the guy that you will phone late at night asking him to accompany you on hunt, and you know that he will have your back when things go wrong (Again, we exclude HO's & PH's as back up).
Will you think of them as experienced if they have taken one species of DG on a one-day hunt, or should they have hunted multiple species over extended periods of time? Or what about the guy that can't afford a DG / BG hunt but have accompanied the hunter on such hunts.

When do we class "Joe Public" as a true, experienced dangerous game or big game hunter?

 

[Uintaelkhunter]

For the average Joe. I would say first and foremost would be common sense and able to handle a firearm in a tight situation. Second I would think at least three different dangerous game hunts in three different areas and a minimum of 30 days in the field should give the common guy enough knowledge to be called experienced. That would be my baseline. I would hope the guy had much more than that. But for this day and age and the limited amount of hunting we average guys get.

That is my answer for what I would call experienced. Anything under that I would not call experienced.

 

[375Fox]

I don’t think I ever would. I’d only classify PHs working day in and day out in wild areas a true experienced dangerous game hunter rest of us are just enthusiasts. The more hunts in different parts of Africa I do the more experience I get planning the next hunt, but each hunt I do I learn something new. I’d say just as much from a first hunt in eastern cape as in Cameroon just different. I do think it’s important to see different areas and hunt with different PHs though or your experience stays limited.

 

[grand veneur]

Something like that is very difficult to answer because you may have hunted very often in Africa, you will still never have the experience of a hunter who is in the bush every day, let alone that of a local tracker who notices things often before the PH.

Who has often hunted Big Game in Africa certainly has experience with everything that has to do with shooting these big game species, but unfortunately experience mainly comes with negative experiences, and you cannot always experience these as a seasonal hunter.

If you have shot several Big Game, you can certainly make a backup for an inexperienced person, although you have to distinguish which species of Big Game one are hunting. Anyone who has hunted buffalos and elephants several times, but never big cats, is not suitable as backup for latter mentioned hunts.

Ultimately, it's all a matter of trusting the person accompanying you, but hunters with hardly any experience with Big Game hunting, let alone hunters without Africa hunting experience, even if there are good hunters at home, are not suitable for anything that involves safety.

PH are, as their name suggests, professionals who are trained to do this sort of thing. In the rare cases where no PH is available, a more or less experienced hunter can improvise a bit, but no one should overestimate their abilities. In such cases, however, it is very important that you have a very good team of locals with you, locals who can recognize very early things that can go wrong.

 

[375Fox]

HO is hunting outfitter? I’ve never seen the abbreviation.

 

[Boela]

Correct.

HO = Hunting Outfitter

 

[grand veneur]

For the average Joe. I would say first and foremost would be common sense and able to handle a firearm in a tight situation. Second I would think at least three different dangerous game hunts in three different areas and a minimum of 30 days in the field should give the common guy enough knowledge to be called experienced. That would be my baseline. I would hope the guy had much more than that. But for this day and age and the limited amount of hunting we average guys get.

That is my answer for what I would call experienced. Anything under that I would not call experienced.

A lot depends on the personality of each person, but even decades of regular hunting in Africa are not always enough to be sure of experience.

If you have shot a several big game and also can handle big bore rifles, you will certainly be increasingly able to help, but hunting in Africa is not just about shooting game, but first of all about moving safely in the bush, looking for tracks and to follow it, and bring the hunter into shooting position and yourself for a possible backup shot. Sure, the local team will take over a lot of the work, but not the shooting and the security if something does not go well.

I am writing about the topic because I have done something like that a few times in West Africa where PH are not always present as in East or South Africa, but despite of 30 years regular hunting to various countries of Africa, I don't overestimate and don't consider myself as an experienced Africa hunter which would be able to replace a PH.

 

[Uintaelkhunter]

A lot depends on the personality of each person, but even decades of regular hunting in Africa are not always enough to be sure of experience.

If you have shot a several big game and also can handle big bore rifles, you will certainly be increasingly able to help, but hunting in Africa is not just about shooting game, but first of all about moving safely in the bush, looking for tracks and to follow it, and bring the hunter into shooting position and yourself for a possible backup shot. Sure, the local team will take over a lot of the work, but not the shooting and the security if something does not go well.

I am writing about the topic because I have done something like that a few times in West Africa where PH are not always present as in East or South Africa, but despite of 30 years regular hunting to various countries of Africa, I don't overestimate and don't consider myself as an experienced Africa hunter which would be able to replace a PH.

I agree you will never be able to know enough as a PH or local tracker. Or be as proficient as they are. I take it as the op is asking for the average hunter going on hunts what the baseline is to maybe be asking that guy question on if they are going on there very first hunt and not able to talk to the PH or would like some advise from there friend.. or just as a general statement when the average guy could be considered experienced among his none professional pears.

 

[mark-hunter]

When do we class "Joe Public" as a true, experienced dangerous game or big game hunter?

We as clients, are not that. Just to get experience, 100 buffalo will cost us more than 1.000.000 usd.
And buffalo is cheapest of big game (DG). Who can get experience in modern world, with these costs?

You have to search amongst the people who live amongst dangerous game animals, and deal with them. Maybe former government rangers, farmers in remote areas, etc I believe, this kind is disappearing rapidly.

Now depending of your definition what experienced hunter is, you may include bushmen or Massai, pigmey and other tribes living in remote areas .

 

[bowjijohn]

I would largely stay way from the expression ‘ big game hunter’

What I hear is ‘tourist’

There are farmers, game guides, game rangers and pH’s - all of whom engage in hunting of big game

None of whom would consider themselves as anything other than ‘a farmer, game guide, game ranger or PH’

I’d take any of the above into the bush

I’d go alone

I’d go unarmed

I’d go for the sheer love of the wildlife

My instructor on the FGASA course wouldn’t touch a firearm

His name was Britain - a South African fella who was easier to admire than love

J

PS - what is required, I’d suggest- is an understanding of the bush, it’s flora and fauna

A love of adventure

A sense of humour when it all goes wrong

 

[IvW]

I would largely stay way from the expression ‘ big game hunter’

What I hear is ‘tourist’

There are farmers, game guides, game rangers and pH’s - all of whom engage in hunting of big game

None of whom would consider themselves as anything other than ‘a farmer, game guide, game ranger or PH’

I’d take any of the above into the bush

I’d go alone

I’d go unarmed

I’d go for the sheer love of the wildlife

My instructor on the FGASA course wouldn’t touch a firearm

His name was Britain - a South African fella who was easier to admire than love

J

I guess he was not an SKS DG foot safari guide then......I would not accept him as an instructor if he was.....

 

[bowjijohn]

I guess he was not an SKS DG foot safari guide then......I would not accept him as an instructor if he was.....

No he was probably not

I did my level 1 with him

I did SKS DG later

He was not a lovable fella - but he left an impression

 

[IvW]

Hunting xy and z dangerous game does not make you experienced.....experienced is only achieved by time hunting dg....a lot of time under different conditions.....same for dg foot safari guiding....
It takes many years of doing this to get the experience to know the difference between mock charges and real ones ....and also to be able to stop a charge for example when it does occur.....personally I do not think a paying hunter could achieve that. Unless experienced means hunted x number of species of dg game....

 

[mark-hunter]

A sense of humour when it all goes wrong

How very true!
Excellent expression, and it applies everywhere, not just in hunting!
Well said, sir!

 

[Hunter-Habib]

In the context of an an African client hunter, even though I’ve been going on African dangerous game Safaris for the last 49 years (ever since 1974)… I don’t think that I could ever qualify. Yes, I’ve made a few lucky shots now & then over the years. But I would be way in over my head if I fooled myself into thinking for even 1 moment that I can remotely hold a candle to the skills of an African white hunter. Why ? Because there‘s a whole world of difference between a man who hunts dangerous game in Africa for a few days of the season once every couple of years (under the watchful eye/guidance of a seasoned white hunter), and a resident professional who regularly does this for a living day after day.

In the context of dangerous game hunted in my native country, MAYBE I MIGHT qualify. Since I was a long serving officer of the Department of Forests and when I studied “Principles of Forestry” in the University of Peshawar… Problem Animal Control was 1 of our modules. And I later did partake in plenty of that in the field. As well as guiding foreign VIPs on shikars in our part of the world.

 

[bowjijohn]

Me thinks that you might be being just a little over modest

Even if you live on a farm, you are doing well to get out once a month ….

 

[Doug3006]

I don’t think any modern safari hunter will ever become an “expert” in hunting DG. Even the most fortunate among us would find it hard to expend the money, and most importantly, time required to become proficient. Taking just one of each of the big 5 is a daunting expense and investment in time. And then you’ve only taken ONE of each. Then consider the number of countries multiplied by the number of different areas within those countries that have one or more of the big 5. Do we consider a hunter with 5 buffalo kills, all taken in Zimbabwe’s Zambezi Valley, to be a Buffalo expert?

 

[grand veneur]

I agree you will never be able to know enough as a PH or local tracker. Or be as proficient as they are. I take it as the op is asking for the average hunter going on hunts what the baseline is to maybe be asking that guy question on if they are going on there very first hunt and not able to talk to the PH or would like some advise from there friend.. or just as a general statement when the average guy could be considered experienced among his none professional pears.

I mainly adhered to this part of the question the guy that you will phone late at night asking him to accompany you on hunt, and you know that he will have your back when things go wrong and understood that it was about backup. If it's just about having a experienced companion by a DG hunt, things look completely different.

 

[Tanks]

Do elephants in the teens count as experience?

Also, if looking for backup I'd eliminate the aficionados of rat caliber rifles like the .375.

 

[Tanks]

We as clients, are not that. Just to get experience, 100 buffalo will cost us more than 1.000.000 usd.
And buffalo is cheapest of big game (DG). Who can get experience in modern world, with these costs?
...

I know one guy with 300+ buffalo under his belt. Will be hanging out with him in Dubai when I am there at the end of January, schedules permitting.