Does Africa ruin you for North American game?

[smp005]

Smp005 that's what my biggest problem is, for the the cost of a guided hunt in na I can get a lot in Africa.

Exactly! and... if you don't pull the trigger that $600.00 - $10,000.00 tag is no good once the season closes!

 

[archer36]

There is no comparison in the variety and quantity. Also, the weather is much more pleasant. If you are a avid hunter, you hunt where and when you can and enjoy it no matter what.

 

[IdaRam]

I haven't hunted Africa yet, but that is going to change this August It will be interesting to see how that changes my view of hunting NA. I honestly hope it doesn't diminish the hunting experience here at home. I don't think it will, but I do expect it to change it some. I just plain love hunting. Some hunts have a lower chance of success than others, some are pretty relaxed, low impact affairs and others are brutal both mentally and physically Sometimes they get deadly serious and sometimes they are the most hilariously funny event you've ever known
THIS IS WHY WE HUNT! Savor every experience for what it is and never wish it was something it isn't.

 

[jeff]

I don't think it ruins you as I still look forward to spring bear baiting, fall archery elk and late season whitetail here in Idaho and Montana, but it does change you. I am always thinking of Africa and going back again!

 

[Ryan Wilson]

I agree with Jeff, I dont believe you lose a connection with the area you grew up hunting. For me it's whitetails, however, Africa sticks with you. There is something about the culture, the territory and the overall mistery to hunting over there that keeps you wanting to go back for more.

 

[Diamondhitch]

I agree with Jeff, I dont believe you lose a connection with the area you grew up hunting. For me it's whitetails, however, Africa sticks with you. There is something about the culture, the territory and the overall mistery to hunting over there that keeps you wanting to go back for more.

Experiencing foreign hunting customs and traditions is a big part of the reason for international hunting IMO.

 

[Buff-Buster]

Great thread and a question that my wife/hunting partner have discussed numerous times.

To some degree, the answer is "yes" for us. I/we still enjoy our time hunting here in the states but it's just a little different since our first safari in 2004. I love the camaraderie we have at our "deer lease" here in Texas. We have been hunting with the same couples for twenty one years now. It is a great social gathering every time we go out there. I love working on the lease, fixing everything that has broken since the last trip, clearing roads, cutting firewood, repairing stands and feeders, etc. Before we built our retirement home in the country, I use to go to the lease about every six weeks (It's 320 miles away) to, as I put it, get my therapy! Without it I would progressively get crankier and crankier until I did get to go. Now that we have a place that I can get that therapy at home, it doesn't seem so important anymore so we find that the need to go to the lease has grown less important. Also, over the years I've gotten to where I spend most of my time there helping others get the animals that they dream about. We are also fortunate to be able to take our kids and grandkids out there so I can spend time "guiding" them after their trophies. I actually don't spend a lot of time hunting for myself.

This is where Africa comes in. I love the adventure part of the whole experience. A different continent, new places, new people, exotic, sometimes maybe dangerous animals. Not to mention, I don't have to cook, bartend, mechanic, butcher, pack, etc.. even though I usually help with some of those things, the key is I don't have to. I can actually hunt.

To be a PH you have to love to hunt. I love spending time around guys that loves it as much as I do. I love watching and trying to learn from them and especially the trackers. When the trackers are "doing their thing", to me that's like watching a Hall of Fame quarterback lead his team to a Super Bowl victory or a Tiger Woods win the Masters. Fascinating!

I grew up reading about hunting adventures in Africa, Alaska, India, Mongolia, etc. I still long to hunt the great brown bear in Alaska and see teeming herds of massive caribou on the Alaskan tundra some day. Even a trek to Australia to stalk buffalo in the Northern Territories. But as I get closer to retiring and I get longer in the tooth, so to speak, I just cannot shake this love of hunting Africa long enough to go anywhere else. I've gotten to where every day taken for vacation "could have been saved for another safari". Every larger than normal expense, "could have been put toward the next safari".......Sound familiar to anyone?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Great thread and a question that my wife/hunting partner have discussed numerous times.

To some degree, the answer is "yes" for us. I/we still enjoy our time hunting here in the states but it's just a little different since our first safari in 2004. I love the camaraderie we have at our "deer lease" here in Texas. We have been hunting with the same couples for twenty one years now. It is a great social gathering every time we go out there. I love working on the lease, fixing everything that has broken since the last trip, clearing roads, cutting firewood, repairing stands and feeders, etc. Before we built our retirement home in the country, I use to go to the lease about every six weeks (It's 320 miles away) to, as I put it, get my therapy! Without it I would progressively get crankier and crankier until I did get to go. Now that we have a place that I can get that therapy at home, it doesn't seem so important anymore so we find that the need to go to the lease has grown less important. Also, over the years I've gotten to where I spend most of my time there helping others get the animals that they dream about. We are also fortunate to be able to take our kids and grandkids out there so I can spend time "guiding" them after their trophies. I actually don't spend a lot of time hunting for myself.

This is where Africa comes in. I love the adventure part of the whole experience. A different continent, new places, new people, exotic, sometimes maybe dangerous animals. Not to mention, I don't have to cook, bartend, mechanic, butcher, pack, etc.. even though I usually help with some of those things, the key is I don't have to. I can actually hunt.

To be a PH you have to love to hunt. I love spending time around guys that loves it as much as I do. I love watching and trying to learn from them and especially the trackers. When the trackers are "doing their thing", to me that's like watching a Hall of Fame quarterback lead his team to a Super Bowl victory or a Tiger Woods win the Masters. Fascinating!

I grew up reading about hunting adventures in Africa, Alaska, India, Mongolia, etc. I still long to hunt the great brown bear in Alaska and see teeming herds of massive caribou on the Alaskan tundra some day. Even a trek to Australia to stalk buffalo in the Northern Territories. But as I get closer to retiring and I get longer in the tooth, so to speak, I just cannot shake this love of hunting Africa long enough to go anywhere else. I've gotten to where every day taken for vacation "could have been saved for another safari". Every larger than normal expense, "could have been put toward the next safari".......Sound familiar to anyone?

My brother from another mother!

 

[Scott Slough]

P2 and B2,

I gotta agree!

S2

 

[Diamondhitch]

... I've gotten to where every day taken for vacation "could have been saved for another safari". Every larger than normal expense, "could have been put toward the next safari".......Sound familiar to anyone?

No not at all . Small purchase may cost a Duiker larger ones maybe a springbok or Wildebeest but nope never crossed my mind...

 

[get015]

I think a hardcore hunter will remain as interested even once he's been to Africa...

A hunter salivates at the mere thought of the pursuit and in most cases the very challenge of outwitting his quarry...

My best always

 

[jeff]

No not at all . Small purchase may cost a Duiker larger ones maybe a springbok or Wildebeest but nope never crossed my mind...

You need to look in the mirror and see if your nose is growing longer!!! LOL

 

[Hogpatrol]

+1 on what Jaco posted. Been twice and after returning, it's back to the groundhogs, crows and other varmints in the summer and deer in the fall/winter. My favorite places are in the fields, woods and plains wherever the geographical location.

 

[PARA45]

I want to go back to Africa again, but in the mean time, I'll continue to hunt my favorite specie which is the White Tail deer. Oh and by the way, 8 more months to go.

 

[ack]

Yep...Wife and I each put in for deer in Co for 4 yrs straight and did not draw....Elk season is dangerously full of people and if you do private land it will cost you a couple round trip tickets to Africa..I have pretty much stopped hunting in the US....Seasons in Co. are very short so most shoot the first thing they see...Nice to have a choice of game and nobody to disturb a stalk and most African PH's treat you really well..

 

[Longwalker]

Absolutely not! I am very very fortunate to have an abundance of varied hunting opportunities on my doorstep. I had a wonderful time during my first hunting safari in Africa too. To me, it's not about what's "best" but simply enjoying what is.
In my home province in Canada, I can hunt a huge variety and abundance of waterfowl, upland birds, and varmints with no significant cost or effort. I can hunt and trap furbearers, predators like coyote and fox, bears, and wolves etc. I can hunt whitetail deer and elk (during the rut, with a rifle) and moose with a $50 over the counter licence. I can hunt mule deer and pronghorn very cheaply with a draw licence application every three years or so. In the northern half of our province, I can hunt and fish in a public land area the size of many countries without any requirement to ask permisison of anyone and can camp wherever I want. I can choose from 100,000 lakes and rives to fish in, just within our province. I can hunt on unoccupied private land without the legal requirement to have permission. (but I ask anyway!) And I can do all this on my own, with no outfitter to show me how or accompany me in any way. Or I can share with friends whenever I like.
But I love the variety and exotic nature of African hunting. It is a supplement and complement to my local hunting, not a substitute for it. In Africa, I can experience different cultures, different environments, and different creatures. A variety of experiences that one can have nowhere else. That is reason enough to go, even though it takes time and money. And I will go back.

 

[Ole Bally]

Please can I move in next door? !!!

 

[bluey]

I can hunt on unoccupied private land without the legal requirement to have permission. (but I ask anyway!) And I can do all this on my own, with no outfitter to show me how or accompany me in any way. Or I can share with friends whenever I like.

you can do this , with out the owners making your ute , bark ?
or going to court ,to try and get your firearms licence back ?

 

[BRICKBURN]

I can hunt on unoccupied private land without the legal requirement to have permission. (but I ask anyway!) And I can do all this on my own, with no outfitter to show me how or accompany me in any way. Or I can share with friends whenever I like.

you can do this , with out the owners making your ute , bark ?
or going to court ,to try and get your firearms licence back ?

bluey, "wildlife" in Canada, for the most part is public property ("crown or the Queens game"). Historically, the law allowed hunters to enter on "unoccupied" private land without permission to hunt (In some provinces.) There are some new laws in some provinces that now require you to ask permission.

There is plenty of public land to play on. You have likely been running around on plenty of it yourself already when you were in BC.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Please can I move in next door? !!!

Sure.

Get past these guys and you are set.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/e-services/