How To Choose An Outfitter?

[EXECUTIVE HUNT AFRICA]

How to pick an outfitter

South African people are mostly a friendly bunch, who love to entertain people. To pick the right outfitter for your hunt, you'll have to ask yourself a few questions and know exactly what you want out of your hunt. No one's expectations are the same and everybody has a different idea of what a perfect hunt is. The next points are what you'll have to ask yourself before you even start looking for your outfitter you want to trust with your hunt. Be honest to yourself:
1: Do I want a challenge with lots of walking, am I fit enough for this? Or am I happy to drive around and only get off to shoot? This is a question for plains game and dangerous game. In South Africa hunters hunt in different provinces in different ways and it's still ethical.
2: Do I want to take trophies to write my name in a record book or do I only want to hunt old, mature animals? Big trophy animals that are guaranteed, are usually animals that have been darted and measured. From there, been put in smaller camps and fed till the right hunter comes along - for that reason, much more expensive. The animals get used to people and become tamed. If you hunt only old mature animals, you usually have a better hunting experience and sometimes by luck hunt even bigger animals than the ones advertised for horn lengths.
3: Do I want the camp exclusively or is it OK to share with others I don't know? Usually the bigger outfitters let the hunters share camp, because they have more clients. Smaller outfitters hunt with one group at a time.
4: Do I want to hunt out of camp or will it be fine to drive to different locations and areas? When hunting at different locations, can be very satisfying too, because you will see a lot of different places, diversity and small towns. Then again, if you don't want to spend a lot of time on the road, don't go for something like that. Simply ask your outfitter how he operates.
5: Do I want to stay in a lodge or would I like to experience the greatness of a tented camp where I will experience nature totally different, feeling like old time hunters taming Africa?
6: Do I want to hunt with the Outfitter or is it OK to hunt with one of his PHS?
7: Do I want to hunt huge or medium area? Everybody nowadays says they want to hunt big areas. A good PH knows his concession and where to find the animals you're looking for. So he will take you there. Animals are territorial and they stay close to water and good grazing. They don't move around the whole concession. Even if you hunt in a big open area, you will always find the animals around those areas and for that reason a water hole or good grazing are also unseen fences. Sometimes you will have a bigger challenge to hunt a buffalo in a fenced area where hunting of buffalo happens a lot, than on an open area where they are not used to people. On the other hand, in an open area, you will see much bigger herds of buffalo than in a fenced area.
9: Do I want to use a bow or a rifle? If I'm bow hunting, do I want to sit in a blind for the whole duration of my hunt? If not, you'll have to book a one on one hunt.
10: Do I want a cheap hunt? If you only go for the price, be sure to have some surprises when getting your final invoice. Be very careful at donation hunts: they usually come with lots of extra costs.
11: Do I want taxidermy or only dip and ship? If only dipping and shipping, you must be aware that if something happens to your trophies, it will always be a "blame" game and difficult to solve. Dipping as it refers to, is a very basic process that is laid down by the veterinary authorities in South Africa. It is designed to kill pathogens and diseases - not preserve skins or skulls. It is a process implemented to make a shipment safe for exportation. As the skins are still raw - they do not guarantee the quality of skins when the shipment arrives at your local taxidermist.
If you do your taxidermy in South Africa, you can make sure that you are happy with the end result and only the taxidermist can be blamed if something went wrong. Make sure you visit the taxidermist you're using. Sending trophies aren't that more expensive than only dip and ship, with lots of headaches! Your choice! A problem with local taxidermy is that some outfitters get a kick back. You must choose your taxidermist.
If an outfitter does bad business, everybody will know about it. If you haven't heard bad things about an outfitter, trust that he will do good business. Get references.
See if an outfitter's name is present on hunting groups and forums. That will tell you a lot about him. Don't trust a guy that puts down other outfits to benefit from it. Remember, most outfitters also have agents that get a kick back. Beware if they only direct you to one specific outfitter.
12: Do I want to hunt with a big or smaller name outfitter? Usually with a big name, comes big prices. You can get with a not so big name outfitter just as good hunting experience - and sometimes even better.
13: Do I only want to hunt or do some site seeing as well? South Africa has lots to show and to do and you never have to be bored when touring. It's much cheaper to tour while you're here, than to come back again.
14: Would I prefer one-on-one or one-on-two hunting? This costs a price, but with one-on-one you have a total different experience.
15: Do I want to hunt alone or do I want to take the family? If your family is going along, make sure that they all get involved in the experience. Choose a place where the kids can't be on wifi the whole day. Otherwise you could have left them at home!
16: Do I want to use my own rifle? Do I want to hire a rifle? Using your own, is always a better idea.Using agents working with rifle permits, and you'll never be sorry. If you have to use the outfitter's rifles, they are usually in good condition and it costs less than bringing your own.
17: Do I want to shoot one or two animals or as many as possible? When hunting more animals, you can get them cheaper. When only hunting 1or 2, the trip is more expensive for the outfitter.

Answering all these questions, will help you to have a great hunt. Ask fellow hunters with how many outfitters they have hunted. If they only hunted with one, they cannot say he's the best. There are a hell of a lot of great outfitters in South Africa! Don't be afraid to try a different one in a different province. Trust your gut feeling. If an outfitter knows what you want, he will do his absolute best to give you a memorable time!!!! Hunting shows are a good place to meet outfitters, but remember: not all outfitters do shows for different reasons. One of them is vaccination!
There are many more questions, don't be afraid to ask! Hope this helps!

 

[375Fox]

This is a good list. Another question when picking a hunt in South Africa is how long the outfitter has hunted a particular property and if they have exclusive rights or are sharing with multiple outfitters? If a bigger outfitter, I also like to know how many PHs they have and how long PHs have worked for them.

 

[FlyGuy]

Good list.
Unfortunately there are so many sharks around that due diligence is absolutely essential.

 

[Ryeboy86]

It's my DREAM to travel to Africa and hunt! There are several species I'd love to hunt! Eland, Sable, Kudu, Blue/Black Wildebeest, different Impala species.. I'd love to stay in the tent setup. Hunting with good friends would be a plus! I'm Type 1 Diabetic and Insulin dependent. So I'd definitely need something (mini fridge or something similar) to keep my Insulin cold. I'd definitely be up for some spot and stalk hunting! Only things that are holding me back right now are obviously prices of hunts and shipping fees to get the animals back home for proper mounts.

 

[mark-hunter]

Excellent summary!

 

[russ473]

RYEBOY86 as a type 1 diabetic you will need to inform your chosen outfitter for obvious reasons, dietary etc and alot of the current tent camps still have fridges so its still easily doable for storage of your insulin, good luck and im sure it will happen, enjoy.

 

[mark-hunter]

12: Do I want to hunt with a big or smaller name outfitter? Usually with a big name, comes big prices. You can get with a not so big name outfitter just as good hunting experience - and sometimes even better.

Question
Looking at offers from another continent, how to determine difference between bigger or smaller outfitters. Many web sites are just very similar.
What are benefits or drawbacks in choosing big outfitter?

 

[AjFourie]

Question
Looking at offers from another continent, how to determine difference between bigger or smaller outfitters. Many web sites are just very similar.
What are benefits or drawbacks in choosing big outfitter?

Hi Mark

The term “bigger or smaller outfitters” could be very deceiving. a Big outfit could be an outfitter with many ph’s and clients running all over to get their animals and a client could potentially end up just being a number basically.

a Big outfitter could also be someone who has been in the industry, stood the test of time and that has made a name for themselves and obviously through the years had many clients as well. Different outfitters will each have their own recipe and things that work for them, to each their own.

Smaller outfitters could give an amazing safari and experience, it could even be a more tight knit operation that might be a family business. It could also be someone that is just starting their business up that grows with time.

Like the original post states, it is important to set up clear communication and to match that with your expectations, go and meet them if possible, set up a call or even a video call if they don’t come over to the states for marketing. We know things can look different on the internet, we’ve all ended up at crappy accommodation on a holiday or a trip that looked great. But your safari shouldn’t have to be this way, it is something that you might have saved up for years to be able to do. Once again referring back to the original post, ask all the questions and put in extra time and effort.

a Brief thing to touch on would be the level of personal service or help that you get as a client, and let’s face it, sometimes things could go wrong in many ways but the question will be whether your selected outfitter would be able to make a plan and assist you to overcome the various challenges ranging from taxidermy struggles right through to getting someone to a doctor should it be necessary, it could be less about what goes wrong and more about how situations are handled.

References always help to paint a picture, phoning them up or even meeting some people that has been is a great opportunity for you to learn more about a place and the way they do business.

Kind regards
Aj Fourie.

 

[AjFourie]

How to pick an outfitter

South African people are mostly a friendly bunch, who love to entertain people. To pick the right outfitter for your hunt, you'll have to ask yourself a few questions and know exactly what you want out of your hunt. No one's expectations are the same and everybody has a different idea of what a perfect hunt is. The next points are what you'll have to ask yourself before you even start looking for your outfitter you want to trust with your hunt. Be honest to yourself:
1: Do I want a challenge with lots of walking, am I fit enough for this? Or am I happy to drive around and only get off to shoot? This is a question for plains game and dangerous game. In South Africa hunters hunt in different provinces in different ways and it's still ethical.
2: Do I want to take trophies to write my name in a record book or do I only want to hunt old, mature animals? Big trophy animals that are guaranteed, are usually animals that have been darted and measured. From there, been put in smaller camps and fed till the right hunter comes along - for that reason, much more expensive. The animals get used to people and become tamed. If you hunt only old mature animals, you usually have a better hunting experience and sometimes by luck hunt even bigger animals than the ones advertised for horn lengths.
3: Do I want the camp exclusively or is it OK to share with others I don't know? Usually the bigger outfitters let the hunters share camp, because they have more clients. Smaller outfitters hunt with one group at a time.
4: Do I want to hunt out of camp or will it be fine to drive to different locations and areas? When hunting at different locations, can be very satisfying too, because you will see a lot of different places, diversity and small towns. Then again, if you don't want to spend a lot of time on the road, don't go for something like that. Simply ask your outfitter how he operates.
5: Do I want to stay in a lodge or would I like to experience the greatness of a tented camp where I will experience nature totally different, feeling like old time hunters taming Africa?
6: Do I want to hunt with the Outfitter or is it OK to hunt with one of his PHS?
7: Do I want to hunt huge or medium area? Everybody nowadays says they want to hunt big areas. A good PH knows his concession and where to find the animals you're looking for. So he will take you there. Animals are territorial and they stay close to water and good grazing. They don't move around the whole concession. Even if you hunt in a big open area, you will always find the animals around those areas and for that reason a water hole or good grazing are also unseen fences. Sometimes you will have a bigger challenge to hunt a buffalo in a fenced area where hunting of buffalo happens a lot, than on an open area where they are not used to people. On the other hand, in an open area, you will see much bigger herds of buffalo than in a fenced area.
9: Do I want to use a bow or a rifle? If I'm bow hunting, do I want to sit in a blind for the whole duration of my hunt? If not, you'll have to book a one on one hunt.
10: Do I want a cheap hunt? If you only go for the price, be sure to have some surprises when getting your final invoice. Be very careful at donation hunts: they usually come with lots of extra costs.
11: Do I want taxidermy or only dip and ship? If only dipping and shipping, you must be aware that if something happens to your trophies, it will always be a "blame" game and difficult to solve. Dipping as it refers to, is a very basic process that is laid down by the veterinary authorities in South Africa. It is designed to kill pathogens and diseases - not preserve skins or skulls. It is a process implemented to make a shipment safe for exportation. As the skins are still raw - they do not guarantee the quality of skins when the shipment arrives at your local taxidermist.
If you do your taxidermy in South Africa, you can make sure that you are happy with the end result and only the taxidermist can be blamed if something went wrong. Make sure you visit the taxidermist you're using. Sending trophies aren't that more expensive than only dip and ship, with lots of headaches! Your choice! A problem with local taxidermy is that some outfitters get a kick back. You must choose your taxidermist.
If an outfitter does bad business, everybody will know about it. If you haven't heard bad things about an outfitter, trust that he will do good business. Get references.
See if an outfitter's name is present on hunting groups and forums. That will tell you a lot about him. Don't trust a guy that puts down other outfits to benefit from it. Remember, most outfitters also have agents that get a kick back. Beware if they only direct you to one specific outfitter.
12: Do I want to hunt with a big or smaller name outfitter? Usually with a big name, comes big prices. You can get with a not so big name outfitter just as good hunting experience - and sometimes even better.
13: Do I only want to hunt or do some site seeing as well? South Africa has lots to show and to do and you never have to be bored when touring. It's much cheaper to tour while you're here, than to come back again.
14: Would I prefer one-on-one or one-on-two hunting? This costs a price, but with one-on-one you have a total different experience.
15: Do I want to hunt alone or do I want to take the family? If your family is going along, make sure that they all get involved in the experience. Choose a place where the kids can't be on wifi the whole day. Otherwise you could have left them at home!
16: Do I want to use my own rifle? Do I want to hire a rifle? Using your own, is always a better idea.Using agents working with rifle permits, and you'll never be sorry. If you have to use the outfitter's rifles, they are usually in good condition and it costs less than bringing your own.
17: Do I want to shoot one or two animals or as many as possible? When hunting more animals, you can get them cheaper. When only hunting 1or 2, the trip is more expensive for the outfitter.

Answering all these questions, will help you to have a great hunt. Ask fellow hunters with how many outfitters they have hunted. If they only hunted with one, they cannot say he's the best. There are a hell of a lot of great outfitters in South Africa! Don't be afraid to try a different one in a different province. Trust your gut feeling. If an outfitter knows what you want, he will do his absolute best to give you a memorable time!!!! Hunting shows are a good place to meet outfitters, but remember: not all outfitters do shows for different reasons. One of them is vaccination!
There are many more questions, don't be afraid to ask! Hope this helps!

Very good post, well said!

 

[Philip Glass]

This is a good list. Another question when picking a hunt in South Africa is how long the outfitter has hunted a particular property and if they have exclusive rights or are sharing with multiple outfitters? If a bigger outfitter, I also like to know how many PHs they have and how long PHs have worked for them.

Or better yet, do they own the property.

 

[Philip Glass]

This is a good post and illustrates the diversity of the land and the hunts. I do like the idea, which I have done quite a lot, of hunting with different outfitters.

 

[375Fox]

Question
Looking at offers from another continent, how to determine difference between bigger or smaller outfitters. Many web sites are just very similar.
What are benefits or drawbacks in choosing big outfitter?

One of the biggest advantages of a bigger outfitter I’ve seen is the ability to change areas to different parts of country mid-hunt because they manage multiple areas. The biggest disadvantage to me is you are not planning your hunt with PH you’ll be hunting with, so it’s not as personal and some details get lost.

 

[375Fox]

Or better yet, do they own the property.

I think this is often as much as a negative as it can be a positive because they can be incentivized to overuse their own property and not utilize surrounding areas.

 

[Nyati]

Lots of great advice, but, I´ve hunted with outfitters where you could tick all the boxes, had a great Safari, rebooked with them, and ..... disaster.

So, in the end, it´s a question of luck.

And no, I won´t go into details, not worth it.

 

[Philip Glass]

I think this is often as much as a negative as it can be a positive because they can be incentivized to overuse their own property and not utilize surrounding areas.

I suppose that could happen but shooting the place out is not good business. Having self sustaining game is quite valuable versus buying.
I just detest the constant driving around from ranch to ranch that some outfitters do,

 

[russ473]

At the end of the day it comes down to communication, make it clear to the prospective outfitter what you want and expect, keeping it realistic, and see what they say and come back with sometimes big and small outfitters cant help, sometimes either big or small can remember at the end of the day the outfitter should be honest with you and your expectations, his name is involved too.

 

[Siennacoyote]

Good list to keep in mind