Looking for advice…

[Doug Hamilton]

@mark-hunter
My oryx bull had no complaints about the cheap 250 gn round nose out of my Whelen. He found it very difficult to breath with a big hole thru both lungs and bleeding from two holes in his hide. The one on the off side was the size of a golf ball.
Just make sure you match the old bullet to the game.
Yes I did use premium as well like Woodleigh and accubond. I had heard good things about the old Hornady round nose so decided on that as well .
Helps when your rifle has the same poi with a lot of different bullets.
Bob

But Bob, I thought you used a .243 to take that oryx

Just kidding. That's a beautiful bull my friend!

Doug

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thanks for your comment. I hear what you’re saying and agree. I’ve been planning this trip in my mind since my first subscriptions to Sports Afield and Outdoor Life started trickling in many years ago. Of course as a child without a care in the world, no responsibilities, it’s easy to say you’re going to do something. But that’s been my dream and regardless of my financial situation, it remains one of very few lifelong dreams. I’ve read the stories of EH, and Capstick, O’Conner and Boddington to name a few, not to mention a zillion hunt reports and stories from many of you here on this forum. On my first attempt in 2004 (44 years old), that was the first time in my life when I had the means to even consider a trip like this. But as I noted, life got in the way. And I’ll admit I sort of gave up on the idea as my life would be fairly hectic for the next 15+ years. The itch would resurface once again, and I thought it was going to happen last year but once again it stalled. Another thing that didn’t help before was my wife was not totally onboard with the idea of me heading off to the other side of the world for 2 weeks to hunt animals that we wouldn’t eat. I realized that if she wasn’t totally onboard with the idea of my African dream, then I would not pursue it. I would not allow anyone to detract from my dream or make me feel guilty about wanting to do it. I could see myself in Africa but feeling bad about the decision to go without my wife’s support and blessing, and I just couldn’t bear the idea of that. Thankfully, in time I was finally able to connect with her about this, and she now truly understands and supports the idea. That makes the planning this time so much better! I’m remaining optimistic and pressing forward with the quest once again. With a little luck and by the grace of God, I will be hunting with KMG Hunting Safaris in Eastern Cape next May.

@Hyde
I was fortunate when I was forced to retire. I didn't have much in superannuation and my wife asked what I would like to do. There was nothing we needed as a family so I told her I have always wanted to hunt Africa. I wanted to do it with my wife and son.
Her reply was simple and beautiful. She said we'll do your research and make it happen just don't talk about it. We ALL had a great time and it was a wonder experience hunting with with my then 14 year old son. We also did a side trip to Etosha national Park, an amazing experience.
Bob

 

[Hyde]

That’s awesome Bob. My wife would love to join me and we’re actually talking about that for 2026. That would probably be more of a touring safari with cameras, but there would be some hunting.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

That’s awesome Bob. My wife would love to join me and we’re actually talking about that for 2026. That would probably be more of a touring safari with cameras, but there would be some hunting.

@Hyde
My wife joined both my son and I at different times on hunts. I hunted with and without my son at times and we had a hoot. My wife got a buzz out of watching both my son and I hunt and trying to understand what and why we did things.
Se also did side trips with the PHs wife and a staff member while we were hunting.
We finished our trip to Namibia by going to Etosha national Park. Well worth the visit for game photos.
Bob
Go have fun your wife will enjoy it and understand you more and you never know she may even end up wanting to hunt as well

 

[wesheltonj]

Let me expand my answer to your question. Flying direct from ATL on Delta will not be cheap. In fact it’s usually the most expensive B class ticket to Africa.

Next year, I am headed to Tanzania on Qatar. I could have saved 2k on the ticket by taking Turkish, but I would have had 2 overnights in IST. My Qatar has only one overnight in Doha on the return.

The other problem with Delta is it arrives late and you will have to overnight at JNB. No way would I drive or be a passenger at night outside of the city.

My wife and daughter went with me to RSA. My trip to Zambia neither went. And next year’s trip to Tanzania, they are leaving once the hunt starts.

My RSA hunt was in the Northern Cape. The properties are generally larger than Limpopo.

I generally book my own tickets. When I do use an agent I call Nicole at Gracy.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I don’t care for that night drive in Joberg either. I’ve only done it once in several trips and won’t do it again, if I can help it!

Emirates gets you there in the am with reasonable layovers in Dubai. I realize there are other airlines… Just worked out good for me this recent trip.

 

[sureshot375]

I hate packages. I want a daily rate and a trophy fee list. Talk to your outfitter about what you think your priorities are, then go hunt and see what the bush gives you. Be open minded. All of the animals are more impressive than you can imagine. Even something as common as an impala never gets old to me.

Hopefully you will get a crack at a kudu or eland. Either would make fine top tier trophy for you if hunted properly.

Zebra, wildebeest, gemsbok, waterbuck, bushbuck etc would compliment your spiral horn quite nicely.

Impala, jackal, baboon, warthog should be taken when the opportunity is given. Very meaningful hunts/trophies for a reasonable price.

 

[BryceM]

As others have said, don't ignore Namibia. I've been there a bunch of times and I've fallen completely in love with the country and the people. My hunting there has been about half in high-fence areas and half in low-fence or no-fence areas. Trophy quality is pretty fantastic as far as I can tell. Many of my best animals came from low-fence areas.

Warthog is no problem to import, but they're hit-or-miss. The weather, height of the grass, and random luck can mean tons of them, or none to be found. Lots of fun for the price.

There are lots of great PHs there. In the Kalahari region many of them hunt on their own property and branch out to other areas as the need arises. They're as dedicated as anyone I've ever met. I can't believe how hard they work to make sure you have a great time and get your animals. It's a step up from most of what I've seen in the US. Firearm import into Namibia is straightforward and the police actually act like they're happy to have you there supporting the economy.

Shoot me a PM if you want some ideas.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I fly through Europe with a long daytime layover in either Frankfurt or Zurich which puts me in Joberg early in the morning. It is exhausting but no worse than the ~24hr drive to hunt Montana for uplands every fall. I typically hunt solo so not concerned about missing a few creature comforts. And it's much cheaper than flying direct from US.

 

[Creigh]

I fly through Europe with a long daytime layover in either Frankfurt or Zurich which puts me in Joberg early in the morning. It is exhausting but no worse than the ~24hr drive to hunt Montana for uplands every fall. I typically hunt solo so not concerned about missing a few creature comforts. And it's much cheaper than flying direct from US.

I flew from Johannesburg to Alberta via Heathrow. Took me 28 hours all in all. Felt like I needed a cryogenic sleep pod.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I flew from Johannesburg to Alberta via Heathrow. Took me 28 hours all in all. Felt like I needed a cryogenic sleep pod.

I'm guessing your layover in London was ~10hrs? Pearson is the riskiest part of international connections in Canada. What a mess, especially end of August when all the East Indian "students" are flooding into the country. My gawd, I'm guessing over 5K of them in the airport when I came home end of August 2023. It was insane. Glad the govt is finally closing that phony immigration loophole ... sort of ... maybe ... maybe not. The colleges/universities and luxury car leasing outfits are claiming they will go bankrupt. Oh well.

 

[Creigh]

I'm guessing your layover in London was ~10hrs? Pearson is the riskiest part of international connections in Canada. What a mess, especially end of August when all the East Indian "students" are flooding into the country. My gawd, I'm guessing over 5K of them in the airport when I came home end of August 2023. It was insane. Glad the govt is finally closing that phony immigration loophole ... sort of ... maybe ... maybe not. The colleges/universities and luxury car leasing outfits are claiming they will go bankrupt. Oh well.

Yes about 10 hrs. On the way back was from Calgary to Toronto to Heathrow to Joburg. Toronto was fantastic. Met the nicest old man on a train. Dressed to a T, retired from a Post Office job. You're a fantastic people my friend, the best in the world. Now about that prime minister of yours, someone needs to explain that to me. I don't get it.