My intro...

[sierraone]

Welcome to our forum Primal. From your photos it looks as if you are already right at home here!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to the great forum.
Good luck.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Cool pictures and nice trophies Primal.

 

[Philip Glass]

Hello all.

I recently discovered this forum a few days ago and it seems like a good place to join for questions and it seems to hold a great wealth of info regarding hunting on the Dark Continent.

Hunting Africa is on my list and it has been on my mind as of late. I have been hunting big and small game since I was 12 (whitetail deer and most huntable game found in the upper midwest region of the USA) and have been successful using multiple weapons ranging from modern rifles to primitive self bows. I spend a lot of time outdoors hunting, fishing, kayaking and practicing survival skills as a hobby.

I have some experience traveling the world. In my 20's I spent time a lot of time in Australia, visited England a few times and had a heck of an adventure in the remote frontier region of southern Venezuela. I've also visited New Zealand a while back (south Island). Almost all of my travels were done on a shoestring budget and mostly planned by myself.

I've started to settle down in life and started a family, but now I've begun to yearn for an adventure again and have decided to start saving up for an African safari. I hope to go in a few years time and have started my planning phase. This forum seems like it could a be a trove of info to help guide my way so I can realize this goal of mine.

To be honest, hunting in Africa seems like an overwhelming proposition that requires much planning and expense to pull off. With my budget I hope to hunt 4 or 5 head of plains game on a 7-10 day adventure. For me, Africa will probably be a once in a lifetime experience. I plan to rifle hunt with my own gun (Guns?) and would like to kill a few antelope species and a warthog ( I always loved the way those ugly buggers look!) My budget wont allow for nice mounts so I plan on just taking skulls, lots of nice photos and maybe get some hides tanned.

I have noticed that most outfits I've casually looked at seem to offer very nice accommodations which is fine and they look like great places, but I'm hoping to have a more rustic experience and hope to find a hunt where at least part of the time a lodgetent/camping hunt could take place. I'm not sure if this is really an option but I'm sure I'll find out. I like to rough it and find that camping out while on a hunting trip makes the experience more fulfilling for me. It doesn't take much to make me happy in the wilderness. I'd gladly sleep on a cot in a canvas tent, eat canned food and wake up in the predawn to start a campfire for morning coffee and hopefully add some fresh meat to the menu for the evening meal. Something like that would be ideal, but it's probably just a pipe dream.

Anyway, enough of me yammering. I can't really contribute much knowledge here for I have no experience on the forum subject, but I'm sure you'll see me around asking stupid questions.

Welcome and happy safari planning! Check out @Schalk Pienaar Safaris Namibia he does a neat tent camp hunt in Namibia that’s a great adventure. It would be just what you are looking for. Feel free to PM me about Namibia as I’ve been there many, many times.
Philip

 

[Shootist43]

Primal, looks like you have and use a number of different firearms. Good for you. What calibers are they? I didn't see any Black Powder stuff, have you tried it yet? I sort of retired my recurve in favor of a compound and then 45 years and several bows later, retired my Matthews for a cross bow. Being a multi-season hunter has its' own rewards. BTW I like that Mannlicher styled stock. One of these days I hope to own one.

 

[Primal]

Primal, looks like you have and use a number of different firearms. Good for you. What calibers are they? I didn't see any Black Powder stuff, have you tried it yet? I sort of retired my recurve in favor of a compound and then 45 years and several bows later, retired my Matthews for a cross bow. Being a multi-season hunter has its' own rewards. BTW I like that Mannlicher styled stock. One of these days I hope to own one.

Thanks.

I use black powder too. I own a few traditional style muzzleloaders. I don't hunt with them as often as I would like, but I have been successful filling the freezer with them.

My father built this Hawken style rifle from a kit. I hunted this huge doe for a almost a week before I could finally get a shot on her.

My father built this Longrifle below, for my birthday this past winter...

7 coats of hand rubbed oil finish. Hand cut brass inlays. Antler overlay.

He did some custom file work on the barrel...

This one is in .50, and he patinated the barrel with an acid wash. The Hawken I shot that doe with is a .54 and he browned the barrel on that one. I hope to break the long rifle in on a deer or even some small game this year.

The Mannlicher style stocked rifle is a CZ 550 FS in 30-06. Sadly they discontinued it a couple of years ago. I picked that one up about 10 years back. I dropped a number of deer with it and it handles very well. It was an amazing value at the time. The single set trigger is amazing as well! I'm debating if I should take this gun to Africa.

The other rifle with the 2 bucks together is my Weatherby Mark V Deluxe in 300 wby mag. That is the rifle I'm thinking of taking to Africa for my plains game hunt. I bought that used about 20 years ago. My best friend had just moved to Montana at that time and was getting into elk hunting. He wanted me to come out there. I bought the rifle and he moved to Minnesota the month after that lol! I've shot a few deer with it, but it's too much gun for my neck of the woods. I think it would do well on the plains though.

I have a number of other rifles that see use too. I have a Ruger American I recently acquired as a "fun gun" chambered in 7.62 X 39. It will be used for a good training rifle at the range or just toteing as a wood bumming rifle. I rigged it up with a 2-7 Vortex w/ QD rings and also a QD Sight Mark reflex sight. I can interchange the optics in seconds and makes for a fun set for fast plinking or a mid range whitetail rifle in the forest. Cheap to shoot, versatile, and fun.

I like hunting with all forms of rifles.

Hares with a 9mm carbine.

Small game with combo guns (22/410), Etc.

 

[Primal]

Welcome and happy safari planning! Check out @Schalk Pienaar Safaris Namibia he does a neat tent camp hunt in Namibia that’s a great adventure. It would be just what you are looking for. Feel free to PM me about Namibia as I’ve been there many, many times.
Philip

I'm sure I will be asking some questions. Thanks for the offer to PM!

 

[Shootist43]

Just curious, where do you live? Upper great Lakes covers a lot of territory. I live in Michigan, South of Detroit on a large island between the U.S and Canada. From the hunting you've done it is easy to see that you fit like a glove with this group. I own 80 acres just South of Hubbard Lake which is where I hunt. My two boys ages 55 & 51 and I will be putting in our Food Plots in a couple of weeks. They do all the heavy lifting, I just run the tractor. Do you hunt on private or public land?

 

[Shootist43]

Primal, do you reload?

 

[Primal]

Just curious, where do you live? Upper great Lakes covers a lot of territory. I live in Michigan, South of Detroit on a large island between the U.S and Canada. From the hunting you've done it is easy to see that you fit like a glove with this group. I own 80 acres just South of Hubbard Lake which is where I hunt. My two boys ages 55 & 51 and I will be putting in our Food Plots in a couple of weeks. They do all the heavy lifting, I just run the tractor. Do you hunt on private or public land?

I'm a Yooper and originally hail from the west end of the U.P., I currently live just across the border into northern Wisconsin. I work in MI and cross state lines each day. I hunt, fish and camp in both states. I hunt both public and private land. Most of the bucks I posted were shot on public land and all of the does were shot on private land back when we could get antlerless permits in MI.

I've yet to kill a deer in WI but have only been hunting the state for a few years since I moved there, and during rifle season only. I'm still slowly trying to find areas to deer hunt in WI near where I live. I scouted some public land but have discovered tree stands and the blinds of other hunters in every spot I've looked into so far. This past WI deer season I have discovered a place that had no signs of humans with lots of deer sign so I'll be focusing on that area this year.

I do not reload but thought about investing in the equipment someday. Right now my focus is saving up my money for the safari so I don't foresee reloading in the near future. However, I did pick up a like new Lee Loader for my 357 for $20 last year but haven't used it yet.

 

[schalkp]

I have noticed that most outfits I've casually looked at seem to offer very nice accommodations which is fine and they look like great places, but I'm hoping to have a more rustic experience and hope to find a hunt where at least part of the time a lodgetent/camping hunt could take place. I'm not sure if this is really an option but I'm sure I'll find out. I like to rough it and find that camping out while on a hunting trip makes the experience more fulfilling for me. It doesn't take much to make me happy in the wilderness. I'd gladly sleep on a cot in a canvas tent, eat canned food and wake up in the predawn to start a campfire for morning coffee and hopefully add some fresh meat to the menu for the evening meal. Something like that would be ideal, but it's probably just a pipe dream.

Hi Primal, even though I do not advertise it because most clients these days want their luxuries, we do fly camp hunts in remote areas on the edge of the Namib desert. We only take the basics, whatever we can fit on a land cruiser and we will travel into a wilderness area until we find a good spot for camping. From here on we will mostly hunt on foot from camp and species inhabiting this area are Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena, Cheetah, Kudu, Hartmann Zebra, Oryx, Springbuck,Warthog, Steenbuck and Klipspringer. This is a 100% free range hunt. We can also combine it with a few days at my lodge in the Kalahari.

Below are a couple of pictures of previous expeditions.

 

[BenKK]

Great to see a recurve and some black powder!

You’re on the right track for a great African adventure! Bring back skulls only (no hides) to save pennies.

 

[Primal]

Hi Primal, even though I do not advertise it because most clients these days want their luxuries, we do fly camp hunts in remote areas on the edge of the Namib desert. We only take the basics, whatever we can fit on a land cruiser and we will travel into a wilderness area until we find a good spot for camping. From here on we will mostly hunt on foot from camp and species inhabiting this area are Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Brown Hyena, Cheetah, Kudu, Hartmann Zebra, Oryx, Springbuck,Warthog, Steenbuck and Klipspringer. This is a 100% free range hunt. We can also combine it with a few days at my lodge in the Kalahari.

Below are a couple of pictures of previous expeditions.


View attachment 280306 View attachment 280307 View attachment 280308 View attachment 280309

Yes! This is what I had in mind! Thanks for the info!

 

[Mort Hill]

Great intro and love your pictures of your hunting. Reminds me of my youth, but my hunting was mainly in the south in Tennessee and Alabama. Hold on to your Africa dream. My advice is not settle based on your budget. Hold out and make a couple of extra bucks to do it the way you want to do it. There are plenty of ways to make that work out, just keep researching and find the right fit. I too went on the hunt of a lifetime to Africa 20 years ago. Oh, and like others have said, that was 7 trips ago to Africa, so yes, it is an incurable disease.

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH !

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH!

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Welcome to AH!

 

[TRAVEL EXPRESS]

Welcome Primal! Nothing like AH for information and getting people on their way to Africa.
If there is a way we can be of help to you please feel free to call or send us a message.

 

[African Sporting Creations]

Welcome Primal. This forum has a wealth of information from some extremely knowledgeable folks, enjoy and have fun planning!

 

[Global Rescue]

Welcome! Don't be shy around here. Ask lots of questions and make some new friends. Enjoy!

Give us a call or email if we can assist you in any way.