Particularly with regard to buffalo, you are probably stepping off into a more complicated and deeper end of the pool than you would first imagine.
A buffalo hunt falls generally into two categories: 1) A wilderness hunt where your professional hunter will be working his butt off to find you the best and/or oldest bull he can in the time allotted or 2) a game farm/ranch hunt which will be conducted behind game fences often with pricing based upon the size of the animal taken. Both can be positive experiences and both have pitfalls about which you need to educate yourself.
Since you are travelling with a friend who is interested in plains game, you will need to further refine your search to include an outfit that can offer him a reasonable chance of fulfilling his goals as well. Many dangerous game wilderness areas offer relatively low density of plains game.
You also need to talk through the whole PH business. A buffalo in a wilderness area or properly managed ranch with self-sustaining herds can eat up a lot of miles and effort of a ten-day hunt. A guaranteed strain to a friendship will be a two x one arrangement with a PH where your partner spends the majority of "his" hunt trailing your dust as you try to walk down your buffalo.
The easiest environment to scratch both itches is a South African game ranch or a place like Bubye Valley Conservancy in Zim. There are good operations that are large enough to offer self-sustaining herds, and others where a bull will have been purchased and released for your shooting pleasure onto a fairly small property. Still others, carefully manage their animals, so much so, you essentially book which animal you intend to take. And still others price their bulls according to measurement and like a stag hunt in Europe, you will hunt for a bull of the class you can afford. Hence, it is important to pick the right ranch and management system. Several sponsors here can offer a great experience.
Wilderness areas are just that. In places like most of Zim, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and the Caprivi Strip of Namibia you will be hunting vast concessions where game animals are free to roam where they will. Your PH is looking for the right bull, not a specific bull - a rather huge difference in the focus of the hunt. Many of these concessions do offer excellent PG opportunities, but others do not. In other areas, time of year and conditions can make a huge difference. Ask pointed questions. Again, we have sponsors here who could tailor such a hunt for you and your partner.
Obviously, cost is another concern. Generally, usually, most of the time, a SA game farm hunt will be cheaper than a wilderness hunt. The wilderness trophy fee will be less, but the daily rate will be quite a bit more. That is another question to ask with respect to your PG only hunting friend. That rate, even in a wilderness area should be less.
www.africahunting.com
www.africahunting.com
Attached are a couple of my hunting reports - one of a game ranch hunt in SA and the other in the Zambezi Delta pf Mozambique. Use the search function, and you can find many others which will provide you a wealth of information.
A buffalo hunt falls generally into two categories: 1) A wilderness hunt where your professional hunter will be working his butt off to find you the best and/or oldest bull he can in the time allotted or 2) a game farm/ranch hunt which will be conducted behind game fences often with pricing based upon the size of the animal taken. Both can be positive experiences and both have pitfalls about which you need to educate yourself.
Since you are travelling with a friend who is interested in plains game, you will need to further refine your search to include an outfit that can offer him a reasonable chance of fulfilling his goals as well. Many dangerous game wilderness areas offer relatively low density of plains game.
You also need to talk through the whole PH business. A buffalo in a wilderness area or properly managed ranch with self-sustaining herds can eat up a lot of miles and effort of a ten-day hunt. A guaranteed strain to a friendship will be a two x one arrangement with a PH where your partner spends the majority of "his" hunt trailing your dust as you try to walk down your buffalo.
The easiest environment to scratch both itches is a South African game ranch or a place like Bubye Valley Conservancy in Zim. There are good operations that are large enough to offer self-sustaining herds, and others where a bull will have been purchased and released for your shooting pleasure onto a fairly small property. Still others, carefully manage their animals, so much so, you essentially book which animal you intend to take. And still others price their bulls according to measurement and like a stag hunt in Europe, you will hunt for a bull of the class you can afford. Hence, it is important to pick the right ranch and management system. Several sponsors here can offer a great experience.
Wilderness areas are just that. In places like most of Zim, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and the Caprivi Strip of Namibia you will be hunting vast concessions where game animals are free to roam where they will. Your PH is looking for the right bull, not a specific bull - a rather huge difference in the focus of the hunt. Many of these concessions do offer excellent PG opportunities, but others do not. In other areas, time of year and conditions can make a huge difference. Ask pointed questions. Again, we have sponsors here who could tailor such a hunt for you and your partner.
Obviously, cost is another concern. Generally, usually, most of the time, a SA game farm hunt will be cheaper than a wilderness hunt. The wilderness trophy fee will be less, but the daily rate will be quite a bit more. That is another question to ask with respect to your PG only hunting friend. That rate, even in a wilderness area should be less.
SOUTH AFRICA: Up Close In The Limpopo - Hunting Cape Buffalo With Phillip Bronkhorst
The morning started like many buffalo hunts anywhere with the fresh tracks of a small herd crossing a dirt trace cut through the bush. Phillip Bronkhorst, Pieter Taylor (one of Phillip's PHs), our tracker Josias, Rickey (a young videographer in training), and your faithful correspondent bailed...
www.africahunting.com
MOZAMBIQUE: Return To Mozambique With Mashambanzou Safaris
In 2014, my son and I had a wonderful hunt for buffalo and plains game with Grant Taylor's Mashambanzou Safaris in the Zambezi Delta. In 2015, I signed a contract for a two-week return engagement for October of this year. I have just returned, and the hunt exceeded my every expectation. I...
www.africahunting.com
Attached are a couple of my hunting reports - one of a game ranch hunt in SA and the other in the Zambezi Delta pf Mozambique. Use the search function, and you can find many others which will provide you a wealth of information.
