Noobs

[DoubleLunger]

Go enjoy .... take what Africa offers you . Most outfitters will allow you to switch animals . Try to find a PH who has bow hunting experience . Hides can get boring but will offer you your best chance at calm animals ..... Please don't shoot outside your comfort zone .... you draw blood you may wind up paying anyway . As has been said cut on contact broad heads maybe the norm . I cranked and shot my bow at 70 lbs for a year before I went to Namibia .... it is not necessary for most plains game , but if an Eland or Kudu comes along you may want to take the opportunity .... Good luck and play safe !
Glen

Much appreciated Glen. I hunt with 70 pounds anyhow so it wouldn't be a change for me at that draw weight. Any recommended cutting blade size for over there? I typically hunt with a 1.5 inch cutting fixed broadhead.

 

[DoubleLunger]

I myself was/am in the same situation your in. mostly hunt whitetails and NA Big Game. I did endless amounts of research and looking through this site, as well as hours and hours on youtube. We ended up booking with Limcroma Safaris. Ive heard nothing but the best from them. I was able to reach out to several previous clients, and also their PHs to get a good feel for what to expect. I wanted to primarily hunt watering holes so we planned our trip for SA winter (July). We also made sure to book for the dark moon. They have very competitive prices, and large amounts of concessions, and beautiful lodging. My Whitetail setup will do just fine for everything I intend to chase (Kudu, zebra, oryx, impala, baboon, warthog, etc).

Good luck in planning, its been extremely fun and the anticipation is KILLING me!!!

Thanks Josh. It's good to hear that coming from someone with a similar bow hunting background to mine.

 

[DoubleLunger]

M

Welcome..... Yes, I would layout a budget, animal hit list, # of days desired & distance want to travel. There are a ton of great outfits on here. Some have specialties or geared up for certain type of hunting/clients. Definition of "affordable" is very subjective.....$10k to one guy is $100k to the next. Good luck!

Makes perfect sense. I see myself going for approx 7-10 days. If i'm flying that far then I certainly want it to be worth it.
thanks BWH

 

[G Skinner]

Much appreciated Glen. I hunt with 70 pounds anyhow so it wouldn't be a change for me at that draw weight. Any recommended cutting blade size for over there? I typically hunt with a 1.5 inch cutting fixed broadhead.

I had G5 Montecs ...140 grn. .... Don't forget your small game judo points ..... lots of guinea fowl and Franklin to try your luck on .
Glen

 

[dobber]

Free range is something you will need to review, one property i hunted was high fenced "ugh how can anyone hunt a high fence" well that was 25,000 acres of friggin climbing, scrambling, up hill, down hill, leg straining breath taking of pure hunting pleasure
Enjoy the planning and Africa will not, repeat will not apologize for when you start to plan for your second trip

Enjoy the journey

 

[Bhfs300]

S

Sounds like great advice and I thank you. I generally practice at 60yds just so the 30-40yd shots are a cakewalk. And yes, mostly 30 yd shots here for us whitetail hunters. I wouldn't want to take a shot on anything farther than 40yds. I'm thinking that perhaps a handful of dollars can be saved by picking and choosing the lower costing species.
Thanks Tom

I only shoot at 50-60 yards during the summer. I agree with the long shots. I left an Impala in Africa on my first trip there.
We didn't even look for blood I just payed for it!! The next time to Africa I got my Impala.
This year I got a rangefinder distance of 55 yards on my elk. It was a shot straight down hill. I put my 50-60 on the elks stomach knowing the distance was less than 55.
When I shot, I spines the elk but got a shot that was double lounge to put it out of his misery.
My contact person from Africa said not to bring a rangefinder but you should.

They thought all their shots would be 25 or less so you didn't need a rangefinder.

Be ready for what ever shot that you can get but remember you shoot at it you will pay for it.
Make sure you are sure of the shot on that important trophy animal.

 

[Lrntolive]

@DoubleLunger, I'd recommed looking at flight costs, daily rates, possible equipments costs (cases, luggage, etc.) and estimated shipping for dip/pack and transfer back to the US first. These add up to quite a bit of change. Once you've squared those away, you can find out how much you have left/need to save for all the dream animals you want.

The other problem you'll find from all the Africa veterans on here is that they say the bow hunts there can be opportunistic. Meaning the exact animal you want may not come by on the first trip to Africa. Because of this, I've left my list open for my May trip to Namibia. I do have a wish list, but I won't be disappointed if they don't show. That's hunting.

I forgot to mention that my buddy and I will be doing mostly spot and stalk bow hunting. We know it'll be tough, but we hunt for elk this way in Colorado, so we want to try it in Namibia. I'll be taking plenty of video and pictures, so you'll be able to see it on here this summer after we return.

Here's my gear list in case it helps:
PSE Decree 70#
24 Gold Tip arrow with broadheads (Total weight 492gr)
Two different sets of broadheads (G5 Striker Magnum and NAP Killzone Max)
Tru-ball Fang 3 thumb release (And a back-up)
Quiver
Nikon Prostaff Rangefinder
Nikon Monarch Binos
SKB Two bow case (TSA Approved locks)
Archery tools (Allen and Torqs wrenches, string level, multi tool, extra parts, etc)
Shot placement book (Made this myself from images on this site. Thanks AH!)
Knee and elbow pads for crawling (Again, only because we are spot and stalk hunting)
Scent killer spray (unscented)
Camo, including face mask and gloves
Two good pairs of boots
All the camera gear and attachments

 

[Lrntolive]

I forgot to mention, you can always look at Jerome's recommended bowhunter's gear list here on the site. That's where I started with my list.

 

[Shootist43]

This post will probably raise the ire of some, but that is ok. I've been hunting White tails in Michigan for 60 years with a bow My 10 year old Mathews set at 70 lbs. still cranks out 300 fps over a chronograph. I'm worried that at 40 yds. a deer can jump the string. I'm shooting from well concealed ladder-stands 22 ft. up, using the wind to my advantage, wear scent-loc clothing and use HS sprays. I've got to be doing something wrong. Or am I? On another AH thread there was a discussion about Wart Hog jumping the string on 25 yd. shots. Is the reaction time of the antelope species in Africa more than twice as long or said another less than half as fast as a Wart Hogs?

I'd like some of the PHs post their bow hunting success rates for spot and stalk vs still hunting from a hide or blind. As they say, you are never too old to learn something new.

 

[Lrntolive]

This post will probably raise the ire of some, but that is ok. I've been hunting White tails in Michigan for 60 years with a bow My 10 year old Mathews set at 70 lbs. still cranks out 300 fps over a chronograph. I'm worried that at 40 yds. a deer can jump the string. I'm shooting from well concealed ladder-stands 22 ft. up, using the wind to my advantage, wear scent-loc clothing and use HS sprays. I've got to be doing something wrong. Or am I? On another AH thread there was a discussion about Wart Hog jumping the string on 25 yd. shots. Is the reaction time of the antelope species in Africa more than twice as long or said another less than half as fast as a Wart Hogs?

I'd like some of the PHs post their bow hunting success rates for spot and stalk vs still hunting from a hide or blind. As they say, you are never too old to learn something new.

Check out this video. Should answer your questions.

 

[Shootist43]

Lrntolive, just watched the video. It seems to justify my thoughts, I hope other bow hunters, especially first timers heed the cautions and advice as presented.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lrntolive]

Lrntolive, just watched the video. It seems to justify my thoughts, I hope other bow hunters, especially first timers heed the cautions and advice as presented.

Thanks for sharing.

No problem. I stumbled across that video and saved it and multiple others from those guys. They've done a great job on shot placementand in showing reaction times of various animals.

 

[G Skinner]

Very good videos ! Archery is about how close not how far .
Thanks Glen

 

[jeff]

Dries Visser has a shot placement video that is excellent, it show actual hunts and then critiques the shot placement n most plains game.

 

[Khaleesi]

For serious bow hunting, you need to check out Limcroma Safaris. All the PHs are bow hunters. I have never seen an outfitter so well prepared for bow hunting. They also encourage you to get out of the blinds and do some stalking. The rooms, the lodge, the food, and the trophy quality is all top-notch! Lots of Africa outfits offer bow hunting. Very few are actually set up properly to do it right.

 

[jeff]

The problem with many outfitter is they don't have but 3-5 hides and the animals quickly become hide shy with much hunting pressure. Outfits like Dries Visser, Limcroma, and Bushmen safaris have 15-25 hides on tens of thousands of acres to hunt.

 

[HuntingGold]

Welcome... I think I referred you over from Monster Muleys? This is a good place to start your planning. Lots of good folks on here.

Randy

 

[razorsharptokill]

http://www.limcroma.com/ Hit up firehuntfish here on AH. He is the stateside rep for Limcroma. He has been a wealth of knowledge for me on everything from air travel to equipment.

 

[DoubleLunger]

Free range is something you will need to review, one property i hunted was high fenced "ugh how can anyone hunt a high fence" well that was 25,000 acres of friggin climbing, scrambling, up hill, down hill, leg straining breath taking of pure hunting pleasure
Enjoy the planning and Africa will not, repeat will not apologize for when you start to plan for your second trip

Enjoy the journey

Dobber,

Thank you. Man I'm really learning so much about my next best adventure via this site. I'm starting to figure out that "high fence" isn't all that bad due to that most of those high fences I may never see during a long trek of chasing game. As long as I'm not sitting on twenty acres vs never being able to see the other side.

Thanks much and happy hunting

 

[DoubleLunger]

View attachment 172388

I only shoot at 50-60 yards during the summer. I agree with the long shots. I left an Impala in Africa on my first trip there.
We didn't even look for blood I just payed for it!! The next time to Africa I got my Impala.
This year I got a rangefinder distance of 55 yards on my elk. It was a shot straight down hill. I put my 50-60 on the elks stomach knowing the distance was less than 55.
When I shot, I spines the elk but got a shot that was double lounge to put it out of his misery.
My contact person from Africa said not to bring a rangefinder but you should.

They thought all their shots would be 25 or less so you didn't need a rangefinder.

Be ready for what ever shot that you can get but remember you shoot at it you will pay for it.
Make sure you are sure of the shot on that important trophy animal.

Sound advice. I don't take a shot on anything without confidence of where the arrow will land. I tend to shoot almost every day if I can. I even get into the stand and shoot so that I know where I hit at a downward angle. I have yet to practice shooting uphill although it probably won't be a bad idea.

I typically carry a rangefinder in the field while hunting NA but I often use it to correct my gestimation of distance from this tree to that in order to keep up with my imaginary woodsmanship

Thanks so much and keep those elk on the rise, wife wants me to take one of those as well