Son's first African hunt advice

[Tango]

Just officially booked a June hunt with my son. We're both very excited. He'll be turning 13 while on the hunt. I've hunted So Africa with the same PH twice, but this will be his first time there. We have a lot of time on the range and in the field together, successfully hunting deer and turkeys in the US. Been working on the plains game identification and shooting positions very seriously since Christmas break. Passport has already been taken care of. Love to hear any advice from those who've taken their kids along on a hunt. Thanks

 

[Bullthrower338]

@Tango,
Congratulations on making one of the best decisions of your life! I took my oldest son when he was 13 and it was one of the best trips of my life. I had so much fun watching him shoot that I forgot I was there for the same reason. The high point for me was on Father’s Day. I had told my PH to take the morning off as his Daughters were home from school to see him. Later he asked what we wanted to hunt and my son told him we needed to find dad a bushbuck. From a cliff above the bushman river we did just that. A wonderful cape bushbuck for Father’s Day! Couldn’t have got more perfect unless my youngest had been there also!
Cheers,

Cody

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

Have a great time with your son. As you know at that age the joy is watching them succeed.
My son is 27 now, if he's too slow I just kick him out of the way. Lol
He still gets first chance though

 

[Shootist43]

Advice: make sure the lad gets plenty of practice shooting off sticks, don't make him use a rifle larger than what he is comfortable with. Observations: this one hunt will make sure that you have a hunting buddy for life. I've been hunting with my sons for 40 years, now I'm working on the grandkids.

 

[wipartimer]

Relax and have an amazing trip. Advise from personal experience: trust your PH. One of the hardest things for me to do was to hold back and let the PH take my daughter and seperatly, my wife on the final stalk and shut my mouth when I wanted to blurt out suggestion to them. I tend to put too much pressure on them.

 

[markm]

Took my grandson when he was ten its was more fun for me just to watch him shoot and get some really nice animals.

Just officially booked a June hunt with my son. We're both very excited. He'll be turning 13 while on the hunt. I've hunted So Africa with the same PH twice, but this will be his first time there. We have a lot of time on the range and in the field together, successfully hunting deer and turkeys in the US. Been working on the plains game identification and shooting positions very seriously since Christmas break. Passport has already been taken care of. Love to hear any advice from those who've taken their kids along on a hunt. Thanks

 

[BnC 04]

Wish y'all an outstanding trip! Our son is now 21 and hoping he can make our trip in May with us.
Making memories with family is irreplaceable.

 

[Tango]

Many thanks guys. Agreed on all that's been said here. At this point it's about him and passing along family tradition and tribal knowledge on hunting, fishing, camping, the outdoors etc. Not even concerned about shooting anything myself. (Well, maybe a buffalo if we settle on a price. Still being discussed.) Luckily I've become friends with a great PH who will be wonderful with kids. I learned many years ago to let the PH do his thing and follow his instruction. My son has been shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor for the last 2 years without any issues. Good to about 100-125 yds now on steel targets from the ASC sticks and 150-175 when kneeling braced. Fortunately we live about 20 min from the range in FL so it's easy to practice weekly.

Anyone run into any issues regarding travel with a minor and documents? Passport is in hand already. I've read a couple things on travel blogs about additional proof possibly being required to prove you're the parent etc? Nothing detailed that I could find though. Assume that's all about trafficking.

 

[Newboomer]

Good choice of rifle for pg. Hang back and let him do his thing. "Helpful suggestions" just cause confusion and stress. He'll be excited enough without any outside interference. Best of luck.

 

[Tango]

Agreed, I love the 6.5 CM. I've taken just about everything here along with PG using that cal and it just plain works without excessive recoil. He has confidence in it and so do I. Half the battle when choosing a rifle in my experience.

 

[slam8031]

RSA was requiring paperwork from the non traveling parent if a child was traveling with only one parent--not sure if that is still in effect.
I was fortunate enough to take my four children in 2017--they were 10, 12, 14 year old girls, and and our 16 YO son. We had a fantastic time. We shot a lot prior to the trip and we took a suppressor so that recoil on the 25.06 was reduced. Take lots of pictures! All the other info above is spot on in our experience. The additional thing that I would add--my two safaris prior, we pushed hard and hunted hard. On the third trip, we eased back and took some of their critters they harvested, helped prepared meals for a school and villages, and served the meal to the village. It was a highlight of the trip! Have a great time.

 

[chonk34]

Anyone run into any issues regarding travel with a minor and documents? Passport is in hand already. I've read a couple things on travel blogs about additional proof possibly being required to prove you're the parent etc? Nothing detailed that I could find though. Assume that's all about trafficking.

I think a passport is all that is required. Source: https://www.southafricavisa.com/travel-south-africa-children/

 

[Mekaniks]

I took my son when he was 13. We had a great time and he took a Blue wildebeest, blesbok and springbok.

Just make sure you have the notarized permission to travel paperwork from his mother.

 

[Bullthrower338]

When I went there was a requirement of parental statement from non traveling parent. Copy of unabridged birth certificate
Copy of mothers passport/ID
And child’s passport.
It was all pretty painless.

 

[Tango]

Great advice on the non-traveling parent doc's. Thank you.

slam8031; agreed, we're going to take a few extra days to see Kruger Nat Park and visit some local folks via the PH and his staff. It's all about experiencing the world beyond suburban central FL!

 

[Hunting Hitman]

When I went there was a requirement of parental statement from non traveling parent. Copy of unabridged birth certificate
Copy of mothers passport/ID
And child’s passport.
It was all pretty painless.

This is correct. You may even need a certified letter from the mother granting permission . I would ask Henry at Rifle Permits for the latest information.

 

[BeeMaa]

Review shot placement with your son.
Shot placement on NA deer and African game is a little different.
A copy of "The Perfect Shot II" mini edition will do well for most animals.

Always good to make memories with family and pass on the love of hunting.
Have a good trip.

 

[James Adamson]

Exciting times ahead with your son. My eldest is 13 too and is keen to join me and get stuck in. We were in Namibia last summer hunting and the only issue we ran onto travelling was that to get into Namibia we needed the kids passports and BIRTH CERTIFICATES.....they were home in Shetland. We managed to get photographs sent and they were happy with that buy it was pretty tense.

 

[slam8031]

Who are you hunting with in RSA?

 

[Limcroma Safaris]

Hi folks,

Recent changes have been made to South Africa's travel requirements in regard to traveling with foreign minors (non-South African minors)...

Travelers intending to visit South Africa in the company of minors, or family members sending unaccompanied minors to South Africa often wonder whether they will need to present the child’s birth certificate.

This confusion is due to the fact that unabridged birth certificates were introduced as a travel requirement for minors arriving in South Africa in 2015. This document was initially required to help prevent child trafficking.

However, on Friday, November 8th, 2019, South African government officials announced that birth certificates and consent letters are no longer required for foreign children traveling with their parents to enter the country.... Refer to the link below provided by @chonk34 ....

https://www.southafricavisa.com/travel-south-africa-children/