SOUTH AFRICA: Can Anyone Tell Me About Hunting With Kuche Safaris & Molopo Kalahari Safaris?

[Jeffrey Masters]

My brother and I are planning a plains game hunt to South Africa, or Namibia, for spring or fall of 2018. We have both spent countless hours online, researching different Outfitters, and we just spent a weekend in Harrisburg, talking to every African outfitter there.
There were a few that stood out, mainly because they didn't seem to feed us a line of crap.
Kuche was the one we settled on, for many reasons, but 1st was talking to the owner and PH, and have him answer every question was a vast improvement over watching a promo video online. Koos, owner of Kuche was very straightforward, and seemed to be honest and sincere. His prices were competitive and he talked us through the entire safari, and wrote out a detailed list/contract for us to decided on.
There were a few others that we ruled out because of various reasons, mostly because of high pressure sales, or high prices.
The only other outfitter that we really liked was Molopo Kalahari safaris. I would put him on the same level as Kuche.
Can anyone tell us about their experiences with either of these Outfitters?
Good bad ugly, it will all be helpful.
My chief concern that I hunt with an outfit that is ethical, and and honest, and does not provide a canned hunt.
Spot and stalk is the only real way we would like to hunt, and I would hate to think that we were hunting animals that were brought in from other ranches, or bred in captivity. So, can anyone tell me their story about either of these outfitters, or their operations? We are so excited about going, and we really want this to be the hunt of a lifetime. Thanks for any help that you can give us!

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH Jeffrey, I can´t help you, but hope some one else can give you their opinion of these outfitters.

 

[cpr0312]

Welcome aboard!

I have not hunted with either one, but perhaps someone here has. Check the hunt report section and plug their name in the search bar there to see what if anything pops up

 

[BRICKBURN]

There is another thread about Kuche on here.

 

[Wheels]

First, welcome to AH.

Kuche comes to our small local hunting show. As you said, he seems like a nice guy. They have been at the show for maybe 10 years. If there were problems, there is a good chance I would have heard about it. Don't know anything about the other outfit. That's about all I can help you with.

Not trying to change your mind, but there are a number of quality outfits here on AH. If you want references, there are numerous hunting reports. If you ask questions about them you will get feedback.

All the best.

 

[CAustin]

Welcome to AH sir!
+1 to what @Wheels indicated above.

 

[Texas gator]

Me and a buddy hunted with Kuche this past August. It was a good hunt. Feel free to pm me and I'll tell you about our hunt

 

[Jeffrey Masters]

I am wondering now, and I am sure some of the outfitters here can tell me, to what extent, these animals are farmed/raised/bred for increased confirmation? Is it standard practice to purchase animals for release on these ranches? Are there outfitters that do not stock their farms? I guess what I am looking for is as close to a free range situation as possible, and not shooting farmed animals, equivalent to cattle.
I can tell from the many videos that I have watched that the animals on some ranches are downright tame, as if they were being fed. I just wonder if there is some way to know this before choosing an outfitter?

Thanks all!
Texas Gator, I will PM you shortly.

Jeff

 

[billc]

More then likely most farms have added animals at some point. The goal for most is to have the animals breed and sustain themselves long term. There is some who stock and hunt them right away. If we add game it is bought young and will not be of hunt able size for years. Some add to bring numbers up or to change the genes on the ranch. Normally a place that stocks big animals will have to charge a higher price so you can tell by that some times.

Some well also add to bring different animals in to the area that may not be there anymore for what ever reason. Again normally they will not be hunted till they breed some. no one can go buy a kudu at auction for 2500 and sell it for 2000 unless they get some other benefit from it before taking it.

 

[TomC]

Hello Jeff, I hunted with Koos and Kuche in July 2015 with my wife, two sons and a good friend, everything was a first class experience from the start to finish. His family and staff became not just friends but family. Four of us hunted, and we took a total of twenty nine trophies including a cape buffalo and sable. He handled everything including taxidermy. I am booked with him again for May of 2018. Please pm and I will answer any questions by email or phone, you won't go wrong with Koos.

 

[TomC]

Sorry everyone, I don't know what happened here or how to fix it

 

[Wheels]

Sorry everyone, I don't know what happened here or how to fix it

In the morning you may be challenging Brickburn for number of posts. Technology.......

 

[RogerHeintzman]

Hi Jeff,
I have hunted with Molopo Kalahari Safaris, Rudolph Graupner. A client of mine has hunted several times with them and will be hunting with them again this March. Very good outfit and high quality animals.
PM me and I can fill you in.

 

[DE KLERK SAFARIS]

Hi Jeff
I know both guys and both are excellent.
You cannot go wrong with either one of them.
Rudolph operates not too far away from me (about 20 miles) and Koos in another area.
Both of them have brought their clients to us in the past for species that they do not have and if I have to book a hunt for myself I will pick either one of them.
Pick the PH whose personality you like the best because you are going to spend many hours with him in the bush.
Another option is to book 5 days with the one and then back to back 5 days with the other one ;-)
Sincerely
Hans de Klerk

 

[enysse]

Molopo Kalahari Safaris, Rudolph Graupner, I use to work with him, when I set up shows for SCI. Very professional, every person that I know that hunted with him, had great hunt.

 

[Jeffrey Masters]

Thanks everyone for the information.
Sorry for the delay in posting, work has been crazy for the last few weeks.
We have decided to go with Kuche.
I got a really good feeling about him when we talked at Harrisburg, and several of you have backed that up.

Any other advise concerning the trip is certainly appreciated.

Thank you again, and I will post about the hunt when we return next year.

Jeff

 

[BRICKBURN]

Have fun.

 

[TomC]

Thanks everyone for the information.
Sorry for the delay in posting, work has been crazy for the last few weeks.
We have decided to go with Kuche.
I got a really good feeling about him when we talked at Harrisburg, and several of you have backed that up.

Any other advise concerning the trip is certainly appreciated.

Thank you again, and I will post about the hunt when we return next year.

Jeff

Hello Jeff, as I stated in my previous post, you won't go wrong with Koos, If you have any questions or concerns I am more than happy to to talk to you, just message me and I'll send my numbers. Tom Clancy

 

[vancewalker007]

I am wondering now, and I am sure some of the outfitters here can tell me, to what extent, these animals are farmed/raised/bred for increased confirmation? Is it standard practice to purchase animals for release on these ranches? Are there outfitters that do not stock their farms? I guess what I am looking for is as close to a free range situation as possible, and not shooting farmed animals, equivalent to cattle.
I can tell from the many videos that I have watched that the animals on some ranches are downright tame, as if they were being fed. I just wonder if there is some way to know this before choosing an outfitter?

Thanks all!
Texas Gator, I will PM you shortly.

Jeff

A few items that are odd and hard to get info on...

Almost all of the game in South Africa is game ranched. This doesn't mean they are raised like cattle. Ask about the size of the ranches where you would be hunting. The bigger the better. A lot of the larger antelope can go over the various fences. So even though there are fences it doesn't mean the animals are particularly trapped in. The small guys like steinbucks and wart hogs go under the fences. If you are looking for 100 % free range look at places in the KZN or Namibia. Remember most of Namibia is very dry desert so not all animals are available there because they cannot survive the desert. In the RSA the game ranches are required to at least have a perimeter fence as they can be held responsible for damage done by a critter they own, like a car accident.

On the hunt get the PH to hunt the way you want to. We do not shoot from the truck and I don't reallly like sitting in blinds. So, we hunted almost exclusively on foot and had lots of cool experiences in the bush. Note, some critters there are hard to find on foot like wart hogs. They are easiest taken from a blind on water. We tried a lot of different styles of hunting there try to be open to things. It adds to your experiences.

Practice shooting off sticks standing up. It's harder than it seems so practice a lot. We are western hunters and used to very long shots so we run bipods and we did in Africa as well. The bipods paid off several times on long shots.

Use a meet and great service to deal with the rifle permits. Best money you'll spend on the trip.

Don't forget to factor in getting your trophies home. It's a complicated process and I always use my local African savvy taxidermist to help on the US side import issues. It can run 300-400 per trophy to get through the process, dip, pack, ship to US import port of entry, trophy broker fees, and shipping to your location.

Use some sort of bug repellant on your clothes that will last through washings.

Check out the skinning shed, very interesting.

If I think of something else I'll post it.

 

[Kududreamer]

My brother and I are planning a plains game hunt to South Africa, or Namibia, for spring or fall of 2018. We have both spent countless hours online, researching different Outfitters, and we just spent a weekend in Harrisburg, talking to every African outfitter there.
There were a few that stood out, mainly because they didn't seem to feed us a line of crap.
Kuche was the one we settled on, for many reasons, but 1st was talking to the owner and PH, and have him answer every question was a vast improvement over watching a promo video online. Koos, owner of Kuche was very straightforward, and seemed to be honest and sincere. His prices were competitive and he talked us through the entire safari, and wrote out a detailed list/contract for us to decided on.
There were a few others that we ruled out because of various reasons, mostly because of high pressure sales, or high prices.
The only other outfitter that we really liked was Molopo Kalahari safaris. I would put him on the same level as Kuche.
Can anyone tell us about their experiences with either of these Outfitters?
Good bad ugly, it will all be helpful.
My chief concern that I hunt with an outfit that is ethical, and and honest, and does not provide a canned hunt.
Spot and stalk is the only real way we would like to hunt, and I would hate to think that we were hunting animals that were brought in from other ranches, or bred in captivity. So, can anyone tell me their story about either of these outfitters, or their operations? We are so excited about going, and we really want this to be the hunt of a lifetime. Thanks for any help that you can give us!