To hunt Hippo or not?

[johnnyblues]

Hey everyone, As a lot of folks know I have a buffalo/hippo hunt booked with Marius. I'm toying with the idea of not hunting the hippo and adding 5/6 plains game to the hunt. On the wish list is black wildebeest, bushbuck, waterbuck, springbuck, klippy, val rhebok. Marius suggested I put it out to the forum for opinions.

 

[LivingTheDream]

@johnnyblues how does this change your taxidermy bill? If you can hunt those and it frees up funds to hunt in 2018. I would lean towards the plains game. If everything is equal, I am probably going to lean towards the Hippo.

 

[cpr0312]

Wow John, tough call there. Some soul-searching must take place..lol. i guess you have to figure what you want more right now. The additional plains game does sound like a blast, but do you intend to go back for more PG in the future, or pursue more and more DG? Again tough call but if you are planning on hunting more in africa in the future, i would do the hippo now with just a few PG

 

[johnnyblues]

Mike, it really doesn't effect the "taxidermy" bill so to speak. I guess it's a matter of what do I really want to hunt. Just not sure which direction to go. If I do the hippo hunt budget wise I can only hunt 2-3 plains game. Not sure what to do..

 

[johnnyblues]

Th

Wow John, tough call there. Some soul-searching must take place..lol. i guess you have to figure what you want more right now. The additional plains game does sound like a blast, but do you intend to go back for more PG in the future, or pursue more and more DG? Again tough call but if you are planning on hunting more in africa in the future, i would do the hippo now with just a few PG

That's the problem Charlie, not sure what the future holds. 2019 if my guy gets the leopard tag and we can still import then Im there.

 

[Bsto270]

Just my $0.02 for what they are worth, but with increasing hostility towards "trophy hunting" growing despite political shifts here in the US, I can't help but feel it would be worth going after as many of the DG species that people think are "cute" , "iconic" etc. while you still can. I cannot believe how many people whom I have told I am going to Africa to hunt immediately respond with "You aren't going to hunt lion, elephant, etc. are you?" and when I tell them "No just a few different antelope species", their attitude goes to "Oh that's okay". If I had the money to hunt some of those DG species right now, I would do it, because you never can tell what will happen in the next election, any if any other import bans are going to be put in place for "our own good".

 

[johnnyblues]

Just my $0.02 for what they are worth, but with increasing hostility towards "trophy hunting" growing despite political shifts here in the US, I can't help but feel it would be worth going after as many of the DG species that people think are "cute" , "iconic" etc. while you still can. I cannot believe how many people whom I have told I am going to Africa to hunt immediately respond with "You aren't going to hunt lion, elephant, etc. are you?" and when I tell them "No just a few different antelope species", their attitude goes to "Oh that's okay". If I had the money to hunt some of those DG species right now, I would do it, because you never can tell what will happen in the next election, any if any other import bans are going to be put in place for "our own good".

Thanks for your opinion. Good points

 

[LivingTheDream]

@btso270 good points! I have pretty much had laser focus on DG for that reason.

 

[siml]

Johnny, if it's on a large river, hippo hunting is as about exciting as things can get. But if it's just out of a dam, I would opt for the other species.

 

[Shootist43]

For some reason I thought you already had taken most of the plains game animals. If so, are you looking for better specimens? Does "switching gears" mean that you would have to buy another rifle? Speaking for myself I'd rather display PG trophies over that of a Hippo.

 

[Upton O. Good]

My thoughts: four of your six plains game species require different habitat and different hunting techniques. That was what made Africa so much fun was the variety and the different strategies needed to take the animals.

It's your hunt, so what has the most meaning for you? What a great dilemma to have!

Good luck!

 

[Royal27]

Some soul-searching must take place..lol.

This!

Such a personal decision and no wrong answer. I hunted hippo on the Zambezi and I'm glad I did it. I did however; shoot it in the water and that was rather anti-climatic, but the process itself was lots of fun. I wouldn't hunt hippo again in that manner, unless someone let me do it for free. Now crop raider on land and especially at night? Heck ya!!!

I do personally like the "less common" and that intrigued me about hippo and some of the little critters too, but again, that's just me personally. So that influences my decisions. I will say that out of your list though Vaalie is one that I'd do again and again and again!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Johnny, if it's on a large river, hippo hunting is as about exciting as things can get. But if it's just out of a dam, I would opt for the other species.

FWIW
The only reason a Hippo came up on my personal radar was my bride being interested in the skull.
The hunting consideration for me is also, as Simon noted.

Vaalies or Hippo, hmmm. ( I've hunted Vaalies twice and once with a Bow.)

 

[johnnyblues]

FWIW
The only reason a Hippo came up on my personal radar was my bride being interested in the skull.
The hunting consideration for me is also, as Simon noted.

Vaalies or Hippo, hmmm. ( I've hunted Vaalies twice and once with a Bow.)
View attachment 174078 View attachment 174079 View attachment 174080

Hey Wayne, my hippo hunt is to be a night on land. I love you stalking mountain pictures. I'm screwed. Lol. Decisions!

 

[johnnyblues]

Johnny, if it's on a large river, hippo hunting is as about exciting as things can get. But if it's just out of a dam, I would opt for the other species.

Hunting in Limpopo. Not sure of the set up. Help please. Lol

 

[johnnyblues]

For some reason I thought you already had taken most of the plains game animals. If so, are you looking for better specimens? Does "switching gears" mean that you would have to buy another rifle? Speaking for myself I'd rather display PG trophies over that of a Hippo.

I do have some plains game but certainly not enough! I love the thought of vallie and klippy I have to admit. . No other rifle needed. Going there with my 375 and 270wsm.

 

[rookhawk]

Hippo is a lot like giraffe:

40% of the time is figuring out how to hunt one in a retrievable location.

60% of the time is extracting and butchering the animal.

If you want to burn up at least half a day watching the butchering, go for it. Great news is that while giraffe was tough and gamey....terrible actually, the hippo is usually delicious.

Then there is hippo ivory: inherently unstable and prone to shattering as it dries over time.

I'd personally go with the plains game in lieu of the hippo.

 

[johnnyblues]

Hippo is a lot like giraffe:

40% of the time is figuring out how to hunt one in a retrievable location.

60% of the time is extracting and butchering the animal.

If you want to burn up at least half a day watching the butchering, go for it. Great news is that while giraffe was tough and gamey....terrible actually, the hippo is usually delicious.

Then there is hippo ivory: inherently unstable and prone to shattering as it dries over time.

I'd personally go with the plains game in lieu of the hippo.

Well I'll be 60 this year so I assume the ivory will outlast me. Really tuff decision.

 

[Bsto270]

Not that this helps, but I imagine hunting a hippo at night on land would be one seriously interesting experience.

 

[dobber]

If you are doing it for the love of the hunt why not do the hippo and ask about some cull animals