Waterbuck opinion

[Moe324]

Know that my trophies are out of his hands. The outfitter was Koringkoopie safaris in Limpopo. The PH was the owner Jacques Combrinck. I just posted a review of the hunt on here. It's very long as it is the email that I will be sending to PHASA. The hunt was from a PHASA auction. I had bought a hunt from them before and had a great time. I know outfitters need you to hunt other animals to make money up, I also know adding days helps, and renting guns. I did all of that. I wasn't just there to kill one donated animal and leave. Some people will say why not hunt at on place everytime. I personally like seeing new places and meeting new people. This time that bite me in the butt. I have hunted in RSA at 5 different places and this place was nothing like the others. I would never say all RSA outfits are bad. If you look in my hunt reports you will see I did get a nice waterbuck in the Eastern Cape and had a great hunt there. With a excellent PH. Last year I hunted Limpopo with a PH by the name of Hein Lottering and had a great hunt. I just hope I can save someone else from going to Koringkoopie and dealing with a PH that doesn't want to do his job.

 

[Moe324]

The waterbuck was the last straw, shooting a giraffe I wounded without any communication and then ruining the hide and skull was also a major blow. It's all in the report. But I know it's long and some won't read it all.

 

[Moe324]

 

[revturbo9967]

I appreciate the correction. A 10 day course (not 7) and 3 years at 21 days documented hunting per year is the easiest barrier to entry in Africa. Then 60 days documented hunting dangerous game to qualify for DG license. It’s a system designed to generate numbers. I do view the country as part of the problem because many of the “flim flam” hunts that get marketed in other countries listed are a product of this system. It’s easier to imitate being a professional in some areas than others. There is an eagerness on this forum to only say positive things about South Africa when there are a lot of negatives as well. The point of my post was your second to last line.

I would challenge you to point out a single area where “wild buffalo” are herded like Herefords by cattle boys. Even in South Africa, I would not expect to see an ear tagged buffalo in a breeding pen treated with that level of predictability.

Kevin Robertson, whom many on this forum label his writings as gospel, said the SA ph testing is a joke. Not that I have much knowledge on this subject but when one country requires years, and others require weeks to qualify, that raises an eyebrow.

 

[Kharn]

View attachment 624720

I will not even consider ANY outfitter to hunt within Africa that is NOT sponsored on this website.
Even though I have never hunted Africa.

 

[Creigh]

I will not even consider ANY outfitter to hunt within Africa that is NOT sponsored on this website.
Even though I have never hunted Africa.

Is there a list on this site of the best hunting experiences/locations in Africa/South Africa? I assume most of it is word of mouth.

 

[Creigh]

Sorry for your bad experience. I recently took a waterbuck in South Africa on the Manketti Reserve with Quagga Safaris, back in June. The attached shows what a mature bull should look like.

The Manketti Reserve is about 56,000 acres, so there were was a ton of room to roam and we saw an insane number of waterbuck there (they could sense that I didn't want to hunt them and/or I have some inherent musk that attracts waterbucks). It got to the point where the PH identified this one and begged me to remove it from its mortal coils at the end of the day (I also suspect he was tired of saying "waterbuck!" and me saying "nah"). At this stage, I figured the hunting gods were compelling me to hunt waterbuck, so I finally relented and we got this guy after a short stalk. And that's how I got "Sundowner."

View attachment 624619

Wonderful buck.

I've got a skin getting processed. Should be ready in a few months. The meat is excellent too, freezer is half empty, I'm going to have to go back out there soon.

 

[Kharn]

Is there a list on this site of the best hunting experiences/locations in Africa/South Africa? I assume most of it is word of mouth.

To the right of this and I think every forum post is a vertical bar with a list 'Proudly Sponsored By', that too me is the best place too start.

 

[revturbo9967]

I will not even consider ANY outfitter to hunt within Africa that is NOT sponsored on this website.
Even though I have never hunted Africa.

Some of the best operations in Africa are not on this site, and that’s not a jab at any sponsors. The point everyone has made is do your research and ask questions. Talk to as many references as possible. Also never shop a hunt with cheapest prices in mind.

 

[enysse]

I’ll agree with Marius, not every waterbuck grows to true trophy potential. I would have passed on him for sure.

Like others have mentioned, especially in this economy, you got to be careful of who you hunt with and where you are hunting. I know I’m a lot more selective right now. I’d rather be at home than dealing with an outfitter that wasn’t honest. If this means I hunt less so be it. The real quality outfitters there have a long line of success but even then the weather may not cooperate, poaching activities or farming activities mess things up.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I will not even consider ANY outfitter to hunt within Africa that is NOT sponsored on this website.
Even though I have never hunted Africa.

While I think you’re safely avoiding most issues, I believe individual experiences can vary.

There are some great outfitters who aren’t forum sponsors, some awesome outfitters who don’t go to shows, don’t have websites, or who don’t advertise. There are some others which are the complete inverse and almost household names because you’ll see them all over online, social media, or with certain rich/famous hunters hunting with them.

IMO what makes a successful safari is your expectations as a hunter, how you communicate them to your outfitter, their ability to meet them, and your ability to ask the right questions to fully unpack what they’re about.

 

[Doubleplay]

I will not even consider ANY outfitter to hunt within Africa that is NOT sponsored on this website.
Even though I have never hunted Africa.

Then you would be missing a lot of outfitters.
Last month in Zim I hunted with one of the most respected PH’s in whole Africa who culled over a thousand elephants and countless other dangerous game an has a book written. He didn’t even know this forum existed and I told him about it.

 

[.300RUM]

Hate ya had a sour experience, and though your Waterbuck is not in that trophy realm, it is somewhat unusual and some folks have an eye for that. Our first hunt was last year in the Thabazimbi area, high fence farm with a good mixture of open plains and bush. Had an amazing PH, took time to discuss the animals I was after and took the time to explain what to look for in a mature animal, even animals that were not on my list.

This is what I harvested, thinking he was in that 30 to 31 inch range, can't remember and it has been a year since I last saw it. Though my facial expression is lacking, I was happy as could be. One would think, looking at the faces, that my PH was more excited than I.

In the end, sounds like y'all got caught up in the moment, you wanted a Waterbuck with no trophy expectations and he put ya on one. It's up to you to decide if you want to pull the trigger or not.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Hate ya had a sour experience, and though your Waterbuck is not in that trophy realm, it is somewhat unusual and some folks have an eye for that. Our first hunt was last year in the Thabazimbi area, high fence farm with a good mixture of open plains and bush. Had an amazing PH, took time to discuss the animals I was after and took the time to explain what to look for in a mature animal, even animals that were not on my list.

This is what I harvested, thinking he was in that 30 to 31 inch range, can't remember and it has been a year since I last saw it. Though my facial expression is lacking, I was happy as could be. One would think, looking at the faces, that my PH was more excited than I.

In the end, sounds like y'all got caught up in the moment, you wanted a Waterbuck with no trophy expectations and he put ya on one. It's up to you to decide if you want to pull the trigger or not.

View attachment 624829View attachment 624830

My PH's wife once asked me why I'm not smiling in the posed photos. "One of God's beautiful creations has just died. Should I be overjoyed about that?"

 

[LP67]

You buy a 5 day all inclusive for 2 to the Bahamas for the bargain price of only $500 and is " shocked" when your trip sucked. You been to the Bahamas 4 times before but THIS time you you choose to roll the dice, not very smart from you , putting the hunt and outfit aside

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

You buy a 5 day all inclusive for 2 to the Bahamas for the bargain price of only $500 and is " shocked" when your trip sucked. You been to the Bahamas 4 times before but THIS time you you choose to roll the dice, not very smart from you , putting the hunt and outfit aside

Are you suggesting that if one buys an auction hunt from PHASA for a cheap price, you should expect a crappy hunt?

 

[LP67]

Are you suggesting that if one buys an auction hunt from PHASA for a cheap price, you should expect a crappy hunt?

Yes

 

[Nyati]

I agree the numbers of hunters vs bad experiences probably even out from country to country. That said, we rarely hear these stories coming out of places like Tanzania and some other destinations.

Maybe, now, just maybe.....if you spend a lot of money in a supposedly magnificent hunt in Tanzania, and well... it doesn´t turn out to be that great, you will not post about it...just saying !

On the other hand it´s just statistics, how many hunts are done in RSA against other countries ?

 

[LP67]

Yes

Are you suggesting that if one buys an auction hunt from PHASA for a cheap price, you should expect a crappy hunt?

Its not not the first and wont be the last, any auction hunt, from Dallas to Phasa has a great deal of risk, been like this for years

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Yes

That seems a two way street. Personally I've never bought an auction hunt, not sure I ever will. But the OP added days and other animals to make it a bit more worthwhile for the outfitter and help make it less than a total loss. Not sure he deserved a crap hunt.