Why you should consider hunting dangerous game in South Africa

[HeinrichH]

Hello all

Something that has been on my mind for a while, and thought it would be a great topic to discuss between the AH members, is the fact that its made to believe by some that hunting dangerous game in South Africa is hunting tame animals and not real hunting, and I personally think its something to be rectified, as SA makes out a great deal of the hunts in Africa and the efforts towards conservation through hunting.

I have guided in Zambia, Botswana, and grew up in SA, hunting it, untill today still.

We have some of the best oufitters in our industry from SA, running great operations and hunting areas, ranging from free range/unfenced big game hunting to fenced/reserves big game hunting, which both holds there benefits to provide a great hunting experience!

Also things like, no hassles to get trophies out, availability of permits & quotas from highly populated and well managed areas, the fact that ivory can still be exported to the USA, no extra government or gun fees, and so the list goes on.

Booking a hunt with a reputable outfit in SA is well worth every dollar spent!

Hunting Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe etcetera, is fantastic no doubt! But I believe that SA is sometimes overlooked, which can also provide great safaris at very good rates as well, to add that to the discussion.

I guess it all comes down to personal preference and booking with reputable outfits, then there would be no chance of disappointment.

I would like to hear from the AH members their thaughts and opinions on this topic?

Looking forward to your responses.

Happy hunting

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

I'm interested in any informed replies too, since I'm now weighing the option of a hunt in SA versus Zimbabwe or elsewhere. Someone is offering a supposedly wild buffalo hunt on a property adjacent to Krueger Park, and I'm wondering if the buffalo are half-tame or something.

Also, and although I may be wandering a bit off topic, I was told the sable in that country are raised by humans, inoculated, and are all accustomed to humans to at least some degree.

 

[kathy]

Just because a animal is in Krueger Park doesn't mean you can go up and pet them. they are wild animal's .
you can only get out of your vehicle in certain places. Forrest

 

[ChasingHemingway]

Hello all

Something that has been on my mind for a while, and thought it would be a great topic to discuss between the AH members, is the fact that its made to believe by some that hunting dangerous game in South Africa is hunting tame animals and not real hunting, and I personally think its something to be rectified, as SA makes out a great deal of the hunts in Africa and the efforts towards conservation through hunting.

I have guided in Zambia, Botswana, and grew up in SA, hunting it, untill today still.

We have some of the best oufitters in our industry from SA, running great operations and hunting areas, ranging from free range/unfenced big game hunting to fenced/reserves big game hunting, which both holds there benefits to provide a great hunting experience!

Also things like, no hassles to get trophies out, availability of permits & quotas from highly populated and well managed areas, the fact that ivory can still be exported to the USA, no extra government or gun fees, and so the list goes on.

Booking a hunt with a reputable outfit in SA is well worth every dollar spent!

Hunting Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe etcetera, is fantastic no doubt! But I believe that SA is sometimes overlooked, which can also provide great safaris at very good rates as well, to add that to the discussion.

I guess it all comes down to personal preference and booking with reputable outfits, then there would be no chance of disappointment.

I would like to hear from the AH members their thaughts and opinions on this topic?

Looking forward to your responses.

Happy hunting
View attachment 48058

Heinrich,

Thought you might enjoy this pic of us hunting together with John Henry Keyser and Piet just before I took my first buff! I will never forget this hunt in the Umubat: great experience and thought this photo says it all. It is my favourite pic - have not talked to you since we last celebrated this hunt a little over years ago. Coming back in 2016.

 

[ChasingHemingway]

Actually just found a pic of my buff on your website.

 

[HeinrichH]

Roland yes there are pretty wild areas adjacent to kruger to hunt, we also have areas like these. Whom are you thinking of hunting with, some of the AH members might know the area. But these areas still have wild buffalo yes, and very good hunts!

@dtarin09 so nice to hear from you! Yes the pictures tell a nice story, we had fun together and you took a outstanding buffalo! Have you received your trophy yet?

 

[CAustin]

I'm interested in any informed replies too, since I'm now weighing the option of a hunt in SA versus Zimbabwe or elsewhere. Someone is offering a supposedly wild buffalo hunt on a property adjacent to Krueger Park, and I'm wondering if the buffalo are half-tame or something.

Also, and although I may be wandering a bit off topic, I was told the sable in that country are raised by humans, inoculated, and are all accustomed to humans to at least some degree.

Roland I have hunted South Africa three times having now just completed an Elephant hunt near Kruger Park. I can tell you my Elephant was no pet and he was very much in the wild and free range. While on this hunt I saw many free range buffalo and lion.

What you must do is vet out the outfitter to determine if the hunt you are booking is what you want.

I must also tell you that when you hunt an animal in a 20,000 acre farm you may only see fence when you enter. Some of those places are vast and if you are not in shape and ready to walk miles a day you may not get what you are after.

South Africa is a great place to hunt. I highly recommend the experience.

 

[Velo Dog]

The old dog originally set out to hunt several countries in Africa before croaking.
However, after one safari to Namibia (one of the very best hunting destinations in the world), and one to South Africa (likewise one of the very best), I have returned to South Africa two more times, including once for buffalo.
The reason ? - the PH makes all the difference.
I'd still like to try more countries (including Namibia again) and I probably will but my 3 times to SA were so rewarding that it kept me going back for more.
The buffalo I took (in my avatar) was on a 100,000 acre concession only separated from the Kruger Park by the Olifants River (small stream in hunting season / dry season), not a fence.
To the north, there were similar sized private holdings but not fenced between them.
Closest fence to the north was at Zimbabwe.
There was a fence along the nearest road (to the west) but it was nowhere near where I was hunting (a hundred thousand acres is much larger to experience in person than it is to talk about).
Some folks like to infer that SA is somehow inferior to some other countries for DG hunting particularly, but as far as my stupid hillbilly surfer dude ass could tell, I hunted that buffalo in bush Africa.
Choose your Ph / Safari Company wisely and whatever country (all of them have good and bad PHs) and your happiness will be your reward.

 

[Hank2211]

I'm interested in any informed replies too, since I'm now weighing the option of a hunt in SA versus Zimbabwe or elsewhere. Someone is offering a supposedly wild buffalo hunt on a property adjacent to Krueger Park, and I'm wondering if the buffalo are half-tame or something.

Also, and although I may be wandering a bit off topic, I was told the sable in that country are raised by humans, inoculated, and are all accustomed to humans to at least some degree.

Can someone help me? What exactly is a "wild Buffalo" and how does it differ from, I guess, a tame one?

I've hunted Cape Buffalo in both South Africa and Zimbabwe, multiple times in each place. I've never noticed a difference in how the Buffalo behaved.

 

[sandman0921]

I'll be totally honest, having never hunted Africa before, I ignorantly had the same impression before I really started digging into the specifics of hunting in South Africa. I realize now, it all depends on what you're looking for as far as experience. Certainly, when it comes time to get serious about my first dangerous game hunt, which probably will be Cape Buffalo, I will give South Africa all due consideration. I likely will only get to hunt 3 of the 5 "Big 5" in my life (Cape Buffalo, Leopard, and Elephant), and possibly Lion if the stars align, but unlikely. Nonetheless, I will certainly look to SA as a destination, especially for elephant as it, along with Namibia, are currently the only place ivory trophies can be exported.

 

[peras]

The areas adjacent to Kruger makes for excellent hunting. Be prepared to work hard. South Africa in my opinion offers a wonderfull big 5 experience.

 

[ActionBob]

Hunting Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe etcetera, is fantastic no doubt! But I believe that SA is sometimes overlooked, which can also provide great safaris at very good rates as well, to add that to the discussion.

I guess it all comes down to personal preference and booking with reputable outfits, then there would be no chance of disappointment.

I would like to hear from the AH members their thaughts and opinions on this topic?

Wow Heinrich, this is quiet a post and topic. Just how much do you really want to delve into this? Your post starts out almost like an advertisement, or a PR statement (nothing wrong with that)... You are correct in everything you say about the ease of most everything in RSA, especially compared to many other places... RSA has a lot of good infrastructure and is filled with a lot of good businessmen.

You are also correct in that it is often assumed that hunting, especially DG hunting, in South Africa is often thought of as being different and perhaps somehow a lesser experience than it can be in other counties.... From my limited experience of being on one hunt in Zimbabwe and 3 in RSA. And doing a lot of research and talking to guys who have done both.. I have to agree with that assessment. It can be great in RSA, but it is most of the time "different". You are spot on when you say "I guess it all comes down to personal preference..."

When I think of real bucket list type hunts that I want to do, RSA does not come up. I dream of going to Tanzania out into the Selous and up to the Masailand, and back to Zimbabwe. I'm also very intrigued by many other places such as Mozambique and Zambia, and West Africa... Even the mountains of Ethiopia... Will I go back and hunt RSA more, most assuredly yes. And probably Namibia as well. But will it ever be a real bucket list thing... No I don't think it can be to me.

However that is not to say it is not perfect for many others.

Heinrich I could try to elaborate much more but it is difficult to put into type... And you should be careful of what you ask.

 

[Royal27]

I was going to post in this thread, then I wasn't, and now I decided to again.

First, I want to start off by saying my DG experience is exactly one hunt with two animals and that I've hunted in Africa twice with three total trips to Africa. Point being, my experience is limited, but I still certainly have an opinion.

Hunting DG, to me, is all about the experience. I'm not just trying to put a notch in my belt. I want the experience. I took the buff in my avatar on day eight, which was about right for me (twelve total day hunt). We saw a nice bull on the afternoon of day one, but he ended up being a bit too young. I was releieved. I didn't want the experience to be over. I had come to hunt buffalo, not to shoot one. Now don't take me wrong. If my PH had told ne to shoot pn day one I would have, but I'm glad it didn't work out that way.

e have some of the best oufitters in our industry from SA, running great operations and hunting areas, ranging from free range/unfenced big game hunting to fenced/reserves big game hunting, which both holds there benefits to provide a great hunting experience!

Also things like, no hassles to get trophies out, availability of permits & quotas from highly populated and well managed areas, the fact that ivory can still be exported to the USA, no extra government or gun fees, and so the list goes on.

Much of what you list here is the reason that everything else being equal (meaning $$$ in my case) I don't want to hunt DG in SA. I'm not opposed to fences, nor highly populated areas, but both for me take away from a DG hunt (back to the experience I want). I don't want to look over a bunch of buffalo looking for a praticular one that is so wide, or whatever. I want to find a knarly old bull after tracking him down over days, not hours. Can this be done in SA? I'm sure in some situations it can. I think it is less likely though.

Now back to the experience. For buff, or elephant if I ever get that lucky, not only do I want them to be true free range with nothing to stop them, I want them to be out in the middle of nowhere, not just a short drive from the closest international airport. Again, this is just me and nothing against someone who does this. I'm also not saying I'd never do it, but it would never be my number one preference. I want that remote and wild experience. I also want to know that I could run inot pretty much anything around any corner - lions, leopard, buff, ele, hyena, whatever. That was a large part of the allure for me. Can you do this in a few places in SA? I think so. Is it common? Doesn't seem to be.

I've also heard fairly often and from outfitters I trust that elephant in particular are not the same in every location. Meaning that some places they are much more dangerous and likely to get nasty. I would even think that buffalo that were constantly pressured by lions would be the same way. Now don't get me wrong, I think a wounded buffalo is just as dangerous regardless of his address!

I guess what I'm saying in a long winded way is that I do think there is a difference between someplace like Zim for DG hunting and that SA wouldn't be my first choice. Now back to the money - SA is a value and allows for a shorter hunt, with more plentiful game (yes I know I'm making a very broad and general statement), and for a lesser price, compared to many places. SA is also definitely more convenient, if that is what you are looking for.

I will in all probability hunt in SA again, but it will likely be for PG and not DG, just because of what I personally like and how I want to hunt. I definitely don't hold anything against anyone who hunts DG in SA, not am I saying I'll never do it. It just won't be my forst choice.

 

[enysse]

I think RSA always offers a good value hunt. It's convenient to fly into and you can avoid those expensive charter flights.

But when I think to what I think ActionBob and probably James has mentioned in previous threads if you save your dollars you can do it all in Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe....it's just that you would have to do one big hunt.

Are they different hunts....YES. It takes courage to save that much money up or to be good in business or have a successful career. But there are days when Tanzania and Mozambique for me sound really, really enticing.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hi Royal27,

The preferences you spoke of in your above post all fit what I experienced on Maruli concession (Baruli ?), SA, including an hour flight from the big airport, in a twin prop plane, to a gravel strip "airport", then an hour ride in a bakki to overnight at the main lodge, check rifle zero, recover from jet lag, etc.

Up before light to ride a couple hours to where my buffalo permit was written for.
Lion and leopard tracks commonly present, grumpy elephants we had to back away from, etc.
Land owner warned us the local Kruger buffaloes are not accustomed to people and so will treat us as they do lions (challenge us instead of running away.)
Long story short, it was just so when we finally closed with my bull, in other words, we were hunkered down in some brush when he instead closed with us.

Wasn't a charge but definitely walking toward us, with focus stopping to shake his mighty head now and then (I presume a gorilla would've been beating his own chest under these circumstances).
Very exciting and definitely not anyone's house pet.
Never saw other people or even any other person's shoe track while hunting there.

IMO, it's all about hiring the right safari company / PH, not so much which country that makes or breaks the hunting experience.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[Royal27]

IMO, it's all about hiring the right safari company / PH, not so much which country that makes or breaks the hunting experience.

I think there is a heck of a lot of truth to this. I also think it is about the country/area though, even if only in my mind.

And really, it all comes down to what YOU want, for YOUR hunt. As long as I'm happy with what I've chosen, who cares??? Unless Paul, i've read you wrong and you're actually overly concerned about what others think about how you do things!!! LOL!

 

[ActionBob]

Velo Dog it sounds like you found a real gem of a place! In my case hunting buffalo in RSA was loads of fun as well... But they would look and figure out what we were and turn and run. We did have lots of them looking at us. In the truck, we could drive right into the herds and look them over... But I was in no way going to shoot one from the truck... made for some great photo ops though.

In Zimbabwe, it was pure luck to get any kind of a shot at a decent buffalo.. The only criteria was that it was a mature hard bossed bull... Anything more for goals in that area were going to mean passing on the one chance to get a bull. The hunter before me left without a buffalo. There was no sure thing... In RSA, I was going to get one it was just a matter of finding "the" bull. That was a big difference. I would certainly hunt that area again and very well may... It is challenging and all, but it is not the bucket list type hunt.

Another thing about Zimbabwe I appreciated, was that there was no sliding scale pricing. A bull elephant or buffalo bull, was just that... A bull. This is the price now let's go find the best one we can... In fact it was the last hunt of the year and the outfitter had extra quota so I could have taken two, So my plan was to take the first respectable representative we found... And if we would have found something considerably better after that, I could have taken that for just another trophy fee.

On pricing, yes RSA can be lower cost because of the infrastructure and ease of getting to the camps and the lower operating costs of the camps... But for the most part, the trophy fees are higher because most of the animals are owned by someone. This is the model that has so successfully expanded numbers of critters in RSA so it works! But in the more wild places with government quota, you are really paying the outfit mostly high day fees and the trophy fees are usually lower cost.

On my last excursion to RSA, I spent 3 weeks in country, but only about 17 days hunting. And spent about 3/4th of what I could have done a Tanzania hunt for... Would have been about the same number of critters taken, but the Tanzania hunt would have included a chance to hunt leopard, hippo, croc, and 3 buffalo, as well as lion. When I say 3/4th cost... I mean based on a sale price and assuming I took all those high end critters as well as a lot of PG. So looking back now, the Tanzania hunt would have been the better deal, really just the leopard and an extra buff would have put it over the top plus then some. And it would have been a real wild hunt, not one leaving me wondering a bit.

If you go, as most people do, for a shorter time period and targeting more specific animals... That is where RSA shines as making it easily do-able.

But if you invest time and planning and save up, the real wild places are attainable... I just saw an ad for a Tanzania week long buff and PG hunt that is comparable to anything in RSA.... Just getting there is a bit more.

 

[ActionBob]

Unless Paul, i've read you wrong and you're actually overly concerned about what others think about how you do things!!! LOL!

 

[jand]

In Zimbabwe, it was pure luck to get any kind of a shot at a decent buffalo.. The only criteria was that it was a mature hard bossed bull... Anything more for goals in that area were going to mean passing on the one chance to get a bull. The hunter before me left without a buffalo. There was no sure thing...

Actionbob , these places are easy to find these days , not only in Zimbabwe. They're called "over hunted areas."

 

[ActionBob]

Actionbob , these places are easy to find these days , not only in Zimbabwe. They're called "over hunted areas."

I don't fully agree. PG was not very populous as it was a communal area and they had domestic livestock competing for the resources in the buffalo and elephant area. There was lots more PG back a few hours drive, at the main camp away from the communal area. Poaching was a much bigger concern than over hunting.

I do agree you can certainly find over hunted areas... But the place I'm talking about I don't think that was really the case for buffalo and elephant... Buffalo were there as were elephant. But it was so darn thick we could not see them until we were on top of them and they were jumped. I was standing 10 feet from a buffalo that jumped up and snorted and blew snot but all I could see was the black through a 6 inch hole in the bushes and that had my rifle barrel poked into it. It was intense. He turned and ran off after what seemed like a standoff forever, but was only seconds. It is an experience no one can take away.

We jumped groups of a dozen or so buff several time and pairs as well. Mostly 10 to 30 yards in front of us. Just about impossible to get a shot much less take time to judge them... But I sure as hell got some major buffalo experiences!

Which was what the previous hunter was trying to convey to me when we met at the end of the camp road as he was leaving and I was arriving. They only hosted one hunter at a time, although they did accommodate pairs and couples who both wanted to hunt... it was one PH at a time. The guy showed me his scars from an encounter with a leopard in that area, and told me in his Texas Drawl.. "this is the real deal here!"

I was there to hunt elephant and buffalo was secondary... But I wanted one badly as I had not hunted buff (or any DG) before.