I am thinking of a doing a hunt in Africa. If anyone has been and could point me in the right direction as far as where to hunt and any good outfitters I would really appreciate it. It’s kind of overwhelming trying to decide there is so much out there.

Ducks Unlimited always auctions an Africa hunt. Usually go for less than sticker price. Remember they have hefty trophy fees!

I asked the same a while back..

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2819096/Africa_questions

You should make an attempt to attend the Dallas Safari Club convention this weekend at the convention center. Most of the major African outfitters are there and it's a great venue to gather info and kick tires.

Regards,
Scott

The Dallas Safari Club show is going on this weekend. Lots of African outfitters there. Might be worth your time to go and talk with them.

Thanks Lazyman.

I am leaving for Zimbabwe in a few months. This will be my first time going to Africa. I chose Impala Safaris (impala safaris.com) this place came highly recommended by many in the Austin and San Antonio SCI chapters. 7 days/up to 10 animals $3995. Let me know if you want more info?

Jake I sure hoped u looked into your taxidermy cost. My dads taxidermy bill alone was a lot more than his hunt.

Look at stein / caracal safaris

Omujeve Safaris in Namibia is top notch. As far as beginners go, Namibia is a good cheap place that is safe, and offers the simple plains game animals that most beginners want. If you go back into my old posts you can see my 7 day extensive write up of my trip last august, and that might give you an idea of what to expect. I'm headed back next year, and I hope you will be headed there soon!

Oh yea, looked at all the costs. Most likely I won't get all 10 animals, but I know total costs add up fast. As it sits my taxi work will be about 2.5 -3 times cost of trip.

The key is how many animals you can fit in each crate. My dad shot two gemsbok, sable, cape,eland, hartebeest wildabeast, diker,nyala kudu and a bongo, warthog and a diker and a couple other things I don't remember. Took him either 4-5 crates but I think 4.

What pricerange are you looking for? Also what guns do you have/are planning to take? capt david

I booked a capebuff/sable hunt through adam clements safarit thursday. I used a booking agent for a lot of different reasons. That might be a good place to start. Those guys know a lot about the various others, as well as the pros and cons that each area offers.

Also remember to have your taxidermist lined out before you leave. Your taxidermist will make you the necessary tags for your trophies and the info on them on where the animals will clear port and be transferred to after clearance. This way you won't have to worry about that part of the hunt and what happens to your animals. Smooth sailing.

Some good advice so far. You need to decide what you want to hunt and then what country has these animals. You can go with a package hunt, or you can go with a daily rate and then pay trophy fees for what you shoot. There are several good outfits in South Africa and Namibia that have four to five animal packages with air fares built in for around $6,500. Most of these will offer to let you shoot additional animals for the price of the trophy fee.

Yes, preping the capes and shipping can be a bit pricey but well worth the cost. One thing to remember is that you don't have to pay it up front. Usually within a month or two after you get home the taxidermist from over there will contact you with a price for his or her service. At that time you would be expected to place a deposit on their work. You can figure about $100 to $150 per animal plus another $100 or so for the vetenary certificate.

When the taxidermist completes the job you will have to pay the other half, 3 months to a year. The taxidermist then forwards it to a shipper and they will contact you with their fee. I have paid as little as $6oo and as much as $1,700. It depends on the size and weight of the crate.

Once it arrives in the States it has to be cleared through a variety of government agencies. If you live close to a port of entry you can do this yourself. If not Coppersmith in Dallas does a good job... for a fee. I have paid them from $200 to $600, again, depending on the size of the shippment.

When your trophees are cleared they will be salted and dried so you don't have to rush them to a taxidermist. Keep them clean and dry and you can have them mounted as you get the money to do so. The skulls will be boiled and clean so you can display them immediately upon receiving them.

Using a hunting consultant is a good idea on your first safari and here are three good ones:
Scott Steinkruger
Hunting consultants Unlimited
Scott is out of Amarillo and I have used him several times.

Wendell Reich
Trophy Quest International
Wendell is out of Dallas and I have booked one of my best hunts ever with him.

Wade Derby
Cross Hair Consulting
Wade is out of California and has some great hunts through his agency.

Some outfits I personally recomend:

Ingwe Safaris South Africa

Harloo Safaris South Africa (Great fishing too)

Makalaan Safaris Namibia

Who ever you choose check their references, if they are not positively gushing about all aspects of the hunt look somewhere else. And don't call just one or two, if they give you a dozen names call all of them. There are to many great outfits to hunt with a mediocre one.

My take on the difference between South africa and Namibia is that the South African hunts generaly have a little nicer lodging, more variety of animals,and tend to worry more about the care and comfort of their hunters.

Namibia is generaly more of a pure hunting destination without all of the luxuries. Trophy quality seems to be better in Namibia on certain species though. The cities in Namibia are nicer and safer than South Africa for the most part. Namibia still has some wild places and I am returning there myself soon.

These are generalities but most of the folks that have hunted both agree with me. If you want a pure hunting destination Namibia may be for you. If your taking your wife and want all of the comforts of home and more, you might choose South Africa.

you could also hunt in zimbabwe and not have to hunt behind fences.

I have nothing against hi fences, but that is why I picked Zimbabwe. Namibia and South Africa are great places from what I have heard, I just wanted open land. The area I will be at is 500,000acres called Bubiana Conservancy.

Ship your capes and horns back here. Don't have your taxidermy done there. FYI-Lots of folks have had problems getting their animals back from Zim lately. Just saying.......

.......and there is plenty of "open land" in Namibia.

My opinions....not interested in debating, just trying to help for what it is worth.

Best of luck.

Note on what Jaustin said above. Unless the hunter has a USDA license the hides and horns will not be releaased to him/her. Only a licensed USDA facility can receive the shipment. Go through a broker like WEll Logistics in Houston or Coppershmith in Dallas. Talk to your taxidermist prior to the hunt for the proper tags. I agree with Bob, don't leave anything over there to be mounted. You have absolutely no control over what happens to your animals and the export costs to have the mounts shipped to you will cost you a fortune. If they get damaged during shipping you will have no recourse either.

It depends upon the country. If you're in Zim you're a fool to have it done there. Namibia is very different and the bigger places are absolutely awesome, in the same class as Brush Country or Conroe Taxidermy. HOWEVER on a first trip it probably pays to go with someone here. I'm sure you provide the tags and contact information that the outfitter needs. It's nice to have a packet with everything ready.

Another vote for having hte taxidermy done here states sides.

Have fun on the hunt!

WOW some great advice so far. Thanks to all who posted and the PMs.lot of great leads. A couple of other quick questions. A couple of the outfitters I have looked into offer pretty good dicounts for a February or March hunt. Is the hunting not as good or will it just be hot since it will be late summer/early fall? Should I bring my beloved Rem 700 in 300 Win mag or just use the outfitters guns? Alot of stuff I read indicates its a hassle to bring the guns in and others say its no problem at all.

My FIL brought his own guns in to Namibia and didn't have a problem. Be careful though, the guides liked the guns to be decocked and safety off and my FIL didn't realize one of his guns can't be safe like this an had a ND. I don't know much about guns so sorry if I didn't describe the process well. Hopefully someone else with more knowledge can chime in. He also had his taxidermy done state side, except he got a zebra rug done there.

Also Black-Faced Impala is illegal to bring trophies into the US. His guide told him it was OK because they were shooting them for bait for lions, etc, and it was seized by US customs. Really upset him too since it was going to be his only full body mount.

I was a split second away from shooting one last august, but decided it wouldn't be worth it. The guide and taxidermist were willing to let it be smuggled into the US, but had they found it, that would be $5,000 out the window.