Inquiry for Safari Company

[Red Leg]

Yes, I have seen and hunted buffalo, kudu, and sable in fenced areas (huge fenced areas). As I said, kudu and buffalo were extremely difficult. Saw plenty of sable. Not nearly as wary. Actually, not wary at all. Again, why would springbuck and eland be running at the sight of even a vehicle a half mile away and sable stand and look sixty yards off the road as we drive by? Same farm. Where I hunt in Montana I can push up a nice mule deer and he will stand and look. Whitetail buck on the same property will vanish before I can exhale. Different species act differently. My comment to PH after shooting my sable was "Well, that wasn't so hard." He said they typically aren't so tough to hunt.

I am sure that is true on his game farm. On that subject, you clearly are an expert.

 

[375Fox]

If I was going to look into a buffalo/sable hunt in Mozambique I’d consider both those companies. I’d also look into zambeze delta and mashambanzou safaris. Mokore has a good reputation too but their primary area in Mozambique isn’t known for buffalo.
For Zimbabwe, neither D&Y or HHK have any area well known for sable although they could likely organize one. Charlton McCallum safari in dande north has good sable numbers but it’s a very challenging hunt in thick brush. The matetsi units have the better sable in Zimbabwe but lions are supposedly hurting their numbers.
If you were going to look into Namibia, I’d look at the two bwabwata park concessions in Caprivi. The numbers and trophy quality are very good there.
Zambia is best known for its sable but I find the outfitting environment there less straightforward than elsewhere. There are only a few outfitters holding concessions the rest are buying quota from the concession holders and hunting multiple concessions. The kafue is known for great sable both numbers and quality but not necessarily it’s buffalo numbers like the luangwa.
I think Mozambique gives you the best option what you are looking for but I’d really look into costs of getting your trophies home. It appears considerably more than other countries and can add a lot to the cost of hunt.

 

[375Fox]

By all accounts I've read, even in the "wild" areas sable are not terribly challenging. By all accounts, they are a LOT less challenging than kudu. Interesting that the buffalo on the RSA "ranch hunts" are so spooky and smart but the sable are not. I found sable more inclined to stand and look, similar to mule deer. The habitat kudu prefer is also typically much more difficult to hunt. The challenge for sable seems to finding them. Stalk is usually not terribly difficult. Wasn't for me anyway.

This is not the first time you’ve made these comments. All accounts told you that you were wrong those times as well. I don’t find hunting a sable in South Africa generally that challenging. I’m sure there are exceptions. A sable on a game farm lightly hunted without predators and possibly bred in a commercial environment before being released is a very different sable than one that lives with lions and poachers and has to move as its food and water sources change or dry up during the year. I would not put a sable in the same challenging category as an eland but by comparison I had daily opportunity at kudu in Zimbabwe (and took two including a 56”bull) but took a week to get a trophy sable. Every area is different but a free range sable in it’s native range is a very worthy trophy.

 

[318AE]

Yes, I have seen and hunted buffalo, kudu, and sable in fenced areas (huge fenced areas). As I said, kudu and buffalo were extremely difficult. Saw plenty of sable. Not nearly as wary. Actually, not wary at all. Again, why would springbuck and eland be running at the sight of even a vehicle a half mile away and sable stand and look sixty yards off the road as we drive by? Same farm. Where I hunt in Montana I can push up a nice mule deer and he will stand and look. Whitetail buck on the same property will vanish before I can exhale. Different species act differently. My comment to PH after shooting my sable was "Well, that wasn't so hard." He said they typically aren't so tough to hunt.

I’m curious. How tame or wary was the sable, compared to the lechwe you hunted with the same outfitter and recommended on another thread?

 

[Rem280]

By all accounts I've read, even in the "wild" areas sable are not terribly challenging. By all accounts, they are a LOT less challenging than kudu. Interesting that the buffalo on the RSA "ranch hunts" are so spooky and smart but the sable are not. I found sable more inclined to stand and look, similar to mule deer. The habitat kudu prefer is also typically much more difficult to hunt. The challenge for sable seems to finding them. Stalk is usually not terribly difficult. Wasn't for me anyway.

The guy asked about Sable, not Kudu. Thanks for answering a question no one asked.

 

[Doug3006]

Drop the sable and go for buffalo-kudu combo. Buffalo are indeed a challenge to hunt. Besides being dangerous, they are smart, spooky, and know how to use the terrain. Sable are boringly easy to hunt. It may (and usually does) take days of chasing buffalo around before getting close enough for a clear shot. Find the sable and you will shoot a sable. Kudu are just as challenging as buffalo to hunt for all the same reasons (except danger) and the trophy is just as spectacular as sable. Kudu trophy fee is usually about 1/3 sable. I suspect you will find as many if not more safari operators offering you kudu/buffalo combos. Kudu are more or less free roaming whereas sable are often put and take (sable are very easily raised in pens and then dumped on the range for hunting - kudu can jump/climb over most fences).

Game ranch Sable are easy, perhaps. Not so free-range Sable in their native habitats.

 

[Doubleplay]

Drop the sable and go for buffalo-kudu combo. Buffalo are indeed a challenge to hunt. Besides being dangerous, they are smart, spooky, and know how to use the terrain. Sable are boringly easy to hunt. It may (and usually does) take days of chasing buffalo around before getting close enough for a clear shot. Find the sable and you will shoot a sable. Kudu are just as challenging as buffalo to hunt for all the same reasons (except danger) and the trophy is just as spectacular as sable. Kudu trophy fee is usually about 1/3 sable. I suspect you will find as many if not more safari operators offering you kudu/buffalo combos. Kudu are more or less free roaming whereas sable are often put and take (sable are very easily raised in pens and then dumped on the range for hunting - kudu can jump/climb over most fences).

Apples and Oranges.
I've witnessed (not hunted myself) sable hunts in South Africa where animals were not even running away from people.
I also encountered sables in free range concessions in Zim and they were as elusive as Kudu if not more.
Wherever you hunt animals chased by lions act differently be it kudu, buffalo, sable etc...

 

[uplander01]

I'd take a hard look at Makore, there aren't better or more honest guys in Africa. Their Coutada 9 area in Mozambique is very large and lots of sable and lots of really big Nyala, I had extraordinary success there in 2023.

 

[baxterb]

Paul is the current president of the African Professional Hunters Association.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I’m curious. How tame or wary was the sable, compared to the lechwe you hunted with the same outfitter and recommended on another thread?

I never recommended any outfitter for lechwe. We had some problems with the outfitter on that hunt. Not my usual guy. We were farmed out to another outfitter up north. I would never recommend that outfitter to anyone who really wants to hunt. He got upset because we were not into shooting stuff out of the vehicle. I didn't find out about it till after we left but my PH apparently had some sharp words about that with the guy. I did get a nice ram as it came over the hill headed to the river bottom at daybreak. Required quite a long stalk just to get downwind and in position in time. Very little cover but some morning fog helped conceal us. It was an okay hunt I guess. Maybe a bit more to it than my sable hunt.

 

[Bivy]

How do these posts devolve? Kudu…Zambia…Game-ranched sable vs. wild…

1) Niassa - Great choice! Go for it!

2) Operators (Buffalo/Sable Combo)

There’s several good operators in Niassa, but species distribution is not consistent across the reserve. Thus, that eliminates some blocks and competitors.

Kambako - Good, longstanding operator that tends to be a bit more economical since charter expense is included in packages.

Niassa Safari Company (Paul Stones) - Good operator hunting a block with very limited off take. Age of animals tend to lean a bit older than other blocks as a result.

Mashambanzou (Grant Taylor) - Good established operator rooted in Mozambique. Certainly worth a visit before selecting an operator.

3) Other Things to Consider

Additional Species - Niassa is one of the few places to hunt Niassa wildebeest and has incredible Livingstone’s eland. I’d recommend adding both to your list if possible. Wildebeest quota is very limited; you may need to commit to one upon booking.

Pemba - I think it’s worth an extra day or two to relax, enjoy some seafood, and relax on the beach. My wife and I found some incredible shells!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

A friend and I recently went to the DSC show in Atlanta this weekend. We are looking to book a buffalo and sable hunt for 2027. We spoke with several different outfits and have landed on wanting to do a trip to Mozambique if possible. Does anyone here have any experience with the following outfits and can provide how their experience was?

Chapungu-Kambako Safaris
Niassa Safari Company/Paul Stones

We also spoke with Dalton and York about Zimbabwe, but they weren't confident about their area being good as far as Sable goes.

We also talked with HHK Safaris in Zimbabwe and Robin Hurt Safaris in Namibia.

Any commentary is greatly appreciated.

I hunted this past summer with @KWALATA SAFARIS. Jaco has the Litule block in the Niassa and runs this in cooperation with Jumbo Moore who owns Chapungu-Kambako Safaris. I'm quite certain you'd have a great hunt with Jumbo, the Niassa is a special place.

 

[BGGMKLR]

This is not the first time you’ve made these comments. All accounts told you that you were wrong those times as well. I don’t find hunting a sable in South Africa generally that challenging. I’m sure there are exceptions. A sable on a game farm lightly hunted without predators and possibly bred in a commercial environment before being released is a very different sable than one that lives with lions and poachers and has to move as its food and water sources change or dry up during the year. I would not put a sable in the same challenging category as an eland but by comparison I had daily opportunity at kudu in Zimbabwe (and took two including a 56”bull) but took a week to get a trophy sable. Every area is different but a free range sable in it’s native range is a very worthy trophy.

Thanks very much for your honesty, particularly in a space where it may not be well received. I also find the comments regarding Sable being " too easy" to be remarkable...and unimaginable.
I assume " livestock" hunting might be in play.
In wild ground, the Sable, in my experience, is much more difficult to purposely hunt than both Kudu and Eland.
When they're reliant on feed, and farm-raised I suppose they could become pet-like.
As supposed hunters...Is this what we've become?
Sad indeed.
Best
Spike

 

[Philip Glass]

A friend and I recently went to the DSC show in Atlanta this weekend. We are looking to book a buffalo and sable hunt for 2027. We spoke with several different outfits and have landed on wanting to do a trip to Mozambique if possible. Does anyone here have any experience with the following outfits and can provide how their experience was?

Chapungu-Kambako Safaris
Niassa Safari Company/Paul Stones

We also spoke with Dalton and York about Zimbabwe, but they weren't confident about their area being good as far as Sable goes.

We also talked with HHK Safaris in Zimbabwe and Robin Hurt Safaris in Namibia.

Any commentary is greatly appreciated.

With Dalton & York you would hunt two different areas for buff and then sable. Others are all big names and you should get some responses.

 

[Philip Glass]

Yes, I have seen and hunted buffalo, kudu, and sable in fenced areas (huge fenced areas). As I said, kudu and buffalo were extremely difficult. Saw plenty of sable. Not nearly as wary. Actually, not wary at all. Again, why would springbuck and eland be running at the sight of even a vehicle a half mile away and sable stand and look sixty yards off the road as we drive by? Same farm. Where I hunt in Montana I can push up a nice mule deer and he will stand and look. Whitetail buck on the same property will vanish before I can exhale. Different species act differently. My comment to PH after shooting my sable was "Well, that wasn't so hard." He said they typically aren't so tough to hunt.

All the Sable in South Africa have come from breeding programs over the very recent years. They were ALL raised on small farms or in pens at one point. 30 years ago Sable were an expensive add on with additional days and higher daily rates and only available in their native areas/countries and usually only on a DG safari. Due to the great success of the farms now Sable are plentiful on game farms across Southern Africa.
So it is no surprise you found a difference in the temperament of sable versus kudu.

 

[ACM]

@KWALATA SAFARIS
You will not regret it!
Excellent Buffalo and Sable opportunity in a truly special wilderness area.

 

[AZDAVE]

@KWALATA SAFARIS

Hunted with them in 2024 and had a great experience and very rewarding safari.
We saw a lot of sable and they would be a nice add on to your buffalo. They are switched on like any of the tiny ten or the most alert whitetail you have ever seen. The sable hunts in SA and Namibia aren't even close to a wilderness hunt. It would be a very rewarding hunt.
Niassa is a true wilderness area and a special place to hunt!!!

 

[russ473]

Hunters and Guides in Zambia is another great outfit as is Paul stones, also contact Ernest Dyason, he is on AH, as is Kwalata Safaris, all top class outfits, Limcroma is another 1, this is but a few mentioned,