Shoot too many animals?

[dory]

How many of you trigger happy buggers have shot too many animals while hunting in
Africa and blown your budget . I am trying to do a budget for next month in Namibia and
I just cant seem to stop wanting to hunt more game than I can afford .
Whats the bloody secret to walking past all the game , Im worried Im going to shoot more than I have funds for .
Cheers Dory
PS . I have purchased some Federal Premium 165 gr trophy copper in 308 .
Anyone used them ?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Might be a less lengthy thread if you ask who hasn't shot too many animals?

 

[dory]

Might be a less lengthy thread if you ask who hasn't shot too many animals?

I might have to start a n IOU account when Im there .

 

[BRICKBURN]

Only way I passed up Kudu was being so picky. The one aspect of radical trophy hunting that may save your butt. Not likely though...

Wish you luck with your self control.

 

[dory]

Only way I passed up Kudu was being so picky. The one aspect of radical trophy hunting that may save your butt. Not likely though...

Wish you luck with your self control.

Its funny Brick , I can walk past Stags here in NZ day after day And they are all free .
Hunting costs nothing in New Zealand . But Im sure ill want to shoot a lot more Next month .

 

[TokkieM]

Told myself before I left on my last hunt in SA NO TROPHIES!! Been waiting for my whole collection to be completed and shipped for the past 3 years so did not want to add anything to delay shipping ( happend 3 years running).
Wound up with 2 more Springbuck,2 more Zebras, a Gemsbuck,Warthog,Black Wildebeest and a few flatskins not to mention a nice bill and a new shipment of trophies.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Its funny Brick , I can walk past Stags here in NZ day after day And they are all free .
Hunting costs nothing in New Zealand . But Im sure ill want to shoot a lot more Next month .

Strange and new critters always get you going.

 

[jeff]

Well I've done the opposite and let go a few that I could have afforded and regretted it ever since! I'm so glad that Paw Print takes credit cards, it wont happen again!

 

[James.Grage]

Dory

Make your self a budget and a priority list and stay on line.

Try to have a good idea of what is a good or exceptional trophy. And ask your PH what he estimates the animal to be before making the decision to shoot or not shoot.

One year while hunting we continually were bumping into Kudu's, i let my PH know that if it was not at least 55" i was not interested. I had a Kudu hunt lined up for the following year. Again study pictures and know what a good trophy looks like.

On Zebra, i wanted one with out ghost stripes and was able to get one. You have to look a little longer to find what you are looking for.

Giraffe, if you are looking for a color phase like a black one, turn down the others that present them selves to you and your PH.

I have done the questions as why this trophy is better than this one and your PH should have a good answer for you. We sat and debated the differences on 3 Red Hartebeest bulls all 3 were nice trophy's. 2 were better than the 3rd. I picked the one on the left and the PH picked the one on the right, we had a discussion why his was better than the other. Body size and color of the flat-skin, horns were evenly matched. Therefor, i went with his choice.
We also discussed young and long vs old and better mass, as we did come across some young bulls that had long thin horns.

I know i have made a few PH angry when i did not shoot something that they wanted me to shoot. again i stick to my priority list and will change out a animal if something really stand out.

 

[Adrian]

Pick what animals you want to hunt this time and save the others for another trip!

Gives you perfect self justification to go again!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

I agree with Adrian. Good luck dory.
Witold

 

[ActionBob]

Dory, First off, plan on at least some extra, if at all possible.....

I am fortunate in a way to have built my business before getting hooked on this so I can go in fairly flexible and without a specific budget, but still need to be "reasonable" on what I spend. Even though I have been accused of going all GWH and bloodthirsty! LOL (A footnote is that I spent some of my best years working all the time when I might have been able to go on some hunts had I prioritized and budgeted. Fortunately I am passionate about and get fulfillment out of my work!)

I actually passed on several good trophies on the last trip because I was after specific species that are harder to get and did not want to shoot and scare them off. Additionally I did not want to take the time to recover, photo and dress/skin or haul back the trophy thus taking time away from the hunt for the intended quarry. That was the most "successful" way I have found to pass on animals...

The other that I am starting to get to is to only take an animal if it is a significant upgrade to one you already have.

If you cannot afford extra animals, at least go in flexible enough that if you come across a real whopper not on your immediate list but one you would love to have, consider passing on an intended one that might be easy to find on a subsequent trip, and swap out. This does requires some flexibility from the outfitter so this possibility should be discussed before you book.

A piece of advice I got was if the PH and tracker go nuts with excitement that they have never seen one so big or that they have been looking for that monster for two years...... Aim small and squeeze the trigger. Then figure out how your going to pay for it! Now seriously, I would be too fiscally responsible to do that without at least some kind of backup plan... So make one ahead of time, just in case!

Of course if you are in Namibia and specifically need a dik dik or something endemic only to that area, you ought to go back to staying focused.

 

[ActionBob]

Pick what animals you want to hunt this time and save the others for another trip!

Although I can agree in principal... I would respectfully disagree with such a flat statement because in hunting opportunities can come up that should not be passed.

I researched and visited with lots of people for a couple years before my first Africa hunt about 13 months ago... An elderly gentleman at Cabela's told me of a trophy Sable that he had a chance on and passed.. The PH offered it to him at $3500 (granted, back in 2013) and he passed... He went on to tell me how he regretted it and will likely never make it back again. That lead me to believe I always want to be prepared for the un-expected, within reason at least.... Maybe a sable is a bad example, but what if you come across a monster bushbuck, the likes of what you are never likely to see again? Or even chancing upon a bushpig in daylight?

I would always advise, if at all possible, budget at least an extra $1000 or have it in reserve such as on a cc.... Now I am not one to suggest running up cc debt, but if you know you can pay it off in a reasonable time period, you have all the other expenses of being there covered so at least think about it.... Maybe back off on some taxidermy cost?

I have been asked,,, "what if a leopard walks out and we have a chance to take it?" This was in Zimbabwe and the outfitter had one on quota... My immediate response was, if it is a good male, we take it and I pay the trophy fee plus extra tip!! Did not happen, but if I had said no way and it did, I could have missed out on the best deal I would ever see. A good PH should have these discussions with you, in my opinion, before the hunt starts, such as when going to the range to check guns. Don't look upon it as him trying to milk every dollar out of you, most just want to make you happy and need to know what your abilities and expectations are.

 

[jduckhunter]

A home equity line of credit comes in handy for just such occasions.

 

[johnnyblues]

I completely understand what your going through Dory. I m booked in September in Namibia for leopard and when I booked the hunt I said ...self.....Only leopard cause that's expensive enough. Then I thought hmmm maybe if I m successful on the cat let me add a steenbok on maybe a duiker to mount with the cat. That brought the life size mount up another $1600.. Plus the trophy fee.. Then when speaking to friends and prior clients they said you have to hunt Kudu and Eland there. They have really big ones. YA but I want a Hartbeest.... Then as luck would have it there was an error ( in my favor, for a change) of $1400...Oh now that means I can hunt a hartsmans zebra...Do ya see where I m going? I just hope I run out of bullets first.....

 

[Adrian]

Although I can agree in principal... I would respectfully disagree with such a flat statement because in hunting opportunities can come up that should not be passed.

My comment was made tongue in cheek. Most hunters on their 'trip of a lifetime' always appear to want to return so saving a couple of animals in reserve for a future trip could be prudent when it comes to that time of deliberating whether a return trip is on the cards and to sell the idea to any significant other.
After all, how can you justify another trip if you've already taken the animals you wanted the first time around!

If a more serious way of looking at it is required, go with a list of target species amd have a couple in the back of your mind if the opportunity arises.
I know what I want to hunt as a priority and know what I would take if the chance presents itself.
Also, there is no point in being pressured by a PH into taking something just because he or she says so. Anything you shoot at should be the decision of the person behind the trigger.

I wouldn't take certain animals because either they do nothing for me or else I can't justify the trophy fee within the constraints of the budget I allow myself.

If money is no object then the issue is moot.

 

[Scott Slough]

The key is to do YOUR homework before hand! You are the only one who understands your tolerance/capacity to handled increased costs. When I take vacation, I don't wait until I get to Disney to decide if I can afford a 3-day or a 5-day park hopper ticket or if we are going to add Universal Studios.

I knew EXACTLY how much I was going to spend on my safari ... 2 RT flights, 6 days hunting, 4 trophies, 4 wall pedestals, shipping/clearing back in US, and 6 day self-driving trip to Cape Town and I spent ~$575 less than I had budgeted for the whole trip (caught a break on shipping costs of the trophies back from SA with the cheap fuel and ran out of time to get one of the zip line tours we had planned). That doesn't mean I am cheap, I spent almost $15K on the trip, I just wasn't willing to wait until I got to SA to decide which animals I was going to shot.

For me, it was pretty easy to manage costs and expectations. I chose to only hunt MY most desired animals. I picked a package with a cape kudu, nyala, and a bushbuck (advertised as a spiral horn slam). I had an estimate for taxidermy from Euro to wall pedestals months prior to the hunt and had a sliding scale that allowed me to add a cape eland, second cape kudu, or blue wildebeest depending on the projected taxidermy. I decided as soon as I saw my first kudu bull that I was shooting a second kudu which allowed full taxidermy in the budget and it worked out perfect. You may find that if you focus on a high quality trophies from a select list, that you won't shoot to many animals.

 

[TokkieM]

Some sound advice here. I would also suggest doing some homework with your Outfitter/PH. Certain areas produce better quality trophies than others,Gemsbuck,Kudu,Springbuck,Hartebeest and Eland are known to be of better quality (length) in certain areas of Namibia than say the Eastern Cape of SA. Area specific species could also be a deciding factor,eg Brown Hyena may be easier to obtain a permit for. Save yourself a lot of trouble later in life when you take the best possible trophy you can the first time. To many times seen folks want to have a bigger Impala or Kudu etc than they took on their first hunt.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

As a friend of mine that sadly passed away way to soon some years ago said.
One of the few things worth getting a loan for, is hunting.
I have a few animals I really want to get trophies of, but the rest can be culls for me as the hunting is way more important to me than filling my house with expensive trophies.
That way I can hunt much more and shoot many more animals

 

[dory]

Told myself before I left on my last hunt in SA NO TROPHIES!! Been waiting for my whole collection to be completed and shipped for the past 3 years so did not want to add anything to delay shipping ( happend 3 years running).
Wound up with 2 more Springbuck,2 more Zebras, a Gemsbuck,Warthog,Black Wildebeest and a few flatskins not to mention a nice bill and a new shipment of trophies.

Bugger!