SOUTH AFRICA: Kuche Safaris - Free State - August 2024

[Ridge Runner]

Enjoyed your hunt report and congrats to you and your wife on hunting some nice animals.

I am still perplexed about this outfitter.
Am I correct in my thinking.

Kuche quotes a price that is lowball.
Gets a client to agree, sign, and pay the contracted low costs.
Then prior to or upon arrival tells the client they owe additional costs. Where Kuche has now boosted the original lowball costs to equal or greater than his competitors normal costs.

IMO, and if my forementioned interpretation is correct, then Kuche is a con operation that needs to be run out of business. Before he does irreparable damage to reputable outfitters.

IMO, that line "prices subject to increase without notice" is there for use between the outdated advertised information on a flyer, website, etc.. Once the package has been confirmed, the deal made, contract signed, and payment made. My costs are set in stone! The same as they are with a more reputable outfitter.

It's not uncommon and understandable for a prospective client to see a flyer, web page, etc. with outdated rates and fees information, and to receive an up to date outfitters daily rates, trophy fees, etc. prior to going into planning their trip or prior to signing the contract and paying for the trip.

I understand outfitters need to recoup their losses on a donated hunt by sending the client an inflated trophy price list prior to booking their hunt or as an add-on, but the client is fully aware ahead of these things prior to paying, signing the contract and not after the fact.

By my observation and analysis, Although the pens/cages are considerably larger, and the focus is on PG; Doesn't this type hunting parallel with the more controversial "Cage Bred Lion" hunting?

 

[Deepfork]

I am still perplexed about this outfitter.
Am I correct in my thinking.

Kuche quotes a price that is lowball.
Gets a client to agree, sign, and pay the contracted low costs.
Then prior to or upon arrival tells the client they owe additional costs. Where Kuche has now boosted the original lowball costs to equal or greater than his competitors normal costs.

IMO, and if my forementioned interpretation is correct, then Kuche is a con operation that needs to be run out of business. Before he does irreparable damage to reputable outfitters.

IMO, that line "prices subject to increase without notice" is there for use between the outdated advertised information on a flyer, website, etc.. Once the package has been confirmed, the deal made, contract signed, and payment made. My costs are set in stone! The same as they are with a more reputable outfitter.

It's not uncommon and understandable for a prospective client to see a flyer, web page, etc. with outdated rates and fees information, and to receive an up to date outfitters daily rates, trophy fees, etc. prior to going into planning their trip or prior to signing the contract and paying for the trip.

I understand outfitters need to recoup their losses on a donated hunt by sending the client an inflated trophy price list prior to booking their hunt or as an add-on, but the client is fully aware ahead of these things prior to paying, signing the contract and not after the fact.

By my observation and analysis, Although the pens/cages are considerably larger, and the focus is on PG; Doesn't this type hunting parallel with the more controversial "Cage Bred Lion" hunting?

Good grief....no! Kuche is legit, not for everyone but not trying to scam anyone either. Many of the donated or banquet winners pay for exactly what was advertised and included and nothing else.

They have tons of happy and return customers. Also some that are less than satisfied. I get that.

They do a lot of the basic hunts but also offer any experience you would like, in South Africa beyond Limpopo, and in other countries in the Southern part of the continent.

Kuche is run by hard working, honest people.

 

[jt13]

Enjoyed your hunt report and congrats to you and your wife on hunting some nice animals.

I am still perplexed about this outfitter.
Am I correct in my thinking.

Kuche quotes a price that is lowball.
Gets a client to agree, sign, and pay the contracted low costs.
Then prior to or upon arrival tells the client they owe additional costs. Where Kuche has now boosted the original lowball costs to equal or greater than his competitors normal costs.

The "signed" portion of our agreement was the Ducks Unlimited donated hunt for 4 people, 16 animals. That was provided as advertised.

Where things got a little sketchy was the added hunters, extracurricular to the donated hunt. Here's the whole story in detail:

I was provided with a "2023 Purchasers Letter" with pricing at time of DU donation, it listed added hunters at $180 per person per day. I advised them of our intent to add two hunters to our package at the $180/day rate.

In April of 2024 I was provided updated pricing in their "2024 Purchasers Letter" still listing the add-on hunter price at $180 per person per day. I confirmed our arrangements and the pricing as previously agreed.

About a week before my hunt I read a post on here regarding a hunter scheduling his hunt with Kuche and that he was upset that they recently increased their prices to $420/day for add-on hunters. Three days before departure I received an email from Kuche with screenshots from the website with animal prices, tip suggestions, taxidermy prices, and a confirmation of our pick-up time and location. At this time, I inquired about the alleged price increase I had read about.

They replied with an email stating that the 250% price increase was real, a few sentences with excuses about inflation, and the highlighted fine print from the Purchasers Letter that says "prices subject to change without notice". I expressed my concerns with the bait and switch and all I was offered was the ability to switch those two extra hunters to "observers". The observer rate was also increased by 150%. They had no intentions of informing me of the price increase of $2k+ until I was already in camp.

On "invoice day" at the end of the hunt we were provided new paper with suggested tips, approximately 150% higher than the one we received 3 days prior to the hunt. We also were attempted to be charged $450 per day instead of the $420 per day it had already been increased to. They did honor the $420/day rate after I pointed out the "error".

The hunt price increase divided amongst my group of six hunters bumped the total up from around $940 per person to $1300 each. We pretty much ignored the increase in suggested tips and stuck the the $500-700 each we planned on.

While pissed about the bait and switch, I absolutely believe that we got more than $1300 in value from our experience. Hence, why I mentioned it in my report but moved on to the actual experience of the hunt story without dwelling on it much.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Good grief....no! Kuche is legit, not for everyone but not trying to scam anyone either. Many of the donated or banquet winners pay for exactly what was advertised and included and nothing else.

They have tons of happy and return customers. Also some that are less than satisfied. I get that.

They do a lot of the basic hunts but also offer any experience you would like, in South Africa beyond Limpopo, and in other countries in the Southern part of the continent.

Kuche is run by hard working, honest people.

Many Thanks for clearing up all the confusing information.

 

[Tbitty]

To me, the frustration would be, as OP stated, to have a huge price increase without notice immediately before the trip for something that had been previously discussed. As someone who has purchased and been on donation hunts (with no bad experiences so far), and will likely purchase more in the future, my takeaway is to get a signed contract for any changes/additions to the package. For example, using this report, upon purchasing the package and then agreeing to terms for adding more hunters, I would have had the additional hunters or animals on a contract price at time of agreement. Then the only increases would be if I decided to add on more animals while on the hunt, assuming a similar situation where trophy fees also increase. Basically, only changes to the contract would be subject to price increases.

If an outfitter is not willing to do business like this for me, I'd either walk away or just do the donation only portion, and find a different company to do more hunting with if friends wanted to join.

@jt13 thanks for the report, and I'm glad you had a good time and didn't let the issues ruin your trip.

 

[jt13]

To me, the frustration would be, as OP stated, to have a huge price increase without notice immediately before the trip for something that had been previously discussed. As someone who has purchased and been on donation hunts (with no bad experiences so far), and will likely purchase more in the future, my takeaway is to get a signed contract for any changes/additions to the package. For example, using this report, upon purchasing the package and then agreeing to terms for adding more hunters, I would have had the additional hunters or animals on a contract price at time of agreement. Then the only increases would be if I decided to add on more animals while on the hunt, assuming a similar situation where trophy fees also increase. Basically, only changes to the contract would be subject to price increases.

If an outfitter is not willing to do business like this for me, I'd either walk away or just do the donation only portion, and find a different company to do more hunting with if friends wanted to join.

@jt13 thanks for the report, and I'm glad you had a good time and didn't let the issues ruin your trip.

100%.

This is exactly my take away from the negative pricing/billing experience that I had. You live and you learn. Next time things will be written, signed, and legally binding with nothing "subject to change".

 

[Deepfork]

100%.

This is exactly my take away from the negative pricing/billing experience that I had. You live and you learn. Next time things will be written, signed, and legally binding with nothing "subject to change".

Hunts are often booked a year or two out so I could understand small price increases. 150%-250% is excessive, I would also be upset.

 

[375Fox]

100%.

This is exactly my take away from the negative pricing/billing experience that I had. You live and you learn. Next time things will be written, signed, and legally binding with nothing "subject to change".

You unfortunately will not find any outfitter who will guarantee there will be no changes. Trophy fees can change based on land owner or if you are hunting in a different country because of government increases. However, I have booked hunts 2 and even 3 years out in some cases. The outfitter always honored the daily rates I booked at and paid deposit for. Trophy fees might be partially out of outfitters control, but daily rates are not. $180 per day is an extremely low daily rate, $420 more in market range, but if it was the rate listed in your purchasing letter, going from $180 to $420 is unacceptable. I could understand a 10% or 20% increase but not that. Kuche’s model seems to be about bringing in the highest volume of first time hunters not the quality. Unfortunately this incident is going to influence any African hunts you do in future, but there are very few outfitters who operate like this. Most are very upfront with pricing. I unfortunately think this is a consequence of the volume of hunters they push through and being an auction hunt. If you do go on another African hunt, I think you will see a major difference if you choose an outfitter based on reputation and references and plan the hunt you want with them vs buying an auction hunt and trying to adapt it to what you want.

 

[forshoes]

Good report!

I was in the first group to open that Kuche camp this year. Your pictures brought back good memories of that week.
I received my week from the purchase of a rifle from another member here and have recently purchased another rifle I plan to take back in the next year or so.

 

[enysse]

The "signed" portion of our agreement was the Ducks Unlimited donated hunt for 4 people, 16 animals. That was provided as advertised.

Where things got a little sketchy was the added hunters, extracurricular to the donated hunt. Here's the whole story in detail:

I was provided with a "2023 Purchasers Letter" with pricing at time of DU donation, it listed added hunters at $180 per person per day. I advised them of our intent to add two hunters to our package at the $180/day rate.

In April of 2024 I was provided updated pricing in their "2024 Purchasers Letter" still listing the add-on hunter price at $180 per person per day. I confirmed our arrangements and the pricing as previously agreed.

About a week before my hunt I read a post on here regarding a hunter scheduling his hunt with Kuche and that he was upset that they recently increased their prices to $420/day for add-on hunters. Three days before departure I received an email from Kuche with screenshots from the website with animal prices, tip suggestions, taxidermy prices, and a confirmation of our pick-up time and location. At this time, I inquired about the alleged price increase I had read about.

They replied with an email stating that the 250% price increase was real, a few sentences with excuses about inflation, and the highlighted fine print from the Purchasers Letter that says "prices subject to change without notice". I expressed my concerns with the bait and switch and all I was offered was the ability to switch those two extra hunters to "observers". The observer rate was also increased by 150%. They had no intentions of informing me of the price increase of $2k+ until I was already in camp.

On "invoice day" at the end of the hunt we were provided new paper with suggested tips, approximately 150% higher than the one we received 3 days prior to the hunt. We also were attempted to be charged $450 per day instead of the $420 per day it had already been increased to. They did honor the $420/day rate after I pointed out the "error".

The hunt price increase divided amongst my group of six hunters bumped the total up from around $940 per person to $1300 each. We pretty much ignored the increase in suggested tips and stuck the the $500-700 each we planned on.

While pissed about the bait and switch, I absolutely believe that we got more than $1300 in value from our experience. Hence, why I mentioned it in my report but moved on to the actual experience of the hunt story without dwelling on it much.

I find that sort of price gouging unnecessary, unfair and unacceptable. I would have been highly irritated and it essentially would have ruined the whole experience.

 

[kevin masters]

Good Report and I like the matter-of-fact style of the good and the bad. I hunted with them once and before the week was up knew I wouldn't be back. I echo what others have said, nothing wrong with that business model, just not for me. I have been to Namibia since (Kowas) and my wife and I are now discussing if we want to go back to Namibia or possibly Eastern Cape (KMG). So, I would encourage you to try some other outfitters before you give up on Africa...

just hunted with @KMG Hunting Safaris ! Great experience! I hunted with Koos 2018 and had a great trip and really enjoyed it. After seeing his model had evolved into such a large operation we decided
to try KMG and were not disappointed!!

 

[Bartbux]

I've hunted many places - and outfitter communication has always been a challenge (dip pack charges/transport costs/different charter rates/type of hunt (backpack/float/horse)/daily rates) - I didn't take these experiences as someone trying to cheat/take advantage - rather a gap in communications and expectations. I've learned to communicate as much as you can - and then enjoy the experience for what it is and be moderately flexible. This sounds like the way you approached it - kudos to you!

I hunted with Kuche this summer and it was an excellent experience. My trophy quality was great (giant eland, nearly 54' kudu, 17 inch blesbok, nearly '40 inch gemsbok, quality waterbuck among other great animals) and felt I recieved tremendous value. I also personally witnessed Kuche make a situation right with a hunter that was ABOVE AND BEYOND what I would have expectated when a trophy animal did not meet hunter and outfitter expectations.

I did go before the recent price increases - and had a slightly different daily rate for extra days than previously communicated - but it was fair AND I paid it because I felt that it was inconsequential in comparison to the value provided and chalked it up to miscommunication.

 

[375Fox]

I've hunted many places - and outfitter communication has always been a challenge (dip pack charges/transport costs/different charter rates/type of hunt (backpack/float/horse)/daily rates) - I didn't take these experiences as someone trying to cheat/take advantage - rather a gap in communications and expectations. I've learned to communicate as much as you can - and then enjoy the experience for what it is and be moderately flexible. This sounds like the way you approached it - kudos to you!

I hunted with Kuche this summer and it was an excellent experience. My trophy quality was great (giant eland, nearly 54' kudu, 17 inch blesbok, nearly '40 inch gemsbok, quality waterbuck among other great animals) and felt I recieved tremendous value. I also personally witnessed Kuche make a situation right with a hunter that was ABOVE AND BEYOND what I would have expectated when a trophy animal did not meet hunter and outfitter expectations.

I did go before the recent price increases - and had a slightly different daily rate for extra days than previously communicated - but it was fair AND I paid it because I felt that it was inconsequential in comparison to the value provided and chalked it up to miscommunication.

How many of those places were in Africa? Typically the overly positive comments come from hunters on their first African hunt. There is a different and far better standard with African hunts compared to North American hunts. Mediocre in Africa is typically far better than many expect in North America.

 

[cms62236]

My buddy and I just hunted with Kuche from Aug. 26-Sept. 6. We spend a week in Limpopo and a week in Free State. Our trip was booked at DSC in 2023 with daily rates and prices quoted and put in writing in the advertising pamphlet. I confirmed prices were guaranteed at DSC in 2024. I received the same pre arrival packet as the OP, so was a little worried what would transpire upon our arrival. The first day my PH took a photo of my quoted prices and told me we will take care of. We harvested 13 beautiful animals include 2 eland that are Roland Ward/SCI gold. Our total bill was exactly what we were quoted to the penny for daily rate and trophy fees. I had my animals euro mounted and all flatskins tanned and was required to pay 1/2 up front and told they would be ready in 6-8 months. My buddy was dip and pack and he had to pay in full. So at least in our case Kuche provided exactly what was booked at the price the day we booked it. As far as tips go remember the quotes are a recommendation and not a requirement. I can not speak of others experience but in our case everything was handled professionally and upfront with what was promised. We had a great experience. Food and lodging were simple- the rooms were spotless clean and comfortable and the food was amazing. It was my first time and my buddy’s second. Everyone has different feelings about high fence, low fence, free range and that is another subject for another post. We were NEVER pressured to shoot from the truck. My buddy harvested everything with a bow and I used a rifle. 5 of my 7 animals were spot and stalk. One was from a blind while hunting with my buddy and one was from the truck because of the situation presented. I walked 14 miles for my eland and at least 5-7 for my Gemsbuck, springbuck and impala. Some animals were quite docile( almost every sable!) others spooked at 400 yards…hey that’s the way some whitetail are around here too. I may someday get the time to post a full hunt report…albeit lengthy, until then I thought it pertinent to provide up to date info on the operation and costs.

 

[jt13]

Our trip was booked at DSC in 2023 with daily rates and prices quoted and put in writing in the advertising pamphlet. I confirmed prices were guaranteed at DSC in 2024. Our total bill was exactly what we were quoted to the penny for daily rate and trophy fees. So at least in our case Kuche provided exactly what was booked at the price the day we booked it.

I imagine the difference in their willingness to honor the previously quoted prices was the nature of the booking - full price booking bought in-person directly through them at DSC versus my discount DU donated auction hunt.

As mentioned numerous times previously, we had a great time and believe we got our monies worth out of the experience.

Glad you had a good time!

 

[cms62236]

I would agree that is probably the case. Glad you felt you got your monies worth out of it plus you got some beautiful trophies to boot. Happy hunting!!

 

[DonPablo]

My crate that just shipped was for a hunt in Aug of 2022....two years ago! Can't wait to get them on the wall. The Waterbuck in my profile pic was 31 inches on both sides!

2 years, huh? I'm at a year and a half now and wondering how much longer it'll take. Mine were all just skulls and skins with the taxidermy done there however I did request that they turn my warthog skin into leather and I know that's supposed to add time. I enjoyed my hunt at Kuche but I just wish Koos was capable of at least a minimum amount of communication.

 

[samson7x]

2 years, huh? I'm at a year and a half now and wondering how much longer it'll take. Mine were all just skulls and skins with the taxidermy done there however I did request that they turn my warthog skin into leather and I know that's supposed to add time. I enjoyed my hunt at Kuche but I just wish Koos was capable of at least a minimum amount of communication.

Had some buddies that hunted with them late 2021 and they still don’t have their stuff.

 

[Lumaberpat]

Thank you for sharing the story of your hunt! It was most informative and a very good read and will definitely influence my choices in the future.

 

[DonPablo]

Had some buddies that hunted with them late 2021 and they still don’t have their stuff.

Aww man. I don't want to hear that!