SOUTH AFRICA: Limcroma Safaris Or Somerby Safaris

[Marcus bock]

I need help deciding who to go with for hunting sable in 2020. Both Limcroma and Somerby seem to be excellent organizations and are priced comparably. I work in April and May yearly in the Limpopo area of South Africa, so either one of these two outfits are located nicely. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thx.

 

[Graham Hunter]

I need help deciding who to go with for hunting sable in 2020. Both Limcroma and Somerby seem to be excellent organizations and are priced comparably. I work in April and May yearly in the Limpopo area of South Africa, so either one of these two outfits are located nicely. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thx.

Not knocking either operation. Check out Motsomi.com. Hunted there last year and got a great Buff and Nyala. Saw so many good Sable I am going back in May. This was my 3rd Safari Zim and SA. Motsomi is 5 star plus.

 

[CAustin]

I need help deciding who to go with for hunting sable in 2020. Both Limcroma and Somerby seem to be excellent organizations and are priced comparably. I work in April and May yearly in the Limpopo area of South Africa, so either one of these two outfits are located nicely. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thx.

Sir they are both very good operators. Have know hunters who went with Somerby and very much enjoyed themselves. I have met Drom the Somerby owner and he is a hoot.
I haven’t heard anyone speak I’ll of Limcroma.

 

[Graham Hunter]

I know of several people who went with Limcroma and had a great time I know of none who went with Somerby so I can't comment. I can say that Motsomi has a very large area and pride themselves on their Sable.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I haven't hunted with either, but Limcroma is an AH sponsor and I have read lots of very good hunting reports from their clients. Also watch several of their videos. They have a very good reputation and they also offer archery hunts. Limcroma is on my short list for a future hunt.

 

[flatwater bill]

Hunt them both..............give us a report...........................FWB

 

[Mike B]

I hunted an Auction hunt with Limcroma. 10 days, tons of fun and they took great care of my wife and I. Nothing but good to say! Riaan was my PH and I met a couple others as well, all great people. Met Hans (the owner) too and he was super nice.

 

[Marcus bock]

Hunt them both..............give us a report...........................FWB

Hah.....looking for a banker to hunt both !!

 

[cpr0312]

Both have good reputations, cant go wrong!

 

[johnnyblues]

Either one you choose....Just go and have a blast!

 

[BSO Dave]

I bow hunted with Limcroma a few years back and I brought the family along. The accommodations, the food, service, quality of animals, and the attention to detail was impressive. They are an absolute first class operation in every aspect. They did a lot of small things and made special arrangements for us on short notice that they didn't have to do. It made for a very special trip. I can't say enough good thing about our safari with them. My hunt report is posted somewhere here. Pm me if you have any questions. I would be glad to provide you with more details.

 

[Khaleesi]

I bow hunted with Limcroma a few years back and I brought the family along. The accommodations, the food, service, quality of animals, and the attention to detail was impressive. They are an absolute first class operation in every aspect. They did a lot of small things and made special arrangements for us on short notice that they didn't have to do. It made for a very special trip. I can't say enough good thing about our safari with them. My hunt report is posted somewhere here. Pm me if you have any questions. I would be glad to provide you with more details.

This above x2! My husband and I had an incredible trip with Hannes at Limcroma. They are the nicest folks you will ever meet and accommodating beyond belief. The lodge took my breath away! Way beyond my expectations. I would go back in a heartbeat. Send me a pm too if you like.

 

[gillettehunter]

Both have good reputations. I suspect that both would provide excellent facilities and take very good care of you. What might be missing is the hunting end. Sure both have sable. Do you want to HUNT a sable or shoot a sable?
One of my first questions is how large is the area we're hunting sable in? How much contact have they had with people? How spooky are they? Let me explain. Sable are a valuable animal, even tho trophy fees are probably half of what they were 5 years ago. So they get taken care of..... They are often raised in a smaller areas away from roads close to the owner and those watching to make sure they don't get poached. They become somewhat habituated to humans. So they become relatively easy to hunt. They have seen people every day or two for 12 yrs and nothing bad happened. In other hunting areas they become rather wild and can be a challenge to hunt.
Just make sure whoever you pick is providing the hunting experience that YOU want. I tried to get a hunting experience on my first sable. It was OK, but not the you really got to work to find one type of hunt that I had hoped for. My first trip to africa I watched my friend shoot a sable. We drove to a property 2 1/2 hrs away. Met the owner and staff. Drove to a large tower from which the sable was spotted. He and his PH walked out and shot the sable. The sable knew they were there, but didn't care. In my mind it was about as challenging as shooting a cow in a pasture.
So maybe a in depth discussion about the hunting aspect is in order. Or maybe try contacting Spike at Takeri in Zambia. Good luck to you and please do a report.

Bruce

 

[johnnyblues]

To be honest I ve chosen not to hunt sable for the exact reason mentioned above. In my experiences with them they were highly visible and had zero fear of people.

 

[htx519]

Mr. Bock,

It has been a pleasure conversing with you. Thank you once again for allowing me to tell you about our hunting properties and how they are managed. Lots of folks who have hunted in RSA just assume that hunting multiple game farms and smaller leased properties is the standard and the only option when in the RSA.... There are still a handful of outfits that own and manage their own properties that are large enough to offer a true fair chase hunting experience. We are very fortunate to be among those few.

Best of luck to you in your research, and we hope to have the privilege of hosting you in camp one day in the not too distant future. By the way, your volunteerism and dedication to the conservation efforts in Africa is truly impressive. Keep up the good work!

 

[Marcus bock]

Thx Dan....good talking with you. Looks like Limcroma is a very good organization.

 

[BRICKBURN]

............. Lots of folks who have hunted in RSA just assume that hunting multiple game farms and smaller leased properties is the standard and the only option when in the RSA.... ............

You know, as do the more experienced people, that "small camps" can be an issue and is actually very common. That certainly does not mean every outfitter is in that boat. A cautionary heads up to ask the questions about the hunt process is certainly required, as an assumption on that side of the equation can be quite disappointing as @gillettehunter noted.

I hope the OP makes a choice they can be happy with. I await the outstanding hunt report.

 

[Red Leg]

The cautionary tale about hunting sable in South Africa can apply to a number of species that normally have very large natural ranges - buffalo and eland come immediately to mind. There are indeed properties in the RSA that can provide "fair chase" hunts for these species - I hunted a buffalo in the Limpopo on 15k+ acres. It was a challenging hunt (though one does know the tracker and PH will eventually locate the herd). I have never taken a sable on a game farm. I can say that they are an extremely wary and difficult quarry in their native free range of Mozambique where I have taken two. I suspect they would have been a quality hunt on a large property in the RSA.

 

[Marcus bock]

Thanks everyone .....I appreciate all the thoughts. Having worked with SA wildlife ranchers, I can certainly agree that some critters are very approachable and some you can't come anywhere near(they're ghosts). Guess, like the question was posed earlier, do you want to shoot (for example) a sable or hunt one....or somewhere in between ??

 

[Neil Molendyk]

I know of several people who went with Limcroma and had a great time I know of none who went with Somerby so I can't comment. I can say that Motsomi has a very large area and pride themselves on their Sable.

I thought Sable would be an easy hunt as well when I was hunting with Motsomi last June. They're arrogant and cocky until you step out of the truck, then it became like hunting wild pheasant without a good dog, they hold tight until you're certain they're not there. Then they bolt out of the bush scaring the crap out of you and run out of sight so you and your tracker can do it all over again.