UK hunters considering North America

[MJ75]

I appreciate that there is a very similar thread running at the moment, but I'm also considering hunting the US or Canada and wanted to personalise the thread a little more and not take the other thread off track as it would not be fair to the OP.

But I'm also from the UK and would like to hunt in North America. I have visited the US and Canada before but have never been hunting there. I did look a few years ago, but the websites I found were mainly for trophy animals and were hugely expensive. As a result I've been hunting in Africa instead as it appears to be unbeatable value for money.

However Africa is not North America and I really do want to hunt there. In the UK I hunt deer. This is management hunting helping to control resident deer populations, though the odd trophy is taken.

I really would like to hunt indigenous species in their native range in an unfenced area. Ideally spot and stalk. Exotics on ranches hold no appeal to me, but each to their own.

Mule deer and white tail deer appeal, and if it is possible to hunt a representative or even cull animal then I'd be very interested. I have little knowledge of state laws and firearms import into the US, but would prefer to bring my own rifle. I also have a friend who would be interested in a North American hunt, so if anyone knows where we could start looking then please let me know. Nothing is set in stone and we would be prepared to consider most fair chase, native species hunts.

I've skied in Alberta in January so am familiar with the weather there too!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Importing Firearms into the USA.
Fill this form out after you have purchased a hunting license.
https://www.atf.gov/file/61581/download

Which can be done online, for instance in Colorado for $15USD Small gam one day.
Make sure you have the real one when you get off the plane.

Getting into Canada
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/form-formulaire/pdfs/5589-eng.pdf
Fill out the form and part with $25


Cart before the horse there.

All Wildlife here (Canada) is held in right of the Crown (Little old lady hangs at Buckingham).
(Saskatchewan and Quebec have some hunting behind fences)

Most Outfitters will be guiding for Trophy Animals. Hence the prices you are/were seeing.

Drop this in Google and you will come up with webpages for most associations that will provide a list of Outfitters in their provinces (the folks who arrange the hunts)
"Outfitters associations"

Each Province has its own laws on hunting.
Here are a few places to find the laws. (This will also let you in on the local jargon related to hunting.)
http://mywildalberta.com
http://www.environment.gov.sk.ca/hunting
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/
http://www.ontario.ca/document/ontario-hunting-regulations-summary
http://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/english/publications/online/wildlife/hunting-regulations/index.asp

That should be a start for you.

Alberta in January can be anything from sun tanning in a T-shirt and shorts to brrrrrrrrrr.

 

[MJ75]

Brickburn, that's fantastic information, thank you. I'll make a start.

On the price front, for comparison purposes, in 2014 I hunted in the Eastern Cape on a 14 animal package which consisted of 8 nights, 7 days hunting for :-

2 x Blesbok
2 x Springbok
2 x Impala
4 x warthog
2 x duiker
1 x waterbuck
1 x kudu

All these animals were culls, though one of the warthogs was a real trophy. My friend also took a Rowland Ward class common duiker at no extra cost. The fees each were just £1950 ($3792 CAD) for the whole hunt including two nights lamping where jackal, and caracal were free. Vervet monkeys and baboon were also free if seen in the day. Looking today, a 6 day mule deer rifle hunt costs £3600 ($7000 CAD). Or another way to compare would be :-

RSA £140 per animal
Canada £3600 per animal with two days less accomodation.

I completely understand I'm comparing apples with oranges, but if you like to stalk and pull the trigger RSA is unbeatable. So I do wonder if anyone over there could offer a cull type package to UK hunters on a viable commercial basis? I really hope they can.

 

[JimP]

Hunting in North America is way different than hunting in Africa.

The price that you pay is mostly determined by the experience of the outfitter and his ability to get you onto trophy type animals, or the availability of the animal that you want to hunt. Here in the US you can hunt in Texas where most of the land is private and the owners have the ability to grow the trophy animals to what they want, and they then sell you a hunt depending on the size of animal that you want to shoot. Or you can go to another state like Colorado where most of the land is public and you can hunt it without a guide or outfitter and you determine what you want to shoot. The only place that you will find cull hunts in the US or Canada are going to be on private land where the landowner is managing their herd for trophies.

Also on the cost of the tags for mule deer is that in most states there are a limited amount of tags. That is that not everyone that wants to hunt them gets to. This will drive up the cost since if you do not want to put into the draw system you will need to purchase a tag or go with a outfitter that offers a private land or a land owner voucher. These can get expensive depending on the location of the hunt itself.

The cost also just comes down to the fact that there are not as many animals in North America as there is in Africa along with the cost of living or economics of the country. The standard of living in North America is a lot higher than it is in Africa. And if Africa had the same standard of living then you would see the hunts there being a lot more expensive.

 

[MJ75]

@ JimP Totally understand that. Though I can totally see why so many Americans head out to Africa too.

Interestingly prices in RSA are increasing with some species as there appears to be a game ranching boom going on at the minute. It will be interesting to see what happens there.

 

[Bsums]

I think first you need to decide what species you want to hunt. From their you can decide public/private land and guided/not guided which really affects the price. For my residence state my license costed like 30$ and I can shoot 6 whitetail deer while a guided whitetail deer hunt is going to run like 1,500$ to 3,000$. Another good option is a semi-guided hunt, its a lot less expensive but is good for increasing your chances, especially if you aren't familiar with the area/species. I don't know the exact rules for foreigners hunting but for a public land hunt that isn't guided will cost you just a couple hundred dollars for tags or less depending on what species. If you have a friend over here who could help you out on the hunt it could be very successful.

 

[gizmo]

Hello sir, I have a current cull offer available at the moment. It is for whitetail deer, hogs, and turkey. My place, as I have stated in previous posts is low fences and free range. There are cattle fences but these have no effect on the wildlife what so ever. I initially did it for a father/son or daughter but two friends would be perfectly fine as well. If you have interest in this please feel free to contact me. Thank you, Erik

 

[gizmo]

Here is the link to the original offer should you like to take a look. Thank you. http://www.africahunting.com/threads/rockin-g-father-son-father-daughter-hunt.22551/

 

[BRICKBURN]

.....................
So I do wonder if anyone over there could offer a cull type package to UK hunters on a viable commercial basis? I really hope they can.

Only places that own the game here are inside fences. Not likely ever going to see a cull on Wild game per se.

The closest we have ever come is extra tags in certain areas.

 

[thi9elsp]

Seems like a fair number of outfitters offer management whitetail deer hunts too. Those seem to be anywhere from $2,500 - 3,500. There really are no cull hunts in the U.S. that I'm aware of. And, if you don't know the areas, trying to do it on your own could be difficult. You don't want to end up on private property when you're supposed to be hunting public land.

Trophy pronghorn antelope can probably be hunted with an outfitter for $1,500 - 2,000 out in Wyoming - probably around a 3 day hunt.

Lastly, Eric's offer is a very good offer for hunting here in the U.S. You should talk to him about it.

 

[ack]

Antelope in Wyoming is a very enjoyable hunt,easy on the body and you should see a lot of game..

 

[MJ75]

Here is the link to the original offer should you like to take a look. Thank you. http://www.africahunting.com/threads/rockin-g-father-son-father-daughter-hunt.22551/

Thanks. I'll take a look.

Only places that own the game here are inside fences. Not likely ever going to see a cull on Wild game per se.

The closest we have ever come is extra tags in certain areas.

Fair enough, thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.