Why nobody on this forum talks about Jeff Rann Safaris?

[Heeler75]

For the reasons mentioned in other posts as well as the cost of the hunts.

When you are talking about people that drop $100K+ for one Elephant, your dealing with a crowd that generally doesn't like their recreation choices being made public.

Also with that clientele you really do not need advertising.

Lots of truth in this statement.

By the way, have you seen what the operator in the Nyae Nyae (Namibia) is getting for his trophy bull hunts? It's more than Botswana I believe.

 

[Sabre]

I have a buddy that booked a Hunt with Jeff several years ago. Circumstances changed and he ended up having to cancel the hunt a full year out. Jeff would not refund his deposit. Just so you know there may be some integrity issues.

Some outfitters state in their contracts that deposits are refundable if canceled by a certain time, some say deposits are not refundable if cancelled. A person would have to see the agreement to know if there were integrity issues there.

 

[hwr239]

Most likely this is because he is not sponsor here. Main reason.

His promo videos are attractive, but pricing is turn off for me.
There are hundreds of outfitters in Africa, that nobody mentions here. Not sponsors.

Speaking of Lechwe, I was in Caprivi last year, August, Plenty of Lechwe there,

We're not allowed to talk about an outfitter who's not a sponsor of this site?

 

[375Fox]

Wait a minute. Is this the same guy that I met in the Rigby booth at SCI?

I KNEW going into the Rigby booth was going to be dangerous!

It is

 

[375Fox]

We're not allowed to talk about an outfitter who's not a sponsor of this site?

We can. A sponsor just has a higher likelihood of getting clients from this site so more mentions. There are some rules though we can recommend, write hunt reports, mention non-sponsors all we like but can’t post links to their websites or post offers for them.

 

[deewayne2003]

I have a buddy that booked a Hunt with Jeff several years ago. Circumstances changed and he ended up having to cancel the hunt a full year out. Jeff would not refund his deposit. Just so you know there may be some integrity issues.

I've heard that before about deposits, and I can only imagine it has to do with the clientele.

10day elephant hunt $85K
14day leopard hunt $50K
Special Elephant Safari - POR/ $50k deposit to book + $1k per pound

This is not a blanket statement but still worth considering: The jet set crowd that can drop that kind of money on hunts can also be extremely flakey; meaning they have no problem calling things off at the last minute for whatever reason.

He obviously has no problem selling those hunts and I can only imagine the scheduling nightmare and deposit nightmare that would ensue if you started issuing refunds to some people and not others; probably wise business practice to make deposits non refundable.

After all if you can drop $100K+ on an elephant hunt, the opportunity cost of leaving your $50K deposit in place and rescheduling for next year is probably means little more to you than a rounding error in your accountants spread sheet.

 

[gbflyer]

In Alaska our policy was payment in full 45 days prior. Better for all concerned. The burn of the sticker shock was over by then. We had a graduated refund policy and would always credit towards next year. Of course we were not dealing with trophy fees which could complicate matters.

 

[franzfmdavis]

I met Jeff and another PH that works for him at SCI this year and they were very approachable and engaging.

 

[Joey17]

While I agree that his name doesn’t come up much, I would imagine most of your folks here are familiar with him. It seems like with the growth in online information about Africa a lot of noise crowds out the originals, but for many, myself included, he was one of the first high end DG PHs they became real familiar with from old shows

 

[mark-hunter]

We're not allowed to talk about an outfitter who's not a sponsor of this site?

No. Not like that. Its just that sponsors occupy most of space here, then you have hunt reports, again with sponsors. Then you have deals and offers by sponsors etc....
There is occasional question about this or that outfitter, (not sponsor) but those threads never catch up numerous responses.

Btw, advertising of non-sponsors is not allowed. The question is, what is advertising?

 

[Philip Glass]

After watching this Chris Dorsey video a while back, the dream of hunting Red Lechwe by boat is stuck in my head.

At this years SCI in Nashville, I stopped to chat with the folks at Jeff Rann Safaris about Red Lechwe, Eland and Buff hunting in Botswana. Everyone, including Jeff were very polite and answered my questions thoroughly. At one time, their concession in Botswana had Lechwe on license, but this is no longer the case.

I've looked at the Jeff Rann Safaris website, and watched plenty of videos featuring Jeff, but can't find any threads about him on this forum, or anyone here who's hunted with him in Botswana.

Is it a price thing? Is there something that I'm missing? Just curious due to the lack of information here.

BTW, on the advice of several members, I've started to look at the Caprivi strip of Namibia for a Lechwe hunt of this type.

Jeff is a great guy and a highly decorated PH. He has done it all! I suppose you are correct that the reason there are few reports here is that he mostly does the safaris for big Botswana bull elephant. He has a great reputation so those hunts command a very high price. I certainly would like to hunt with him.

 

[Heeler75]

While I agree that his name doesn’t come up much, I would imagine most of your folks here are familiar with him. It seems like with the growth in online information about Africa a lot of noise crowds out the originals, but for many, myself included, he was one of the first high end DG PHs they became real familiar with from old shows

Johan Calitz comes to mind as well. He's the one I always heard about in Botswana. And this is before he and Tony Makris did their hunting shows.

 

[fourfive8]

Reason? Many of the better known outfitters don’t need to troll around the edges, offering loss leaders or continual solicitation for business. Word of mouth, reputation and repeat customers keep them booked.

 

[Rubberhead]

If you haven't seen it, Jeff's hunt in Alaska for a grizzly with a double is worth seeing.

 

[Red Leg]

Jeff is one of those fairly rare PH's who is also an astute businessman. I do not pretend to know him, but have conversed with him numerous times at various events here in Texas. Along with his very successful African work, he also owns the 777 Ranch near Hondo, which is one of the more well established exotic game ranches in the country. Interestingly, his son is a Texas A&M graduate. I should also note that his personal firearm choices match the quality of his hunts and clientele.

For those of you who are not interested in hunting a Lechwe in their native environment, you can pot one on the 777 as well as the Eastern Cape.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Jeff is one of those fairly rare PH's who is also an astute businessman. I do not pretend to know him, but have conversed with him numerous times at various events here in Texas. Along with his very successful African work, he also owns the 777 Ranch near Hondo, which is one of the more well established exotic game ranches in the country. Interestingly, his son is a Texas A&M graduate. I should also note that his personal firearm choices match the quality of his hunts and clientele.

For those of you who are not interested in hunting a Lechwe in their native environment, you can pot one on the 777 as well as the Eastern Cape.

Scenery in Texas does not compare to Eastern Cape. But Texas culture is certainly more exotic. I'll pass.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I like Jeff Rann and would 100% (or better if that's possible) trust him (or Mark Sullivan for that matter) with a safari of mine. But, and this may sound silly, I want my PH to have a southern African accent. It's just part of my life-long expectations I have for Africa.

One of the most intense memories I have from Africa was my PH greeting me at the air port with his South African accent. My mind did a backflip telling me, "you are in Africa". I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Is he not an African?