Africa bowhunt advice needed

[pointingdogsrule]

I am considering a bowhunt to South Africa in the July -August 2012. There seem to be so many different issues and factors to consider. If anyone is knowledgable and has been there could you please PM me.

Thanks in advance
the dog

 

[wswat]

What are your concerns?
I just bow hunted in August and can say nothing but great things about it.

 

[Bambistew]

I've hunted there a couple times, bowhunted a few days but did not kill anything with the bow. I was doing spot and stalk, but have no doubt if I would have sat in a blind I would have killed all sorts of animals. Sitting at a waterhole, its simply amazing the number of animals you will see.

I've become good friends with the owner/operator of the place I hunted in RSA. They run a good show, but are not paticularly geared for bowhunting, however they can accomodate no problem if you so chose. They have some really nice animals on their properties, as it doesn't get hunted very much. They usually only take 5-6 groups a year.

Not sure what kind of questions you might have, but feel free to ask. I don't have the Africa bug like I used to, but will go back one day. I'm thinking Camaroon DIY next time?

 

[Andrew McLaren]

Bowhunting in South Africa - Help Offered.

Hi pointingdogsrule,

I'll send you a PM with the normal "I advise that you book your hunt with Andrew McLaren Safaris" marketing angle. However there are some general remarks about which a wider spectrum of forum members may be interested in. I hope to touch just on a few of these in this posting.

First Issue: Legality of the Hunt? How does a foreign hunter wishing to hunt - in your case bowhunt - in South Africa make sure that the hunt he undertakes is legal in evry respect? The short answer is to ensure that your hunt is arranged by a properly licenced Hunting Outfitter (HO). I further advise to take due dilligence and during the early negotiation stages with any HO ask for and insist that he send you a copy of his Hunting Outfitters license. Do not assume that just because the HO has a nice web page and is an exhibitor and/or donor at some show he is really legit. Ask for and insist to see some crentials! If you do that, you can be sure that even if you end up with the very worst of the worst offenders and everything about your hunt turns out to be illegal, and if you are caught, the South African Nature Conservation Authorities will most likely not prosecute you. You can be very sure that if you can show that the HO that you have booked with has provided you with a copy of a 'license' to operate as HO in the particular province you will be totally off the hook, even if it turns out that the 'license' forwarded to you was invalid or falsified. They will prosecute the Hunting Outfitter whose duty it is to see that everything about your hunt is legal.

If you are dealing with a properly licensed HO he will provide you with a document called a "Remuneration Agreement" (RA) or a 'Hunt Contract' in which all services and the costs associated is spelled out in detail, for you to sign. If the HO that you are negotiating with does not do this, please BEWARE as the signing of a RA by both the hunter and the HO before the onset of the hunt is a legal requirement. Do not feel offended by a HO insisting that you sign such a document - it has nothing to do with mutual trust - is simply is an essential legal requirement that has to be adhered to.

Second Issue: How much does it cost? About as difficult to correctly reply to as the question about the lenght of a piece of string! Finding out what the range of costs are is easy - simply send an e-mailed request to [email protected] and I will forward the summary statistics of my price list database consisting of the Internet web page published prices of both daily rates and a large number of trophy species extracted from about 285 HO's price pages. This will give you ample guidance of how the price asked by the HO that you are negotiating with compares to all other HO's prices. So, getting the cost comparison done is easy, what is really difficult is knowing if you'll get 'value for money spent'?

I will for the moment just stick to these two points. There are very many more to consider. Do yourself a favor and seriously consider the remarks made by Bambistew: Some operators are just interested in getting you to shoot as much as possible by whatever means, as the more you shoot the more money they make. Sure, you are more likely to get shooting opportunities by sitting in a blind at a waterhole or near an automatic feeding station than walking in search of animals to stalk! But it should be your decision on how you wish to hunt: Ethically or for results at all costs?

Lastly I want to state that, as long ago as 1986, I've been issued with a membership card of the South African Bowhunters and Game Conservation Association with grade as "Professional Bowhunter". And after almost 30 years of being a Professional Hunter I should know most of the basics of that game.

I wish you the best of enjoyment in planning and getting ready for a wonderful bowhunting trip to South Africa in 2012!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

 

[TOM IN TENNESSEE]

Responded to your PM just now....may have more for you in a day or two.