Hunt Africa in America - Sept 11,12th, '09

[86er]

Are you interested in African big game hunting but think it is too expensive? Don't want to travel? Logistical concerns?

We're bringing Africa to you! This one day event will feature a hunt for African game only, on 6 different ranches in Texas. You will be guided by a seasoned South African Professional Hunter, Chris Troskie. We have authentic African trackers and game scouts. A Land Rover or Land Cruiser type safari vehicle will take you and your PH out in the bushvelt of Texas. When game is spotted you will hunt on foot until the PH sets up the "sticks" and gives you the okay to shoot. Your lunch menu will include game meats from African animals, and Amarulla (fruit and liquer) prepared by a South African native chef. The game will include Cape Buffalo/Water Buffalo cross (hybrid), Oryx, Impala, Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Zebra, Eland, Aoudad and Kudu. Video taped and professionally photographed. Includes an overnight stay prior to the hunting day and one after if required. The price is a daily rate of $250 (total) and a trophy fee of $2000 for any of the listed species. Non- Hunting observers welcome at a daily rate of $75. This includes trophy prep and delivery to your choice of 3 local taxidermists and 3 local meat processors. Hunting day will be September 11th afternoon and 12th morning. The weather in TX will mimic a May day in South Africa at that time of year. Limited slots - opened to levergun forum members ONLY until June 1st. (After that any openings will be available to the public). Let me know quickly if you are interested! Thanks

[alnitak]

Sounds like a great idea, Joe! I wish I could join you this year, ... but maybe next year.

[TedH]

I would LOVE to come down with the 470 and knock over a buff. It aint gonna happen this year though.

[86er]

I take credit cards!

[TedH]

It's tempting, but I think my wife would bend those 470 barrels around my skull if I did that.

[Ysabel Kid]

It's tempting, but I think my wife would bend those 470 barrels around my skull if I did that.

You're getting off easy. Mike wife would stick the barrel of my gun someplace in me it wasn't meant to be!

[crs]

That is a great idea. I will send Jim Shepherd this link and we can discuss this at the DWWC dinner this Saturday night.

PS Your list includes two of my target species - Cape Buffalo and Waterbuck, so maybe I can talk Jim into coming along with me!
How many hunters can you handle?

PPS I sent the link to Sterling also.

[Mike D.]

You Texan levergunners have NO excuses for taking full advantage of Joe's deal. I'm even mulling it over. By that date harvest will be over and shipping operations closed, so maybe...

[JReed]

I would love to make it but Uncle Sam aint giving me much time off for the next couple of years. . One of these years I will be on the guest list.

[Blaine]

SomeDay, Gentlemen.......

[Travis Morgan]

How much to be guided by an Okie with a hangover in a duct taped old Chevy 4WD, and eat fried spam off of the manifold with room temperature Pabst Blue Ribbon? (pictures by Polaroid) BTW, I'm available to guide, if you just provide the hangover. And the truck; I can't get my engine out of the tree!

[PrimitiveHunter]

are they fenced in almost tame animals? if so that aint my kinda hunting at all.... hunting is a special thing to me not a contest or just a hobbie.

[Old Ironsights]

are they fenced in almost tame animals? if so that aint my kinda hunting at all.... hunting is a special thing to me not a contest or just a hobbie.

Fence? Yes...

"Fenced-in"? only if you consider around 4500+ acres "fenced in"

The total fenced area of the Ranch is a bit more than 3/4 the area of the entire town of Hondo... which is 9.4 sq mi with 2400 housing units on it..

Ranch.jpg

Tame? Tame enough to be more than happy to stomp you to death for the fun of it... (no, they are NOT "tame"...)

Hunting on the Ranch can be as wild/dangerous as you want it to be. You just get to avoid having to bribe Customs & Everybody else...

[Old Ironsights]

I take credit cards!

The Question is... Do you take Maxxed-out credit cards...

[PrimitiveHunter]

still dont think id do it.

[Travis Morgan]

This reminds me of a story (can't seem to find it) of a killer Scimitar horned Oryx on an exotic ranch; it attacked several people before killing a ranchhand.

[Old Ironsights]

Water buffalo in TX...

[crow]

(copy of post stupid placed in wrong topic )

4000 acres is not very big, especially if your in a vehicle. But even on foot thats pretty small. On the other hand I'm sure that animals hunted in native Africa are constantly monitored by the guides and they will usually put you close to success as a matter of course.

I guess I'm used to the Aussie experience. You drive 900km probably a third on dirt road, to get to a property where the only guide is the Cow Cockie (property owner) and he guides you by saying he has seen some recent sign in the west paddock. The distinquishing feature of the west paddock is that it is smaller than the other three paddocks and only 30 000 acres. All covered on foot and you hunt basically all day, even in the hottest part of the day as you try to catch critters sneaking. The only good reason to keep your eyes open that night is the company around the campfire and the stars.

Oh he says "For Chris'sake don't kill the white fluffy thing with the bell, that's the Missus' prize mongrel persian cat"

Cheers

[Chris Troskie]

(copy of post stupid placed in wrong topic )

4000 acres is not very big, especially if your in a vehicle. But even on foot thats pretty small. On the other hand I'm sure that animals hunted in native Africa are constantly monitored by the guides and they will usually put you close to success as a matter of course.

I guess I'm used to the Aussie experience. You drive 900km probably a third on dirt road, to get to a property where the only guide is the Cow Cockie (property owner) and he guides you by saying he has seen some recent sign in the west paddock. The distinquishing feature of the west paddock is that it is smaller than the other three paddocks and only 30 000 acres. All covered on foot and you hunt basically all day, even in the hottest part of the day as you try to catch critters sneaking. The only good reason to keep your eyes open that night is the company around the campfire and the stars.

Oh he says "For Chris'sake don't kill the white fluffy thing with the bell, that's the Missus' prize mongrel persian cat"

Cheers

Hmmm... yeah, I've heard about hunting in Aussie Thing is that whether you're shooting ferral donkeys, horses, goats etc. on 100,000 acres or 4,000 acres it's still just shooting donkeys, horses etc... Spoke to a mate who hunted Water Buffalo in Australia just the other day and upon asking him what the experience was like he replied: "Would have had more fun shooting Daisy - my dad's milk cow - in the stable...

[Travis Morgan]

For some folks, seemingly, that'd be a real adventure; I think some people are so eager to punch their "man card" that they'd pay to shoot cows at a feedlot. (and still need several rounds.)

[Chris Troskie]

For some folks, seemingly, that'd be a real adventure; I think some people are so eager to punch their "man card" that they'd pay to shoot cows at a feedlot. (and still need several rounds.)

Agreed... But this is certainly not what can be expected on the hunt offered.

[crow]

(copy of post stupid placed in wrong topic )

4000 acres is not very big, especially if your in a vehicle. But even on foot thats pretty small. On the other hand I'm sure that animals hunted in native Africa are constantly monitored by the guides and they will usually put you close to success as a matter of course.

I guess I'm used to the Aussie experience. You drive 900km probably a third on dirt road, to get to a property where the only guide is the Cow Cockie (property owner) and he guides you by saying he has seen some recent sign in the west paddock. The distinquishing feature of the west paddock is that it is smaller than the other three paddocks and only 30 000 acres. All covered on foot and you hunt basically all day, even in the hottest part of the day as you try to catch critters sneaking. The only good reason to keep your eyes open that night is the company around the campfire and the stars.

Oh he says "For Chris'sake don't kill the white fluffy thing with the bell, that's the Missus' prize mongrel persian cat"

Cheers

Hmmm... yeah, I've heard about hunting in Aussie Thing is that whether you're shooting ferral donkeys, horses, goats etc. on 100,000 acres or 4,000 acres it's still just shooting donkeys, horses etc... Spoke to a mate who hunted Water Buffalo in Australia just the other day and upon asking him what the experience was like he replied: "Would have had more fun shooting Daisy - my dad's milk cow - in the stable...

Chris, you make an excellent point, but I will qualify my agreement. I have not hunted anywhere as exciting as Africa or Grizzly country. Hell I can't understand how anyone could fall asleep at night in a tent in those places...must be sheer bloody exhaustion. But hunting can be as exciting or safe or as miserable as we (often) choose it to be.

There are some types of hunting that has never appealed to me..hunting polar bears from a helicopter, and some that no longer appeal to me...hunting horses and donkeys etc. I will still hunt pigs with a bow and arrow, but I would do it with a rifle as well for eradication purposes. In fact when I hunt with a rifle I usually treat it as a extra accurate bow and still get in close..because that is where the thrill is for me, to have worked my way in as close as 5-10 yards from a wild animal and for them to be completely oblivious to your presence. Now I will say very clearly right now...I have no illusions that I would want to do that with a lion.

So while I admire SOME of the guys that hunt the dangerous stuff on foot I admire the guys the most that can get in close. I believe that the American Natives felt that the height of skill and bravery was to sneek up on a enemy and touch them without them knowing it.

Yes, I think there is a large amount of Australian hunting that is pretty pedestrian in terms of danger and challenge but that could be said of many places. So I understand what your mate was saying..I love shooting but if hunting is just a matter of "shooting" I'd rather just go to the range and work on my technique and groups. If hunting just comes down to killin' stuff trying to reprove what you have already proved than I am generally not interested. As to water buffalo, yep I'd like to hunt one, one day. But hopefully it is a good one, a good hunt. On foot and get close affair, with a buff with some character. But I've heard of guys shooting Buff just as you have described and others where they've harrassed and threatened bowhunters for hours.

Mostly my point was that 4000 acres is pretty small, still doesn't mean I want to be stuck in a rain barrel with a bobcat

Cheers

[Chris Troskie]

Hey Crow,

I understand where you are coming from and agree with you 100%. Was just taking the p_ss so my comment wasn't aimed against you in a bad way at all.

Let me say this though:

Even though 4,000 acres may sound small, it is definitely not "catching fish in a bowl" when it gets to hunting African animals. I have hunted ranches half the size for days without seeing or getting close to anything (nevermind finding something shootable). And these were ranches that we knew were well stocked with game! There can be many reasons for this - dense bush, wind, cold, moon phase etc... But whatever the reason, "easy" it most certainly was not.

Cheers,

Chris

[Travis Morgan]

I've seen 80 acre brush patches where you couldn't find 20 head of full grown bulls.

[crow]

Chris, absolutely no offence taken at all mate. I know exactly what you are saying about hunting.

Both you and Travis are also correct about small territory not guaranteeing success. I have hunted pigs in lantana country and the same applies. Something gets spooked, there is a ruckus 20 (25yards) metres away and there is no clue whether it is a wallaby or a record porker.

Even worse if visibility is down to about 3 metres and your right in the middle.

[eagles]

I tried to find some pictures on the site of the water buffalo cross offered on the hunt. Can you tell me more of where I can see what they look like and the size ? How are they hunted , stalk , spot etc and how many of then are on the property ? Do they have the temperment of a Cape (hope so ) ? I would love to do a Water Buffalo Hunt here in the future on that ranch for the price listed . I am from Pa orriginaly and I am LOL at the 4,000 acres being small . White tails deers are born live and die in a few acres size in many cases according to the Pa Game commision and one can hunt a few hundred acres and less and never get a shot their ,or even see one . ok if it is 4000 wide open flat treeles acres like a foot ball field then yes , way to easy but I know that is not the case . EASY depends on cover , terrain, weather ,species (how wary and hunter smart ) how you are hunting (are you baiting , are you covrered up in a blind in a place you have scouted with camera's ) and so many other things . ALL ground back east has fences and you can only go so far before you have to turn away and go back . I would say I was hunting on arround 100 acres max out my back door because of fences and property lines and I chased the deer arround a lot . Some times I saw them and got a shot , many days I only saw tails .

[AJMD429]

Even though 4,000 acres may sound small, it is definitely not "catching fish in a bowl" when it gets to hunting African animals. I have hunted ranches half the size for days without seeing or getting close to anything (nevermind finding something shootable).

True. We've known a half-dozen deer to be within a maybe 5-acre brushy patch, and despite three of us taking turns one 'flushing' and two placed for shooting, never even SAW any deer. Fresh deer tracks were made during the half-day 'exercise' so we know they were dancing around in there, but God made them pretty good at hiding... For US, it was an 'adventure' and a 'challenge' and the size of the area didn't matter.

[86er]

Where is OI with his video that shows the buffs? Here is a typical hybrid that would be around 1/8 or 1/4 African buffalo:

[86er]

We have four hunter. We will gladly take a few more. Last minute, but the pricing is greatly reduced on a number of animals.

[rjohns94]

Wish I could have been there. What a deal!!