Many of us here have done a good deal of travelling hunting. My advice would be again determine what motivates you, as you’ve wended through temporary fixations of a Rigby .416, a sheep slam, broadened the interest now to international hunting in general. As in all these pursuits, attempting to do it on the cheap will typically not result in the experience you’re seeking. A Ruger .416 isn’t a Rigby, a Tahr isn’t a Stone Sheep, and a South African ranch hunt package isn’t Zimbabwe, the Caprivi, or Selous. Buy once, cry once, just do whatever you want to do right.
That’s the advice I’d give, if you do it cheap, inevitably you’ll still be shopping for fulfillment of the dream after and it just costs you more, and sets you back in achieving what you really want to do. I’ve done this with guns, for instance I’ve always wanted a Winchester 52 Sporting. Instead of ponying up the money for a nice one out of the states, I spent more than that on four non-Sportings I don’t like as much progressively, and watched the prices of Sportings climb. It ‘felt’ cheaper each incremental acquisition, but never scratched the itch. I’m still looking for a Sporting. Do a cheap package ranch hunt and you’ll have the same problem.
My motivation / bragging rights sought in hunting was Big Five, which as I mentioned previously fell apart just past the halfway point with an unscrupulous outfitter gone bust. The bragging rights side of collections and trophy rooms didn’t age for me, as I wandered clients’ styrofoam stuffed zoos stateside I didn’t feel the draw anymore after the bad taste of losing a forty thousand dollar deposit. What I found was always motivating me, was seeing places in a fundamentally wild way. Rifle on shoulder, no tourists seen in the entire trip beyond the airports, spice of wilderness and life being lived. So maybe that loss saved me money as I didn’t chase the last two hunts.
I found that hunting was my vehicle, not my purpose in seeking fulfillment. I’ve since found more productive uses of my funds, for fulfilling the same desires of seeing wild places, in wild ways. So again, is it the mount you want, the story? No judgement there I facilitated many of those for clients. I found I didn’t need the tokens to remember the adventures, or prove them. As I’ve got older I’ve become more content with a photo and time spent sitting on a log or a rock after a long climb. Mindfulness of what motivates you to do these things, and hunt is probably your best first step.
Seeing as we all bounce around in our fixations, I’d recommend finding what’s at the core of your personal restlessness. For me, it was just going to wild places, seeing things few see. Make a solid plan, is my advice, do it right. Then see if you want to continue.
