Planning for Africa

^ PM Sent...

So we've talked about making the most out of the trip, the variety of game, the rifle, doing your research on an outfitter and different areas to hunt. We briefly touched on gear, so lets chat about that a little more.

First thing that comes to mind is what should I be taking FOR SURE. You know, that thing I might reach for while packing but at the last minute I decide that I won't need it.... but really I do. Or what about that thing that I pack and then never take out of the bag then entire trip?

Shooting sticks come to mind. I've been thinking about getting one of those Primos Trigger sticks for here in Saskatchewan and because it collapses so small it would be easy to take along. So I leave it or take it?

Cotton clothing was mentioned already, in fact some great information on that. But what else? Binos or spotting scope or both? Ammo belt or butt stock shell holder? High boots or hiking shoes? Regular sling or safari sling? Should I take my backpack? Spare scope and rings?

This has been a great thread for me and I hope some others are inspired by the information being provided and collected.:cheers:
 
Take your hiking boots if you want, but travel in something that you would hunt in. I've ended up hunting in glorified running shoes on every trip while the boots sat in a corner.
Binos are a must, a rangefinder might be handy depending where you are, and rangeing binos are the greatest thing since God created gunpowder.
The vast majority of the time I carry my rifle in my hands without a sling, but I've used small nylon ones that roll up small, a military sling, and a dude style padded sling that makes a 12 pound rifle carry like a feather. That last one is going to get a lot more use. If by Safari sling you mean one of those horizontal carry monstrosities leave it at home. There's enough trackers trying to get themselves shot without helping them. Some PHs will be a little choked if you have your rifle on your shoulder when it should be in your hands.
Take a decent flashlight, don't count on there being anything worth using there. A full size maglight is good, and a small LED light in your pocket all the time is a handy thing.
A daypack to keep your camera, binos, rangefinder, spare ammo,flashlight, and all the clothing that you will be pulling on and off during the day. The chances of actually wearing it are pretty slim, and if you want it along someone else will carry it.
African hunting is different, everyone has their job and your's is to shoot. The trackers track spot and carry, the PH spots and judges, and you shoot. If the PH is checking an animal with interest, get on your gun.
 
I wore trail runners, but in my area of Zim should have worn light, soft soled leather boots. The speargrass and devil thorns were literally viscious, and I was pulling the splinter-like seeds out of my feet nightly, by the dozens, that worked through the fabric areas of my leather toed runners. Lightweight leather footwear, with a closed tongue (the tongue has flaps that fold in on the boot, and seal out thorns, grit, and seeds) would be perfect, gaiters are a must in a lot of Zim too. Depends where you're going to hunt, not universal choice. Peter Capstick swore by what he called tennis shoes, I cursed trail runners, all areas are different.
 
The gear I took:

Rocky uninsulated 10" boots
Nike ACG Runners
Smartwool socks (3 pair)
cotton ankle socks (1 pair)
Texas Hunt Co. gaiters
Wind River cotton zip-off pants - OD/Grey
Cabela's Safari Shirt (Long and Short sleeve) - Dark Khaki
Red Head cotton ripstop shirt - OD
North Face boonie hat - OD
Columbia Fleece zip-up jacket
Pentax DCF 10x42 binos on Bushnell harness
Garmin eTrex Vista GPS
Trader Keith leather cartridge belt "Backup Belt"
Custom knife made by my Dad
Bass Pro LED flashlight (2 for $40)

I wore the boots exclusively for hunting and the shoes for around the fire at night. It was cool in the evenings, but not so much that I couldn't wear shorts and tomorrow's hunting shirt. I never wore the long sleeve shirt as it was plenty warm enough for me. I was usually out of my fleece by 6:30 AM on the way back from the hyena blind.

The fleece had nylon panels on the outside and in hindsight I would get a fleece that was no so equipped. Everything sounds noisy at 5:30 AM in a dark blind. My PH wore a plain fleece and jogging pants over his shorts. Was I not wearing zip-offs then this would have been the smartest way to go. My boots were great, but the soles were noisy when sneaking into the blind, hence the reason that they were usually abandoned a mile from the blind and walked in barefoot.

10x42 binos - STUPID! In the thick bush like we hunted I would have given anything for a nice trim 7x32 bino. 10x was just too much power and the 42s were bulkier than they needed to be. Hell, binos might not even be 100% necessary, but I feel naked hunting without them.

Cartridge belt - greatest thing I've been given for hunting. Lots of guys will tell you that a 20 round culling belt is too heavy or an affectation. BS! I wear a 20+ lb belt every day so I didn't hardly notice that I had my belt on except when I had to go to the washroom. Plus I don't think that I'd want to be 3 miles from the truck and get into a rodeo with insufficient ammo. Another client in the concession (same outfitter, different PH) got into a jackpot with his buff and ended up shooting it 15 times (plus 2 from the PH for good measure). Piss poor shooting caused it? Likely, but if I flub a shot I want to make sure I have enough ammo to make lots of holes in the beastie. There's no "time out" in buffalo hunting!

The Bass Pro lights were awesome. LED, run on AAA batteries and bright as a Surefire. Cheap enough that if you forget them, who cares.

The only thing I wished I had taken was my digital voice recorder. On several occasions we has hyenas and lions in camp. I used the movie function on my digital camera to record the sounds, but the quality wasn't as good as it would have been with the recorder. The bush sounds are worth saving to listen to when you get home.

We also took some goodies for the camp staff. Candies, crayons for their kids and a small compact mirror for their wive/sweetie. They all seemed quite happy to get it. Camp staff makes the safari experience what it is - don't overlook them.
 
On gear, when we went we brought too much stuff, we hunted in South Africa the first two weeks of July in 2007, winter there.

I hunt in Ecco hiking boots(tracs, I actually wear them about 10 months of the year), wore sneakers on the plane, my son wore brown adidas sneakers the whole time, our PH wore low Merrill hiking shoes.
We needed a coat when we went, I brought a brown carhart jacket gone by 10:00 AM
Longsleeve shirts, camo and olive drab both bought at Marks I think.
Smart wool medium weight hikers.
Ammo pouch rather than belt, but my son got into an adventure where he finally killed his kudu with his 10th shot, so BUM advice on the belt is reasonable( ONly one bad shot, Weird they were shooting from about 200 yards at last light and it went down behind a big rock exactly the same colour as the kudu. Brendan nor the PH could hear it properly from some weird basin thing, I could but was well behind them and I could both see it and hear it properly.)
Didn't bring a flashlight, really wish we had.
Didn't bring a knife or GPS although brought 4 knives as gifts for the trackers. Decent knives are way cheaper here than there.
Brought candy for the trackers and kids, but my cigarettes were way more popular. I am now a non smoker, but if I went back I would bring a couple of cartons to give out.
We both wore our binoculars on harness's, me 10-42 Leicas, my son 8x42 Pentax HR11's
40 rounds of ammo, lots for me, my son used most of his.
Sun glasses, buy good ones as I wore mine all the time and get used to shooting with them on.
Hat you enjoy wearing and a touque for early AM.
I brought my own shooting sticks, (Longgrass outfitters) as I had practised with them extensively. My PH liked them so much I gave them to him.
A bunch of books.
If I go again I will bring real coffee already ground, a container of coffee mate and a real small automatic drip coffee maker. Man did I miss a good cup of coffee, nothing good between Toronto and Toronto.
Lastly, I got a bad cold/flu while there and the available cold medicine is crap. Do the buildup thing and then daily on cold FX before you go and continue it after you get there. Bring a whole pile of cold/flu medicine and ibuprohen, way more than you think you need and if I go again I will get an oral anti-biotic before I go just in case. I think it's generally hard to spend 24 hours on planes without being exposed to a bug or two many of which our shielded Canadian systems don't really have much exposure to.
 
So after reading this I gotta say I am going to FORCE my self to put away $100-$150 each month for a future African hunting trip. Doesn't seem like alot but I just turning 20 in November and if I did this for 5 years thats $6000+ I can have saved up.
 
casterpollox said:
So what about luggage? Duffel bags, hard luggage... what did you transport your rifle in?
Click to expand...

There are two approaches to luggage. The first is light luggage which can be considered disposable, and will probably be damaged. Hard luggage stands up well, but despite its cost it is not indestructible, and is heavy enough that you may have to pay for overweight. Get the best hardest rifle case you can find and afford. A Pelican Case is my first choice, but there maybe others as good. When we arrived in Dar, there was a very unhappy American hunter gazing down at his aluminum multi-gun gun case with a barrel or two protruding through the end! Be sure to take a soft gun case with you to protect your rifle on the safari vehicle's rack. If you fly into a hunting camp, they might not let you take a hard shell gun case on a light plane, so arrangements will have to be made with someone to hold it for you until you get back.
 
Until the Angels Fall said:
So after reading this I gotta say I am going to FORCE my self to put away $100-$150 each month for a future African hunting trip. Doesn't seem like alot but I just turning 20 in November and if I did this for 5 years thats $6000+ I can have saved up.
Click to expand...

Saving money is never a bad idea, but at age 19 you would better off putting your efforts into increaseing your earning potential. It's easier and better to make enough money that $6000 is chump change, than to scrimp on lower paying work.
At your age, the decisions you make will determine the life you will have. Most people hold themselves back.
 
Dogleg said:
Saving money is never a bad idea, but at age 19 you would better off putting your efforts into increaseing your earning potential. It's easier and better to make enough money that $6000 is chump change, than to scrimp on lower paying work.
At your age, the decisions you make will determine the life you will have. Most people hold themselves back.
Click to expand...

Sound advice! I'm lucky enough to be established in a career already and that's the only reason that I'm starting to look at this. I've thought about it for years but have held off until now so I could get the essentials taken care of first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom