First Safari
International
Just booked a 10 day safari with African Barefoot Safaris. Looking for help with what to take and what to leave at the house. Got a SKB double bow case from Santa, have 2 Elite Answers, range finder, binos, 2 releases. How many arrows do I need? Should I take the backup bow? Any help and ideas would be great. I tend to over pack.
First off....CONGRATS and I am jealous. I have only been once but if I were going this is what I would do.
I didn't take a back up bow and probably wouldn't in the future. I would just take some extra strings, loops, peep tying material and things like that. Many take an extra bow but I didn't and probably wouldn't in the future. I would take at least at least a dozen good hunting arrows. I would also take more arrows to shoot small game like guinea fowl. For instance....if you shoot Gold Tip Pros....get some of the cheaper Expeditions to shoot at guinea fowl and things like that.
As far as clothes....depending on when you go. Take at least a jacket, combination of a couple pairs of pants and shorts, 3 or 4 pairs of underwear and socks, a couple of shirts and toiletries. They will do laundry every day so you will need very few clothes.
your Outfitter Should answer Most of them.. range Finder # 1 or 2 most Important 2 releases clothes for 3 days....hot and Cold Film 400 shots or more **** Video ****** 2 bows...24 arrows ( more for Birds or Monkeys ) Fixed BH and Bh for birds Binos, no just a range Finder and good cameras and video . What animals ? ....Did you calculate your KE? Most Shot should be 12-26 yards.. Sun glasses & screen for riding on the back of the truck
Be sure if you are interested, to buy some cool game room or decorating stuff out away from the airports or larger cities. Stuff like masks and figurines, etc... Most guys bring way to much gear, clothes and stuff. I guess having extra arrows beats running out. I think I used 4, initially 5 animals with the same arrow just new blades on my broad head. I'm a big fan of the Cabelas rolling duffel and only one bow for any traveling hunt.
Take more photos and close ups of everything, you can deleat ones later and an extra memory card takes up no room.
Jim,
There are quite a few threads on this subject here on Bowsite with lots of good info.
My wife & I are going in 2015 so I have been reading up on this as well.
Good luck to you!
all above is good info cheap knives & cheap leatherman tips for drivers, boys etc Tip staff directly don't give tips to PH for staff he will pocket it Scent killer likek Tink's B Tech spray Tink retired African PH & HuntingOutfitter
2 doz arrows and 1 doz BH's
2 bows, if you have them- bowshop a long distance away if you have bow problems!
2 sets of clothes (Black or dark tops) Jacket & cap
leather gloves when you go into the bush
Primos bow sling and a protective cover for sights
Good camera and plenty of chips- last trip I took 1700 photos and partner took 3 hrs of video
rangefinder and good binos
ziplock bags and roll of duct tape.
Copy of Perfect Shot book
candy, coloring books, etc. for kids
If you are travelling with another hunter, place one of your bows in his case and one of his in yours. That way if one your cases is lost, chances are the other one will make it.
I didn't do this and both my bows and all my luggage disappeared in 07.
good luck on your first safari, or more accurately, your first trip to africa. bring back a bunch.
I have always taken a backup bow, but probably won't do so in the future. When you were allowed two free bags (Delta), I would take my SKB double bow case and another bag. Now that they charge $150 roundtrip for the second bag, I will likely just leave out the second bow and pack everything in the SKB. If there are two of you that could use the same backup bow in an emergency (approx. same size), one of you could take a backup to share I suppose.
You don't think about it being cold, especially if your are leaving a warm climate in the summer time, but it can get close to freezing when a cold front comes through in June-August, so take light gloves and a stocking cap for the rides out in the morning and evening which are often in an open vehicle.
I always take close to two dozen arrows, but never even use a dozen. While shooting at birds etc. is fun, I am always leery of spooking the unseen game animals, so I don't find myself shooting at that many birds etc.
I envy anyone going on their FIRST trip to Africa. Have a great time!
No kidding Snuffer....enough already 'Bou! This guy is all excited and here you go again...
Congrats on booking your first trip! I'm sure you will have a blast! Make sure you post lots of pics when you get back! Don't over pack your clothes, they prolly do laundry every day.
congrats! I know how u feel! Im leaving in just about 6 months for my first ever time to Africa...soo pumped.
So, do most give tips directly to staff, even tho told not to?
My gut tells me my PH/outfitter will give it to help....but thats just a hunch.
Curious what other folks do who have been there a few times?
In NA I always give direct to guide/cook etc.
Been over a few times, and the tip issue is a gut one, and related to how you feel about the place and people that you are hunting with. Like anything else, there are just times in life when you want to hand someone a tip or a present, and look them in the eye and say thank you. There are times when you have a crew of trackers or skinners but never really develop any one on one relationships. More recently, I have had the experience of being asked to pay it through the PH because he felt that he could more reasonable control the tip from being frittered away quickly on nothing worth while. As I respected the PH and the reasonable thought, I went with it.
Congrats on your first South African Bowhunt. I hunted with Reon before and I know you will be in good hands. He should be quite helpful in letting you know what you need to bring. In general the above mentioned are all good things to bring. No more than 24 arrows and good broad heads, extra blades, luminocks or similar, yrange finder/ extra battery, for me 10x let's you see through the thick brush, video cam, good digital camera with >10x optical zoom, card media, battery chargers, batteries, 3 pair hunting clothes, dark for blind, camo for stalking, light weight hiking boots, comfortable travel shoes or sneakers, bow tools, extra string/etc, fleece jacket, knit or fleece cap, gloves, facemasks, tape measure (get those needed measurements for your taxidermist), pads, pencils, pens, powdered scent killer like dead downwind and small spray bottle for reconstituting, perfect shot book is good for first timer, small laptop with wireless( some safari operations have Internet which you can use to call home via Skype for pennies), malaria prophylaxis, fluoroquinolone antibiotic for travelers diarrhea, some cash will be needed, can get Rands prior to trip here in states or at airport. For your bow case some swear by putting theirs in the bottom of a wheeled duffel packed with clothes etc, (everything in one bag) which avoids the extra scrutiny of a hard sided bow case. I prefer my SKS double bow for protection. Stay flexible with your wish list, as I will be that you change your mind about certain species once you are there. Study everything you can get on what constitutes trophy quality for each species and become confident in your ability to judge them. It will help you to eliminate a common anxiety felt by many newbies to African game. I would not jump to conclusions about what you can or will do with your trophies once you take them. They will want to know how you want it skinned at the time of recovery, so you need to think about this carefully. I would suggest talking to a taxidermist who knows and has experience with African. I will be there in August but hunting with Limcroma. I you have more questions just PM me. Give my regards to Reon and Elmay.
Regarding the tip question...I would suggest that you follow the instructions of your PH/company you are hunting with. I think you will see that many of the trackers and such are long time employees that stay with these companies for a reason. If they were getting screwed out of tips, they wouldn't continue to work for the company...just a thought.
Jim,
Search the "Things I would do different" thread.
There's a lot of great tips in it.
With regard to the SKB bow case, I think they are a good product, however, they are NOT indestructible, and people (antis) know what is in them. Mine was badly broken upon return from SA. It was OK when I went through customs in Atlanta, but broken when it got to Pittsburgh. It was clearly evident by the boot print that someone stomped on the side to break it. Thankfully I had LOTS of clothes packed around my bow and it was not damaged. The airline paid me full replacement value with no questions asked.
If you use the SKB, pack a lot of soft clothing around your bow. If I go again, I may try the rolling duffel that others have used. That may "camouflage" my bow from some anti-hunting a$$hole.
Others have given you a pretty good list. There is no such thing as too many photos.
Dave
Others have already covered the basics on clothes, gear, etc.
I cannot stress enough to make sure you bring a good, high quality camera. You only get one chance to take pictures with your trophies.
I was disappointed with the quality of my pictures when the photos were enlarged to 8x10's. Take a camcorder with you, your PH will video your shots for you.
Wife has a great camera and she got me a GoPro for Christmas. Should be set in that area. Batteries and cards.
I hunted with reon this past september. had a blast.if a animal gives you a shot take it,you may never see it again. not saying reon doesn't have plenty they can be very wary. what month are you going? that makes a big difference to the clothes you take. how many animals do you want to shoot? makes a difference to how many arrows and broadheads. take a soft bow case for the ride in the truck, very dusty. his hydes are awesome dark,quite and lots of room. you will have a BLAST. Forrest
Going in September. What about a light on my Spot Hogg if the hydes are that dark?
Absolutely a lighted sight as hides will probably be dark. However, Dratharr can give you a very accurate answer since he just hunted with them
For me lighted nocks as well as the sight light mentioned are things I would not forget to have as part of my setup. will be invaluable if you video the shots and to help your PH truly determine the nature of the hit. I was also hunting at night for some critters so those items will be relevant for that as well. 2x on the soft case. Try to find one that is thin enough to pack over your bow in the hard case. In back of the truck on your rides to and from there can be dusty, plus it is nice to be able to free your hands from holding your bow the entire time. That means being able to use your binos or camera by hanging your case on a gun rack hook, or stowing it out of the way during those rides.
jstephens61, yes you need a light on your spot hogg sight. september is very dry, which is good. september 1 is first day of spring, cool in the mornings 50 deg warms up quick to 80 to 90 deg. so lite jacket normal early hunting clothes. Forrest
Take along a good camera and camcorder! If you are hunting from a blind it would be pretty fun having a couple video cameras set up. You could set up a remote control GoPro close to the waterhole and another camcorder in the blind. Have fun!
Agree on using a lighted sight. In the hide, it's tough to see your pins late in the day. Mornings usually aren't a problem since most hunting starts around 8 to 10:00 am in the morning. On a 10 day hunt, I had two shots that required me to turn the light on. The hides are dark and seeing your pins close to dark can be an issue.
