And keep the budget somewhere between "the wife isnt going to like it" and "she is going to divorce me!"
Approach your safari with that attitude and you can't go wrong. Safe travels, and best of luck!
I know full well, that Sables are really expensive, and Nyalas aren't cheap, so. I would say Kudu, Gemsbok and Impala would be my top three (fairly) reasonable ones. I might settle for just 4 and try for a Nyala if budget allowed.
I think my favorite animal I took was Red Hartebeest.
I passed on several Black Wildebeest because my dad was really into that. And Nyala was out of my price range as was Sable.
Go over with a few animals on your list, but I told myself when I left that I wasn't going to shoot a kudu or water buck...
I decided to take any animal that got my PH excited. The only time I didn't listen to him was with a stud of a impala that was at 10 yards feeding, but I was on day 7 or something and still had not had a shot at a zebra and they were feeding just out of bow range.
Just enjoy the the sights and take what Africa gives you!
I passed on an old mature Eland that I wish I would've taken and never got a chance at zebra or nyala. On the list for the next trip.
Set a budget and go have fun! Africa is awesome!
Kudu Impala Zebra Blue Wildebeest Warthog Blesbok Red Hartebeest
First, your planned hunt is relatively short by most African measures so you may not get to see all there is on that property including species you really want.
Second, picking five species to shoot seems easy but it will become apparent to you after talking with the PH and in the blind that there are a multitude of choices, some of which you had not considered before that may perk new interest and some of which may not be available at that location.
Third is quality of the trophy. Most hunters want a really nice representation of the species and PHs should be able to be give an accurate trophy assessment; but you should also do your homework online and become a judge yourself of what is good vs exceptional so you have a baseline understanding of each species before you go. SCI online records will many times have photos submitted for top 10 animals. Get to know your game as much as you can.
Fourth is attitude, If you are pressuring yourself on getting certain species it can diminish the fun you might otherwise have on the trip. Be more flexible on all of these choices an let the hunt go the way it's going to go. IMO, on a first timers 6 day trip it would be unwise to pass up on a good trophy which excites the PH. Opportunities may be fleeting for such trophy animals on their property and the PH should well know this. In general on most concessions, shooting an impala or warthog should be easier than finding a Gemsbok. Kudu are usually plentiful as are blue wildebeest, waterbuck and blesbok. Remember each place can be a bit different, some having more of one species than another and/or a signature species which neighboring operations do not have. Ask them what are most prevalent and this might help narrow your list.
Fifth, fill your time in the blind with rich memories of all things. The bird life is unreal and more numerous than you might imagine, odd critters that you have never seen may show up anytime so bring video and a good telephoto camera to capture all of it to relive later. Keeping engaged with filming all of these events will fill most of the time voids while waiting for your targeted game.
It's all about having a great experience and I can assure you after this first trip you will be planning to go back. So, there will likely be more opportunities for getting those desired species you do not find on the first go around.
Good luck to you both and have a blast with your Dad.
Second, it depends on the quality animal that you are pursuing: anything, good representation of the species or a trophy book quality.
Boddington states that the normal hunt yields 1 animal per 1 1/2 days of hunting.
If you take 5 annals in 6 days you had one awesome hunt.
Best of luck on your hunt.
We are bringing more camera equipment than you could imagine! We will video every aspect of the hunt so I hope to have some great footage to share after i return.
I have been thinking long and hard about a zebra but i think that may push my wife a little to far! My next choice would be a Kudu but that is a $2,500 animal that turns into a $3,500 mount!
I am excited to go and will most likely just take a few other quality animals that present opportunity.
Thanks
I love euro mounts and have limited room space and a pocket book. This photo is a suggestion on how you can save some money on mounts. The kudus are my latest from 2015 hunt. My two smaller kudus were relocated to a garage wall. Also is a zebra that I collected on the same hunt. Rest assured that I do not have $3500 in taxidermy fees for these 3 animals, nor the entire "Ton of Fun" wall for that matter.
I get a lot of enjoyment out of looking at the mounts and having that part of it, but the hunt and travel was approximately the same amount as the getting the animals home and mounted up on the wall. Roughly 50%.
My hope is to someday take my kids on Safari and pay for it like my father did for me...
Also, before I went last year, a waterbuck wasn't even on my radar, but for some reason they kinda grew on me. After seeing them in person, I'm glad I added one to my list. Turned out to be my favorite animal taken.
My wife did not want me to shoot a jiraffe or Zebra for some reason.
Suprisingly, I had a Duiker, and a Warthog come in and I just drew back and dropped them, both of which I had no intention of shooting before they were in front of me. I also had not planned to shoot a second Impala after having taken a spectacular one- over 26" on the first morning of our hunt, but as the light was fading on our last night a black-faced Impala was broadside, and well... $300 more.
6 days is fairly short- the more time you have the more likely you will see some of the things the property has to offer.
That is what's so great about Africa, so many choices in species.
Good luck with your Safari and Good Hunting!
Here's my 2015 Gemsbok
If you know how much money you have to spend you should look at the price list to help you make up your mind.
I sure like my zebra (picture that MathewsMan put up) and the Red Hartebeast would be the other two that I would arrow but that is up to you.
When you start hunting, throw your list away and let the arrows fly! You can worry about how you're going to pay for it later. I shot way past my budget.
Waterbuck was not on my list. When my PH said "three waterbuck coming in, all shooters", waterbuck was immediately upgraded to my list.
If I had to pick 5 animals, they would be impala, gemsbok, kudu, blue wildebeest and zebra.
Decide on a few must haves and keep an open mind. You'll quickly learn how difficult it is to pass on species that weren't initially on your list.
