Contributors to this thread:
Seems that Sable prices are the lowest I have ever seen them is the market on them finally affordable, is this what others are seeing?
I've noticed the same thing. Some pretty good deals on Sable these days. I would love to arrow one, they are beautiful.
I'm going for sable this June and have a smokin deal on that hunt. You wont get that big trophy bull at those prices however. Many are now charging $500 or more per inch over say 39". I also understand that bulls 45" and up are worth more if sold as breeders than what they could possibly get from hunter trophy fees.
This guy was 8 grand when we went in 2015. I told my PH that if a sable came in, to take my bow and not give it back to me no matter what I promised him! The price was $6,500 in 2016. Curious to see prices when I see my PH at the Deer Classic. All of their prices were lower in 2016 than in 15.
2017 African Sable Special - 7 days - all inclusive 1x Sable 1x Impala 1x Warthog $6700 Seeing lots in this range trophy fees alone has usually been higher that the whole package
Does that include your daily rates as well??!
That seems like an incredible price!
Why are Sable so expensive???
Razor-sharp I'm not sure it has always been one of the highest Plains game trophy fees and by alot more
I have a 43" Sable hanging in my living room. My Greatgranddad shot it around 1900 when he was working on the Railway system in east Africa. The photos from his adventure show piles of various antelope heads over ant mounds, which is how they cleaned the meat off the skulls. A completely different time, and it is a cherished heirloom from a by-gone era. Even then the Sable was more desirable than a other plains game.
Lucky the few who get to hunt them in the wild. Cheers!
I took my wife along to Namibia in 2000. We were sitting in a blind one of the first mornings when a big sable walked into the waterhole. Judy was not well versed in African wildlife, but she got very excited about the sable and started whispering "shoot, shoot". I whispered back they were very expensive. She was so taken with the look of the animal, she excitedly whispered back "Oh, Shoot it! Shoot it! I'll pay for it !". And that's why sable are so expensive, right there in a nutshell...
Later that evening, I innocently asked my PH what would happen if somebody got excited and just shot a sable, because they were priced on agreement beforehand. Not that I was thinking of asking forgiveness instead of permission, just curious since things like that have happened in Africa. The guy got uncharacteristically angry at me and yelled it would result in a quick trip to the airport for me and ten thousand dollars cash and, I took it, maybe a couple of front teeth. Now these PHs are usually polite and patient with clients. Maybe that's why they call themselves Professionals Hunters instead of outfitters. Anyway, after I explained and got him calmed down, I found out it was a 40+ inch sable for breeding only and a mainstay of his future herd. They are one of the most striking trophy animals in Africa and even in the world. And possibly the reason I may go back to Africa because Judy still wants one!!
Bowonly.....had my wife been in the blind with me when the big sable came in, she probably would have encouraged me to shoot as well. She would have had ulterior motives, however. Before our trip she stated that if I shot a sable, she would get a big emerald! I agree, they are the most beautiful of all the plains game.
I also got called off on a huge waterbuck that was a breeder buck on that particular concession. Fortunately, I got a chance at another one that was actually a little better on another concession.
Hope all few african outfitters will chime in
It's my understanding that they are fairly fragile and die easily, which may have something to do with the high price too.
Rich,,you have a great wife there buddy...She's a trophy...Hope you go back..
Sable are so expensive due to their low numbers in the past. Most animals were killed to increase the amount of land available for cattle farming. In the 70's and 80's farms with no game animals were more expensive than those with game. In the 90's a shift came in South Africa towards game farming and the numbers of game increased. Sable never occurred in high numbers in South Africa. They only occurred in the north eastern corner of South Africa, were the Kruger National Park is located.
With game farming on the increase in the late 90's and early 2000, farmers bought a lot of sable at normally double or triple the hunting value and then only hunted the old bulls after they have finished breeding. Today with almost every second farmer breeding sable there are a bit of a surplus young bulls. You can buy young bulls on auction for about $1500, but then you need at least 4 more years for them to turn black and reach trophy quality. Cows on auction still go for between $10000 to 20000 each.
The other reason for prices coming down is due to the weak Rand.
My favorite of all the antelope!
This bull aggressively chased all these other bulls out of the area.
This bull aggressively chased all these other bulls out of the area.
Marvin, I was under the impression that Sable Bulls were some of the toughest most aggressive antelope in the bush. I watched a good bull run off other large antelope bulls from a watering/feeding area he wanted for himself. These were Kudu bulls and Wildebeest bulls. He would chase them for hundreds of yards at times. They've been known to throw adult lions right over there backs with their headgear. I don't regard them as very fragile, probably the opposite. I know no other antelope will mess with them.
Just saw an offer on another website for Sable + Kudu for $6500, 6 nights/5 hunting days.
A couple of factors influence the trophy fees of sable. One is supply and demand. The other is that sable are a very slow maturing antelope. Females generally produce only 1 calf at a time. Twins are extremely rare. Males reach sexual breeding prime around 6 years old, and 8-10 years to reach their best horn growth. That's a long investment period as far as most plainsgame animals go. Many outfitters will not hunt them until they reach that 8-10 year and older mark. And, it is true that mature sable bulls are one of the most aggressive of the plainsgame species. They are bullies when you encounter them at water holes, and oldest bulls tend to be loners.
The combination of lots of mature bulls around, lower demand, and a weaker Rand has dropped the pricing significantly in the last couple of years. Now would be a great time to take advantage of that and hunt for one.
With that in mind, pricing will definitely reflect the trophy quality. Make sure that you are on the same page with your outfitter as to what kind of animal you can expect for $5,000 and up. You can still expect an opportunity at a mature sable from $5-6,500 but You will be hard pressed to find any bulls exceeding 38" or better for that price range.
The photo is of a sable bull over 40" taken by one of our bow hunting guests late in the 2016 season.
FHF, WOW! That is an impressive sable!
So second question on this safari. This is my third. I think I can afford the Sable this year. But would cut me down to just a few animals for the safari. Would you 9 day safari and just hang out if filled tags
Not sure what your question is Zkiller? I would stay at least 10 days if possible. It's very enjoyable sitting on stand or stalking if if you're not going to shoot anything other than with a camera. Also day trips available probably. You could also consider targeting some of the cheaper animals like warthog, impala, etc. More bang for your buck, so to speak.
Yep Troy thanks I just don't have interest in species I already have so this trip makes planning a bit more difficult. When it's an open book it was much easier
Zebrakiller,
If you are fortunate enough to "tag out" on your target species early, your outfitter should have some cull or management animals on offer that you can hunt at half or often less than half of the regular trophy fee.... Heck, my wife is happy shooting guinea fowl and francolins all day with her bow.
Or you can do what I do, and spend any remaining days spot & stalking impala or one of the other herd species. That's always a challenging way to spend extra time on safari.
Fire hunt fish thanks both ideas sound awesome '
Zebra, If you haven't done so already, try hunting monkeys, baboons, cats and other non-plains game critters. My baboon was the favorite animal from my trip. Books for 10 days and shoot your sable. Try some African fishing, dove and Egyptian goose hunting. There's too much to do and not enough time.
Gotta get a house with the high ceiling rec room first... Great looking animal tho.
Like how Safa's and others are raising wild game (or I assume letting the land and the animals raise themselves). Seems like a reasonably sustainable way to go.
ZK...I've been seeing a lot of the outfitters being set up for bow hunters on the night cats like Civet, Honey Badger and Genet. Caracal and Serval you would have to do with dogs or maybe spot light at night but is tough with a bow. Those first three aren't too bad.
