Alaska...or Africa?

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reuben mishler

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I've talked with many friends who have gone Elk hunting out west and paid out the nose for guided hunts. Many of which didn't even come back with an elk! So I think it might be more fun to travel to Africa and hunt for a week there for $7,000 rather then spend $7,000 to go out west for Elk.

Given the choice and that you had 7K laying around, would you go to Alaska, or Africa?
 
I don't have any interest to go to the dark continent. Alaska is where I would go. I will eventually be going when I hit my mid-life crisis. Love to bag a grizzly, moose, and caribou. After fly fishing in New Mexico last year now I want to try my hand at that in Alaska.
 
for me it would be Alaska, but i wouldnt be after elk. i would go for moose or caribou.
 
Too many diseases and poisonous creatures in Africa. Come on up to Alaska. Worst you'll get here is a cold! Plus you can bring your meat home.
 
For me it is not where, it is what animal. If I am going to shell out for a trip I am going to give myself the best odds of bagging an animal.

A plains hunt in Africa would probably get me this easily. However a caribou hunt may be just as nice in the north country.
 
I'm actually a little surprised that no one has said they would like to go to Africa. I suppose my interest in going has always been something from childhood. Going to a foreign continent and seeing animals that we don't have in the US.

As far as where in Africa, I wouldn't know where, for me it's just a matter of wanting to be there and experience it.
 
Many of which didn't even come back with an elk!
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That's why it's called "hunting", not "collecting". A hunt, done properly, is about a hell of a lot more than coming back with the game, especially an adventure hunt.

I'd pick Alaska.
 
Alaska, I live in South Texas so if I go somewhere I want to get out of the heat, & away from all them Texas critter's. (The heat irritates me more than the critter's)
 
In this time of strife:confused: it is, Alaska... Palin is up there shooting stuff :evil:

Not so much the animal, as it is the hunt:D

Regards
 
Yeah, come on up here if you want to murder some animals
and fill up your freezer. You can get Moose, Bears and caribou.
Then you can go for halibut and salmon, for a change of pace.
 
I've gone to CO to hunt elk. Last trip in 2009, it cost $2500...and that is a 7 day hunt, plus4 days driving...includes gas, food, hotel, license, guide fees, lodging, horses for the week.

You need to find a cheaper place. Don't go to a fenced in hoity-toity ranch, hunt above the BLM.
 
At least in Alaska nonresidents can hunt some species without hiring a guide, so it's a lot more cost effective. Fly into Anchorage in August or September then charter a plane out to hunt the Mulchatna caribou herd. There's about a 98% success rate on that hunt and no guide required. Caribou in the Mulchatna herd are the largest in the world, just a tad smaller than an elk.
While hunting caribou, you can also take wolves, black bear or moose in the same area without a guide, provided you buy the tags of course.

But, I'd target the caribou since they are pretty much a sure thing. Hunt the other stuff after you fill your caribou tags.
 
ditto #7 I would love to go to Africa to bag a big grass-eater (Eland, water buff, etc) and a big cat.
but I would try to stay a month and take a shotty along - there is very good bird hunting there also.
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Marlin,

You'd better budget for a wee bit more than 7K if a big cat is on the menu. There are no "water buffalo" in Africa. If you are referring to a cape buffalo once again you're going to need more money.

You can do a pretty decent plains game and bird hunt for 7K though.

Reuben,

Be very careful booking one of these budget multiple species hunts in South Africa. Many of them are conducted on very small high fenced game farms.

My take on Africa vs Alaska,

Both can be fantastic hunts and true wilderness experiences. And there can be a dark side to both as well. I have had the good fortune in my life to have hunted both fairly extensively as a resident hunter and a guided client in both arenas. To clarify I was a resident of Alaska and never hunted guided in the Great Land and have good resident friends in South Africa who've gotten me in tight with some great hunting concessions. I've also had the pleasure of hunting in Southern Africa sans a PH. Which to me is best way to hunt but it's darn near impossible to accomplish without local insight and local help.

To me I'd rather do a DIY caribou or moose hunt in AK any day over a crappy game farm hunt in South Africa. I love DIY hunting in fact I find guided hunts to be restrictive. There isn't anything worse to me than having some peach fuzzed kid with a tenth of the field experience that I've got telling me how to do it, when to shoot, and which animal to take. In fact it makes me insane with frustration and kills the pleasure of the hunt for me. The next time I have some kid yelling SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT in my ear when I'm scoping a critter I am going to have to butt stroke the little brat and leave his carcass for the vultures!!

With that being said I love to hunt with a seasoned pro who's got the big picture and is there to share local knowledge and who loves the wild country and the hunt as much as I do. One of those guys who points out a good critter and sends you on your way to do the dirty work then offers to help with the after shot duties if you want help. These guys are kind of rare and generally worth the price they ask.


Both Alaska and Africa can be great experiences but you need to do your home work. As far as a DIY caribou or moose hunt goes my advice it to skip Anchorage altogether. Go up north to Kotzebue or Unalaklet or some such and charter in from there. The Charter operators out of Lake hood are a den of snakes and thieves and if you don't know what you are getting into you can get bit hard.

As far as Africa goes think about Namibia and demand free range or LARGE game farm operations. Both Namibia and South Africa offer some great hunting but you've got to know what you are getting into. Booking one of those 5 or 6 species discount hunts out of the back of an outdoor life magazine is a sure recipe for disaster.

When you get closer to your departure date send me a PM and I'll give you a couple of recommendations for hunting outfits in either Namibia or South Africa.

PS

Don't get me wrong here guys a large game farm in the right kind of country can be a rewarding hunt but it's got to be big and it's got to be well run. The term "farm" in Africa refers to what we call a ranch here some of which are multiple tens of thousands of acres or bigger. I still prefer to hunt purely free range however and for that you will pay more.
 
You are all correct in stating to hunt the big cats and other species that you need more then 7k. I guess to me it's just wanting to go there period. I would be settling for the grass eaters.

I have heard a lot of nice things about Alaska, plus like you all have mentioned, you can take the meat home.

I appreciate everyones thoughts and experience on this matter.
 
Big problem with Alaska is that its "Not what you expect and more than you think"

I moved here in 1992, last time I went outside was 2004 to go to Disneyworld.

And yes its quite possible you will get the Alaska bug, its highly contagious in the last couple of years.:D
 
I would choose Alaska, Africa for whatever reason doesn't get me excited, but if someone said let's go I'll pay I'd be there. But my money I would choose AK every time.
 
2 friends of mine have both been to Africa over 12 times each - airfare will eat about $2k of your budget - then transfers, taxes, licenses, bribes, permits, etc will eat up more. an elephant hunt will be $50K by itself without export or taxidermy. Big cats and buffs are less, but still more than $7K

Check out SCI for more info
 
an elephant hunt will be $50K by itself without export or taxidermy. Big cats and buffs are less, but still more than $7K
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Not necessarily. It really depends on what country you are hunting in. You simply can not generalize with a statement like hunting in Africa will cost you such and such. There are multiple countries in Africa in which you can hunt and they all vary in cost.

BTW,

Lions are rapidly becoming one of the most expensive species to hunt. Elephants on the other hand can often be hunted cheaper than buffalo. It simply depends on what type of elephant hunt you are doing.
 
"...travel to Africa and hunt for a week there for $7,000 rather then spend $7,000 to go out west for Elk..." African trophy fees can cost more than 7 grand. An 8 day hunting in Namibia runs $6400Us. Plus getting there, 15% tax, gratuities and dealing with trophies. That'd be disinfecting, packing, documentation and exporting.
Like H&Hhunter says, where you go matters, but trophy fees and shipping hides etc. won't be cheap anywhere in Africa. The trophy fee for a South African elephant starts at $35,000US. A Cape Buffalo starts at 16 grand US. A jackal(Coyote sized beast) will cost you $200US.
"...a warthog with my bow..." $385US trophy fee.
 
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