I won an 8 day safari in South Africa close to Johannesburg as well as a 5 day hunt in Argentina close to San Luis. The outfitters are Theron African Safaris and Argenhunts. The costs I have to pay for are flights, gun rentals/bring your own, trophy fees, and taxidermy/shipping. I haven't ever been on a trip like this and would love any and all input.

After initial research, I think that it would be better for me to rent the guns from the outfitters, dip and pack the trophies and have the taxidermy done in the US. For budgeting purposes, I've found dip and pack to be about $150 an animal out of Africa with shipping about $10/kg. For Argentina, I can't find anything on dip and pack but found shipping to be about $6.40/kg but that feels low.

In Africa, I'm looking to hunt some combination of a kudu, lion, leopard, impala, zebra, blesbok, and gemsbok. In Argentina, I will hunt a bronze class red stag, blackbuck, and want to add a mouflon, fallow deer, or four-horned sheep. I would think I want to shoulder mount everything except for the lion/leopard (full body if I get to take one) but wouldn't be too opposed to European.

Again, any stories, reviews, advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'm entering the wrong kind of raffles.

Cant speak on Argentina but what you have won is a plains game hunt in S. Africa on a game farm most likely high fenced. Game farmer outfitters give many of these hunts for 7-10 day duration with hopes of up charging you for more days and animals. Lions and leopards will be unavailable at all for this hunt and must have at least 14 days of hunting. These are dangerous game hunts elevating the daily rate dramatically as well as increased hunting days to harvest. Lion are off the charts expensive with average cost of days and trophy fees approaching $ 60,000 and leopard aprox. $20,000. With fuel prices and inflation, your packing, dipping , freight and USFW and customs fees can cost as much as your safari so be aware. Enjoy your first safari as Africa is a magical place that you will return to after this " starter" safari. Good Luck.

Prepare your wallet !

Have your taxidermy done there and shipped. Definitely cheaper. Screw the blesbok, and go for a bushbok or nyala.

This times two. There is a reason it was a donated hunt. I won a similar African safari a few years back at a Exotic Wildlife Association annual conference. It was a prelude to me being "pushed" to spend lots of money on what they (the outfitter) really wanted me to do.....get me over there and spend money with them.

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Cant speak on Argentina but what you have won is a plains game hunt in S. Africa on a game farm most likely high fenced. Game farmer outfitters give many of these hunts for 7-10 day duration with hopes of up charging you for more days and animals.

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I ended up walking away from one of those due to the bait and switch from the local guide. The initially significant but digestible one time cost quickly ramped into the $25-30K range per person. I realized quickly that I didn't love it that much.

What TAMU77 said is correct. My recommendation is to go have fun, shoot 4-5 plains game and get a feel for Africa hunting. You can always go back. The flight is the cheapest part of an African hunt. It'll be tempting to shoot too many animals, and you'll be in for $20k+ before you know it.
And unless you know, trust, and love a S African taxidermist, bring it back and have it done in US. Nothing worse than spending thousands on a hunt and having to look at a crappy mount everyday by some rando in S Africa and you have absolutely no recourse on.

Drillbit4 said:

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What TAMU77 said is correct. My recommendation is to go have fun, shoot 4-5 plains game and get a feel for Africa hunting. You can always go back. The flight is the cheapest part of an African hunt. It'll be tempting to shoot too many animals, and you'll be in for $20k+ before you know it.
And unless you know, trust, and love a S African taxidermist, bring it back and have it done in US. Nothing worse than spending thousands on a hunt and having to look at a crappy mount everyday by some rando in S Africa and you have absolutely no recourse on.

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My outfitter had a specific taxidermist he used, and I can assure you it was all well done. He wouldn't have it any other way. Who has more experience mounting S African plains animals, Billy Bob's Taxidermy in Tyler Texas, or a S African Taxidermist used by a big outfitter?

I could write a really long note…so I will! - I used to live in Africa and did week long safari hunts Namibia in April 2018 and June 2021 during the pandemic (operated by South Africans - so same business model). I have advice on all aspects of the trips. I got 15 animals in those two trips on what is essentially a 30,000 acre high fence ranch. Absolutely the best trips I've ever taken. Absolutely not an easy / canned hunt.
Most important advice below…
If the OB wants pics I'm happy to share.
1) timing - seasons are reverse, ruts are generally in May +/- a month depending on species. This is best time to go. April - mornings in high 30s and peak temp high 90s. June - mornings in high 20s and peak temp low 80s. Elevation of ranch (which they call farms) has big influence on temp swings.
2) gun - the time I rented I used 4 guns in a week and they all made it harder. Second trip - brought my own gun, so much better, and traveling with it was not hard once you know the process. It's the difference in comfortably taking a shot at 325 yards vs 125 yards.
3) game - get a trophy price list from the guy and build an excel cost model, I did. Predators are simply time and cost prohibitive as others said. Shoulder mounts cost $1500 a head more than euro mounts because of increased taxidermy and shipping cost. Shippers charge based on VOLUME not weight! I chose mostly euro mounts and full size hides. Don't forget the import side costs no matter where the taxidermy is done. PM me and I can email you the cost model I built.
4) money - USD is king and can be used to negotiate lower costs on things, especially the more animals you take (at the farm, taxidermy shop, etc). Keep in tune with Forex USD to ZAR. I went when it was 13:1, today it's nearly 16:1, so your dollar should go farther. They all work for USD tips too - and if a small operation, they will expect tips for every group that supports your experience, don't underestimate that cost.
5) keep some space in your suitcase for gifts, I found incredible rugs and pillows and animal figurines at the taxidermy shop that you can't find anywhere else in the world and they make amazing gifts and decorations.
Ok I'll stop now. Putting in just one teaser…you definitely need pumbaa on your list.

There are some great ones, and there are some truly awful ones. Do your research. I've heard too many horror stories of lost animals, switched animals, going out of business, terrible mounts, etc.
I like stop and talk to my guy, show examples, drawings, talk about it, and even stop in and seeing the progress as it's being done.

This is a good point too - African game can be different to taxidermy, so you want to go with someone with African game as a core competency, not a once in a while thing.

There are a lot of really good award winning African game animal taxidermist in Texas because of all the exotic business. Woodberrys in Kerrville, Schotts Taxidermy in Helotes are two of the best in the world.

To echo what has been said above, you have won the right to spend some money. They donate a couple of grand in fixed cost with the hope of making a lot more. If you are close to Johannesburg, my bet is it is a high fenced game farm. It is easy to get plains game fees over $20 grand I am also sure that your outfitter can find you a male or female lion on a nearby "preserve ". They will be pen raised and let out the morning you arrive. $30-60000 for this "dangerous hunt". I have hunted all over Africa and the South African model is my least favorite.

I would not be surprised if the Argentina hunt is on a high fenced ranch. Stag, blackbuck, buffalo, etc. i have seen there have been high fenced. I have hunted all over the country and happy to answer any questions.

Do your research, take lots of cash and have a great time!

Also - if flying to/through the Johannesburg airport - use hard side luggage and TSA locks on everything. And keep cash on your body under clothes not in a wallet in a pocket, even if the pocket has a zipper.

aggiesundevil4 said:

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Also - if flying to/through the Johannesburg airport - use hard side luggage and TSA locks on everything. And keep cash on your body under clothes not in a wallet in a pocket, even if the pocket has a zipper.

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Which TSA locks do you recommend? I have had hard time finding anything that is not super flimsy.

I also recommend getting your tickets thru a travel agency that specializes in Africa. I use Travel With Guns, but there are others. Use their arrival service that will breeze you thru customs. Don't leave the airport without your guide/outfitter or the service they use.

I pretty much have some of each type below. For my pelican rifle case I use literally four or five of these, one on every hole it has, which is a better deterrent than one strong one in my opinion. Suitcase zippers are the constraint for locks though - even if you get a strong lock that fits through a zipper eye hole, the weak point then becomes the zipper piece itself.

Also - I took pics of everything valuable (on my phone) in case something went missing I would have dated proof of them being in the case or suitcase.

Ok I couldn't resist the urge to talk about species.
In order of best taste to 'not best' taste my top five are (only animals I've taken): eland, springbok, kudu, gemsbok, mountain zebra.
Top 5 in terms of trophy quality/happiness: kudu, gemsbok, waterbuck, impala, warthog, zebra.
Top 5 hardest to hunt: waterbuck, kudu, zebra, red hartebeest, eland.
Assuming you'll be in a large enough place, you'll do miles and miles of stalking on foot each day, and often you'll be thinking you're stalking X and you'll get a good shot on Y, so hunt with batch priorities (like A B and C are priority 1, D E and F are priority 2). If you ignore a good trophy you stumble upon you may not get another chance the rest of the trip.
Here's a pic of a typical dinner of three animal backstraps with some mashed potatoes

Thanks for all the input so far. I just got the trophy fees from the outfitters and they seem to be in the ballpark of similar hunts. I have heard both sides of the taxidermy in country or get it shipped out and need to do some more research as to the route I'll go. The exportable lion trophy fee is $55k so I guess that's out of the picture haha. Do you get to eat the animals you shoot or do they just have similar meats for meals?

One quick note, and I don't know if it's different for international travel, but for domestic travel, you do not use TSA locks on firearms.

lhAggie16 said:

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Thanks for all the input so far. I just got the trophy fees from the outfitters and they seem to be in the ballpark of similar hunts. I have heard both sides of the taxidermy in country or get it shipped out and need to do some more research as to the route I'll go. The exportable lion trophy fee is $55k so I guess that's out of the picture haha. Do you get to eat the animals you shoot or do they just have similar meats for meals?

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Our cook (a chef from a 4 star restaurant in J-burg) would go to the cooler every afternoon and get tenderloins from whatever animals he chose. The rest of the meat is sold to game processors and supermarkets - lots of their sausage in grocery stores there has "bush meat" and some stores have sections for "bush meat" in the meat dept.

It depends on what you discuss with the PH/ranch owner - in my case the PH was the ranch owner, and before I went he sent me a form asking all about the food and drinks I prefer. In that form I explained I have to eat every single animal I hunt, and that I wanted to literally eat as much backstrap and tenderloin from my animals as possible…breakfast lunch and dinner. He was more than willing to accommodate my request. But I will also say that any place you stay will probably have delicious food and will keep you well fed.

bevokilla said:

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One quick note, and I don't know if it's different for international travel, but for domestic travel, you do not use TSA locks on firearms.

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I don't think this is correct anymore. I've been prepping for my own trip with a firearm and I've read similar notes on old forum posts but I think the rule changed in the past couple of years, TSA website says any lock is acceptable, including TSA-recognized.

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition

I was flipping through pics of my last trip and thought I would share a 'how many? - giraffe edition' pic. We got to see giraffe every day while hunting, pretty fun.

Contact Air2000 if you are bringing your own rifle(s). $250 and their team will get your rifles through customs in less than 30 minutes. One of our group was still hit up by an official for a bribe, but got shut down immediately by our liaison. Saves you hours and you don't have to worry about navigating an already intimidating situation after a 14 hour flight.

Anne Gaines-Burrill
E-Mail : air2000@global.co.za
Work : (+27) 11 659 2649
Fax : (+27) 11 659 2931
Mobile : (+27) 82 770 2480
Skype : anneair2000

I'll echo the sentiments of others, get your taxidermy done in Africa by the experts. Splitting Image in Port Elizabeth handled all of our taxidermy, and have been a pleasure to work with. They are very meticulous and thorough in explaining your options, going so far as to ask for pictures and dimensions of the wall/room that you're planning on having the mounts displayed and providing a recommendation for orientation (which way each shoulder mount faces, etc) and layout. My stuff is being packed up and should be stateside soon; another from from group already got his back and the work is outstanding.

aggiesundevil4 said:

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I was flipping through pics of my last trip and thought I would share a 'how many? - giraffe edition' pic. We got to see giraffe every day while hunting, pretty fun.

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Was helping to look for a wounded wildebeest my friends girlfriend had shot, and walked into a bunch of them. They really paid me no mind, but with some youngsters around, I thought I might get stomped into a grease spot.

lhAggie16 said:

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Thanks for all the input so far. I just got the trophy fees from the outfitters and they seem to be in the ballpark of similar hunts. I have heard both sides of the taxidermy in country or get it shipped out and need to do some more research as to the route I'll go. The exportable lion trophy fee is $55k so I guess that's out of the picture haha. Do you get to eat the animals you shoot or do they just have similar meats for meals?

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I went in 2014 with my 9 year old son. We shot 8 animals in 9 days. Had the taxidermy done there, it was less expensive and I got to go to the studio and see what they were working on. It was good. Not original, or custom, just decent. The biggest savings having the taxidermy done there was the zebra skin. $1490 here, $400 there.

As others have said, the meat you eat depends. We ate a lot of game from the prior group, because it is just better aged. We ate my kudu tenderloins. Some of the animals we harvested were from a ranch that wanted the meat back. A meat ration is a big part of the pay for ranch workers, and the owner of this place couldn't see well enough to provide meat. Outfitter got a better price, but had to return all meat harvested.

I used Gracy Travel to book flights and hotel/gun permits in Joberg. They may not be the cheapest way, but pay for the vip service at the airport. Best $250 I have ever spent. Meet you at the plane. Help with bags. Walk you to the front of the customs line. Take you to the police office for your gun permit. Absolutely top notch.

I don't know anything about the Argentina thing, but a buddy of mine has been on several trips with Theron and he rants a raves about it. He goes quite a bit (compared to the normal person) and every time he says the food, service, attention to detail, and quality of animal is top notch. I think the main guys name might be Gerrie. He seems like a good dude. Kind of a secondhand/hearsay kind of review, but from what I have heard if that's who you're going with, it should be a good time.