OTHER HUNTS

We hunted South Africa in 2004 with Dries Visser Safaris and still keep in touch with them today. They are primarily a bow hunting outfitter, but they have agreements with other ranches to accommodate the rifle hunter as well. The amount of animals you will see per day is ridiculous, I was told before I went but it still exceeded my expectations. It is a hunt where you will be in a tree stand (more like a tree house), or a ground blind (mini bunker) for 8-10 hours a day. It sounds pretty boring I know, but it isn't, you are constantly looking at animals and asking your PH (professional hunter), what is that? Or how much is that? The best thing about hunting South Africa is the ability to shoot whatever and whenever you want. Their are packages you can buy or you can hunt on a per kill basis with a daily rate. They treat you like a king. Daily laundry service, great meals, beds made daily, comfy couches, and a lounge area with snacks and drinks. It is the most fun I have ever had on a hunting trip. The hunting went by too fast, the plane flight didn't.

The land we hunt in New Mexico is in the famous for big antelope county of Socorro. We hunted on this ranch in 2007. We killed one good buck scoring 75" and one slob scoring 88". One other hunter killed a buck scoring 85" on the same ranch. You can get other guided antelope hunts in the same vicinity for the same money but this one is tax deductible. Ask me how. The accommodations and meals are exceptional, the price is fair, and the guides with the exception of one are less than average. They seem more interested in elk hunting than antelope hunting. The hunt overall is pretty good, excellent if you sign up with the right guide. The down side to dealing with them is the communication. Who has time to chase people down to get things set up? We do! I would recommend hunting antelope there as it seems to produce quality bucks year after year. They also have elk and mule deer hunting on the ranch. The muzzle loader elk season is the same dates as the antelope hunt, so we have seen the bulls they harvest each year. They are in the 340-400" class, most of them in the 350-360" range. It seems like the same guys are on the list each year to hunt elk, which is good. This is also a negative because it causes their to be a "pecking order" for who gets a shot at the biggest bulls, which is pretty disappointing. The price is not cheap, but once again is tax deductible so that makes that makes it easier to swallow. I would say if you could get to the top of the "pecking order" this hunt would be worth the money. The mule deer hunts are over priced. You can hunt a lot of other places for the same quality deer for half the price. Call us to discuss in further detail if you are interested.