I sat basking in the afternoon sunshine as kudu kabobs sizzled above the amber coals of a bush fire.  The delicious lunch was welcome after a morning of stalking plains game in the Highveld.  I had been hunting all morning wearing only shorts, shoes and a ball cap, which resulted in sunburnt ears and cheeks.  My hunting partner was dressed as minimally as I, although he’d remembered to bring sunscreen.  Suddenly, a big waterbuck bull ran through our lunch spot, giving us a fleeting glimpse of his horns before slipping back into the bush.  “It just doesn’t get any better than this,” I said to myself.

A year later, my wife and I were hunting Dall sheep in the Alaska Range near our home in Fairbanks.  It was late in the afternoon when we returned to camp after hiking and glassing all day. There was not a cloud in the sky as we started a small fire and cooked our dinner, while a group of sheep perched 1,000 feet above gazed down at us.  At that moment, I thought about how fortunate I was to be sharing that camp amongst beautiful mountains and glaciers with my best friend and life partner.

I live in a blue-collar world, and like many others, occasionally live paycheck to paycheck.  I watch the stock market, and even though I don’t understand how it works, I know it’s not a good thing when it goes down.  But as hunters, do we abandon our hunting camps during the fall because the economy is suffering?  Do we stop dreaming and hunting in exotic locations?  No.  Instead, we look for what hunting opportunities offer the most bang for the buck. We seek the best hunting experience that we can enjoy while not stretching our finances too thin.

For many hunters, the thought of hunting in Alaska or Africa feels like an unattainable dream.  But the stagnant global economy also means that there are some great- and affordable- hunting opportunities being offered by outfitters looking for business.  This might be the best time to book that once-in-a-lifetime trip to Alaska or Africa.

If you’ve been daydreaming about hunting in far-off locales, here’s a breakdown of the logistics and economics that you should consider when planning a trip to Alaska or Africa.  This will arm you with the information you need to choose between kudu and caribou.

What Africa has to offer:

During 2003 while bowhunting in South Africa, I had the opportunity to stalk a beautiful red hartebeest bull through a maze of thornbushes. After crawling through the brush on hands and knees for what seemed like a hundred yards, my professional hunter (PH), Pieter, and I finally reached a position where we could stand up without getting the bull’s attention.  The bull was feeding, standing slightly quartering away from us at about 25 yards.  As I drew back on the bull, I caught some movement In Pieter’s direction out of the corner of my eye.  I looked over and saw Pieter standing therewith a finger plugging each ear.  I guess he was waiting for the loud report of the bowstring!  I started laughing so hard that I was forced to let the bow string down.  As the bull ran off, Pieter gave me a perplexed look. We shared a good laugh together when he realized the joke was on him.  

Fortunately, we continued to track the bull and eventually maneuvered into a position where I was able to make a clean kill shot. Later that afternoon when we arrived at the camp with the bull, we were met by the camp chef’s young children. These kids, who were probably the ages of 4 and 6, were bragging about the size of the bull in Afrikaans.  I leaned over to Pieter and whispered, “Wow, those kids are so young, and they are already speaking a different language!” Now it was his turn to laugh at me, He said, “Peyton, that is their language!”

As embarrassing as that story is, it does prove a point.  Hunting in Africa gives you the opportunity to experience an entirely different culture on the other side of the world.  You will eat food that you are not accustomed to (how many people do you know that have eaten zebra steaks?) and listen to people speak languages that you don’t understand.  In Africa, there is the opportunity to hunt or just observe wildlife you have only read about in magazines or seen in zoos.  It’s surreal.

Hunting in Africa has become affordable for the working-class individual thanks in large part to the management of game on private lands in countries such as South Africa and Namibia.  Both countries are safe for travelers with crime rates comparable to some large cities in the United States.  Flights are offered to Johannesburg, South Africa, on several airlines departing from Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, etc.  The average airfare (depending on the time of the year and airline) is between $1,000 and$2,500.  

The cost of the actual safari will depend on the safari operator.  Most operators charge a daily rate for the hunt, which includes all lodging, food and the services of a professional hunter.  These rates can vary between$200 and $450 a day if the primary species being hunted are plains game.  Most operators also charge a trophy fee foreach animal harvested.  The more exotic the animal is, the higher the price. This works to an advantage for the hunter. Essentially you are only charged for the game you harvest or wound.  The cash register may sing every time you release an arrow, but at least you are in control of how much money you spend.

Action-Packed Value

The real value, especially for first timers in Africa, is in the package hunts offered by many safari operators.  One particular operator in South Africa offers a 10-day safari package for $6,500.  The price includes 10 days of hunting, lodging, the services of a PH, food and airport pickup, along with seven species of game.  The accommodations at most South African or Namibian lodges will rival five-star hotels.  The game may include kudu, gemsbok, impala, blue wildebeest, warthog, and duiker and many more species.  These are very popular species for most first-time Africa hunters to pursue.  I challenge you to find a fully guided moose or sheep hunt in Alaska for $6,500!

Taxidermy costs are discretionary, as some hunters will want to have their trophies mounted and some will not.  I have a theory on adding taxidermy expenses into the cost of a hunt, although most wives may not agree with me.  I don’t add the taxidermy costs in because most taxidermists take a year or more to complete your work.  You can use this time to save money and pay for the cost of taxidermy work.  

I’m not a math wizard by any stretch, so I will round these numbers up for the sake of simplicity.  For approximately $8,500 you can travel to Africa, hunt ten days, harvest seven species of game, and still have money left over to distribute to your PH and the camp staff.  If you do your research and choose a reputable outfitter, there should not be any hidden costs.  In my opinion that is a great bang for your buck!

The Last Frontier

For many, Alaska is the place dreams are made of. From the majestic mountains to the coastal tundra, its beauty is unsurpassed.  Living in Alaska for virtually my whole life, I have been fortunate enough to experience the highs and lows of hunting on the last frontier.

The first-time Alaska hunter will have the opportunity to ride in a small bush plane or the first time they have ever been completely isolated a hundred miles from the nearest road.  If your heart’s desire is to be isolated from the rest of the world, you will always get the biggest bang for your buck in Alaska.

I recall the day I harvested my first big game animal with a bow in Alaska.   I was hunting caribou on Alaska’s North Slope with my father.  It was early August, and the weather was perfect – warm but not too hot and completely cloudless.  We had spotted a small bull bedded in a little gully not far from where we were glassing.  The wind was good, so I made the stalk on my own.  It was my first chance at actually putting the sneak on a big game animal, but since I had practiced on a lot of squirrel and grouse, I believed I was ready for the challenge.  Because the ground was so soft and spongy, I was able to sneak within 10 yards of the bedded bull.  I could only see the tips of his antlers sticking up above the bush on the tundra. After what seemed like an hour, the bull stood up, saw me, and tan about35 yards.  When he looked back, my arrow was already on its way.  The arrow drove deep into the bull’s chest cavity, and I was soon standing over the Alaskan critter.

Alaskan Stipulations

Hunting in Alaska is expensive.  Not that hunting in Africa is cheap, but one would think that the costs of an Alaskan hunt would be more reasonable since you’re hunting in the United States.  However, if you’re hunting for grizzly/brown bear, Dall sheep, or mountain goat, you must be accompanied by a licensed professional guide or a family member within the second degree of kindred.  Other hunts for species such as moose or caribou can be fully guided or do-it-yourself hunts.  Many of the do-it-yourself hunts entail a transporter or guide to drop you off in the bush where you are on your own until your scheduled pickup date.  If you’re interested in a fully guided moose hunt, you can expect to pay any where from $25,000 to $30,000.  Brown bear hunts on places such as Kodiak Island or the Alaska Peninsula can cost as much as $25,000 and up.  And that’s just the cost of the hunt.  Plane tickets to Alaska from the Lower 48 generally run at least $1,000 if you are flying from the East Coast.

For comparison’s sake, let’s examine the cost of perhaps the cheapest do-it-yourself hunt in Alaska where you’ll experience a remote adventure in the back country.  Due to declining caribou numbers in some parts of the state where do-it-yourself hunts were once popular, many hunters are now flying out of Deadhorse to hunt caribou.  Deadhorse is located on the North Slope of Alaska (Prudhoe Bay) at the end of the Dalton Highway, otherwise known as the “Haul Road.”  

You can expect to spend at least $1,500 on a plane ticket to Deadhorse from the East Coast, and that is a conservative estimate. From there, most air taxis or transporters will charge a minimum(generally) of $3,600 per person to drop you off in caribou country.  That price may not include any camping, cooking, or hunting gear, so you’ll have to bring all of that with you to Alaska.  You can rent gear from your transporter, but of course that entails an additional expense.  Nonresident hunting licenses and caribou tags will cost North of $700.   Without taking into account any spending money or the cost of shipping meat and antlers home, hunters will spend over $6000 for a do-it-yourself Alaskan caribou hunt; and that is for ONE animal.  

You also need to take the weather into account as you plan your trip.  On a ten-day fall hunt, you can expect a couple of weathered-out tent days where you will not be able to hunt.  Make sure to pack a deck of cards and a good book or two.

The Big Decision

It is very difficult to determine where you get the best bang for your buck.  The adage “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” seems especially true in this comparison.  I have spoken to some people who would prefer the ambiance of the mountains in Alaska to the Highveld of the Limpopo Province.  They would rather be stuck in a tent in a tent in a snowstorm than relaxing in a lodge on a game reserve in Namibia. Perhaps because I live in Alaska and have hunted in both locations. I can appreciate the point of view more than others.

I focused this comparison on the most affordable ways to hunt in Alaska and Africa.  For instance, I did not detail the cost of dangerous-game hunting in Africa, simply because the explosive costs involved with such hunts are unattainable for most of us blue-collar hunters.  

It is my opinion that hunters will get the best bang for their buck hunting in South Africa.  With the current state of fluctuating economies and monetary systems, there are some incredible deals out there to hunt several different species for an affordable price.

I love hunting in Alaska, but from a dollars and cents point of view, the allure of hunting under the Southern Cross is just too enticing. Traveling to Africa is an adventure.  The only problem is that once you go, you will want to go back again and again. There is a sticky noted on my desk that reads, “Ek wens ek was terug inAfrika” – I wish I was back in Africa.

Note:  This article, written by Shoshone COO, Peyton Merideth, was originally published in the September, 2013 issue of Bow Hunt America Magazine.

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