Hunting Guides
Everything you need to plan an African hunt
These are the questions every hunter asks before a first African safari — and the ones nobody answers properly until it is too late. We run the escrow rail and the trophy document chain end to end, so the logistics here are described as they actually happen, not as a brochure would like them to.
Start here · 9 min read
Planning Your First African Hunt
How to plan a first African hunting safari: choosing country and species, real costs, booking timelines, permits, rifles and getting trophies home.
Logistics · 8 min read
Getting Your Trophies Home
How African trophies get from the skinning shed to your door: dip and pack, export permits, airway bills, customs clearance and realistic timelines.
Regulation · 7 min read
CITES and Import Permits Explained
Which African species need CITES permits, how Appendix I and II differ, what US hunters file with USFWS, and the paperwork order keeping trophies moving.
Travel · 6 min read
Bringing Your Rifle to South Africa
How to bring your own rifle into South Africa: the SAPS 520 form, documents to carry, airline handling, pre-clearance services and the rent-instead option.
Equipment · 6 min read
Rifles and Calibres for African Game
Calibre choices for Africa: what works for plains game, what the law requires for dangerous game, bullet construction, sighting-in and shooting sticks.
Money · 7 min read
What an African Hunt Actually Costs
African hunting costs explained: what daily rates include, how trophy fees work, the extras that catch people out, and how to compare two quotes honestly.
Timing · 5 min read
The Best Time to Hunt in Africa
When to hunt southern Africa: the dry-season sweet spot, each month's weather, bush density and game movement, and when off-peak is good value.
Trust · 6 min read
How to Choose an Outfitter
How to vet an African outfitter before you pay: verification bodies, references, questions on ethics and quotas, and the warning signs to walk away from.
Trophies · 6 min read
Taxidermy Options and Costs
Shoulder mounts, European skulls, full mounts and flat skins compared: what each costs, how long it takes, and whether to do the work in Africa or at home.
Preparation · 5 min read
What to Pack for an African Safari
Packing list for an African hunting safari: clothing and colours, boots, optics, documents, medical kit, charter weight limits and what camps provide.
In camp · 4 min read
Tipping and Camp Etiquette
Who to tip on an African safari and how much: professional hunters, trackers, skinners and camp staff, plus the camp etiquette hunters are judged on.
Choosing · 6 min read
Plains Game or Dangerous Game?
Plains-game and dangerous-game safaris compared: cost, duration, licences, rifles, physical demands and when a hunter is genuinely ready to step up.
Slams, collections & challenges
The famous hunting collections — the Big Five, the Tiny Ten, the springbok slam and the rest — explained honestly: what each contains, what it costs, and where to hunt it. Members track their progress on The Bush Telegraph.
Collections · 8 min read
African Hunting Slams & Collections
African hunting slams in one guide: Big Five, Dangerous Seven, Tiny Ten, springbok, spiral-horn, wildebeest and colour variants: costs and where to hunt.
Collections · 10 min read
Hunting the Big Five
What it takes to hunt Africa's Big Five: costs per animal, where to hunt lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, and the permits that decide it.
Collections · 7 min read
The Dangerous Seven
The Big Five plus hippo and crocodile: what the Dangerous Seven adds, why hippo is Africa's deadliest big animal, and how to combine the two river hunts.
Collections · 10 min read
The Tiny Ten
The Tiny Ten pygmy antelope slam: all ten species, where each is hunted, the methods that work, the bullet problem, costs and why connoisseurs chase it.
Collections · 6 min read
The Springbok Slam
The four-colour springbok slam: common, black, white and copper, where the colours come from, how to finish it in a week, judging a ram and current prices.
Collections · 8 min read
The Spiral-Horn Slam
Spiral-horn slam: the southern four (kudu, nyala, bushbuck, eland) doable in South Africa alone, the nine-species collection beyond it, methods and costs.
Collections · 6 min read
The Wildebeest Slam
The wildebeest slam: blue and black, Nyasa and white-bearded, golden and king variants, why the "poor man's buffalo" earns its name, and current prices.
Collections · 7 min read
Colour Variant Hunting
Golden wildebeest, black impala, copper springbok: where colour variants come from, what they cost after the breeding bubble, and the fair-chase debate.
Ready to start planning?
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Browse verified outfitters across six African countries — every deposit escrow-protected.
Browse Live Hunts →
Go deeper
Species-by-species trophy judging and live fee ranges in the species guide, country-level planning in the destination guides, and real listed pricing in the cost guide.