Won an auction hunt, now what?

[shortstroke 91]

Yesterday I won a 7 day 2011 safari with Campfornis in South Africa, anybody heard of or hunted with them? I've got to get a passport as I've never been out of the country before and I need to get a lot of practice down before hand but aside from that give me a list of what you'd be doing. I asume it's never too early to be looking at airfare prices.
Both of my takedowns are #45 at my 29" and shoot a full length 35/55 with 250 up front for a total of 555 grains. Will this be enough for impala and warthog?

Thanks to any and all.

[2wfstlhunting]

F

[2wfstlhunting]

For starters, wipe the grin off of your face.  It is going to be a lot of fun.  There is an absolute wealth of information on this site, and on the Bowsite and Stickbow. Take your time and read your way back through all the adventures that guys that have already gone have shared.  You will not be sorry.  Not only will it get you excited even more, it will answer some of your basic questions and then you jump off from there.  The only thing that I have to mention is that you are shooting on the light side.  You will certainly see a number of posts about game taken 45-50#, but I would look at 50# as a minimal goal (IMO): you have plenty of time to work up to that if you decided to.  So, read on and enjoy it.

Steve

[2wfstlhunting]

For starters, wipe the grin off of your face.  It is going to be a lot of fun.  There is an absolute wealth of information on this site, and on the Bowsite and Stickbow. Take your time and read your way back through all the adventures that guys that have already gone have shared.  You will not be sorry.  Not only will it get you excited even more, it will answer some of your basic questions and then you jump off from there.  The only thing that I have to mention is that you are shooting on the light side.  You will certainly see a number of posts about game taken 45-50#, but I would look at 50# as a minimal goal (IMO): you have plenty of time to work up to that if you decided to.  So, read on and enjoy it.

Steve

[CB]

I agree that more weight is needed for warthog and antilope bigger than impala.  Warthog are funny chaped, thick skinned and heavy boned for their size.

ask about the shooting hole in the blinds.  size and shape.  i built a replica in my backyard to practice from.

plane tickets dropped in price about 4-5 months before departure.

add on a trip to Kruger Park if at all possible, it is well worth it.
Good luck

[Brent Hill]

You will probably need atleast 50 lbs. (about what I shoot) but the arrow weight of 600 plus is more crucial.  These animals are tough and hard to fool at 15 yards.  The warthogs and impala will jump (or duck) your string and a quiet bow is an advantage.  As far as trophies are concerned, I always wanted a kudu and got one.  But after hunting these critters, the warthog and impala are by far the most underrated and one of the toughest animals to take with a stickbow.  I love em.
You will want to talk to your ph and discuss your setups.  Need to know spot and stalk or water holes.  If mostly water holes, what is the distance to the water and are the blinds elevated or sunken in the ground.  Insist on blinds that are 20 or less yards.  Either sunken or elevated are fine but it tells you whether to practice for elevated or tree stand shots or just regular flat shots.  You will also want to know if you are shooting through shooting windows with or without shoot through mesh and duplicate that setup at home for shooting practice.  Before my last trip, I took a 4x8 plywood and cut out a window 8 inches wide X 10 inches high and practiced shooting through it.  The windows give some instinctive shooters problem if they are not practiced.  Ive been to pilanesburg an sun city with my wife, not that great but we are going to krugar on our next trip (in 24 days and counting).   You will have a ball.

[CB]

Also, regarding shooting out of a slot.  It can effect the cant of the bow, particularly if the animal is not straight in front of the blind.

I used the same plywood technique, but ended up adding sides and a roof so it felt more enclosed.

Wildebeest were a surprisingly entertaining and important part of our hunt.  I did not really want one before I got there but it ended up being one of my favorite animals from my hunt.  Some of the lone bulls are very wary.

[jonsimoneau]

I think your bow will be fine for impala and warthog.  I have been there 3 times and the heaviest bow I used was 55 lbs. and I killed an Eland with it.  Heavy arrows are the key, and I normally used arrows that were 650 grains.  On my last trip...I hunted with a 52lb. bow and used 550 grain arrows and did fine.  I don't know the outfitter you are going with..but if they are a decent one..you have no idea what you are in for.  I've been on three "once in a lifetime" trips over there.  Pretty much spent every dime I had doing it...and I'm already planning the next trip back (in my mind anyway).  It is tough to beat.

[BTH]

I think I see the hunt you won when I searched for it...

If all you're going for is the impalas, warthog, and duiker then I wouldn't change the setup you are familiar with. If you are going to add on bigger animals then get yourself a bow closer to 55#-60# or so and build up some 600 plus grain arrows.

Impala can be very, very jumpy. Warthogs are worse than Texas Whitetails at Solana Ranch.

Make sure you have a taxidermist on standby in Texas. Visit him first and decide what you are going to do with your tropies. Then save up for that. This will give you the information you need to decide what and how you are going to ship back to him.

Also, do much research on the outfit you're hunting with. Talk to some folks who've been bow hunting with them before and find out how exactly you'll be hunting your animals.

Looking at their website I didn't see any gallery shots of bowkills. This may not mean anything but it should cause you to ask the right questions.

Should be a great time. Take the money you saved on the hunt fee and see Kruger on a side trip. Pilanesberg National Park is good as well...billed as a smaller version of Kruger. We stayed there three days prior to going to Limpopo and hunting Vissers.

[CB]

The national park trips really are a good thing.  It is worth giving up a few extra days of hunting.  Although, if I could do it again, i would go with 10 days of hunting and 3 days in the park, rather than 7 and 3.  Easier to stay there longer than to get back there a second time.

[Dan'l]

Going to a park is a little like going to a zoo.  You see many animals you won't see hunting.  But one of the reasons you see them is because they aren't hunted.  If you want to see 'em, go for it, but you may want to use any extra or add-on time as hunitng days.  The rush is in the hunt.  No matter how you allocate your time, you're going to have a fantastic trip.