South African Waterfowl

[grayghost]

Some of the most overlooked adventure in RSA is their upland and waterfowling hunting. I took Yellow Bill and Cape Shelduck along with Egyptian Geese. Next year I'm putting a group hunt together for birds and plains game. I recommend taking your favorite deer rifle and if you wish, a side by side or over/under. Pump or semi-auto shotguns are too hard to get into the country. Some of our PHs have extra shotguns.

[fabsroman]

Those are some beautiful birds. I really like the one with green wing feathers. The bottom picture reminds me of mallards, but that blue on the wings is awesome. You have a lot of taxidermy work for this year with the lion and these birds. How did the taxidermy stuff come out from your hunt last year with all the plains animals that you took?

[grayghost]

Thanks Fabs. Trophies arrived while I was in Africa on this last trip. Will take 6-7 months before I have anything on the wall. Next year we're offering combo bird and plains game hunts. I plan on spending more time after waterfowl. Good hunting, grayghost

[Rapier]

Grayghost,
Where did you hunt?

Last year I was in Freestate with Grassland Safaris. We had a great bird trip and they had a lot of plains game as well for the guys that wanted to hunt Kudu, etc.

I am going to try and get my photos done today from the pigeon shoot in Argentina I just returned from.
Ed

[grayghost]

Actually, I was all over the country, starting in the NW Kalahari for Lion, then across Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo before going back to Jo'burg and flying down to the Eastern Cape. Most waterfowl hunting was an hour from Grahamstown. Next year we will hunt the grain fields up north. There was no shortage of uplands and waterfowl. The plan is to divide the 10 day hunt into 5 days of birds and 5 days of plains game. Some may just hunt birds, but I'm working out the details. Looking forward to your dove pics. I'm heading down to Argentina in January to look at some ranches and hunting areas. They have all the birds and exotics there. Good hunting, grayghost

[grayghost]

This morning I received an email from the Outfitter:
This appears to be the limits on game birds for South Africa for 2008. Don't hold me to this please, the Gov't can change its mind at anytime but I don't see any problems.
Dove - No Limit
Pigeon- 50 per gun per day
Guinea - 5 per gun per day
Francolin- 5 per gun per day
Sand Grouse- 5 per gun per day

Ducks - various species all 5 per gun per day
Geese - 5 per gun per day - 2 main species (Spur Wing and Egyptian).

Keep in mind that many of the areas we hunt may offer most if not all of these birds on the same day, so the hunting can be substantial. Plus, for the trophy bird hunter, your chances should be great in collecting many of the different species in one trip. Big game hunting may be added after the 5 day bird hunts. I have saved June and July dates as this is when most of the birds are in prime plumage. Cost will be $1,750.00 for 5 days. Lodging and meals included. Contact me right away if you want to join us. Good hunting, grayghost