Bow Hunting

If you have any questions about planning a bow hunting safari with African Pro Hunt Safaris, we would be happy to discuss details and available dates with you.
Before coming to Africa, archers must know their capabilities and should at least be able to shoot from either the sitting or standing positions. It is essential that archers should also practice shooting through a relatively small hole from inside a blind as shooting through such as small hole in an enclosure can be distracting. Furthermore, archers should know the anatomy of African game as shot placement is everything. Often the heart-lung area is situated much lower and farther forward than in game animals of other parts of the world.
All our permanent pit blinds are custom build from natural materials. The hides are located at watering points or salt lick stations with a shot distances  between 30 - 40 yards, but most shots are closer than this when the game are relaxed and unaware of the hunter. 
All animal species available within the hunting area are truly wild African game, the terrain ranges from dense bushveld flats to rugged mountains providing excellent habitat.

What type of bow should I bring and what draw weight should I use? 
For plains game hunting, you should bring your normal big game set up you would use for whitetail or any other type deer.  You don't need to buy a special 80 lb bow set up just to shoot plains game.  We have archers who use compound, recurve and long bows as well as crossbows.  The most important aspect of your hunt will be that you are very familiar with and extremely proficient shooting the bow you bring.  Buying a brand new bow just before you start you safari is not recommended. 


What type of broad head should I use?
Again, whatever you use on similar sized big game such as whitetail, elk or any other type deer works fine on plains game animals.


When is the best time to bow hunt in South Africa?
We prefer our guests to come between April 1st and Sept 30th.  This is late fall, winter and early spring for us so our weather is quite nice.  The two best months for bow hunting are August and September.  By this time, all of the small, scattered water holes have dried up so animals come to water daily.  Also, almost 100% of the cover is gone from the trees so you can see the animals coming in from a good distance.  This gives you time to study them to see trophy quality.

Do I need to do anything special for shipping my bow?
You will need a very sturdy bow case that is impact resistant.  The stronger, the better.  Best results will come from the higher end models of bow cases available. The cheaper, every day bows you see sold for $80 will not protect your bow on the long trip as well as a case such as the SKB or similar models can.

Is it difficult to get my bow into South Africa?
No, not at all.  Unlike rifle hunters, bows are currently not regulated coming into South Africa.  You would simple pick up your bow at the oversized luggage area and proceed through the customs area.