Lloyd Smrkovski Adventures From Africa and The Arctic Circle

Hunting big game species is a dream of most every sports person. Unfortunately, most fail to appreciate the fact that these types of adventures are within the grasp of us all, albeit not without proper and timely planning.

The destination one seeks to travel to and/or the species you‘d like to hunt, is obviously a very personal matter. Regardless, the first and foremost barrier one has to overcome is the decision to plan for such an adventure, or to dismiss the idea out of hand. Obviously, time away from home or your business is an issue, but probably more importantly is the cost. We are all used to our “standard” deer hunts that we’ve done locally since we were teenagers, the cost being minimal when compared to a similar hunt in one or more of our western states/Alaska, Mexico or Canada. Add on to that the perceived cost of an African safari, and we seem to immediately exclude anything beyond our “back yard” deer herd, or maybe a quick jaunt over to the Dakotas for pheasant or migratory waterfowl.

Over the past few decades, we have been witness to a dramatic shift in hunting opportunities for non-residents (and residents, too), in that now we have to deal with state and federally-mandated restrictions such as “quotas, preference and/or bonus points, as well as a lack of easy access to government-owned land (BLM, National and State Forests, etc.), the very lands that you and I own, by virtue of our American citizenship. These issues may seem very “peripheral” to the topic at hand, but are in fact, key factors that must be considered in planning for an exotic big game hunt, be it here in the United States or elsewhere…after all, even foreign governments have their own versions of hunting restrictions/protocols. I’m not suggesting that these restrictions are “bad”, as they are not, but by their very nature, they require us to plan better and smarter…..knowledge is “King”. After all, game laws are designed to protect game species, thus allowing future generations of hunters to continue the legacy that we have passed down to them.

Money, is “the root of all evil”….so they say. But, lets face it, we seem to never have enough of it, and it certainly plays a major role when planning for any hunting adventure. Having said that, I maintain that most everyone, with proper planning, can at one time or another afford to do an “exotic big game hunt”. If winning the local “lottery” is not in your future and/or a substantial inheritance is not in the wings, then being able to do that “hunt of a life-time” will require as much planning as one does for his/her retirement and/or preparing for your kid’s college/tech-school education. It’s all about long-term investing…..it’s up to you how you do that. Your financial advisor may be the key person to advise you. Of course, inviting your spouse and/or significant other to go along goes a long way in gaining access to this dream hunt. Then again, maybe not…..your choice, indeed.

Even if you are not yet convinced that an “exotic” big game hunt can be in your future, then please stay tuned for future postings of some of my own hunting adventures. I’ll also be talking about other aspects of how to plan for a big game hunt……addressing such issues as disease threats, political unrest overseas, vaccinations, weapon’s import permits, U.S. Custom’s form 4457, what air-routes to avoid and why, where should you have your taxidermy work done (overseas or here in the United States) and why, restricted weapons overseas, ammo types and allowances, caliber selection issues, clothing and “gear”, health issues, traveling with Rx drugs, first-aid overseas, evacuation issues due to injury or political unrest, return of mortal remains to your home…..and many other issues that need to be considered “before” you board that flight to “somewhere” and also before you put those hard-earned dollars down for a hunt of your dreams.

Happy planning and here’s wishing you all a very successful hunting adventure, as ”we only go around once”. Lloyd Smrkovski