Nine football fields crisscrossed by 3.5 miles of aisles lined with outfitter exhibits from around the world. That’s what Dallas Safari Club’s early-January monster of a convention and expo offers to hunters shopping for adventure. The show itself could be classified as “dangerous game,” so we hit the floor to bring you the highlights. Check out 14 of the most exotic and exciting hunts that you can actually afford. Of course, prices vary here, but every hunt in the list comes in at under $10,000.One outfitter offered a 5-day African plains game hunt for two hunters and two non-hunters for a total of $7,500. Lodging, food, guides and trophy fees included. Both hunters can take one gemsbok and another animal to be determined. Do the math (division, I think it’s called) and that’s a bargain for four vacationers. Of course, the hunt can be upgraded once you’re there. More info: Immenhof Hunting If British Columbia moose is on your bucket list, your dream hunt could be purchased at the 2013 Dallas Safari Club convention for $6,900. One hunter can take a dandy bull like this one, or spend 10 days trying. You can also take a wolf if the opportunity arises and check another accomplishment off your list. More info: Opatcho Lake Outfitters “I don’t really want to spend five days on Vancouver Island chasing coastal black bear,” said no sane person, ever. If you can turn loose of $7,900 and a few days of free time, the opportunity could be yours (or your girlfriend’s). The huntress in the photo clearly believes it was a wise investment. Well played, sir. Vancouver Island Guide Outfitters In case you thought muskox were only taken in driving blizzards and minus 140 degrees, check out this guy’s tropical grin. The possibility of balmy weather makes the $7,250 price tag even easier to swallow. For that price, one person can enjoy a 4-day hunt on the beaches of British Columbia. More info: High Arctic Lodge Who doesn’t need a mid-Asian ibex hanging in their trophy room? This hunt is for one hunter who doesn’t mind freezing his patootie off in the highlands of the Kyrgyz Republic. The $8,000 per person fee didn’t scare these guys off. A 7-day hunt includes trophy fees, meals, camp, guides and a mug of warm goat milk. More info: High Mountain Hunts In Scotland, perhaps on the same green hills where William Wallace once hunted English soldiers, you and one bravehearted buddy can each take a red stag. An exhibitor at the 2013 Dallas Safari Club show was selling an $8,500 adventure for two hunters, two non-hunters and two days of hunting. Kilts optional. More info: John Rigby & Co. At the upper end of our hunting options, one hunter and one non-hunter can do a 5-day outing in Austria for European mouflan for a total of $9,000. The price includes everything but travel and tag. Hunters can upgrade to include stag, fallow deer and boar at current rates. But with $9K of your $10K already expended, you may be getting perilously close to your own personal fiscal cliff. More info: Hunting in Austria, MiesenbachBobwhites grow huge in South Africa! If bird hunting is more your flavor, this is be the perfect destination for you. For $3,200, a 2013 Dallas Safari Club show exhibitor will hook you, plus one non-hunter, up with two days afield chasing Guinea fowl and other species plus two days of sightseeing. More info: Cape Town Hunting SafarisSouth Africa is the home base for one outfitter offering a $5,785 excursion for one hunter and one non-hunter. The hunt includes one each of blue wildebeest, blesbok, impala, springbok, bushbok, and warthog. That’s a lot of action on the plains. Better get some sunscreen on those pasty white thighs. More info: Kikuyu Lodge/Bushman SafarisAsk any safari hunter what African species they’d like to hunt, and kudu is always near the top of the list. This hunt costs $7,500–and that’s for two hunters in South Africa. Each hunter gets 10 days of hunting and can take one kudu or waterbuck, one blue wildebeest or zebra, and one warthog or steenbok. Decisions, decisions… More info: Matlabas Game HuntersSplit between two paying hunters, this red stag hunt in Argentina would run $5,775 each. Lodging, food and guides included. Hunters have seven days to split harvest of four trophies: one red stag up to 200 inches, one fallow deer up to 151 inches, one boar up to 15 inches and one blackbuck up to 52 inches. That’s a lot of inches. Good luck deciding who gets to shoot what. More info: TGB OutfittersAn outfitter at the 2013 Dallas Safari Club show offered a 7-day hunt for ibex in Mongolia. Price: $8,500. Look at this photo. The first thing you’ll see is the size of the horns. Then notice the terrain. Possibly not a good choice for a hunter with two knee replacements. More info: Shikar Safaris These guys ventured to Mexico to hunt oscillated turkeys. For $10,000, two hunters can each harvest any three of the following: oscillated turkey, forest cougar, red brocket deer, gray brocket deer, collared peccary, agouti, great curassow, crested guan, chachalaca or perdiz. I don’t know what most of those are, but they sound tasty. More info: Balam OutfittersFor $5,000, you and one non-hunter can visit the Limpopo region of South Africa for seven days. Excursion includes an opportunity to take an impala and a common blesbuck. It’s just another of many opportunities to hunt the world sold each year at the Dallas Safari Club show. For info, visit www.biggame.org. More info: Van Wijk Safaris
The world is full of good hunting land. To help you zero in on some of the most exciting and affordable exotic hunts, we hit the floor Dallas Safari Club Convention. Here are our top 14 picks.
