FAQ

Package hunts

Some regions (e.g. the United States) prefer to package offers. A package hunt usually has a fixed number of hunters and services (accommodation, species, etc) and you can see the final price of your hunt right away.

Non-package hunts

Non-package hunts provide more flexibility: you can select not only dates of your hunt, but also number of hunters, guests, species, accommodation and sometimes even additional services. Then the system will calculate the final price on the fly. These type of offers are quite popular in Europe and Africa.

Absolutely, you are always in direct communication with every outfitter.

All outfitters on our platform are verified and subject to one of the following conditions:
1. Outfitter is a member of a national/state/provincial hunting association
2. We know the outfitter personally or have a reliable recommendation

You can always reach out to our friendly staff! Our team has experts and professional guides with high-profile domain knowledge.

BookYourHunt - is not an agency, it’s an online marketplace. The concept of an online marketplace has existed for quite some time now and has been successfully applied in many business fields (e.g. hotel bookings, online book stores, taxi rental and many others).

In our opinion, the difference is very important, so we would like to highlight it.

Here are few feature benefits of BookYourHunt as a marketplace:

• Offers on our platform are created by outfitters themselves with our help.
• You are in direct communication with the outfitter and you enter into a contractual agreement with the outfitter directly when booking your hunt. We verify all outfitters before publishing them on our platform.
• Best price. One of the conditions in our agreement with outfitters is that they have to display the same prices on our website as you get when you are in direct contact with them.
• Our services are free for hunters. Outfitters pay us commission from the funds they receive from hunts booked through BYH.
• We are always ready to help you to pick a hunt from the many offers at our website, so that you get the most value for your buck.

Our cooperation with outfitters is based on the following points:

• An outfitter gets money directly from a hunter, BYH never touches the money.
• The outfitter has to publish offers on our website with same prices you would receive during a direct contact with the outfitter. If the outfitter offers you a better price than we offer, just let us know and we will match the difference.

This usually varies and usually hunters prefer specific calibers for specific species. That said, for a good all around “one-size-fits-all” .300 Magnum with good heavy well-made bullets will take anything on the North American continent, including and up to the brown bears. A .30-06 will suffice as well. For the big brown bears many prefer a heavier caliber with more stopping power such as a .338 or .375 with heavy bullets. Most importantly, use a gun and caliber you shoot proficiently and comfortably.

There is such a vast selection of hunts in a diverse selection of terrain that there is no blanket answer. Even just on a whitetail hunt you could be facing a 90+ degree F hunt in Texas or a -40-degree F hunt in Alberta. The best option is to contact your outfitter for a suggested gear list.

Each state in the US and each province in CA set their own rules and requirements making for sometimes very complicated, varied and hard to understand requirements. Your outfitter should supply you the requirements for your hunt but it never hurts to check the destination state/province website and look for yourself.

First lets see some samples based on the medals for a few of the most popular species:

Red deer

A good mature Red stag will normally be from 7 kg and up.

Fallow deer

A good mature Fallow stag will normally be from 3 kg and up.

Roe deer

In case of Roe deer you can shoot a mature one with smaller weight as well.

Mouflon

Mature rams will be from 70 cm and up.

Wild boar

Good mature ones from 20 cm and up.

The price lists always show the CIC points of the skin. The CIC judges the skin and the skull separately. A 350 CIC points skin has a 45-50 CIC points skull which is approximately 11’8” inches in length and 7’8” inches in width. A good mature bear is around 350-400 CIC points, a bear over 400 CIC is a very big trophy.

But by skin size, the gold medal starts at 300 CIC points.

Yes. Taking into consideration the possibility of a mistake in judging the trophy by the PH you can choose a trophy size that is fixed in a written agreement. In this case if the trophy is bigger than this, you do not have to pay more.

Have a look at the landing page for this country (you can find it in the "Catalog" menu). There is "What you need to know" at almost all country landings.

Most countries require a Visa for foreign visitors. Some countries require special permits to access the hunting areas such as the required permit for access to GBAO in Tajikistan. This can require time to procure the Visa and possible extra necessary permits so it is best to start this process 2-3 months prior to the trip.

Due to possible changes in firearm regulations it's best to take care of firearm permits 2-3 months prior to the trip. Your outfitter should help you with this process. In some cases the country or provinces guide/outfitter organization might offer services to help with this.

It is best to discuss all possible payment options beforehand with the outfitter. Some banks have problems with international wires since the systems of operation are different. Also the % of money conversion is an important thing to be taken into consideration.

International flights are not a problem at all nowadays but firearms policies vary greatly from airline to airline. For example some airlines require firearm check-in at least 24 hours before the flight. This is an important detail and not known by everyone so always check your airline’s policy. Domestic flights - some flights are not available in the international booking systems. In these cases it's better to provide the outfitter with all information he requires far in advance so he can take care of required domestic flights for you.

Every hunter should visit his doctor at least half a year prior the hunt and talk to him thoroughly: destination, hunting conditions, etc. If a doctor gives any restrictions a hunter has to inform the outfitter about these restrictions. Some destinations require special medications such as DIAMOX for hunting in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at high altitude or anti malarial medications if hunting in certain areas. Ask your outfitter about required vaccinations, etc.

A hunter should provide the outfitter with the list of food and drinks he prefers or any food allergies he may have. For example if someone doesn't eat pork or doesn't drink milk it is better to coordinate this with the outfitter far in advance before the trip.

Pay special attention to this point. If horse riding skills are necessary, take a couple of riding lessons before the hunt. If hiking in steep mountains is an obligatory part of the hunt, spend the adequate time for physical training. This could not only make the difference between an enjoyable and successful hunt it could save your life.

Shooting skills is one the most important points on the hunt. Get info about the average and max distance of shooting on a certain hunt and make sure you spend adequate time for shooting often at those distances. If this is beyond your normal comfort range or conditions a training course can be a huge help and give you the confidence needed to make the shot of a lifetime.

Contact your chosen taxidermist prior to your trip and have them send you shipping tags with their shipping address. Attach these shipping tags on your trophies: one for hide, one for skull. Personally advise how you want the trophy to be skinned: shoulder mount, full mount, rug, etc. You can consult your taxidermist if you have any questions prior to your hunt.

If you are going for CITES species, take care of required special documentation far in advance and/or on required dates. For example an Argali CITES import permit application form should be applied for EXACTLY on May 1, not one day earlier or later. All predators require CITES Appendix II, this means that after the hunt your trophy will stay in the animal’s home country until necessary export permits are received.

Gratuities after your successful hunt are not required but are an important point to say thanks to the staff. Please consult outfitter for advisable amount and if he prefers you give the tips to him to hand out at a certain time or if you can hand out the tips yourself on your departure. In some cases it is best to give each of the staff a paper with the amount they are to receive and give the money to the outfitter to hand out.