Every hunter is required to check his rifles’ sights at the start of the hunt. A 100m range with a fixed benchrest and all the necessary equipment is available to make sure that your scope is perfectly zeroed for the appropriate distances. Your professional hunter will be at hand to assist if necessary.

We are vastly experienced in handling all trophy requirements from the moment the animal is shot. Naturally, excellent slaughtering facilities exist on Constantia Private Game Reserve and at the camps in all our hunting concessions. Animals are skinned out (caped) expertly and the skins and trophies delivered to the taxidermist as soon as possible and in perfect condition to ensure superb mounts that you can be proud of.

Hunting licences – compulsory by law – will be issued by Constantia Safaris at the stipulated prices. The hunting of certain selected game species might require the issuing of special CITES permits. These will also be obtained on behalf of the client at the stipulated cost once the booking (hunt) has been confirmed by payment of a deposit.

Gerrit Nieuwoudt or his Professional Hunter will personally meet clients at the airport or at Constantia Private Game Reserve, depending on their arrival destination. To ensure and maintain service of the highest standard Constantia Safaris will handle all transfers of clients from the nearest airport (Kimberley or Upington) to their hunting venues. For more discerning clients we will, at their cost, organise fly-in charter planes to deliver them right at our doorstep.

Should clients require it, a camera crew of Shot Productions will accompany them on their African adventure to capture all the action on video and paper – arrival, dining, socialising and the actual stalks and shots (including an interview after the taking of each trophy). Being experts in the field, be assured that they are capable of producing a product that you can show off with pride – be it a photo album, VHS or NTSC video or even DVD format.

Constantia Safaris adhere to ethical hunting methods. We allow clients to stalk game on foot after following the herds in our all-wheel drive hunting trucks. In difficult terrain that poses a risk to the hunter’s endurance and personal safety, shooting is done from the vehicle. In addition hunters (especially bow hunters) can use hides to wait in ambush for the game.

The following advice should provide the necessary guidelines to assist in selecting the most appropriate arms and ammunition for your African safari. For birds and hares bring along any appropriate 12-gauge shotgun. 12-gauge are popular in South Africa and ammunition readily available. Use number 5 shot for guinea-fowl and hares, number 7 for doves and pigeons and number 1 to 5s for waterfowl, depending on the size of the species. In the Northern Cape shooting distances vary from 50 to 300m. When hunting large dangerous game such as the Big Five, regard the .375H&H as the minimum. Kudu, blue wildebeest and gemsbuck are about the size of the American elk and the European red stag and require calibres in the .30-06, 7×64 Brenneke, 7mm Rem Mag and .300 Win Mag class. If you concentrate mainly on medium and small game such as springbuck, blesbuck and impala (live weight 40 to 75kg) calibres in the 6.5×55, .25-06 or .270 Win class will do. Even if you plan to shoot a variety of animals, big and small, our advice is to bring only two rifles, a flat shooting calibre (.270, 7mm, .300 Magnum class) for game up to the size of kudu and a .375 H&H or bigger for eland and dangerous game.

We recommend strong, cotton-based clothing that will withstand the wear and tear inflicted by thorny bushes. Stick to khaki, brown and tan colours that blend in with the South African winter veld. Also remember that shiny jewellery reflect light and often give the hunter’s position away. Hunting in Africa requires a lot of walking so please bring comfortable boots that are worn in; long trousers and long sleeve shirts; a wide brimmed hat; suitable jackets or jerseys for those cold mornings and gloves. By the way, Constantia Safaris sells an attractive range of bush clothing sporting the Constantia logo. A laundry service is available to ensure that our clients look and feel on top of the world when engaging in a challenging hunting excursion. Although all hunts take place in malaria and bilharzia-free areas we support any pro-active action by clients to prevent it.