South Africa offers a rich and varied landscape for the passionate wing shooter, with each region presenting a unique challenge and a diverse bag of game birds. From the high-volume excitement of dove and pigeon shooting to the demanding physical challenge of walked-up francolin hunts, the country stands as a premier destination for a world-class feathered safari.
At Infinite Safaris, we are proud to guide you through these exceptional regions, ensuring an ethical, memorable, and productive wing shooting experience.
The vast, semi-arid plains of the Northern Cape, particularly around the city of Kimberley, offer a wing shooting experience defined by immense open spaces and an abundance of game birds. This region is home to our base camp at Loskop Farm and is a hunter’s dream for its mix of challenging upland birds and high-volume opportunities. The landscape here, a blend of Karoo semi-desert and farmlands, creates a unique habitat.
Key Species: Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Swainson’s Spurfowl, Cape Turtle Dove, Namaqua Sandgrouse, and various Pigeons.
Hunting Style: A combination of exhilarating walk-and-stalk hunts over well-trained dogs for upland species and strategic pass shooting for doves and pigeons as they flight to and from feeding grounds.
The Free State is a vast agricultural landscape of maize and sunflower fields, making it the premier destination for high-volume bird hunting in South Africa. The region’s wide-open spaces are a haven for immense flocks of doves, pigeons, and geese, which provide some of the fastest-paced and most exhilarating shooting in the world. The hunting style here is often from blinds and over decoys to manage the sheer volume of birds.
Key Species: Rock Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Spur-winged Goose, Egyptian Goose, Helmeted Guineafowl, Swainson’s Francolin.
Hunting Style: High-volume shooting over harvested fields, often from blinds. Decoying is a key technique for geese and ducks. Upland birds are walked-up with pointers or flushed by beaters.
The Eastern Cape offers a uniquely varied wing shooting experience, with a landscape that ranges from rugged Karoo semi-desert to scenic mountains. This diversity means you can hunt a wide variety of birds in a single trip. The mountain regions are particularly famous for their challenging hunts for francolins, while the plains offer fantastic opportunities for doves and geese.
Key Species: Grey-wing Partridge, Red-necked Francolin, Helmeted Guineafowl, Egyptian Geese, Doves, Pigeons.
Hunting Style: Upland hunting is typically a walk-and-stalk shoot over trained pointing dogs in the mountains. Waterfowl are shot from blinds over decoys on dams and marshy areas.
The Limpopo Province is defined by its classic African bushveld, river systems, and cultivated plains, which together create a fantastic habitat for a variety of game birds. This is a top destination for hunters who prefer walked-up shoots for upland species. The rich soil of the Springbok Flats area also attracts huge flocks of pigeons and doves.
Key Species: Helmeted Guineafowl, Swainson’s Spurfowl, Natal Spurfowl, Coqui Francolin, Rock Pigeon, Doves.
Hunting Style: Hunts are often a walk-up style over well-trained pointers, with the added excitement of flushing birds from thick cover. Waterfowl hunts are conducted from blinds over flight paths.
Mpumalanga, with its mix of wetlands, grasslands, and bushveld, provides a unique wing shooting experience focused on both waterfowl and upland species. While some areas are prime for high-volume bird watching, others offer excellent, ethical hunting opportunities for a variety of game birds that thrive in the province’s diverse climate.
Key Species: Southern Bald Ibis, Blue Crane, Helmeted Guineafowl, Egyptian Goose, Spurwing Goose, various Francolin.
Hunting Style: This region provides opportunities for classic waterfowl hunts from blinds in marshy areas, as well as walked-up hunts for upland birds on farmland and grasslands.
The Western Cape offers a diverse landscape, from the coastal regions to the mountainous fynbos and the arid interior Karoo. This variety provides a range of wing shooting experiences, from pursuing upland birds in the rugged terrain to hunting waterfowl in the wetlands and farmlands. The region is home to several endemic species, offering a unique challenge for bird hunters.
Key Species: Cape Francolin, Cape Spurfowl, Egyptian Goose, Spur-winged Goose, Cape Teal, and Rock Pigeon.
Hunting Style: A combination of walked-up hunts for upland birds over pointers in the mountainous and semi-arid regions. Waterfowl hunting is conducted from blinds near dams, wetlands, and along rivers.
Despite being South Africa’s most urbanized province, Gauteng is located in the highveld, which is a prime agricultural region and a major hub for wing shooting. The province’s proximity to major cities makes it a convenient destination for short, high-volume hunts. The focus here is on fast-paced, action-filled shooting over cultivated fields.
Key Species: Doves, Pigeons, Helmeted Guineafowl, Francolin, and a variety of Ducks and Geese.
Hunting Style: The primary hunting style is “hot barrel” shooting for pigeons and doves over sunflower and maize fields. Waterfowl and upland birds are also hunted, often over decoys or with the use of beaters.
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