Bow hunting in Namibia is the ultimate challenge for a die-hard hunter that wants to experience the thrill of a true safari hunt in Namibia stalking game.
Namibia has a long tradition of hunting with a bow and arrow. Practiced by various rural communities; the most well-known of these is the Kalahari Bushmen, who traditionally hunts with poisoned arrows. Bow-hunting for trophies in its modern form was legalized during 1997 and is thus a recent development.
The predominant drive behind this development was the ever-growing trophy hunting sector. Modern-day trophy hunters, who would like to hunt in Namibia with a bow, can select from a large variety of registered Bow-hunting outfitters. Due to Namibia’s natural habitat, types of game and seasonal changes in vegetation, bow hunting requires the highest standard of hunting skills and ethical behavior.
I am a very passionate bow hunter myself, and have competed at several world field archery championships as part of the Namibian archery team.
We specialize in bow hunting most animals Free Range on private land in Namibia because of the quality, accessibility, and numbers on our exclusive properties, primarily on our 31,000 acre ranch near Gobabis. We also offer larger and more protected quality game that is huntable on Fair Chase fenced hunting land on up to 250,000 additional acres that we have exclusive access to.
If you hunt with us, we do hunt out of tree stands, but not over feeders, spotting and stalking on foot and shooting up or down hill predominately. Shots will vary from 15-60 yards. Requirements and recommendations for some of the game is below. It is legal to import bows for bow-hunting purposes. No import permit is required. None of the Big 5 game animals can be hunted with a bow. Read more in our FAQ page.
Schalk Pienaar Safaris Namibia – Bow Hunting Requirements
EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATIONS:
- Long Bow – being a straight, one piece or take down bow
- Recurve Bow – being a bow with curved tipped limbs which bend away from the archer when the bow is held in the shooting position
- Compound Bow – being a bow which uses a cable and pulleys to increase its power or the velocity of the arrow shot from it, by means of the storing of energy
- Cross Bow – Illegal in Namibia
Arrows can be made out of:
- Wood, fiberglass, carbon or carbon compounds and aluminum
- The shaft must have a minimum length of 19.68 inches (500 mm)
BROADHEADS:
- Broadheads must consist of at least two fixed cutting blades with a minimum cutting edge length and width of 1 inch (26 mm+).
- Broadheads may not have barbed or serrated edges or contain poison or narcotics.
Mechanical broadheads are legal in Namibia. Special arrow points such as judo points, bird points or blunt points may be used for the bow hunting of game bird species only, a hunter may take no more than two members of the permitted bird species during the hunt, which will be listed in the trophy permit.
