The company started in May 1984 when it issued a small, dark green catalog under the name World Wide Hunting Books.

In 1985 Safari Press published its first book, which was a reprint entitled African Hunter by James Mellon.

In 1987 the company released five titles including With a Rifle in Mongolia by Count Hoyos-Sprinzenstein, From Mount Kenya to the Cape by Craig Boddington, and Hunting on Three Continents by the late Jack O’Connor, which was a compilation of stories from Petersen’s Hunting magazine.

From this small beginning, the company has grown to the point today where it has published over three hundred titles and has over a million copies of its books in print.

In 2002, the owners of Safari Press bought Sports Afield magazine from Robert E. Petersen.