I'd like to hear more about the hunt, days, trophy fees, ivory expectations, Nov temperatures, timing of next years hunt, other species available. That and everything you can think of about this hunt as well.
I'd like to hear more about the hunt, days, trophy fees, ivory expectations, Nov temperatures, timing of next years hunt, other species available. That and everything you can think of about this hunt as well.
Life begins at 40. Recoil begins at "over .40". Coincidence? I don't think so.
wow, one day thats something id like to try.
This year’s hunt was in part a reccee for next years hunt, as a partner in Hunt Africa we will not book clients blindly with an unknown PH to hunt in unknown areas. At this time I will be a little vague on some details as Jeff first has to secure the elephant for next year, ideally he wants all of them (10-14) in this area, then there will be no other Elephant hunting. The area is huge, this year we worked from a perment camp but next year the plan is to establish a tented “Fly” camp, we now have several prospective sites in mind, this will reduce the time spent travelling each day, this year I had 10 days hunting booked, but extended for another week, we were tagged out after 12 days. We drove 4,000 k in the bush. I would recommend a minimum of 10 days hunting, but ideally 14. I did not see enough Plains game in the area to recommend any additional hunting after you have tagged your Elephant in that area, this is something that we need to check out, it should be no problem in have some Plains game hunting organized in the event your Elephant is tagged early in your hunt.
A tented camp would be (in my words) be semi luxurious with toilets and showers, all the food would be prepared over an open fire, food is always excellent, you can lay on your cot and listen to the African wild life at night, this is all part of the experience.
In the event Jeff successfully securers all the Elephant for 09 I think the season would be from March to Sept but this is another detail that is yet to be confirmed. The plan would also be to operate a second vehicle with scouts so clients are given every opportunity for a successful hunt.
At this time I would estimate that the total cost for a 10 day elephant hunt next year would be in the order of 20 -25,000 US $ once you have arrived in Joberg.
If anyone is interested please send me an e-mail so that I can keep you updated as the 09 season develops.
The following is from Professional Hunter Jeff Smith.
Elephant Safaris Botswana
The elephant safari will be done in a community area. In this area there are people farming with Cattle, goats, sheep, maize and sorghum. Every few kilometers you will find a village or a single settlement with his house and cattle kraals. The elephant do raids on the farmer’s crops and destroy their maize and sorghum. During the day they are in the bush or some resting spot where they hide from people.
During the dry season the only water source for the elephant is the Shashe River, some dry river beds in the area and the Letsibogo dam.
In the area there are numerous herds of elephant varying from 10-50 elephant with 1-3 big bulls in the herd. There are also lone bulls and small groups of bulls in the area.
The area is about 500 000 hectares big with varying habitat. Some areas are Mopane trees other Marula, Redbushwillow and Boabab trees.
The best ways to get the elephant is by tracking and get information from the different villages in the area. It can be time consuming to find the herds or bull’s and for this reason I employ scouts 1 week before the safari starts to find a herd or bull elephant so when the client arrive we have a good idea in which part of the area to start looking.
Also, the border of Botswana and Zimbabwe is the Shashe River and this fence line will also be inspected from time to time to see if elephant has broken into Botswana. In the dry season there is very little water on the Zimbabwe side so the elephant stay mostly in Botswana.
We look for fresh tracks and then follow them if they look promising. A lot of walking is done and the client must be ready to do this. Also, there is not much other game species in the area so the client must not expect to see animals all over the area. There are small groups of Kudu, Impala, Duiker and Steenbuck. There is also Jackal, Brown and Spotted Hyena and Leopard.
Elephant hunting is not easy but very hard work, especially in the community areas so therefore the minimum days for this safari must be 10 days. The client must not expect to see and stalk elephant everyday but when a good bull is located then the client must take the shot or it will be an opportunity lost.
The trophy quality of the bulls varies and elephant of 35-65 pounds can be expected. The average bulls hunted in this area for the 2007 season was 45 - 50 pounds. Bulls over 60 pounds has been hunted and the biggest bull hunted in this area weighed 72 pounds and was hunted in 2005. The client must not arrive with great expectations to hunt a 60 pound plus elephant, it is surely possible but not guaranteed. This safari will give the client an excellent elephant hunting experience and if luck is on the hunter’s side he can hunt a big bull. We will do our utmost best to find the biggest bull possible for the client, this is guaranteed.
Last edited by Mr Wolverine; 11-22-2008 at 10:11 AM.
I am interested but unless I win the lotto!!!!................
I will keep you advised!!!:D
So I can't spell, so what!!!
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Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
Did the book mention , that when extremely Pi$$ed off the snake Will sometimes turn and take to going after you ? Watched it on a video, not that long ago. got the video from a friend of mine him and I used to (well he still does) keep reptiles as a hobby , specifically venomous... legal in bc (except for vipers(permit required for them )
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Jean Charest after coming a distant second to Pierre Poilievre. “You deserve a clean slate and the opportunity to unite the membership. ... Only Liberals benefit from a divided (Conservative Party).” Will the malcontents listen?
Greywolf. I am well aware that pissed of Mambas are noted for their aggression! Like I said I was very stupid and very lucky.
Maple leaf eh. Yes that is the weight of each tusk after removal, mine should be around 45 lbs each but it depends how big the nerve is. The days of the 100 lb tusk are long gone, a few are still found but they command a premium price.
whats elephant taste like?
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Elephant trunk is good if slowly braised. Kinda funny though, since the slices look like donuts!
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