Elephant

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.
 
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.
 
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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 )
 
Mr Wolverine said:
...

The following is from Professional Hunter Jeff Smith.

...

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.
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Huh? I don't understand this measurement. Is that the weight of the tusks after removal?
 
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.
 
ummmmmm donuts


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Dogleg said:
Tough beef. The thyroid gland is pretty good.
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I can`t believe you didn`t say "like chicken"....talk about restraint !

Beautiful guns John ,but if one was to buy an old double gun like those, I trust very little would be left to pay for the hunt.

Good show !!

BB
 
There is a fair choice of game you can hunt when you decide to go on a safari.

I would choose everything else ahead of an elephant hunt. Cape buffalo would be my first choice, one of the most unpredictable and dangerous and at least you could have a steak afterwards.

Sorry, money aside no elephant ... no elephant hunt would interest me even if offered pro bono.
 
15567 said:
There is a fair choice of game you can hunt when you decide to go on a safari.

I would choose everything else ahead of an elephant hunt. Cape buffalo would be my first choice, one of the most unpredictable and dangerous and at least you could have a steak afterwards.

Sorry, money aside no elephant ... no elephant hunt would interest me even if offered pro bono.
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Years ago I met a couple of 2REP French Foreign Legionnaires in Petawawa. They were on an exchange with 1 Commando and had just returned from Africa where their company had been hired by an African government (Kenya I think) to hunt elephant poachers.

Buddy had some pictures of a pile of dead poachers they had killed in a night raid on the poachers' hide. They did a recce before hand, found tusks and that was it - license to kill. The one guy described it in words to the effect of it being a turkey shoot.

I'd much rather be paid to hunt elephant poachers than pay to to hunt elephants.

An no I'm not casting any aspersions on John H here - I know he was not poaching.
 
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We were paid to poach the anti-poacher poachers, that we got good coin for poaching...and the proceeds went to my new firearm that i bought from Wolverine, that in turn paid for an awsome dream trip to Africa to hunt elephants eventually...and I believe it was Weston and some other guy that couldn't pass his jump course. The heads were everywhere Mr Airborne animal lover...and leave the squirrels alone, its not your place to interfere with natures selection.
 
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Elephant poaching in Africa is not the problem it was in the past, mainly due to CITES. “Convention on International Trading in Endangered Species” CITES applies to Elephant, cats and primates etc. anything that falls under the CITES protection can not be traded commercially. I understand that this means that I can not sell my trophy tusks, they will be numbered and certified. Recently it was a agreed that a limited “Tonnage” of ivory would be auctioned, this has caused a controversy but I do not believe it will re start commercial poaching.

Certainly hunting down armed poachers with the mandate to shoot to kill on sight would be, shall we say, “interesting!”

As for hunting Cape Buffalo verse Elephant: I have yet to hunt Cape Buffalo, I have certainly read that the Buffalo is a very worthy quarry, extremely tough and noted for laying in ambush if wounded. I have asked several PH’s which is the most dangerous of the “Big Five” (Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Rhino, Lion and Leopard) I have always received different answers, however the one PH with the most experience said he treats them all with equal caution and respect, and he is still alive to talk about his hunts. I will be surprised if a Cape Buffalo will be able to fill me with the awe and respect that the Elephant has. My first close encounter was when we tracked an old bull, we first saw him when we were approx 100 yds away, he was towering over the thorn bush that was 8-10 ft high, he rushed up to take a look at us, we all yelled and he stopped approx 20 yds in front of me, the four smaller younger Bulls with him also ran up, this was a small bachelor herd. He was fantastic, stood 15 ft to the top of his head. I heard Robert (PH) chamber a rd in his Mauser .375 H&H, I thought to myself, here comes the warning rd and then the #### will hit the fan. Dam I don’t want to shoot this old fellow, he only has one tusk and he is important, he is training the young bulls. I also realized that the frontal brain shot (my only shot) was going to be extremely tough as the base of his tusk go so high in his head. I was also very surprised at how calm I was, I was so impressed with this old bull that I had no time to be scared, I also had supreme confidence in my double barreled .470 NE rifle. After a few minutes he turned and they all disappeared into the thorn bush, truly very very impressive. The picture below is the same bull, taken a little later. When you get amongst a cow calf herd and see how the cows attempt to intimidate any perceived threat by shredding trees and performing mock charges, one can understand why they are listed as one of the “Big Five”, I could very easily become addicted to hunting these noble beasts.

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[IMG]http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o340/Mrwolverine/IMG_4011.jpg

This Bull is still out of range, we are not in a position to take a shot, he is unconcerned as we are down wind, his RHS tusk was broken off flush with his head. Remember also, if he charges that thorn bush is no hindrance to him but I couldn't run through that to save my life, I would have to stand and fight.
 
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I have always found that one of the special attractions when hunting is never knowing what is around the next corner or over the next hill, this is especially true in Africa. It really pays to stay alert, the best photos will always come when least expected and in Africa danger can lurk round any corner.

Late one afternoon we had a second flat tire, at this time we only had one spare wheel so we had to wait for assistance. When I realized we had an hour or more to wait I told everyone I was going to hike up to the top of a nearby hill, I would wait up there and “glass’ the area for Ellie. One of the trackers was told to accompany me, I picked up my 2 Qt canteen and rifle and we headed off.

At the top of this rocky hill was one very large rock, I propped my rifle against a stunted tree and went to walk around this rock, but I spotted a toe hold at the end and was able to scramble up to the top. My tracker joined me from the other end, I had just started to view the area when my tracker yelled “Leopard”. I could hardly believe it, but a big leopard had been just around the rock, right where I had planned to climb up, I never even saw him. So I can claim that I was nearly run over by a Leopard and my .470 DR stood round the corner. I had even stopped carrying my hunting knife, I had no intention of skinning an Ellie, it lightened my load in the heat and I always have a small lock blade in my pocket. Well never again, next time I visit Africa my hunting knife will be worn on my shorts, all the time.

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I christened this hill “Leopard Rock” I was standing between the two rocks on the sky line which sit on the big rock, just left of the trees, when the leopard came from the other side, another great afternoon, “Only in Africa”.
 
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i would love to go is this company offering cat hunts i would love to travel the worl starting in africa and hunt al the different speceic of cats i understand africa has several types of cats that can be taken as trophes love those leopards DUTCH
 
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