Who is going Elephant Hunting

alexl650

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I saw that in the paper and i was already psyched.:dancingbanana: Legalized Elephant hunting, in South Africa. That would be the trip of a lifetime, it would also take a lifetime to pay off the taxidermist for stuffing an elephant. Who is with me, this can be our Elephant Hunting thread, how about it.
 
They say a 45-70 can be loaded to near 458 Win Mag if used in a Ruger NO 1 rifle. Of course you could buy a Royal Holland and Holland for a $100,000. Need a new house to display it though. I'll stick with moose.
 
Are you implying elephant doesn't taste good? cue someone who has eaten elephant meat. but that is a good question, does elephant meat taste good, if it does, one elephant would provide you with enough elephant meat to eat it until you don't like it anymore.
 
Get 'em before they get you......


elephant.jpg
 
If I had the bucks to shoot an elephant, I might do it, but these days it's awfully expensive for mediocre tusks, and real $$$$ for good ones.

I'd use my 375 Ruger:)
 
My darling wife has ridden in a Howdah, on the back of an elephant, while looking for Tigers. This is why they invented the HOWDAH pistol [OO].

When the elephant catches wind or sight of a tiger, verrrrry interesting things happen ... like they grab whatever is handy [ logs, other tigers, you if you are unlucky ] and try to beat the tiger to death.

HOLD ON TIGHT is her advice about elephants.

wait a minute, didn't I hear that same advice about tigers too?
[;{)
 
No, thanks. I generally make a rule not to shoot anything I'm not going to eat, unless it's reeeaaalllyyy pissing me off. And since a) I don't see myself ever getting that damned hungry and, b) no elephants have been caught burrowing under my porch/shed lately... I'll pass. ;)
 
I was in Selkirk this week and saw a flyer for a Firefighters Burn Fund Raffle for a South African Safari - one hunter and one observer for one week. Thinking of spending the $100 for a one in 300 chance at a $12,000 trip.

I'm pretty sure that elephant (nor Rhino and Lion) won't be on the expense list though. A nice Kudu and an Eland would be nice though

It would be a good excuse to purchase a new (to me) BIG gun if I won. I guess I could do what soooo many have done before me and use a .303Br but it would feel better (more sporting, what) with a Rigby or Westley Richards or a waaaay out of my league Purdey Double in .500NE 3" :eek:(alas no silver spoon to feed me).
 
I agree with IM_Lugger. Trophy hunting is stupid.

Trophy hunting is as legitimate a form of hunting as meat hunting or varminting. Trophy hunting is far more challenging than meat hunting because you are hunting a specific animal rather than just shooting the first one you see. Typically, trophy animals are non breeding males in their last years of life and their removal from the herd has little effect.

Everyone is free to hunt anything they want and for any reason provided the hunt is legal. Not everyone wants to trophy hunt, but not everyone wants to meat hunt either. I for example don't hunt specifically for either, I hunt because I love to hunt. Even if trophy hunting doesn't interest you, it is wrong to call it stupid unless you have an anti hunting agenda, in which case you are in the wrong place.
 
In Tanzania a legal elephant has 4' of tusk out of the lip. You have to stalk a herd of elephants in thick cover to really understand what the sensation is like. It ain't deer hunting, and deer hunting is pretty good! When angered an elephant charge is one of the most incredible wildlife events on the planet, and I count myself fortunate to of witnessed it. You can't believe so much noise can come out of one animal, and the one that charged us was a juvenile! We quit counting elephants when the number passed 300. Incidentally not one of those 300+ animals met the "legal elephant" criterea, although some were close.

While magnificient, a herd is tremendously destructive to the local environment and if the animal is going to survive it's numbers must be carefully managed. There are non-trophy elephant hunts available, basically this is income based cropping, and while it can give the hunter an incredible experience, there isn't anything to hang on the wall.
 
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Great posts Boomer,well said.Like you,I neither hunt thewse days for meat nor trophies but rather because I love it.I try and hold out for a respectable buck not for the ego-trip but more so to extend my one deer/year season.When I was younger I had no desire whatsoever to ever hunt Africa but more and more lately I think it is an adventure I'd like to add to the must do list?

BTW Lugger and Capp,some folks regard "wasting" thousands of rounds at a range striving for sub-MOA is foolish and boring?
 
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