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Elephant hunting.... #8623340 06/18/22 11:01 PM
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majekman Offline OP
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......would you if given the opportunity? I’m bored and will share a story. Hope it don’t start a pizzing contest Ha!
Reason I ask is a few years ago a friend who never hunted until he retired and got the Africa hunt bug. He’s been like 4 times now and has some amazing trophies and stories.
He had a thing about wanting to take an elephant....after much research and lotsa money he was set. Not sure of all the logistics involved but had to cross from one country to another that was very unsettled with civil strife and armed rebels. Him and his guides got detained for an hour at some checkpoint with AKs held on em....he said it was hairy to say the least.
Anyway they role into some little vill and bunk up for the night. His PH wakes him up and says his elephant is here. Bud grabs his gun....they hike out into a field about 1/4 mi from the vill....here’s a bunch of natives holding lights on this elephant....PH says take him and he does. Apparently a nuisance animal that was destroying crops.
His trophy ends up being barstools made from the elephants feet so you can go sit in his trophy room and have a drink looking at all his beautiful African mounts with an elephant foot up your azz. He also got some kind of local tribal tattoo on his ankle.
Also no meat went to waste....he said a crew of villagers got on it and picked it clean.
I’m a hardcore hunter but the Africa bug never hit me but I definitely understand the attraction for many. No problem at all with it. But even if I hunted Africa an elephant would never be on my list under any hunt scenario. I think they are majestic creatures and would never harm one. But, if it’s your thing and it’s legal. Do it. His hunt seemed very anti climatic especially for the money spent.

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623354 06/18/22 11:22 PM
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I've been tempted, back before they were out of reach, except for "stupid money". I've been 10' from a cow as she passed by, hunkering down under a bush, as the PH and all the trackers told me to do so. It was a complete adrenalin rush. I wouldn't want a "problem elephant" hunt like you describe, but I would like to hunt them properly, as in walking miles and miles, but I'm getting too old by the minute. A very good friend of mine (a PH) was killed by a bull in musk. He taught me more about hunting than my dad.


...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623360 06/18/22 11:31 PM
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Great hunts happen when they happen. Sometimes hunts you greatly anticipate end very anticlimactically. I’ll try to hunt elephant within the next couple of years, and I’m really looking forward to it. This year it’s hippo and croc, a river monsters hunt, if you will, and my hope is that it will be a great experience.


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Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623372 06/18/22 11:57 PM
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That hunt doesn't sound appealing to me, but I'd love to track one for miles on foot. I love Africa and the experience of hunting elephant "properly" sounds amazing. I am afraid I may run out of the ability to hike dozens of miles in the heat before I can afford the increasing cost of a jumbo hunt.

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623391 06/19/22 12:22 AM
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If he got what he wanted out of it, then good for him. It has no appeal to me and I wouldn’t want to hunt and only be able to eat one meal from said animal and only bring back a shoulder mount, or in this case the hooves. I know the villages make good of the meat. I don’t know a ton of people that deer or elk hunt just for a mount. Yes, I know they are out there.
Paying a small fortune for a photo and a mount just isn’t my cup of tea.



Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623418 06/19/22 01:28 AM
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I've had the cheek meat. Tenderest part of the animal. It wasn't terrible, but you wouldn't want to make it a staple. The rest they boil for many hours to be able to eat it.

It's not about what you "bring back", it's the experience.


...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623427 06/19/22 01:57 AM
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An elephant is just an animal, same as a deer. What you feel as majestic towards an elephant others feel about deer or elk.


Africa is a blast and would have loved to have seen some elephants but it was not in the cards. Did see giraffe and rhino. A rhino as a game animal does not appeal to me…..they are just not something I would be excited about shooting…..big ugly things. Got 20 yards from them and yes they are bad tempered. But me not wanting to shoot one will not sour me on someone else doing it legally.


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623450 06/19/22 02:26 AM
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I've hunted elephant once (in 2009) and was set to go again in 2015 when the deep thinkers in Washington decided that legally sport-taken ivory was just as evil as the poached variety and banned importation.

Prior to that 2009 hunt, I used to think I'd never take an elephant, and this close to closing time I doubt that I'll take another. They are incredible animals in their own right and I believe that it's pretty close on impossible to not fall at least a little bit in love with them once you've been amongst 'em.

Elephant are properly HUNTED and taken at rock-throwing distance; none of this current fashion of banging away at your quarry from several football fields distance. Muck up that shot on ndlovu and things may just get decidedly western really fast.

My elephant taught me number of things about myself...and I'm forever grateful for that education.


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Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623481 06/19/22 03:13 AM
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I would not elephant hunt or hunt anything in Africa for that matter. Never had the desire to go and actually turned down a free trip about 7 yrs ago now. A friend was taking a group on an all expensed paid 20-21 day photo safari. He then offered to fly 5 of us for another 10 days of hunting. All I had to do was pay for the animals I shot. He told me I would never go to hunt Africa any cheaper than that. I turned it down. I have a good friend who has been over 20 times to Africa now and is leaving to go again in less than a month. He had killed and elephant after 11 days of hunting and looking at over 40 bulls at close range before he took his at 18 yards. Said he would never hunt them again, just did not care for the hunt. He does like to hunt Cape Buffalo though....he has taken well over 20 of them. He loves the hunting over there because you never know what you will see on any given day.


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Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623532 06/19/22 04:33 AM
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Never

Nothing in Africa has ever interested me

I’m not against it, just not for me

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623553 06/19/22 10:08 AM
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The son of the founder of Patio Foods was a HS friend of mine. His Dad used to go on safaris in probably the fifties & sixties. Real safaris. So many African animals in his home - it was rather amazing. They had a room with reels of film and they were rather amazing to watch. It was like a personal Mutual of Omaha collection. I was and am happy for him. William Negley, maybe the 1st American to kill an elephant with a bow, lived around the corner also and I cannot imagine what it would have been like to go through his home.

Have more than a few friends who have gone and were overjoyed with their experiences. One couple took something like fifty animals in just one trip and needed a bigger home when all the taxidermy came in. They also took a videographer with them and yes, it is intense.

There's one guy who stands out. He got the "bug" and went every year for several years. The first time was for two weeks and ever after that, it was a month at a time. Really got into the Hemingwayesque dangerous game fanaticism. Don't take that word wrong, he just loved the dangerous game aspect. Crocs, hippos, cape buffalo (especially), leopards and would take multiples of some species in a single trip. Met up with a nuisance animal officer and started going there with him. They would do dome "light" hunting together and just wait for the phone calls which inevitably would come in and then go do what was needed. No trophies with these hunts, just the experience. He had enough already anyway and just relished the challenges put before him. Btw, these trips weren't in fancy lodges, he could care less about his accommodations.

The whole Africa game reminds me of people who get addicted to blue water and the search for big, finned fish. At times, it can seem like a fanaticism and frankly, each are good passions. It's really a good thing for the people willing to afford it and it does an amazing amount of good for the poorer people in Africa. The US dollars end up helping everyone and nothing goes to waste. Nothing. In addition, these dollars actually help to preserve & enhance African game.

Some want to go back and others will go back. I don't know why I do not have that desire within me, but I don't. Guess I have enough expensive "bad" habits already.

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623556 06/19/22 10:21 AM
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Certainly each to his own, I did have a chuckle at the original post though.

Sounds like his PH had a problem animal permit, so its a different kind of hunt. Elephant hunting can be tough and very challenging, but again it depends on the area, permit type and quality of the concession.

One thing that is 100% for sure, is that elephant numbers really need to be controlled, especially in the more rural areas of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and it is only the model of trophy hunting that will sustainably work. All of that meat goes directly to the villagers.


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Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623657 06/19/22 02:03 PM
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“Hunted” Africa about 5 years ago. It was high fence and I killed some plains game animals that are on my wall.
Here’s the deal on the high fence. Some years back, most of the plains game was in short supply. The locals get hungry in a world where there aren’t really plentiful jobs for people with limited skills. So, some built the fences and started raising the animals. Then they started selling them to others with high fences. This provides some jobs.

Without hunting demand the the incentives to raise the animals would be limited. You damn sure don’t see any of the anti hunting BS that we do here. Actually, hunters and other tourists are enthusiastically welcomed.

Went to Capetown and saw the Great White Sharks. It was exciting but I’ve done it, enjoyed it, and won’t go back. $$$$$


Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623693 06/19/22 02:47 PM
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I have hunted Africa 5 times. It is quite an experience. I doubt I hunt there again though. When I made my safaris I was a bachelor and didn't worry about $$$ since I was active duty USN and could always eat and sleep on the ship so my $$$ was pretty much disposable. Now that I am married and going on my 60th birthday I really can't justify spending the amount another safari would cost but I really did want to hunt Lord Derby Eland in Cameroon. Saw some on a hunt for Western Roan and they are really impressive but permits are limited and I didn't have one on that trip.


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Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: Kingsview Safaris] #8623780 06/19/22 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Kingsview Safaris

One thing that is 100% for sure, is that elephant numbers really need to be controlled, especially in the more rural areas of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique and it is only the model of trophy hunting that will sustainably work. All of that meat goes directly to the villagers.


Perfectly stated, and a fact that the "educated" West doesn't even begin to comprehend. Any patch of country has a FINITE carrying capacity for ALL of the game upon it. Folks that haven't seen country utterly destroyed by excess elephant population have no grasp of the complete devastation they produce. A forest becomes a desert...and takes the ENTIRE surrounding ecosystem with it. Disney-esque deep thinkers will be to blame, even while screaming that they're SAVING the animals. Stupidity breeds tragedy...

Rant mode off...


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"I always take care to fire into the nearest hillside and, lacking that, into darkness". - the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: Creekrunner] #8623803 06/19/22 05:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Creekrunner
It's not about what you "bring back", it's the experience.


This couldn’t be more true for me. In the OPs statement it sounds like the hunter was well aware of the “type” of hunt he signed up for and he was clearly okay with it. Unfortunately some fictitiously place themselves in the hunters shoes and immediately cast stones as they don’t agree with how they hunted nor can the person questioning them see past the idea that “their style of hunting” isn’t the only way to hunt. This is not directed at the OP as I don’t think you think this way.

To me, he went on a humanitarian hunt. Problem elephant needed to be harvested. For whatever reason that style of hunt worked out for the hunter, for the locals, and for the governmental agencies. It’s not the “Western Trophy Hunt” often thought of but it does maybe more good for the locals and the herd than a typical style trophy hunt would, possibly even at a cheaper, yet still pricey, expense. At the end of the day the hunter got what he paid for, was proud of his trophy and represented it by making pedestal stools out of his hooves. (I actually think that’s fairly ingenious). I don’t think that’s too far removed from shooting a WT under a corn feeder and using its hooves to build a coat rack (yes that’s what my father did on my very first WT I ever shot). Point being, we all hunt differently and have different ideas of what an enjoyable hunt is. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure……trophy. Some trophy hunt, some just want the experience, some want to help people. Whose to say what’s appropriate?

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8623860 06/19/22 07:43 PM
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I would Love to hunt elephant. Been on 5 safaris and loved every minute of each of them. I would rather take a nuisance elephant than a true wilderness one. I did a similar hunt for hippo last year that were damaging a citrus grove. I don’t think any less of that hippo than if I got one in the middle of nowhere.

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8624146 06/20/22 10:22 AM
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Not just scam but spam. That needs to be deleted


Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8624188 06/20/22 12:04 PM
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Interesting timing for this thread, as I just started reading Karamojo Bell's Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter.

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8624358 06/20/22 03:56 PM
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To answer the OP, yes, I'd hunt elephant....there was a time I would have said no. There was a time I would have said no to several African speices that I would now consider hunting. All animals need to be managed properly according to indiivdial circustances not by their species alone, to me they are all majestic and command respect for the difficulty of the life they live. It wasnt until I'd been over there and hunted that I changed my mind regarding animals like elephant, lion, leopard, giraffe...etc. Don't know that I've ever seen a more majestic anmial than a 60+" Kudu standing on the side of a mountian chest out head up with the sun glistening off his dark ivory tipped horns...and had we not been in Pilanesberg National Park I would have lobbed a projectile his direction!

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8624978 06/21/22 02:03 PM
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Probably not, but some of these plains animal package hunts, that I would probably go for. HIGH FENCE? I was assuming African hunting was in total wilderness areas. True? Not true? Now a days is the set up similar to Texas? You hunt a ranch with a variety of animals?

Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: Dave Scott] #8625255 06/21/22 08:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave Scott
Probably not, but some of these plains animal package hunts, that I would probably go for. HIGH FENCE? I was assuming African hunting was in total wilderness areas. True? Not true? Now a days is the set up similar to Texas? You hunt a ranch with a variety of animals?


I've never been personally but know quite a few who have been hunted in Africa. From what I've gathered, at least in regards to South Africa, it's nearly identical to South Texas in regards to terrain, climate, and avg fence height.


Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: DirtNapTET] #8625272 06/21/22 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by DirtNapTET
Originally Posted by Dave Scott
Probably not, but some of these plains animal package hunts, that I would probably go for. HIGH FENCE? I was assuming African hunting was in total wilderness areas. True? Not true? Now a days is the set up similar to Texas? You hunt a ranch with a variety of animals?


I've never been personally but know quite a few who have been hunted in Africa. From what I've gathered, at least in regards to South Africa, it's nearly identical to South Texas in regards to terrain, climate, and avg fence height.




Africa is a big continent. Its just as diverse as North America

There are places in Africa that are remote and wild like certain areas in B.C or Alaska. And then there are places they are not.


My take on South Africa was it is like Texas was in the 1970’s. A lot of the terrain is similar to areas of south Texas and in other areas very similar to the mountains of west Texas around the Davis mountains.

High fences are very common, but them being game proof is an entirely different subject entirely.


I would not let the height of the fence deter anyone from going there as most of the hunting ranches there are thousands of not tens of thousands of acres in size



For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8625278 06/21/22 09:42 PM
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I believe Namibia has a lot of hunting "ranches" (with high fence), just like South Africa, but a lot of other southern African countries do not, e.g., Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania ($$$).

I wanted to hunt west Africa for different species (Benin, Burkina Faso, etc.), but the constant political turmoil and, more of a deterrence for me, very few days during the hunting season that the high temperature doesn't go to 110 and above, always kept me away, and now I think I'm too old for that kind of real hunting combined with having to constantly watch out for heat stress symptoms.

I think Uganda is slowly getting it's act together, and there might be some deals to hunt there. Teddy Roosevelt called it "the pearl of Africa".

Last edited by Creekrunner; 06/21/22 09:44 PM.

...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
Re: Elephant hunting.... [Re: majekman] #8625781 06/22/22 03:09 PM
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Well, I'd be real disappointed. Another bubble burst. I had images of 150 years ago, way out in the middle of no where, a couple of tents. Sort of like the movie with Gregory Peck- Snows of Kilimanjaro. If I went and if was a YO Ranch type thing- nothing wrong with that but not a "safari like yesteryear. Now I understand how they put on these hunts for a half dozen animals.

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