if the book actually worked and helped people get 50-day safari money, he would sell enough to the OB that he would have 100 day safari money!

Got on two bulls this morning. The one on the right was a big bodied old male....the other a full 18" shorter. We couldn't get a solid look as he stayed facing away from us. The wind was in our face, perfect conditions for us. We stopped to look at 60 yds before closing more distance and the big one angled so we could get a better view. Big body, small tusks...and the one on the right was broken off about 2/3 the way up. We stopped and went back to the truck.

Neither animal knew we were there. We could probably have gotten to within~20 yds.

Bitterly cold over night the last 2 nights and hi winds. The mornings are pretty miserable . It was good to pursue something and work up some body heat. Heating back up today and tomorrow will be hot again. Sleeping weather will be almost perfect by Tuesday.

Getting food and back out in a couple hours.

Can you adopt me pls?

jpb1999 said:

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Don't see any pics if you posted some?

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No new photos....

Had a similar circumstance happen late in the day. Came into the last waterhole before circling back to camp. Saw a bull about 300 yds out moving into the wind away from the hole. We pulled back and drive back down the main trail to put us in position to stalk.

Max picked up a trail and we moved quickly but didn't see the animal. We came all the way back into the water hole. The PH was pretty frustrated, but Bogani and Hatchetman picked up the trail quickly and we moved faster. Took about 15 minutes to catch up, he'd stopped to feed. Didn't know we were there...at about 60 yds got a good full view...ivory too small. He was probably about 25 so too young.

Light was getting low, he was shaded, so even at 60 yds making out good detail was a little difficult. Shot goal is from 10 to 40 yds out.

Here is the Solid that was the initial shoulder shot on the Rhino next to an unfired round. The skinners retrieved it on the opposite side next to the hide. So it penetrated shoulder, heart lung, shoulder and lodged in the hide on the far side. The hide is ~2" thick. Note how little deformaties...

If you're sneaking up on an elephant bull and he notices you when you're 10 yards away, what happens then?

ChemAg15 said:

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If you're sneaking up on an elephant bull and he notices you when you're 10 yards away, what happens then?

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You shoot him

Bigfoot Is Real said:

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Dumb questions, what kind of vehicle will they use to transport the elephant back to camp after you harvest it?

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They'll pack it in the trunk.

chocolatelabs said:

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What caliber Rifle for the elephant gun?

what kind of mount are you going to get for the elephant?

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Full body or go home!!!!!

chocolatelabs said:

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What caliber Rifle for the elephant gun?

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From page 1 of this thread:

"I'm shooting a Blaser R8, .375 H&H....with a Swarovski Z8i 2-16x scope. Carbon fiber stock. The rig comes in just under 10 pounds. Barnes VOR-TX 300 Gr softs and solids. I had the barrel ported and recoil is nothing...I shoot it in a t-shirt."

Also from page 1:
"Worked hard to reduce weight...not a spring chicken anymore and things like hunting moose and bear in Alaska put weight at a premium. I also have 300 Win Mag barrel, but only carry one gun to Africa. I shoot it well and it simplifies logistics, ammo and I don't have to worry what gun I need when in this kind of environment....dangerous game requires a .375 minimum. So I don't want to run into a cape buffalo and be under gunned"

Wow... I'm waaay behind on this thread. No one will ever beat a live thread like this. You have now set the unreachable standard japantiger.

japantiger said:

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Is that picture from 5,000 yards away through that scope of yours?

FriscoAggieFan said:

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Seriously, would anyone be surprised if japantigers next post included a pic of him behind a velociraptor?

Raptor threads :-(

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agrams said:

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what's the reasoning on such a short range shot on an elephant? maximum velocity? I can't imagine 10 vs 50 vs 100 yards is that much of a difference.

also, are they just that confident in their safety they don't care about stuff getting close? or is their hearing/sight so bad it's not an issue? (once again, if they are so bad is it from an evolutionary adaption to not needing them because they are so supremely safe from natural predators).

also, other than tusk size, what other criteria make a viable target? bachelor's? not part of a herd? past breeding age?

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You need to make a brain shot off sticks. Big animal, small brain area to hit. In wooded setting like here, followup shots are not guaranteed if the elephant doesn't drop on the shot. Many similarities to shooting a Croc. On shooting sticks, accuracy and distance are inversely proportional. Body and arm not supported, so it's better than offhand shooting but it is not a fully stable platform. Closeness is critical.

We chased two groups of bulls today...the group early got across the Botswana border before we could close on them. This evening, we were on a group of 3 for an hour. A clear shooter in the group. Ran out of daylight. When you are on a group, it is a run to try to close with them.... everything has thorns. I look like my Mom switched my legs for misbehaving.

Day 5 tomorrow.

Mount: TBD
Truck with trailer...and no, you don't get to decide where to shoot him. You make a trail to it. In this part of Africa, the ground is sand. Which makes pursuit difficult. It's like running on the beach with everything trying to stick you while beating brush.

Internet is iffy here. Gonna have to stick to text msgs until I'm back in civilization...can't handle photos or heavy content out here.

I've been amazed and grateful you have been able to post what you have. If you have down time, or when you get back, it would be interesting to hear how cell and Internet work out there. Also curious if you are following world or US news, or totally unplugged

Pretty sure I would be more accurate in 60 yards than I would be 10 yards. At 10 yards my heart would be racing and my hands would be shaking like a crack addict needed a hit.

I would be freaking exhausted.

Could use a prayer. My brother called and they've admitted my Mom to the hospital in Nashville. She's 93 years tough and dealing with a nasty infection they had to admit her for. Very painful so they're giving her pain meds in the IV antibiotics. My brother is handling everything there so she's in good hands with good Doctors.

She only just moved into assisted living back in June. Finally got to where she couldn't handle it all by herself....

japantiger said:

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Could use a prayer. My brother called and they've admitted my Mom to the hospital in Nashville. She's 93 years tough and dealing with a nasty infection they had to admit her for. Very painful so they're giving her pain meds in the IV antibiotics. My brother is handling everything there so she's in good hands with good Doctors.

She only just moved into assisted living back in June. Finally got to where she couldn't handle it all by herself....

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You and your mom will have a surge of positive energy coming your way!

Praying for yall.

Will be praying!

Got on a group of bulls at 11:00 and tracked until 13:00. They were moving toward a close by waterhole. We were on the wrong side of the wind. We backtracked to the truck and drove around to get on them other side of the waterhole to get favorable wind and to wait on them. 3:30 no elephants...so we went in looking for them. 2 miles later Max found them. Very thick brush all around. Low visibility.

We kept maneuvering and by 5:00 I was in the sticks ready to shoot a male that was moving to a small clearing 10 yds away. We still had not seen both his tusks. He paused and turned toward us.....no go. Only one tusk. We just sat there not moving for about 10 minutes until he moved off . He was big and had.one beautiful tusk... obviously an old guy.

45 minutes later we got back on the others and thought there was a good shooter based on a fleeting view. At 6:00 we were in position as they walked by about 15 yds away. They either saw or heard us and all 5 turned and mock charged to about 10 yds. One of the PH's flicked off his safety. The metal click made them rear and turn and they moved off.

Beer tastes good tonight.

Got an update on my Mom. Dr had come by to see her and said things were improving (not sure what that means quantitatively) but this is my Mom relating the discussion to my wife on a phone call. Said her pain was less today which is good. So some good news on that front. Thanks for the prayers!!!! I'll get an update from brother later today after he speaks to Drs.

do elephants also get scared off by the sound of crapping my pants? I'd feel pretty safe then!

agrams said:

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do elephants also get scared off by the sound of crapping my pants? I'd feel pretty safe then!

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Damn it, I just spit my lunch everywhere. LMAO!!!!

Courtesy Flush said:

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Pretty sure I would be more accurate in 60 yards than I would be 10 yards. At 10 yards my heart would be racing and my hands would be shaking like a crack addict needed a hit.

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The issue gets down to how dense the brush is and needing to see the full animal. As I recounted, the animal was 10 yds aways before we could verify he only had one tusk.