Looking for an elephant hunt for 2026

[Rare Breed]

I am not a tire kicker. I want a 30-40 pound bull elephant. I want to hunt 10 days. What is the best price offered for this hunt. I will book and pay down deposit

 

[JHT]

@Mbalabala Safaris but it won’t take ten days. I guess you could tour Hwange Park and Vic Falls while you’re there. Or additionally hunt hippo and croc in the Zambezi.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Also, check with @Tokoloshe Safaris and talk to @rookhawk about some of his experiences. He may or may not know some folks.

Good luck shopping around!

 

[Green Chile]

In 2 weeks I will be hunting ele in Zim with Bennie Lategan. They average about 40# and I will let you know.

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

We can provide you with a good elephant hunt, but I would expect closer to 20 lbs.. these are resident bulls. Hwange bulls come thru early in the year. These bulls can go 40lbs. or bigger. Our elephant are exportable and in the past the USA has allowed the import of the same. Our prices and facilities are some of the best.

Lon

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Buzz Charlton is the man that you want to contact for your dream elephant hunt. If budget is no concern, then I’d highly recommend Jeff Rann.

 

[grand veneur]

I am not a tire kicker. I want a 30-40 pound bull elephant. I want to hunt 10 days. What is the best price offered for this hunt. I will book and pay down deposit

I am not an expert, but deciding in advance what weight you want to shoot can be problematic nowadays.

We live in the 21st century. Depending on the areas, there are still many elephants, but hardly with heavy tusks. I have seen many elephants in 30 years of hunting in Africa, also been on elephant hunts a few times, but rarely seen in all this countries a very heavy tusker, let alone shot one. The heaviest one I saw in the Caprivi strip was estimated at 60 pounds, and the heaviest one I shot in Zimbabwe near of the Gona-Rhezou NP was around 50 pounds, a stroke of luck according to the circumstances. After that they all that I have shot weighed barely over 30 pounds.

Sure there are still strong bulls with heavy tusks, but you have to look for them, and 10 days is very short. Chance can help, but for a 10 day elephant hunt you should be happy with much lighter tusks.

 

[375Fox]

I’d be very careful of the lowest price offered for an elephant hunt in Zimbabwe. I’d only look into reputable outfitters and PHs and discuss with them what they have on the lower end of pricing, not look for pricing first then PH.

 

[Scott CWO]

I am not a tire kicker. I want a 30-40 pound bull elephant. I want to hunt 10 days. What is the best price offered for this hunt. I will book and pay down deposit

If you decide to hunt for a bigger bull in Botswana, let me know. Some cancellations come to my inbox from outfits I have hunted with in Botswana.

 

[cpr0312]

Check out Lin @Mbalabala Safaris , cant go wrong!

 

[Rare Breed]

I am not an expert, but deciding in advance what weight you want to shoot can be problematic nowadays.

We live in the 21st century. Depending on the areas, there are still many elephants, but hardly with heavy tusks. I have seen many elephants in 30 years of hunting in Africa, also been on elephant hunts a few times, but rarely seen in all this countries a very heavy tusker, let alone shot one. The heaviest one I saw in the Caprivi strip was estimated at 60 pounds, and the heaviest one I shot in Zimbabwe near of the Gona-Rhezou NP was around 50 pounds, a stroke of luck according to the circumstances. After that they all that I have shot weighed barely over 30 pounds.

Sure there are still strong bulls with heavy tusks, but you have to look for them, and 10 days is very short. Chance can help, but for a 10 day elephant hunt you should be happy with much lighter tusks.

I completely agree with you…I stand corrected given on my Zim hunt three weeks ago I saw more like 25-30 pounders that I would be thrilled with

 

[rookhawk]

I’d be very careful of the lowest price offered for an elephant hunt in Zimbabwe. I’d only look into reputable outfitters and PHs and discuss with them what they have on the lower end of pricing, not look for pricing first then PH.

@Tokoloshe Safaris has one of the nicest camps I've seen in more than a dozen trips to Zimbabwe and hands-down has the finest equipment as well. They are "binga bulls" which are on the small body and small tusk end of the spectrum, but he also charges plains-game pricing for an elephant that has demonstrably been exportable.

Vaughan Whitehead Wilson and Garth Adams run Mapassa Safaris and they have 40-70lb bulls and are very skilled professionals as well. Their hunts cost more, but not quite double of Tokoloshe. Their bulls have been imported to the USA under new rules set forth by the USFWS as well.

Once you go past those two options, you're paying for "Brand name" PHs that have TV shows and they are hunting the same elephants. Before I would pay more than A or B above to hunt Zim in an area that may not get your bull imported to the USA under current rules, I'd go pay 4x more and hunt Botswana where you're getting the same bulls as Mapassa, but the density is much greater which statistically leads to a higher chance of a >65lb bull.

Just one person's opinion, but others that took my opinion had similar outcomes.

 

[375Fox]

@Tokoloshe Safaris has one of the nicest camps I've seen in more than a dozen trips to Zimbabwe and hands-down has the finest equipment as well. They are "binga bulls" which are on the small body and small tusk end of the spectrum, but he also charges plains-game pricing for an elephant that has demonstrably been exportable.

Vaughan Whitehead Wilson and Garth Adams run Mapassa Safaris and they have 40-70lb bulls and are very skilled professionals as well. Their hunts cost more, but not quite double of Tokoloshe. Their bulls have been imported to the USA under new rules set forth by the USFWS as well.

Once you go past those two options, you're paying for "Brand name" PHs that have TV shows and they are hunting the same elephants. Before I would pay more than A or B above to hunt Zim in an area that may not get your bull imported to the USA under current rules, I'd go pay 4x more and hunt Botswana where you're getting the same bulls as Mapassa, but the density is much greater which statistically leads to a higher chance of a >65lb bull.

Just one person's opinion, but others that took my opinion had similar outcomes.

I have no reason to argue with the two outfitters you suggested. However there are other PHs offering elephant hunts in questionable areas with no conservation benefits at very low price. I would choose wisely.

 

[WAB]

Personally, I would also have very little interest in standing on a rail line in the middle of the night trying to catch an elephant crossing out of a park, then sneaking up and shooting it with a spotlight. Elephant should be hunted with boot leather.

 

[rookhawk]

I have no reason to argue with the two outfitters you suggested. However there are other PHs offering elephant hunts in questionable areas with no conservation benefits at very low price. I would choose wisely.

Doubling down on your statement in the opposite direction: there are very famous PHs offering very expensive elephant hunts that lack the investment, open books, and conservation data to support a USFWS import permit even though they are CITES exportable.

 

[flatwater bill]

@Rare Breed ......I like the way you have stated your request. Not many do. ......so many wishy-washy inquiries are like........"I am thinking about an adventure and hope to become a fireman, a pilot, and hunt an elephant. Can anyone suggest anything this decade for 6 dollars?", etc. You've all seen such requests. YOU stated exactly what you want and that you are ready to pay......I salute that.................FWB

 

[Rare Breed]

Thanks! Just booked with @Tokoloshe Safaris

 

[TTundra]

Congrats @Rare Breed ! After my recent hunt, the trophy Bull bug has but me hard as well!

 

[375Fox]

Definitely not tire kicking! Nice to see too even though they are low cost they contribute to conservation where they operate based on other threads here.

 

[JES Adventures]

What was the price for the Safari?