Tips before going on your first elephant hunt

[VertigoBE]

Dear esteemed AH members,

Out of purely academic reasons what would you like to have known before going on your first elephant hunt. Anything from practical gear lists, but mostly also the perhaps lesser known parts of hunting elephants.

Looking forward to hearing your insights!

Vertigo

 

[sureshot375]

Buy the Buzz Charlton videos and watch them over and over, especially the parts about shot placement.

 

[VertigoBE]

Buy the Buzz Charlton videos and watch them over and over, especially the parts about shot placement.

Thanks @sureshot375 ! it's playing on my TV as we speak

 

[grand veneur]

An elephant hunt is a clearly step up if you compare to a buffalo hunt.

Above all it is important to know the anatomy of the animal for a good shot placement. This saves you and especially your PH a lot of trouble. For the same reason one should arm oneself with a weapon suitable for elephant hunting, and train well with it before the hunt. Rifles from caliber 45 and up seem to me to be well suited for this kind of hunting.

 

[grand veneur]

I can recommend this book. It is above all about how and with what you hunt elephants, not primarily about the experienced adventures like in many hunting books.

Below is the master's favorite cartridge, as well as mine.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

These are all great suggestions and I will add to take the shot the elephant presents. A side heart shot is just as effective as a brain shot and should be taken if available. I prefer the heart shot to the side brain shot just my 2 cents. Follow the Buzz Charlton video for those frontal shots as he really explains the need to aim lower than expected in most situations.

HH

 

[grand veneur]

Body Shots On Elephant (Does Caliber Really Matter?)

And for the hunter in us. A strong bullet must transverse the vitals. With a bullet through the heart or lungs we can guarantee ethical hunting with clean conscience. As opposed to. Can anyone imagine slaughtering ANY wild game from a hide 30 metres from a field drinking- or feeding trough...

www.africahunting.com

 

[318AE]

Really good, broken in boots. You might walk a whole lot, day after day. Don’t get to the last hundred meters exhausted, dehydrated etc.

 

[Mark Audino]

With understandable focus on gun type, caliber, and loads, it's also important to remember that you kill an elephant with your feet. Unless you are hunting a crop raider at night, and instead tracking on foot, the realization that an ele can travel 50 miles for a drink of water means that they are always on the move. This is especially true for late season hunts (and before the rains) where local tanks have dried up. So, this comes down to proper footwear. Boots with super traction lugs and hard soles amplify noise, while others utilize softer compounds that hold up while muffling sound. In hilly areas, I found that boots need a heel for traction when climbing even moderate inclines. Depending on the terrain, even the most broken-in boots can still cause blisters due to the amount and nature of walking. So, have some blister treatment in camp or at least the vehicle. It's also amazing to feel the relief that a fresh pair of socks can bring when you change them mid-day. There's no carrying weight or bulk to speak of considering the benefits. Still on the subject of killing and ele with one's feet are two key words -- physical stamina to go the distance, and hydration. If you cut a track of a promising bull, you want to be ready to accelerate and close the gap. As for daypacks, if possible, chose something small and with some sort of mesh facing to add a layer of breathability between the pack and your back. Anatomy --- know it from all angles. Look at the videos and study the books and AH diagrams. Then draw the anatomy, kill zones, and shot angles on paper yourself. I also committed to memory various instructive statements I had read from PHs and game department officials who had taken multiple elephants in their careers. For example, "The earhole is located the width of the cheekbone above the cheekbone at the back of the cheekbone." Thank you Ron Thompson (Mahohboh). I like 8X32 binos; they're light and effective for all African hunting terrains and species. Allow enough time to find your elephant, and if you are hunting in a high-density, high-traffic area, know what you are looking for so that if you have an opportunity to be selective and make appropriate judgments when you do get up on them. Take as much skin as possible, and make sure the panels are cut to useful sizes for the items that you have in mind to have crafted with the skin. This is the big game. Wishing you the very best of the best.

 

[rookhawk]

Once the first shot is in the elephant, empty your gun making as many rapid shots as possible, reloading and repeating that process until you no longer see the elephant or its dead on the ground. After the first shot, its about quantity versus quality of shots on a fleeing bull. You don't want to chase it all day nor do you want it to suffer any longer than it must. Anchor the animal and dispatch it swiftly.

If you watch safari videos of any type, the common thread is "admiring the shot". It's a ridiculous involuntary reaction hunters have that must be forced out of their thinking. Reloading should be the very next thing that happens after the shot and readiness for another shot instantly.

 

[JHT]

Learn the difference between the zygomatic arch and the ridges of the eye socket. Get a bolt gun that starts with a four. Mount a 1-6 or 1-8X24 in QR rings and affix a comfortable sling. If you don't roll your own, buy Federal Premium Safari Cape-Shock solids - either Sledghammers or Woodleigh Hydro's. It's also not a fashion contest so go with new-age synthetic clothing - you won't look like Hemingway but you will be comfortable. Get in the best shape of your life. Buy your hunting clothes a touch too tight so they will fit by the time of your hunt. Specific proven clothing recommendations would include The North Face Ultra 111 WP Trail-Running Shoes (unless hunting in the mountains - if in the mountains then buy something with ankle support), Darn Tough lightweight socks (very important), Courteney 8" zippered gaiters, 2undr underwear, Filson Granite Mountain 6" shorts, a quality 1 1/4" leather belt with a Murray Leather elastic 6 cartridge holder, Magellan Laguna Madre Short Sleeve Shirts from Academy, a midweight pullover, Outdoor Research Helios Sun Hat. Travel light and be ready to hike. Your PH will love you. And 10-15 minutes of alone time after the hunt. I've read that the good ones cry after their first elephant but I cannot remember where. Ruark, perhaps?

 

[Frederik]

Get fit mental and physical depending of time of year you go normally elephants are hunted in hotter parts of Africa which a Belgian like you have not experienced yet.
When on a good track you can't stop and go back to camp you have to continue thats the Mental and physical part.

Then you don't want to be overtired and miss the whole experience either.
Be ready to take fast follow up shots don't pick up brass and admire youre shot.

Remember suntan and malaria meds as most elephnat hunts happen in malaria areas.
Hydration keep enough fluids in your body you will need it in the heat.

Elephants close up look like 3 storey buildings its a special hunt enjoy the dreaming.

 

[Hunt anything]

Walk A LOT.

 

[MarkB]

All good points above. What really got me was the unexpected emotional feelings after he was down. PH Wayne was great at letting me have time with him, only ever felt that with sheep. Also cutting of tail and taking ownership, I would have been more present for that, I will when I do again.

Hopefully you will have the time for the butchering, distribution of the protein and get to eat some yourself. The experience with all locals, from Chief to smallest child was amazing, we stayed on site for whole 8 hrs watching, learning and seeing whole process. Its not as the greenies want you to think, you can see real emotions in the locals eyes, faces and actions.

These things were my ele hunt surprise. Shot placement, yes keep shooting even if he falls at first side brain hit with 375, mine dropped and never got up but did some moving, walking and more walking and equipment all as expected.

Safaris can get fast, one in salt what's next. With ele slow down, its a special hunt, enjoy the whole experience, and what a life changing experience it is.

MB

 

[rookhawk]

Everything sounded fine with @MarkB 's recommendations until he started recommending synthetic clothing. That only works at a South African game ranch with a full service laundromat.

In Zim on an elephant hunt, anything synthetic will be destroyed the first time its laundered. Due to fly larvae, everything is pressed with a scalding hot iron every day and folding for you to wear on your bed each morning. Synthetics are just plastic shrinky-dinks when hit with a hot iron.

In Zim, the most comfortable 100% cotton bush shirts are made by TAG and Salty. They are half as thin as the ones sold in North America and the EU. They cost $8-$11 each in-country compared to $150 for a bush shirt at retail in the west.

 

[JHT]

Everything sounded fine with @MarkB 's recommendations until he started recommending synthetic clothing. That only works at a South African game ranch with a full service laundromat.

That was me. I will PM you. I didn't have that experience - the SA game ranch or the shrinking/melting.

 

[rookhawk]

That was me. I will PM you. I didn't have that experience - the SA game ranch or the shrinking/melting.

Apologies for the mis-ascribed post @JHT

The irons used in the bush are the ones from the 19th century. Just a piece of cast iron and a handle. They put it above a BBQ grill to heat it up and then they iron away. Precise regulation of the temperature of the iron is not a science in the bush. Cotton burns at about 200 degrees so the mentality is just don't let it get hot enough to burn plant fibers. The synthetics start to get shiny at about 130f and at around 150f you start to get enough melt to turn them into hard, crunchy clothes. If you go out to eat in Zim at the PH hangouts its always amusing to see the guys wearing their favorite Bass Fishing shirt with a hard shiny patch somewhere on the back where someone forgot and hit it with an iron.

 

[DLSJR]

I was going to simply post about walking A LOT, but there is so much great information here I need to acknowledge others, especially Mark Audino. Lots of good advice on his post. But none more important than to be in shape for days of walking.

It’s been a long time since I’ve hunted elephants, but I certainly plan to do it again while I still can. Probably 2024 as Ive got a few hunts booked that I need to finish first, including a February hunt that year for LDE that will be super motivation to be in great shape to walk all day. Might as well plan the two most walking intensive hunts the same year.

I believe a bull elephant hunt is the greatest hunt on earth.

 

[MarkB]

Everything sounded fine with @MarkB 's recommendations until he started recommending synthetic clothing. That only works at a South African game ranch with a full service laundromat.

In Zim on an elephant hunt, anything synthetic will be destroyed the first time its laundered. Due to fly larvae, everything is pressed with a scalding hot iron every day and folding for you to wear on your bed each morning. Synthetics are just plastic shrinky-dinks when hit with a hot iron.

In Zim, the most comfortable 100% cotton bush shirts are made by TAG and Salty. They are half as thin as the ones sold in North America and the EU. They cost $8-$11 each in-country compared to $150 for a bush shirt at retail in the west.

What's happening Mr @Red Leg, did I recommend synthetic clothing on Safari??? I try to stay away from recommending any specific gear unless asked as hunters are so diverse, what works for me most definitely will not do for most other hunters. On safari my cloths come from the Salvation Army, yes you read that right, I normally leave all for locals and my boots are my combat boots from the mob, =no blisters. I am NO GQ guy. Will not wear a safari company hat in any of my photos, that goes for names on guns and advertising on cloths, all those things frustrate me. You are right on laundry, my ele hunt with Wayne was done from my best safari camp ever, a coleman tent. Hot water was from the bucket in the air and only after Linda said it was ready. No laundry, meals African style over an open fire, I love Sudza and hunted meat on safari and Linda was also an amazing cook.

Yes at home I only have synthetic clothing, moisture wicking and Gore-Tex are my friends, I leave for fall hunt 6 Sept with a pocket full of tags, return home end Nov, that whole time will be in a wall tent.

I daily dream and wish for another ele hunt.

MB

 

[Scott CWO]

Once the first shot is in the elephant, empty your gun making as many rapid shots as possible, reloading and repeating that process until you no longer see the elephant or its dead on the ground. After the first shot, its about quantity versus quality of shots on a fleeing bull. You don't want to chase it all day nor do you want it to suffer any longer than it must. Anchor the animal and dispatch it swiftly.

If you watch safari videos of any type, the common thread is "admiring the shot". It's a ridiculous involuntary reaction hunters have that must be forced out of their thinking. Reloading should be the very next thing that happens after the shot and readiness for another shot instantly.

+1. It blows me away how many times I have to tell clients to reload. I instinctively reload immediately.