SOUTH AFRICA: Elephant Hunt With Paw Print Safaris 2015

[CAustin]

Velo Dog I agree with you. The hunting industry employs a lot of people.

 

[CAustin]

Big5 you had a lot of machines to do the work! Where did you get yours?

 

[CAustin]

We had a good size crew working away before the tractor got there. What was the coolest thing to watch was how they cut the skin with a box cutter. It looked like what someone laying carpet would use. Then when the workers got down to meat they would cut off big slabs. As the slab was ready to come off the animal the cutter would slice a hand hold in the meat for the guy throwing up on the truck to grab! Heavy slabs went flying!

 

[Big5]

Big5 you had a lot of machines to do the work! Where did you get yours?

Zim, '93 or '94.

 

[Art Lambart II]

Those are great looking tusks, they'll look even better in your living room.

 

[johnnyblues]

AU NATURAL....

 

[CAustin]

I thought I would share this picture and the thoughts going through my mind at the time! My trophy bull was very calm this early morning! The day before we had pushed him hard. His friends kept getting in the way and in fact one of them was aggressive! My bull had decided to leave
the area the evening before. I wasn't sure we would find him again. As we entered the hunting area our tracker signaled for the truck to stop. He got off the hood and walked down the side right past me. He was looking at foot prints that were BIG. Two times he said " This is your bull". I asked which way was he headed? He went there and the tracker pointed to our ten o'clock. So we drove the truck in that direction for less than 1/4 of a mile and we saw three elephants. Big elephants all bulls. There to the right was my bull from the day before. I had walked a long way the previous afternoon trying to get a shot on the big guy. Now here he was standing less than 100 yards from me. My heart jumped a beat or two when Pieter confirmed that's him......let's go get your elephant. We backed the truck back over the rise and parked. Everyone loaded up their rifles turned on the cameras and the stalk began. We walked back towards the elephants and the smaller of the three had moved off well over 150 yards to the left. My bull and his aggressive friend were maybe 75 yards apart and the target was closer to our group. The biggest thrill of my hunting life was about to happen.
I've posted many pictures of the my bull after the shot but here he stands in all his glory. Majestic in body size and appeal. I was excited but yet a sense of calm settled over me. I had practiced shooting the 416 and had played this out in my mind over and over. We set up for a shot but the bull moved slightly and we had to move again ourselves and reset. The day before audio from one of the videos clearly has my son saying " get him dad" " get him" but today he is silent. Everyone is hushed and intent on getting me the side brain shot.
Well you know the rest!

 

[stug]

Nice, how far away is he in that pic?

 

[CAustin]

Stug if I remember correctly he was about 75 yards away. We were making our approach to him. He moved from left to right so we had to do the same!

 

[edward]

fantastic charlie!!!!!!

 

[CAustin]

Thanks Edward

 

[CAustin]

Just before the butchering started Pieter and I posed for this photograph. I dare say that he was every bit as happy as I was.

 

[edward]

any ideas on what kind of tusk holders your going for?

 

[CAustin]

They are wooden. No where near as nice as yours, but I want to keep it plain and simple. If I remember correctly yours were custom bronze.

 

[edward]

looking forward to pics!

 

[CAustin]

Edward Right now I'm waiting on my taxidermist to get export permits for the tusks and get them stamped by the government over there! This waiting game always worries me because you just don't know what our government might pull.

 

[edward]

i understand,been there done that.time will drag bye,but you will get your tusks and then you will breath normally again.once you got them you will have a smile on your face forever every time you touch them or look at them.nobody will understand that but you.

 

[CAustin]

Edward reading your last post it sort gives me an idea for a new thread. Maybe one that all the members that have taken an elephant could share pictures and stories about their hunt. Relive sort of speak!
Because your right about people not understanding this particular hunt.....already experiencing a little of it back home. Heck I look at the pictures almost daily and remember that morning and how I felt. I never want to forget and I bet others like Action Bob, and Wheels have similar thoughts.

 

[ActionBob]

I never want to forget and I bet others like Action Bob, and Wheels have similar thoughts.

Yup!

 

[edward]

until you have your own ivory youll never know the feeling.go for it.