Finally getting a shot at an elephant with a bow!!

[DieJager]

Enough examples of old timers shooting FMJ bullets (7x57 , .303) through the heart and or lungs, much smaller hole, and dying quickly within a few hundred meters.

So enjoy the hunt. Would love to know everything about how it goes. We can have archery requirement but any broadhead with cutting edge are prohibited. So no hunting allowed. Still enough options in Europe where it is allowed.

There a a few things that always allured to my.
That is spearing a buffalo and shooting elephant with a bow. After seeing Tim Wells spearing a buffalo I am seriously considering practicing with a spear and who knows what the future will bring. As for elephant probably will use a rifle but still a guy can dream.

And you are close to filling yours. Wmh!

 

[BJH65]

Thank you for sharing. I wait with anticipation reading about your quest and adventure, elephant hunting with a bow. Even after years of archery hunting, I still consider myself little more than a novice, having only killed several whitetails and despite my best efforts never being able to connect on an elk, even spending almost 3 straight months bow hunting the entire hunting season one year, trying for a bull elk and passing on many cows (and causing a little marital strife!).

It was really the most humbling experience as a primarily rifle hunter, having to pass on many shots because the range or conditions weren’t right, or being unable to close the distance, getting busted during my stalks. I can honestly say archery hunting vastly improved my skills as a hunter and gave me a newfound appreciation for being patient and really enjoying and appreciating the game I hunted and the beautiful terrain. I’m still a rifle hunter at heart but I did get a taste of how addicting bow hunting can be.

I wish you the best of luck and a fantastic hunt!

 

[PARA45]

Good luck with the hunt! Anxiously waiting for your hunt report and pictures.

 

[HankBuck]

Hank, I think the point is that the broadhead size may not change, but the size of the heart and arteries changing will maximize the potential opening. For example, you are not going to get a 1.25" hole in a deer aorta because it isn't that big. It also will have lower blood pressure due to the size of the animal. If we want to compare against another animal though, why the hell compare against a deer when we can compare against a Cape buffalo or a giraffe? A giraffe weighs about 1/6 the mass of an elephant and is going to have a similar size heart and lungs that should scale with the elephant lungs. I figure 5x the time for a giraffe for an elephant. It certainly doesn't take a giraffe 30 minutes to expire - I don't recall how long it took my last giraffe to expire, but it wasn't long and it was a broadside shot on just the lungs - it was wobbling within a minute or so. A buffalo at 1/6 or 1/7 the mass of an elephant and they flat out die in under a minute with a well placed arrow.

Taking a 200 lbs animal as an example instead of a 2,000 pound animal just takes the margin of error on these estimates and multiplies it by a factor of 10.

@mrpoindexter - you make All good points, let’s wait for a post from a PH or Archer that’s seen an elephant die from a single arrow and they can report on “Actual” results & time

 

[mrpoindexter]

Here is a video of an elephant going down from one arrow. They don't say how long it took and the video cuts off and starts over, but likely from moving over to see the elephant once it stopped running. Doesn't look like much time has passed based on the light levels and shadows.

 

[mrpoindexter]

Another one for a single arrow kill in Tanzania.

 

[375Fox]

@mrpoindexter - you make All good points, let’s wait for a post from a PH or Archer that’s seen an elephant die from a single arrow and they can report on “Actual” results & time

I think you’ll find a lot more PHs that have had to stop charges while tuskless hunting than those that have hunted elephant with archery. I don’t doubt a well placed shot from an arrow will kill an elephant, but is the situation going to safely allow that? Especially when the goal is no follow up shot from the PH so it’s an archery only kill. I wouldn’t want to hunt a tuskless with a rifle let alone archery gear. The cows in herds are too unpredictable and aggressive. If this hunt is legal and there is a PH and outfitter that wants to conduct it fine, but there are reasons hunting elephant with a bow is limited.

 

[mrpoindexter]

I understand. I have been charged by a lioness. Not as big as an elephant, but just as deadly (you can't get deader than dead). I have no delusions about what I am getting into. This will be by far my most dangerous hunt, with not only the tuskless elephant but also hippo on land with a bow.

I would have had a far less dangerous elephant hunt had Zim Parks issued a bow permit on my first elephant hunt, but that is 8 years ago and I cannot change that now. If I cannot get a shot on a tuskless, I believe I would have an option to go to a tusked bull. As with all hunting in Africa, situations are subject to change when opportunities present themselves. I am just looking for a path to get my Big 5/Dangerous 7 completed. Will still need the rhino no matter what happens, sadly, as they cannot be hunted with a bow anywhere now.

 

[Mike B.]

The hearts are gigantic. I know of someones hunt to give some data on. This is a rifle hole through the heart, 13 minutes later it was still alive, but it was not standing, it did not die from bleeding out. It was shot again. I don’t see any reason an arrow is going to behave much different if the heart is hit. It will run a little ways and collapse, how long it stays alive after that….

 

[mrpoindexter]

Well, if he was shooting solids, the hole from even a .458 Lott is under 1/2" in diameter compared to a 1.25" wide blade on an Ashby broadhead. That is quite a difference in the size of the hole. An Alaskan 350 head is I think a little bit wider than the Ashby, but I would have to check when I get home.

 

[Mike B.]

Just to clarify, I am mostly on your side here. Like 95%. I don’t think the elephant is going to run miles and miles. It will run a short ways and fall over. My opinion here is a heart shot is a heart shot but the only caveat to that is that bullet also made two exit holes. I have no clue if an arrow will make two or just one or if that even matters. I suspect it would not matter. With a gun, a quick follow up when it’s safe to approach is going to end things quickly. Knowing it could take that long for an animal to die is the 5% where I’m not with you but that’s my own moral dilemma that is mine and mine alone.

 

[mrpoindexter]

The arrow making it to the heart would absolutely make a second hole. Once it is in the chest cavity, it will push forward until it hits meat on the other side. As for the follow up, once the elephant is down, nothing is stopping me from putting another arrow or even five more into the boiler room if that is what is needed to accelerate the process. I would add however that there is nowhere near the pain level from an arrow as there is from a bullet. I think out of the 50 or so animals I have shot with arrows over the past years, only two have made any sort of noise indicating intense pain - the first when the arrow went through the body and on exit, cut off the back leg of the jackal I shot. The second also snapped a bone on the far side of the animal. Otherwise, most animals don't even run very far and often run a bit from being startled and then just stand there trying to figure out what just happened while they start to feint from the blood loss. I have put additional arrows into animals to speed the process when needed but most do not need the assist.

 

[Frederik]

I'm not a bowhunter but have been with a few clients who did what is also forgotten is that when that arrow enters the body and the broadhead is stuck in the vitals. With the animal running off and the movement of the body that blade keeps cutting causing more damage.

A bullet will make the damage once and its done.
I'm not saying the broadhead is a better tool just that it keeps cutting and making damage with movement.

I wish you the best and like I wrote earlier get close and then some more, enjoy the adventure.

 

[mrpoindexter]

While I try to get as close as I can, with the elephant and hippo I expect to get as close as I need to and nothing more. No sense in increasing the risk beyond what it will already be.

5 1/2 weeks away now from departure. All my hardware is here. Will be going through all my gear this next week. Down 18.3 lbs, so only 10.9 more to lose. Just a little bit more time to add more weight to the draw on the heavy bow now and that's it.

 

[Russ16]

While I try to get as close as I can, with the elephant and hippo I expect to get as close as I need to and nothing more. No sense in increasing the risk beyond what it will already be.

5 1/2 weeks away now from departure. All my hardware is here. Will be going through all my gear this next week. Down 18.3 lbs, so only 10.9 more to lose. Just a little bit more time to add more weight to the draw on the heavy bow now and that's it.

I’m very much looking forward to this hunt report. I hope there are as many pics as possible.

 

[mrpoindexter]

Another one for a single arrow kill in Tanzania.

So I reached out to get more information on this hunt. According to Jack Brittingham,

"From the time the arrow hit the elephant, to it going down was about 2 minutes. He went a total of about 300 yards but, it was on a full out run until he fell.”

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

If you want to talk with someone with REAL modern experience with bowhunting elephants talk to Strang Middleton in Zambia.

I can’t wait to read this hunting report. Spot on about how an arrow kills, it’s also a significantly larger entrance and exit hole then most bullets make.

I’m actually going to be in camp with Strang during this hunt and hope to see some of @mrpoindexter posts on his starlink. I’ve talked to Strang many times about hunting an elephant with a bow.

I’m planning on bringing a couple signed copies of his recently written book on Bow Hunting Africa home.

 

[jomw10]

I keep getting back to this post waiting for some play by play!. I cannot image the excitement you must be going through. Good look and shoot straight

 

[deewayne2003]

Good luck to yah, just make better shot placement than this guy….

“I should have led him”

But in the end, I guess a broadhead to the ass is lethal, or atleast that’s what this video would have you believe.

 

[mrpoindexter]

Broadhead in the ass? The infamous Texas heart shot!

I would love an autographed copy of Strang’s book.

I did a play by play write up of my first elephant hunt back in 2017. Will have a similar one this time and plan on nightly updates while there thanks to Starlink.