hunt of a life time

[arizona]

Tap, congratulations, I am so happy you went on the hunt, what an experience and memories you have. Continued blessings in your life, thanks for sharing your feelings.

 

[peras]

Hi Tap,glad you went and what a blessing to take such an ele at the end of a great era.God bless and good luck.

 

[sanderson0203]

What a great story and wow, what a pic of an awesome bull elephant. This is such a strange thing to have happened to you but at least that chapter of your life is closed. All my best in regards to your kids and I would make darn sure to use all her infidelity against her with as much detail as possible to aid your cause of keeping the kids.
Now to that safari story...that would have been so amazing and I am so thankful for you sharing it with us. I am wondering if you took any photos of these groups of bulls that you saw after you determined you were not going to shoot them? It would be awesome to see a little of what you witnessed so we could all share it.
Glad you went on that hunt and all the best to beginning your new life and God Bless.

 

[James.Grage]

Tony

Thank you for sharing your story. I was wondering where you have been. My eye surgery was mild compaired to what you are going through.

What A great Elephant. And i do mean that, The kind of elephant that dreams are made of.

 

[Wheels]

View attachment 22309

Heres the picture Johan put on face book. I will add a few more later.

WOW!!! A great elephant 100 years ago. A fantastic elephant 50 years ago. The elephant of the year and the elephant of a lifetime today! Way to close out an era. Hopefully Botswana/Khama will change their mind in time and others will be able to have the same opportunity in the future. This is a dream hunt of mine. Thanks for letting me live vicariously through you. I am truly happy for you.

Thanks for sharing the picture and am looking forward to the other pictures. If you have any pictures of the ones you passed on that would be amazing too. Good to have you posting again. Hope to hear more from you in the future. Your excitement, enthusiasm and passion comes through in your posts and is enjoyable to read. AH is a better place with you here.

All the best with your children, business and future hunting. Thanks for sharing your faith. God Bless!

 

[tap]

Ok guys. Its sunday and I have a little time to breathe. following are a slew of pics and the ah site usually isn't kind to me when up loading so here goes.

the bull in front had about 48" sticking out and this was the first group we saw. The bull in the back closest to the camera was about 20" at the lip according to the ph and was a shooter by everyones standards that he knew of including himself. However this beast was a one tusker and I wanted 2. So I passed them both up.

heres a pic of the bull I shot

heres another long tusk big one I passed

heres some random bulls we saw and one of the two long tuskers that ran together. THey were so similar I cant tell you which was which. They were both pushing the 70lb mark

heres swamp bull. He was in the same spot in the same swamp every day, all day long.

and heres my bull before I shot him. When I shot him he fell and broke his right tusk at the lip. The video shows it all. Its pretty cool.

There were many other big bulls but I cant remember whos who. It was simply an amazing sight to keep seeing such big bulls

 

[Bobpuckett]

Fantastic pics Tony and that Buffalo looks like he's looking for a wall to hang on. Congrats again my friend and thanks for the pics.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

View attachment 22351

Fantastic pics tap. But on a lighter note........I would swear some time ago, I saw pictures of this west Texas boy wearing both University of Oklahoma and Nebraska gear. The Sooner gear I might could've got, but not with Nebraska too.

And now, I find this west Texas boy wearing a throw back cap of MY Baltimore Orioles! If you only knew how much crap I've caught from my Texan in-laws about my Orioles and Ranger this Ranger that blah blah blah I've had to listen to.

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

Special Elle indeed, wow the Jealousy... is creeping up in a big way (all in good spirit of course mate)....

Super Super Super......

My best always.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

Congrats with a great bull and great experiences while hunting him.

Sad to hear about your family situation and I hope it will all end for the best for you and your kids.
I am in a similar situation fighting my ex-wife for custody of our 2 kids, so I can relate to how you feel about it.

Take good care of yourself and you kids and thank you very much for sharing your great experience in Botswana.

 

[BRICKBURN]

The smile says it all Tony. That is an incredible trophy.

Glad you went on your own "guided" hunt.

Congratulations.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Thanks for sharing Tony! Glad you ended up going... Hope to see you at the SCIC in Vegas next year... Take care of yourself!

 

[DOC-404]

Glad you pulled it all together, Bud. Don't waste your time on crap you can't change..there's just too many good things in life to look forward to.

 

[Buff-Buster]

Great hunt Tony. Glad you went thru with it after all......... Life dealt me a similar blow 23 years ago. At the time I didn't know if I could make it past all the hurt. I trusted that God knew what was in store for me and it was all going to be better. It was and is. Good luck with the whole situation and never give up. With God in your corner, all things are possible.

 

[Stan-Elephant Trail]

Congrats.

 

[Mtgoat]

I may have my nay sayers, but I do believe in god and I do believe he is very real. Im anxiously awaiting the future.

Tap,
Congrats on a great bull and more important blessings and guidance as you move into the next phase of your life - whatever that may hold.

 

[tap]

I just received a call from my ph today. It looks like I will be making another trip to south africa this year and this time I couldn't be happier. Life is possible after an ordeal like I just came through and things are looking up. I'm super excited to be alive and I didn't think that would be possible.

So if everything goes right I will be back in africa for the month of may. In addition I just recently received word from Johan Calitz that my elephant was officially the largest combined tusk weight elephant shot in Botswana this year. Im not concerned with bragging rights as much as I am seeing that god truly is trying to spoil me. Where that stacks up with the remainder of the elephants shot in africa this year I'm not sure but to shoot a combined tusk weight of 175lbs is something I will never forget. I've never been elephant hunting before and to see an ele that size up close and in person was one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen.

Lets hope my next safari is as exciting.

 

[bluey]

glad your back in the game tap .
well done on your elephant , it must be an honour to do so well on your one and only elle hunt .
looking foreward to reading about the next chapter in your hunting .
hope you had a great xmas ,mate :victory:

 

[enysse]

Wow, 175 lbs.!!!! Congrats, hope you have some more good hunts.

 

[RickB]

Truly an amazing animal. Congrats again and hopefully your next hunt will be as memorable as your last. I am sure the man upstairs will make it happen for you.