Tips before going on your first elephant hunt

[Mike70560]

Keep your kit simple. A traditional elephant hunt will likely require lots of walking. Rifle and ammo are essential, everything else is extra. Choose wisely.

 

[Red Leg]

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

I haven't even contributed to this thread!

 

[VertigoBE]

Some great advice already! Thanks a lot for writing it out.

Lots of recommended exercise: trying to go every two days for a full hour at 5km/hr with a 7-8% incline with full kit. This has Ben very instructional on where to place my stuff on my belt and getting used to carrying a rifle.

Practice with firearms: that will be a tricky one, but dry fire practice will be performed a lot.

“Bring enough gun”: .416 Rigby

Know the anatomy: AH, Perfect Shot and the Buzz Charlton DVD. I also made myself a very extensive photo library of elephant pictures to try and locate the right target from different angles.

Boots, socks and blisters: Courteney Selous, merino wool based socks. Courteney zippered gaiters. But thanks to @Mark Audino, I’ll also add blister treatment, as I had not thought about that.

After the shot, knowing what to do the skin is also a good point, I have not really thought about that… a couple of belts and a gun case or two? What else? Anyone any ideas?

“Admiring the shot”: I’ll try to not do this, but honestly I do not know how I will react at the moment of the shot… I’ll need to prepare mentally for this and during dry fire practice never do just one shot…

Optics: 1.1-4.5x20 S&B + currently Swaro SLC 10x42’s. Contemplating of getting some 8x32 binos with a rangefinder. Bino’s on a harness with or without chest pack( I’ll bring both I think)

Ammo: Norma PH 450 grain Woodleigh FMJ

Belt: Els&co belt with open slider and @Von Gruff knife with closed sheath.

Clothing: still need better shorts, I have already some very heavy duty cotton brush shirts in green/olive. Tilley hat and Serengeti polarised sun glasses.

After the fact: some alone time yes, also ensuring none of the locals take my picture while they wait to get their share of the meat.

Getting fit mentally: not quite sure how to do this… it’s a bit like leaping into the abyss and holding on for dear life. I do not yet know what the real experience will be like, I can only read others’ descriptions.

Medications: I’ve definitely overlooked that one and will see what kinds of vaccines, meds, etc I should take or have with me.

So what did I miss? What are my unknown unknowns?

 

[VertigoBE]

I haven't even contributed to this thread!

You should!

 

[MarkB]

I haven't even contributed to this thread!

OMG sorry, not sure how that happened. Dam age. It was obviously @rookhawk, still amazed at how I messed that up.

Sorry @Red Leg

MB

 

[rookhawk]

Some great advice already! Thanks a lot for writing it out.

Lots of recommended exercise: trying to go every two days for a full hour at 5km/hr with a 7-8% incline with full kit. This has Ben very instructional on where to place my stuff on my belt and getting used to carrying a rifle.

Practice with firearms: that will be a tricky one, but dry fire practice will be performed a lot.

“Bring enough gun”: .416 Rigby

Know the anatomy: AH, Perfect Shot and the Buzz Charlton DVD. I also made myself a very extensive photo library of elephant pictures to try and locate the right target from different angles.

Boots, socks and blisters: Courteney Selous, merino wool based socks. Courteney zippered gaiters. But thanks to @Mark Audino, I’ll also add blister treatment, as I had not thought about that.

After the shot, knowing what to do the skin is also a good point, I have not really thought about that… a couple of belts and a gun case or two? What else? Anyone any ideas?

“Admiring the shot”: I’ll try to not do this, but honestly I do not know how I will react at the moment of the shot… I’ll need to prepare mentally for this and during dry fire practice never do just one shot…

Optics: 1.1-4.5x20 S&B + currently Swaro SLC 10x42’s. Contemplating of getting some 8x32 binos with a rangefinder. Bino’s on a harness with or without chest pack( I’ll bring both I think)

Ammo: Norma PH 450 grain Woodleigh FMJ

Belt: Els&co belt with open slider and @Von Gruff knife with closed sheath.

Clothing: still need better shorts, I have already some very heavy duty cotton brush shirts in green/olive. Tilley hat and Serengeti polarised sun glasses.

After the fact: some alone time yes, also ensuring none of the locals take my picture while they wait to get their share of the meat.

Getting fit mentally: not quite sure how to do this… it’s a bit like leaping into the abyss and holding on for dear life. I do not yet know what the real experience will be like, I can only read others’ descriptions.

Medications: I’ve definitely overlooked that one and will see what kinds of vaccines, meds, etc I should take or have with me.

So what did I miss? What are my unknown unknowns?

For medications, you don’t need any for where you’re headed that are specialty, or more specifically what can happen to you over there doesn’t have a pill to cure!

Your area doesn’t have Malaria and doesn’t have Tsetse flies. So no need for hydroxychlorquine and you don’t need Avon SkinSoSoft for tsetse. You’ll get a hell of a sunburn while you’re there so SPF 30, fragrance free, is a good idea. For inflammation you want 500mg NSAIDs sold as Aleve over here, perhaps as Sodium Naproxen in Belgium. For walking on a sprain, you might want to consider a pair of the Courteney Selous in combat boot height they are now selling. (Proud to say I was the customer that demanded they make them and have 3 pairs). Thus, if you sprain your leg (you might) the hunt isn’t over if you can lace up a tall boot, but in the standard hiking height your ankle is too mobile to be stabilized.

For the truck, I always had them bring a case of water and club soda along with their fake mango-orange juice. About 50ml of that nasty sweet and salty stuff into your water or club soda and you’ve got what you need for regaining electrolytes. Drink as much of it as humanly possible and your urine will still show signs of dehydration in Africa.

For emergency, you can look into an annual subscription of Global Rescue or Ripcord in case you’re injured and need to be evacuated. 300 euros is a bargain for extraction services.

Oh!!! Forgot the most important thing. You want 2 shemaghs. You use them to wrap your scopes when you carry them on the plane, then you wear them in the morning and evening to keep warm, and during the day if you have sunburn on the neck or heat stroke, you pour water on it and it will cool down your neck. 8 euros on amazon.

You might want a set of proper quality wood shooting sticks from African Sporting Creations. They will probably have a loaner set that will work but will scar the finish on your rifles. You can bring a plastic and metal set to Africa but it will be destroyed (crushed, no longer functional) by the guys on the back of the truck in the first few days.

Whenever I head over to Africa I have everything I need for my hunt in one carry-on duffle bag, on my body on the plane, with the exception of the rifles in the belly of the plane and the ammo box that is also in the cargo hold.

3 underwear. 3 socks. 1 long sleeve bush shirt. 2 short sleeve. 3 shorts. 2 pair of boots. 2 shemagh. 1 sunglasses. 1 phone and charger. Toothbrush/Deodorant. Knife. Rangefinding binos. Chest harness. One sling. Ammo belt/pouch. 1 web belt. 2 T-shirts. That’s it. You really just show up and hunt.

 

[Puddle]

Darn Tough lightweight socks (very important)

+1.
I have 3,000 miles on 4 pair over the last 3 years and they're still going strong.

 

[Andrew62]

I'm diabetic, so when I head out hunting for the day, I take 2 little packs of trail mix and a protein bar in case I get away from camp for longer hours than I anticipated. For all hunts but elephant, I just leave these items in the truck, but for elephant, you may want to consider taking a little pack of trail mix with you. I also have the doctor prescribe me an antibiotic to take along in case I get sick.

 

[rookhawk]

You don’t need to bring it from home, but remind the PH to have salt in the truck at all times. When you recover your elephant its a very long day of processing it and the traditional meal is a kabob made with chunks of temple meat cubed, then a chunk of fat from behind the eye, back and forth on a long skewer, cooked over mopani wood with a bit of salt on it.

That’s a proper finish to the hunt that will sustain you while prepping 12000 pounds of meat to give out to the long line of villagers that are arriving by the minute at the site of the kill. By the end of the day, all thats left is a damp spot on the grass and the smoldering embers
of your camp fire.

 

[Jfet]

If you are using a double rifle, remember to change triggers when you attempt the second shot.

 

[Tra3]

Learn about how to recognize dehydration. Fatigue is on thing, dehydration is another. Water alone may not be enough, you might need sodium to help your body absorb the water. The more you train up for the hunt, the more you will enjoy it.
Take some seemingly mundane photos in the process of the hunt, you will appreciate those photos, because the hunt is really a journey. And it sounds like your journey has already begun!

 

[LivingTheDream]

Walk a lot, carry a lot of ammo...mentally just know once you cut a track, you are walking till you kill an elephant or the sun goes down. Once I got into this in my head it was much more enjoyable. You aren't pondering whats next, or what the strategy is, just gives you time to enjoy every sight, sound and smell.

You will never look at a broken limb on a tree the same.

Take a moment to enjoy all the people coming to get protein. You feel extremely blessed and also realize why we do what we do.

I've read that the good ones cry after their first elephant but I cannot remember where

I was too emotionally exhausted to cry, lol. But I cut the tail with a knife my great grandfather gave me, think he would have been proud.

 

[davetexas]

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.

I was in Zim in 2015. They used the antique irons heated on the cooking fire on my clothes including my synthetic underwear. I think the guy put a thin towel between the iron and underwear so as not to damage them. All I can say is that all my clothes came out perfect. I wish the cleaners could do it like that guy did. I probably got lucky and got the best camp guy in all of Zim.

 

[Frederik]

Very good advice from everybody.
Prepare mentally is overcoming fatique pushing the last bit and then again.
Nobody will hold it against you if you pass your rifle to one of the trackers for a hour or so when tired on a long trek.

Use both shoulders when carrying your rifle I have seen some hunters that just cannot switch from one shoulder to the other because they were trained in the army that way.
Listen and trust your PH and his team.

 

[Desperatezulu]

Adding my couple of cents:
- A camelbak-type backpack with a water bladder is a big plus. Really grates me when I see plastic bottles flashing in the sun as a careless member of the entourage swigs water while you're on the trail. Save your own water and drink the water carried by one of the team when you take a break. You just never know when you may need water late in the day and the team is separated for some reason. Murphy will ensure that you have no water if he possibly can! Camelbak also means you can sip regularly as you walk and maintain hydration.

- A couple of sachets of rehydrate are a must in your pack, They weigh nothing and help replace electrolytes. There are also energy sweets that do a similar function plus give you a sugar boost.

- Lip balm. Sept-Nov in Africa is bone dry and hot and European lips chap and crack easily. Get lip balm with SPF to protect against the sun. Lip balm can be used in a pinch to deal with chafing too.

- With regards to your training, if you tend to sweat a lot, wear soaked underwear and soaked shorts/long trousers on a few training walks (to mimic sweat-soaked clothes on the hunt) and see how you go with chafing. If you chafe badly you may want to consider different clothing or carrying a small tube of cream on the hunt to manage your chafing. If chafing sets in it is miserable and it will deteriorate day after day.

- In terms of synthetics, my biggest criticism is that they are noisy in the bush. Scrape a thorn over goretex or quick-dry fabrics and listen to the noise. Not to mention the loud swishing noise of trouser legs and shirt sleeves when walking. Natural materials are MUCH quieter.

- I see Rookhawk's 30 and raise him 50 SPF on the sun protection. You can't have too high an SPF. Fragrance-free too.

- Perhaps a 'nice to have' but if you can take 2 pairs of hunting boots, I find it helps a lot to alternate boots each day. Alleviates pressure points on blisters and reduces the fatigue on your feet. And if your boots get wet wading through a river or whatever, you have dry ones for the next day while the first pair dry out. Wearing wet boots is a recipe for blisters too.

- I think it was mentioned already but carry some anti-inflammatories and some antiseptic cream. Muscles get sore, ankles and knees ache etc. Pop a couple of pills before bed and avoid starting the day with aches and pains. It just detracts from the experience and your mental acuity if you're feeling sore. Similarly you will get scratches from thorns, insect bites etc - antiseptic treatment will see them heal in a day.

 

[VertigoBE]

Thanks for the additional tips, ordered some "sweat resistant" sun cream (yeah right, we'll see about that sweat resistance), the 2 shemaghs (thanks @rookhawk !) although I have never worn any , lip balm (I normally never use this, but used it a lot when in SA last year).

@Desperatezulu: for the chafing, I'll be wearing underarmour underwear and a top under my bush shirt. Never had any issues with this combination, even when completely drenched in sweat (which is all the time). It also helps keeping the nasty biters out of those hard to reach spots!

I'll also make sure, together with the anti blister stuff, to take some anti-inflammatories and joint cream (?) with me, as my knees are not (and have never been) very good. Some insect bite and stuff for ouchies too.

As far as the mental preparation to push through exhaustion. I did hunt the Scottish Highlands 5 or 6 times, and that's pretty though going. In fact I really hope it will be less steep than over there. With the stalkers (=PH) in the Highlands, its mostly a matter of breakfast, step out of the door of the lodge, have a look around, and then immediately starting with a +45° incline for the next 3hrs... Fun is something else

About the water situation... when doing physical activity here, I usually do not drink much during the activity, but will be like a camel coming to water, in the morning, lunch and evening and perhaps during a break. So not sure if I want to be carrying even more weight in water on me, or just have the trackers carry a few liters.

@Frederik: very good tip of practicing now already using both shoulders. On my treadmill, I'll alternate between strong side barrel up, and weak side barrel down. African carry I also quite like, as the rifle has less of a tendency to bounce around, but seems like it is fitted to my shoulder. (I know, I know, not the safest in the world, we'll see what the PH's say, I was just surprised by the comfort of the African carry when I tried it, I thought it would be awful)

An extra pair of boots... I have some low, light trekking shoes that I could take, or alternatively get me some higher height Courteney's over there... Undecided still. A second pair, even if just to be able to alternate them, does sound nice, but I will not have time to walk in the second pair...

Oh yes and the salt! A feast at the end of the journey, will make a great motivator

 

[Hunter-Habib]

.375 Holland & Holland Magnum is not enough for body shots on elephant, but an absolute gem for brain shots (regardless of angle)

 

[rookhawk]

@Desperatezulu: for the chafing, I'll be wearing underarmour underwear and a top under my bush shirt. Never had any issues with this combination, even when completely drenched in sweat (which is all the time). It also helps keeping the nasty biters out of those hard to reach spots!

You bring up a good topic here we didn't cover. Like many of us, I don't believe you're a thin marathon runner build? What happens on safari on long stalks is you literally will wear holes in your cotton underwear from the amount of walking you will do. You then rub all the flesh off your inner thighs and then they weep, gluing your underwear to your skin. It's a right of passage the first 1-2 days of a dangerous game hunt. Using petroleum jelly is a good idea. As to the underwear, the most comfortable I've found are the boxer-brief style (tight fitting) that are a synthetic blend. The iron doesn't melt them but they do get shiny from the African laundry. Their biggest feature is they are slippery, like the workout pants the skinny chicks wear to yoga class. The friction produced in them is far less than pure cotton. The pure cotton pills badly from all the wear when walking on a hunt and you start to get blisters from the cotton pills in your "freedom center".

If you're 70KGs none of this matters, but if you enjoy your dessert as much as most hunters, you need to think about this detail a bit.

 

[VertigoBE]

You bring up a good topic here we didn't cover. Like many of us, I don't believe you're a thin marathon runner build? What happens on safari on long stalks is you literally will wear holes in your cotton underwear from the amount of walking you will do. You then rub all the flesh off your inner thighs and then they weep, gluing your underwear to your skin. It's a right of passage the first 1-2 days of a dangerous game hunt. Using petroleum jelly is a good idea. As to the underwear, the most comfortable I've found are the boxer-brief style (tight fitting) that are a synthetic blend. The iron doesn't melt them but they do get shiny from the African laundry. Their biggest feature is they are slippery, like the workout pants the skinny chicks wear to yoga class. The friction produced in them is far less than pure cotton. The pure cotton pills badly from all the wear when walking on a hunt and you start to get blisters from the cotton pills in your "freedom center".

If you're 70KGs none of this matters, but if you enjoy your dessert as much as most hunters, you need to think about this detail a bit.

I'm not exactly going to post pictures of my underwear here , but the synthetic tight fitting boxers of medium length (from UnderArmour) are exactly the ones I have. Never had any chafing.

For the same reason I'll be adding a synthetic undershirt under my heavy duty cotton brush shirt. I like my nipples not bloody

I figured this combination out about 20 years ago, it has worked very well. The biggest disadvantage is that when I'm not wearing it, like when swimming three years ago on some desert beach in the Carribean, getting my swimming trousers full of sand and then having to do a 4km hike, that was nothing funny...

 

[Hunt anything]

The best sunscreen I’ve found has been Bullfrog, I’ve used the Bullfrog Mosquito Coast with the insect repellent in it and the plain sunscreen. Works well and doesn’t burn my eyes when I sweat and I really sweat.