Top African animal to shoot

[Stoat]

One time and never go back again? Lord Derby Eland. Without a doubt.
One animal as many times as possible? Bushbuck.

 

[Hearties]

I live here and Kudu in the E Cape mountains and Springbok in the Karoo do it for me (yes, I know I’m cheating by picking 2

 

[IvW]

Lord Derby Eland.

Gotta rank as one of the top hunts.

 

[Pondoro]

Big tuskers with heavy ivory...and perhaps bongo..

 

[lwaters]

After being to the SCI and Dallas shows I have to say the Lord Derby Eland and the Mountain Nayala is my picks just can't decide which one.

 

[Nyati]

Buffalo, no doubt !

 

[ActionBob]

Obviously elephant has to be one of if not the main contenders, as all of the Big 5 would be.

But having done that, Bongo.

 

[BenKK]

For me, kudu.

 

[Ayaan Jakhura]

All of them sounds interesting but how come not many people picked dangerous game

 

[JES Adventures]

I'm with @CAustin, there is nothing that compares to Elephant. It is an incredible hunting experience for all the right reasons. From the tracking to the final approach to the moment of truth - making the shot. Then ultimately providing much needed protein for a village of poor people. Overall one of the most rewarding hunts.

 

[JES Adventures]

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a real close second.
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I just like Spiral horns.

Nice @BRICKBURN. Being home less than a week from hunting both of these spirals back to back I have to remind myself it was real!

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

This is not based on personal experience but if money was not an issue I would have to go with elephant.

I can't think of anything more romantically African than a safari going after a big bush tusker.

Now with the experience of others here I may think differently but that's my current dream hunt.

 

[MBaugh]

Cape Buffalo anywhere and everywhere!

 

[A. Wesley]

The Tusker just says Africa! To hear them up close moving through the bush earlier in the morning takes you back in time. Have a couple of elephant cows chase your group away and you will feel true excitement. Hunt this animal once and you will dream of doing so again the rest of your life.

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I'm with you! No personal experience, just books and everyone's stories and pictures on here. Elephant all the way! My dream hunt!

 

[thi9elsp]

I haven't done it yet so it would have to be Elephant for the one and only. If over and over, cape buffalo. I've been to Africa twice and both times hunted cape buffalo and took whatever plains game was around. That sneaking through dry, brittle bamboo and finally seeing a tail swish at 20 yards is a great, intense moment.

 

[MT Griz]

It is kind of like asking what is your favorite NFL or Collage Football team! It really depends on the individual. My vote is the leopard over bait. Tough hunt, sometimes takes multiple trips/hunts to get it done. In the end a fantastic trophy and usually well earned.

 

[steve ahrenberg]

Why lord Durby eland? I have always wondered why they are so special? For me Bongo would be an awesome hunt!

Great question...First off, the locations where you hunt LDE and Bongo are so polar to where most African hunts are conducted. I hunted both in CAR with CAWA Safaris. Erik Mararv had an area where you could hunt both, on one safari. The LDE are hunted in the Savanna, the Bongo in the Bako's (river forests).

The Bakos are interesting places, it isn't really high canopied rain forest. It is more an "island of jungle" in the savanna areas. They all have a river of some sort running through them. I was convinced the water was pure enough to drink and actually drank some with no ill effects. There are also a multitude on Duikers, to include YBD. Some Bakos are huge, hundreds or even thousands of acres, some are very small, perhaps only an acre or two.

The LDE hunt is any mans purist form of a tracking hunt. My hunt was 5 days on the same herd, daylight to dark. We would begin in the morning where we left off the prior evening. WE caught them at about noon on day 5, closing the deal. The LDE moves constantly, you do not get break, if you stop, the extend their lead.

The environment is tough, its hot, the countries are typically dangerous the travel into and out of. All these things added up, besides the bush and animals made me feel I was hunting in the Garden of Eden itself. I never felt as though I earned the animals as much as I did hunting in CAR. I was fortunate enough to hunt with Mike Fell and had Christophe Morio in camp with another client. There is likely not a duo of PH's better at the West African hunting than are those two.

Every animal shot in the savanna's was tracked, every animal besides the Bongo in the Bakos was called. The Bongo was just waiting in a machan at a saline.

So, short answer, the animals aren't as special as is the effort to hunt them.

Steve

 

[elephantmaster29]

Elephant would be the dream hunt. Just from reading about all the famous elephant hunters has given me elephant fever. ONE DAY

 

[JPbowhunter]

From the moment I first read about them my number one hunt in the entire world was a Lord Derby Eland.

If money wasn't a barrier it would be:
1. LDE
2. Forest sitatunga
3. Mrs Grey Lechwe
4. Leopard (daylight hunt)
5. Elephant

 

[LivingTheDream]

I just told my dad, I want to go hunt elephant again. Tracking one is a battle of boot leather and perseverance. So Elephant for me.

If I only had one hunt left, Leopard over bait.

If I could hunt all the subspecies it would be bushbuck. That would take you all over Africa!