The Hunting thread, 2013

[bobguhr]

Brain Shot? As per John "Pondero" Taylor, draw imaginary line between eye and ear hole on said Pachyderm and squeeze or was that Capstick. Must have been some trip Mau Mau

[Mountain Doctor]

YELLOWMAULE wrote: 'the bitch bites at both ends though'.

On some of my rifles, every time I pull the trigger on the range I feel like I've been in an auto crash.

Under duress however, when I have some four-legged freight train running straight towards me, I never even notice.

OMG!

What rifle do you use for something that huge? Some somt of Nitro Express?

What do you do with the elephant at this point? I imagine it would feed a dozen families for a year?

Are elephants to hunt raised privatly on private land?

Sorry for all the dumb questions but I'm interested.

[crbnunit]

The bitch bites at both ends though.

Agreed. My 45-70 kicks like a frigging mule. I shot a box of CorBon Buffalo Bore through it when I got and was sore for about a week! Hard to beat a lever gun for the brush. Lght and manuverable and lots of takedown power.

[MAU MAU]

It seems like you read some of the same books I do Bob. Although I never had the opportunity to meet Peter Capstick, I met his wife Fiona after his passing and have remained friends.

I have taken more than a few elephants and I always utilize the brain shot. This shot ensures a humane kill and the animal is dead before he hits the ground.

The risk you do take with the brain shot however, is that when the elephant drops you may end up with a broken tusk. I had this happen once but used the pieces for a variety of things.

I only hunt in countries where the animals are free roaming and totally wild, and despite what some agenda based groups try to preach, there are currently too many elephants in sub-Sahara Africa.

I like hunting elephants up close ( <30 yds ) with an open sight rifle. I have used a 470 Nitro Express, 416 Weatherby, or as in the picture posted, a 458 Magnum. I use only solids which pass through 2 feet of bone, obliterate the small brain which is the size of a deflated football, continue through the opposite 2 feet of skull and exits the animal to points unknown.

Within about 3 hours the elephant is totally dismantled and all that is left is blood stained grass. The natives come out of the woodwork from miles around when they hear the shot, so we work quickly to remove the skin and tusks before the mayhem begins. Every native has a knife and quite often deadly fights break out even over a few pounds of meat.

As the hunter, I take and can legally import the tusks and skin into the U.S.

I hunt Africa once or twice a year, and as of late, have been concentrating on the western countries such as Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, etc

Hope this answers your questions...................Rob

[Mountain Doctor]

Interesting. I had no idea. I thought elephants were semi-rare.

I'm surprised you can't take the meat. What do you do with the skin? The tusks?

I also assume the natives are very happy to see hunters. Seems like a ticket to unlimited free meat.

Do you use any form of ear protection? As a shooter and a physician I know even as few as one or two shots form a unit like those could cause permanent hearing loss.

When I hunt upland birds I use ear protection, and that's with 'just' a 12 or 20 gauge.

I have tinnitus from decades of motorcycles and shooting. Nowadays I use ear protection for everything, even using powertools, a hammer, or a vacuum.

[MAU MAU]

MD - hunting brings in much needed cash to build schools and health clinics, supply medicine and even coffins for the numerous aids victims.

Kenya made hunting illegal in 1977 due to pressure from tourists. As a result of the hunting dollars disappearing, and the anti-poaching patrols that were paid through these funds also disappearing, from 1977 to 1983, 75% of Kenya's wildlife was killed by poachers, and what animals could escaped to neighboring Tanzania.

So now these same tourists are screaming that the elephants are gone due to their own lack of knowledge, and in my opinion, general stupidity.

In countries where hunting is legal and tightly controlled, the animals flourish, and in the case of the elephant, they sometimes flourish too well. Elephants can turn a great habitat into a total wasteland in a very short period of time, and the other animals that relied on that now ruined habitat die.

Elephants are currently culled to controll the population. I give talks about this.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroo ... 11510.html

I do utilize ear protection when able, but I think a bigger concern is retinal detachment when using howitzer size rifles.

The tusks are displayed in my home and the skins are used for gun cases etc.

Hopes this answers your questions.

[Mountain Doctor]

Thanks, Mau Mau.

[bobguhr]

A good afternoon at the local beaver pond with my son

[cs409]

Elephants+kenya+mau mau uprising in the 50/60s = user name mau mau? And is it safe to assume RSSB is also NHWCer?
Enjoying this hunting post. Also have you ate elephant meat and if so is it good/bad. Thanks

[MauleMechanic]

I envy you guys that get to fly up into the high country and hunt. Great photos.

[MAU MAU]

Great pictures Bob, and it looks like you and your son had a fine day.

[cs409]

Mau mau , have you tasted elephant meat? Also thanks for
The Link to the newsletter, that was a good read. Thanks

[cs409]

Mau mau , have you tasted elephant meat? Also thanks for
The Link to the newsletter, that was a good read. Thanks

[MAU MAU]

Yes I have tasted Elephant meat, the best being the feet.

The meat goes to the villagers, but we are usually able to get about 50 lbs which is nothing coming from a 13,000 lb animal.

[super-maule]

My 2013 Idaho Elk:



1.1 air miles from my North Idaho Airstrip. He is delicious, organic free range meat.

James