Bill, great report and it sounds like one outstanding Safari.

Congratulations,

Larry

Bill. As usual an outstanding report!

Congatulations on another hunt of a lifetime!

Great report of an amazing hunt. You and your son packed in 10 years worth of memories in one hunt. 2 charges, a good old croc and a wonderful bull with a bit of an added bonus that no one was injured in what was very dangerous circumstances.

Perry

" Well Done" , "Extremely WELL DONE"

Loved the pics and thanks for the detailed report. Nicely done !!!

One awesome report & hunt!! Thanks for the time to share this great trip!

Congrates with trophies!

Yep, EXTREMELY well done
INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE Bill

As usual- fantastic report. COngrats on the hunt of a lifetime, and with your son. Thanks for taking the time to prepare the report...

Really enjoyed your perspectives and the hunt sounded amazing. Having hunted with my son in Tanzania I was happy for you that the Hippo came for you and you were ready. NIcely done Thanks for the pics and narrative.

Great report as usual.
Bill, you have helped a lot of people by your detailed reports. Thanks for making the effort.

Thanks, Bill. As ususal, your report was both riveting and informative.
Congratulations on your shooting, and on your fine trophies. I think the collar is just a bonus.
I want to be just like you when I grow up. I'm serious.

Congratulations Bill, Outstanding report of an outstanding adventure. We’ve gotten our Bill C “Fix”….everyone on the Forum will be much calmer and happier!
Paul

Bill, again a wonderful trip report with pics and memories for a lifetime with one of your sons. Job well done but I bet in a few of those pucker situations you might have been thinking, two barrels would have been better than one.

Very well written!

Thanks for sharing:-)

Torbjørn

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
Bill,

I can understand your concern about shooting a radio-collared animal. In the west, if the Game dept. puts a radio collar on an animal they are still legal game. In zim I believe that such animals were off limits when parks put them on. As far as a private orginization radio collaring an animal. I doubt that that is legal unles they applied for a permit. If such animals are to be off limits it is up to Parks to notify the hunting community of the restriction. This was apparently not done so you have no responsibility to not shoot such an animal. Relax and enjoy a marvelous animal in th salt.

465H&H

I'll quote an article regarding the shooting of Bill's elephant:

quote:

The hunter did nothing illegal, according to existing law within Zimbabwe. It is not illegal to shoot a collared animal (unless specially protected by the minister).

Enjoy your VERY LEGAL trophy elephant!

Congrats on a beautiful trophy and a great adventure!

Awesome adventure!!!!! Very well written. My anual hunting trips with dad are what I look forward to every year. They are slowing down and I am starting to think about the ones with my own kids when they are older. Simply nothing better.

You are a blessed man.

As usual Bill, you craft the BEST hunting reports on AR! Thanks for a great read. I felt I was right there next to you when that hippo charged. Thanks! jorge

Outstanding report. Great to see Shaun Buffee again. He filmed my ele charge/hunt with Alan Shearing in '08. Great camp companion and PH.

Thanks for the report, Bill. It's almost like being there. Which reminds me that I'm stuck in Shanghai. So thanks for that!

Glad you survived a couple of moments that could have been final.

quote:

Originally posted by Dutch44:
That is the best hunting report I have read to date. Thank you.


Dutch

++1 I am at a loss for words.

Bill,

Thanks for the great report on a fantastic hunt!

Beuatiful bull! Please let us know what the ivory weighed when you find out, very lovely ivory.

Congrats!

JPK

hunters, thank for you suppport in terms of bringing USD into the country to help preserve our wildlife.

with regards to your attitude about shooting a collared ele do you not stop and think for one minute about the heritage that we zimbabweans have and are trying to keep. you thinks it's ok to shoot one of the last remaining big tuskers that people have collared for research. give some thought to behind the bullet and see what we are trying to do.

Someone once said that anyone can rationalize anything. Whenever I see a piece of defensive rationalization like the above I get curious. The Musango bull was hunted legally, but ethics aren’t as cut and dried as the law is. Lake Kariba is 50 years old this year, and I have no doubt this old patriarch was around long before the dam was built. He was well-known to all the PH’s in the area, and was an animal one could literally walk up to, having no fear of interaction with man. If a PH deserves to use the “P”, he would have known this bull. Bill, basically for some reason your PH effectively told you to shoot Elsie the Cow. It might have been an exciting “stalk”, but on the other hand you could’ve just gone around the front and walked up to the ol’ guy.

OH NO !! - Here we go -

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback, and the many emails and PM’s. When I look back on this hunt, my memory keeps defaulting to the “charges”, and I suspect that for my son and I this will be what this safari will be remembered for.

When I gingerly told my wife the accounts of the charges, and showed her the pictures, she replied "THATS IT, YOU ARE NEVER GOING BACK!". Since then, she has cooled down a bit, but I still get a glare when any mention of them comes up.

Regarding the gentleman above, I respect their views and constraint, and ask that others please do so also. There will be different opinions of this elephant, which is why I detailed my account so that it was out there, anticipating some anti-hunting (and/or pro this photo-camp operator / elephant) reaction. We need to understand both sides of this issue. I could have chosen to gloss over this, act as if nothing had happened, but I felt it was better to address the situation head on, especially given my mixed feeling. I have learned that "speculation" is usually far, far worse than the truth.

I pressed everybody involved hard afterwards regarding this elephant, and all assured me that they had no awareness of its existence. Nor after encounters with hundreds of elephant, none of which could be “walked up on”, did anybody think this one would be different, nor was it. Given Martin's professionalism and integrity, and the reaction, surprise, and the discovery process I observed in relation to the collar, I believe them. I would be very upset if I felt otherwise. And why would a successful PH with a booked season, visible in the public eye and involved in National Parks and the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters Association, spending his own money and time to fight poaching and the dodgy hunting operators, and knowing the profile and character (not to mention bench press!) of his hunter and that this would subject him to all kinds of harassment, ever knowingly shoot a photo-camps collared animal? I just cannot see it.

Although others in different circles knew of this elephant, and there had been a few blogs on the Internet, I am convinced that nobody in my hunting party had any idea. I certainly didn't, or I would have been happy to take pictures.

I sincerely wish there had been better communications, and hopefully moving forward there will be, and if this is in the form of legislation and procedures related to the handling of a collared animal, from the selection of an animal for the “right reasons” (scientific), to when the collar is placed, and including identification by means other than a neutrally-colored collar which in the early season and especially on lion, can be impossible to see, I would be the first to applaud these measures. Maybe some long-term good can come out of this.

Of note that despite an impressive visual image due to the long, elegant tusks, they weighed:

- 20,8kg [45.8lbs] and 189cm long
- 21,8kg [48lbs] and 199cm (6.5 feet) long

This was deceptive, apparently to all. There are heavier elephants shot all the time, and in fact there have been a number of truly big [Park] bulls shot this year alone in Zimbabwe. Just look at the hunt reports on AR. This does not at all take away from the beauty of this elephant.

Thanks again to all, Bill

When animals are collared by professionals for legitamate research purposes, it is always understood by those professionals that the collar has no bearing on the life or mortality of the animal. they do not want the animal to behave, live, or die any differently than any other non collared animal. Hunting is only one of the ways these aninmals die. Any managed hunt I have ever seen where there are collared animals around, they simply ask that the hunters turn the collars in. Treating the animals "differently" because they have a collar on turns a representative animal into an individual animal and that can be counterproductive in terms of research.

If the elephant was collared by some private group specifically to "keep it safe" than that is not a legitamate reason to collar it in the first place and in my opinion a disgrace. I would put those people in the same category as those antis who throw out corn to prevent waterfowlers from legally hunting an area.

I can understand as a hunter wishing it was not collared simply because it means that it has been handled before and you can not help but feel that some of that wildness is gone even though there is really no difference. Same thing with a banded bird. I guess as a hunter, I like to be the first one to ever touch that animal.

Bottom line is NO one owned this elephant until Bill C. came along and put forth the money and effort to legally possess it.

Congrats to you and your son Bill, you have nothing to apologize for in my book.

Hi Bill,

When reading your report I did not find any categorical note that the collar was not seen before the elephant was shot. No details were given of the actions, locations and discussions of those involved in the process of deciding to take the animal and then doing so. It was implied that you took the shot(s) from behind the elephant but this episode is the only fuzzy element of your otherwise extremely detailed report.

I hold my hands up and admit that it is none of my business but I am curious to hear what actions and discussions occurred between the elephant being sighted and it breathing its last.

Milo.

I think that Bill should be applauded for reporting the facts of his hunt as it happened.
It is easy to gloss over the regretful bits and make everything look perfect. This forum is a great source of information as well as narative and discussion and we need realistic and truthful reports.

Thank all again for the general comments, and private pm’s and emails. To answer a few questions…

Milo, I purposely decided at the time to not provide explicit details of the “kill” given the sensitivity of this, not trying to omit details, but cognizant to the fact that individuals from outside AR would be reading the report, including perhaps those who are against hunting that need something like this to rally behind despite the laws and facts. I also minimized the graphicness of the pictures, including the recovery. I updated the report modestly to hopefully be clearer to fellow hunters. It is worth mentioning that on my first bull in 05, I got to maybe 15-yards behind the elephant when he turned half-way around sensing my presence, and then ran immediately to his right allowing me to get off a side-brain shot. Had he ran in any other direction, I would have had no shot, and we would have never caught up with him again I am sure. This was what was running thru my head, and during the approach my thoughts were “man I hope he doesn’t run”.

Dirk, I'd LOVE a nice double rifle. But, I was actually quite fortunate to have had a gun that I was familiar with. My thought is that had I bought that new double in January, given my busy work schedule and dislike of shooting paper at my local range, I probably would not have spent as much time with it as I should have. Maybe I would have worked the safety, maybe not, I don’t know. These may have been situations where an unintentional “doubling” may have been advantageous! In both charges, and in particular the hippo, had I missed there was no time for a second shot period. I consider these to be unusual, and yes absolutely, having a second quick shot could very well make the difference for a "typical" charge, which I would expect are the majority experienced by visiting hunters. Just as any PH will suggest, one needs to know their rifle, be it a double (as you, Mike, John, Walt and many others on the forum do) or a bolt action.

One other related thought, there is a degree of satisfaction from using hand-loaded rounds during the course of this hunt, and especially for the charges. The guys did not recover the round from the hippo, which I am disappointed in, but we did find the .450gr Barnes flat point solid used in the charging cow elephant. It entered the top of the head, passed thru the skull and brain, exited the back of the head, reentered the body and went another 4-feet although this was traveled just under the skin.

Recovered Barnes .450gr Flat Point Solid from the charging cow elephant




Sevens, thanks for your support, and yes as Mike said the Lott has open sites, with the front being an after-market and larger NEGG 3/32’nd. On the charges I did not “aim”, simply point-and-shoot.

Mike, yes, the human skull was very creepy. We do not know what the story behind it is, if could have been an ancient burial ground uncovered by the erosion of the river during the rainy season (note how deep it was), or perhaps the person was a victim of a flood or croc or other event and got washed down the river and over time was buried in the mud then uncovered. If anybody has any theories on this, I would appreciate hearing them.


Rob, good luck to England, but GO USA Soccer!!!

Thanks, Bill. PM sent.

Bill,

Excellent report, hunt, and trip. The Omay is a wonderful place with so much to offer for those who want to enjoy Africa and not just hunting.

Your great tusker was killed only about a mile from where I killed my tuskless. The elephants in that area are a little cheeky, at least in my experience.

Martin is the consumate PH and absolutely loves the Omay and everything it offers.

Congratulation on your hunt, your trophies, and escpically your survival. Your report and photos were absolutely wonderful. Thank you.

Great report! This is as good or better than any magazine article I have had the pleasure to read.

Another rich hunting report.Good work with the Ruger,Bill.Nice hippo and ele.Congratulations.

Bill,

Great hunt for you and your son. Another super write up.

Congrats!

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Grafton:
When animals are collared by professionals for legitamate research purposes, it is always understood by those professionals that the collar has no bearing on the life or mortality of the animal. they do not want the animal to behave, live, or die any differently than any other non collared animal. Hunting is only one of the ways these aninmals die. Any managed hunt I have ever seen where there are collared animals around, they simply ask that the hunters turn the collars in. Treating the animals "differently" because they have a collar on turns a representative animal into an individual animal and that can be counterproductive in terms of research.

If the elephant was collared by some private group specifically to "keep it safe" than that is not a legitamate reason to collar it in the first place and in my opinion a disgrace. I would put those people in the same category as those antis who throw out corn to prevent waterfowlers from legally hunting an area.

Very well said.

Bill
Thank you for the outstanding report. Your attention to detail and the fact that your reports carry such a rich sense of humanity really resonates with me.

You are a great asset to our forum.

Best hunt report ever!

Bill Outstanding hunt and report! It's a great hunt when you can take your son with you.

Wow! I finally finished it. Great report and stories! I don't see any reason for the elephant to be tarnished. A beautiful elephant and you did what you were suppose to. Congratulations!

Brett