As a mental exercise, I've been wondering what would be the greatest number of spiral horns one could take on one trip? Also wondered few trips to complete the spiral nine?

For trips, I'd consider each trip consisting of one country. I've been able to figure 5 as the greatest number in one country, and 3 as the least number of hunts.

Anyone else able to come up with different figures?

I don't think you could realistically collect all nine in 3 safaris.

Mountain Nyala in Ethiopia. Could hunt Menelik's Bushbuck and Abyssinian Bushbuck, Abyssinian Greater Kudu or Lesser Kudu. Rich Elliott would know if that is reasonable or not. Seems awfully ambitious to me.

Could possibly take 5 in Tanzania (Eastern Greater Kudu, Lesser Kudu, Sitatunga, Bushbuck, Eland). I have no idea how reasonable it would be to assume you could take all five on one safari there.

I don't think you could hope to collect Lord Derby Eland and Bongo on the same trip, one being a forest hunt in the rainy season and the other being savannah hunt during the dry season. Both seem to require 21-day hunts or more. I would figure two seperate hunts for those.

Then there is still common Nyala in RSA or Moz or Zim.

One trip to RSA with the proper time would provide the most. Cape Kudu, Cape Eland and Cape Bushruck in the eastern cape then travers north to Natal for , Nyala and Greater Southern Kudu. For one of each of the 9 you would then have a trip to Ethopia for the Mt Nyala and you could do the Lesser Kudu on this trip with enough time, another trip to CAR for the Bongo and another trip for the Giant Eland and that would leave a trip for Sitatunga. With all that said yea one could do it on one trip lasting a few months.

I was thinking of this more as fantasy/theoretical hunts up to 30 days each, and within one country each.

Tanz does seem to have the most with 5. RSA (or Moz or Zim) with 4 seems pretty possible to obtain in one hunt.

Die Ou Jager was very close on what I'd come up with on a 3 hunt spiral nine slam. Was thinking of one country with bongo, giant eland, and sitatunga. That's the combo I think would be most difficult to obtain in one hunt.

Personally I think (and am on course for) spreading it out. Who wants to limit their number of hunts.

Although it's not possible now and certainly not in one trip the spiral horns species I have takne in Ethiopia include..
Mt. Nyala
Menelik's Bushbuck
Abyssinian Bushbuck
Nile Bushbuck
Lesser Kudu
Abyssinian Greater Kudu

Rich Elliott

When I hunted in Zim in Oct, I spent part of the time in Humani in the Save Conservancy. I took eland, Kudu and Limpopo(?) bushbuck. I saw several very nice nyala, and all close while walking quietly in the riverine bush, but didn't have quota.

JPK