I was asked by the camp manager when I returned to camp after taking my elephant whether or not I cried. I thought it was because I am a woman. But honestly I didn't cry until I saw the villagers harvesting the meat and the difference it made in their lives. D. Nelson

So many of our AR members have taken fine elephant trophies, and shared their story here. Will, Judge, Saeed, Kyler, Rancher Jack, Terry, many, many more whom aren't popping to mind just yet....

I am struggling with the thought of an elephant hunt myself, and something Judge said is hanging in my head:

"I prayed to God and asked him to forgive me for taking such a life, and also thanked him for giving me the chance to do it"...or something to that effect..

I think Capstick said something about a man who didn't shed a tear upon slaying his first elephant as being unhuman?

I think when/if the time comes that I hunt my first elephant, I want someone to get a picture of my face as soon as it hits the dirt.

Anyone have a picture like this? A dream-come-true photo?

Sorry.....no photo.....but you reminded me of a famous TV entertainer who many years ago shot his elephant.....Name will surprise you...It's Arthur Godfrey.....who stated that immediately after seeing his Ele on the ground felt very bad.....He said, "Now why did I do that".

He was upset with himself and remorseful.

Sorry Mark, no camera but it was a surreal experience for sure. My hunt was unique in that I thought I was going only an observer until just days before the safari. Honestly I thought hunting an elephant was so far out of my reach financially I'd never allowed my self to seriously fantasize about actually doing it.... or deal with it emotionally.
I scribbled up an article that I submitted to an editor friend where I described the first few minutes after the kill like this:

"Seeing the bull down was a real mixture of emotions. Extreme excitement and complete awe were quickly followed by respect and contrition. This congealed to an odd conglomeration of melancholy and euphoria on the long walk back to the hunt car as darkness fell."

It sure isn't PHC, and furthermore it must have flat stunk on the whole, as I never heard back from my editor friend.

Kyler

N'gagi
One of the best decisions I made regarding my Safari was to have a professional videographer film my Safari. He was with me the entire 21 days and got great footage of my 3 Elephant kills. Ian Lewis of www.safarivideos.com
did an excellent job and as a bonus was a great guy to be around. I will NEVER hunt Africa without a videographer and will make every effort to have Ian with me again.

N'gagi, I highly recommend you go on an elephant hunt. There is nothing like it.