Opus - Are you really scared, or is it just anxiety of the unknown? If you're truly fearful, don't go - period! Fear when hunting DG is nothing more than a recipe for trouble, and no PH wants to hunt with a scared client.

There's absolutely nothing to be fearful/scared of, its just hunting, nothing more. Don't make it something that its not, and get yourself all worked up for nothing. If a situation arrises, either you can/are willing to try and handle it, or your not? If your not capable or willing, don't put others in that situation either. If its simply the unknown that worries you, well then, give it a go and see what you think.

Don't make more of it than it really is, its just hunting a bigger animal, that's all! Treat it with respect, but confidence, and you'll be just fine. Remember, fear is simply weakness leaving the body.

Good luck and go get em!

I've hunted a couple of tuskless cow elephant on one of my hunting safaris.

There is no doubt it is exciting, but do some preparation before hand. Use a suitable calibre rifle, a .375 or preferably bigger. I used my .450 double rifle and had a lot of confidence I could drop anything I wanted with it. A .500 is better. But if the recoil bothers you, use a lighter rifle such as the .375. However when you have an ele in front of you, you won't feel any recoil. Practice with the rifle. People whom buy a new rifle, take it to Africa, without much use, and plan to sell it afterwards, well ....

Buy some good DVDs. Buzz Charlton's "Hunting the African Elephant" is excellent. Will's book is also good. Practice brain shooting elephant whenever you see one, eg on TV, in a book etc. Practice picking the spot where you will aim to angle to the brain. With the DVD and books like Will's you can check whether you are right.

A live elephant will toss and move its head around so the spot can change a lot, up and down, left and right.

Of course there is also the heart shot, but these eles will run off a distance, and probably the PH will shoot them too if they don't drop immediately.

I haven't shot a bull, but the cows are exciting because it is hunting in a herd. And the herd will react.

My first cow was a small malnourished one, with its trunk cut off by a poachers snare. We could hear it wheezing in the bush. We snuck up to it, and found a somewhat "open lane" to shoot from. About 15 or 20 yards. I had hired a videocamera man, so the strategy was I would step right out into the open, the camera man would step behind me, and film over my shoulder and tap me when he was ready. The PH told me the cow would come at us as soon as she saw us. So stepped out, the cameraman right behind me filming, the cow immediately turned from broadside to face us, flapping its ears. As soon as I felt the tap, I took aim and fired, and the cow fell over. The rest of the herd chased us away about 30 metres out. We went back in three more times and shot the downed elephant again three times, for insurance. Everytime the herd chased us away again. Eventually left and came back the next morning. The first bullet had hit the brain anyway.

The second elephant was also a frontal brain shot. Again an insurance shot, but this time all the herd fled except for one whom stayed around and the PH chased it off.

But I remember one cow. We were following a herd. A cow stayed behind on the back trail, hiding behind a tree presumably waiting to ambush us. The PH said it was a cow to shoot. He said I go around the tree and shot it. Now I would have been about 8 feet away from it when I came around the tree! And it facing me. So I carefully circled the tree rifle raised. The cow decided to turn and run away. The PH told me off for not running around the tree fast and just shooting it ...

I found hunting the cow herds great fun. Confidence in the rifle made a big difference.

As to doing it now, or later? Well if you really want to hunt elephant, the sooner is always better than later in my opinion. Given some self training in an appropriate rifle, and shot placement.

As Aaron says above, if you have true fear of it, you don't have to prove anything by hunting elephant or not.

Just my experiences of just two cows. I would hunt them again and again if I could afford it.

The only time elephants really scare me is in the dark, such as when they walk up to a leopard blind. When they're close and you cannot move and cannot see them, I am not a happy camper.

Go first chance you get .I have shot 4 elephant
and the memory of each will be with me on my death bed.My advice is dump the"girls gun"
and get a .500 cal.,bolt or double is your choice.I have had great luck with my Searcy 500 double and would use nothing else but to each his own.
Above all else GO.

Only naieve elephant hunters are not scared, elephant charges not stopped will resualt in death , that being said - there are many ways to hunt elephant and each country is different.
You can still hunt elephant with limited chance of a charge, in Botswana we hunt both thick bush and more open areas. In thick bush charges do happen esp from cows , in the open areas you see them from far and avoid the females while pretty much being able to get close to bulls without incident. So I suggest go elephant hunting but discuss the type of hunt you would prefer and your expectations.

quote:

Originally posted by Safaris Botswana Bound:
Only naieve elephant hunters are not scared

Well, damned if I don't stand corrected.

This guy has a whole lot more elephant hunting experience than most of us. Rather than listening to all of us "armchair - internet experts", I would listen to a guy like Mr. Pollock!

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:

quote:

Originally posted by Safaris Botswana Bound:
Only naieve elephant hunters are not scared

Well, damned if I don't stand corrected.

This guy has a whole lot more elephant hunting experience than most of us. Rather than listening to all of us "armchair - internet experts", I would listen to a guy like Mr. Pollock!

I guess you got that Aaron! From now on you better be scared instead of only naieve!

....................

Like everyone else here I definately RESPECT any animal that is larger than me and has a ability to scratch, gore or stomp me, However the only animal that scares the PEE out of me is an African lion! I guess that is because I'm only half naieve!

Opus72, if you want a good perspective, read Ivan Carters " HOW CLOSE IS TOO CLOSE?" in the November, 2011 edition of the African Outfitter. He really makes sense.