I dearly love reading these realllife stories...thanks Rob.

congrats---chris

Thanks for the extra pictures and details!

Thanks for posting! Great bull! I`m envious..

Outstanding Bull! Sounds like quite an adventure as well.

That Ivory will look great, a centerpiece for any trophy room.

Congrats

Congrats Rob! Awesome pics and story. Wonderful bull!

Cheers,
Canuck

Thanks for sharing your experience with us! How about a close up pic of your Searcy?

Rob,
Great hunt, great elephant.
I agree 100% on your comments about the double rifle for elephant.

That is one of the prettier sets of tusks I've seen, congratulations.

You nailed on the instinctive shooting..I have practiced that for years and its bloody accurate at 25 yards and even up to 50 yards...At 25 it is possible to touch both bullets, at 50 a 3 to 6 inch group is possibe...practice and a perfectly fitting rifle combined with eye hand coordination is whats required...it works...

All you double gun users try it, you will be surprised..With a bolt gun it is harder to get the same accuracy, but you still might be surprised what you can do with one....

Congratulations and thanks for sharing.

Congratulations!!!

Sounds like you would have been in serious trouble with a bolt rifle! Would you still have been able to pull it off, though with more difficulty?

A bolt action ( any bolt action) in that situation would have been a single shot only. I think the bull would have turned with a .485 Lott and up, but would have charged with anything less. I have alot of experience shooting bolt actions as quickly as possible and I honestly think I would not have been able to make the second and probably most important shot once the bull turned with a bolt action. The two Portugese Heart shots( not exactly) failed to break the hind leg/spine and thus were to some extent useless( although I'm sure they slowed him down a bit). The ability to instinctive shoot a double really amde all the difference in this particular situation. Had we been much farther back like 30-40 yrds, perhaps the movement of the game scout would not have been detected by the bull and a good high heart/lung shot would have been fine with a bolt gun. However, when It's up close and personal and things are happening real fast, I now realize why the double rifle is the best tool for the job!
Like Ray says, practice, practice and practice some more fast instictive shooting and reloading of your double at close range not using the sights. You'll be glad you did!-Rob

NICE! thanks for the story and pics!

I agree completely with Rob's analysis of the double versus bolt with regard to elephant hunting at close quarters. At the risk of being accused of thread hijacking, here are some anecdotes which cause me to believe that for at least some of us a double is better than a bolt for elephant hunting:

1. Cow ele standing at 15-20 yards. Side brain shot. The cow went down, but a bit more slowly than in the videos. Probably I hit her in the not-so-vital part of the brain as detailed in a recent issue of African Hunter magazine. However since I was carrying a double and had myself wired tight that day, I put a 2nd shot into the heart as the elephant fell. Try that with a bolt.

2. Cow elephant at about 25 yards. The herd had scented us and formed a defensive perimeter around the calves. The cow I was wanting to shoot kept looking right and left, depriving me of a good frontal brain opportunity. Then the herd decided to leave and as the ele in question turned broadside I whacked her in the heart. She ran 3 steps and my 2nd shot took her high in the shoulder/spine and she dropped. With a bolt I would not have gotten a 2nd shot because of the melee of 20 fleeing elephants.

3. Approached a herd of elephants on the move. Sprinted ahead and came in from the side looking for a particular pre-identified cow. As she stepped between 2 bushes the PH said, "That's her!" Even at 20 yards I did not want to risk a brain shot on a moving elephant so I heart/lung shot her. As I was standing out in the open, she immediately heard and saw me and swung her head to face me and just as her head stopped pointed in my direction I gave her a frontal brain shot. Down she went. At the time I pulled the 2nd trigger, I would have been in mid-bolt cycle with a bolt gun.

Could these same elephants have been taken with a bolt? Sure! But there was a bit of added spice to the experience because of the quick 2nd shot my double provided.

Something that might be of interrest but not alway possible is when I fire a shot with a double, I make a sorted effort to reload the empty barrel unless circumstances absolutly require the second barrel to be fired, even sometimes at the expense of not getting a second shot into the buffalo or whatever...then if the charge comes I have twice as good a chance for survival....Just something to always keep in mind, and a decision that has to be made on a case by case basis....

Great post...Tell us a little about the rifle you used. Thanks Armbar

Once I finish up the last dozen or so projects I've got going. I'm sending out the stock work. Just not my cup of tea. I like to be able to cut to +/-.0001 or2 and have it stay there. Wood is not so forgiving.

I'll be starting on a double rifle from the ground up. No converting shotguns but actually machining from a billet of annealed bar stock. Heat treating, thread on two barrels cut the extractor grooves and fit triggers, make wedges and a rib, solder and regulate. I know this will not be easy but it will be different and fun.

Since Elephant is on my dance card when I go to Tanzania and Rob has be talking about the practicality of a double it now seems to be a must have.

Was thinking of starting off with the 470 NE but after RGB's story I think I'll go right to the 500NE. I know butch has nothing to fear from me I could never hope to get to that level of craftsmanship but it will be a neat thing to hunt with my own home built double.

I had a thread going asking about the battery I should take but now I'll have to rethink the whole thing....again.

This site has cost me a small fortune. I started out with about 3 or 4 dozen rifles when I became a member 5 years ago. I don't even want to go count them now. I do know I had to build a vault room with safe door to hold everything.

No please everyone feel sorry for me You can send donations to:

In all seriousness you guys, RGB, 500gr, Ray, ne450#2 and all right on the money. A double it must be.

Great pics!

Looks like you had a helluva hunt! I'm headed out that way myself very soon. 61 and 55 are pretty good for this day and age, congrats