What better way for this grand old bull to pay his dues, then to be hunted, and put money back into the area that he has lived in his whole life.

The hunting model has worked perfectly here and we should be glad that it did. Each and every one of us, animals included, has a debt to the habitat that supports our lives.

Had this model not been in place he would have been poached and no funds would have gone back to ensuring that his genetics were allowed to be spread.

Emotion has no place in conservation. Its survive or die for species, and the individuals welfare is secondary to the welfare of the species and ecosystem that supports it.

quote:

Originally posted by Hunting the Box H:
What better way for this grand old bull to pay his dues, then to be hunted, and put money back into the area that he has lived in his whole life.

The hunting model has worked perfectly here and we should be glad that it did. Each and every one of us, animals included, has a debt to the habitat that supports our lives.

Had this model not been in place he would have been poached and no funds would have gone back to ensuring that his genetics were allowed to be spread.

Emotion has no place in conservation. Its survive or die for species, and the individuals welfare is secondary to the welfare of the species and ecosystem that supports it.

Emotion has no place in conservation neither does ignorance.

https://fzs.org/en/projects-2/...onservation-project/

The ones paying for and doing all the genetics in the herd.

Their solution is going to be to build a fence as should Krugers. Only way to protect old tuskers. Hopefully they collar and gps all the old tuskers too.

Mike

Really humorous to see hunters bicker like old ladies at a tea party about whether this was an "ethical" hunt or not. Meanwhile, plenty of the same guys would seem totally content with themselves or others shooting a young-ish 40-50 pounder after following it for 20 miles. At least, if not content, they would generally not publicly bitch about it. Frankly, you want to see more big elephant? Quit shooting the young ones! Want to see more lion? Quit shooting the young ones with crap manes? Want to see bigger and more plains game or buffalo? Be content to go home empty-handed sometimes. The measure of a hunter is NOT what is on his wall after all, but what he lets walk!

Me? I would whack this bull every day and twice on Sunday? Put my face on the evening news and let PETA give out my home address, I don't give a shit. Even if it meant trolling the borders of a pair of national parks to do so, and I admit that this might make it less of an enjoyable hunt, it is still good biology to take him out. He's probably been breeding for decades and that is enough for me.

quote:

you want to see more big elephant? Quit shooting the young ones!

+1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wo_dvA17qo


From the link Mr. Dahlgren posted they believe the elephant is Nkombo, here is a youtube video of him from 2010.

http://www.sabreakingnews.co.z...ve-come-from-kruger/



Record tusker killed in Zimbabwe may have come from Kruger

Environment Top News19 hours ago • Written by: Conservation Action Trust


Initial information is that the elephant was probably Nkombo, a well known bull elephant that had been collared in the Kruger National Park but lost his collar in 2014.


elephant
By Adam Cruise



One of Kruger National Park’s biggest bull elephants is suspected of being killed by Zimbabwean hunters as he strayed out of the protection of the national park and into Zimbabwe.

Initial information is that the elephant was probably Nkombo, a well known bull elephant that had been collared in the Kruger National Park but lost his collar in 2014.

Hunting forums are abuzz with congratulatory comments about the bull elephant who had 122-pound tusks, making him probably the largest tusker hunted in Africa since 1986, whilst conservationists await final confirmation that this was indeed Nkombo.

The elephant, who has been reported to travel over 150 kms in three days, would have crossed over the border into Zimbabwe where the hunters shot him last week.

The hunters are claiming their hunt was ethical since the elephant was past his breeding years. However, elephant experts have stated that the elephant was 35-40 years old and was accordingly of prime breeding age. There is concern regarding the loss of the genes that such a large tusker carries.

The death of this iconic elephant comes in the wake of the recent hunting of Cecil, the well-known male lion

Fears are mounting that Zimbabwe hunters have begun targeting Kruger’s bulls as they cross over because they have been allowed to live longer and grow bigger since hunting is prohibited in South Africa’s national parks.

Ah yes, you just had to know this was coming.

One bloody thing after another.

I wonder whose idea was it to put the pic of this particular animal on social media? I have a hunt coming up and see rough weather ahead.

If the bull had lost his collar, why was he not relocated and new collar fitted? Pictures in the africageograpic articulated show the Bulls to be two different animals. The tusks are similar, but the one that was shot looks a lot older than the Kruger bull.

The YouTube video elephant with a collar is not the same elephant... Tusk are a lot closer together than the bull that was hunted, and the ivory not as long, or as thick towards the last 24in of ivory, even if you take into account the video is around 5 yrs ago. I bet the Kruger bull shows up again.

Hunts that are filmed and pictures of trophies posted on the Internet and social media sites are open to falling into the wrong hands,and used by the anti hunters somewhere along the line..

I have not looked at all the pics/video........ I don't need to. When I said you had to know this was coming, I meant that it was another opportunity for them to do damage. The truth about a situation matters not to them, it is the opportunities given to them to cause damage that they seize upon.

They know exactly what they are doing and how to use the MSM to inflict the most damage. Every opportunity offered by us will be jumped on. Hunters need to see them for what they are....... they have no intentions of playing fair. The end justifies the means. Simple as that.

Try thinking about this from the perspective of the anti-hunting groups. You have an elephant bull that is exceptional by any standard . . . one of the largest bulls shot in decades . . . that was hunted in a area that adjoins a National Park in Zimbabwe. An area that is specifically noted for trying to catch big elephant that have wandered out of the Park. You have the Cecil incident just a few months ago where a hunter shoots an exceptional lion that wandered out of another National Park in Zimbabwe. As an anti-hunting group you were able to take the Cecil incident and turn it into one of the biggest media stories of the summer, with Cecil being discussed on late night television, television talk shows, etc. Is it going to surprise anyone that over the next two or three weeks we may well see the same thing regarding this elephant? I am not sure that it matters whether the bull wandered out of Kruger or not, had a name or a collar, was or was not shot at night, etc., I think the anti-hunting groups emboldened by the success they had on Cecil, with Cecil still not out of the news and then to have another exceptional animal taken by hunters in an area adjacent to a National Park, are likely to take this as gift and run with it. While we can hope that is not the case, I sure hope that SCI and DSC are preparing for the possibility that this story starts to build momentum in the media and on social media.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Try thinking about this from the perspective of the anti-hunting groups. You have an elephant bull that is exceptional by any standard . . . one of the largest bulls shot in decades . . . that was hunted in a area that adjoins a National Park in Zimbabwe. An area that is specifically noted for trying to catch big elephant that have wandered out of the Park. You have the Cecil incident just a few months ago where a hunter shoots an exceptional lion that wandered out of another National Park in Zimbabwe. As an anti-hunting group you were able to take the Cecil incident and turn it into one of the biggest media stories of the summer, with Cecil being discussed on late night television, television talk shows, etc. Is it going to surprise anyone that over the next two or three weeks we may well see the same thing regarding this elephant? I am not sure that it matters whether the bull wandered out of Kruger or not, had a name or a collar, was or was not shot at night, etc., I think the anti-hunting groups emboldened by the success they had on Cecil, with Cecil still not out of the news and then to have another exceptional animal taken by hunters in an area adjacent to a National Park, are likely to take this as gift and run with it. While we can hope that is not the case, I sure hope that SCI and DSC are preparing for the possibility that this story starts to build momentum in the media and on social media.

Correct on all points...as far as a response from the hunting organizations when/if this blows up in the media...well lets just say I won't hold my breath

I think we are lucky the hunter is not from the US.It will not be as fun for them in this case.

http://www.news24.com/Green/Ne...led-in-hunt-20151015



'Biggest elephant in living memory' killed in hunt

2015-10-15 16:56

News24 correspondent



Harare - A social media outcry over the killing last week of a huge elephant in southern Zimbabwe has rekindled memories of Cecil the lion, although this hunt appeared to have been legal.

The elephant, described as being one of the biggest in living memory, was allegedly killed on October 8 by a German hunter on the southern border of Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park.

Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) told News24 the report was true.

"We don't know if [the elephant] was from Kruger National Park or from Zimbabwe, but he wandered into a safari area and was shot."

Hunters on the pro-hunting forum accuratereloading.com identified the safari area as the Malapati concession. There was no suggestion this hunt was illegal, unlike the one that killed Cecil the lion in July.

Many of those who left comments on the accuratereloading.com forum congratulated the hunter with one even suggesting this could be "the best African trophy taken in the last 20 years". However, there was also a lone voice of caution.

"Shooting an elephant like that is kind of like shooting the last Tasmanian devil," said one contributor identified as Mike.

The debate on social media stirred up by the news of the huge elephant's killing has echoes of the outrage that followed Cecil's killing in early July. He was hunted first with a bow and arrow and then with a gun by US dentist Walter Palmer.

Zimbabwe's environment minister Oppah Muchinguri this week backed down on calls for Palmer to be extradited, saying the dentist's papers were "in order" and he was free to come back to Zimbabwe as a tourist.

Theo Bronkhorst, the Zimbabwean hunter who arranged the hunt, was due back in court on Thursday over the Cecil case, but his case was postponed until Tuesday. Bronkhorst's lawyers were hopeful the Zimbabwe government's decision not to press charges against Palmer for Cecil's death may influence Bronkhorst's case.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Not like this an area where elephant never get whacked at night over waterholes. I am not saying that is what happened here, in fact I sincerely hope that is not the case. But plenty of elephant in this area have been, that's a fact.

Looking at the posture of the elephant in the photo, it is extremely likely to be a brain shot at an animal that is not moving. If shot at night with a spotlight the elephant would have probably started moving prior to the hunter being able to deliver a brain shot. It is highly unlikely for the bull to have ended up in the final position.

Last week was the first 1/4 of the moon phase. Can modern optics allow a shot like this? Can you stalk up to this guy on dry leaves / twigs in the dark? All things are possible but it seems highly unlikely this elephant was taken at night.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
http://www.news24.com/Green/Ne...led-in-hunt-20151015



'Biggest elephant in living memory' killed in hunt

2015-10-15 16:56

News24 correspondent



Harare - A social media outcry over the killing last week of a huge elephant in southern Zimbabwe has rekindled memories of Cecil the lion, although this hunt appeared to have been legal.

The elephant, described as being one of the biggest in living memory, was allegedly killed on October 8 by a German hunter on the southern border of Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park.

Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) told News24 the report was true.

"We don't know if [the elephant] was from Kruger National Park or from Zimbabwe, but he wandered into a safari area and was shot."

Hunters on the pro-hunting forum accuratereloading.com identified the safari area as the Malapati concession. There was no suggestion this hunt was illegal, unlike the one that killed Cecil the lion in July.

Many of those who left comments on the accuratereloading.com forum congratulated the hunter with one even suggesting this could be "the best African trophy taken in the last 20 years". However, there was also a lone voice of caution.

"Shooting an elephant like that is kind of like shooting the last Tasmanian devil," said one contributor identified as Mike.

The debate on social media stirred up by the news of the huge elephant's killing has echoes of the outrage that followed Cecil's killing in early July. He was hunted first with a bow and arrow and then with a gun by US dentist Walter Palmer.

Zimbabwe's environment minister Oppah Muchinguri this week backed down on calls for Palmer to be extradited, saying the dentist's papers were "in order" and he was free to come back to Zimbabwe as a tourist.

Theo Bronkhorst, the Zimbabwean hunter who arranged the hunt, was due back in court on Thursday over the Cecil case, but his case was postponed until Tuesday. Bronkhorst's lawyers were hopeful the Zimbabwe government's decision not to press charges against Palmer for Cecil's death may influence Bronkhorst's case.

Sounds like this may be about to go viral.

Looks like Johnny Rodriguez wants another 15 minutes of fame. It would be interesting to know what the conditions of the sanctions were that Zimbabwe put on him after the Cecil debacle.

Hope SCI, DSC, or any other organization that represents hunters has developed a media response to a major PR event in the last two months.

So heartening to see Accurate Reloading leading the way in generating anti-hunting media content.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
I think the anti-hunting groups emboldened by the success they had on Cecil...

You think this was really a success for them? What did they gain really? Frankly (from what I saw) there was a lot of foaming at the mouth by people one would expect to foam at the mouth. In response, rational hunters seized the opportunity as "a teachable moment" on social media and I think a lot of fence sitters who never really considered the economics (or politics) of hunting became convinced...at least some people I know did.

Frankly, I think the main problem hunting faces is it sits in the self-imposed shadows and people therefore have antiquated visions of uniformed colonial powers wiping out game wholesale. For them, this is "hunting in Africa". The high-profile animals like this one (and the Knowlton Rhino and Cecil) might just help us change some minds and cast the anti-hunters in an appropriately nutty (and economically/biologically counterproductive) light.

quote:

Originally posted by AilsaWheels:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Kathi:
http://www.news24.com/Green/Ne...led-in-hunt-20151015



'Biggest elephant in living memory' killed in hunt

2015-10-15 16:56

News24 correspondent


.

Looks like Johnny Rodriguez wants another 15 minutes of fame. It would be interesting to know what the conditions of the sanctions were that Zimbabwe put on him after the Cecil debacle.
.

I am surprised someone in Zim hasn't killed him.

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
I think the anti-hunting groups emboldened by the success they had on Cecil...

You think this was really a success for them?

Yes, without question. Both from a fund raising and a public relations perspective.

quote:

Originally posted by AilsaWheels:

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Not like this an area where elephant never get whacked at night over waterholes. I am not saying that is what happened here, in fact I sincerely hope that is not the case. But plenty of elephant in this area have been, that's a fact.

Looking at the posture of the elephant in the photo, it is extremely likely to be a brain shot at an animal that is not moving. If shot at night with a spotlight the elephant would have probably started moving prior to the hunter being able to deliver a brain shot. It is highly unlikely for the bull to have ended up in the final position.

Last week was the first 1/4 of the moon phase. Can modern optics allow a shot like this? Can you stalk up to this guy on dry leaves / twigs in the dark? All things are possible but it seems highly unlikely this elephant was taken at night.

I have no idea whether it was shot at midnight or noon. The pictures you can argue support any proposition. For example, what do you think about how the hunter and the PH are dressed in the picture of them together? The facts will come out soon enough, too many people involved to suppress any information.

I'm going to try and ask the same questions again, but hopefully in a bit less confrontational way, which was my original intent. I'm trying not to be pro or con, but just gather others opinions.

If we as the hunting community are unprepared to face the antis with their current mastery of the social media frenzy phenomenon,

1) Do we, as the hunting community, believe having hunting lands as a buffer surrounding national parks, thereby separating those lands from farmers fields, is a sound conservation practice?

2) If NO to question 1 above, and the consensus is to abolish those lands as hunting areas, what is the plan to protect those lands from the plow? Expand the park boundaries knowing that Zim Parks is broke and can't effectively patrol and protect the borders they currently have? Or allow the farmers to expand into those lands, loosing the biodiversity in the process? Do either or both of these plans increase or decrease human / wildlife conflict?

3) If YES to question 1 above, do we think it beneficial to designate certain animals as "off limits"? If so, what is the plan to do so that would remove the subjectiveness of personal ethics from the equation in order that ALL are obliged to play by the same rules? Capture and collar the "off limits" animals in the park and make it illegal to shoot collared specimens? Simply state, for instance with elephant, everything over 90 lbs is out of bounds? After all, most ele PHs are pretty good at estimating ivory on live animals. Sure, some mistakes are possible but I'll bet with that requirement, nothing over 70 lbs ever gets shot again.

Not trying to come off pro or con. Trying to find out if there is a way to codify these positions so that future hunters aren't taken to task on this, or any other hunting forum by individuals who believe they possess the superior, but prior to the hunt, unstated, ethical standard by which all hunters across the planet should abide! Regardless of my personal ethics regarding what I would have done, I just find it hard to criticize a hunter who participated in a hunt legally and played by all the rules that were in place at the time. Is there a way to eliminate that situation in the future?

Of course, all this has to be tempered by the fact that none of this matters one good rats ass to the antis. Any move made will be interpreted as a win for them and will become the new frontline position from which to launch the next attack. But if it gets hunters off of fellow hunters' backs, I'd be all for it. Rest assured however, at some point, there has to be push back against the wacos or they'll continue to clean our clock every time.

Guys,

I remember a similar thread a few years ago when Calitz's client took a 97 x 64 if I remember correctly as it crossed into the hunting area from the non hunting area. I believe the outcry was that it was not a real hunt and that it was not ethical to have shot that elephant. I'm going to be blunt and call BULLSHIT!!! When Diana smiles on us we should take her offering. I feel that once in a great while in hunting we are offered a gift and we should not turn our noses up at it. Imagine the elation and wonder the hunter is experiencing. I would be thrilled to tears if I had taken that grand old bull. There is no rule that says a trophy is not a trophy unless you have busted your hump for it. Sometimes it can just be easy but nonetheless thrilling.

Mark

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new...ter-in-Zimbabwe.html



Biggest elephant killed in Africa for almost 30 years brings back memories of Cecil the lion

Exclusive: German hunter pays nearly £40,000 to shoot one of the largest elephants ever seen in Zimbabwe, while conservationists and safari guides mourn the loss of ‘magnificent’ animal

By Peta Thornycroft, and Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg7:00PM BST 15 Oct 2015


It is an image that will haunt conservationists: one of Africa’s most majestic creatures lying dead on the ground as a white Western hunter poses proudly by its side.
Barely three months after the shooting of Cecil the lion caused global outrage, a German hunter has risked the wrath of animal lovers once more by shooting dead one of the largest elephants ever seen in Zimbabwe.
Mystery surrounded the identity of the elephant, which was estimated to have been between 40 and 60 years old, but had never been seen before in Zimbabwe’s southern Gonarezhou National Park.
But its tusks, which almost touch the ground in a photograph taken moments after its shooting, confirmed its exceptional nature, weighing a combined 120lb.

It was shot on October 8 in a private hunting concession bordering Gonarezhou by a hunter who paid $60,000 (£39,000) for a permit to land a large bull elephant and was accompanied by a local, experienced professional hunter celebrated by the hunting community for finding his clients large elephants.
The German national, who the hunt’s organisers have refused to name, had travelled to Zimbabwe to conduct a 21-day game hunt including the Big Five of elephants, leopards, lions, buffalo and rhinoceros.
“Individual elephants such as these should be accorded their true value as a National Heritage and should be off limits to hunting"
Anthony Kaschula, Safari firm owner
The kill was celebrated in hunting forums around the world, where it was suggested he might have been the biggest elephant killed in Africa for almost 30 years.
Conservationists and photographic safari operators in the area expressed their outrage on Thursday night, saying the animal was one of a kind and should have been preserved for all to see.
Anthony Kaschula, who operates a photographic safari firm in Gonarezhou, posted pictures of the hunt on Facebook, said the elephant had never been seen in the area before but would have been celebrated by visitors and locals alike.

“We have no control over poaching but we do have control over hunting policy that should acknowledge that animals such as this one are of far more value alive (to both hunters and non-hunters) than dead,” he wrote.
“Individual elephants such as these should be accorded their true value as a National Heritage and should be off limits to hunting. In this case, we have collectively failed to ensure that legislation is not in place to help safeguard such magnificent animals.”
Unlike Cecil, the black-maned lion beloved by tourists who was shot by American dentist Walter Palmer in Hwange National Park using a bow and arrow in July, the animal’s origin was not immediately known.
It was speculated that he might have come up from South Africa, since there is no border between the Kruger National Park and Gonarezhou, which form part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park created by former South African president Nelson Mandela.
Some suggested that the elephant might be a massive bull called Nkombo, who was a satellite collared elephant from the Kruger who lost his collar in 2014. Nkombo was however spotted in the Kruger on October 3, making it unlikely that he would have completed a journey of several hundred miles in five days.

William Mabasa, of South Africa’s National Parks, said Kruger’s elephant experts were looking into the case. “If this elephant came up from the Kruger, he would have had to go through all the communities on the edge of Gonarezhou and someone would have seen him. It’s not possible.”
Louis Muller, chairman of the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters & Guides Association, said the hunter had only realised how large the “tusker” was once he had been shot.
"He told me when he and his client were stalking this elephant he saw the tusks were big but did not realize just how big until afterwards and he saw them close. He is going back to see if he can find the lower jaw and bring it back so we can accurately age this elephant,” he told The Telegraph.
"We checked everywhere and this elephant has never been seen before, not in Zimbabwe nor Kruger. We would have known it because its tusks are huge. There have been five or six giant tuskers shot in the last year or so, and we knew all of them, but none as big as this one.”

He said his organisation had suggested that unique elephants should be collared to protect them from hunting. “We have suggested before to all concerned parties that each elephant area should collar a few with biggest tusks, so that we do not shoot them,” he said. "Nobody responded to our suggestion last year. We believe this might now be taken seriously.”
The man who helped arrange the hunt, who did not want to be named, defended his client. “This was a legal hunt and the client did nothing wrong,” he said. “We hunters have thick skins and we know what the greenies will say. This elephant was probably 60 years old and had spread its seed many many times over.”
He said his organisation paid as much as 70 per cent of its hunting fees back to the local community, observed quotas for animals. “This is good for Zimbabwe and good for local people,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for hunters to spend $100,000 (£64,551) each trip.”
Meanwhile Zimbabwe National Parks has called for stiffer penalties for poachers following the discovery on Tuesday of 26 more elephant carcasses that died of cyanide poisoning at two different locations in the Hwange National Park.
Cyanide poisoning is a growing problem in the country since a mass poisoning in October 2013 resulted in up to 100 deaths.
The 26 elephants were discovered by rangers following another discovery last week of 14 other elephants, also poisoned to death by cyanide.

Congratulations to Nixon and the lucky hunter.
No PH works harder to get you what you came for.
I am sure this hunt was legally conducted, having hunted with Nixon three times now and familiar with his operation. I would have shot this bad boy in a heart beat. Ethics is a personal thing and unenforceable on others. At any rate, ethical questions are only conjecture at this point, because we were not there and do not know much beyond a picture.

You will NEVER get straight answers about this hunt.

Jeff

No Matter how you approach this - it is not going to win hunters any brownie points with the authorities that determine where what and how we hunt.
We are about to attend the 14th Wildlife Consultative Forum which is a workshop held annually for countries wildlife authorities and hunting industries to interact. Hunting organizations will have the monumental task of defending the undefendable.
Hunters can no longer not listen to public outcry - we blame SCI for this same behavour, yet argue with the non hunting public .
Even if the hunt is legal , hunters will now have to take the moral question into account.
It is no use arguing is it OK to shoot animals that wonder out the park or collared animals - the public have told us it is not - and they influence corporate's and politicians who like it or not will dictate where what and when we can hunt in the future ( in Africa ).

quote:

Originally posted by Safaris Botswana Bound:
No Matter how you approach this - it is not going to win hunters any brownie points with the authorities that determine where what and how we hunt.
We are about to attend the 14th Wildlife Consultative Forum which is a workshop held annually for countries wildlife authorities and hunting industries to interact. Hunting organizations will have the monumental task of defending the undefendable.
Hunters can no longer not listen to public outcry - we blame SCI for this same behavour, yet argue with the non hunting public .
Even if the hunt is legal , hunters will now have to take the moral question into account.
It is no use arguing is it OK to shoot animals that wonder out the park or collared animals - the public have told us it is not - and they influence corporate's and politicians who like it or not will dictate where what and when we can hunt in the future ( in Africa ).

Well said Graeme.

"Waidmanns heil" to the hunter!
Its a shame that so many here on AR are doubting the legitimacy of this hunt. Having hunted with Nixon I second Begno's comments. personally
I would rather hunt an area like this in search of a true tusker rather than scratch around the valley in search of an over priced imature 30Lb'er

Funny how the media is cautious in naming Nixon.

What a fantastic bull.

quote:

Originally posted by faisal:
"Waidmanns heil" to the hunter!
Its a shame that so many here on AR are doubting the legitimacy of this hunt. Having hunted with Nixon I second Begno's comments. personally
I would rather hunt an area like this in search of a true tusker rather than scratch around the valley in search of an over priced imature 30Lb'er

Some of those questioning things have hunted with him as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
Funny how the media is cautious in naming Nixon.

Exactly!!!

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by faisal:
"Waidmanns heil" to the hunter!
Its a shame that so many here on AR are doubting the legitimacy of this hunt. Having hunted with Nixon I second Begno's comments. personally
I would rather hunt an area like this in search of a true tusker rather than scratch around the valley in search of an over priced imature 30Lb'er

Some of those questioning things have hunted with him as well.

Exactly X 2

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by faisal:
"Waidmanns heil" to the hunter!
Its a shame that so many here on AR are doubting the legitimacy of this hunt. Having hunted with Nixon I second Begno's comments. personally
I would rather hunt an area like this in search of a true tusker rather than scratch around the valley in search of an over priced imature 30Lb'er

Some of those questioning things have hunted with him as well.

And a lot more.

quote:

Originally posted by faisal:
"Waidmanns heil" to the hunter!
Its a shame that so many here on AR are doubting the legitimacy of this hunt. Having hunted with Nixon I second Begno's comments. personally
I would rather hunt an area like this in search of a true tusker rather than scratch around the valley in search of an over priced imature 30Lb'er

Agree on the valley and the 30lber part.You would be lucky to find a 30lber there,IMO.
The good thing about Southeast Zim is that there are a lot of elephants there and there is a good chance of getting what you paid for.

Bull of a lifetime. I could only imagine being able to track and hunt such a big tusker. Great job to the PH and his staff.

I do not understand why some of the people on here would say they would rather shoot a 50 pounder. I want to harvest the best trophy possible in a legal manner. Yes, the experience has everything to do with the hunt but you should desire the best trophy possible. I am a Charter Boat Captain. I hear other Captains all the time on the radio say that they would never kill a 1,000 pound (Grander) Blue Marlin. That changes real quick when you have him hooked and pulled up beside the boat.

It is easy to sit behind a computer and like you are Mr. Conservation.

I would have loved the opportunity to take a shot at this great bull. The only reservation that I would have is if I had to pay by the pound. I do not know if this is fact but I have herd rumors where clients pay up to 1,000 per pound.

Congrats!

So any opinion on that bulls approximate age from the ele hunters out there? He's been labelled "past his prime" and "past breeding age" and about to kick the bucket.

Ivan?? Buzz?? Graeme??