Ok you more experienced folks. What is a reasonable sized elephant to shoot. Is 35lbs too small? I am planning a trip since my plans for this season got put on hold. I just want to know what you think should be the minimum size. Of course I want a 100 pounder like anyone else but know what the odds of that are. I dont know what a good representative animal is. I know size varies from region to region but that isnt what I am asking. Im looking for general guidelines.

Mike,

This I believe is a personal choice...First off what country are you going to hunt and how many days are you going to hunt?? A 21 day hunt gives you plenty of time to recon and find a satisfactory bull...The country and the area will be your choice for the size you want...

Mike

Freedom is not Free

I know what you mean but that isnt really my question. I know size varies by country and trophy is a personal choice. All Im looking for is generalities. IE is 30 pounder to small to shoot, or 40 or 50 you get the drift. I want to know where everyone would cut it off on the low end. Then I want to know what a good average bull for most is. Ill probably hunt 14 days unless I add other animals to it then the time is extended. Since I have never hunted ele I have no idea what is small,average, but I think I can pick out the Oh My God ones. IM trying to get a feel for what I will see and what to base my choices on. If I get a big old bull I would be thrilled but truthfully I am looking for an average animal.

[ 09-12-2003, 07:20: Message edited by: Mike Smith ]

Usually a 21 day hunt is required for elephant. It takes time to find a good elephant and the time of year and where you are hunting are also factors. I hunted 21 days this past May and didnt see a shootable bull, in the same place last Oct I shot 2 45+ bulls and saw one that was around 50 but none left on the quota. if you are in the right place at the righ time Probably 40-45 is good not great.

That is more like what I mean. So you say a 40 pounder would be about the smallest you would want to shoot? That is what I was after, this kind of info.

I imagine if one were to say what a minimum size should be, it ought to be 60 pounds, IMO. In Tanzania they have a size limit, which I think is 1.70 meters in length and/or a weight of 20 kilos. If all of the little fellers were allowed to live then maybe we'd have a few more that would wow you!
That said, your pocketbook and your time will likely limit you to what is shootable and considered okay. I don't think there are any set guidelines other than your own standards.

John, I agree to a point. It is just hard when you have nothing to base that decision on. I dont know very many folks personally who have hunted elephant. So I am trying to gain knowledge from those of this forum who have some experience. After looking at everything I get I will of course then make my own idea of what is acceptable. Hopefully I wont be too far off of the general consensus.

Well, it's very difficult to say an average weight of the elefant tusk in Africa, without known the right place to hunt. You'll find very different elefants in Botswana than Zimbabwe, even inside a country the're areas with 80's and other with 40's.

Mike,
The tusks on my elephant were 25lbs each. If you are doing enough days I think I would set a 50lbs minimum for the early part of the hunt, and then maybe adjust the number when you start running out of time.

1. Hold out for at least a 100 lbs. a side.

2. Prepay for days and trophy fee.

3. Cancel the non-refundable hunt when you learn there is no way to get a 100-pounder.

4. E-mail with details as to how to how to take your slot.

I've thought about this as well since elephant is on "my list." I think it's a country by country decision. (I know that's not your question.)

If I were going to Botswana or Zimbabwe I believe 60 is a reasonable lower limit... OK late in the hunt 50 would look pretty good. When I was in Zim we "stumbled upon" two bulls that my PH said were over 60 and saw several over 35. He said if I would dedicate 2 weeks he would all but guarantee a 60 pounder and I believe him. Unfortunately his farm has been stolen from him and that area is not an option today and who knows what is happening to the game in Zim. (This was just on the outskirts of Hwange NP). He shot a 90 pounder there a couple of years ago and won largest and best average in Zim from the PHA so I'm sure he knows what he's talking about.... and he's a straight up guy.

It looks like he will be taking his business to Botswana and he tells me a 60 pounder is a reasonable goal in his new area.

If I were going to Tanzania I believe I'd set 40 pounds as a lower limit.

I'm pretty clueless about other countries... Mozambique? Zambia? Namibia? SA? What do you guys think?

So to specifically answer your question... there is NO lower limit... I'd shoot a tuskless elephant if that was appropriate for the license and the area. But I certainly wouldn't pay the same for a tuskless or 30 pounder. Ivory weight is a factor in price of the hunt.

Let me put it another way... I've shot fork horned mulies on some hunts because I was after "a deer" and it was in a relatively heavily hunted area. On other hunts I've passed 25 inchers because I was after "'ol mossy horns." They were in different areas with different realistic expectations. It would have been nuts to hold out for a 30 incher where I shoot forkies because there aren't any. By the same token it would have been a less satisfying hunt to shoot a 25 incher when I knew a 30 incher was a realistic goal. (By the way... I haven't found that 30 incher yet... at least not in range during an open season.... and I don't have any regrets about passing on lots of "good" bucks.)

[ 09-12-2003, 21:05: Message edited by: Crosshairs ]

John S is correct about Tanzania. There is a minimum length requirement of 1m 70cm, or about 5.6 feet (including the portion of the tusk in the socket, which reaches up nearly to the eye).

If the tusks do not achieve this minimum length, then I understand that the weight must be at least 50 lbs. So, there really is no choice--big enough is big enough.

In 21 days in the southern Selous this past July/August, we saw 4 or 5 close calls, out of hundreds of elephants seen. And with the fines being rather high, as I understand it, for taking undersized bulls, no PH permits his hunter to shoot at a close call. If your heart is set on elephant, I would go elsewhere, probably Botswana.

Having said that, I should add that my PH hunted a block in about the middle of the Selous, the safari before mine, with a Spanish hunter who took an elephant with a major tusk of more than eighty pounds and exceeding eight feet in length.

Not bad by any standard, even Karamoja Bell's.

To quickly sum it up...your pocket book makes a big difference which means time spent and area hunted.

That being said, on a realistic budget for me, (it's not a huge budget), I would set my sights for 50 lbs and take 40+ lbs before the end of the hunt. The "Before the end of the hunt" means taking into consideration what we'd been seeing up until about two third through the safari.

I am basically saying that I agree with Jerry,s opinion. I hope that makes sense.

[ 09-12-2003, 23:20: Message edited by: DavidP ]

In Zimbabwe in 2001 the "average" trophy elephant taken by a hunter had tusks weighing 36lbs a side. That is the average over 296 animals.

Sure a few 80lbers are taken every year and I know one old bull that must go at least 110 on the left tusk But old bulls like my friend know the hunting boundary down to the nearest inch and don't often make mistakes.

If you are hunting with a top PH who specialises in elephant (and that doesn't include me) who has the rights to a good area, then you have a fair chance at a 50lber.

Plenty of guys arrive with high ideas and turn down 40lb eles in the first few days and then end up shooting a 25lber or going home empty handed.

Having recorded elephant trophy size accross Africa since 1950 for scientific perposes, I can tell you mean tusk size is falling rapidly. Anything over 40lbs is a great trophy untill you are on your second hunt.

Ganyana, Thanks that gives me a pretty clear picture. This is totally out of my realm of experience. It is hard to get a feel for something like this from the general public. At least most guys I know dont hunt elephant often! It is out of the price range except for a special or one time hunt for most of us.