Does anyone know the current status re: these hunts. Has Parks made up their minds about management/ration hunts or whatever they are being called these days? I've been looking to book such a hunt for this year without much success. I don't want to shoot an ele at night and I'm only interested in a day hunt for a bull. I had a good hunt in 2008 in the Zambezi valley, on a "management hunt" and would like to do it again.

Zimbabwe parks have not made a decision yet, if they have, it has not been made public!

Mart

Martin - thank you for the update. Looks like I'll just have to keep waiting.

Tom, consider a tuskless on 7 days, hunt her in the day on your terms, totally addictive and the same costs as any potential management elephant without the finger pointing that hunting management elephant may entertain ( especially if they are conducted in sensitive areas )
Mart

+1 on what Mart said. My son and I will be hunting with him and his crew, in early August. A tuskless cow is on the menu.


Mad Dog

I've thought about the tuskless hunt, but it just doesn't appeal to me in the same manner as a bull hunt. Tried it once for a short period of time as a second ele once the PAC bull (daylight) was down without any success. For me it's just a personal thing. I can't see traveling to Africa just to shoot a tuskless. I'm not knocking anyone who wants to do it, it's just not for me.

Kind of like traveling to the western US to shoot a cow elk. If I lived out there, I would certainly shoot one for the meat, but would never make the trip just for that purpose.

I sure hope things open up for a mgm't. bull. If not, my 416 Rigby might become a safe queen.

Labman,

It is ten times more dangerous hunting a cow ele than a bull. Plus you are doing a management service by taking out a tuskless cow.

465H&H

465 H&H - I know what you're talking about re:the attitude of a tuskless, but I just don't want to make the long trip for one.

Labman:

I'm certainly not the elephant expert here, but I've killed a few. Hunting a tuskless is worth every penny spent doing it, IMHO. It is very different than, say, hunting a cow elk... 'cause elk don't want to make you jelly between their toes.

Sometimes you'll find a trophy bull amongst cows and perhaps a bit more often, you'll find a meat or P.A.C. bull with the ladies, but every darn time you hunt a tuskless, she's got lots of minions or mothers with her. And, cows don't like us folks much.

Here's what I've found it was all about.

First, you've got to find a tuskless.

Finding a female's track in the road (that's what you usually begin with whether hunting boys or girls) means about nothing, except cows (and calves) crossed. Do all the ladies have tusks, (no way of telling until you see) and if so, several hours of walking and sneaking around deadly elephants passes with no shooting and results in many tired steps back to the Crusier.

The tenth trek, maybe you find a tuskless. So what? Most females, tuskless or not, have young ones since elephants breed until they die (well, almost all do). So, you spend 6 hours on a trail and come back empty handed because all the cows had tusks or... damnit... the tuskless had a calf. You drink whiskey, rub your sore legs and feet and you go to sleep.

Then, you finally find a tuskless either with a grown calf or without a young 'un. Success. Hardly! That is just the beginning, at least for me and the P.H.'s that I've hunted with. Usually there are 5 to 15 elephants about (sometimes more) and you can about guarantee that the tuskless is right in the middle of all of them. I guess you could use a scoped rifle and whack one in the heart from 60 yards, but I choose not too, and I don't know anyone who does.

So... into the breach you go... elephants to the left of me... elephants to the right... here I am, back in the middle again (paraphrasing the song). About half the time, maybe more, just about when you're ready to try a side brain shot, one of the other elephants smells you and whips around, ears spread and trunk up... the women folk take care of their babies... and you learn how to walk backward quickley.... and you ride back to camp hoping that the laundry boy doesn't tell on you when he has to soak the poop out of your pants.

Finally, it all comes together and you get a shot and down goes the tuskless. Might I say that it pisses off the rest of the elephants? There's stomping, trumpheting, crashing through trees and lots of tiny eyes angrily looking for someone to squash. I've never had the herd run off immediately. They have to be sent off with some serious shouting, several shots in the air and usually we've had to retreat while the all this hell raising was going on. You tip the laundry boy this time.

Would I rather kill a tuskless or a 70 lb'er. Of course, the latter, but, as I save up money for Botswana and Ivan in 2013, I'm still going to do a tuskless every year.

And just maybe I'll do a wagon drawn bull elephant hunt next year... but that's another story.

I just can't help myself.

Judge G - Thanks for the insite and another eloquently written post. Of course, you set the bar so high we've come to expect great reading.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
465 H&H - I know what you're talking about re:the attitude of a tuskless, but I just don't want to make the long trip for one.

Labman - I'm with you on this one. Certainly hunting a tuskless would be great sport, but when its all over, laying on the ground is still a little elephant, with no teeth!

I would never dispute others desire or motivation to hunt them, many folks seem to love it. And I always support other hunter's, regardless of my own opinion. But for me personally, its just not very appealing.

I'm not an elitist and I think any legal hunting is fine but I have to agree with Labman and Aaron on the tuskless hunt. I wouldn't spend my money on a tuskless hunt. I think hunting them is fine and I even sell the hunts but personally a tuskless holds no fascination for me. I know people speak of the danger factor as being a big part of the attraction but danger is not why I hunt. To me as Aaron said "Certainly hunting a tuskless would be great sport, but when its all over, laying on the ground is still a little elephant, with no teeth!" To me it would be much better to save a little bit more money and do a real trophy hunt for a bull which you can buy for $18,000-$20,000 these days.

Mark

I think Earnest has nailed it. But to each his own.

Some of us do it for the hunt (tuskless)and others for the trophy (bull). Neither is more right than the other. One point to bring up is that I can hunt 4 or 5 tuskless for what it costs to hunt one bull.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
Some of us do it for the hunt (tuskless)and others for the trophy (bull). Neither is more right than the other. One point to bring up is that I can hunt 4 or 5 tuskless for what it costs to hunt one bull.

465H&H

I too do it for the hunt, but I just prefer to hunt bulls! As for the 4-5 cow hunts for the price of a bull, well that's a good point too.