It's been a little while since I've posted anything on here. I don't know if this video has already been posted or not. I don't think it has..........I've never seen it:

Elephant Charge

Wow! Looked like a mock-charge at first, the elephant actually stopped and then kept coming, shows you should always be prepared for anything!

There are 2 shots. Did the PH fire both shots with a bolt action? If so, he is darn fast...........

From the start of the charge to the shot is about 3 seconds. 4 seconds would have been too late.

PH is Gordon Duncan of SH shooting Bruno .375H&H - here is the story (bottom):

http://www.shangaanhunters.com/dangerous_game.htm

in a situation like this where the client didn't get to shoot, does the animal still go on his license? just curious.

Bad form on the part of the guy in the white cap.

He should have at the least allowed the guy with the bow the chance to chuck a couple arrows at the bull first.

I forget who it was that always wore a white cap to get them to charge. Saved as lot of walking.

It apparently works!

MAN......that tightened MY sphincter muscle!

That was a commercial for a double if I ever saw one!

Gary
DRSSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

Ooh! I did not see the trunk rolled up in the action-photo link, it was hidden by the mopane scrub in the original clip! They probably did not know that he was in musth until afterwards I would have thought. If you see an ellie bull from the side, it is easier to see his temples and notice any urine dribbling down his back legs. I reckon the PH was probably hoping the animal would stop (which he probably would have done if not in musth), and turn, and then most likely run off tail and ears extended, where the client could maybe have taken a shot.

I would never take a shot at a running animal though, especially with an arrow, in bush like that, where any twig will send the arrow on another path other than intended. I think the PH probably only realised it was going to be serious at the last minute, as 9 times out of ten a bull will not follow through usually (unless wounded or in musth).

There is about two seconds between the shots, and after the guy in the white cap drops his rifle from his shoulder after the first shot, it seems unlikely he came back to shoot again in 2 seconds. Maybe another off-screen guy shot the second round. Who knows,

Gordon shot twice with the .375 bolt gun. The other two guys were carrying a bow and a camera...

I think that there may well have been two people involved with the shooting,(I can't remember now, but remember the Duncans being a father and son team in Zim)? I just read 450/400's post above and am sure he would know, so don't listen to my post!

The first shot is a warning shot into the head above the brain. Gordon is trying to stop the bull without killing him. When the bull lowers his head after the first shot, he has no choice but to put him down.

Gordon is the only one that took a shot....the last shot was too close.

Gordon showed me the unedited video shortly after that happened.

quote:

Originally posted by 450/400:
The first shot is a "warning"

Is that a warning that if I screw this up, I'm dead? Would have been nice to be there and see what really happened.

Read the post above your last one to see what really happened.

This is the moment between the first and second shot...

Yikes That Elephant looked like he just wanted to stomp something.

Will the guy with the white hat was Ian Nychens, from his book "Months in the Sun"

I also thought all of the other B.S. in the video made it terrible...
What the hell was the matter with the PH, the bull had them pegged and in my opinion they should have waited till the bull turned and the expert bow hunter did not even have an arrow in his hand... But he did have a half a dozen in the bow quiver..
Great animal wasted because the Ph wanted to shoot a big elephant..In my opinion...

They also said the ele was 3 feet from RAZOR almost killing him and the best ele charge ever videoed... In whose opinion???


Mike

Mike

quote:

The first shot is a warning shot into the head above the brain

Well, I have never hunted elephant. Can someone explain this to me please?
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
Will the guy with the white hat was Ian Nychens, from his book "Months in the Sun"

I also thought all of the other B.S. in the video made it terrible...
What the hell was the matter with the PH, the bull had them pegged and in my opinion they should have waited till the bull turned and the expert bow hunter did not even have an arrow in his hand... But he did have a half a dozen in the bow quiver..
Great animal wasted because the Ph wanted to shoot a big elephant..In my opinion...

They also said the ele was 3 feet from RAZOR almost killing him and the best ele charge ever videoed... In whose opinion???


Mike

Mike

According to the PH's web-site, the bow hunter wasn't after elephant.

Great video, with the exception that the producer should also be shot. All that crap garbaging the vid up is terribly distracting.

Just goes to show that a .375 can be enough gun. (In the right hands).

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:

Great animal wasted because the Ph wanted to shoot a big elephant..In my opinion...
Mike

Can't be further from the truth - Gordon is a real pro with high ethic standards - if you would hunt with him you could see it yourself. Besides if he would want to, he could shoot them eles on daily bases in Save - those eles are just mad and a happy trigger PH would act much different than him - see the following clip (and he isnt even wearing a white cap this time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrZ14MV6Y54

dla69 - no they weren't after elephant

I stopped the action frame by frame, and it seems, in IMO, both shots were to the head, and both from the PH's rifle! I don't think, however, the first one was a warning shot, but a missed brain shot, momentarily stopping the young bull. That was quickly rectified, with the second shot.

God knows what would have happened if the second shot had missed the brain as well! Kudos to the cameraman, who staid on target till the fat lady sang!

It is fortunate for the PH they got this on film. This will help with the officials at the hearing, on the justification of downing the elephant.

According to the PH's web page, they were hunting for another specie(s) when they encountered the elephant.

I do not know what other people think about shooting an elephant above the brain to turn it. Personally I think a bullet over the head or through the ear (a barn-sized target, provided the ears are not flat against the head) would be more 'humane' to me, but hey, it's not something I do often, so can't say! In a dire situation, where you had very little or no time to get a second shot off, I would probably not be shooting to wound though! To me, by shooting the animal in the top of the head you are only going to wound the animal (making it angry, resuling in a charge), and it may well later die of infection. By the same token, shooting him in the head may well have the desired effect of turning the animal, maybe more so than a warning shot in the air, so I can understand that. He may well have intended to shoot above it's head to scare it off, but was on him and too close before he realised it, and maybe he had to make an adjustment. I do not think that he intended to fire a shot at all, until the very last minute, when it kept coming. As Will said, 'who knows'. When the adrenaline is pumping, it can be hard to remember your exact actions.

I think the elephant really caught everyone by surprise though. The PH maybe should have fired a warning shot earlier, but the animal may well have kept coming, but as always, hindsight is always 20/20. At the end of the day though he did very well to protect himself and the bowhunter from becoming pancakes!

MacD37 has it right, as usual, IMO.

[quote]I also thought all of the other B.S. in the video made it terrible...
What the hell was the matter with the PH, the bull had them pegged and in my opinion they should have waited till the bull turned and the expert bow hunter did not even have an arrow in his hand... But he did have a half a dozen in the bow quiver..
Great animal wasted because the Ph wanted to shoot a big elephant..In my opinion...

Mike, you're way off base with that one. They weren't hunting elephant. I'm not sure what you mean by "waiting for him to turn". That bull was not going to turn.

Gordon Duncan was the only one in the party with a rifle and he did the shooting. I believe he calls his .375 "the guitar" and has confidence in his capabilities with it - that shows in the video.

They were also charged by a cow buffalo on the same hunt, with the same result.

Razor Dobbs is a friend of mine.

I think MacD37 is probably spot on too to be honest!

MacD37 provides the most cogent explanation, IMHO, although since none of us was there, we can't know for sure.

Still, I don't understand how anyone could characterize that first shot as a "warning" shot.

quote:

Originally posted by David W:

They were also charged by a cow buffalo on the same hunt, with the same result.

They had to shoot 2 charging animals on the same hunt? That's unusual.

Hi Yukon, I thought exactly the same thing, I am sure that this sort of thing doesnt happen every day and for it to happen twice on one trip, that is very unlucky, or lucky I suppose, lucky to walk away unscathed! Playing back the clip again, Gordon had no other option but to shoot, and he was shooting to kill, you could see afterwards, shaking his head, that he was not happy about what he did, but he had no other choice. The elephant was almost certainly not going to stop after that first 'mock-charge' and a warning shot before would probably not had any effect on this elephant. Who says a .375 is not a charge-stopper!

I am amazed they didn't make a sound after the fact, I know they were surprised, but I think I would be making a few high pitched noises and tossing out a few expletives after something like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Nzou:
. Who says a .375 is not a charge-stopper!

It certainly was in this case!

Yes, I saw Gordon shaking his head...very typical response and I'm sure he was not happy. I've never talked to a PH who enjoyed shooting ele in self-defense.

quote:

They had to shoot 2 charging animals on the same hunt? That's unusual.

Not so much when you consider what effect Bob's land reform policies might have on the attitudes of certain species in a given area.

Okay, more time on the subject since I have seen the entire video, uncut.

When they made the clearing, the bull was standing broadside facing to the left at about 30 yards; definitely in musth.

As soon as they saw they bull, he turned and charged immediately, no mock charge. You can hear Gordon first whistle loudly in an attempt to turn the bull, which sometimes works.

The bull keeps coming and lowers his head for the kill. This is the point when Gordon fires the first shot in a last ditch effort to turn the bull WITHOUT having to kill him on the spot.

When the bull doesn't turn, he's left with no choice but to put the bull down. On the uncut video you can tell that Gordon is very upset with the final result and voices his disgust and displeasure with the choice he was forced to make. I have hunted with him and know his character, he didn't take this lightly.

Only those that are faced with putting themselves in the path of death to protect others really know what a price they are willing to pay on behalf of us sport hunters who hire them for a few days a year to stand between us and certain death. Few hunters are capable of stopping a charging elephant at that distance, much less having the ability to do everything possible to prevent the charge including making two precise shots in that amount of time.

The other charge, a buffalo cow, was just as unpredictable. Razor was after buffalo with a bow and they had closed the distance to a herd of buffalo. The herd winded them and the herd thundered off, only the lone cow turned to charge them, Gordon again forced to shoot her at a distance of 5 yards...it wasn't a game and I can assure you, he took no pleasure in either event.

quote:

Originally posted by David W:

quote:

They had to shoot 2 charging animals on the same hunt? That's unusual.

Not so much when you consider what effect Bob's land reform policies might have on the attitudes of certain species in a given area.

Alan Shearing shot an elephant in self-defense this year and it was the first time he had to resort to that in several years...it's not real common, even in Zim. Two in the same hunt is FAR from normal.

I didn't see the uncut video but you could tell that Gordon was very upset about having to do that. It can ruin a hunt even when no one is hurt. The client goes home with a story but the PH is left with a mess to clean up and a bad memory.

You can see why guys that cull sometimes need counseling. It's the ugly side of the business to have to shoot something like this.

Whatever the real story my hat is off to the ph who dropped the elephant at the last possible chance. Very well done to save anyone from injury.

A couple pointers for myself;
No White hat
No Bow
One heavy caliber rifle and preferably in double for Jumbo but if only after Plains game in Ele country, minimum 9.3.