Would, anyone of you miss out on a chance after a hard hunt on an animal just because it is almost dark ?????

How many leopards have been shot and left overnight ?

I honestly dont think that the elephant shot with the arrow went trough such bad trauma as been hit with a gunshot. Then as a rule you never go and rush in after an animal when bowhunting you give it time for the arrow to do its work. So honestly I dont see anything wrong on how this ele has been hunted for anyone to pull off a big game bow hunt on fair walk and stalk is a great feat.

BTW the only reason I think why the PH didnt shoot the ele is because he probarbly saw the correct arrow placement and was happy with it.

Isn't this another one of these things were none of us was there? How can we speculate and make judgement calls on what happened? I think it is just as easy to assume that the party did the very best thing as it is to assume they acted in a careless fashion. Given the use of archery tackle I would think the procedure might be different for the follow up anyway.

If folks have a problem with the use of archery tackle for big game that is a different issue than whether this hunt was conducted in an appropriate manner.

Personally if I shot anything late in the day and the PH suggested that we leave it until the AM. I would do it without question as I've hired him because he knows more than I do. What if it was right at dark? Would it be prudent to approach a bunch of elephant in the near dark? I have been in among elephants in the dark on several occasions when they were undisturbed and it is a spooky situation let alone having one of them bleeding and the rest on alert.

Mark

Just a bit more info-The elephant was shot spot on through both lungs, a single arrow was used, and the elephant traveled about 500 yards before expiring.The hunter was accompanied by another PH , (she is a PH herself) and rifles were available to use in pursuit of the elephant if they had wanted to recover it right away.The decision was made to let the animal expire quietly and let the herd disperse so the animal could be recovered without drama the next morning.The meat from the bull was donated to a local village.

Safari hunt is correct.The shot was good and no following shot was warranted.The hunt could not have been any more ethical or successful regardless of the weapon used.I congratulate the huntress once again on her success.

One of the nice things about archery is you are close enough to KNOW a good hit or not. One of my most memorable was the kudu I got, I knew it was a good shot before the arrow even touched him. When I think about that I pretty much knew for each animal I have launched an arrow at they were going down.

It's just magical watching the arrow fly.

I have only stayed in a blind twice after a shot to wait before following up the trail. Normally, I go immediately to recover my animals. Most of them expired with in sight anyway.

The first animal I killed with an arrow cause me to pause in the blind because the experience was so stunning. The other was a big horned impala ram that I hit low with the arrow passing through his elbow. He went 90 yards and dropped in some long grass. Turns out the wait wasn't necessary, his heart had a perfect X right through the middle of it.

As a bowhunter myself, I know Theresa would have known if she had a kill shot or not. Any bowhunter should be able to do that math. Personally I can't picture butchering an elephant in the dark. Jeeze, I can't picture butchering ANY animal in the dark in Africa.

I think there is nothing wrong with what she and her hunting party did. She worked out and got strong enough, got accurate enough and got in close enough. GOOD FOR HER!

While I rifle shot the one elephant I have hunted, I was just 12 yards away from it while it had its head stuck in the brush with the rest of its body out in the open. You bet I was "picking a spot" as if I had a bow in hand. But I waited for her to see me and face me for the frontal brain shot.

Thanks for the support... I wonder if Saeed is listening/watching.

How about it Saeed?

I'm not for stopping people from voicing their opinion but I'd like to see the hunting forums on this website return to what they were before the bickering about ethics nearly ruined them.

There seem to be quite a few people that want to debate ethics on a large portion of hunting threads and in my opinion they've all but ruined the enjoyment of hunters that want to talk about hunting without the constant questioning of ethics.

Let 'em have their own sub-forum I say and let the people that are all about hunting have the hunting forums.

Sincerely,
$bob$

Stunt hunt....

LD – great job and right on comments!!!

This lady is to be commended for what she has accomplished. And a major league BOO-HISS to those whom are calling this a stunt - or - in other terms degrading her accomplishment. Apparently, those individuals whom choose to cast negative comments on this achievement, are for the most part fairly clueless as to the effectiveness of a well place arrow. I would also note that not every elephant, taken by a firearm, is harvested cleanly with one-shot kills.

At the risk of starting another squabble on archery vs artillery – for the most part I have found that bowhunters are hunters – those whom chose to hunt with firearms are more shooters than hunters. This is not to say that rifle hunters are not really hunters. My point is bowhunters start hunting at a point where rifle hunters generally conclude their hunt.

I am a hunter – whether it be with bow, rifle, muzzleloader or pistol. I eagerly share my campfires with those individuals that are true hunters no matter what their method of hunting may be. Those individuals that choose to chastise and or degrade other hunters for their choice of hunting mode are not as welcome.

As I said - I am a hunter – I have more than likely taken more animals with a bow than most hunters have with a rifle or any other means for that matter - but that is my choice. I also hunt with rifle, muzzleloader, pistol and shotgun if the quarry and circumstances warrant. Do I personally feel qualified to take an elephant with archery gear -- in a word no. But I will applaud those whom have accomplished the task. Heck – I even just went and bought a 45-70 Marlin lever action to see what that is all about - as that is something new to me. On any given day on any give hunt -- I will pursue the sport of hunting by various means and gladly join those of like mind and method.

As LD has noted – we should not kick sand on your fellow hunters no matter what their choice or method of pursuing our sport of hunting. Support your fellow hunter if you are truly a hunter and leave the negatives to the antis.

How come shooting an elephant one time with a bow is fodder for PETA and the Antis (not that I care about them anyway), but a 3 hour chase of a leopard with dogs is not; or taking 15 shots to down a poorly hit buffalo?

People who think that bows are not effective simply do not understand how they kill, never mind how well.

LD has it right.

I bowhunt, but not for DG. For those, I use a 470 double, which generally means close work. And using a big rifle has proven to be a far from certain proposition as regards taking the danger element down several notches. It's still dangerous. So is bowhunting for them. And both are admirable when done in fair chase situations. Equally admirable.

Let's try a bit harder, boys and girls, to celebrate the mutual passion we have for hunting, and not feed our enemies by finding and headlining these kinds of disagreements. Save expressing our "distaste" for things like poachers, canned lion hunts, unethical outfitters and the like - and not for someone who hunts differentlly from ourself.

...LD & HT AMEN!

BigBBear is right, it is Theresa Groenewald. The PH I hunted with stayed with me for a week in Feburary and I helped him work our local SCI Expo. She was working at the expo that weekend and my PH knew her from working other shows. We talked to her several times that weekend. She told us she is trying to be the first woman to get the "Big Five" with a bow. She plans on putting it all on video. She also said she is planing on leaving OOA and going on her own when the Time is right. At the time we talked she didn't know what bow she was going to use as several Bow companys were still bidding. I don't remember what she could pull back at the time but she said she had a ways to go yet. She had been working out for over a year to build up the strength. The Elephant was first on her list because of the tough physical trainig as she is not a very big girl, maybe 5-7 and a buck 20. She also said there is another woman trying to do the same feat so time was of the essence, but I dont recall her name. So watch for her next Animal soon, as I think she was trying to set up the hunts fairly close together. Mike Christianson a Board member and big time bow hunter in the N.E. WI SCI Chapter was going to back her up if needed, so it would be a true Bow kill. I have yet to talk to any other members to confirm. So yes it is a stunt for profit, but I could make an argument that all hunting is a potential stunt, unethical and for profit. What is the time limit on an ethical kill anyways, and does it change if your hunting for food or for sport? What ever your opinion of her or the stunt, is she has put in the hard work and I think every hunter should be saying "wow pretty cool".

Man some of you guys are a bit "pissy" about anything that doesn't conform to your standards, ease up a bit guys!
I for one think it is a hell of an accomplishment and she should be proud of herself as we should. Rifle or bow I think if you wade into a large group of Ele near dark you are probably about to provoke a charge from one or more of them and actually force a situation where you may have to kill another Ele who wasn't your intended target.
I say she did a great thing and sounds as if they may have used reasonable judgement.
I am no Ele hunter but I'm not an idiot either in my opinion from what I read of the story it sounded good all the way around.
Would it have ended better if while persueing the intended target they had to shoot a couple cows in self defense?

To take an elephant or even a buffalo with a bow is a major accomplishment. As a bow hunter I know how much more work it is to bow hunt over rifle hunting. If she can pull and hold an 80 lb bow for a minute or more, then more power to her. My 70lb Bear Epic Extreme is a bitch to hold for a minute. I do not think it was a stunt shot at all. I get much more satisfaction out of a bow kill than a rifle kill any time. I think if anyone questions bowhunting, I say give it a try and let me know how you feel about it.

Paul c