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| one of us |
I see some requiring 14 day hunts for eland. Example: 10 day hunt @$650 day is $6,500 while 14 day hunt is $9,100. If I were willing to pay the $9,100 for the 10 day hunt could I expect to get the same quality sable? Yes, I am a first timer! Just looking for answers and I can only put 10 days into actual hunting time. Will not mention the area as I do not seek to cause a problem on the hunt. Thanks for your frank answer. | ||
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One of Us |
If you are hunting Cape Eland you would not require any time period for hunting Eland. I have taken Cape Eland(over 2000 pounds) in one morning with the .300 WSM (one shot kill) in the Kimberley, South Africa area. I have it mounted with a shoulder mount in my trophy room. It does take up a lot of space with a shoulder mount, but it is a beautiful animal and the largest spiral horned antelope in Africa. Good luck and good hunting. | |||
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Thanks for the info. This hunt will in be in the northern part of Zim - different than RSA eland hunt? | |||
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I have not hunted Zimbabwe, but I think that the hunt would be very similar. Again, you should not be paying what appears to be dangerous game daily fees and a long term hunt to just shoot Eland. There are many PH's in South Africa that can offer very competitive hunts for Cape Eland for what you are looking for. My Cape Eland is 37" on one horn and 35 1/2" on the other, so it is a respectable Cape Eland. I believe that I paid $1500 for it and hunted on a daily rate. Good Luck with your hunt. | |||
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Eland can be a challenge because they can really move. I tracked mine for three damned days! Definitely made it a trophy to be proud of . . . as well as the best eating that walks! Still, a 14 day hunt for eland? I don't think so. Late in the season, Livingston Eland are down in the Zambezi delta of Mozambique. You can hunt buff in the swamps, eland and sable for your 14 day hunt as well as a positive boatload of smaller plains game. I'd look for someone else to hunt with. Sarge Holland's .375: One Planet, One Rifle . . . for one hundred years! | |||
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It may be that the outfitter doesn't have many eland on quota and he wants to get max revenue from the quota he has. That's one of the reasons sable are so damn expensive --- low quota. DB Bill aka Bill George | |||
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| One Of Us |
I used 4 days of walking and tracking to shoot my Eland in Namibia. Most of the Eland I've seen around africa are skitish, and move fast, so they aren't the easist animal to hunt. But 14 days sounds very unreasonable to me. Unless you were going to CAR or Cameroon for Lord Derby Eland. But not 14 days for Eland in southern africa. If they'd said 10 days, I could understand. I think I'd look for someone else to hunt with. Good luck! | |||
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I have hunted eland on a couple of occasions in the lowveld of Zimbabwe. Each was a pretty challenging hunt as it was thick mopane scrub, so long shots were not an option. Both were taken at very close range for eland, about 30 and 40yards. Even though it was challenging hunting with lots and i mean lots of walking and good tracking, both were taken within 4 days of dedicated hunting for each of them. I have not hunted in the Zambezi Valley (if thats where the concession is?) but the bush in general is not as thick and it will probably be easier to find eland and longer shots will be possible. Of course with less they cover they will be able to see you easier aswell!! They are very switched on and unless they are out in the open, you wont get a shot at one if they haev seen you. So 10 days would be plenty, even if they are less abundant than in the lowveld, and I would expect to be able to take a number of other plains game in that time frame aswell. You will probably end up taking your eland when you are out hunting for something else, because they have the magical ability to disappear when you are out specifically for them  | |||
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muygrande Depending on where you will be hunting but as you say Northen ZIM which I don't have any experience off but 14 days sounds a bit much. I know that some outfitters in SA ask for 10 day minimum when bowhunting which does make sense as they are nomadic animals and will be found one part of the area and the next day in a totally different part. But 14 days minimum for rifle is pushing it a bit. Reason to believe there isn't a lot of eland or not much good quality trophy. Frederik Cocquyt I always try to use enough gun but then sometimes a brainshot works just as good. | |||
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I thought Lordy Derby Eland were the largest of the Eland? | |||
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Me too. I'm sure the LD has the largest horns. Maybe the cape eland is the largest bodied?? Muygrande - If you are hunting in Zim, then I think the two types of eland available to hunt (dependant on location) are Livingstone and Cape. Hunted on foot, the eland is a very wary animal, nervous and a great walker. If you blow a stalk, the eland will walk for miles without looking back (at least those I have chased did!). I hunted them in RSA back in 2002 and was successful in finding a 38" bull at the end of a long day. I hunted kudu for more days than I did eland, and couldn't imagine needing more than 4 days to find a representative animal and get a shot. Good luck | |||
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I didn´t get my eland, walked for two days and didn´t get one, so as time was dwindling I chose to move on to other species. If I would´ve given it four or five days I feel I would´ve bagged it. 14 days? You never know with hunting. Price sounds way out there, I´d spend my money elsewhere. | |||
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$650 Daily Rate, is that for a plains game only safari? $400 Daily Rate is the average price in ZIM for a plains game only safari. Never heard of anyone requiring 14 days for an eland. What you are describing (14 days @ $650) is the pricing for a leopard hunt. I would suggest you check out a few other outfitters. You mention sable in your post. Most ZIM outfitters do require a minimum of 10 days for sable and the Daily Rate is around $500-$550. that is simply a question of supply and demand. Sable is high on most hunter's lists, so they can charge more and require a longer hunt. If you are being quoted $650 X 14 days on a sable, you need to look at some other outfitters. You need to plan at least 2 years in advance on sable, as the quota quickly sells out. Regards, Terry  Msasi haogopi mwiba [A hunter is not afraid of thorns] | |||
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Hunting northern Zim gives you 2 strikes already in many concessions, one because there may not be many (or quota) and the other is many required days because the outfitter can because of demand and limited quota. A concession in northern Zim I have visited 8 or 9 times has eland and sable but have only seen eland there twice and never a sable, but I wasn't hunting them. The eland were SPOOKY big time, as have most eland been that I have seen around. Of course I don't know what you are up to but if it was me I wouldn't go to northern Zim just to hunt eland: too expensive and limited probably of getting (a big) one. Good luck whatever you decide to do. ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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First let me say thanks to all the welcomed response. Now a small apology as I did not fully explain my situation. The day rates are indeed for dangerous game (buffalo) and other plains game are awailable at the respective trophy fees. My second animal of choice was the eland and that is when the 14 days came up. I am willing to pay the 14 day fee but am only able to hunt the 10 day period. I was just trying to see what the reasons would be for the longer hunt period. Hope this explains the situation and the hunt is with one of the most reputable. | |||
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| Moderator |
Like Bill said, if you are hunting the Zambezi Valley the plains game in most of those dangerous game areas is a little thin. That is probably why the outfitter wanted to add some extra days. Regards, Terry Msasi haogopi mwiba [A hunter is not afraid of thorns] | |||
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As has already been stated, if you're planning to hunt eland in the Zambezi Valley, you'll have your work cut out for you. It will be nothing like a hunt in the East Cape of RSA. It will likely be a tracking hunt and the eland cover a lot of territory in a day. If you manage to collect a mature bull, you'll have a trophy of a lifetime. A few years ago, Peter Flack wrote an excellent story about a dedicated eland hunt he did with Joe Wright in the Sengwa Communal Lands along Lake Kariba. Good luck! | |||
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All, Some outfitters require extra days for what they consider to be premium animals. For example an operator has a limited number of eland...so he feels eland should only be made available to "my best clients" and my best clients are defined as those who will book a 14 day safari. This practice also occurs with sable sometimes. I suspect if you told the outfitter...I want to shoot an eland and I am only going for 10 days and that's what I want or I will book elsewhere...he will change the policy. Of course if he has plenty of business and is all filled up he may say nope. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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| One of Us |
Usually an eland is an "add on" plains game animal to a specific hunt such as Buffalo or Sable. I have not seen many Eland in the north but they are common in the area around West Nicholson in Zim. If I were focusing on Sable and wanted Eland also, I would look for something in lower Matetsi or the Gwaii Valey. Good Sable are much tougher to find. I can't imagine why anyone would charge a premium that high for Eland. Usually trophy fees are about $900 for Eland. Don't forget the outfitter or land owner gets a substatial payback from the meat sale with Eland. It always seemed the trophy fee for Eland was reasonable and that was the reason I was told. Unless you are looking for a monster you should be able to get an Eland easily during a 10 day hunt.  | |||
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Every plains game safari I've been on offers Eland on the menu as plains game, no extra charge on the daily rate. Zimbabwe safaris. trophy fee were $800.00 to $1,200.00 "America's Meat - - - SPAM" As always, Good Hunting!!! Widowmaker416 | |||
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Sorry for any confusion. But what I was saying was that Eland are the largest of the spiral horned antelope in Africa not specifically the Cape Eland. Good Hunting. | |||
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If you really want a buffalo and an eland it would make more sense to hunt buffalo and then hunt eland as a plains game hunt in the South. If you hunt 14 days it should be relatively easy. Ten days a bit harder to fit in. If I hunted the Zambezi Valley for buff that would be my main target, with any plains game just taken as opportunity allows. | |||
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| one of us |
Yes, the travel from a DG area to the plains game area is the primary problem in 10 day vs 14 day hunt, and as has been mentioned by several, plains game are rather sparse in the DG area. I may just have to put it off until I can squeeze in the 14 days. Thanks for all your replys and hope all have some great hunts in '05. | |||
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muygrande why not a 7 day buffalo hunt at $650 (or $800) per day and a 7 day plains game hunt at $400? | |||
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You can hunt both PG and DG for either 7 or 14 days on the Save Conservancy, Zim. Fabulous PG hunting, plenty of buff although the jess is thick and you have to hunt them, and they get the odd one with 42" horns. Lotsa big kudu and waterbuck. Eland too. And giraffe if that suits your fancy. Also a chance to see rhino in the wild rather than on a fenced 40 acre paddock. | |||
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NitroX, well the 7 and 7 gets me back to the 14 days that is my problem. Just have the total of 10 days available and have decided to back off and do more planning. 500grains, I will check the Save Conservancy out for perhaps 2006. Are sable available to your knowledge? | |||
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To start with I can get you a plainsgame hunt in RSA for $150 per day and Eland for about $1700 as I recall. In Zimbabwe at $400. per day 1x1 and Eland are $1100.00 Only in Tanzania is it required by law to shoot Eland on a 16 day hunt. Eland are $1400. These hunts also allow the shooting of 3 Buffalo at about $1000. each, Crocodile at $1300, and most all Tanzanian plainsgame, the total price is about $28,000 plus trophy fees....The reason for the high cost is the dangerous game that is allowed on this hunt and the outfitter expense involved in a remote camp accesable only by air or cross country no road driving etc., etc.... Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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Add to the above that RSA will allow as little as 5 day hunts including Eland and Zimbabwe will let you hunt 7 and 5 is probably negociable... Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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