Saeed,
Perhaps if you were collecting "teats" instead of balls

The problem is I don't believe this was a "screw up" otherwise one would most likely not include it in one's website in the trophy gallery

I would have shot it if I was collecting 4 balls

Seriously though, the color is very deceptive, and sure make him look like a bull.

But, with these horns, I would not have shot him.

Having said that I have shot one bull with horns just like this one. He was in a herd, and we could not see him clearly at any moment. When we got close to them - about 80 yards - he was standing looking straight at us. We could not see the top part of his head - at least I could not. My PH, said I better shoot, or we might not get another chance, as they were very close to the concession border. I shot him at teh base of his neck. He ran off a few yards and dropped.

Looks of embarassement all over our faces. We just had to write it down to one of those screw ups that happen on practically every hunt, so we just laughed about it, and decided to make a flat skin out of our "trophy"

This one was taken in the Selous this year! hard to believe.......

Is it possible the animal was taken for a full mount next to a male? I have seen many collections were a male, female and offspring are preserved in a family group.

Who knows why this cow was shot.

Let's just track this guy down and hang him!

Unfortuneately, I have seen worse examples of poor judgement. But, a cow sable...and that is an udder and teats I see, right? What's to be proud of?

A friend who has hunted Tanzania repeatedly has a 24" max. cow gemsbok mounted in his office that he is quite proud of, as well as a blesbok and a blue wildebeest that could have used quite a few more years of growth. But, to each his own.

I just have to figure I was very fortunate with the animals I was able to take on my two plains game hunts.

And, no, I would not have shot that cow sable, for any reason. Mistakes happen, but like Saeed mentioned, take a lesson from the experience, make use of the animal, and move on...

I thought it was illegal to shoot females in Tanzania.

Regards,

Terry

Sure but is it legal to shoot one in Tz? Will Let's not hang him because in all fairness, he probably was just told to "shoot it" by his PH....so yes let's track down the PH and hang him instead...

Again, with out really knowing the circumstances, I don't know why he shot it.

Myself, I'd rather look for one like this...

It's not only a cow, also it seems pregnat!!
Terrible for say something.
L

As a paying client - if I was having to rely on my ph's judgement because I did not know better - had he made me shoot that sable, I would not pay the trophy fees and ask for the PH to be replaced asap.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I don't know about you, but I certainly had some uncalled for experiences while hunting, and there is absolutely no way I can lay the blame on either my PH or myself.

Things happen in the bush that are totally unpredictable.

Here is an examples.

Years ago we were hunting in Chete, Zimbabwe.

We followed three bulls one morning, and about a couple of hours later we caught up with them. I shot one, and he ran off together with his two companions. We ran after them. About 50 yards later, we saw them in very thick bush - or rather, I saw one standing, and my PH saw one lying on the ground, but was certainly alive.

My Ph could not see the one I am looking at, and I could not see the one he was looking at.

I asked him if THAT bull was the one we have already shot, and he said yes. I assumed he could see some blood on him with his binoculars.

I shot the one standing, which took off after being hit. Suddenly, the one lying down jumped up, and looked straight at us. He was about 20 odd yards away. I shot him in the head and killed him.

We ran after the second one, and found him dead about 80 yards away.

I could imagine someone getting upset if he had the same experience I had with the sable mentioned in my previous posts. But, I thought of just chalking it to part of the African experience.

Walter had to rub in when he came over and saw the sable.

He said "That would make a great trophy in may be 4 or 5 years time!"

It is illegal to shoot any female of any species in Tanzania
however this happens ocassionally to quite often (depending on who you are hunting with) on Zebra as regardless of what any PH may tell you, you cannot always identify a Stallion of that species, all else is BS........therefore it is almost acceptable to shoot a female Zebra in Tanzania and give the game scout some money to buy his poor grandmother some tea, and his word is law...

However, it is not acceptable to shoot any other animal it seems, and if you do the price of tea shoots sky high...

I don't think we have ever shot any female animal in Tanzania other than an ocassional Zebra by mistake, as has everyone who has hunted the Zebra....

I don't argue that mistakes happen in the bush. But on this particular sable (and the lion in the other thread) I can't immagine what "unfortunate" mistake could have been the cause for shooting this sable.

You never tell someone to shoot a Sable without being satisfied that a) it is a male and b) It has a reasonable set of horns for the area you are hunting. You can't tell a client to shoot a sable just 'cause he is black in color hoping that this means he is a) a male and b) has a good set of horns. and then to take photos and put them on your website for all to see what "great" trophies you are producing???? Now that really takes the biscuit....

Ray, You are quite right! It happens a lot more often than one get's to hear; the golden rule applies: "what happens in the bush, stays in the bush".

I would also say that a fair bit of crocodiles shot are females as they tend to be larger than the males and "large" is what one looks for unless you want a pair of croc skinned boots . Also hippo, hartebeest, topi, hyena and a fair share of leopards shot are females. Some by mistake and a lot because the Ph can't tell the difference

I am not sure if that cow is bloated or pregnant or maybe even both?? Could this have been a cow that was accidentally wounded by an exiting bullet from a bull...which was subsequently tracked & recovered?? That might explain the bloated belly, especially if it was tracked after the bull was taken care of and found dead.

RE: The lion - if I was on safari & was offered the opportunity to shoot that lion because it was going to be shot anyway - for stocktheft/maneating or some other menace...I wouldnt hesitate, especially if there was a reasonable trophy fee and no increase in daily rate!

Obviously I would need to feel that my PH was not just pulling the skin over my eyes or screwing the system somehow.

Paying even a negotiated daily rate & normal trophy fee?? What ? Are you on drugs??

Ray & Terry are correct in saying that it is illegal to shoot females in Tanzania........but, as with most things in Africa there are exceptions. Two of these that spring to mind being Croc & Hyena.



On the subject of that particular photograph, well I guess we all mistakes and that sable must surely have been a mistake, but not as big a mistake as posting it on the company website!......as Mitch says, what happens in the bush, stays in the bush.