I have recently returned from a hunt in the Senuko area of the Save Valley Conservancy in Zimbabwe. This trip was originally booked more than two years ago before Covid and before the death of PH Phillip Smythe, tragically killed by an elephant during a hunt. I will file a separate hunt report later and you can read Part One and now Part Two of my travel rant here http://forums.accuratereloadin...921002762#6921002762.

One of the staff of my safari was part of the hunt in which Phillip was killed but he is a sensitive young man and doesn’t want to be identified. He is as close of an eye witness there is and I was able to get some details out of him.

The client (a USA citizen – I don’t know his name) was set up to take a side brain shot on a trophy elephant bull. The trackers had stayed back on a hill for the final approach. The client waited too long to shoot as the elephant was turning away when he fired striking it behind its ear completely missing the brain. The bull immediately fled away from the hunting party with Phillip instantly giving chase. The client was tired and stayed behind with the other staff member. The trackers stayed behind on the hill.

Phillip and the elephant both disappeared from sight. Less than a minute later several shots were heard but the witness wasn’t exactly sure how many. They waited a couple of minutes and followed.

They came upon Phillip unconscious and on his back. He was breathing and had a heartbeat but had major injuries. The elephant was gone. A car was called in and Phillip was carefully loaded in and taken to a landing strip where an emergency flight picked him up taking him to Harare. He died nine days later but was able to communicate with his family before his death.

The elephant was followed up and found dead about 300 yards away from where Phillip lay.

I met Leah Smythe at the Woodlands guest house at the conclusion of my safari. She had given birth to their third daughter just two months earlier. She is a widow in Africa with three small children but was a rock of strength and faith. She told me, “God has this”.

This tragedy can be over analyzed to the point of paralysis but one thing is certain. Be sure of that first shot.

There is no excuse for any man who stays back, and does not personally follow up, or assist in following up, any dangerous big game animal that he has shot and wounded.

I violently agree with you Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
There is no excuse for any man who stays back, and does not personally follow up, or assist in following up, any dangerous big game animal that he has shot and wounded.

Absolutely right.

Sadly, we have people going hunting dangerous game when they should never have left home.

Too old.

Too fat.

Totally out of condition.

Incapable of shooting straight or making a decision on when NOT to shoot.

I have heard horror stories of these sad individuals.

I know personal friends in the industry who have had these idiots.

One was telling me they were putting a leopard bait, in broad day light.

When the leopard walks buy slowly.

He asks his client - a German - to shoot it.

Very easy shot at close range.

He fires, and the leopard takes off.

They find blood.

The client decides to stay back - one of those wimps I am talking about.

My friend goes after the leopard, thinking it was mortally wounded.

The leopard jumps him at close range, scalps him, and takes off again!

Undeterred, my friend puts his scalp on again, goes to camp, gets a shotgun, and goes after the leopard again.

Minus client, of course.

The leopard jumps him again, but he manages to kill it.

If you are not going to finish the animal you shoot, stay home!

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
There is no excuse for any man who stays back, and does not personally follow up, or assist in following up, any dangerous big game animal that he has shot and wounded.

I agree . Perhaps Phil wouldn’t let him go.

How does a hunter or any man for that matter, justify not following up a wounded animal, especially dangerous game?

I've had to do it once and I would again, at any time.

How could you stand knowing that your actions contributed to leaving a wife and young children without their father?

I also agree with everyone's sentiment but like larryshores has said, perhaps Phil made the decision not to take the hunter. Maybe he was too old, too fat and out of condition as Saeed puts it and would only hinder Phil if he wanted to catch up with and dispatch the wounded elephant quickly i.e. Phil may have thought it safer for all concerned if he went alone. Maybe he just followed up too fast and let his guard down.

At 70 I've recently spent a week high in our Southern Alps hunting tahr with my three sons. I'm not the person I was in my earlier years where I could run up and down mountains. I can't keep up with my sons but I can go anywhere they do but just do it slower and more carefully. I can still find and shoot tahr as well as they.

There may well have been no excuse for this hunter to stay back, we may not have all the facts to make a judgement on this sad incident.

A more likely conclusion was the client simply could not keep up with Phil

Perhaps Philip was too hasty in his pursuit?

It's already established that the client couldn't follow up. Here's the thing. How many of you, already overloaded with adrenalin, feel completely poked after an intense hunt no matter what the quarry? I've been in this exact position before, and know what that overload does to your body.

Not making an excuse for the client here, we'd rather learn from this unfortunate incident. It's imperative that before following up that every single person in the group is 100% ready to go into a potentially hazardous situation, and running in alone is not to be recommended.

I recall a wounded lion incident which necessitated a lengthy follow up. The surge of adrenalin can work wonders but it does take its toll. In this case we had tracked minute spots of blood for close on two hours, and were getting weary. I called the shots and stopped the follow up for 10 minutes, let people relax and regroup. Once we got going again we were charged within 60m.That rest did us the world of good.

In all my years of hunting, we have never stayed behind once we know an animal is wounded.

We try to be as careful as we can to protect everyone, but never delayed going after them.

Only time we stayed behind was when I shot a lion.

He was lying in long grass, and hardly any part of him was visible except his ears.

As he got up to leave I fired a shot at him.

He ran off into the thicket, and we could hear him growling about 50 yards further.

He was thrashing about, and we knew he was done for, so we left him to die.

If he had gone any further, we would have followed him, regardless.

The duties and responsibilities of a PH are to assess the situation and based on the potential hazards it may impose on the client and the rest of the party will make the ultimate decision on how to tackle the problem at hand.

Had Phil allowed or insisted the client to participate and subjected to injury or death, I wonder how the incident would have been viewed by the public.

In other instances, some clients have truthfully and frankly exposed their sentiments by asking their PH to finish the job without them.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
The duties and responsibilities of a PH are to assess the situation and based on the potential hazards it may impose on the client and the rest of the party will make the ultimate decision on how to tackle the problem at hand.

Had Phil allowed or insisted the client to participate and subjected to injury or death, I wonder how the incident would have been viewed by the public.

In other instances, some clients have truthfully and frankly exposed their sentiments by asking their PH to finish the job without them.

I was hunting with Pierre.

Shot a buffalo that ran into very long grass.

He said "wait here. I will go get it"

I said "not on your life mate. We go together!"

The buffalo was dead in the grass.

quote:

I said "not on your life mate. We go together!"

Saeed,

Of those that can and may be willing to participate, some (minority) are totally unreliable and pose a liability.

If a man isn’t willing to go in and make the last shot he shouldn’t make the first shot!

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
There is no excuse for any man who stays back, and does not personally follow up, or assist in following up, any dangerous big game animal that he has shot and wounded.

One finds out exactly what he is made of in such situations. Some freeze and can't function. Some refuse to do what they should automatically do. And some do what has to be done. I am not sure how one can define courage, but that may be part of it. It is not pleasant to have been in such a situation and been found "wanting."

Having hunted with both Phillip and the hunter I think Phillip made a hasty and rash decision to immediately give chase, but he was an extremely conscience hunter and confident of his abilities. But dangerous game is called that for a reason.

There is no way the client could have kept up with Phillip, nor would he have wanted him there. Unexpected things happen while hunting but in my experience, the majority of inexperienced hunters who can not shoot and cleanly kill an unwounded animal will not do well on a charging one ! And I certainly wouldn't trust them behind me with a loaded weapon.

That said, on tracking wounded Game a trusted hunter is a major moral booster and asset!
On my daughter's buffalo hunt, after the shot Phillip took my daughter with him while my son and I worked the blood trail with the trackers. They bumped the bull just before dark and got a hasty shot before we called it off. We found the bull dead 50 yards away the following morning.

She has remained in email contact with Phillips trackers and the reports she received about the incident corroborate this one.

Agree with these sentiments. Never would I ever let some one go without help. It's irresponsible. You owe it first to your PH, second to the animal, third to yourself.

Jeff

Guys,

First off if we all made the first shot perfectly there would be no need for follow ups but regardless of skill and condition there are just going to be bad shots even by the best of us.

Second none of us was there so the armchair quarterbacking seems a little irrelevant. I agree that Phil may well have thought that having the client with him on the follow up might have been more of a liability than an asset. These days at 72 I'm not as fast on my feet or to shoot and as good a shot on a instinctual kind of shot as I was at 40. I've never been asked to stay back but I think I could put my machismo in my back pocket and let the PH sort it out if I was asked to.

Mark

I think about Stu Taylor and his hunter and the wounded Buff. I would only consider as 458 said "a trusted hunter" on a follow up of that nature.
As a guide in Montana I've trailed my share wounded game. A good many of my hunters cant keep up. Some are to excited or winded. Not a good situation. The only thing more dangerous than the wounded animal is a nervous hunter with a loaded rifle..

quote:

I met Leah Smythe at the Woodlands guest house at the conclusion of my safari. She had given birth to their third daughter just two months earlier. She is a widow in Africa with three small children but was a rock of strength and faith. She told me, “God has this”.

Thank you GunsCore for the updated information. A very sad ending to the life of a fine young PH any way that you analyze it. Glad to know that Leah is strong and puts her trust in God. She and her little girls will need it. God bless them.

At the end of the day, sometimes, no matter what everyone does, things do go wrong.

Part of life.

I have been in the situation described. As stated, a bad shot can happen to anyone of us for a variety of reasons. In my situation “we” went together and neither ever thought it to be any other way…albeit we had hunted together many times.

Obviously we survived, but there was a moment where that was questionable. I would never leave a situation I created to anyone else.

As to Leah…God does have this and may God Bless Leah and her children.

Saeed, that last comment you made was life itself. We each pick up our pieces we left and March forward from there.

We were in Chete.

Had a hippo bait in a valley between tow mountains in a tree for lion.

We went early in the morning, and found the lion feeding.

We waited until it got light enough to shoot.

I fired at the lion as he was feeding, standing on two legs.

All hell broke loose.

He got down, growling under the try.

But before I could get another short in, he disappeared.

He continued growling for a couple of minutes, but completely hidden from us.

Then all went quite.

Roy asked "how was your shot?"

I said "it should be good"

He said "he stayed growling for a very long time. He might have gone down the valley"

We decided to make a detour and climb the other side, just in case we could see any better.

We did.

Nothing to see.

We decided to go back to our side, and then get down to the tree from there.

Under the tree there was an awful lot of blood.

The bottom of the valley is packed with very larger boulders - perfect place for a lion to hide.

Not much blood anywhere else.

We went towards where we thought he had gone.

We were side by side.

Roy is left handed, and I am right.

A few minutes later, one of our trackers, who was behind us, said "he is here. Dead!"

We actually passed him less than two yards away!!

If he was alive, things might have turned out differently.

Here you have 3 very experienced hunters, and it could have gone wrong.

.

Cant and wont comment on Phil being hit as I was not there and dont know all the facts.

But I will tell a short tail on follow ups ...

My wife shot a leopard on a kudu kill in Namibia from a blind some years back. Leopard spun in the air and disappeared. PH and I were to follow up and my wife was under strict instructions from me to stay in the blind. Pitch black night. We walk slowly to the kudu kill, four paces, stop, listen, four paces etc. At the kudu a hand touches my shoulder and my wife whispers "Just so you know I am right behind you guys and my rifle is on safe!"

We found great blood and a dead leopard after 30 meters or so. No way would my wife stay in the blind on a follow up after SHE SHOT HER LEOPARD!

Had a few other follow ups over the years and we are both always there with the PH or guide!

.

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
.

Cant and wont comment on Phil being hit as I was not there and dont know all the facts.

But I will tell a short tail on follow ups ...

My wife shot a leopard on a kudu kill in Namibia from a blind some years back. Leopard spun in the air and disappeared. PH and I were to follow up and my wife was under strict instructions from me to stay in the blind. Pitch black night. We walk slowly to the kudu kill, four paces, stop, listen, four paces etc. At the kudu a hand touches my shoulder and my wife whispers "Just so you know I am right behind you guys and my rifle is on safe!"

We found great blood and a dead leopard after 30 meters or so. No way would my wife stay in the blind on a follow up after SHE SHOT HER LEOPARD!

Had a few other follow ups over the years and we are both always there with the PH or guide!

.

Typical!

Women never listen!

quote:

How does a hunter or any man for that matter, justify not following up a wounded animal, especially dangerous game?

Poor hunting ability. Never been in a stressful situation.

The PH did not trust him and did not want him along.

I have followed up and finished off wounded bears.

I had the person who wounded it say no way, I am going after it.

I have seen them in to poor of physical shape to handle it.

I Have refused to let the person who wounded the bear go along. As I felt safer with out them.

Their pervious poor shooting that resulted in the wounding. Was a good indication of their future performance.

It is far easier to only have to watch out for yourself.

Could have been any of the above.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
At the end of the day, sometimes, no matter what everyone does, things do go wrong.

Part of life.

A lot of people on the internet are perfect.

Some thing just happen.

Charlie, you married the right woman.

Sometimes people talk about having a large magazine to have more rounds ready for an emergency.

When an emergency happens in hunting, like being charged, only one shot matters.

You better make it count.

Regardless of how big the caliber is, it is all immaterial if you do not hit the brain or the central nervous system.

I remember reading of clueless writers saying bullets bounce off a buffalo boss.

That is all bullshit, as I have proven it to myself dozens of times.

In fact, if we are close enough to a buffalo, I always shoot them in the brain.

Never had a single bullet bounce off!

quote:

I remember reading of clueless writers saying bullets bounce off a buffalo boss.

That is all bullshit, as I have proven it to myself dozens of times.

A lot of such statements are made to cover up poor shooting/bullet placement.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Sometimes people talk about having a large magazine to have more rounds ready for an emergency.

When an emergency happens in hunting, like being charged, only one shot matters.

You better make it count.

Regardless of how big the caliber is, it is all immaterial if you do not hit the brain or the central nervous system.

I remember reading of clueless writers saying bullets bounce off a buffalo boss.

That is all bullshit, as I have proven it to myself dozens of times.

In fact, if we are close enough to a buffalo, I always shoot them in the brain.

Never had a single bullet bounce off!

We trap a lot of hogs on my place . My manager went to shoot some trapped hogs with his 45 Long Colt. He fired twice and felt something hit his leg twice . He looked down and saw bullets laying on the ground . The bullets had indeed bounced off the hog.

My theory is something was wrong with the ammo . Regardless, they did bounce off.

quote:

2008

My personal belief is that if you hit an animal YOU should be there to follow up. It is a matter of responsibility and ethics. If you won’t or cannot then you shouldn’t be hunting dangerous game. If you can5 handle your rifle safely in all circumstances you shouldn’t be hunting. Of course accidents happen and PHs will possibly not want you along but that’s on them.
On my first DG hunt for Cape Buffalo we got close to a great old bull who was facing us within 50 yards. I was on the sticks and the PH told me to take a frontal shot. There was a small tree partially blocking the target. I would not shoot because I felt I may hit the tree the result possibly being a bad or wounding shot and then a dangerous follow up. When the PH asked why I wouldn’t shoot I told him. He seemed pissed. This was the first day of an eight or nine day hunt. We later got a nice bull and many other animals. He told me days later that he had been upset but that I had made the right call on that shot and I have always held back on an unsure shot since.
Sage hunting is a result of many factors and eliminating risk along the way is how to create less risk. It is smart to do so and just as exciting. That said anything can happen and we should all remember Murphy’s Law, it’s always there as well.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Sometimes people talk about having a large magazine to have more rounds ready for an emergency.

When an emergency happens in hunting, like being charged, only one shot matters.

You better make it count.

Regardless of how big the caliber is, it is all immaterial if you do not hit the brain or the central nervous system.

I remember reading of clueless writers saying bullets bounce off a buffalo boss.

That is all bullshit, as I have proven it to myself dozens of times.

In fact, if we are close enough to a buffalo, I always shoot them in the brain.

Never had a single bullet bounce off!

We trap a lot of hogs on my place . My manager went to shoot some trapped hogs with his 45 Long Colt. He fired twice and felt something hit his leg twice . He looked down and saw bullets laying on the ground . The bullets had indeed bounced off the hog.

My theory is something was wrong with the ammo . Regardless, they did bounce off.

My brother brought a 1 inch stainless steel plate.

He said it was some special steel that he wanted to see if a bullet would go through it.

First I thought I would try my 375/404 with Barns X bullets.

That was before I made my own.

Loaded one and fired it on the plate at 100 yards.

A few seconds later, I heard something fall behind me.

And there was the bullet, lying on the carper floor burning a hole in it!

The bullet bounced back.

I was lucky it did not hit me, I would have been seriously hurt.

No matter, I continued testing.

Firing a shot and then ducking under the shooting table!

When one lacks a certain amount of what normally resides between the ears, nothing stands in the way!

I tried different bullets, different calibers, and the only one that went through was the Speer Tungsten Core 375 bullet.

The Tungsten bit inside went through.

I only got to play with those Speer Tungsten Core bullets for a short time Garret Cartridge Company loaded them for a while in 45/70 plus P.

They were the perfect bullet. Dense and short like lead for bullets as tough as copper monos.

quote:

When one lacks a certain amount of what normally resides between the ears, nothing stands in the way!

Damn, Saeed, trust you to add a certain amount of levity to this discussion!

I think those Speer tungsten cored bullets were the best solid bullets ever made.

Not necessary on game animals, and very expensive besides.

But deadlier than a plasma torch on steel plates!

quote:

But deadlier than a plasma torch on steel plates!

Exactly!

I did use them on elephants.

Worked just as well as any solids.

In fact, I shot an elephant with a Barnes bronze Super Solid, and recovered it.

It was in 416.

Just for fun, I turned it down to 375, and shot another elephant with it.

Sadly, it went straight through his head, or I would have used it to shoot a buffalo lengthways and see if I could recover it!

That silly bullet sabotaged my plans!

I still have a box or two of the tungsten cored 375 solids. Nothing in Alaska requires them

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
There is no excuse for any man who stays back, and does not personally follow up, or assist in following up, any dangerous big game animal that he has shot and wounded.

Absolutely right.

ABSOLUTELY! If you don't have the balls to follow up your mistake, as Saeed says stay at home and watch hunting shows on TV!
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MacD37