madabula: Very nice!

I think there might be some confusion creeping in here...... In areas where they're not under predator pressure, they're generally one of the easiest animals in the African bush to get close to if you do it right. They're not usually hard to hunt and you can often get close enough to hit them in the ass with a slingshot without any great difficulty.

However, they are big, tough animals that can carry a lot of lead if you shoot them in the wrong place with the first shot. - Do that, and they're very difficult to kill.............

FWIW, they're not difficult to catch in a game capture operation, but are pretty dangerous for the first few days in the boma, after which they tame down pretty quickly.

All these negative comments about Giraffe hunting makes me want to get another.

I am with you John.The are a formidible opponent for a guy with a stick and some string and they are always on my wish list.

How to hunt giraffes

Haven't been to Africa...YET, but when I do go, (and I will someday, good Lord willing!) I plan to put Giraffe on my list (along with several other animals that are "Africa" to me). Why? Well, that's just my personal desire.
You have to make your decision for the same type of reason. Don't base your choice on anyone else, base it only on you, and what YOU want. 'Cause in the end, it's you who will have to live with whatever decsion you make, be it to shoot or not to shoot!! God bless!
Jeremy

Even with individual animals that are easily approached you can never be sure what the outcome will be from the start of the "hunt". There is a lot of luck/chance involved and many variables that can change the outcome. A particular hunt for a particular animal could be very difficult or very easy depending on luck and other things that are not under your control. That is why many people hunt the same animals over and over again. No two hunts are the same.

That backskin rug under the dinning room table is enough reason to shoot one IMO. So is:
wanting to see one fall, wanting to collect a unique species, wanting to help out with a problem animal, wanting to hunt a large animal with a large gun, wanting to study one up close, or even just because the mood strikes you....and a hundred+ other possible reasons.

I would happily shoot a "bull" dog with a pretty skin that was 16 feet tall.

I say if you have to justify your hunting to yourself and others by explaining how difficult the hunt was you are not being honest about WHY you hunt. How many trophy animals have you let walk away before shooting because that particular hunt was too easy?

Obey the game laws and pursue your own bliss.

Ann, that is one very nice looking skull mount.

So we have established Clifford isn't safe around Grafton

I didn't think I'd want to hunt one either, but changed my mind, and am glad I did. The population is high in Namibia, and the trophy fees are less than for eland!
Has everyone seen this video?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7HCIGFdBt8

I have an article in the new Dallas Safari Club magazine Game Trails detailing how I didn't get a giraffe during my last safari. So I guess what I'm saying is if you want to know how not to hunt one--check it out

quote:

So we have established Clifford isn't safe around Grafton

Right. And with that axe in his hand he qualifies as dangerous game.

In Zambia in a heavily Lioned area I saw mature bull giraffe 30 yds away and some of them moved off when we closed within 150-200 yds some were wary and some were not like any other critter out there. All I have heard from those who have shot the beasts are that they are Hartebeast tough (like many of you that have posted here found) and I would not shoot one without a 416 or bigger caliber.

Madabula, Your giraffe and kudu look great. I'm currently waiting on those very same mounts from the taxerdermist, a pedestal kudu, and floor standing shoulder mount of the giraffe. After seeing those pictures I can't wait to get mine. Thanks for the posting

Scott

Excuse me. Taxidermist

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
They're not usually hard to hunt and you can often get close enough to hit them in the ass with a slingshot without any great difficulty.

Perhaps in the fenced paddocks where you go, but apparently not in the areas where AR members hunt!

As I have stated in my previous post I have hunted and killed 2 giraffes, my wife one.

The hunts were exciting and fun.
They make a wonderful trophy, and their hide is beautiful.

Wildbeast is my favorite African meat to eat, Giraffe is second. [Not counting Guinea foul ].

On the tree hugging side:
The Giraffe is also one of my favorite animals to look at and watch.
They are truely one of natures most awsome.

As are Elephants. And I like to hunt them the most.

When I go back to Africa I do not feel it necessary to kill any animal that I have killed on my previous 3 Safaris:

Except, ELEPHANTS, and guinea fowl.

Next thing you know, people will say you should not kill a zebra, because they are a striped horse.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:

Next thing you know, people will say you should not kill a zebra, because they are a striped horse.

Or baboons because they look like us!

quote:

Next thing you know, people will say you should not kill a zebra, because they are a striped horse.

Hell, some say that now.

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:
Perhaps in the fenced paddocks where you go

Don't know where you dreamed that idea up. To make a suggestion like that, simply shows a marked lack of knowledge of the African hunting industry.

The smallest area I hunt is about 11000 acres and most years I spend between 4 & 5 months in the Selous where the typical area is about 800 square kilometres. (hardly a paddock!) I usually spend a few weeks at each end of the season in Masailand and/or other areas outside the Selous, where the areas are often considerably bigger - The Selous in it's entirity is around 50,000 square kilometres and totally unfenced as is the rest of Tanzania. - Incidentally, according to the FZS, Tanzania has more Buffalo than all the other East and Southern countries put together. - They'd need a damn big paddock for that huh?

How about you?...........

I don't have a problem at all with anyone hunting giraffe, in fact, I can think of areas such as Tanzania where they're not shot and need to be........ there's also no doubt they're hard to kill, if you get it wrong the first time...... but the fact is that in areas where they don't suffer predator pressure, they're rarely hard to get close to.

i hunted one on 5-02-04 in naimbia. i did not want to do it. But, it was my birthday and my PH told me too. It was a blast. Do it and have the hide turned into pillows etc. I had ottoman made out of it and sold the leg bones.

quote:

Or baboons because they look like us!

Not all of us Dan.

Perry

I should ammend my post to say elephants, guinea fowl, AND baboons, as I like to shoot them too.

quote:

Originally posted by PWN375:

quote:

Or baboons because they look like us!

Not all of us Dan.

Perry

OK, how's this?

"Or baboons because they look like me!"

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
They're not usually hard to hunt and you can often get close enough to hit them in the ass with a slingshot without any great difficulty.

Perhaps in the fenced paddocks where you go, but apparently not in the areas where AR members hunt!

last time i checked the Okavango where my posted photo was shot is not fenced and it sure as hell isn't a paddock. the stink bull in the photo had huge scars on his right hip from a lion attack and still allowed us to drive right up to him. would have made a beautiful rug but it sure as hell isn't hunting, at least to me. but i guess you feel differently

Sounds like it all boils down to the same as every other game species---Where they get hunted, they are wary, where they are not hunted, they are not wary.
The bull I hunted was wary. Some of the batchelor bulls in the vicinity(without cows around) seemed suicidally ready for elimination. After I took out the herd bull, perhaps they may have had a better reason for living1
bulls with no reason to live


Hard to get close to this guy, then a mile of tracking (as fast as possible) after a solid missed the important stuff

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by 500grains:

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
They're not usually hard to hunt and you can often get close enough to hit them in the ass with a slingshot without any great difficulty.

Perhaps in the fenced paddocks where you go, but apparently not in the areas where AR members hunt!

last time i checked the Okavango where my posted photo was shot is not fenced and it sure as hell isn't a paddock. the stink bull in the photo had huge scars on his right hip from a lion attack and still allowed us to drive right up to him. would have made a beautiful rug but it sure as hell isn't hunting, at least to me. but i guess you feel differently

Why are you answering a post that I directed to another AR member? Seems like you want to pick a fight?? If you wish to remain ignorant of the challenge that giraffe hunting can be, then fine. When done right, it is more of a challenge than oryx hunts.

My experience (in the Save) is that it isn't unusual for African animals to have no concern for the trucks, but get out and walk and it is a whole different story.

Last year I rode in a truck right up to a bushbuck bigger than the 16" one I have now. Ditto on kudu (bigger than those I've taken), eland, sable (which I wasn't hunting but could have)and plenty of other varied and wonderful critters that nobody doubts are game animals. If the sole criteria of a game animal is whether they always run from a truck, then not very many animals qualify.

quote:

When done right, it is more of a challenge than oryx hunts.

Look up in the sky and check out all those pigs flying by! Damn, there's squadrons of 'em! - Hey, don't be offended, I'm only joking!

Simple logic tells us that it might become a challenge when it's done wrong....... but when it's done right, believe me, it's easy.

How about making a bet? - I'll bet you I can take either Jaco Human or 375Fanatic down to Zululand, go to 3 seperate hunting areas of 15000 acres or more, where giraffe are on the trophy list and I'll shoot a giraffe in the ass with a slingshot in all 3 areas in 3 days. Jaco or 375 will film it for proof.

Loser will pay the expenses of the trip and the cost of a good bottle of whisky. - Timing will have to be arranged and may take a while - as I know all 3 of us are pretty busy..... I also go to Tanzania in a few weeks.

Before you decide, I should in all fairness tell you that there is a trick to it and I've pulled this stunt plenty of times before and never failed.............. but it would be a fun, good humoured way to settle the debate.

Shakari,
I may have an idea what your trick is....but I'll let you explain it in case I am wrong

Hell, I'm not gonna explain it. After all, it's a trade secret! - Most good PHs would know it though!

PM sent

From what I have experienced with giraffe, and from what others have already mentioned, they are very inquisitive creatures. They have good eye-sight and obviously have a good vantage point with regards to most of what is going on around them. I think that because of their size, they have few predators apart from lion, which might suggest some inherent lack of fear for humans. In thick woodland or thornveld, it is possible to get right up to them and they are a species that can be taken quite easily with walk and stalk bow-hunting, although they have a very thick skin, which requires a fair bit of bow draw-weight, etc. They are fairly easy to spot and track too, as their spoor can not be confused with any other antelope. Maybe in sparse Acacia thornveld with little cover they would be hard to hunt, but otherwise I would tend to think that they are easy to get right up to most of the time. When they get spooked, they do take off at what seems a slow amble (which it certainly is not), but they always stop and settle down pretty quickly, therefore I would tend to agree that they are fairly easy to hunt in most cases. Personally, I have never really had any desire to want to hunt them, but each to his own really.

Each to his own indeed. Like you, I don't have any problem with anyone wanting to take one at all, but (assuming low predator pressure) anyone says they had a hard hunt for one, is either 'mistaken', was taken in by a dodgy PH who deliberately made it difficult or had a PH that didn't know his job. The only time they're a battle to get is if they're in company of other species such as zebra or wildebeest. - In which case, a good PH will go look elsewhere or wait till later.

Once they're wounded, it's a very different matter though - but shoot 'em right the first time and they're a doddle.

I suppose you could confuse the droppings with a large eland bull, but I think that they would generally be more scattered after falling from a great height! As for the tracks, you can't miss them most of the time, as they are not fairies by any means and always leave an impression of sorts!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Once they're wounded, it's a very different matter though - but shoot 'em right the first time and they're a doddle.

Doesn't that apply to every single animal?

John,

no not really. Some animals die considerably easier than others. Nyala, cats and some other species die a lot more more easily than Buffalo, wildebeest, zebra or (in this case) giraffe for example.

Some animals are also a lot easier to hunt than others as well or put another way, some species are cleverer than others. - giraffe and rhino for example, are as dumb as a sack of spanners whereas the spiral horned antelopes and cats are extremely clever and hard to hunt........... but that doesn't mean that giraffe and rhino are easy to kill...... just easier to shoot.

both have the ability to carry a lot of lead and keep going.

quote:

giraffe and rhino for example, are as dumb as a sack of spanners whereas the spiral horned antelopes and cats are extremely clever and hard to hunt........... but that doesn't mean that giraffe and rhino are easy to kill...... just easier to shoot.

Sounds like some of my "mates" on the PF

My Giraffe was the absolute highlite of my trip!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to go back for another. We ended up harvesting 4 large dark males in our group. One of the most difficult animals we hunted in Namibia.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Each to his own indeed. Like you, I don't have any problem with anyone wanting to take one at all, but (assuming low predator pressure) anyone says they had a hard hunt for one, is either 'mistaken', was taken in by a dodgy PH who deliberately made it difficult or had a PH that didn't know his job. The only time they're a battle to get is if they're in company of other species such as zebra or wildebeest. - In which case, a good PH will go look elsewhere or wait till later.

Ha! More fiction from Steve Robinson (unless you are referring to the fenced paddocks in RSA that you take cients to...?). Do you really think anyone believes that a Brit who is 50 pounds overweight really hunts a 700,000 acre concession in the Selous on foot for 5 months of the year?? What a legend you are!

Yeah right.........

Y'know, it'd probably be good advice in the future to try to remember not to type after you've been drinking........ it REALLY does make you make a fool of yourself.........

I don't need to say any more on this post, because you're making such a good job of making yourself look dumb, you don't need any help from me.
Byeeeeeeee