I have my required reading books and have been studying the greats and their hunts from 1900 - the 1970's....One thing that comes to my mind is that how many hunts that are down to the wire after a "Big Five" animal is initially shot, is that it ends up with a tracking of a blood spoor and numerous follow-up shots...in the event, it often ends with the PH being chased by the wounded animal. *What about the one-shot that drops the animal where it stands? Is the Client/PH not using enough gun for the trophy? Is the heart beating so fast that an exact shot placement just does not hit the mark? Comments? Thanks.

Maybe its too much Christmas shopping, but I don't understand the question. Could you please clarify or expand. Kudude

I think you need to consider that these books are written by guys with a lifetime of experience in the bush. They put the most exciting moments into the pages they write. If they just wrote about the 99% of the time that everything went right... then no one would read the book.

I had some drinks with a French PH in Tanzania a few years ago and talked about buffalo hunting. For several years he had guided clients on buff hunts and the buff all fell over shortly after the first shot. Good conditions, good shots. Then, one day, it didn't go as planned. He ended up dropping him with a head shot with his 416 Rigby and having the buff fall at his feet. His hands were still trembling when he told me this (it had happened two days before). Now which buff story do you think he is going tell?

I guess to clerify: Most of the pages written in the books talk about multiply shots to bring the game down and horrific shots made to a charging animal at 4 feet! Is this always the case? Does the client expect to track the lion for 15 days after the initial shot is made?

A lot of writers who produce some of these books are better at writing books than at hunting. Some spend more time drunk - hence their imaginations running wild.

So called dangerous animals are only dangerous when one is careless.

With a little bit of common sense, I can imagine one can hunt these animals for years and never get exposed to any of these dangers.

At least that has been my own experience.

Still, I enjoy reading these books, but not take any of them that seriously.

My experience is limited but I think most of the dangerous game when wounded will go and save their skin, not charge the hunter undiscerningly. Then a careful PH (and his seasonned team) will let the dust set down and then as late as possible as slow as necessary will finish the critter or let him escape if just superficially nicked.
The only people asking for gore are the readers, not the hunting teams.

Proably very few dangerous African animals are taken with one shot for several reasons. A DG animal is usually not dropped with a single shot unless the brain or spine are hit. Even on a succesful brain shot on elephant it is smart policy to fire an insurance shot. A wise course of action and one that your PH will push, is to keep shooting until the animal is down. Also it is customary to put in an insurance shot on other DG species. I have taken 42 DG African animals and the farthest one travelled was about 200 yds. All the rest went down on the spot or travelled less than 50 yds.

465H&H

I haven't had near the experience that 465, above, has had, but share his experience with the animals that I have taken. The dangerous game, like most game, run a short way after being shot and I have continued to shoot until my ph said, "Enough." I have been fortunate to have avoided any real problems; however, in the case of my buff and leopard we had to conduct a short search in really thick stuff and it was unpleasant in the extreme although we found both animals very dead. A good bullet in the boiler room will settle the issue. Placement, Placement, Placement. Practice, Practice, Practice. Kudude