Well, just don't leave us hanging. Neither of your two pictures are side brain shots in the normal sense.



We need dots!



On the first pic of yours the correct shot is going to be further forward, halfway between the eye and the dark ear opening, just on top of the cheekbone.



On the second elephant the situation is even worse, in that the correct shot is going to be through his ear, not quite half way front to back as is shown at the moment of the photograph, level with the eye.



Dots, more dots!

I am no expert. Since I can't post pics too well, most of your questions will be answered by the Mahohboh book.



There is an opening in their ear (flap) that leads to the actual ear channel connected to their brain. The outer opening is above the actual ear HOLE, which is why the shot is placed just below this ear flap opening.



Awe, too complicated to explain without photographs.



Get the book.



(And then get mine when published. It is will answer all questions on elephants and life in general!).

I don't know anything about hunting elephants but I always liked the comparison, "it's sort of like trying to shoot the battery in a Volkswagon." Did Capstick say that?

......... I'd agree with you completely. We always have extensive discussions about this particular subject (amongst others) before the hunt.

I'd also say that the standard of the average (if there is such a thing) standard of RSA PHs is pretty low. Actually in many cases, it's disgustingly low.....but as the old saying goes, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!

As to there being a much greater tendency of PH's in RSA to "help" clients than in other countries. I honestly couldn't comment on that as i've never hunted as a "proper" client, but I do wonder why you feel that and on what you base the statement?

Absolutely no offence intended, but might I ask how many African countries you've hunted in and with how many different PHs and how many were you satisfied/dissatisfied with?

I personally think the side brain shot is a difficult one to explain and certainly more difficult to explain than the frontal brain shot. ......although both shots get a lot easier to explain if there's an Elephant skull laying around to use as an example. fortunately, most Elephant hunting areas either have one in, or near camp or somewhere on the concession..... I find that if the shooter remembers the broomstick principle, it doesn't matter how the Elephant is holding his head, or how close you are, if the bullet is placed true (assuming good calibre and bullet choice) then it works. There's no buggering about trying to work out halfway between this and that, etc, it just works. Especially for the first timer.........My personal preference (therefore)is for a frontal (brain) shot......Many will disagree.

There's also something to be said for a side shot into the engine room, but we should forget theorising too much as in the real world, there's not always time or opportunity to bugger around too much and sometimes, (often perhaps?) you take the shot that is presented.

As to other people shooting at your Elephant, again it's easy to theorise, but there are so many variables you should never say never and never say always.

For example, If the Elephant is perhaps on the edge of your concession and (heaven forbid) the next area is a photographic area, or it's the last evening of your hunt. I think it's perfectly reasonable for the PH to put a bullet in if he believes it's necessary.......but a lot depends on the PH, even more depends on the clients attitude and ability and even more will depend on the exact circumstances of that particular hunt.

African hunting, and African hunting clients is/are full of variables and I believe it's a very dangerous thing to make hard and fast rules that cannot be altered. Just this year I've had the pleasure of hunting with two of the best shots I've ever come across in 25 years of kicking around Africa and elsewhere........ but I had a client a few months before them who couldn't hit a cows ass with a banjo, so how can the same rules apply to all 3 clients?

Still off topic....



Everybody wants a quick kill, and it is a given that a properly placed brain shot accomplishes this. My feeling is that killing an elephant with a brain shot epitomizes the "classic elephant hunt". It does add that element of fear of making a bad shot. I think this is "the shot" when hunting "non trophy bulls", where the only reason one is doing it is for the experience and rush. In any event, the brain shot forces you to get up close, which is what ele hunting is all about.



I talked about this w/a PH who said that he prefers the brain shot as it is (a) humane and clean, and (b) if the client misses, there is no doubt that he should fire assuming the ele is not stunned (after talking about this w/the hunter of course). With a body shot, he said he does not always know exactly where the shot went, so when the ele turns and goes, the proper thing to do is to put another shot into the elephant. So if somebody wants to prepare properly and go for the brain shot, and they make it, high-fives all around. If they miss it and the PH helps, well they had their chance.



On a body shot, in all likelihood the ele will take off, and if the PH does not shoot and it is lost, it is a bitter pill to swallow not to mention that there is a now wounded ele out there. I was in a camp where a German hunter wounded and lost an elephant, and I would absolutely not want to go through the mental torture that this gentleman went through. But if the PH fires "to anchor the bull", as arguably he "should", then this get's into the valid topic of "Who's elephant is it?". I think many guys (who probably do not frequent a forum such as this) do not care, which is fine and fun for the PH. Sometimes guys I think form a "bond" with the PH, and view it as a team effort. Others will say that a first ele should be killed with a shot to the body, and this is very valid. And let's say there is an 80lb bull and for whatever reason you cannot get closer then 75-yards. Do you open up? I think most of us would.



Last thought� My PH in the Caprivi relayed quite a few stories of things going wrong in an ele hunt. There was the American hunter who demanded that the PH not shoot. The hunter made his initial shot, I forget if it was a body or brain, and Fred said he saw immediately that it was a bad shot. He went to fire as the ele turned, and the hunter actually pushed his barrel up and away causing him to shoot over the ele. They followed the ele all day, and by the end, the hunter was happy for the assistance, and apologized for being an ass.



Another good one was of a Spanish hunter who wanted to brain-shoot his bull elephant. They got in position and the guy shot, dropping the elephant. he was so happy that threw his rifle to the ground hard and began jumping up and down in circles, pumping his hands in the air. Then the ele gets up. The tracker had immediately picked up the rifle and was in the process of handing it to the client, but the stock was broke. The PH put a round in the ele as he fled, which eventually ended up killing him. Of course, the client fired the last shot using the PH's .458 which "finished him off�".



Then there was the one where the client was terrified by elephant, but was hunting them as he wanted the trophy. Fred got them up close, pulling him by the shirt sleeve, and told him where to shoot. The client pointed the rifle, yanked the trigger probably w/o looking through the scope, immediately opened his hands and dropped the rifle - and took off in a dead run in the opposite direction. The PH killed this ele too.



So, from a PH's perspective, after a few incidents like this, how is he to know that the next guy coming along has done his homework and is capable of making a killing shot??? He's not. And again, there is no doubt or speculation years after the hunt with the brain shot, everybody knows immediately what the score is. Just my opinion�subject to change once I become old and wise.

jbd,

In the hunting videos of Saeeds at the beginning of web page go to the page where all videos are and search down to the ele shot at 55 yards...you will see the ear hole right before the bull ele is shot...
Take it from me...When a bull ele is in front of you at 30feet staring at you, all is questioned..Is gun big enough??? Is it loaded?? All studying is great and I did it but I never took into thought what if the bull would be on a four foot embankment towering above me...All angles are off..


Mike

These "stories" always get messed up along the way. What starts out to be a cat turns into a hippo about three posts later.



When to and when not to brain an elephant and whether the PH should shoot (assuming he knows any more about it than the client ) has got squat to do with how to brain an elephant.



If the PH has to shoot, the client/hunter hasn't done his job. I found myself in that situation once, and never again.



Because a client can't shoot or doesn't know where to or when to or how to brain an elephant is the client's problem. There are still a lot of reasons to brain an elephant as opposed to body shots.



You guys are on your own now.