Hello

It is often said that few big elephant bulls are taken in Zimbabwe, and our humble little land undoubtedly plays second fiddle to other countries in this regard. If we are ever given credit for big ivory, that credit is usually reserved for the western boundary - Hwange and surrounding areas. All things considered, do we actually deserve our low standing when it comes to the procurement of heavy ivory? Somehow, I don't think so, and I am posting these pictures to prove it. The bulls below were taken in the past two years, with either Roger Whittall Safaris or Zambezi Hunters, in either the lower Zambezi Valley or the south-east lowveld. All of them carried between 55 and 70 pounds a side. I am missing one picture of a 60 odd pounder taken by one of my brother's clients last year. I shall get hold of it ASAP and add. Does anyone else have pictures of big tuskers taken in Zim, to help me debunk the Zim/matchstick ivory myth? I know that a few AR members have taken big bulls the last year or two in Zim - dukxdog with Nixon Dzingai to mention one. John Sharp took a ninety pounder...was it last year? Anyhow, those of you who have taken good bulls in Zim in recent times (or any time), I would appreciate it if you would post your pictures on this thread to assist me in promoting my beleaguered nation as a worthy elephant hunting destination. Comparitively affordable too. By the way, I don't mind if the 'hunters' that have (or had) the Hwange National Park 'concession' keep off this thread.

Dave








Don Adams, 65 pounds, Roger Whittall Safaris, Nyakasanga, 2007. PH Richard Tabor





Anton Dahlgren, 70 pounds, Zambezi Hunters, 2008. PH Jonathan Hulme





Zambezi Hunters, 55 pounds, Mahenya, 2008. PH Jonathan Hulme





Chi Kit Chai, 66 pounds, Roger Whittall Safaris, Chewore, 2007. PH Richard Tabor






Don Blackwood, 55 pounds, Roger Whittall Safaris, Nyakasanga, 2007. PH Magara Dirapenga

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:


Chi Kit Chai, 66 pounds, Roger Whittall Safaris, Chewore, 2007. PH Richard Tabor





PH Winston Taylor with 55 pound ivory taken by Don Blackwood with Roger Whittall Safaris, Nyakasanga, 2007. PH Magara Dirapenga

Looks the same ivory to me!

b.martins

It is the same ivory - sorry for the blunder, being rectified right now.

Dave

quote:

All things considered, do we actually deserve our low standing when it comes to the procurement of heavy ivory?

Not at all! I think Zim is THE place for affordable elephant hunting, and in the better areas, you have a real good chace at a bull over 50lbs.
Here's one, shot close to Kariba, on Russ Broom Safaris's Binga communal land area:

quote:

Originally posted by Karl S:

quote:

All things considered, do we actually deserve our low standing when it comes to the procurement of heavy ivory?

Not at all! I think Zim is THE place for affordable elephant hunting, and in the better areas, you have a real good chace at a bull over 50lbs.
Here's one, shot close to Kariba, on Russ Broom Safaris's Binga communal land area:

Pictures are always interesting . . . particularly when folks are removed from the animal. That rifle must be howitzer compared to the size of the man. Hope he had several folks to help him carry the rifle.

These are great ele's but I too share the sentiment of the hunter in a land far, far away when the picture is taken.... If I shot an ele, you couldn;t keep my hands off of it, much less get me to pose standing in the background to amplify the size etc. Its like to long-arm stretch white-tail hunters do.

_Baxter

Mike and Baxter, the hunter is a VERY short man, the rifle is a .600 NE, so, even though he is sitting somewhat behind the elephant, it looks worse than it is. To put it in perspective, I think the elephant (or other trophy) should be the main focus point, not the hunter. I will never willingly take a photo of a hunter on top of an elephant, prefering it ths way. Elephant trophy photos are some of the most difficult to keep interestiung, as you mostly have to take the pic as it went down, leaving not a lot of options. Here is another example, not that big, but very decent, to illustrate my point of the photography.

Karl, I did not intend to imply that the picture was deceptive and you are absolutely correct, with elephant you take them as they fall. I just thought the picture looked humorous since the rifle looked about twice the size of the hunter. No offense intended.

I think MJines does make a good point. Not necessarily talking about the photos on this post, but too often pictures of trophies are deliberately "staged" to make the animal, horns,or whatever look bigger than they are. In fact I think it is more the rule than the exception. Often the results are quite comical.

I also think MJines makes a point - why try and supersize an already fanastic trophy. Having said that, however, does it really matter? To anyone else, I mean? I guess it's up to the hunter/photographer how they want to photograph their trophy, and they should be the only ones to care one way or another. In any case, trophy pictures are very often deceptive, whether the hunter has placed himself 5 meters behind the trophy or not. All one has to do to make a trophy look bigger is take the photo from low and close. Can't bullshit the tape measure or scale though. I also agree with Karl in that I believe the emphasis should be on the trophy. Again, each hunter's choice - different strokes for different blokes eh? I personally like to try and make my trophy pictures as unique as possible, and if I happen to 'add' a few pounds or inches in the taking of them then so be it! You will notice that out of the pictures I posted, only one hunter is not 'hands on' so to speak. That is Anton Dahlgren with the mighty elephant he took only a couple weeks ago. All one has to do to appreciate how enormous Anton's bull was, is go to his hunt report in the hunt report section.

Best regards to all of you

Dave

Take a look at the picture at the top of the page.

I have, many times. So what? I bet many different photos were taken of that buffalo, from different angles etc. Anyone who knows anything about buffalo knows it's a great bull, no matter how long Walt's arms are. Sure, it looks a little comical - maybe that was the intention. I don't think anyone on that hunt has a lack of experience when it comes to taking trophy pictures. I am trying to post some different perspectives of the same bull elephant, for everyone's interest. I hope I succeed but photobucket is not my friend tonight. I must reiterate what I've already tried to say - it's all up to the fellow who took the trophy how he wants the pictures taken. Maybe he doesn't want anyone at all in the photo, maybe he wants himself tucked away in a corner, or himself zoomed up and dominating the picture...Different strokes...Oh, I've already said that. Stand by for the different perspective pictures...

Dave

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:
I have, many times. So what? I bet many different photos were taken of that buffalo, from different angles etc. Anyone who knows anything about buffalo knows it's a great bull, no matter how long Walt's arms are. Sure, it looks a little comical - maybe that was the intention. I don't think anyone on that hunt has a lack of experience when it comes to taking trophy pictures. I am trying to post some different perspectives of the same bull elephant, for everyone's interest. I hope I succeed but photobucket is not my friend tonight. I must reiterate what I've already tried to say - it's all up to the fellow who took the trophy how he wants the pictures taken. Maybe he doesn't want anyone at all in the photo, maybe he wants himself tucked away in a corner, or himself zoomed up and dominating the picture...Different strokes...Oh, I've already said that. Stand by for the different perspective pictures...

Dave

Standing by....

Here are some trophy photo's of a 65 pound bull taken by Don Adams last year. I think the different perspectives are very interesting. I think the first 6 make the ivory look smaller than it is, the next 6 do it justice, and the last 2 possibly make it look a little bigger than it is...What do you guys reckon? Honest opinions - which photo would you like for your trophy elephant bull?

Dave

5 is good, and 11 is just a really neat picture. I really like that one, the sepia tone gives it a touch of class that makes it stand out from other ele pics i've seen

David,those are great photos. My favorites are 4,6,7,10,11,12,13,and 14, with the last 4 being the best.

My favourite is no 10 by a long way. I really like the happy face of the hunter on it as well, not that he seems unhappy in the rest, mind you...!

All this talk of jumbo...makes me wanna go after one. As soon as my "share the wealth" cheque arrives, I'll be booking several top trophy tusker hunts with all my African PH friends. I'm just jiggy about it!
LDK

David,

I see our long entrenched 'leader' has extended the hand of friendship to your recently appointed leader in waiting. Do you think this will mean that we may also get a cut of the wealth sharing? I do hope so - maybe I can hunt my tiger after all!

Best regards, Dave