People ,
The story starts with a normal elephant hunt , seeing lots of bulls , Guy Gorney, a good friend of mine , serious hunter , a humble man with a great passion- one of those guys who its always a pleasure to be around - anyway he and I had been hunting hard we were holding out for something over 70#, so needless to say we were passing up some great bulls , it was day 8 , we had been seeing around 25-30 bulls per day , most of them were in the 30-50 pound class with the odd bull that was probably around 60 – still makes for some excellent elephant hunting though , man I will say it todays Africa its hard to simply walk away from a 60!

It was hot , we had hardly seen anything that morning which was usual for the area – we stopped for a “tea break” and decided we would go towards where I knew there were a series of pans which got very busy when the heat started – we were going to drive west of the pans and then spend the afternoon walking (and dodging cow herds ) along the 5 mile stretch where the pans were , there were about ten good pans and then any number of small and partially dry “wallows”.

We were just about to stop when we glimpsed a bull walking fast through the mature mopane – he really was moving pretty fast so we had to hustle – he hadn’t seen us , but was just in that deceptively fast gait that a travelling bull does – looks slow but is actually quite fast -and by the time we were mobile he was about 800 yards away – we still had only seen one tusk which looked okay but we definitely needed a closer look –

As we started to close the distance I could smell he was in musth – so that’s why he was at such a pace ! we simply couldn’t egt around him quietly so we just had to be patient and await some turns in the path he was following so we could see his tusks –

They looked great from where we are , and at that point I felt the game step up in pace , amazing when one sees something like that – then even though you are pretty sure its just what you were hoping for one needs to double and triple check !!

I told guy he would go over 70 and we should move in , so we walked literally as fast as a guy can walk without running – and made our way up behind him – at about 25 yards he heard us and looked back over his shoulder , the bush was open and we were right in the path behind him , we got prepared for his turn and as soon as he wheeled around I grabbed guy by the shirt (far easier and quicker than trying to whisper instructions) and pulled him to one side –

He had plenty of time , we had practiced a bunch on other bulls and guy had spent hours and hours on the range with his double –

The first shot went off , looked like a perfect shot from a placement perspective and the bull spun around , second shot went right in his ear a second later and it was over !!

We got up to the bull and he was excellent , well worthy of our choice – there is a lot of pressure on a ph at that moment – turn the bull down and you will never see him again , take him and the hunt is over and the check must be written for your choice !!!

He measured 19 inches at the lip and had 44 inches sticking out on his largest tusk – which went 73 pounds ! his smaller tusk was 69.

Now heres the interesting part –

I left guy and his wife sue to simply enjoy their trophy ,we all left them to it for a few minutes and went back over the hunt – I was shaking with excitement – happens every time after the fact when you take a bull !

Then as we were walking back to them half an hour later bashop my lead tracker bends down and picks up a freshly fired .470 bullett – what the!?

It was laying three feet in front of the bulls tracks as he stood on the first shot – it has a small smear of blood on and a bunch of snot ???!!!

This was obviously the subject of very much discussing and pontification so as soon as we were done with trophy photos and recovery we set about with an elephant autopsy –

What had transpired is that the bullet had travelled through the meat of his trunk had been stopped by the bone just in front of the nasal cavity , the elephant had at that point shaken his head and the bullet had been snorted/blown/fallen out of his trunk !!!!!!

It was obviously seriously lacking in muzzle velocity to only travel through what we measured as 18 inches of muscle and no mark on the bone that stopped it – had it penetrated the shot would have been perfect and the bull would have been dead –

Just when you think you have seen it all something like this happens !!!!

Guy and his bull



another angle !



the moment of truth !!!





76 inches of ivory !!


ps. the long tusk is bound with so much duct tape as it a had a wierd rot at its base , not an old bullett i dont think - just a deformity

Was it hand loaded or factory ammo? Beautiful bull btw.

Ivan, great ele and the story while only half finished leaves a question does it not?? Or was the finish left out on purpose?

half on purpose !!!

superior

Factory load or hand load? Sounds like a mistake in powder charge. Not the kind of thing you want to find out when you are standing in front of dangerous game. All the more reason to have two doubles on the firing line.

Beautiful trophy.

BTW which bullet was he shooting?

Great story/photos, its good to have you near a computer.. Let's see some more photos from this season..please

quote:

BTW which bullet was he shooting?

hornady bullett - i will look for a pic , no deformation at all on the bullett

Incredible story and fantastic bull, congratulations to everyone on the team!

Brings up some questions in my mind... Ivan great story and to the hunter a great trophy.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:

quote:

BTW which bullet was he shooting?

hornady bullett - i will look for a pic , no deformation at all on the bullett

Does it not go without saying?

quote:

Let's see some more photos from this season..please

will get some posted anton - stand by

Great story! That could have gone ugly quickly.

Ivan, another good reason you have a 600 NE!

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Ivan, another good reason you have a 600 NE!

I thought in the CB movies Ivan is/was shooting a 450 NE?

Great story Ivan.

Bad ammunition, obviously. Seems as though something must have been wrong with the powder charge.

But the hunter certainly did well to get off a quick second shot, and put another bullet right where it was needed.

And that's a great elephant bull. Congrats!

Wonderful stuff!! Thanks so much for sharing.

Looks like a Merkel 470. Is that correct? Was it factory Hornady ammo?

I suspect there is a small % of people that actually reload for these large calibers. I weigh every single charge when I load cartridges to 1/10 of a grain. You cannot trust your powder throwers. It would appear that many folks like IMR 4831 for the 470. IMR 4831 will not throw a complete charge at least 10% of the time due to its long grain design. It will stop up a bit in the throat of the powder thrower. The new SC designs should be better. You can short charge a cartridge using this powder along with 7828 etc if you are not careful and measure every load.
It is unlikely you will short charge a cartridge with a spherical powder; RL-15.
If you short charge one cartridge you may over charge the next due to the powder left in the thrower from the prior load.
Confused??

A great example of why you should always weigh ALL of your rounds (factory or reload) before setting out on a hunt.

Great story and great shooting!

Great Elephant, good story. Will we see this one on TAA this coming year?

I weigh charges for all my big bores.

Rich

Rifle action shows it to be a Heym and not a Merkel. I like to not only weigh each powder charge. I weigh each finished round to make sure they are within a few grains of eachother.

Mac

Great story and photos, Ivan!

Looking to hear the rest of the story.......impatiently, I might add!

"I grabbed the guy by the shirt......"

Careful Mate, that sort of behavior drives some people on this forum nuts.

It's best to yell in their ear what you want them to do.

quote:

Originally posted by McKay:
Rifle action shows it to be a Heym and not a Merkel. I like to not only weigh each powder charge. I weigh each finished round to make sure they are within a few grains of eachother.

Mac

It looks like a Merkel to me too. Did they ever say who loaded the cartridge???

quote:

Looks like a Merkel 470. Is that correct? Was it factory Hornady ammo?

it was a heym

quote:

Great Elephant, good story. Will we see this one on TAA this coming year?

ISS - yes the video came out great it will definitely air just not sure when -

quote:

It looks like a Merkel to me too. Did they ever say who loaded the cartridge???

lane ,
it was a heym with superior ammo

quote:

"I grabbed the guy by the shirt......"

Careful Mate, that sort of behavior drives some people on this forum nuts.

applogies to all , this is what it should have read ,
"gently and very respectfully having asked prior if it was okay ,and having it in writing that it would not offend him , i took the gentleman by the shirt utilising a pre- arranged signal for him to follow me into where i percieved was the best place to make the shot" -

all better now ?????

Ivan,

Sent you a PM.

Nice bull... congrats to the hunter! Glad that dud wasn't fired in the midst of a cock-up! Sometimes we take the simple things for granted when we shouldn't... but I don't know how to guard against a squib round.

Ivan, that truly is a once in a lifetime experience and what a trophy to boot. That had to be a sobering moment when you walked up on the bullet laying on the ground and inspected the sub-par penetration.

congratulations on a fine bull!

The squib load is exactly why I load my own ammo. I not only weigh every charge, I weigh all my cases before loading them to match the brass, but weigh the finished rounds as well. Every round is loaded into both barrels of my double to assure proper fit.

As ezrider said many like 4831 powder, but my choice is H-4831sc in the 470NE it dumps well from a powder measure, but I dump the load in the scale pan for weighing useing a trickeler.

Man that was a hunt to remember, including the squib load that in the wrong place could have been a sh**t slinging fan if that bull hadn't turned and/or the second shoot been so well placed! Again congratulations

Outstanding job Ivan!

Congratulations Guy. I had not seen the pictures. Speaking of pictures, Ivan, where is a pic of the big bodied, old bull that Guy shot?

I know Guy, and Ivan's description of Guy as a dedicated hunter and a soft spoken person is spot on. Guy and I shared camp in Tanzania a number of years ago and since we both work in the same industry have stayed in contact since then. The rifle is a Heym. Guy does not reload, to the best of my knowledge.

Congrats again Guy and Ivan.

appologies gentlemen the bullett was a woodleigh not hornady , i just got a pic from guy and will post it tommorow

mike , will post the management bull tommorow aswell

Yikes!
Great bull and perfect shooting, but there's that "weak link" theory again.
Consider the RCBS Chargemaster. It's become my favorite reloading toy. The convenience of a dispenser, and the precision of weighing each charge. By the time I've seated a bullet, the next charge is ready. I may start weighing finished rounds, though, after reading this!
I learn something new every day, and at my age I'm getting sick of it.

Ivan - PM outbound to you.

mike , here is guys management bull -


the bullett !!!

Very interesting story Ivan, thanks for posting.