I quite well know that there will never really be agreement on this, but what animal is the most difficult o hunt?

By 'hunt' I mean: Start out from base on foot with the intention of shooting just the one trophy you want, no artificial help. Just you finding, evaluation and shooting the trophy.

A trophy baboon, a really big old boy with long teeth? A trophy vervet monkey monkey, a big old boy with blue b....? A eally big kudu?

My vote is 50:50 between a queen impala and a bushpig.

A queen impala, i.e. a non-breeding female that is bigger, fatter and nicer tasting than the others. They are very scarce, only very seldom does a group have one, is very difficult to identify and you have to see the group well for a long time to be sure that there is or is not a queen amongst the lot, and then you have to get a clear shot at her from amongst the group. And she is always with a herd of many eyes to spot you.

A bushpig to be hunted on foot without dogs, lights or any other help is also quite a task. My all-time favorite animal to hunt!

But let's hear what the other hunters on this group regards as the most difficult to hunt. Not the cost due to scarcity, nor the logistics of getting up in the mountains or jungle, just the difficulty of setting out in the morning and what follows.

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren.

Serval without dogs?

i honestly must say i think kudu.
a trophy kudu bull...they are so alert and dissappear like nothing. and you can chase one forever

My vote is for either the serval or caracal without dogs.

If you hunt long enough, you will think one animal or another is almost impossible to shoot.

This seems to change from year to year, and area to area.

What might appear to be a very difficult animal one year, might be one of the easiest the next.

Vaal rhebuck, they are extremely wary, have exceptional eyesight, and paranoid beyond belief. Coupled to that, they live in fairly open terrain, so approch is difficult, and then you have to climb serios size mountains to get to where they live.

Bushpig, with dogs..............it nearly killed me chasing those howling bastards

And I'll second Karl's vote on Vaal Rhebok.

bongo and sitatunga, no doubt
even worse : giant forest hog

Eland, they can walk forever.

quote:

By 'hunt' I mean: Start out from base on foot with the intention of shooting "bagging" just the one trophy you want, no artificial help. Just you finding, evaluation and shooting bagging the trophy.

The human female.

quote:

Originally posted by DennisHP:

The human female.

They aren't as hard to find, as they are to get rid of, and you pay trophy fee both ways!

Daytime leopard while tracking on foot should be challenging.

Dak

It is, we do it with the clients in the Kalahari. It is a real thrill when you jump them and hear them roar. The trackers leave the track immediately!!

quote:

Originally posted by DennisHP:

quote:

By 'hunt' I mean: Start out from base on foot with the intention of shooting "bagging" just the one trophy you want, no artificial help. Just you finding, evaluation and shooting bagging the trophy.

The human female.

DennisHP,

Canned hunts for them, work well and once you've "killed", you don't have to put up with their bullshit

Elephant - virtually impossible on my budget!

Right on the money MacD37.

Mac and Dennis...the story of my life.

The most difficult PG is the one you want but fail to get.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Eland, they can walk forever.

And to make matters worse, an Eland's definition of "walk" and my definition of "walk" are two VERY different things.

As I understand the question, it isn't limited to PG. I'd have to agree that the most challenging to hunt on foot, without any artificial help is elephant. Antelope only, eland for the reasons mentioned above. Kudude

Poachers...

Mike

Second on the vaal rhebok. MUFASA

The one you haven't been able to take regardless of picking the best areas, best time of the season and hunting with the most talented PH. A really outstanding lion though might be at the top of the sheer difficulty list.

Mark

By far the most difficult African animal to hunt is the notorious budgetbeast (not to be confused with the harte or wilde). Very hard to bring down the first time and often needs multiple follow ups to get it to drop. Clearly some (the most lucky) on this board take it down hard with the first go, but others have a harder time due to the very astute and sharp eyed lookout that often rides on the back... the wifebird. Not to be confused with the common harpy... though it is from the same family.

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
Poachers...

Mike

Good one Macd37!

My hardest won trophy was a Burchell's Zebra with a bow.

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by DennisHP:

The human female.

They aren't as hard to find, as they are to get rid of, and you pay trophy fee both ways!

Especially for those of you that have to pay Alimony the trophy fee is never ending.