The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Mt. Nyala or LD ElandGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I'm contemplating a book project from a publisher who's asked me to write about my hunts for the LD Eland and Mt. Nyala. I'm in a research stage right now and am consulting a bevy of hunting experts on the matter. It comes down to this question. "Which one is the better trophy?" After the dangerous seven the progression is to head out after Lord Derby, Mt. Nyala and Bongo. I've got the first two checked off the list. The Bongo, while a fine trophy, doesn't seem to stir the passions, like the other two do. So let me ask this forum to weigh in on the above question. I'd really like input from people across the spectrum; who've taken them both, have read stories about them, have seen mounted trophies of both, who've hunted one or the other. For those who've hunted neither your input is valued as well. If I gave you $50K and told you to select a safari for LDE or MN which one would you choose? | ||
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For 50K I would hunt Marco Polo. I have shot the big 4 but I really have no desire to pursue LDE or Mt. Nyala. I would rather concentrate my efforts on other animals outside of Africa. Who can explain it? | |||
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LDE . . . its seems to me that the MN is a specialized hunt where likely the MN will be your only (or one of few) trophies taken, while on a hunt for LDE you can mix in a bag of west African PG and/or one of the smaller buff races. And besides, the LDE is a more impressive animal IMHO. Troy Hibbitts | |||
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Without a doubt a big LDE is my choice of those two but personally I would rather have that 50 inch Sable you are going after Mark!!! Bob Clark | |||
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Marc, I would go with the Mt. Nyala for sure. A more "exotic" animal than the LDE, beautiful-unique terrain, from a country with alot of history that you can write something interesting about...not just the usual kill story. Sounds interesting, good luck! | |||
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Of course LDE !!! Seloushunter Nec Timor Nec Temeritas | |||
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AAZW: I do understand the Marco Polo quest and see myself going there one day, but I'd like you to give the question a second thought, especially because of your experience. If you had to choose between one of those two African animals, which one? | |||
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This is a great problem to have! I'd say LDE. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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Lord Derby Eland would get my $$$$ for a book. | |||
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Mt. Nyala are much better than LDE in my opinion. All eland look like cows to me and the LDE is just a cow with bigger horns. ALLEN W. JOHNSON - DRSS Into my heart on air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again. A. E. Housman | |||
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MT NYALA hands down, just the visit to their home range would be a special treat. | |||
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Mt. Nyala gets my vote. The habitat is shrinking for this animal and hunting for it has closed at least once in the past. Ten years from now you will be able to hunt LDE but I would not bet that would be the case with Mt. Nyala. | |||
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Ethopia and you know who lives there... Hands down. Mark will you be in Dallas? Mike | |||
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It is probably because I don't know enough about them, but Mt. Nyala has never cranked me up. Neither did LDE until I saw one mounted a few years ago at DSC. Now, the LDE really impresses me and I'm intrigued with hunting them and bongo. "There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark | |||
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LDE, no contest...not that either one is likely to happen for me in this lifetime. | |||
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Who lives there??
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My vote goes to LDE. | |||
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I'll take the LDE as well. The other animals on license in this area are a big plus. | |||
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+1 I wouldn't have been so certain until seeing that pedestal mount of Mr. Boddington's LDE. What a trophy! | |||
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The Lord Derby Eland. Paul Smith SCI Life Member NRA Life Member DSC Member Life Member of the "I Can't Wait to Get Back to Africa" Club DRSS I had the privilege to fire E. Hemingway's WR .577NE, E. Keith's WR .470NE, & F. Jamieson's WJJ .500 Jeffery I strongly recommend avoidance of "The Zambezi Safari & Travel Co., Ltd." and "Pisces Sportfishing-Cabo San Lucas" "A failed policy of national defense is its own punishment" Otto von Bismarck | |||
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LDE...they just look cooler Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Sevenxbjt I have seen Mr. Watts LDE pedestal mount at High Country taxidermy, very impressive indeed! | |||
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Marc, I don't have the bongo or Mt. Nyala. I think I'll try for the bongo first if I can scrape up the coin. There is something about the real jungles of central Africa that I find intriguing. If I were in the situation where I had to pick one of the three and had taken none of them but knew what I know now I'd still pick the bongo. The LDE hunt can be quite easy so it can be left until you may not be in the best of physical condition. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Mountain Nyala!!! Only one country in the world to hunt them. What was the quote that James Mellon made about there are only two animals worth hunting twice in Africa, bongo and Mountain Nyala. Kathi kathi@wildtravel.net 708-425-3552 "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." | |||
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If I was pressed to say which is the better trophy, I would say the Mountain Nyala. Visually impressive, somewhat unusual and probably more likely to be cut out of active hunting in the future. If you were to give me the hunt, I would take the Mountain Nyala for that reason. I will admit that if I paid for it myself, the hunt would more likely be after LDE as there are more species I have not hunted before in that area, but as both areas are new to me, it would be a fun thought provoking exercise. Good question, I did have to sit and think about this one. | |||
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Marc: I am flattered (because lots of people have more experience here than I do) but I guess I would have to say the Mt. Nyala is the more impressive for me, for the simple reason the shots are longer and the risk of failure seems greater. But the LDE is the more impressive trophy. I find the best books books on Africa, at least for me, are the ones that tell tales of the hunt. I think Boddington does that very well in his books that recount his various hunts. It is why O'Connor was so popular. On the other hand, a book that provides instruction on a specific species is money well spent. I guess I see this kind of book as having a fairly narrow audience. I also have little desire to hunt anything "once." If I like it, I want to go back. So the threat of closure does little to motivate me; in fact, it has the opposite effect. I am not a "collector" although my trophy room is important to me. I just enjoy being outside hunting. My trophies take me outside when I am inside. | |||
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LDE and possibly pick up a Western Roan and forest buffalo. | |||
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Another vote for LD Eland. | |||
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Having not hunted the LDE, MN or bongo, I would be inclined to go for the LDE first because the chance for other game on the same safari is greater and it makes a very impressive trophy. For pure trophy impressiveness, nothing equals a full body mount bongo IMO but it like MN I'm led to believe is a more specialized hunt. If you give me $50k, I'll head back to the Selous! Have gun- Will travel The value of a trophy is computed directly in terms of personal investment in its acquisition. Robert Ruark | |||
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After seeing your two LDE mounts in person, I would definitely go after LDE. Mountain nyala doesn't really interest me as much as a bongo does either. But i'm 50k short so it'll have to wait... hahaha, good luck with your book. | |||
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I have only hunted LDE not MT N. But if you gave me the 50k I would ask you to please let me hunt Bongo instead because I have hunted them also, and I would love to do it again. To me only, Pure deep forest hunting is so much more of an experience than the less attractive but difficult and therefore rewarding LDE hunt. MT Nyala does nothing for me. Great country, but sitting on your butt glassing for long distance (read boring) shooting or hunting them like elk in elk like forest ain't for me. As someone once told me, "they are just runty Kudu ain't they." I would hunt Bongo in the forest near the Cameroon/CAR border (probably CAR) rather than further East in CAR where it aint really the same forest and in north or east CAR they often shoot out of tree stands (machans) (too much like whitetail/unrewarding shooting). They even have been known to shoot bongo in that part of CAR at night with a lazer pointer as a guide (remember the white Bongo?). You have the $ so do not cross Bongo off your list. We are the only hope to keep the damn africans from turning every living thing in the forest into bush meat. Damn all poachers. sorry I digress. | |||
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Moja asked for input from people who have taken both and have mounted trophies?? Don't see many replies following that request? Larry Sellers SCI Life Member | |||
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Umm Larry, he asked everyone. | |||
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Mountain Nyala!! No question in MY mind. Seems to be more of a challenging hunt. I would rather go for a Bongo if given the opportunity, though. The only easy day is yesterday! | |||
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A lot more people have taken LD than Mtn Nyala. | |||
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Mt. Nyala!!! | |||
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I think your book should be based on which hunt was the best hunting experience for you...this will make the best reading material. I would hunt the forests of central africa before ethiopia given the choice. | |||
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"Mountain nyala hunting will attract the specialist, the connoisseur, the fanatic collector who would rather come home with one exquisite rarity than with thirty plains animals, all of record class. But it is also a sport for those who enjoy the means as well as the end-those who love the daily grind of a challenging hunt in spectacular country, regardless of whether a suitable trophy is taken". James Mellon African Hunter Kathi kathi@wildtravel.net 708-425-3552 "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page." | |||
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In a mount or on the hoof, I think the LDE is more impressive to the eye, but I would personally be more impressed to see the mountain nyala knowing what it represents in terms of rarity and the specialized difficult hunting. Caleb | |||
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Another vote for Mt. Nyala. They look absolutely gorgeous and regal. LDE is also attractive but Mt. Nyala to my eyes is something extra special. The price of knowledge is great but the price of ignorance is even greater. | |||
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