bwanamrm,

Very well done! I've looked at taking this same trip many times and 2005 many well be the year. I didn't see where you stated what caliber you used or bullets? If you'd care to e-mail or PM me your phone number I'd like to talk to you about it.

Another picture of my bull and cow.

I shot my bull on th last day of the safari. We had been on this particular bull's track for the last three days and had walked over 60 kms. following his big and distinctive track. He had a crack on his left rear foot that looked like a lightning bolt and came halfway across the pad. On the last day we followed him and two younger askaris into the thick jess. After bumping him four times, the trackers found them resting but wary about twenty-five yards away. I took a heart/lung shot....then a shoulder shot when he took off. He ran about 60 yards and went down.

Nice pictures! How much bigger would you describe the bull to be?
Did you get to weigh the ivory?
Good hunt!

Boghossian: The bulls are a third larger than the cow. We estimated my cow at 6,000 lbs. and the bull close to 10,000. The tusks are estimated to weigh from 38 to 40 lbs. on the good side and 25lbs. on the working side. Buzz e-mailed me this morning and let me know they found an old bullet in the socket of the smaller tusk that had been there quite a while. What a life the old boy must have led!

Fred: Thanks! I saw eight bulls in ten days of hunting. Buzz was disappointed and thought we should have seen at least one group of bulls a day. There are some really good elephant in the Valley. I know they killed a seventy-five pounder in the area I was hunting in May and a fifty pounder in June. They are there but elephant move miles in search of food in a day, so sometimes luck and timing are on your side and sometime they are not! However, I would definitely hunt this area for elephant again! Buzz was so confident we would shoot out early he stocked the camp with shotguns and shells for bird shooting. (a secret passion we both share) Oh well, the best laid plans!

Thanks Ann!

Fantastic hunt!! Some super shooting also.

Mike

Very well done!

Russell,

You did very well yourself, I really enjoyed your cow elephant story and the rest of your post, good pictures also. I passed up a bushpig, of course now I wish I had not, would have gone well with my warthog. You shot a very nice warthog also. I am impressed with your shot on the cow, spot on, good thing you didn't realize she was charging. I hope to go back for elephant in a couple of years, what size bulls did you see (tusk weight) and were there very many? As you know we were right next to you in Chewore South June 24th - June 30th, before we went to the Save.

Fred