Hello All,

I just want to share with you the most memorable trip of my life. My son Christopher and I set off on safari to Namibia on 8/10.

We started at Uwe Trumper's airport farm in Windhoek. Yes, Windhoeks Hosea Kutako airport is literally right on the farm, making the commute a breeze. Uwe offers the classic African hospitality to go with his 20k acre free range hunt. Christopher was able to harvest a springbok, a world class red hartebeest, and a black wildebeest on an adjoining ranch. Uwe is highly recommended as a jumping off/resting ranch while offering the chance to hunt 6-7 species of plainsgame.

The next Monday found us at Eros airport for the 2 hour flight to Mapacha, in route to Vaughn Fulton's Caprivi strip concessions. The first day had us meeting the other elephant hunter in camp and sighting in. The business end of our shooting equipment checked out fine. Any miscues could only be blamed on operator error.

The first day was spent covering 150k of bad road looking for tracks. Christopher wanted to high tail it after the very first set of tracks - After all we are in Africa to follow elephants, not drive the roads, right? I love the enthusiasm of my son!

We returned to a promising area on day 2, and shortly found 7 bull tracks. The bushman trackers James and Zacharias set off in the lead. It was an amazing thing to experience. They can read bent grass the way you or I read interstate billboards. There was never a doubt we would catch up to the elephant. It was just a matter of what and when.

An hour and a half into the track we bumped into the back of the elephant. My Professional Hunter Fred Bezuidenhout positioned us 21 yards away from this awe inspiring bull. This was not a bull to pass up, even on day 2. Two shots later he was on the ground, and he required a few more insurance rounds to anchor him. He went 59.7 pounds at 75.5 ".

Vaughn's camps are clean and comfortable, right on the Chobe river and the Botswana border. While zebra were abundant, there was a serious lack of other game in the area. That only became apparent after dropping Jumbo early on in the hunt. It sets in that we are sitting in the Dark Continent with nothing much to hunt. We spent a few evenings fishing. The catfish were abundant, large, and eager. Kudos to VF for running e nice camp in a truly dangerous game area.

A big thanks again to Wendell Reich for setting up this fantastic hunt. This is truly the greatest show on earth, and to share it with my son made it twice as good.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30434362@N07/2850836735/in/photostream/





A little local color.

Nice bull. You can really see which one is the "working tusk".

Jack,

Congratulations on the bull ele and hunting with one's son is priceless...
Tell that young man great shooting..

Mike

Wow, terrific bull! Made all the more special by sharing it with your son, I am sure. Congrats!

Lucky kid, but that's a helluva' thing, making a lad that young shoot that big gun. Nice job all around, and thanks for sharing. That sunset/sunrise shot is gorgeous.

KG

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
Lucky kid, but that's a helluva' thing, making a lad that young shoot that big gun. Nice job all around, and thanks for sharing. That sunset/sunrise shot is gorgeous.

KG

KG, just to let you know I took that bull. It's great to get our children involved, but you just can't start them out at the top.

Thanks for the post!

Congradulations on the great hunt you had with your son. Fred was in camp with another hunter when I was there in July, he was a grreat guy to have in camp and I imagine a great PH.

That is an awesome elephant!

Congratulations, Jack. Great old bull.

Can you give us rifle enthusiasts some details?

What kind, caliber of double rifle did you use? What kind of ammo, bullets, etc.?

Again, congrats, and kudos too for taking the time and effort to introduce your son to African hunting.

MR,

Thanks for your post. The rifle I used is a .470 Blaser SR in Exclusive grade. My friend Alex Roy at www.eurooptic.com set me up with this beautiful rifle.






John LaSalle over at Safari Arms loaded the ammo, which was 500 grains of Barnes Banded solid, 2150 fps of bad news to whatever is on the receiving end. John has supplied me with the ammo for 5 safaris, and I could not recommend him enough. All you need to do is compare prices for the .470 from John and Cabelas.

I guess I could get into reloading, but I am afraid that I am that type of personality that needs to jump in with both feet. I do not have the room at my house to build my own shot tower, so I am on the reloading sidelines for now.

I took the Blaser S2 because of my past experiences with the R93. IMO they are the finest, most versatile production rifles available. But the S2 seemed at bit front heavy for my frame. I noticed Dr. Gordon's (the other elephant hunter in camp) Krieghoff was shorter and lighter than the S2. Almost like a quail gun compared to a goose gun.

Each frame has its advantages. The longer platform is most stable, but when things get sticky and you need to come to bear (pun intended) quickly, I am thinking the Krieghoff would feel better in my hands. At some point I will either trade or own one.

On another note, Uwe likes to bow hunt, and took me to stick this grand old gentleman.

Enjoy!

Congratulation Jack; that is a very good Elephant, I enjoyed you photographs.

Aziz

A great hunt and fantastic pics. Congratulations again, to you and your son!

Well done Jack. I am heading to the Caprivi w/ Vaughan next week, leaving Monday night. I am after buffalo & what ever I comes across the sights of my 404jeff.

Outstanding Jack, simply grand! Congrats to you both.
Good hunting,
David

That is a wonderful elephant. Just waiting patiently for my turn in August 2009. I am taking my wife and daughter who will be starting college that fall. I think this will be memorable all around for all of us. Not only hunting elephant but buffalo also. Having them photograph the hunt with my video camera. Should be some hunting scenes. 21 yards from one of the biggest and most inteligent animals on this planet, got to be an adrenalin rush.

driftwood

Great call on bringing your family. You will share an experiemce like mo other. A group on an ele hunt works. We had 7 on the track of jumbo and those extra bodies were no problem. You will have the time of your life!

Where are you hunting? What caliber are you bringing? The first thought I had upon seeing my bull up close was - I need a bigger gun.

Take a few minutes with you ph looking at an ele skull. Know in your mind where to place the first shot at different angles and attitudes. It will help you at showtime.

I hope your hunt is everything you wish for, and more.

I will hunt in an area picked by Vaughn. At this time only know it is the Caprivi Strip. It appears there are several area's there that he hunts for elephant and buffalo. Will probably learn more when I see him in Dallas. I will be bringing my Searcy 450 NE with 480 grain soft and solid woodleighs and my 416 Remington with 400 grain Barnes banded solids and 400 grain Swift soft points.

Now that is what I call a sunset!!

Congrats all round,
FB