August 15 – 31, 2012

Hunter– Doug Shelly, Observer – Cindy Shelly

Elephant - 2

Safari Company – Butler and Holbrow – Peter and Greg are top shelf and Kelly did a great job with correspondence before the hunt.

Booking Agent – Jeff C. Neal Inc. – Greg Brownlee once again did a great job handling all of the details and answering my many questions.

Area– CH1 and CH2, Chobe Enclave – Botswana

PH – Peter Holbrow – Peter was a fantastic PH. He was hard working and a fun guy to be around. I would hunt with him again in a heart beat.

Trackers – Picture, Sekora and Mmereki – These guys were amazing.

Rifle - .416 Rigby left hand bolt action with Schmidt and Bender Zenith 1.1-4x24. I took my Dakota .375 H&H as a back up but did not use it.

Ammo – Hornady DGS 400 grain solids

Travel – Kathi Klimes @ Wild Travel – We flew Delta out of Atlanta and did the overnight in Johannesburg. Kathi had us use Henry at Rifle Permits for the meet and greet. He was great and I will use his services again. The following morning we flew to Vic Falls where we were met by Greg Butler’s mother and husband. We spent some time enjoying the falls and then drove to the Botswana boarder. This is where Peter met us.

We did not have any major issues traveling with rifles but I honestly don’t enjoy it. It seems to be getting more and more difficult and time consuming. When we left Botswana for home out of Kasane we spent almost 2 hours clearing the rifles with the police and the airline.

This was a first for me on the trip home - Air Botswana kept the key to my tuffpack rifle case until we landed in Joburg. I had to ask it for it when we got off the plane. I don’t think the rest of the passengers were too happy as they were all loaded up in a bus that would take us all to the main terminal – but they had to wait until the flight crew could locate my gun key.

Coming back into Atlanta was much simpler and quicker than it was last year. TSA was actually friendly and efficient. We made our connecting flight easily.

Important travel note - I have learned so much on AR over the years. One of the tips I picked up here is to always check the luggage tags the airlines place on your bags to make sure they are going to the correct destination. We flew out of our home airport which is Harrisburg PA. There was only one attendant behind the counter when we checked in and he was overwhelmed with customers. After he had our bags tagged I asked if I could check them. Sure enough one of them was headed to San Antonio Texas instead of Johannesburg.

Camp – We stayed in what they called the Martini Camp. It was very comfortable with great beds and we always had hot running water. The staff was terrific and we felt right at home. The food was delicious and despite all of the walking I still managed to gain a few pounds.

Preparation – I enjoy preparing for these hunts. I am a detail nut and so planning for the trip is a big part of the overall experience. I went lighter than I have on previous hunts and still had a couple of items I didn’t use. Physical training – I was walking 6 to 10 miles per day about 5 days per week on a rail trail that is close to our home. I can’t even tell you how many miles we tracked elephant – but it was many!! I felt like I was well prepared.

The Hunt – This was my first time elephant hunting. I am a whitetail hunter at heart and so I enjoy the blind/stand experience the most. I knew I would enjoy this tracking type of hunt but it far exceeded my expectations. The intensity of being in and around elephant at 25 yards just blew me away. I absolutely enjoyed every single day. I am thoroughly hooked!!!

I would estimate that on average we saw 15 to 25 bulls each day. Occasionally we would see the same bulls but it was usually different groups of bulls. The number of cows and calves was certainly in the hundreds if not over a thousand in our 13 days.

I was able to take two elephant on this hunt. The first came on day 9 and the second bull we killed on the last morning which was day 13. Both were taken with a heart/lung shot. The brain shot did not present itself well on either one so I opted for the high percentage shot. My first elephant was quartering away a bit which I did not pick up on when I shot. I hit the lungs but missed the heart. He went a lot further than I had hoped for but the trackers did an amazing job keeping us on him. The second elephant was a perfect heart/lung and expired after about 50 yards.



We enjoyed the views at Vic Falls





The wonderful Martini Camp











Cindy took these pictures from the Dining tent one evening. There were hyena, kudu, jackal and lion that would come into this water hole. The water hole was about 30 yards from our sleeping tent.

There were a few female lion that came in right at dark the first couple of nights. My wife Cindy was not terribly thrilled with this. On the 6th day of the hunt we were heading to breakfast and of course it was dark. We took about 5 steps from our tent and heard the roar of a lion that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I turned on my Surefire flash light and there lay a huge maned lion 25 yards from us at the water hole. I was absolutely in awe. It looked right at me and roared again and I realized it was time to move on. Cindy already had moved on and I thought this elephant hunt might be over. Peter and the staff did a great job of “Counseling” and keeping her in camp. She enjoys telling the story now.









This is the great crew that we spent 13 days with.





Elephant #1 was taken on the 9th day.








The tusk on the left had about 8 to 10 inches of rotted ivory at the base. You’ll notice that the discoloration of the ivory that was under the lip shows much less on the left tusk than the right. We figure he may have had a tooth ache for a number of years and the ivory would have eventually fallen out.





Elephant #2 was taken on the 13th and final day.




















More pictures























This was a cool little creature that blended right in with the grass. They appropriately called is a stick bug.





A satellite dish in the African bush.













































Having a great martini in the Martini camp.





It seemed like the guys were always cold.


















This is a picture of Picture. He was our head tracker and yes his name was Picture. We ran into his mother in the village one day. It took a lot of coaxing to get him to put his arm around her for this picture of Picture. He was an extremely hard working yet easy going guy. He was an awesome tracker.





This is Peter Holbrow my PH. I can’t say enough great things about Peter. He worked extremely hard, told great stories, encouraged me constantly, always informed me of the plan, asked for my input, taught me a ton about elephant hunting, treated his staff extremely well, made sure the staff attended well to my wife and made her feel comfortable …….I could go on and on. He was a fantastic PH.





I bought a charm bracelet for my wife and gave her a different charm each night by the camp fire. You’ll notice there is a martin glass on the charm. It was ironic because I didn’t know we would be staying in the Martini camp. If you look hard you can see an elephant charm as well.















This is a picture of the ivory in the skinning shed. The early shipment of ivory was already sent out so this is half of what was taken to this point this year. I believe they still had 4 more hunts to do yet. The “White Gold” was an awesome sight!!!!!!

















This is the first cigarette I’ve smoked since I was 14 years old. I hesitated a bit to show this picture but………It’s the toughest I’ve ever looked. You all know the rest of the story. It was my last shot taken in Botswana.





I was very humbled by the opportunity to hunt these magnificent creatures. This was not just a hunt – It was an adventure and experience that created incredible memories for me and my wife. It had extreme highs as well as a few lows as any adventure should have. I am thrilled with the outcome and can’t thank Peter and his staff enough!!!



Doug Shelly

Thanks for the great report and photo's Doug.
Well done!!!!!! Ouch on that last photo.

Fantastic, two great bulls, and most important you and your wife had a trip of a lifetime!! Very well done!

Great report and beautiful pictures, Doug.

Do you have a brother? You look exactly like another hunter on here; I just have to remember who that is.

Could I get some details on your rifle, please? It is great to see such a beautiful piece with the bolt handle on the proper side.

Thanks for posting and now I'm off to buy my wife a charm bracelet......

Doug, Fantastic and tell your wife, it was really worth being there and telling her friends how close simba was. Love that Leupold loop.

Mike

that is a stud of a kudu, congrats on the hunt and the 2 ele's.

Good stuff Doug. Reminds me of the good times we had in the City Lodge as we prepared for our respective adventures in 2011. Glad that we are still living the dream.

Awesome report Doug, that Kudu is a whopper.

Great report,congratulations on such a great experience!

Great pictures and beautiful tuskers there.

Thanks for posting your report.

Great hunt report. Looks like you're trying to compete with Jim Shockey and scope eye.

Well done Sir!! Congratulations on an oustanding trip!!

Great pictures and report! That Kudu is a bomb! Congrats!

Well done Doug and well deserved. I know you had been looking forward to that hunt for some time now. Great report and photos.

What next?

Double well done!!!
THat hunt is next on my list.

Congrats on your hunt..... thanks for the great report

Congrats Doug!

Congratulations on a great hunt.

Arjun Reddy
www.huntersnetworks.com

Great report and two fine ellie bulls! Well done.

Wonderful - Huge congrats!!!

Very good report and taking two nice bulls congrats you will be going back again I am sure

Doug,
Great write up and pictures, I hope your wife is hooked as well. Love the more unique pictures of the locals.

Congratulations. Enjoyed your report and photos greatly. Can't believe how low Victoria Falls is as compared to July when we saw it.

Simply an incredible adventure - thank you for sharing and the photos!

What weights did they go?

Orvar

Doug:

What are the estimates of the tusk weights?

One has to love some of the African names. We had two guys with unique names . Director and Casual. Only in Africa!

Sir, congrats on a good hunt and a couple of nice bulls!

I hunted out of the same camp/area in 2008, lots of elephants!

Well done!!!! Thanks for posting a great report and photos!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

Outstanding!!!!!!!!!

Thanks all.

The first bull weighed in at 58 lbs on the long ivory. It was 52" out from the lip and 79" total length. It measured just shy of 16" at the lip. I didn't get a weight on the shorter side that was rotted at the base. I would guess it at around 50 lbs.

The second bull was 17" at the lip and carried its weight well. It's obviously not as long as the first elephant but is heavier. I received an email yesterday that it weighed in at 61 lbs on the camp scale.

I have two very different looking sets of ivory and I couldn't be happier.

JJbull - Thanks for noticing that I shoot "correct handed". I bought the rifle from Cabela's 3 years ago and did some research on it. The rifle was built in 1988 by Duane Wiebe for a gentleman named Carl Brown who has since passed away. I've been in touch with his son to learn a little more about it's history. I love this rifle and can't wait to use it again.



Doug

quote:

...and I realized it was time to move on. Cindy already had moved on...

This line really cracked me up. I don't even want to think about how things would go for me if I put my wife into that situation!

Stupendous report, great trophies, and wonderful photography. Congratulations!

Great report Doug, appreciate the complement at the top and loved all the photos! Well done!

Greg

Doug,

Congratulations to you and Cindy for a spectacular hunt. Thank you for sharing. Greg and Kelly run a first class organization. Your report made us want to be there again…and that kudu!

Paul

Congratulations on a great hunt. Thanks for the fine report and photos. There is no hunt like an elephant hunt!

Doug,

Congrats on two wonderful bulls!!!! Great story and great hunt. I was in Martini camp prior to you. The Lions in camp treated me with the same disdain. One night a lioness roared within 20' of my tent at 1am. She certainly got my attention. Props to your wife on that one.

Great pictures included in your story, there are some great Kudu in the concession!

I estimated I saw 150 Elephants per day with 15-30 bulls. Where did you shoot the bulls? It looks like the forest? Did you hunt in the Paras / Setou area many days? It appears one photo above is from there, it is beautiful.

Peter told me you are from PA, like myself. I told him he will know everything there is to know about our great state by the end of August.

Congrats again!

Bryan

Congrats on such a great hunt and thanks for the wonderful photos.

Hey Bryan,

Peter told us that you were from the great state of PA. It sounded like you had a good hunt as well. I hope things are well in the great city of Reading.

We spent most of our time hunting the forest areas. We weren't seeing nearly as many elephant by the river and very few good bulls. And I loved hunting the forest!!

Where did you get your elephant?


Doug

Congratulations on a great hunt!

Doug,

We hunted the forest quite a bit and walked many of the blocks. While hunting the river two guys in a truck told us Parakurunga (aka Paras) had lots of Elephants. We went there the next day and it all worked out.

Peter is great!

Bryan

Congratulations on two grand Bulls