elephants with a bow?

[Henry McCann]

Hunt it,

I found the article and you're right, it was Steve Kobrine. He shot 3 cape buffalo and a hippo on the same trip. His dad took buffalo and an elephant, but he hunts with a rifle.

[JRH]

Howdy,

FYI Craig Ekin (Howard Hill Archery) is manufacturing a limited number of Hill Elephant Broadheads.  Hill took 3 elephants and a Rhino with this head.  260gr. measures 1.25" X 4".  It's not listed on the web site but just call him and he will fix you up.
406-363-1359  

[Kruger]

Rick and Dean, good to see you guys. I have amazingly only heard about tradgang on the last hunt...week ago.
I took tonto on that elephant and it was apart from great fun, also scary some times...lukily tonto can shoot straight.

Some facts for those interested.
Somehwere around 40 000 elephant need to be shot/removed from Botswana as they pose a serious threat to the ecology. They push over large trees and thereby destroying forests and the subsequent top soil. Desert is the end result as you can never replace the top soil again. Taking into consideration all the other plant, animal and insect species down with it, it makes it rather scary.

Where we hunt in Zimbabwe, and believe me it is NOT a prime area, there are 2500 elephant just in that one consession. We remove about 5 elephant anually there...so it is quite light on the elephant population.
The elephant we see in Parks and Zoos are 100% different from wild elephant.

I have been invited by a client to Matetsi in 2006 to bow hunt elephant as he wants to be a witness. I probably would use my Matthews safari at 100# with a 950 gr arrow (31"). I am sure I will get enough penetartion. (This will only happen if we have all the permits)
I would rather guide a bow hunter on elephant than on a buffalo hunt....depending on the hunter and the sircumstances that is.

One thing for sure, if you hunt the wild elephant in Zimbabwe or Mozambique, it is not goin to be a walk in the park and preparations would not be a lightly taken affair.
You can find yourself inside a herd of 100 elephant where the grass is so tall that you cannot see them...dangerous is not the word.

Monty Browning has my respect and so Gary Bogner. Monty went, I think, five times before the right opportunity arose for him. And I stand corrected, he did not have a rifle guarding him...correct me if I am wrong.

Aboutr all those old timers shooting elephant with 70-80# recurves/longbows....i thought I saw some queries on that.
 
Depsite the fact that regulations state that a bow hunter must be guided by a rifle carrying Professional Hunter on dangerous game, I would still like to hear what the hunters have to say about it. If we need a rifle to back us up, doesn't it defeat the purpose of being a bow hunter.
Level playing field between bow hunter and quarry, isn't it what we stand for?
This is not intended as an argument, but rather what I would use to fight the rifle hunters when they "attack" us for carrying bows when hunting the dangerous animals.

If I am asked whether I would guide a bow hunter on a Buffalo or Elephant hunt, carrying only my bow as the back-up weapon, I would definitely say no. Remember as a PH I would be responsible for the client's safety.
I personally would not want to have a rifle with me on a buffalo/elephant bow hunt. As a hunter/bow hunter I would rather take the consequences.....or not hunt them at all.

I see a lot of people brag about shooting buffalo and lion with a bow in South Africa. I can tell you the true facts about some of those hunts. That is there choice and perfectly legal, but I hate to see tape measures coming out and braggings about SCI #1 or top 10. Let them come with me and tonto to Zimbabwe to hunt wild buffalo and elephant and you will get a different story. We measure (weigh) the hunter there and not the hunted.
Shooting a buffalo at 10 yards from a bow hunting blind is not an achievement in my book.

The guy who shot that elephant and got a clean pass through...that is the truth, I will back him up. There are also many other hunts that are 100% factual.

I can be e-mailed at [email protected] for more information on elephant.

Kruger

[Jock]

Thanks Kruger!!

[Whitehair]

In the latest "Bowhunter" issue, there is a Rocket Broadhead add with some hunters that took elephants and a hippo with their bows...but they all used compounds.

Howard Hill's "Wild Adventure" has a great story about his elephant, as does "Fred Bear's Field Notes"

[Bowspirit]

Just To clarify the confusion on the gear used by Chuck Adams, he used a 100 pound Hoyt Super Slam compound bow. His arrows were 830 grains and composed of a 16 inch XX78 2117 shaft epoxied inside a full length XX78 2317, backed behind a Zwickey 2-blade Black Diamond broadhead. His bow lurched them forward at 220 fps. and produced around 90 ft.-lbs. of KE. Yet, his mammoth missle was stopped dead by one of his bulls ribs, and the animal was stopped by a perfect behind the ear, 15 yard shot from his guide's .458 bolt.

[Beartracker]

The Elephant and Hippo were taken with the 145g teflon coated 2 blade "Eclipse broadhead. I have been useing this two blade broadhead for several years now and love it!. Here is the story and pictures. Mike
 http://eclipsebroadheads.com/index.htm

[The Dutchman]

Hi every body, in this months issue of Africa's Bowhunter and Archer- page22 is an article by Rassie Erasmus of "Archery Africa" where he tell of an elephant he shot in a hunting area next to the Matoesadona National Park. He shot and killed her with one shot through the heart, with a modified Mathews Black Max 2 and a 850gr arrow.
regards "The Dutchman"

[The Dutchman]

I'm, sorry this happend in Zimbabwe this year.

[PAPALAPIN]

Don't forget BOB SWINEHEART

[Rick McGowan]

Hi Kruger! Sorry It took me so long to look at this thread, but you posted while I was in Australia and I have been pretty busy since I got back. I don't have any experience hunting elephant, but I have a fair bit on water buffalo and I know I wouldn't want to back up a bowhunter with my bow and I haven't had anyone suggest that they would want it either. I would hunt them by myself without a rifle back up, but then I only have myself to worry about. My mate in OZ nearly got himself done in by an unprovoked cow buff while guiding a bowhunter and there is a very good chance that someone would have died had the rifle not been there and it was a close call even then. I had a close call with a bull in a bad mood from who knows what, but the terrain was in my favor. Anyone that thinks a backup rifle makes a dg hunt "safe" hasn't got a clue.

[Basalt]

G'day guys, [g'day Erron how are you doing, if you don't ask mate you'll never know hey?]there's a few lifetimes of experience in these posts and I'd like to tap a bit if I could. First I'd like to ask a question that I hope someone may clear up for me. Now I'd like it made clear that I'm a Howard Hill fan and have read most of his books and shot his long bows. Over the years i've heard it said that his Elephant [not sure if it was his first or not] was shot in the knee first before he drew on it? True or False?? I was also just going to comment on hunting danerous game with or without back-up. I can only pass comment on our Water Buffalo I have bowhunted them both with and more recently without back-up. I totally agree with Rick, the terrain has a lot to do with the call. My hunting mates and I gave it a whole bunch of thought before we left the .458 back in camp for the entire hunt. We had all been hunting together for a bunch of years and knew what we were up against. Two Buffalo, two arrows no drama but I'm the same as you Rick, I would NOT do that hunt with a client or someone I didn't know REAl well without a back-up and when you have to close that bolt you know it ain't good.

[straightbow]

Bob Swinehart did  elephants too, see the books "Sagittarius" or "In Africa" by him. He used qute the same gear Howard Hill did.

[Hawken1911]

According to his website, Tink Nathan, the creator of Tink's #69 Buck Lure, has taken three elephants with a bow (it doesn't say whether or not he uses tradtional equipment.  He sounds extremely accomplished as a hunter, and yet I never see him discussed at trad Gang, so I assume he must use a compound, but the question was, "has anyone killed an elephant with a bow?"

Here's an excerpt from the site:

"Tink's hunting accomplishments equal his volunteer service and dedication to archery and bowhunting. He completed 14 African Bowhunts before settling in South Africa in April 1991. Nathan held #1 World Records in SCI and Rowland-Ward record books for bow kills too numerous to mention. He is widely regarded as the World's Most Experienced Living Bowhunter. He is the first Bowhunter to take all 15 species of the South Pacific in 1986, The First South Pacific 15 Bowhunting Grand Slam.. Tink has taken 3 Elephants and 17 Buffalo with Bow & Arrow only. First bowhunter to ever bag the Banteng with bow and arrow. First bowhunter to take a Sambar Deer with bow. First and only bowhunter to take the Buffalo Grand Slam with Bow (taking American Bison, ten Asian Water Buffalo, African Water Buffalo and three Cape Buffalo and the rare Banteng).Tink has taken more species of deer with the bow and arrow than anyone, living or dead. Tink has taken more Buffalo with a bow than anyone in the world, 18 total."

[Rick McGowan]

Hawken, you never hear Tink mentioned here, because they have rules here about treating everyone here with respect and nobody that knows Tink can do that. I've heard about some of the buffalo he shot, you don't want to know.

[Hawken1911]

Interesting...thanks for the heads-up Rick.  I never even heard of him before I found his website, while looking into African bowhunting safaris.

[Dsturgisjr]

LOL Rick.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Rick..I may have a story or two to tell you on the plane RE: the above reference  

[Rick McGowan]

Tinks here at the SHOT show signing autographs, anybody want one?

[donw]

dont forget bob swinehart and another young man by the name of kovine (i think) he used a 100lb black widow recurve ... swinehart used a longbow of 110lbs if i remember correctly ...