LAST EDITED ON Jan-09-11 AT 09:15PM (MST)[p]
Well Eel, your thread seems like it's off to a slow start, so I'll post another example.
The first time I ever had to follow wounded dangerous game was in 1983, on a safari in Zimbabwe. On the 6th day of a 24 day hunt, we were into a large herd of elephants, about 50-70 animals, in fairly thick bush. We found a good bull that was in musth (musth is when an elephant bull is in the rut), and he was pretty aggresive. Anyway, we snuck into the herd and were trying to get close enough for a good shot on the bull, when all of a sudden they must have smelled us, and spooked. We had elephants stampeding all around us and as soon as we saw which way the bull was going, we were off at a run alongside the herd as we tried to head him off. Several times, we set up in small openings, only to have him go running through without offering a shot opportunity. The bull knew we were pursuing him, and wasn't giving us any opportunity at all.
Finally, about the 3rd or 4th time we set up, the bull had enough of our nonsense. He came to a clearing, stopped and turned his head to look directly at us, kneeling in the open about 40 yards away. I had agreed with my PH that I would only take a heart shot, not a brain shot, and you don't change things up on elephant bulls without some prior communication, as a misplaced shot can result in a lost ele, or worse, someone getting killed. Anyway, the bull turned and came walking directly toward us, but his trunk was hanging down directly in front of where I needed to aim to place my shot into his heart, so I held me fire. I should mention that Roy Vincent,my PH, was shooting a 460 Weatherby, and I was shooting a Colt Sauer bolt rifle in 458 winchester.
We were kneeling side by side and had our rifles up, me waiting for a clear shot at my target, and Roy covering in case the sh!t hit the fan. It was about to do just that.....
As the bull approached, he seemed gigantic, but then a 13' tall animal that weighs about 12,000 pounds will seem that way when you're kneeling down and he's 20 yards and continuing to come closer. When the bull got to about 17 or 18 yards, Roy whipered "He's too close" and the bull kept walking calmly with nothing between us but dirt and clean Zimbabwe air. A couple more steps and Roy whispered, louder and very urgently "He's too damned close" and at that very moment the bull pinned his ears back, dropped his head and came for us!
The time it took all this to happen was seconds, probably less than 30 seconds from the time the bull entered that final clearing until he came for us, but the final part seemed to happen in slow motion with very clear focus. As the bull dropped his head and charged, his trunk swung to his right, revealing the "V" where the neck muscles converged and which was my aiming point. I immedicately sent a 500 grain Hornady solid on its way, while Roy fired at about the same instant, sending another 500 grain solid low between the bulls eyes, and below the brain. We both jumped up to our feet as the bull stopped in his tracks, he was now at about 9-10 yards, and I quickly cycled my bolt to load another round and finish him, and my f**k!ng gun jammed!!!
Roy was standing next to me, with his rifle up covering the bull, and urgently telling me (that means SHOUTING) "Shoot him again, Kill Him". Try as I might, I couldn't get a shell into the chamber as the top one in the magazine had come out tilted up and the speed and force with which I'd cycled the bolt caused it to be completely stuck tight without sliding into the chamber. The elephant was staggering around in front of us, Roy never taking his eyes off him while continuing to urge me to shoot him and me yelling back that "My f'ing gun is jammed"! Roy had purposely shot the bull low between the eyes, trying to stop the charge, but not wanting to kill 'my' elephant for me. Thinkig back, it was pretty incredible how calm and cool Roy was with all the chaos, and when the bull finally turned and began running away, he took a quick look at my rifle, told me to fix it quick and that he was going to keep up with the bull to make sure it didn't get away. Roy then ran after the bull, quickly disappearing into the dense bush while I frantically worked on my thoroughly jammed rifle. Over the next minute or so, I'd hear a single shot here and there, never more than one at a time.
After what seemed like forever, using a knife as a pry tool, I finally got the stuck shell out and magazine box removed. I quickly put a new shell on top, slammed it home and took off running after Roy and the bull. Following a panicked and fleeing elephant is easier than one might think, as my bull had run in a straight line, knocking down everything in its way, including small trees! All I had to do was run through the destruction he left in his wake and toward the next shot I heard. After running perhaps 300-400 yards, I caught up with Roy and the now more or less finished elephant. Roy was standing off to the side of it a ways, and it was quartering away from me at about 30 yards. Roy said to break it's spine and my shot immediately put it down for good.
After it was all over, the feelings were pretty intense. From adrenalin, focus, sheer terror and just about everything else you can imagine, it was a hunt worth every dollar it cost. That elephant closed out my first week of african hunting at the ripe old age of 24, and what a week it had been, including taking a big cape buffalo bull at 13 yards just a few days earlier. I never would have believed that any animal could absorb a 500 grain soft point to the shoulder at that close distance without showing any sign of being hit, and thankfully he went tail over nose at a full gallop about 100 yards away. Since that elephant experience with Roy, we've had a couple more very close encounters following up wounded cape buffalo, including nearly getting gored by a cow and missing her at 3' one time, but nothing will ever match that experience with the wounded bull elephant and a jammed rifle in my hands.
Who else has some experiences to share? I don't want to hog this thread all by myself.
