elephant with bow??


Guest Big_Game_Hunter_64

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Guest Big_Game_Hunter_64

how possible is it to take an elephant with a bow? my friend says hes seen pics of it but i just thought they couldve shot ti with a rifle and taken the pic with the hunter holding a bow. and if so has anyone taken an elephant with a bow

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Re: elephant with bow??

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how possible is it to take an elephant with a bow? my friend says hes seen pics of it but i just thought they couldve shot ti with a rifle and taken the pic with the hunter holding a bow. and if so has anyone taken an elephant with a bow

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No...I cant even get a whitetail Decoy for the backyard to practice with...dont think an Elephant Decoy would be any cheaper.

Seriously...who would want to anyways...Way too dangerous for my slow feet!

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Re: elephant with bow??

I believe Howard Hill was the 1st to do it. Many have done it since then. I have a tape made by Dries Visser Safaris that has a couple of elephant kills on it. Dries Visser is a bow hunt only outfitter. A friend of mine has been after me for about 5 years to go to Africa. If I ever go, elephant is not on my trophy list though.

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Re: elephant with bow??

It is very possible and it has been done quite a few times. I have seen stories about people doing it in Bowhunter & Petersen's Bowhunting quite a few times. Ted Nugent even did it on one of his Spirit of The Wild Shows. He shot one with a rifle, then a few weeks later he drew some sort of permit and returned to Africa to hunt elephants with his custom made Nuge bow. I remember the specs of it were something like 100 lb. draw weight with 90% let off, he used a double walled aluminum arrow and a custom made Nuge Blade that weighed something like 200 grains. His arrows weighed roughly 1400 grains when it was all said and done. It was effective out to 25 yards and it sure delivered some penetration at the moment of truth. He shot the beast twice and both arrows buried up to the nocks.

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Re: elephant with bow??

I was at my Pro shop one day and the guys who own Rocket Broadheads where in there working on some arrow set ups, shooting them through the cronograph and adding weights inside them. They were getting ready for an African hunt, and they did shot an Elephant with their bows. They ended up with an arrow weight/speed combo that put there KE well over 100 LBs..

They were going to shoot their Ultimate Steel heads.. I think they were shooting just under 100 lbs pull..

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Guest Squirrelbuster

Re: elephant with bow??

Chuck Adams went to Africa to try this out and he found it is near impossible to ETHICALLY take an elephant because their ribs are so big. The shot has to be very precise because there is little room between the ribs. If an arrow hits the rib no penetration will occur. He did take an elephant however but it took numerous shots and it had to be finished off with a rifle. After taking the elephant he then made a replica of its side and shot at the replica to try and figure out an exact spot to shoot the elephant and to see if there could be a consistent place to put the arrow to kill the elephant. HE NEVER FOUND A SPOT!!!

I believe you can find this info in Chuck Adam's book LIFE AT FULL DRAW.

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Re: elephant with bow??

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On the other hand, I MAY be able to hit an elephant at 12 yards broadside....... grin.gif

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the question is where would you hit it grin.gifgrin.gif

I did see a show on Outdoor channel where a guy tried this, got to within about 15 yards of it, shot it and got a rib, when they went after it the guide basically insisted on if the hunter wanted to kill it that he would have to put down his bow and take a rifle... and that's what the hunter did.

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Re: elephant with bow??

Is it possible yes- However, the only legal place to do this in my knowledge in South Africa at this moment. Reason being is simple- all the hunting done in South Africa is being conducted on game farms where you have already bought the animal. Places such as Tanzinia, and Botswana have a min 375h&h mag calbier restiction on dangerous game. My godfather has taken 9 bulls elephants in Africa ( the biggest having both tusks over 70lbs). He uses either a .460 wby mag or a .500 NE and shots through the ear into the brain, something not possible with a bow. Bottom line is yes it is possible, but more than likey the PH will end up taking a head shot on the bull to take it down.

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Re: elephant with bow??

Yeah, Im' not sure either. Pictures upon pictures have been posted of archers taking elephants with their bows. I WATCHED NUGENT DO IT ON TV, I have read about it god knows how many times, and if I am not mistaken Rocket Aeroheads new ad has a 2 page fold out that shows 4 of their pro-staffers with 2 elephants, along with the hippos if I am not mistaken.

I mean, o.k., Chuck Adams went over to Africa and found it impossible, that's wonderful. But apparently a lot of archers disagree and have plenty of pictures to prove it. Is Chuck Adams a well respected name, of course, does he know it all, NOPE!

By the way, when did Chuck Adams go over and attempt this feat? I'm just curious because I have never heard anything about it and I have read a lot of his material

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