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Klaase grabs his rifle (I'm pretty sure is was a 470 bolt action) and runs into the veldt. Johannes pulls his out of the truck and checks the wind. I ask if I can bring my rifle and he ignores me and starts to walk away. I pull the 45-90 rifle out and load it like this: 450 grain Kodiak Solid @ 2100 fps 45-90: 405 gr Punch Bullet @2010 fps 45-70: 450 gr Northfork Solid @ 1950 fps 45-90: 540 grain Hammerhead cast @1550 fps 45-70. My intent is to shoot each bullet as much as I can to determine the performance and essentially pick a favorite. I catch up with Johannes and he pushes me in front of him. We stop and I can smell something. Quickly, I see the elephant standing about 20 yards away. Johannes and Klaase and making a series of clucks and whistles. Without saying a word, Klaase gets 90 degrees from the bull and Johannes and I get right in front of it. Johannes says out of nowhere "Aim". I am thinking, Oh Sh** he's going to let me do this! Without letting me get comfortable behind the rifle the bull takes a step out from behind the trees and Johannes say "Shooooot now"! In a split second I draw a line between the bulls ears and pull the trigger. The bull goes down on his rear but holds his head and I realize this is not a good sign. I immediately shoot again at the first crease in the trunk and the bull snaps it's head back and slams it to the ground, then after a moments pause rolls over onto it's side. Klaase walks up to the bull and shoots twice into it's chest. I look around and Johannes has walked out already. Klaase is leaving too. Some of the locals come over to the elephant. I am trying to get one of them to take a picture but they don't understand. I offer them a dollar but they take my dollar and shake their head without taking the camera to take a picture. I hear the Toyota start so I snap a quick picture of the bull and run back to the truck just in time to just in.
We drive several hours. I have no idea where we are. I've asked questions about the whole elephant incident but Johannes has said nothing but sings to himself in a language I don't understand. It is getting dark when a clattering and a cloud of dusk engulf us as Klaase turns onto the road in front of us, barely missing the Toyota. Johannes has no reaction. We stop and talk to a man and a woman at a tavern or hotel out in the middle of who knows where. We trot out into a field and Klaase climbs a big wooden tower they have out there in the field. He climbs down and speaks to Johannes and off we go. Johannes stops to pull a chute of some kind out of the ground and he puts it in his mouth and sucks on it. For the first time in two days he initiates conversation. "Tastes like sugar" he says to me. Suddenly Klaase is yelling and Johannes has his rifle up! Trees are literally falling down as an elephant comes our way. I don't know who shot first but shots began to ring out. I was slow getting in on it because I was putting in earplugs. However, the bull turned sideway and then turned around and I was able to get four shots off. The last shot was a side brain shot from about 10 yards or less that Klaase made. The bull went right down. Johannes turns around and loads his rifle as we head back to the car like nothing happened. I am out of breath and sweaty. It is now pretty dark. I'm walking along trying to see where I'm going while Johannes is 50 yards ahead of me. Suddenly, Klasse charges me and knocks me to the ground. I am disoriented and wonder what the Hell is going on. Klaase breaks a branch off and walks ahead of my previous footsteps. He swats the ground four or five times. He then looks at me, shakes his head and walks away. I'm still not sure what happened but when I run to catch up I jump 10 feet in the air as I leap over the dead snake that Klaase just whipped to death. I hear the toyota starting so I run to jump in as usual. Klaase has not come over to Johannes at all yet Johannes says "look out for snakes", laughs and stomps on the gas. We head out into the darkness, to where I don't know. On the way back there is a car stopped by a one lane bridge. Johannes stops and talks to the two men. He turns to me and says "$40". I am puzzled but I give him the $40. He makes an exchange through the vehicle window and puts his hand out to me. I open my hand and he plops two bullet into my hand - the 450 Grain Kodiak and the 405 grain Punch Bullet! Johannes says "Give me these now" - pointing to the Kodiak bullet. I pull the remaining 5 cartridges loaded with the Kodiak from my pocket and hand them to him. He throws them out the window into the water below. The Kodiak Solid is actually badly expanded, resembling a good bonded core expanding bullet more than a solid as it has made a nice mushroom. Johannes says "short of brain, no head swoosh". He points to the Punch Bullet and says "This one went into brain - but you need a real rifle" The Punch bullet has a swollen front on it and the bottom two thirds of the shaft squished in. We drive off again and about 8AM arrive at the Protea Hotel Cairo Rd. Lusaka. Johannes says "stay here". When I step out of the car he drives off leaving me at the curb. "What the Hell" - this is becoming my motto. I go inside and low and behold they have a reservation for me for one day. There is a wake up call for 12:30 PM. Oh great - 3 1/2 hours of sleep at best. Instead of sleep, I photo the bullets that were recovered with a borrowed camera from a tourist and e-mail them to myself on the hotel computer. Hey, I can get on photobucket and levergunscommunity too! I put the pictures from my Micro- camera on the computer too.
I kinda lost the idea, but you shoot elephants and walk away like nothin' happened? Interesting.
"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale, and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged"....President Abraham Lincoln
Mike D. wrote:I kinda lost the idea, but you shoot elephants and walk away like nothin' happened? Interesting.
I got the idea that their role was to eliminate a rogue pachyderm, and from what I understand, even in most regular hunting cases, the hide, meat, etc. are left for the locals to consume.
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
