Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Elephant - non trophy Where?

I'd like to hunt elephant somewhere where they are overpopulated and non-trophy elephant quota is available. I am not interested in bringing home any trophy ivory. Just the experience. I keep reading of Botswana opening up but have not learned of any real opportunities yet. Is it worth looking into Botswana for 2021? Are there non trophy elephant hunts that I am not aware of? It seems there might be some "own use" hunts available in Namibia for reasonable licence fees of under $10,000. That would be of interest. Anywhere else? South Africa? Zambia? Do some outfitters sell hunts for problem animal control purposes?

Have you looked into Zimbabwe?

This with Buzz Charlton in the Dande.

Zim is probably your best bet OR look for hunts very late in the season. Many outfits have allocations for which they have paid and they’re trying to sell at reduced rates.

Zimbabwe tuskless is your best bet. Certain areas have higher percentage of tuskless and good population. Very affordable. I’m headed there in July. Drop me a PM if you’d like some details on araeas, outfitter.

If you find an "own use" bull elephant hunt in Namibia for under $10K please let me know. A couple that I know of go for around $18K.

Zim for sure.

Is elephant meat good to eat? if so how much good meat can you get % wise compared to the total weight of the elephant,, I am a meat eater and only hunt what I can eat.. thanks all..

Never been to Africa but I don't believe you keep the meat. In any case, how would you transport it back to the states? If your personal decision on hunting is to only hunt what you'll eat yourself, then elephant hunting probably isn't a good fit.

The villagers get the meat from the elephant.

Along with the meat for the villagers, the chief gets the trunk (in Zim) I've eaten ele meat, and it isn't my favorite table fare. The best IMO, was ele cheek meat and served in thick sauce with vegetables, like a stew. A good cook is invaluable when preparing African game, regardless of the species.

The Caprivi strip in Namibia has a lot of own use elephant hunts in the various conservancies. I took my third own use bull this past November with Karl Stumpfe of Ndumo Safaris. The all in cost is about the same as a tuskless cow in Zim but I prefer to shoot a bull- they are a lot bigger. Can’t say much about them as table fare, although the cheek muscle is fairly tender when prepared properly.

Another vote for tuskless in Zimbabwe. Check out Nengasha Safaris; they have an area in the southern part of Zim in Beitbridge. Saw hundreds of elephants, took my tuskless out of a group of 60 on day 1. Most elephant I saw at a single time was 150 and I have the photo to prove it.

Meat tasted fine, impala is my favorite, but I believe a lot depends on who cooks it and how. Aside from some choice cuts for camp, the meat went to a local (large scale) orange farm and was distributed as rations for their workforce and families (about 800 workers). I asked how many days this would last, they said just 3.

+1.

I have been on safari with Nengasha - Paul Bennie’s outfit out of Bulawayo - several times, including 2x for elephant. The Beitbridge CAMPFIRE and Nottingham Estate concessions hold a higher-then-average percentage of tuskless elephants. The herd from which I took a large tuskless this year numbered several hundred, with many large, mature elephants. Approached elephant herds many times during the hunt until we found an old mature tuskless we wanted to take.

Going back for tuskless this year. A great outfit, very experienced PH - Mitch Bunce - and a great elephant hunting experience. They work hard to make sure you find what you’re looking for.

Recommend this outfit highly. Good PG hunting and leopard, as well, in Nengasha’s areas.

-264
Was Mitch still carrying that old left-handed M-70 .458WM?

Another recommendation for Nengasha and PH Mitch Bunce. I hunted Bietbridge in 2016 and got 48 x49 bull, one of the best hunts I’ve ever been on. Mitch still has that .458 it was put together by Gene Simillion.

Yes. It’s a Win M-70 Classic with action work by Simillion, open sights. Nice working rifle, well cared for.

My apologies to Castnblast for getting off topic.

Like JDollar, I have taken "Own Use" Elephant with Karl in the Caprivi as well. But there are not a lot of Own Use tags available, and they sell out quickly. Best to lock one in before the shows.

Check outfitters in Zambia. Newer regs have elephant back on license. Two years ago a tuckless elephant was quite reasonable.