I'm wondering what is hunting Giraffe all about? Are they a trophy? Hard to hunt? What calibers are good? Bullet placement? Thanks and Be Well, Rustyzipper
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
While hunting in Namibia last October I was offered the opportunity to hunt giraffe. I had previously had no interest in hunting giraffe, ever. But I was there, and the opportunity was there, so I started asking questions. The giraffe on this property were descendants of individuals that moved in on their own a couple decades ago when the property was converted from cattle ranch to game. They had flourished, unlike giraffe in many "unregulated" areas of their African range where poaching is a problem. Soon the herd increased to the point where the property was able to offer trophy bull giraffe hunts. A few clients took them up on that, and the giraffe trophy fees helped make the property profitable, paid some of the staff wages, and helped the entire operation become more viable. Then more recently a terrible drought occurred, the worst in recorded history. There were about 85-90 giraffe on land that could only support 25-30 of them long term, and maybe not even that many in the drought. So many giraffe had to be culled. Culled carcasses were being sold by the landowner to a local butcher for meat, mostly sausage and biltong. It was under this circumstance that I was offered a cull giraffe hunt for a low fee. So we went giraffe hunting. I got a surprise right off the start. It was quite easy to find some giraffe, they stood out in the thin bushland if you searched with binoculars from a high hill. But finding the right old barren cow or young bull and then stalking into sure range for my scope equipped .450-400 3" Nitro express double rifle was not at all easy. We hunted from early morning to late afternoon, and tried about 5 or 6 unsuccessful stalks. The small groups of giraffe were very skilled at spotting us approach, and once alerted, we found it impossible to close the gap as they moved off. I eventually swapped my big double for a more precise 9.3x62 that I was confident shooting at 200 M or more. In late afternoon, we tried another unsuccessful stalk on a very old cow. Busted. Again. As they moved off, a young bull just moving between locations happened to come up behind us. "Bird in the hand, better than one in the bush" and all that, I quickly got on him and made a good shot at about 170M. It was a interesting and satisfying experience. I helped out the game managers, and took nothing home but the memories, which was good enough for me. Whether a giraffe is a "trophy" or not is in the eye of the beholder. But I enjoyed my hunt and would recommend you consider hunting giraffe with an open mind. Depending on the situation, a giraffe hunt may or may not be for you.
If you do decide to hunt giraffe first study a good publication on shot placement like Robertson's "The perfect Shot" I have a degree in Animal science, have studied Veterinary anatomy, and come from several generations of butchers. I had to adjust my thinking. Giraffe are not built like other critters and the location of the heart and lungs is much higher in the chest and much farther forward than I would have otherwise thought. You also need a substantial cartridge if not precisely placing a bullet in the brain or neck. My 9.3x62 was a sensible choice, as was the .450-400 3" that I carried at first. Think cartridges like .375, .338, or perhaps .300 mag with very good expanding bullets or solids. Their skin is the thickest of any animal I've ever seen. They weigh more than a cape buffalo.
Both of the outfits with which I hunted in Namibia offered giraffe among the animals available for harvest.. I had absolutely no interest, and they said that was pretty much the norm for hunters from the U.S. Apparently, most of their giraffe hunters were Spaniards. They said that in some parts of Spain, a vertical mount of a giraffe shoulder, neck and head on a wooden plaque on the floor was regarded as a desirable item for display in the main entry hallway of a trophy hunter's house.
Ben
Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
I was thinking about a rifle case and a rug from the hide. I think it is the hip bone or thigh bone isn't it, that makes knife handles? Or even a handgun grip if large enough. Be Well and thanks, Rustyzipper.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
I've been on several giraffe "hunts" just as a back up gun, but like some others, I never had a particular interest in shooting one myself as a trophy. They just always reminded me of "Melman" from the Disney cartoon. I did shoot an old cull "stink bull" last year in Botswana. He truly was on his "last legs" so to speak. He was an old bachelor that Gerhard knew had been kicked out of his small herd a few months earlier and was still healing from battle damage. We were able to close to within 100m on the old boy and could see that he was absolutely covered in ticks from his anus all the way under/between his legs and underbelly all the way over his penal sheath. Sure sign an animal, any animal is in serous decline. Once he was down, his teeth were pretty much gone as well. He still had not lost much muscle but it was inevitable and was at the perfect time to taken as a cull.
Giraffe hunts can be really challenging on foot. For one, they always have the high ground. Second, they really do camouflage well in the tall acacia thorn trees. Their legs actually blend in well with the tree trunks and their bodies are up high and well covered/protected by the tree vegetation. Sometimes the only thing you can see/look for are their heads and it is so unusual to have to look UP to spot them as well as DOWN to make sure you're not bumping other game that might alert them. And as I mentioned, they always have the high ground.
As Castnblast mentioned, their hide and underlying protective tissue is astonishingly thick. Has to be when you see them running full tilt thru the thorn trees like there is nothing there. The hide/tissue from maybe the middle of their rib cage forward and up can be as much as 4" thick. The hide/tissue at the rump/hind quarters is thick as well to protect them from the head/horn blows when they fight. This is also one reason their vital organs are farther forward and up higher in the chest cavity. That thick hide/tissue is one reason the tanning process can be kind of pricey. A LOT of de-fleshing has to be done before the tanning can even begin.
Caliber/bullets - that thick hide/tissue in combination of the large chest cavity means you really have to have a combo that will drive deep. A 375 with 270gr TSX will get the bullet to the vitals while a 375 mono-metal solid will completely pass thru broadside. I've seen three taken with 375 H&H with 270 and 300gr TSX that got to the vitals but didn't pass thru. I used a 375 Ruger with 300gr, CEB solids and did pass thru. A 9.3x62 was mentioned above and would likely work as well but I would have to recommend a mono-metal solid. That hide/skin is no joke.
Common trophies from giraffe are flat rugs, head mounts, European head mounts and even full shoulder mounts. The leg bones are extremely dense and prized for knife or handgun scales. Gerhard offered to give me the leg bones or skull if I wanted them for free but, I declined his gracious offer as I had taken the animal as a cull.
All that said above, I don't know if I will shoot another. I know personally, I won't take one as a "trophy" but, IF a similar animal in a similar state of decline and facing a protracted and suffering end (no predators in the area), I probably would. As in this case the meat was fully recovered and all the remaining parts were utilized to some economic benefit and it was a challenging hunt.
Last year the Conservancy asked us to shoot a giraffe for a Pow-Wow they were having. They actually asked for a young one, but since they didn't ask until 4:00 PM on the day before their meeting, we just went out looking for whatever we could find.
We ended up with an old, scarred up, skin and bones, one "horn" knocked off bachelor bull. One 416 A-Frame and he started falling. They're so tall and gangly it seemed to take a while to collapse! Took some quick photos and called the Conservancy to come pick it up.
I can't help but feel they are probably still boiling the meat trying to tender it up!
I would shoot another for rations or bait but there isn't a trophy there. Disney emotions aside, they are a big chunk of protein in a protein starved continent.
Giraffe is quite exciting if you do a proper hunt on foot.
I was able to hunt one in Zimbabwe, just before some of the ranches were taken over by the squatters.
I wanted a nice old stink bull as you would say. Old with a a dark to black spots. Well we could find them, however it was another thing getting up on them for a decent shot. We had a limited window to take a nice trophy, as i wanted the skin for a rug. which later became rifle cases and purses. Giraffe take a considerable time to skin and process in the field so i had to have my giraffe down before 8 AM,
Proper rifle and bullet are in order 338 WM - 375 H&H with good bullets.
The first one was a cull bull that the PH had been wanting to shoot for over a year, it had a snare on it one leg, and we were heading back to camp for lunch and it was near the road and one shot under the chin put it down. the 5 hour skinning and butchering job was all afternoon with all the camp staff.
After most of my hunt was fading away, i had been passing on a lone bull every day. This bull was not the herd bull and was usually in the same area daily as we drove out of camp. So my standards changed and we decided to go after him. Well he moved to a place where we could not cut a trail for recovery. and do not shoot something you cannot recover, and giraffe is not something you want to back pack out.
Second to last day he was were access was available, and when we started to stalk him he moved into an open field, and what a stroke of luck to be able to shoot him and just made my 8 AM cut off time. It took 6 hours to get him out of the field, and we had 8 camp staff working on him.
On my last day i had the opportunity to take another one for a tribal wedding, however we did not find what they wanted close to the road.
Would i take one again, maybe. (color pattern as there are different varieties available) I am now trying to limit repeat on animals taken over the years.
I nearly bought the farm with a mob of giraffe running out of the nyika in Tanzania. How we never hit one I don’t know. A few Zebra with them too! When I was stopped they were running around my 4wd.
They weren’t being chased. Pondoro Taylor wrote when motor vehicles were just becoming popular in Africa that you had to be careful of Giraffe as they like to plat “last across the road like chickens”. He was so right!
I had the opportunity and could have killed one in RSA in 2006. But the trophy fee was high and what the heck do you mount that will fit in my house? A lady later killed one with the same PH and said she was going to cover a whole side of a room with the hide (probably isn't big enough).
Don't blame me. I voted for Trump.
Democrats would burn this country to the ground, if they could rule over the ashes.
I have not hunted them yet but after seeing a giraffe hide, high back chair at a store in Capetown, it makes me want one. I will look for photos of the chair but it was simply stunning. My wife even said go get one after seeing the chair!
I would never hunt them but I sure will eat them, especially grilled over a camel thorn fire. The ribs look like the Flintstones sized portions.
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
Given the opportunity, I’d pass on shooting a giraffe.
I did so, pass on shooting one. Was in a waterhole blind in Zimbabwe. Had several come in and drink. I was Bowhunting. I had then and still don’t have interest in shooting one. But if some people do, that’s fine with me.
