ORIGINAL: iamyourhuckleberry
Doug,
Teressa Groenewald (A woman)did it with a single arrow and the bull traveled 500 yards before expiring... Not much of a hunt you say? It took her 8-9 days to get hers...
The problem as I see it, you cite onecase where a man did kill an elephant (with/without an arrow-based upon opinion), and another where a man had a bad experience killinghis first of two. I, on the other hand,can cite manymore where elephants were kill effectivelywith no issues whatsoever (Richardo Longloria comes to mind, as well as Gary Bogner. Both are superior archers, not unlike Howard Hill, and both areambassadors of the sport-they've learned to check their egos). So then, there are indeed many to prove your point otherwise.Without knowing all the facts, can you honestly say you were thereto witnessed Pete's "good" shot? Where exactly did he hit the mammoth? Is it possible he hit it back alittle? Things happen... on those things big or small. Seriously, how many deer/bear/elk/moose/antelope/boar to you think have been hit and were recovered great distances from the shot? Do you question the lethality andyour equipment choice here? Do we ban a proven tool because things happen?
I would love the opportunity to shoot my 84 lb X-Force through an elephant. I'm confident the bow can handle the task. I'm confident I can handle the task! I am also responcible enough to finish the job with a rifle is things go wrong. I would exercise this samerespect for any animal I hunt! Again, I wish I had ten dollars for everytime someone told me I couldn't do it with archery gear. For the record, I hate hearsay. A PH, on my last trip,told me I would be lucky if I shot one animals with my bow. I came home with eight.This "professional"obviously knew more about bow hunting than me...
Willie????
Nah, I wouldn't think so, not on here, maybe on reefer.com, but not here.
Bill, William, ????
Not sure, but I'm not saying it cannot be done, but I am saying that it's not going to be an easy task, and if we feel we need a rifle for back-up in case things go awry, then maybe we just need to use a rifle in the first place. I've never felt like I would need a rifle/pistol etc, for any deer or elk I went after, though I did carry a pistol in bear country in CO, just in case I needed it, however, I'm not really sure I'd ever been able to draw it and shoot it had a bear fancied me anyhow knowing how quietly and QUICKLY they can move.
I am aware of the lady that killed and elephant with an 84# X-Force, but again, we're still talking a superior archer to most, and a 500yd recovery is a LONG ways. And as I understand it her shot was precisely WHERE it was supposed to be. No doubt, it CAN be done, but at what cost to the image of hunting are people doing it?????
As for how much of a hunt, I'm just stating what I'd heard, as I've never hunted them myself. Then again, I've heard the same thing about Buffalo (aka American Bison), and that doesn't stop me from having the desire to hunt one. As I said, I understand that
"certainly the population of elephants NEEDS to be hunted to keep it in check," but I'm just not certain that archery equipment is the best choice.