Eland experience request from the more seasoned hunters

[30winmag]

Greetings all! On my next hunt I am planning on pursuing Eland, having never done this before I thought I would ask those among us who have for their advice. Does anyone have any tips, tactics or tales they wish to share?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Fun and huge animal to hunt. Killed one with my .300WM and a 200gr North Fork. I would use that again, but would prefer my .375HH. My son killed one with his .308W however. I don't recommend that, but the situation was what it was and his first shot was true.

Play the game in your own mind of picking out a truly mature bull versus a big young one. Look for ruff on the forehead as an indicator. If possible, take one that has reached an age where his color has gone to gray/blue. His horns may be worn down a bit, but they will be heavy. I guess it's just my opinion, but that's the old wise one you want.

Think carefully of doing a shoulder mount, did I mention they're big? They take up a lot of space on the wall.

 

[billc]

I have taken 2 and my son has 1 also. We will try and take another this year but with a bow not rifle. I have taken both with my 300 win mag and both dead in 60 yds. Son took his with a 50 cal muzzy and hit neck and it drop in it tracks.

I think they are as fun to hunt as kudu and I think as hard to get or harder. I myself like chasing old bulls over the longer horned younger males. The older bulls will get black on there face and there body size is huge. The horns maybe shorter but it is the one animal to me horn length means nothing compared to body size,tuff on head and dewlap.

I did my sons and my first as floor pedestals and my last will be a wall pedestal. they are big both with the smaller straight horns they take up just a little more space then a kudu but make a beautiful mount.

I think anyone who gets the chance to hunt one should do it and not think twice.

 

[fourfive8]

Great animal. Mature bulls in good condition are larger than you can visualize from pictures or descriptions. Use enough gun and bullet. Tracking is an unforgettable way to hunt them. Be prepared for an extremely wary animal when tracking and working on final stalk. Do it and you"ll be hooked.

 

[CAustin]

Greetings all! On my next hunt I am planning on pursuing Eland, having never done this before I thought I would ask those among us who have for their advice. Does anyone have any tips, tactics or tales they wish to share?

It’s a great animal to hunt! They are fast for a big animal.

 

[IvW]

Greetings all! On my next hunt I am planning on pursuing Eland, having never done this before I thought I would ask those among us who have for their advice. Does anyone have any tips, tactics or tales they wish to share?

Hi.

Where will you be hunting?

 

[Divernhunter]

I took mine with spot and stalk hunting. Took 5 days and was fun. Used a 338win mag with 225gr Swift A-Frames. I suggest you follow what the PH tells you for best results.

 

[cpr0312]

They are massive, surprisingly nimble, shifty, and elusive! They are a fun hunt usually with tracking involved, go for it!

 

[KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS]

Hi Sir, if you are interested in hunting the Cape Eland near the world famous Kalahari.
We have an excellent hunting area in Namibia bordering the Kalahari, with a high population of Eland Bulls. You will be hunting among the big beasts like Elephants and Rhinos.
Best regards
Philip

 

[KHOMAS HIGHLAND HUNTING SAFARIS]

They are massive, surprisingly nimble, shifty, and elusive! They are a fun hunt usually with tracking involved, go for it!

View attachment 215363

Reedy, where did you hunt this Eland? A monster of a bull!

 

[cpr0312]

@Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris , This was in the southern part of Zimbabwe, near West Nicholson this past May. I was humbled to be able to go after this bull!

 

[Red Leg]

Huge difference hunting these animals free-range and on smaller fenced properties. The classic hunt is to find tracks at dawn near a waterhole or crossing a road. The rest of what can be a very long day is spent trying to walk him down. Done free range, it is about as demanding as any buffalo I have taken. If he scents you, then he is gone. I have hunted Cape Eland in Namibia and Livingstone in Mozambique. The former took two days of hard hunting and the latter three.

Be very wary of a put and take hunt on a small property. These majestic creatures deserve and demand better.

Mozambique Livingstone Eland

• Red Leg
• Oct 16, 2017
• 4

38" Eland - Eden Namibia

• Red Leg
• Mar 22, 2011

 

[BRICKBURN]

Hi.

Where will you be hunting?

I'll assume you are talking about Cape Eland.
As noted, where you hunt them matters and changes the hunt immensely; Geography and the specific property.

I have tracked them and repeatedly lost the game in Botswana on a huge property and have managed success while tracking in Namibia on both low fenced and large high fenced properties. Plenty of luck was involved and every hunt was demanding and exciting.
A great challenging hunt. I wish you good luck.

 

[MikeDeltaFoxtrot]

I am planning to hunt eland as part of my upcoming trip to the Eastern Cape. I am going to bring both a .300 Win Mag and a .375 H&H. My PH seems to think the .300 is preferable for eland because it is flatter-shooing, thus making for more reliable long-range shots. I am inclined to use the .375 with 260 grain bullets, as I never like the idea of not using enough gun. Comments welcome.

 

[cem rona ergin]

Eland is the best PG hunt there is . Nothing comes close ..

 

[fourfive8]

I am planning to hunt eland as part of my upcoming trip to the Eastern Cape. I am going to bring both a .300 Win Mag and a .375 H&H. My PH seems to think the .300 is preferable for eland because it is flatter-shooing, thus making for more reliable long-range shots. I am inclined to use the .375 with 260 grain bullets, as I never like the idea of not using enough gun. Comments welcome.

I'm with you on this. If you are comfortable shooting the 375 and accurate out to a couple of hundred yards off the sticks- that's the way I would go. Another way to look at it... especially if shooting off sticks, the 300 will be no more steady (accurate) than the 375. I know eland (and all manner of big game) have been killed with all variety of small calibers but they are very large animals so why not use plenty to get the job done and have a good margin for error.

 

[Edge]

Very interested in this subject as I have Eland as my #1 for a July 2018 adventure in Zimbabwe!

 

[Nyati]

Wish you the best of luck, take your time and go after an old bull, the experience is worth it !

 

[Longwalker]

My experience with eland is only one animal so my advice is next to worthless, but I had a bad experience that I want to share so you can learn form it. I made a poor first shot with a small light bullet, and I was amazed at how tough that unfortunate animal was when following up to finish it off. I hit it too far back with a 30-06 165gr tsx, just clipping one lung and the liver. Shot was fairly far too, just under 300 yards. I kept shooting, and he kept walking. It took five more shots properly placed before that bull finally succumbed. He deserved better, and I'm not proud of the incident, but I learned something. Next time I hunt eland I'm stalking closer, taking more care with shot placement, and using my .375 .

You can see three of the five shots it took to finish this bull, once they get their adrenalin pumping those little 30-06 bullets just didn't seem to get his attention.

 

[Rick Cox]

Greetings all! On my next hunt I am planning on pursuing Eland, having never done this before I thought I would ask those among us who have for their advice. Does anyone have any tips, tactics or tales they wish to share?

Check out my hunt report from 2016. https://www.africahunting.com/threads/namibia-namibia-with-westfalen-safaris-2016.41693/