When should a Professional Hunter provide follow up shots?

[Hunter-Habib]

Hunter habib, what is your opinion on this bullet and cartridge by PPU (Prvi Partizan - Uzice)?
Any point in using it on DG?

Not in a thousand years, mark-hunter.

 

[mark-hunter]

I thought so! Thank you, sir!

 

[Rule 303]

On my 2nd and last Elephant hunt my PH shot before my rifle came down from recoil and I was starting to work the bolt. I turned and gave him bit of a nasty look. He told me he thought the Elephant was turning to run and he thought HE missed.
I had shot for the brain and the Ele had started to turn its head as I shot. The Ele was brain shot and the head already had momentum in it's head movement and so head kept turning as Elephant was going down.

On inspection the PH's shot was very high, missed the shoulder and the entry wound was elongated showing his bullet had hit as after the Ele started falling sideways. When he explained to me that he thought I had wounded the Ele as to him it looked like it was turning to run my tough's were your quick but that's how I like it. I don't like the thought of a wounded animal getting away and requiring a lot of follow up time.

My PH told me that was the quickest he had ever seen an Elephant go down. Now I know PH's can blow smoke up your arse to make you feel good, but going by the results of his shoot I believe him.

 

[freefall]

When I was guiding pilgrims I told them up front, "Look, I'm a crappy tracker. If you shoot something and it takes off running, I'm shooting it too."
I'm sure most of you would have hated me (heck you probably do now!) but I have a horror of animals wandering around wounded when a little collaboration could prevent it.

 

[KAROO WILD Safaris]

The topic has been well covered. There's no worse feeling for a PH than having to shoot his client's wounded animal. Communication is key but I do believe there are two scenario's where it's non negotiable and it comes down to universal hunting ethics.

1. Where the animal (DG) poses a threat to the hunter or hunting party
2. Where the wounded animal (DG and PG) has a good chance of escaping and being lost. Not referring to when the PH is standing next to the hunter and starts shooting at a wounded animal before the client. I'm referring to when a few reasonable follow up shots are missed or when the hunter can't physcially keep up with the PH/tracker on a wounded animal.

When I started my PH career, a client once told me that under no circumstances should I ever shoot at his animal. He wounded a blue wildebeest, we tracked it for hours. On a number of occasions we bumped it, he was too slow in getting a shot off. We lost it and I regret that. He does too.

Pick a reputable PH / Outfitter and just trust his judgement. The only worse feeling than wounding an animal is wounding and losing an animal.