JG26Irish_2
AH veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2023
- Messages
- 181
- Reaction score
- 489
- Location
- United States
- Media
- 4
- Member of
- Bluegrass Safari Club
- Hunted
- RSA-Limpopo, KY, WV, TN, ND, SD, NM
I agree 100% with the comments to trust your PH with regards to hits. My earlier point was that animals do not always react the same to hits and some do not react at all to fatal shots. A fresh blood trail is a pretty definitive indicator. Also, the sound of the bullet impact is another. However, the lack of that sound does not mean the animal was missed. Often, a double lung broadside shot that is a bit too far back will not make enough of an audible impact sound to be heard over the rifle shot. If you hear it you know but if you do not, you cannot assume it was a miss. Several of the clear indicators such as fall, hump up, jump, buck, run with the front leg limp, etc are all great indicators of an animal that was hit. Just, know that if none of those were evident, you still may have killed or wounded the beast.
Even a very experienced big game hunter cannot come close to the level of real world expertise that a modestly experienced PH will possess. Think about it. We hunt for a week or 10 days or perhaps a bit longer every year or two in Africa, plus maybe an annual deer/elk/antelope hunt in NA if we are lucky. A good PH who stays booked most of the African season may hunt 200 days out of the year and literally witness hundreds of animals reactions every season. So, yes trust your PH. He/She is going to go out of his/her way to treat you right and, if possible, recover your animal. If you do not believe that, then I would suggest that you may not be hunting with the right outfit.
Even a very experienced big game hunter cannot come close to the level of real world expertise that a modestly experienced PH will possess. Think about it. We hunt for a week or 10 days or perhaps a bit longer every year or two in Africa, plus maybe an annual deer/elk/antelope hunt in NA if we are lucky. A good PH who stays booked most of the African season may hunt 200 days out of the year and literally witness hundreds of animals reactions every season. So, yes trust your PH. He/She is going to go out of his/her way to treat you right and, if possible, recover your animal. If you do not believe that, then I would suggest that you may not be hunting with the right outfit.