If the arrow is properly placed and performs well, the elephant does its dash and dies within the same timeframe as a similar shot from a rifle, sometimes less.

The risk the paying bowhunter takes is that if the arrow is less than adequate, it is the responsibility of the guide to immediately shoot it with the rifle. The bowhunter understands this, and should be willing to accept this possible outcome, in which case he cannot claim (whether to a book or his grandchildren) that he killed an elephant with his bow.

I have no experience with elephants except for the armchair DVD variety (bowhunting and rifle movies) and books. But, I have put away a few big animals here with both bow and rifle, and I would like to emphasise that bows do not kill animals by making them bleed slowly to death anymore than rifles do. Is 30 seconds and one arrow for a massive bull camel morally acceptable? I can't beat that with my .416 Rigby.

With a bow, you can tell a good arrow from a bad one, and if it is bad, the canon should and does start speaking.

But I do agree that a better description of hunters would be adventurous rather than brave, in most instances.