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"Cedergren'spersonal best trophy: The 'Mutha' elephant, 120 and 119 lbs. Yatta Plateau, Kenya, 1959"

Sort of gives the end of the story away beforehand but what an elephant!

"The rain was pelting down when I picked up my men, but inside the hunting car everybody was in high spirits at the prospect of once again being out in the bush - and the excitement of looking for a big tusker."

Things don't all change, a hunting trip is exciting to everyone and just getting away to the bush.

"There, in the middle of the road, was a pile of fresh elephant dung with huge tracks leading off into the bush. ... Muia stuck his toes into the dung heap and nodded excitedly, saying it was warm."

Aah that warm dung feeling on the toes .... !

" "Ndofu na choka!" (elephant getting tired) hissed Muia, pointing at the tracks, which now did not seem so far apart. Also, here and there we could see where the tusks had cut through the mud like plow discs - the elephant was slowing down. Munyoki offered to carry my rifle, but I refused. Never let go of your rifle, my mind kept saying as I ran - you never know when you will need it, particularly here where the visibility is only ten to fifteen yards. I must admit that the weight of my .500 Westley Richards was an added impediment, but on we ran."

The hunter carrying his own rifle is both sensible for having it when the shot presents itself, AND an insurance policy which has saved many an elephant hunter's life.

"I ran smack into Muia, who stood pointing with a heaving breast. Not twenty yards away I saw the upper part of the elephant's head, facing is. The huge animal stood as motionless as a statue. The, with a scream, he charged. He was tired and had no intention of running again."

The adrenalin rushes when the elephant is so close. And even more so, facing you and aware of you.

"My rifle leaped up, seemingly of its own volition, and I fired the right barrel. Too high! The elephant staggered and almost went to its kness, but quickly recovered. I gave him the second barrel, and he crashed to the ground."

A good well fitted and balanced double rifle will fit its owner like a quality side by side game shotgun, and rise naturally and fluidly to the shoulder - when it is needed;
The .500 Nitro Express cartridge with 570 gr projectiles might stun or drop a bull elephant even if the brain is missed. A lighter calibre may not have this effect. One reason the .500 Nitro Express is regarded as that bit more better for elephant hunting, than the .450 to .475 range of Nitro Express chambered rifles.
The advantage of having the second loaded barrel instantly available is obvious - in the thick thorn jess of 10 yards visibility, with a charging elephant, and where the first shot has not been perfect. What big double rifles are made for.

"I quickly reloaded. The only sounds to he heard were the hissing rain and my own heartbeats."

That beautiful silence when the bush in the rain is quiet after a shot, and one comes down from the adrenalin high.

"We walked slowly back to the car. Malelu had managed to pitch two small tents and get a fire going"

The pleasantness of having someone to setup a camp for some comfort when one returns sweaty, muddy, wet and tired from a hunt at the end of the day or returning in the night, is an immense pleasure.

"I idly wondered whether I would have the same courage as the old bull elephant: to bravely face my adversaries and charge when I was too tired to run anymore."

Don't we all. But with Sten Cedergren there is no doubt.

"and I went back to Nairobi to sell my tusks and buy my house on the coast."

The days when a "gentleman adventuror", an ivory hunter could make a living, if not a fortune by ivory hunting. Even in the days of licensed elephant hunting, the wiley hunter could amass a legitimate living and good income from hunting the tuskers.

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John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"