Subscriber Robert Keim shot a 78 x 60 pound elephant in Mozambique as it charged his hunting party. (See photo in our online Trophy Gallery.) Keim and his wife were hunting with Kambako Safaris (jumbo@kambakosafaris .com) in the Niassa Reserve this past July when the incident occurred. He writes, "While hunting for zebra in a remote forested area, our assistant tracker, Jumbo-Jumbo, saw a large bull elephant moving aggressively towards us from about 70 yards behind. When PH Stuart Taylor assessed the situation, he instructed us to move away but not to run. This had no effect on the elephant, which kept coming very quickly. We assumed a false charge, as his ears were erect and he was not yet at a full run. Unfortunately, he soon pinned his ears back, rolled his truck under and came at a full charge, approximately 25 mph. The PH yelled, 'Run!' and told me to fire a warning shot in the air. My wife and the trackers took off at full speed! All of this had no effect on the elephant, which continued his charge. He was gaining on us quickly.
"The PH and I ran away backwards, as not to lose sight of the elephant. Stuart fired into the elephant's forehead with his .458 Magnum, going for a brain shot, but to no effect! I tripped over a bush, directly into the elephant's path and thought I was a goner for sure. As Stuart fired again into the elephant's head, I got up. The elephant passed Stuart and headed directly for me. At five yards, I shot into the charging elephant's head, hitting the brain. He immediately dropped dead, almost falling on me and crushing me."
According to Keim and safari operator Jumbo Moore, authorities of the Niassa Reserve ruled the shooting justified. Keim says he and his wife were back in the bush two days later. He got his Boehm's zebra as well as a 38-inch Cape buffalo, 16¾-inch bushbuck and an impala. He reports seeing an abundance of elephant, waterbuck and impala but says the other plains game were more........(continued)
