I would like to thank all of you who has shown support! It is much appreciated! Thank you!!!
This hunt was the hardest goal I have ever taken on. When I started, many people said I couldn't or wouldn't do it. I was too small. I was a woman. I wasn't a typical bow hunter. I heard it all. It was a bit frustrating dealing with the nay sayers. However, every time I heard I couldn't or wouldn't, I became more determined than ever. The entire 14 months was focused on what I had to do to reach a goal. It paid off.
I spent 8 days hunting elephants. I could have shot over 60 elies if I was shooting a rifle. The 8 days was a constant spotting, stalking and walking. There was nothing easy about the hunt. The bush was thick. It was no different than walking in a jungle. It was stressful and frustrating because of all the pressure.
One of the main reasons it took 8 days was because of the keen sense of smell elephants have. We had between 9-11 people stalking. The wind would swirl and the elephants would scent us. It was amazing because those animals are so fast. As soon as they got a whiff, they were off to the races either away from us or towards us.
The day I finally got my shot, I was exhausted. However, once we got in, my mind and body became completely focused. All I thought was shot placement. The elephant that finally worked with me stood behind some bushes. I had to kneel, draw back and wait until he gave me an opportunity. It was incredible. When the arrow went in, the elephant jumped, turned and looked at us and ran off. He only ran about 50 yards before he stopped. He stayed there moaning until we left. Dudley, the PH, decided to leave because it was getting dark and the other elephants were agitated.
The next day we found the elephant about 500 yards away. The tracking was a bit difficult because he kept going around in circles. There was blood every where and on both sides of the trail. He bled out in several different places.
I don't know how long it took for him to expire since we left.
The animal fed over 500 villagers. By the way, there was only 1 gun. Dudley Rogers, my PH, carried a 500. That was it. I got the opportunity on the 8th day because we left everyone behind except Dudley, the tracker, Ed, the cameraman and myself.
I know many people have their preferences on bows. However, it is inappropriate to bash another company if you don't know the truth behind the story. There were 4 bow companies who offered to sponsor me. One offered to pay for the trip and backed out. Another gave me a bow but it didn't fit me well. The other wanted an extreme amount of paperwork. I was in desperate need of equipment that would work for my body. Pete and Jon Shepley from PSE stepped up to the plate. A few of the other bow companies said I would never complete the task and told me to leave. I had an extremely difficult time trying to find companies who would sponsor me.
Yes, this was my first bow harvest. However, I have been hunting/guiding for over 10 years. I had Mike Christianson mentoring me during the entire process. If it wasn't for him, I couldn't have done this. No one wanted to teach me the technical aspect of bows, arrows and bow hunting except him.
I did take my Chiropractor. After training for 14 months, I was not going to let anything including my body prohibit me from accomplishing my goal. I've been an athlete my entire life. I refused to quit.
Ok, enough said. If anyone has a question, please feel free to ask.
Again, thank you to everyone who has supported me!
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