TAP, I remember when you booked this hunt and all the excitement you shared with us. I don't know you but I was genuinely happy for you. Your excitement was contagious. This was going to be a great hunt and you were going to share a great hunting report with us. If I remember right you were considering a LDE hunt but some of the deciding factors were:
1. You were going with a great outfitter.
2. You were going with a great ph......I believe you shared this with us later.
3. You were hunting a great area, one of the best in the world for big elephant.
4. You were hunting big elephant in Botswana the last year that it was available.
I am blessed in that I was able to see east and southern Africa in the early post-colonial days and was able to see and experience things that are no longer available. These are the stories that I love to share with my family and friends. (There are others here on this forum that have much greater experiences with the "old Africa" than I.) What I ask you to think about are three dates:
1. Tanzania 1973
2. Kenya 1977
3. Botswana 2014
These are the dates that these countries shut hunting down for good. (Tanzania reopened hunting around 1980) The hunting stories and the stories of the flora and fauna in Tanzania and Kenya that the people one and two generations older than I told was amazing. They are still stories that I enjoy and appreciate today.
The question for those of us who hunt is...........will Botswana be Kenya or Tanzania? Someday when you are as old as some of us, will one of the hunting stories that you tell your kids, grandkids, great grandkids, friends etc. be about taking that 70+ lbs elephant back when you could hunt them in Botswana.
TAP, I am not trying to tell you what to do.......I just want to make sure you are carefully considering your options. I can't empathize with you having never been in your shoes, but I, like so many of your "hunting buddies" on this site feel for you and hurt for you with what you are going through. What ever decision you make is the right decision for you and we will be happy for you whatever that decision is.
All the best and God bless you.