Texas elephant hunts?

[Questor]

Is there any elephant hunting available in Texas? I'm not joking. There are lots of exotic critters in Texas to mess with, including cape buffalo. I figure it's just a matter of time before tuskers are available.

[Graybeard]

Yes they have elephants in TX and no doubt cape buff too. But as far as I know neither is hunted there.

[CJ]

Driving South out of San Antone 2 Febs ago to go after javelina, I made my partner swing a u-turn. Thought I saw a cape buffalo in a fenced ranch. It was, got a crappy pic of him, juvenile buff. Dont know if he was up for hunt or not, but it seems in TX enough money will get most anything. Shooting an elephant seems like it might violate CITES or the ivory ban or some other treaty though. Saw some giraffes also. Interesting state.

[Questor]

GB:

Now there's a tasty little tidbit. Soon the people that sell alfalfa and clover for planting "monster buck" forage will be selling "monster ivory" fruit trees for the planting. I can see it coming now. That'd be a heckuva road kill, wouldn't it? After narrowly missing a feral hog on the highway you're wiping your brow, thanking heaven, and then slamming into a trumpeting six ton obstacle.  Those 'roo bars on the pickup will only help so much in an incident like that.  

Come to think of it, elephant hunting in Texas would really require some Texas-sized chest freezers. You'd probably own all the meat and then have to figure out what to do with it.  Field dressing would be a chore to remember.  Then there's packing it out.  After about 1,200 trips back to the truck (as in refrigerated moving van), you'd be ready to head home. Really really ready.

I hope you didn't get too much fallout from the storm. That's a real shame down there. When I was growing up we had hurricanes just about every year, it seems, but never anything to match that catastrophe. There don't seem to be many countries piping up to offer assistance.

[texasdoc]

here is from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Site for hunting Animals like ya'll are discussing;

CANNED HUNTS” (DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS)
No person may kill or attempt to injure a dangerous wild animal (African or Asiatic lion, tiger, leopard,
cheetah, hyena, bear, elephant, wolf, or rhinoceros, or any subspecies or hybrid of these animals) that is held in captivity in this state or that is released from captivity in this state for the purpose of being killed,
nor may any person conduct, promote, advertise, or assist in the hunting of a dangerous wild animal.

This is just a Heads up on hunting those type of criiters.

Doc

[Questor]

It looks like somebody got a bright idea sometime in the past and had to be stopped by the game department.

[texasdoc]

Well it was a Houston Dentist that videoed his Tiger hunt back in 1993 and placed it on TV. it wasn't a Fair chase and it caused the law to be enacted.

Doc

[Hooker]

One would think that if someone owned the animal it would be considered livestock, and not a wild animal. But then Fish And Game Depts. being what they are have always ignored private property rights. Strange huh?

Pat

[texasdoc]

You are very right Hooker, TP&WD is being invaded by the Animal rights folks and its only getting worst every year.



Doc

[Lawdog]

I know there are a few places where you can book a hunt of African Cape Buffalo.  There was a thread on the African Hunting forum a while back that was about hunting Cape Buffalo in America.  You might try contacting J&R Outfitters at http://www.jroutfitters.com/rates.html to see a list of game they have available for hunting, including African game.  Another outfit to contact would be Four Seasons Hunting Service at http://www.fourseasonshunting.org/.  These two may be able to help you find where you can hunt Cape Buffalo although I don’t believe anyone is breeding enough Elephants yet here for hunting.  Lawdog
 

[Redhawk1]

I know there are a few places where you can book a hunt of African Cape Buffalo.  There was a thread on the African Hunting forum a while back that was about hunting Cape Buffalo in America.  You might try contacting J&R Outfitters at http://www.jroutfitters.com/rates.html to see a list of game they have available for hunting, including African game.  Another outfit to contact would be Four Seasons Hunting Service at http://www.fourseasonshunting.org/.  These two may be able to help you find where you can hunt Cape Buffalo although I don’t believe anyone is breeding enough Elephants yet here for hunting.  Lawdog
 

I just came back from Florida and JR Outfitters does not have Cape Buffalo, just Water Buffalo. I as at Brady Ranch and got a Water Buffalo.  

[Questor]

It'd probably be cheaper to go to Africa and have a real safari than to go after these imports.

[Blackhawk44]

While not cape, the large Asian buffalo are available for hunting in Texas in the Hondo/Uvalde area.  John Barsness had a piece on his hunt a few months back.

[Graybeard]

There are at most less than a half dozen cape buff that become available to shoot (doubt the word hunt would apply) annually in the US. Most come from zoos when they get too old and too much trouble to keep so they sell them to private game preserves. As best as I can determine no one is raising them for that purpose and none can be imported for the purpose.

There are long waiting lists at most every place where they've ever offered them to shoot.

[Redhawk1]

It'd probably be cheaper to go to Africa and have a real safari than to go after these imports.

You might want to think that over. It is going to cost you about double to go to Africa. And the import of your animal is going to take a long time. I have a buddy that goes to Africa and has to wait about 9 months to receive his hides back. Also if you don't consider a Water Buffalo hunt on foot a real hunt even in an fenced hunt, give it a try, I did. The danger is just as real.

[Lawdog]

I know there are a few places where you can book a hunt of African Cape Buffalo.  There was a thread on the African Hunting forum a while back that was about hunting Cape Buffalo in America.  You might try contacting J&R Outfitters at http://www.jroutfitters.com/rates.html to see a list of game they have available for hunting, including African game.  Another outfit to contact would be Four Seasons Hunting Service at http://www.fourseasonshunting.org/.  These two may be able to help you find where you can hunt Cape Buffalo although I don’t believe anyone is breeding enough Elephants yet here for hunting.  Lawdog
 

I just came back from Florida and JR Outfitters does not have Cape Buffalo, just Water Buffalo. I as at Brady Ranch and got a Water Buffalo.  

You are very well right.  All I was going by was where they say in their ad;

AFRICAN GAME HUNTS  -  Summer  -  Available upon request

I took this to mean that one had to specifically ask for these hunts.  Considering some people pay as much as $5,000.00(and more) for a trophy American Bison hunt, paying the same for a African Cape Buffalo hunt doesn’t seem to be out of line.  A wild Cape Buffalo is the same dangerous animal whether located in Africa or America.  Same goes for Asian Water Buffalo.  Lawdog
 

[John]

Boys ya don't have to go to Texas to find an elephant. A couple of springs back I was on the way back to Oklahoma from the eleven point river in Missouri with some buddies, when I looked across the field to the north of the hwy and I see three elephants off in the distance. I blinked, looked again, and there they were big as Dallas, and there was a fella walking in front of the first one........just like he was leadin the cows to the barn or something.

I doubt they can be hunted......well harvested, they seemed to be big pets, but they were in Missouri. Springfield area.