“Tomorrow” proclaimed my PH, Corne Kruger with great promise, as I glanced over my shoulder to see the eland bull we had tracked for the past three hours disappear behind the ridge, where slowly sank the African sun. “I truly thought you would have got a shot this afternoon — what is it about you and eland?” Before I could respond, “We’ve been after eland on three different safaris now, right?” I nodded in agreement. During those three extended hunts with Namibia’s Omujeve Safaris, several friends who had joined me had taken huge eland bulls, usually on the first day they hunted the world’s largest antelope. But as for me, for whatever reason that had not been the case!

It had not been that we had not seen eland, for indeed we had, but something always seemed to go wrong just about the time we were closing in on decent rifle range. Twice I had been tempted to shoot, when a departing bull stopped at 400 yards, after all I felt confident of placing a 375 Ruger Hornady 270gr soft point into an eland’s rather large vitals at that range. I had practiced such a shot numerous times with my Ruger M77 African, topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint variable, at the FTW Ranch’s Sportsman All-Weather All-Terrain Marksmanship ranges. What kept me from taking those shots was the fact that we were in an area where I couldn’t get a solid rest and the long grass was too tall to use the shooting sticks we had with us.

My hunt for eland came to fruition a week later when Corne and I spotted three mature eland bulls, over a mile distant. By taking advantage of brushy cover and low hills we cut the distance to 220 yards. I set up my shooting sticks and used a nearby camel-thorn tree, against which to rest my right elbow. At the shot the ancient bull buckled and fell to the ground. His two understudies milled around for a few seconds then departed. Finally, I had my first eland and I was thrilled!

Two nights later, I was served a grilled eland ribeye steak. Talk about tasty and tender — delicious! I wished there was a way I could ship the entire processed carcass back to Texas.

The following year I was back with Corne hunting the Omathandecka region of north central Namibia, homeland of the Himba people. This time I chose a 30–06 Ruger American rifle, loaded with Hornady’s 165gr GMX, and again topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint. We found a monstrous bull eland leaving a remote water hole. My first shot was about 200 yards and unfortunately hit the bull a bit farther back then I intended. He moved forward just as I was completing my trigger pull. As he ran, I shot him a second time. Even though the bullet passed through his vitals the bull ran over half a mile before going down. We had to return to camp and enlist the help of several others to create a road to where my eland lay so we could bring him out. It was truly a memorable hunt in many ways.

My latest eland bull also came from Namibia, again hunting with Corne Kruger’s Omujeve Safaris after a successful kudu hunt. For years I had desired a 60-inch greater kudu, the “Holy Grail of Kududom”. Over the years I had come close several times including several 55 to 58-inch bulls, and, a 59 ½-inch kudu from South Africa within mere yards of the Botswana border. I shot my exactly 60-inch bull with Corne’s 300 Win Ruger 77, shooting Hornady’s 180gr soft point ammo. En route to where we were to hunt plains game, a friend arrived in Namibia to hunt Cape buffalo in the country’s northern Zambezi Strip (formerly Caprivi Strip). Unfortunately, his rifle did not make the trip with him, so he asked if he could borrow my Ruger Guide rifle in 375 Ruger, topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint scope, which was exactly the same as his. I had brought both Hornady 300gr DGX and DGS loads and had intended to use the DGX (expandable rounds) for kudu and eland, and the 300gr DGS (solids) on steenbok, my favorite small antelope. Of course I agreed to lend my friend my 375 Ruger and might I add, he indeed shot an ancient “dagga boy” near the banks of the Kwando River.

So it came to be I had Corne’s suppresser-installed, Ruger M77 Hawkeye 300 Win Mag in my hands after we found fresh eland tracks. We had been following spoor for about a mile, when we noticed a fresh mamba “drag” crossing the eland’s trail. “Want to follow the mamba’s trail to see how big it is?” questioned Corne.

“You’ve got to be kidding. I’ve made it through many safaris without encountering a mamba and I have no intention of going to look for one!” I quickly replied. Corne laughed…

A quarter mile of following the big bull’s track, he joined up with several eland cows and according to our tracker, a younger bull.

We caught up with the small herd 30 minutes later. Moving downwind of the herd and taking advantage of brushy cover we cut the distance to 75 yards. Each time we set up the shooting sticks for a shot, the younger bull walked in front of the old one. After six such attempts, the two finally separated allowing for a shot. Corne set up the sticks, the 300 fell into place and I placed my crosshairs immediately behind the bull’s shoulder, a third of the way up from his brisket and gently squeezed the trigger. The bull bucked, kicking high his hind legs, then started walking. I bolted in a second round and quickly shot again. Before I could send a third round his way, the bull crumpled to the ground. He was mine!

Back home in Texas, over the last few days, a time when I would normally have been in Namibia, it’s had me again dreaming of pursuing eland in a land far away — a land of thorn bushes, a land where a 2,000lb animal can seemingly disappear into thin air — but that story waits for tomorrow…