The eland is the largest antelope in South Africa, with a potential weight of 2000 pounds and a height of about 76 inches. You can spot eland in grasslands, forests, subdeserts, bushes, and even on the highest peaks of mountains, but they are most commonly found in semiarid regions.
Both sexes of an eland share the same fawn colour and long black spiral horns. The Cape Eland is an ox-like bovid, which is the largest of the spiral-horned antelope, and takes on the broad neck, hump, and dewlap of the Brahma bull as it matures.
The colour is a bluish gray around the neck in older males, but it’s generally a grayish brown all around. Some examples have barely noticeable vertical stripes down their sides. Even while both bulls and cows have horns, a bull’s are shorter and heavier.
The eland usually travels in groups of 8-12 animals, though much larger herds have been spotted. Eland spend their days grazing in the open woods and on the flat, scrubby veld.
The eland is a phenomenal jumper for its stature, easily able to go over barriers that are 6 or 7 feet in height.
When it comes to flavour and texture, eland meat is the closest to beef, making it an excellent choice for those who are new to venison.
The eland is a gorgeous and iconic African trophy, and there are no seasonal restrictions on hunting in South Africa, making it an ideal target for the avid sportsman.
Due to eland being a relatively shy species and given its amazing size, hunting eland in South Africa is an immensely exciting and gratifying activity. These majestic creatures have excellent eyesight and the ability to leap up to 7 feet, making them a worthy and rewarding trophy.
Every time you set out on a prize quest, you’ll face new difficulties. This is just as true for eland, which are a nervous species that flee at the first hint of danger, making them a particularly difficult target.
Having a high-quality rifle is crucial when hunting eland. Even if many eland are killed using less powerful weapons, the .375 is a good option. Shot placement is always a factor to consider, as missing the target by even a few inches with a smaller calibre can lead to a frustrating day of searching for a wounded animal or perhaps its complete loss.
If you have access to one, a fast-pointing double rifle is ideal for hunting eland. Both the 9.3 X 74R and the previously mentioned are great options. The 375 H&H can fire either 286 grain or 300 grain bullets.
A 2 – 12 X 50 gun scope is an excellent choice for hunting eland in South Africa in the majority of situations. With the wide variety of gun scopes and gun sight brands available today, finding the right one is ultimately a matter of preference.
That said, the ability of a scope to endure recoil when the trigger is squeezed is the most crucial factor to consider when making a purchase.
This huge antelope won’t go down without a fight, so you might want to bring solids as backup. Eland are most commonly taken in the course of other hunts. Hunting for additional spiral horns or other game, you might (with any luck) stumble across a Cape Eland.
Getting within shot range of an eland trophy bull can be a daunting challenge for hunters. There’s a good chance you’ll have to stalk for a while. In dense cover, most specimens will be taken down at close range.
As such, walking and stalking, or spotting the animal and then stalking it, will usually get you closer to your target, which is especially helpful under dense cover. There is a chance that using hunting blinds will help you bag the eland you’ve been after.
Cape Eland in South Africa are enormous, powerful animals, thus hunters should limit themselves to two shots. Never doubt the wisdom of your expert hunter, who has spent countless years tracking eland in South Africa and knows all the best spots to set up camp.
A hunter should be careful when placing follow-up shots at an eland that has been injured or cornered, as the animal may become aggressive. Keep a rifle of at least a 30-06 calibre handy, and check your target again at least 30 minutes after shooting it in the heart or lungs, 1 hour if you think you hit the liver, and 6 hours if you hit the gut.
Eland bow hunting in South Africa requires a patient hunter with excellent equipment and a steady hand to ensure the arrow hits the target. As the gorgeous dewlap on an eland can make the prize seem even larger than it actually is, shot placement is crucial when bow hunting this species. A well-placed arrowhead can do serious damage to an eland’s vital organs from a distance, making the trophy easy to retrieve.
You can hunt an eland in South African that is larger than life with the help of Hunt24.
Trophy hunts for eland are exciting and can be booked at any time of the year. Eland are typically hunted in a safari fashion, spot-and-stalk fashion, or still-hunting fashion (if you’re a bowhunter).
