Johan Calitz (right) began marketing hunting videos in the 1980s, an enterprise that led to Under Wild Skies, which stars Tony Makris (left) and has been bringing safaris to living rooms for 19 years.
The fraternity of professional hunters who specialize in elephants is an ever-shrinking group, the result of habitat loss, poaching, and governmental politics that have brought about closure after closure of Africa’s prime elephant-hunting areas. Within this most exclusive of clubs are three PHs whose combined experience spans more than 140 years and whose notoriety has earned them glowing accolades from clients and revered admiration from their peers. I was privileged to sit with these gentlemen while on safari in Botswana.
John Dugmore made his name in ivory back in post-World War II Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Uganda. His knowledge and skills in the field garnered him work on such early cinematic safari classics as Hatari!, starring John Wayne, and William Holden’s The Lion. His clients included such luminaries as Ronald Reagan’s Chief of Staff, Jim Baker (twice), His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, and Prince Johann “Hansi” Georg von Hohenzollern of Germany.
Johan Calitz was in his late teens when he began accompanying his father, clients, and friends afield in Rhodesia under the mentorship of some of the most well-known professional hunters of that time. Today, almost 40 years later, he is internationally recognized not only for his steadfast style of elephant hunting, but also for his pioneering work in the hunting DVD market and his participation in the popular TV show Under Wild Skies, now in its 19th season.
Ivan Carter, formerly the host of Tracks Across Africa, was only 18 when he first guided elephant hunters in his Rhodesian homeland. Similar to Dugmore and Calitz, Carter has embraced today’s media and technology to expand his clientele and to share his passion for conservation through hunting. It is this passion that has made him one of the most recognized PHs in Africa.
Getting Started
John Dugmore’s introduction to professional hunting began in 1947 in Kenya. Eighteen at the time, he worked as the logging manager at a sawmill, but during weekends he would head into the forest after buffalo — and occasionally for leopard and rhino with Bill Ryan, his guide, friend, and mentor. Those early experiences proved invaluable when he joined the well-established hunting company of Ker and Downey Safaris.
“My first year with them I worked in the company store in Nairobi,” Dugmore recalls. “The chap who was servicing all of the accounts and supplies resigned, and they said, ‘Okay, you can do it for a year.’
“But it was very useful because I picked up all kinds of info from the hunters who came and went through these offices. I went into my first year of guiding knowing quite a bit about lion and elephant.”
Dugmore’s first elephant was shot under the guidance of another renowned ivory hunter, Eric Rundgen. The two men conducted many safaris together. John undoubtedly learned quite a bit more about elephant hunting from Harry Selby, his mentor, friend, and, as of his retirement in Botswana, his next-door neighbor. Selby accompanied Dugmore on his very first elephant hunt.
A native of South Africa, Johan Calitz was only 14 when he killed his first elephant while hunting with his father in Rhodesia. This father-son, hunter-client relationship would come full circle years later.
“My first experience as a professional hunter was guiding my dad, and he shot a nice elephant of 56 pounds,” Calitz remembers. “It was a great hunt! So many memories.”
Hunting with his father began a special tradition in the Calitz family that continues to this day.
“I gave my son, Cobus, the same opportunity when I guided him on his first elephant safari when he was 14. I was my father’s last PH and my son’s first PH.”
Professional Hunter Johan Calitz and son, Cobus.
Calitz’s career took form in the 1970s in Rhodesia, where he hunted with such notables as Ronnie Van Heerden and Hendrik Coetzee. From there, he expanded his hunting into Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
“Hunting elephant in Zimbabwe in those days was about the same as in present-day Botswana,” he explains. “The ivory averaged between 50 and 60 pounds.
“I came to Botswana for the first time during the middle ’80s with my father. Just seeing the country’s elephants was amazing. The pure size of the bulls was overwhelming in comparison with those of the Zambezi Valley. Botswana elephants probably outweighed the Zambezi bulls by 2,000 pounds and they stood 12 feet at the shoulders.”
Calitz has hunted Botswana almost exclusively ever since.
Ivan Carter’s first hunting trip came as the result of an essay contest in school.
“I won with an essay on hunting when I was about 11 or 12. My prize was a hunt with Richard Harland in what’s called the midlands of Zimbabwe.”
This experience, along with his general affection for everything outdoors, led Carter to pursue an education of his own curriculum in the field. In his career path to professional hunter, Carter worked at a rehabilitation facility for sick and orphaned animals, did a stint working in problem animal control, and led extensive photographic safaris in several countries. He regards each of these endeavors as learning experiences; he supplemented them with extensive book research and time spent with experts to absorb all he could about the natural world.
Ivan Carter and legendary elephant hunter John Dugmore review old safari footage.
Despite this extensive study, Carter admits that some things can’t really be taught — such as judging the size of an elephant’s tusks.
“Judging ivory is really, really tough. You have to get a feel for what a 45-pound tusk looks like on an elephant, no matter what formula you have in your head. It’s like an elk guide; he can look at a bull’s antlers and say, “Okay, that’s a 340-class elk,” because he gets a feel for that. It’s not about a formula but just a feeling from being around elephants that you know what their ivory is going to weigh.”
The Golden Age of Elephant Hunting
Safaris in Dugmore’s days were nothing short of a major event, with the shortest trips encompassing at least a month. Given the logistics of the time, planning for such an excursion could take upwards of six months.
“In those days a safari was set up through back-and-forth airmail,” Dugmore says. “Then with telegram, and then with facsimile machines.”
Properly outfitting clients for the field took additional time as well.
“Clients would send me their measurements because you couldn’t buy safari clothing in the States back then. I’d send the measurements off to some Indian tailors, brothers they were, in Nairobi. The brothers would cut out the clothing roughly, then check the clients’ measurements when they arrived, and make it and deliver it to the hotel that night.
“Our clients would have to spend at least a day in Nairobi getting properly prepared: clothing, shoes — everything they would need for hunting in the bush.”
Once in the field, the sky was the limit in terms of the adventure that awaited them.
“When I started there were no hunting areas … it was wide open,” Dugmore recalls. “And if I arrived and there was some other camp there and you didn’t want to be in the way, you’d just moved up ten miles.”
Although Kenya’s hunting grounds represented an untamed frontier, there were still rules.
“In those days you could shoot two elephants, two buffalo, and leopard were vermin in most places. If I had a client who wanted a big elephant, we could often find a hundred-pounder. Our biggest weighed 133 and 121 pounds, and one client shot both of them — in only three days.”
Calitz remembers the days of planning a safari via airmail, but also remembers the changes — and hassles — brought about through telecommunications.
“Living on a farm in the late ’70s and ’80s we had a party line, and when you wanted to contact a client, you would have to phone the operator who would put you through with 15 other people listening in. I used the fax machine, and it would cut out every time someone else picked up their phone.
“I remember in the late ’80s, when I had my first cell phone. My wife was so embarrassed when I walked around with that brick to my ear.”
Like the rest of the business world, safari organizations moved from shoe box-sized phones to computers and email. With those technological advances came more and more back-and-forth correspondence.
“Planning a safari years ago took two or three letters. In today’s world it takes a minimum of 50 to 60 emails,” Calitz notes.
Tusker Tactics
While all three men were successful ivory hunters, it’s interesting to note that each had his own style of pursuing big tuskers.
Says Carter: “If my client was a first-timer who’d never hunted elephants before, we went for a heart shot, taken anywhere from 14 to 60 yards and always off the sticks. The brain shot is very difficult because it’s all about the angle of the elephant. He might be facing this way or facing that way. The heart shot was always the best option for a first-time client. Less intimidating.”
Ivan Carter leads Denise Welker on a practice approach during the final elephant season in Botswana.
Calitz has probably guided more elephant hunters than any other African PH.
“At the end of this year, myself and my professional hunters [at Johan Calitz Safaris] will have guided clients to more than 1,200 elephants,” he says. “For me, it’s such an honor to hunt those big elephants … to take them out with dignity.”
Calitz explains how he hunts: “We either track or spot an elephant, then walk up very close and try to get a side brain shot. I’ve walked up to thousands of bulls. The ideal situation is to go in quietly until the client can see his target clearly and then take the elephant out with one shot. It’s less stressful for you, the client, and the elephant. Once the elephant knows you’re there, and it starts swaying its head, the moment is spoiled. That’s why I’m a promoter of taking an elephant out without him knowing about any human presence. I owe him that respect.
“By now you’ve seen I’m very passionate about this. Keep it black and white and avoid the gray areas. That’s when people get killed — when the animal feels threatened and it becomes necessary to place more than one shot. I love to hunt but I also love to sleep well at night.”
Carter believes that practice — when possible — makes perfect, and especially with elephants.
“Elephants are thick-skinned, heavy-boned, and require very precise bullet placement for a clean, one-shot kill.”
Because first-time elephant hunters are undoubtedly nervous, Carter prefers to lead clients to a “real-life, on-the-ground, live-model” elephant when possible. This gives him the opportunity to point out to his client the different shot placements and angles necessary to humanely take down a tusker. Regardless of whether it’s practice or an actual hunt, Carter insists on getting clients close enough to make a brain shot.
“I’m often asked, ‘Why get so close? Why not just shoot from 50 yards?’ The answer is the closer you are, the better the chance of a good second shot — an elephant facing you at ten yards is physically unable to retreat without presenting a clear broadside shot. This turn happens incredibly fast, however, and one needs to be quick and ready for that second shot. Countless times I have had to yell ‘Shoot again’ because the hunter is frozen in disbelief that his 500-grain solid had no effect!”
Elephant Guns
Much as with their hunting style, the men differ in their preferred selection of rifles.
“I used a .450 Rigby,” Dugmore says. “It wasn’t an ejector. It was a double. I would buy the ammunition in Nairobi — no problem. When my .450 went, my friend Skip Essex gave me a .470 William Evans. Incidentally, I never bought a firearm. All I’ve ever used have been gifts from clients.”
Calitz took his first elephant with a Brenneke 93×64, but switched to a .458 Lott when he became a PH. He used that rifle well into the late 1980s when custom riflemaker Butch Searcy built a .470 Nitro Express double for Calitz. Today, he rotates through a bevy of rifles, including his Searcy, a Westley Richards .500 NE, a .500 Jeffery, and a custom .416 Rigby handcrafted by John Brussel of Cape Town.
Carter remembers his first elephant rifle and the formalities that went about in obtaining it.
“My very first elephant hunting experience was with Buffalo Range Safaris,” he says. “To apprentice with them, I had to have a heavy-caliber rifle. Of course I didn’t have one, so I decided to ask my grandfather to loan me his. He loved to hunt buffalo and elephant, and he had a very beautiful, engraved bolt-action .425 Westley Richards.
“I can remember like yesterday how nervous I was when I presented myself to my grandfather to ask for the rifle. He took me into his gunroom and quietly listened to my request. He was quiet, and I fidgeted nervously as he took his time lighting his pipe. Then, as this huge cloud of smoke disappeared, he looked at me and exclaimed, ‘Of course, Laddie. Let’s go and see if you can handle it.’
“Our agreement was that I had to keep all my tips till I could afford a rifle of my own and then return that beautiful piece to him.”
The rifle Carter purchased with those tips was a Winchester Model 70 in .375 with a synthetic stock.
“I carried that rifle more than 300 days a year for the next several years. I still have it, and it looks like its been dragged behind a truck for a hundred miles.”
Carter currently uses a Heym .577 and a Heym Jumbo in .600 NE.
Hunting On-Screen
Given that Dugmore began his PH career in the Golden Age of both cinema and television, it’s no surprise that his exploits found their way into theaters and TVs. His participation in such films as Mogambo, Hatari!, and The Lion led to numerous appearances on The American Sportsman, a first-of-its-kind outdoor show that began in 1965 and ran for 20 years.
“Those were great fun. American Sportsman would bring somebody up from the States who was well known, such as a movie star. They wanted to hunt dangerous game … elephant, leopard, and such … and the whole thing was to get the reaction of someone who was hunting the first time rather than an experienced sportsman. I got a lot of clients from those shows.”
Longtime PH John Dugmore occasionally lent his expertise to Hollywood, which relied on him to help make authentic safari flicks like John Wayne’s Hatari!
Calitz took televised hunts to the next level in the 1980s and 1990s when he became one of the first hunters to release commercial-grade DVDs. His success in this format — along with a chance opportunity — led to Under Wild Skies, starring Tony Makris.
“In 2000 Jeff Neal, a booking agent of mine at the time, booked Tony and his camera team for a safari the following year. We had a great time and Tony has hunted with me ever since. It gave me great exposure to the world; it’s been great traveling in the US, and when I’m in airports, people will come up to me and say, ‘Thank you so much for the show … you guys do a fantastic thing.’
“Under Wild Skies basically documented each hunt the way it actually happened. It’s an honest and undramatized show. If Tony takes five shots, you see five shots. If he misses, you will see the misses. I think that’s why people appreciate it.”
The on-camera aspect of Carter’s career began when he was asked by Safari Classic Productions to participate in the company’s production of Boddington on Elephant in 2008. Carter’s on-screen presence was both natural and captivating, earning him glowing reviews. He eventually took over as host of Safari Classics Productions and produced Tracks Across Africa, Hornady’s Africa, and Dark and Dangerous With Ivan Carter.
The Future of Botswana
Botswana is cherished by all three men, but they don’t hold out much hope for the future of elephants and other wildlife since hunting was closed in the country’s wildlands.
Dugmore’s view is based on his history in Kenya, a country that closed hunting in 1977. He believes that Botswana will undoubtedly follow and poaching will become rampant.
“Game numbers will drop.”
Calitz agrees, stating that poachers are already moving in.
“Elephant poaching in Botswana was never a problem. Last year it started becoming a problem, and both elephant and rhino have been poached since — something that has never happened before.
“The bush meat trade is also on the increase. Crime syndicates are behind the international demand for ivory and rhino horn. Without outfitters on the ground who are held responsible for an area and monitor it year-round, poachers will run rampant.”
“Ivory Hunters” originally appeared in the September/October 2015 issue of Sporting Classics. To get great outdoor stories like this delivered straight to your home, subscribe today!
