Many a big game hunter tends to 'specialize' in the pursuit of one particular species, for one reason or another becoming a devotee of lion, leopard, elephant or buffalo hunting. Buzz Charlton,undoubtedly, is a dedicated elephant man, a man after my own heart, a man experienced beyond his years. The right man to give us this outstanding documentary and educational exposé.

Apart from the exceptional field photography and wealth of valuable information on elephants and the hunting thereof, Buzz reveals his deep affection for these animals, the grandest and most intelligent of African dangerous game. This intelligence, and the dangers that go with it, need special attention and understanding, attributes that an 'elephant man' instinctively applies to his hunting.

Those of us 'gray beards' still around vote Buzz firmly into the ranks of 'elephant men'. Now - watch him in action!

Foreward by Richard Harland 2005.
(Author of The Hunting Imperative; African Epic; Ndlovu-The Art of Hunting the African Elephant)

Giants In The Jesse is a beautifully made DVD and very much more than just another blood and gore elephant hunting DVD where the final moments of such activities are captured in dramatic fashion.  Only three hunts are chronicled which may disappoint those who want lots of action but as all of those who love Africa and its wildlife know, there is a lot more to hunting than just the killing.  A hunt should be a complete wilderness experience and this is the message that is so well portrayed in this production.  The Zambezi Valley is indeed a special place, especially so during the wet season.  Few get to see what the ‘Valley’ is really like when it’s hot and wet there, so the well-shot footage of the abundant fauna and flora which flourishes at this time of the year is especially interesting and exceedingly well presented.

More importantly however the DVD ends off with a convincing and well-argued conservation message.  Being able to factually demonstrate that hunting does indeed pay for conservation is what sets this video apart from all others, so much so that the final ten minutes of this DVD needs to be shown every anti-hunting activist. If you only purchase one such DVD this year, Giants In The Jesse should be it.

Dr. Kevin Robertson
Sustainable Use & Field Guiding Business Unit,
Southern African Wildlife College

Folks after 4 years of some great elephant footage I have finally finished my new DVD- “THE ESSENCE OF ELEPHANT HUNTING”

This 2 hour odd - “commercial free” DVD is action packed yet also very informative which is a theme that I have tried to continue through out my DVDs. “THE ESSENCE OF ELEPHANT HUNTING” covers the following

1. TROPHY ELEPHANT BULL HUNTING IN ZIMBABWE-covering in detail the differences between hunting trophy elephant bulls in the two major areas of Zimbabwe been the North Western Areas (Matetsi and the forestry blocks near Hwange National Parks) and the Zambezi Valley. This covers the differences between style of hunt, sizes of areas, genetic differences in elephant size and tusk size and judging, trophy expectations, habitat etc.

The back bone of this chapter is covered by taking you through 2 clients safaris with me where the one client shoots two bulls of 70 and a 55lbs each in Ngamo Sukumi (Forestry area) while the other client shoots two bulls of 55 and 53lbs in the Dande Safari area (Zambezi Valley). In this way you can visually see a huge difference between the two hunts without a huge amount of narration or sitting around “the campfire” explaining the differences.

I covered what I considered the two MAIN area been NW areas and Zambezi Valley as it is these areas that you will hunt elephant in the way that you should and that is by finding tracks and tracking rather then waiting on boundaries and or shooting at night etc. I do not mean to generalise and apologise in advance to the few fellows who do hunt elephant in the correct manner in the Southern part of Zimbabwe.

2. A CLIENTS QUEST FOR EXCITING ELEPHANT HUNTING CLOSE UP WITH A DOUBLE - this has one fellows safari with several elephant including a 70lbs bull and makes for exciting footage.

3. HOW ELEPHANT HUNTING AND ELEPHANT BEHAVIOUR HAS CHANGED FROM THE GOOD OLD DAYS DUE TO INCREASED POACHING AND HUMAN PRESSURE - having hunted only elephant exclusively for the past 15 years there is no doubt that in Zimbabwe the elephants have become far more aware and aggressive then in the past. I put this firmly down to the increase of poaching and bad government wildlife management policies been carried out in Zimbabwe today.

This chapter also deals with some myths about how to tell mock charge vs the real deal and has several hectic charges. I analyse these charges to see why they happened / what went wrong and how they could have been avoided or dealt with in a better manner.

All in all 2 hours of exciting and informative elephant hunting footage that I am sure you will all enjoy.

Join Charlton McCallum Safaris as they guide numerous exciting dangerous game hunts along the banks of the Zambezi River. Watching the 23 kills, you will feel like you are actually part of these adrenaline rushing hunts.

This DVD is split into 3 parts:

1) Hunting the man eating crocs of Cabora Bassa Lake in Mozambique.
Six monstrous crocs are taken on film with indepth instructions on huntng technique and shot placement. Complimenting the crocs are several huge hippo bull kills.

2) Problem Animal Control (PAC) elephant hunts.
Six elephant bulls are all taken with close quarter brain shots. While you will be glued to your seat during these awesome hunts in thick bush, you will also learn how protein starved local communities benefit directly from these hunts.

3) Extreme hunting - elephant and leopard taken with bows.
Explore the different ways to enhance your hunting experience by pushing the boundaries of conventional hunting. You will see an elephant and leopard taken with a bow and then incredible footage of brain shots on elephants with hand guns and muzzle loaders at under 20 yards! Included in this section are three unbelievable charges which end with elephants being dropped mere feet away from the hunters!

This is an exciting video with lots of action and a great resource for getting inspired for your own safari.