Giraffe Hunting

Giraffe are not commonly hunted. Unless giraffe are used to being hunted, they really don't present a challenge to the hunter.

Habitat and Requirements

Social Structure

Female giraffes associate in groups of a dozen or so members, occasionally including a few younger males.
Younger males tend to live in bachelor herds.
Older males often lead solitary lives.

Gestation Period

All giraffes have a 14 - 15 month gestation period and usually 1 calf is produced.

Males are much larger than females.
Males are generally darker in colour and mature male giraffe have more pronounced horns with one or more bony bumps on the head.
Mature solitary males emit a distinctive smell which is how they became known as 'old stinkers'.

Spotting, walking and stalking the likely habitats.
Tracking fresh giraffe spoor is quite easy and can be productive.
Fast accurate shooting is a must because they can see everything from their height and won't hang around, if they are used to being hunted.

An old male giraffe past breeding, is preferable but he will probably have a dark, scarred skin. If the look of the skin is important, select a younger animal.
Giraffe skin particularly needs fast and thorough cleaning or it will be useless for a trophy mount.

Shot placement in a giraffe is different from all other species due to it's specific anatomy.
It should be borne in mind that everything behind the shoulder is stomach.
The heart lies in the mid third of the body and in line with the centre of the foreleg and the top of the heart is about where the bottom of the neck leaves the body.
A frontal chest shot can be taken by drawing a cross between the very top of the shoulder joints and the centre of the chest and placing your shot where the two lines cross.
Another option is the frontal neck shot.
Alternatively, the brain lies just behind and just above the eye, but if you take this option, remember to compensate for the fact that you're shooting uphill.
A minimum calibre of 375 H&H is recommended for all shots on this species except the brain shot, where a .30 calibre would be sufficient.