Hunt: 12 day Leopard Hunt
Dates: 11th -23rd of July
Client: Jamie from Australia
Outfitter: Mbalabala safaris/ Lin Stanton
PH: Lin Stanton
Area: Mbalabala/ West Nicholson
Weapon used: 7mm

This was Jamie’s 3rd hunt with us and his first with us for leopard. Jamie has hunted the big 5 in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This was not his first leopard though and was looking for a big tom. The first couple of days were spent shooting zebra and impala and placing baits in both Mbalabala and West Nicholson areas. After spending a few days in West Nicholson and having a young male and a few females active on baits, Jamie however, really wanted to shoot a honey badger. We set up the blind for this and luckily for us a large male honey badger came wondering in just after dark. This was Jamie’s first honey badger and really good specimen.




Whilst checking baits one day we got a call from my driver in Mbalabala to say that one of the baits we had put up earlier in the area had been completely flattened by a big male leopard. Jamie and I immediately set off to Mbalabala armed with baits and a certain amount of excitement!
After a long two hour drive we arrived at the bait to find, that a quarter of the zebra had been devoured two days previous and his fresh tracks around the bait and area indicated that he had been there the night before. We spent several hours tracking the leopard to determine which direction he was heading in. We then strategically placed the baits in this direction in the hope that he would pick up the scent from our baits and drags that we had made. Leaving the area at about 7pm we made our way, exhausted but upbeat to my homestead in Mbalabala. The following morning we returned to the bait to find the leopard’s tracks following one of our drag lines. Looking at the bait we could see that the leopard had feasted on the zebra bait we had put up the day before. By now Jamie was beyond excited!!
My trackers and I set about building a walk-in blind. The way I like to set up my blinds is to build them 40 plus meters from the bait with a clear path extending another 70 to 100 meters away from the blind where we would have mattresses set up to sit comfortably to wait for the leopard to return. Once all this was set up, I then went about setting up my Rheostat and listening device. The rheostat is basically a light that I can turn up the brightness slowly in order not to disturb the leopard and my listening device is set up at the bait and I run a cable to where the mattresses are placed so that we can hear the leopard walking in.
We got back to the blind at 4:30pm, set the weapon up and the waited for the leopard to return. At 5:30 pm, I could hear the leopard calling in the distance and then at 7:30pm we could hear him walk in and lay down next to the bait. I cannot accurately describe the tension now building as the leopard decided he would lay next to the bait for 3 HOURS!!!! Finally he got up an fed at just after 10pm. We let him feed for a few minutes and then walked slowly and quietly up to the shooting blind. Once Jamie was in position, I turned the rheostat on, only for the leopard to glance at it once and then continue devour the bait before him. Jamie made a perfect shot behind the shoulder, the leopard ran off and we followed him 60 yards to find him lying on the ground. It was the perfect heart/lung shot. After the celebratory handshakes and photos we return to Mbalabala for some much needed rest. The leopard weighed 170 pounds and measured 7’ 11’’. A really good leopard by our standards.










The rest of the hunt was spent looking for a good wildebeest, which Jamie got.



Overall I can say it was a great hunt and I am really pleased that Jamie managed to get his big leopard.

Not sure why one picture came on upside down. Apologies for that

Great Tom !!
Congratulations !!

Congratulations to you both!

'A really big Leopard by any standards'

That thing is a horse. You obviously know your stuff and great job. Very fine trophies all round.

Very nice leopard. Congratulations. Still on my list.

Nice Tom, thanks for posting.

Lin: Outstanding! Using the cabled listening device, the reostat, etc. sounds very similar to my hunt a few years ago with PH John Hunt at Jonsyl Farm near West Nicholson. On that hunt we killed a huge leopard killing leopard, using the remains of a female leopard that the big tom had killed earlier that morning. Congratulations to you and Jamie!

Congratulations Nice cat . glad you got on your first Leopard try. It can be a frustration . It took me the night after the last day of my fifth trip .Hunted the west Nicholas area in 2011
Jim

Congrats on your great cat.

Thanks for posing.

Congratulations on that monster cat!!!
Honey Badger is something I hope to get an opportunity at some day

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Lin: Outstanding! Using the cabled listening device, the reostat, etc. sounds very similar to my hunt a few years ago with PH John Hunt at Jonsyl Farm near West Nicholson. On that hunt we killed a huge leopard killing leopard, using the remains of a female leopard that the big tom had killed earlier that morning. Congratulations to you and Jamie!

Vaughn,

Have you spoken to John lately??? I lost track of him.

I wonder how old Ivan is doing?? I loved being there in 2006.

Frank: I get John's email mailings occasionally. While hunting the Bubye in June/July of this year, I ran into PH Mark Bristow who lives close to Bishopstone, and who told me that John and Debbie are now managing Bishopstone. The last that I heard about Ivan DuPlessis, he had given up Jonsyl Farm and moved back to Bulawayo to be with his wife. Yes, Jonsyl Farm was indeed a lovely and an exciting place to hunt, back in the day.

I get his newsletter every now and then as well.

I'm glad that he's managing Bishopstone now...maybe they can now have a bit of peace in their lives. I hunted Bishopstone back in 2008 with him...great place! I wonder if Brendan Park still owns it??

Poor Ivan....that place is probably "Overrun" by now with him gone!

Well done Lin! Thats a bus leopard.

Congrats boys.
Good to see Jamie back at it.

Congrats on a really nice cat...very good report and photos...thanks for sharing...

TOAD congrats

Congratulations, Lindon, what a toad of a cat!

quote:

Originally posted by txsouthpaw:
Congratulations, Lindon, what a toad of a cat!

+1!!

outstanding job Lin, great cat but the honey badger is awesome bloody Jamie will not let me hear the end of it until I get one now haahaa

This big cat was the leopard from the first trail timer photo from my hunt report:
:https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/1301003202
There is no doubt in my mind that the second trail timer photo in the report is an even larger cat. And he is still out there......

Lekker cat.

nice cat

Unique method of baiting. Sounds like a great strategy.

Congrats on a great hunt and very nice leopard!

Thanks for all the comments just finished another safari will post a hunt report soon

Lin that is a great Tom. Congratulations to you and Jamie.