This is an account of a young chap who works for me and his introduction to Africa and professional hunting.

Richard Bell Cross and I had taken a young Danish chap under our wings whose ambition was to pursue professional hunting as a career. Thor was his name and the youngster was about as green as they come but quick to learn and very keen. Once in Zambia he was in his element as it was always his dream to be in the Dark Continent and to be involved in the hunting of dangerous game. However he was soon to learn that the job was not all about riding on the back of the truck talking shit

As an apprentice hunter he was obliged to spend two unpaid years in the field before going through the examination process. It is a good system as the hunting of dangerous game is only learned by experience. Thor however was shortly going to be thrown into the deep end, and by purely by chance experienced two Lion charges during his inauguration into the industry. Unbeknown to him it was also a first for me.

The first charge occurred in the northern sector of the vast Lunga Luswishi concession in the Kafue. Thor was tagging along side Richard and his client and they had finally got a big cat feeding. It was late in the safari and Richard had decided that in order to maximise their chances they would quietly approach the set up on foot during the dark hours of early morning. The bait was positioned amongst of nest of large anthills that would provide them ample cover when stalking the blind. A path had been cleared and was dimly visible in the twilight hours. During the approach the team could sense that the Lion was nearby and Richard decided to stop and wait for first light. He moved up an anthill so he would be able to observe both the bait and blind from a distance and it would be from this position they would make their next move. Young Thor was sitting at the base of the mound, it was getting light now and he was looking at what he mistook to be jackal wandering through the grey mists of dawn. The jackal was in fact the dark patch of a Lion’s mane and once Thor had registered this the full frame of the beast came into view, and it was staring intently at him. Thor slowly adverted eye contact not daring to speak or move. The team including the scout and tracker were unaware of these happenings as so was the PH who was busy glassing the bait area in from of them.

The Lion moved on toward the bait and Thor urgently pushed the client up alongside Richard who had now seen the beast and who was also urgently gesturing to the client to join him. The client proceeded to place a bullet perfectly in the centre of the beast’s stomach and typically of gut shot Lion it ran for cover emitting some quite alarming noises. For the unarmed apprentice this was about as exciting as it gets, or so he thought. There was the mandatory wait while some cigarettes were being slowly smoked and then Richard mustered up his team and led the follow up. Using the wind to their advantaged they stalked the enraged cat. Richard was positioning the client to shoot when Thor announced that ‘the Lion was coming’ and at a furious speed. Richard’s first bullet hit it squarely in the chest, as did his second. The client’s .416 took away most of a shoulder and with seeming no ill affect. Thor’s observation was that the Lion took the punishment in its stride and actually accelerated after receiving the initial shots. The Lion was now upon them and Richard stuck the end of his barrel into its face and stopped this nonsense with a mortal headshot. Meanwhile the apprentice had sought the nearest tree but the scout and tracker had already claimed it as there own. Thor was now seriously reconsidering his choice of profession.

A few days later I came through with my European client who was on his fourth Lion hunt, the other three Tanzanian ventures proving to be unsuccessful. Hippo was to be our choice of bait and on the first morning of the first day I had my client shooting at the partially submerged head of a good bull. However I was unsure of the shot and after a couple of hours of waiting sent Thor back to camp to pick up the boat so I could conduct a search of the river. He had only been gone ten minutes or so when I heard the car return, Thor very excitedly informing us that he had found a Lion walking down the road. He added that it looked ‘fine’. (see photo)

I thought it probably wise at this stage to let the apprentice take on some responsibilities and quietly informed him that he was now in charge and from now on in the decisions made would be his own. Much to my dismay and I presume the eagerness of youth he declared to my hyperventilating client that he would track the Lion up for him. I noticed Thor had borrowed one of my large calibre rifles, and taking the lead led us rather too quickly down the road. A kilometre or so he gleefully pointed out the oversized tracks of his Lion and I noticed some others that were of a lioness. I was just thinking of maybe offering some advice here when we bumped into the cats lying in a semi open glade by the side of the road. Quickly putting up the sticks Thor told the client not to shoot, I could not agree more as at twenty yards the male was quartering away and partially obstructed by brush, besides his girlfriend looked like a real bitch. Thor’s second instruction was to wait and he would call the shot when it stood up. All this was excellent advise but Thor had forgotten one thing and that was that this was the clients fourth attempt at Lion and damned if he was going to let one like this get away.

The shot took everyone by surprise and I was quite badly positioned as I had drifted slightly to the left looking for a better shooting channel. Thor had done pretty much the same but was to the right. There was a horrendous racket coming from the nearby thicket where Lion and his lady friend had sought refuge. For human beings it is physically difficult to reverse, to walk backward whilst facing forward but we all mastered this feat with surprising ease and put some distance between this place and us. Having heard the shot one of the trackers bought in the vehicle and he reported seeing the Lion limping and claimed it had been shot in the back leg. This really bothered me and then we discovered that the cat was also leaking gut fluid. Going back to analyse the scene of the crime we found the bullet had splintered through a number of saplings and had broken into pieces. I was quietly furious and as it is frowned upon these days to beat your client I chose to bite my lip instead. Day turned into night and eventually I had to call it off as someone was going to get hurt. Richard (PH) fortunately had arrived in camp that evening so together we made a plan to all follow it up in the morning.

The Kafue is fairly open country however the riverbanks do contain lines of dense thicket and the next morning we found ourselves flushing these Lions from one patch of cover to the next, without getting in a shot. The male was in pain for he would loudly grunt with every step and was still leaking quite badly. A charge was eminent and as there was only one last thicket to search and we decided a different approach this time and came in up wind and from the downside. It was bravado really as we were in numbers. Richard’s right hand man Jingo saw it first and Richard tapped off a shot as the grass flattened in front of us. The Lion went tumbling down in a hail of lead and young Thor had shot his first Lion.

Thor got his license last year and now works for me in the Luangwa. His style of hunting Lion has changed somewhat and I notice he prefers the method of baiting.

Mark Young has kindly posted the photos of Thor as an apprentice with one of the Lions mentioned here, and another picture clearly shows how the bullet broke up in the back leg, one piece finding the stomach.

If there was a conclusion to this and from my limited experience I would say that the walking up of Lion is all very well and good, but it increases the margin for error and this in itself can be dangerous.

good story! keep them cooming

OHHH! My goodness!! I hate it when a lion leaks...

Andrew asked me to post these pix of the lion in his story the Apprentice Hunter. Great cat!

Hi,
i really enjoy reading your storys. Thx for sharing.

Andrew, thanks for taking the time to share your stories. Excellent stuff!

Fairgame,

You are a great story teller and I came to like your writing style.Good sense of humour there.And thank you for sharing the story and the pictures with us.I only wish that instead of biting on your lip,you had wrapped the client's rifle around his head and left him there to leg it. Ensuring that he had paid his dues,of course.LOL.

Best-
Locksley,R

Andrew - There always seems to be some cluster f**k, when you or Richard are involved!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Andrew - There always seems to be some cluster f**k, when you or Richard are involved!!!

Aaron,

That is true. However for you and your VIP clients we are much better behaved?

quote:

Thor had forgotten one thing and that was that this was the clients fourth attempt at Lion and damned if he was going to let one like this get away.

That's funny! Looking at the lion, I can appreciate his anxiousness.

Perhaps next time when urging the client to "HIT HIM IN THE SHOULDER" you might want to specify the "FRONT" one.

Great story Andrew!

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Andrew - There always seems to be some cluster f**k, when you or Richard are involved!!!

Aaron,

That is true. However for you and your VIP clients we are much better behaved?

WHATEVER!!! Ya,I noticed that we went looking for the BAIT thieves on my 2007 lion hunt down river. You & Thor were ready for trouble!!!

Absolutely agree Andrew...yours is a pretty common occurrence I think.

I was privy to an unfortunate situation when hunting in the Caprivi Strip some years ago, although in this case the PH had some culpability, and the problem was that the client had no idea what he was shooting at. I heard both “sides” of the story, independent of one another.

They were hunting elephant and had gotten close and into position on a big Botswana bull. The ele was resting in some thick woodland, and the PH was emphatically urging the elderly but sharp-minded German client to SHOOT SHOOT. The client said he could not find the elephant thru his scope but was feeling the pressure to do something.

The PH had been standing ready to backup the client, but after the fumbling around, brought down his rifle to see what in the Hell was holding his client up. As he looked over, the shot rang out. The client confided that he aimed at something gray, and he wasn't sure where he hit the elephant. The PH jerked two quick shots from his double, one of which hit the rapidly departing elephant but did not secure him. They followed the tracks, but there were a lot of elephant in the area and they could not sort his out and eventually had to give up for the day.

When retracing the events, the trackers and PH found that the client had indeed made a perfect shot...dead-center on an old Leadwood tree. They didn't tell the client this, who was just sick over it already. They looked for the bull for the next better part of a week, without finding him, and assumed he crossed over into Botswana. Evenings at the dinner table were rather somber.

After arriving home, I got an email from the PH saying that the next hunters in camp had seen some circling vultures and found the dead elephant, not too terribly far from where the incident had taken place. Apparently the PH’s bullet penetrated deep enough into the elephant that he eventually succumbed to the wound, in what must have been a lingering death. I am not sure if the client ever got the tusks, as there was some issue with the game department, given that they could not recover a bullet. I’m not sure that he wanted them…

Bill,

Your incident sounds more like PH error?

Not to divert off track, but a question came to mind while reading Bill's story and Andrew's response.

If a client shoots, misses the target animal, PH shoots backup and draws blood, the animal is not recovered until later as in Bill's story, does the client still pay the trophy fee even though he didn't draw blood?

Andrew, I think they were both somewhat responsible for how it unfolded but I place the burden on the client (a very likable gentleman I might add), and although he was perturbed at the PH he understood that he is the one who pulled the trigger. Yes the PH was pressuring the client, the client was fumbling, the PH was getting frustrated, the client became more unraveled, and the client pulled the trigger uncertain of what he was shooting at. But yes, the PH should have been calmer and more in control of the situation.

Graybird, this is why the PH always says "You really hurt him with that first shot!" thus avoiding such a quandary!

In this case, it was REASONIBLE to assume the client had hit the elephant, and it was the PH's job to follow-up. If I miss an elephant at 20 yards, and my PH shoots him as he runs away, I will pay the trophy fee (and make my PH promise to never repeat the story to another living sole!)

This is something you don't hear often in regards to Africa, but I have heard/read of this type of situation in Alaska with bear hunts. The client shoots at 150-200 yards or whatever, the guide follows-up before he goes into the thick stuff, and only one hole is found.

quote:

Originally posted by graybird:
Not to divert off track, but a question came to mind while reading Bill's story and Andrew's response.

If a client shoots, misses the target animal, PH shoots backup and draws blood, the animal is not recovered until later as in Bill's story, does the client still pay the trophy fee even though he didn't draw blood?

If this was the unlikely scenario then the client would not be liable. Most contracts state that the client pays the trophy fee only if he draws blood. Again PH error but it happens.

Thanks Andrew and Bill.

Bill, I could understand regarding missing an elephant at 20 paces, and paying the trophy fee so that the story never gets outside of camp!

Thanks again guys!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill C:
The client shoots at 150-200 yards or whatever, the guide follows-up before he goes into the thick stuff, and only one hole is found.

That's a good reason to shoot anther few rounds into it on final approach (just to be sure or just to confuse it more).

Here's another story....

Years ago, I was hunting with two Agentinian fellows, Ed and George. Ed had hunted with me on numerous occassions, and George, well this was his first trip to Africa, and as you may have already guessed, Lion was on his list.

As I had just completed a hunt in the same area, I had taken the liberty of scouting for lion and hanging baits with leftovers from our giraffe.

On the first evening the customary drinks flowed and George was lambasted with all the scary stories of lion hunting, which no doubt haunted him all night, as we heard the beasts roaring not too far off.

Next morning we picked up tracks on the road, which were real fresh, so we decided to follow on foot. George was super keen, this is what he had come to AFrica for - first morning lion, it doesn't get any better !

Tracking was simple enough, the soft sands of Panda Masuie forest left clear indents, and the cool of the morning made it really comfortable. It wasn't long before I noticed the tracks criss crossing aimlessly around, he was looking to bed down. The grass by now had become a little taller, and I could see where he had been lying. He was close.

A small cluster of trees to my right afforded me an opportunity to climb and get a bird's eye view of what lay ahead, perhaps I would even be able to see him. Following lion like this, and at this time of day, one often finds them fast asleep and completely ignorant of your presense. Having briefed George on what I expected to see, I began to climb slowly and quietly. About 10 foot up, and not paying too much attention on the grass, I heard this almighty growl, and managed to turn around quick enough to see the lion charging this wet, first timer with little idea of what a lion looks like at such close quarters !! All I could scream was. "SHOOT, !!!! George....SHOOT."

And shoot, he did, but not with the skill and confidence of a seasoned hunter, but his .375 nonetheless burst into action - from the hip !! All the while walking backwards at such a pace, I expected him to fall over - then the crap would hit the fan !! As for me, the experienced PH, I was safe, hell I had taken the precaution of climbing the tree !!!!

It all worked out. The lion ran off some 60 yards or so, but we found him. George was speechless and in tears, the anxiety of the stories the night before, his first morning and now his first animal in Africa, you couldn't have scripted it better.

I have not seen George since the hunt, but have seen Ed a few times. I would love to hear George relate the story in a pub one evening.

Thanks for that Neil. Just out of interest where is Panda Masuie forest?

Zim, owned by Forestry Commission, and hunted through their safari division, Ngamo Safaris. It is between Vic Falls and Matetsi.

Not sure on the status of the area anymore, but it was an amazing area for Elephant. Bulls used to congregate and so very few cows were ever seen. Lion weren't easy, but they used to retreat into the forests from neighbouring concessions. Sable and Eland were fantastic.

Then again I'm going back to the early 1990's.

This is an old story from South India in the 60's when tiger hunting was still allowed.

Dad was in Forestry & Wildlife Govt department. A senior civil servant (Big Boss) was visiting the region and had heard that there was some good tiger hunting available. The Big Boss was placed in a machan with a kill near by. A Forester of tribal heritage was his guide.

It got dark and then they heard some sound. A little later they heard the crunch of rib bones being bitten. The guard switched on the torch. The magnificent tiger was clearly visible in the light. The Big Boss saw the tiger and started shivering violently. Suddenly he just collapsed in a faint. The forester then picked up the rifle and shot the tiger. Later at dawn the forester was persuaded and threatened not to mention the details to anyone - he could lose his job...etc.

The Big Boss had failed to note a very important fact....the Forester was from the local tribal area and the only way he could have kept him quiet was to shoot him! The story got out in full details and no doubt with some added embellishments...and that was the last that the region saw of the Big Boss!