To piggyback chuck375 a bit, If you were going to Africa for the first time and could do either buff + plains game or leapord + plains game wich would you do and why. Also knowing that both of these species can take some time, do you think that both could be taken in 14 days (I know it's hunting and stuff happens but barring bizarre circumstances)?

I had the same question and the more I looked at it I said I might as well do it all. Buff, plainsgame and leopard. Your already paying the day rates for DG and shooting animals that could be used for bait so why not just add on the extra 4 or 5 days and take a crack at a leopard while you are there?

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Originally posted by T man:
To piggyback chuck375 a bit, If you were going to Africa for the first time and could do either buff + plains game or leapord + plains game wich would you do and why. Also knowing that both of these species can take some time, do you think that both could be taken in 14 days (I know it's hunting and stuff happens but barring bizarre circumstances)?

Which do you want the most is the first question. The next question involves where are you hunting and what are the chances for either at the time of year you are hunting. My preference is cats but you really need to know about how good your chances are at getting a leopard. Leopard hunting eats up a lot of quality plains game time. You have to check baits all the time and if you get a cat on you have to be there early and late and he may feed late night/early predawn.. You do get some plainsgame time in between but the focus is always on leopard until he is dead. Bottom line if it is a good area for leopard with a high sucess rate my vote is leopard. If it not so good then do buf.

Depends on where you are going to hunt.

If its a good cat man, with a good cat concession, you are going to have to shoot PG for bait anyway, so I would do the Leopard hunt and have at it. If you are there at the right time, they might have a buffalo cow left as bait (in the right area) and thus you could have both experiences.

The Buffalo is an easier trophy to come by (just to get one- to get a GOOD one is different), so if you are in an area that is not a cat stronghold- I would go with the buffalo.

I'm not one to talk about getting cats easily as I have tried to shoot a leopard for 24 days over there in good cat territory, and not gotten one. That being said, someone always does it, so if you can do both Buffalo and Leopard, and its not any significant change in money, do both if you can.

I'm still a few years out from my first safari, and more than likely the first on will be either a buff+ or a leapord+. Ever since I was a little kid reading Capstick, Teddy, Ruark, and the like Africa has been my dream. I guess elephant tops my list, but I don't think that would be in the cards for a first trip. I guess I am trying to decide which of the other two would be more up my alley. Letting other people explain what the hunts means to them may help me to decide.

Buff and PG would be my pick.

I can offer Leopard, Buffalo, Roan and a host of other species including hippo, croc, puku etc etc in one package?

Not sure why would you want to split it and double the cost?

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Originally posted by T man:
I'm still a few years out from my first safari, and more than likely the first on will be either a buff+ or a leapord+. Ever since I was a little kid reading Capstick, Teddy, Ruark, and the like Africa has been my dream. I guess elephant tops my list, but I don't think that would be in the cards for a first trip. I guess I am trying to decide which of the other two would be more up my alley. Letting other people explain what the hunts means to them may help me to decide.

If you joined the AR group on the Flats on in Luangwa then you would be only a couple of months away from your first African safari?

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Originally posted by fairgame:
I can offer Leopard, Buffalo, Roan and a host of other species including hippo, croc, puku etc etc in one package?

Not sure why would you want to split it and double the cost?

A good option if you can do it.
Certainly helps with the bait.

It's a REAL personal choice kind of thing, so NO-body has a right or wrong answer. That said...MY personal choice is Buff. NO QUESTION...NO HESITATION. Once again...my personal opinion.I'd not spend a day of my time in Africa, (nor a dollar of my money)trying to shoot a Leopard. I've been there enough to have given it a shot, had I wanted to...and NEVER felt the urge to try.

T man,

The only reason to not book a buff/leopard combo is financial and as Andrew said if you do the buffalo and then another safari for leopard the overall cost will be much higher. There are multiple areas that have great populations of both cats and buffalo. In a good area a buffalo is usually a slam dunk and in some places your chances are 95% on leopard. These hunts are often a little more expensive but your increased odds are worth it in my mind.

Mark

Leopard makes a nicer trophy but the hunting of leopard, with one exception, is not as pleasurable as the hunting of buffalo. Leopard hunting also carries with it the risk of disappointment. Buffalo hunting is much more certain, and is more of a hunt, as you will cover many dusty miles on foot before you take your buff. Sitting in a blind night after night waiting for a leopard, jet lagged, and then pulling the trigger of a rifle already pointed at the right spot isn't much of a hunt.

The exception is hunting leopard with dogs. This is more certain and much more exciting -- not to mention dangerous. You can do this in combo with a PG hunt as it's all done by day and you will hunt PG while looking for the right leopard track.

Now given that you are going to hunt Africa more than once (I can guarantee that), I would do a "low daily rate" PG hunt first. Do this on private land (there are a couple of places where you can enjoy the high success rates of private land hunting with the presence of DG like buff etc.) Then follow up with a buff or a leopard hunt, or a buff/leopard combo. I would never book a leopard only hunt, you may come back with nothing to show for it except a hole in your wallet and a callus on your rear end. And I would not try to do any serious PG hunting on a DG hunt, as you will be distracted by your primary pursuit and adding days at the DG rate to hunt PG is silly.

Trophy elephant and leopard hunts fall into the "obsession" category, when you have done everything else and have money and time to burn, these are the hunts to book.

Leopard hunting is basically hunting plains game bait. Which is fun. Followed by hours of boredom in a blind followed by minutes of excitement when the cat is in the tree and you shoot. Then the follow up of finding the hopefully dead cat, which is fun, it is a thrill that takes a lot of time for a few minutes of adrenalin. All in all its worth it but trailing a herd of buffaloe keeps you going all day long and its worth it even more.

Leopard hunting is constantly under attack, and at some point, could be posted to an upgrade with CITES. Once that happens, there will be no more importing of Leopard into the US. Without any thought, do the Leopard/Buffalo hunt. Plains game hunting will come with either, but you'll save a lot of money combining them into one hunt. It generally tacks two extra days onto a Leopard hunt, but you will hunt PG and Buffalo during the day and Leopard early morning/late evenings or on private land, during the night.
LDK

If I were going to do one - I would do buff first. More active...

If you can afford to do both at once, by all means do it.

As far as the boredom part of leopard hunting, I thought the same the first time we did the whole bait and check deal. I guess that was because we didn't get a hit at all in 6 days. Since that time, I have really enjoyed it. You shoot some PG for bait unless there is plenty from a big animal. But checking baits and trail cams, has anticipation- excitement - depression, elation all rolled into the experience. I have come to enjoy it, and I think it has to be looked at as a process and sort of a chess match. Yes, there is boredom waiting in a blind, but there is still that overwhelming anticipation. Don't dismiss the fun of a leopard hunt...

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Since that time, I have really enjoyed it. You shoot some PG for bait unless there is plenty from a big animal. But checking baits and trail cams, has anticipation- excitement - depression, elation all rolled into the experience. I have come to enjoy it, and I think it has to be looked at as a process and sort of a chess match. Yes, there is boredom waiting in a blind, but there is still that overwhelming anticipation. Don't dismiss the fun of a leopard hunt...

Leopard hunting takes some patience but if the thought of sitting a blind through the night waiting for a cat to come sounds like torture beyond belief book a daylight hunt. A daylight hunt in a good area is just as successful if not more as a night hunt and a lot easier on the hunters. I personally enjoy sitting still in the blind for the couple of hours in the AM and in the PM that the daylight hunt requires. The bush comes alive and there is always something neat going on right next to your blind. AND the baboons start going nuts, the busbuck barks, the francolin stop scratching around and then the bush goes dead quiet. The leopard is in the tree. Exciting stuff! Chills are going up my neck just writing about it.

agree with Mark...I don't know that staying all night in a blind is my thing...that's a long time...

I was one of those that was going to do Africa one time and get it out of my system.I save for several years as I wanted to hunt Leopard and Buffalo at the same time and went with an above average PH and paid a higher daily rate and stayed 18 days.Scored on both animals plus ten others.That was in 1996 in Zim with THYS deVries,best money I ever spent.I've been back to other places in Africa but my first one was the best.Sitting in the blind at nite listening to all the sounds of the bush was a memory that has not gone dim with age and I think leopard importing will get worst so I would do it ASAP.

Ask your outfitter what the cost would be to have a person who is not a PH dedicated to checking baits for you while you were hunting other things. Often an apprentice or friend looking for some extra cash can be hired to do this. It may cost a couple grand but that is cheaper than paying for two hunts. Be sure to investigate pre baiting as well. Leopard hunting can be really time consuming if you are committed to it. I must have seen guts dragged a thousand miles before we got a cat.
If you are in an area with many villages, be prepared to have lots of baits stolen by locals. Remember everytime you shoot a plains game animal the loading and return to camp eats up leopard time. It took me two dedicated hunts to get a leopard and I consider myself fortunate.

Rarely do we sit in a blind all night. Usually, if your on an active bait, the cat will be there 1-2 hours after darkness, sometimes just at last light. On my last Leopard hunt, I had to hunt 6 nights to get him. I shot him at 8:05pm, after watching him over 5 minutes. My client shot his within the first hour he had ever sat in a Leopard blind (lucky stiff). We would leave around 9:30pm, have drinks/dinner then retire to the fire pit. Next morning up at 6am, have breakfast and then go checking baits and shooting PG. Works very well for me and I was always rested. Finding Leopard during daylight hours requires an area where there's not a lot of pressure as a rule, but night hunting is just my cup of tea. We sit silently in a comfortable lounge mattress with blankets if it's cool. Helps keep things quiet, and I love the night sounds.