It has been a rather difficult year for Andy Hunter of Chipitani Safaris in Zimbabwe.

Andy's long time tracker Mendas was killed by an Elephant last month in a field by his home.

I just received an email from Andy, and he was mauled by a Leopard during a follow up in Chewore North.

Andy indicated that he and Ian Gibson were going into the Long Grass to find the clients wounded Leopard, and it attacked Andy. The Leopard did quite a job on his right arm with its teeth and claws and Andy was rushed to the Hospital for repairs. Andy said Ian saved him by shooting the Leopard off of him.

Andy was also upset that the leopard broke the stock on his brand new .416!

I hunted with Andy and Mendas last September in Chewore North. Andy is in the picture below and Mendas has a green cap on his knee.

Quick recovery Andy and Godspeed Mendas.

Damn, sorry to hear that. Hope he recovers soon.

Very sorry to hear that!

Wish Andy a quick & full recovery!

Best Regards,
Dave

Not the best luck, sure hope he has a full recovery.

I am sorry to hear this, but am betting that Andy will make a speedy and full recovery. Thanks Rob for posting.

If anybody is interested, the email I have for Andy is: chipitani@zol.co.zw

It is hard to keep a good man down and from all I have heard about Andy he is indeed a good man.

465H&H

"Gibbo" does it again...

...for those of you that don't know, Ian Gibson is a very experienced Zim PH that has a ton of DG experience, but acts as it everything is just another day in the bush..

..A real "man's man" for sure.

Good thing old "Gibbo" was there!!!

Best wishes to Andy for a speedy recovery,

JW

Bad news and we are all very sorry. Andy is a good friend and all at Roger Whittall Safaris wish him a quick recovery.

Yes, very fortunate that Ian Gibson was there. It emphasizes the importance of not going it alone, when situations such as these arise.

Dave

I'm guessing Gibbo missed the damn thing and it jumped on Andy!

There is another Andy/Gibbo follow-up wounded animal story about Gibbo with the 10 ga. that didn't slow a lion down one bit and Andy had to drop it with his rifle.

I hope he is alright.

Whoa, I met Ian and Andy as well as their clients the day before I left to come home... I feel terrible for Andy. He was a very nice fellow... I hope he recuperates quickly and with no long term ill effects.

Wish a rapid and full recovery for Andy! Hope there is no loss of arm motion for him. Anyway, he is a tough ph who will cope. Shared the Big Five camp with Andy and Ian last summer for ten days. Both great guys and very capable ph's.

Can't think of anyone better than Ian to shoot that leopard off of Andy. He is a little known ph who ranks with some of the best, but he is a very quiet guy who never brags about his abilities. My ph at the time had the highest respect for him as well as Andy.

Dak

Wow. Hope all is well in the long run. And with a speedy recovery.

Good for Ian Gibson too.

JPK

Thanks for the support to all my clients/friends on the forum. I am out of hospital and heading back to Chewore tomorrow to finish the hunt. The story for those of you who are interested is as follows :

We had a nice male leopard feeding along the Chigusa River which eventually showed itself at about 1740pm on the 8th day of the hunt and went straight to feeding on an Impala bait. Angling slightly away from us I asked my client to hold off until he stood up for a better shot which he eventually did. The client fired and the leopard made an incredible leap from the branch about 15 - 20 feet into the thick bush , and rushed off growling . That was the first alarm bell for me as normally the cat will normally fall out of the tree with a good shot. The client was adamant that he had hit him well - behind the shoulder. It was rapidly growing dark so having called my new Tracker STONE ( Mendas'brother) we went into the riverrine for a look see. The area is full of Hyena and we obviously did not want to find a piece of the tail in the morning. Having walked into the area where we last heard the growling we crept forward rather apprehensively - with visibility being almost zero. I actually walked past the cat who was lying behind some thick brush. He exploded out of the undergrowth and growling headed into a rocky gulley. For me that was enough for one day.

Gibbo ad I returned in the morning to be greeted with a whole pack of Hyena going off calling like crazy. Thats it I thought - its all over. Following up we located spoor and a little blood from the previous night. Tracking cautiously - I with my new 416 Win model 70 and Gibbo with his trusty 10 guage we continued on spoor which was very difficult as there was hyena spoor as well as the cat we were looking for. The sounds of the Hyenas were moving away and Gibbo & I both believed they were after the Leopard still. I did not hear it growling which was the second warning for me.

Just then one of the Trackers located very fresh blood very near where we were standing and we all realised the Hyenas were after another quarry and our Leopard was very close. The tracks led us into a small river with scrambling brush and rocky sides. As we approached the cat made itself known with a throaty growl and dashed off over the far side.

We followed very slowly and found where it had entered a small cave but had moved on. About another 100 yards we approached some very thick but low bushes and as I stepped into the pathway he growled and came at me at full speed.

I waited until he was about 5 yards and fired hitting him in the chest with a Barnes X point but was too low. The shot only slowed him down slightly. Without missing but a beat he jumped on me sinking his teeth into my right forearm rendering it useless and knocked me over into a small bush. I managed to throw him off me.but unable to reload I knew I was in trouble. Gibbo hit him in the shoulder with the 10 guage but it did not seem to have any effect and he came for me a second time grabbing my rifle in his jaws - smashed the stock into pieces. Gibbo then shot him in the head but again he started to rise for more. A third shot in the side of his head did the job finally.

I was bleeding quite badly but the guys all gathered quickly and with strips of my torn shirt stopped the bloodflow and got me on my feet. The clients shot had only broken the front leg but missed any vitals. It is a nice Male measuring around 7ft 2" and probably weighs about 150 - 160lbs.

We went back to the vehicle and thoroughly cleaned the wounds with antisceptic and dressed them better. Gibbo saved my butt from a serious mauling - and I really owe him for this one. There was luckily a helicopter in camp so was casavaced to Harare PDQ.

I have spent the last 3 days in a hospital in Harare but am recovering quickly. The wounds are healing again thanks to Gibbos first aid rendered in the field.


I will post some photos when I am next home next week.

Thanks again for your concerns and support

Andy Hunter

Andy,

You are one lucky guy, and a helicopter in camp to boot. Sorry for your mishap.

Bill

Good to hear your already on the way back down to "Gods own country" .
Would be interesting to hear if Ian is still happy with the 10G.
Cheers,
Adam.

Jeez, you are indeed a lucky guy. With something that strong and pissed, anybody else probably would've bought it. I guess the client didn't care for all the extra holes in the pelt, eh? Best of luck in fully recovering from this.

u r very lucky im glade that God saved u and thankx to gibbo for being brave and didnt loose his mind in panic,get well soon,regards

Andy,
I am relieved to hear that you are doing so well in spite of the mauling! I wish you a quick recuperation and full use of everything... except for the stock of your new rifle. Man, lucky that wasn't your arm or worse when the leopard bit down with enough force to break a gunstock! I hate to imagine what he could have done with four good legs!
Best Wishes,
Russell Marshall

Andy,

I was very happy to read your post and hear that you are on the road to recovery. Hopefully you will be back to hunting soon.

Glad to hear that Ian was there to help, but please tell him to throw that 10g shotgun away and stick to his rifle.

What kind of rifle is your .416? If we can find a replacement stock for it over here, we could send it over with Mark Jackson when he is in the Chewore North camp this August.

Take care,

Tim Helgeson

Anyone going could drop it off to his wife in Harare before that.

There is a Winchester Safari Classic stock for sale in the classifieds right now. If this would work as a replacement stock and Andy wants it, I will buy it and coordinate with Mark Jackson (N'gagi) or someone else to get it to Andy.

Will, take a look in the classifieds and let me know if you think that stock would work.

Andy, if you are reading this, let us know if you are interested in getting a replacement stock for your rifle.

Tim

Shumba,
I purchased and transported to Big Five the particular rifle whose stock is now so much kindling to Andy last year. It would be a perfect fit. I'm suspicious that a wooden rifle stock might just make it through customs if it were a component of an arriving sportsman. Getting a new rifle there is much more problematic. I'd be happy to pitch in.
Regards,
Chuck Shannon

Andy said something about trying to get a new stock. Better to make contact with him before jumping overboard, as much as I would guess he appreciates the thought and efforts.

Will, I agree. I sent Andy an email asking if he wanted/needed the replacement stock. In the event that he doesn't, I will end up keeping the stock myself anyway. I understand this stock is supposed to be very nice. So, now I can take my M70 Safari Express in .458 WM on my next hunt with Ian and beat the crap out of it. Then I can pop it in the other stock and have it look pretty again.

I don't mind having a back up stock since Winchester is out of the M70 business.

Tim

Nice gesture, Tim. I am sure Andy will appreciate the offer.

Hey shamwari glad to hear your ok and it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Thanks to you folk out there for your support and concern for a fellow hunter.

Dear Shumba, Bill, Russell ,Chuck et al,

I want to say that I am sincerely grateful to your support and concerns on my behalf. I would really appreciate the stock mentioned by Shumba and hopefully can get it here with my next client. Its heartening to see that there are still good folks out there - Thanks to you all.

I have asked Shumba to post a few photos for your interest.

The next question comes up in the dissection of the follow up about what is the best weapon to take into such a situation. For me I have always believed in a heavy calibre rifle over a shotgun but am now rehashing this in my mind. I think the key is in the ammunition and stopping power. I also believe a semi auto with pellets/slugs that penetrate properly are the answer. If I had hit the cat where I had hoped the rest would be history but shooting accurately at something moving so fast is not the easiest thing.

Thanks to you all again.


Andy Hunter

Shumba,

Where exactly has the bedding compound been removed? Under the barrel where the lug on Safaris usually is? Surely not the recoil lug on the receiver.

Might want to send some bedding compound with the stcok just to make sure.

Also please get Head Trauma to do this: the bedding compound and maybe a direct switch to someone going to Harare, which must be everyday.

Maybe put up a topic under African Hunting to find a volunteer to take to Harare, to speed things up.

OK, here is the update. Sounds like the stock that is for sale is the correct replacement for the stock that Andy let the leopard use as a toothpick.

I will be sending Head Trauma (the seller) payment in the morning and I asked him to send it directly to one of Andy's clients who is leaving the first week of July to hunt with Andy. Let's hope Andy doesn't break this replacement stock so quickly.

Also, I asked the seller (Head Trauma) to please take a leap of faith and send the stock as soon as possible to be sure it gets to Andy's client in time. I have had many transactions on AR and all of them worked out great, so I tried to assure him that I'm good for the $200. However, I did say that If I die in my sleep tonight or get hit by a bus before I reach the Post Office, that N'gagi, Will and bwanamrm, would probably feel bad enough and pool their money to be sure he gets paid. Let's just hope that I survive until 8:30am tomorrow and everything should work out.

One final thing, I did ask Andy's client if he could buy some bedding compound and take it with him so that Andy can get the stock properly bedded as soon as he gets it.

Thanks.

Tim

Thanks Tim. I am sure Andy will appreciate all your help. If you died last night, I'm good for it!

quote:

However, I did say that If I die in my sleep tonight or get hit by a bus before I reach the Post Office, that N'gagi, Will and bwanamrm, would probably feel bad enough and pool their money to be sure he gets paid. Let's just hope that I survive until 8:30am tomorrow and everything should work out.

Hahaha! I hope you are feeling OK Tim but I have your back anyway!

quote:

Originally posted by Inyati:
Shumba,
I purchased and transported to Big Five the particular rifle whose stock is now so much kindling to Andy last year. It would be a perfect fit. I'm suspicious that a wooden rifle stock might just make it through customs if it were a component of an arriving sportsman. Getting a new rifle there is much more problematic. I'd be happy to pitch in.
Regards,
Chuck Shannon

I'd be more than happy to take it along Tim and Chuck. I'll be hunting with Gibbo soon. If he can wait until I get there, consider it done. Glad to hear it turned out for you Any. Give my regards to the guys!

*****EDIT****

I OVERLOOKED THE FACT THAT YOU'D ALREADY FOUND TRANSPORT> I'D BE HAPPY TO SPLIT THE COST WITH YOU TIM. CHECK IS IN TH MAIL

quote:

Originally posted by N'gagi:

*****EDIT****

I OVERLOOKED THE FACT THAT YOU'D ALREADY FOUND TRANSPORT> I'D BE HAPPY TO SPLIT THE COST WITH YOU TIM. CHECK IS IN TH MAIL

Mark, your money is no good with me, I know you just print it up in the back of the lab at work.

I had originally volunteered you to take the stock over in August, but Andy has a client coming over the first week of July and I think he is anxious to get his gun back together and back in the game.

We need to figure out a way to get Gibbo a new rifle. I can't believe he is still shooting that POS pushfeed M70 458WM. I saw a piece of driftwood on the beach the other day that was 10x nicer than the stock on Ian's rifle.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to your trip in August so I can see the photos and hear the stories.

By the way, bwanamrm, N'gagi and Will, luckily I survived and made it to the Post Office this morning with payment, so you are all off the hook. It was close though, so thanks for volunteering to cover the cost in the event of my demise.

Tim

Hi Tim, Mark et all,

I will send payment out with Larry Bishop for any costs incurred. I don't expect you guys to pick up the tab on my behalf - and thanks for the kind gesture and for organising this.

I am anxious to get the weapon back together. It probably could still shoot but am scared it would come apart with the recoil.

Andy

A bit of Super glue and duct tape and she'll be right mate. Lekker light rifle.
ozhunter

quote:

Originally posted by Muvhimi:...I will post some photos when I am next home next week...

Here's a few pict's from Andy making the rounds:

Andy - Let Bill S pay for the stock, with all the money he is making off of his book and upcoming video series, it is the least he can do for those who helped to get him where he is today!

That's it? A bandaged forearm and a little, very little, crack in the stock. Duct tape?

Come on, Andy, cowboy up!

That shot away skull and all the pellets etc should be mounted on plaque - it would make a great display.

Andy:
Interesting comments on the use of a shotgun rather than a rifle under your circumstances. Do you think the leopard would have been stopped or at least turned if you had used one? I'd be interested in your final selection.
I've been advocating using a shotgun for close work on dangerous game for years. We don't have many Leopards in Alaska, but lots of Brown Bears. If you shoot a Bear in the face with a shotgun, I know he will change his mind on who he wants to eat for supper.
I'd be interested in the type of shell used in the 10 gauge. I can't imagine that it didn't make a big hole in the shoulder. Maybe it was an older one?
Thanks for your story and good luck!

Sorry for your dissapointment Bill - I apologise for not being shredded from head to toe - the bite on my forearm is serious enough for me but obviously not enough for some. As I mentioned Gibbo saved me from a serious mauling.

The rifle stock is bitten through and will more than likely come apart if fired again - again obviously not enough for some heroes amongst us.

TJ - I have always preferred my rifle vs a shotgun on cats but this time was my undoing. I think if I had a double or a semi auto I probably might have killed it or turned it as you mention. The key is definitely in the ammunition.

Thanks Bill C for posting the pictures

Andy