Not sure it was the only time in Africa but surely the most frightened I've ever been was on a moonless, overcast night when we came out of a tree blind, just the PH and me, to follow-up on a Lion that I had shot with a Swift A-Frame from my 458Lott. My PH was a great guy but had been a victim of much African government hatred/prejudice and was just a bit affected in my HO. We knew there was a pride in the immediate area (seen them), and yet the PH began wandering around in the dark trying to find my Lion. I was pretty certain we were both gonna be killed as I could not see more than 5 feet in the brush/dark. I finally voiced some concern and he then took out his radio and called in the truck with the trackers on board. Once in the truck we drove around the immediate area for some 20 minutes during which time we saw at least 6 more lions. PH finally decided to leave and come back in the morning with help.

When we returned the next a.m. we found my Lion dead some 50 yards away from the bait where I had shot him. It was a heart shot and he was dead when he ran off, just didn't know it. Turned out to be the #1 Lion for Zambia and #10 overall at that time. And the scariest follow-up I've ever been involved in. I swore I'd never do anything like that again, and I haven't.

BTW, when we got back to camp that night, my hunting partner who was an M.D. put 3 stitches in my eyelid where I took a scope bite while in the tree blind when I fired at the Lion. I had tied a cloth around my head to keep the blood out of my eye when we came out of the tree to follow the Lion. In retrospect I suppose the lions could smell the blood on me.

That's the Lion in my signature line.