Where and With Whom to Hunt Leopard

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10 January 2007, 02:38

wihntr

Where and With Whom to Hunt Leopard

I am in the early stages of thinking of planning a leopard hunt. I would prefer to hunt him in the "classic" mode (from a blind, no spotlights)-- I think. Bearing firmly in mind that Spots is by no means a sure thing, what would those of you who have tried for him suggest?

10 January 2007, 02:55

Spring

First you have to pick your country. Since you didn't give any restrictions (time, money), I'd select Tanzania and then narrow it down to the safari company that fits your needs.

10 January 2007, 03:22

30ott6

Read this. Hope it helps.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6321043/m/227105265

John

10 January 2007, 05:32

L. David Keith

It would depend upon the country, time of year and the days your willing to spend hunting a good Tom. Leopard is one animal I would recommend you not short change yourself. There are a lot of good areas, so first I would decide on your timeframe and go from there. Your welcome to email me if you have any questions.

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"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson

Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......

"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."

10 January 2007, 20:03

wihntr

30-06,
Very nice cat! Thanks for the link.

11 January 2007, 01:44

cable68

From what I've heard and read, having a ph who is good on cats is another very important factor.

Caleb

11 January 2007, 01:49

SBT

Between Allister Norton and his partner Johnny DuPlooy, the cat shot by 30ott6 was their 32nd consecutive leopard in the 3 years since Zambia re-opened. Hard to beat a record like that.

"There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark

11 January 2007, 01:50

500grains

I would consider a leopard hunt with dogs. There are some fun hunts conducted that way in both Namibia and in Zimbabwe. In Namibia there is a chance to shoot your leopard on the ground when he turns. In Zim it will likely be in a tree or maybe in some rocks.

Leopard over bait means watching stinky meat for hours on end.

11 January 2007, 02:13

Bwanna

I think if you get a PH that knows cats, you'll not have to worry about a tremendous amount of time in the blind. Once a cat hits, if the PH treats the situation correctly, I think he can put you on the cat in a reasonable time. With that said, I have never spoken to a PH that will guarantee success on a leopard. There are no bargains or shortcuts.

http://huntoholic.blogspot.com/

11 January 2007, 02:54

Mabelingwane

John Sharp

A strong man won't let anyone get the best of him... but a man of strength gives the best of himself to everyone!

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11 January 2007, 03:39

BigB

I will be hunting leopard this year in ZIM with Gavin Rorke and Russ Broom Safaris. I have done this a couple of times with Gavin and have yet to shoot a leopard.I have seen small leopard and I goofed up a chance at a big leopard by being a bit noisy. Of course we have alot of fun chasing other critters also.

Gavin gets a lot of nice cats for hunters, maybe this year I will get one also.

Hunt is booked thru Bill at www.fairchaseltd.com

BigB

11 January 2007, 04:57

zimbabwe

Theo Bronkhorst of Bushman Safaris in Bulawayo has a good pack of hounds ,good hunting areas, good success on Leopards in Zimbabwe. That's three goods and he usually has a good quota on top of that, but they fill out quickly so be warned if you wait too long they are all booked. He is excellant on Leopard both with blind (my preference) and dogs. He,his pack and his handlers are all well experienced having been hunting with dogs since it was first allowed in Zim. Some of his dogs are So. African and some are from Utah and are very good. I reccommend him highly. He also has a complete book of all other game on his area in the Matetsi, from Elephant ,Buff,Sable and all plains game. NO Lion. His Email is bushman_zim@yahoo.com.

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11 January 2007, 07:42

Head Trauma

Norman Crooks (Pro Safaris), Zimbabwe, dogs. Norman has taken some huge cats out of West Nicholson. His passion is cats, his eyes light up when he starts talking cats and he gets all agitated. An AR member shot a monster cat with him last year and posted the pics here. You will do very, very well with him.

11 January 2007, 16:19

Die Ou Jagter

Head Trauma, I hope you are right I am hunting with Norm in April with dogs. I will meet him tomorrow in Dallas.

11 January 2007, 17:05

jbderunz

The CAR is not for the faint hearts. A jolly experience indeed.

leopard in the CAR

J B de Runz
Be careful when blindly following the masses ... generally the "m" is silent

12 January 2007, 18:41

Bwanna

No question, they have historically had huge cats near the West Nicholson area.

http://huntoholic.blogspot.com/

14 January 2007, 06:07

Russ Gould

quote:
There are some fun hunts conducted that way in both Namibia and in Zimbabwe.

Botswana too....deep into the Kalahari Central Reserve...a real feeling of going where no white man has gone before.

Russ Gould - Whitworth Arms LLC
BigfiveHQ.com, Large Calibers and African Safaris
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14 January 2007, 14:12

john.d.m

Try Peter Barnard of. bvenyasafaris.com
or Alex Kirkman of Mopani safaris.

15 January 2007, 01:03

cewe

Tino Erasmus of TG Safaris has taken some nice cats if youÂ´d like to hunt SA, he also does them in Moz.

http://www.tgsafari.co.za

"What doesnÂ´t kill you makes you stranger!"

15 January 2007, 05:15

beams

Give me a call at 214-681-4270 or email me at r_beams@sbcglobal.net and I can fill you in on Norman Crooks with Pro Safaris. I have successfully hunted leopard with him a sent many clients his way who have returned home happy.

15 January 2007, 06:02

D Hunter

I would not rule out such outfits as Safari West with Paul and Ingrid Meyer(meyer@iafrica.com.na). Also they work with Felix Marnewecke (camelthornsafaris@iway.na)that prefers to hunt with dogs. They put me on a beautiful leopard in short order. Good luck. D Hunter

Although cartridge selection is important there is nothing that will substitute for proper first shot placement. Good hunting, "D"

15 January 2007, 10:10

L. David Keith

I met Geoff Broom back in the 80's. I believe Russ is his son. Good hunting, David

15 January 2007, 17:51

murkan mike

I am going this fall to Namibia with Thomas Goldbeck at Astra Jagdfarm. 2 years ago it rained the day I got there and that threw off the cat hunting, so IÂ´m trying again this year.

I was actually thinking of using a plain old 375, or .300 winmag, which should be plenty huh?

IÂ´ll let you know my success later this year.

16 January 2007, 01:07

Leopardtrack

I would NOT do a bait hunt in Namibia!!

16 January 2007, 01:23

murkan mike

Why?

16 January 2007, 01:31

Dutch44

I'm booking with Norman Crooks in '08. Arranged to hook up with him at DSC for an hour and that was enough to convince me he knew his cats. Neat guy.

Dutch

Damn a man that talks shoot but won't wager a nickel on his ability or his rifle.

16 January 2007, 06:46

Leopardtrack

Mike,
I hunted in northern Namibia near Etosha NP last year for 20 day's for Leopard......I never saw one, and didn't even get a reliable hit on a bait! Historiclly, I have learned, Namibian leopards are bait shy...I believe this 100%. I did see tracks, but no good hits. Maybe the wetter Caprivi strip is better, I don't know.
This year I hunted the lowveldt area of Zimbabwe and got a nice male on the 5th night! What a difference from Namibia, tracks everywhere, and 8 of 10 baits were hit regulary. If I had the money, I could have easily shot another one. The Zim PH's are experts at Leopard hunting, and have ALOT more experience with cat's than I saw in Namibia.
This might piss some people off, but this has been my experience after 2 hunts and ton's of research. From what I hear, dog hunt's in Namibia are much more sucessful than bait.
Also due to the terrain, Zim has many more cat's too.
Hope this helps.

17 January 2007, 01:14

wihntr

Thanks to all who responded!

17 January 2007, 01:34

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dutch44:
I'm booking with Norman Crooks in '08. Arranged to hook up with him at DSC for an hour and that was enough to convince me he knew his cats. Neat guy.

Dutch
Norman and I will have a booth at Houston SCI this weekend if anyone wants to come by meet and talk about cats.

www.TexasLSO.com

17 January 2007, 17:16

We should be at booth #212

www.TexasLSO.com

17 January 2007, 18:01

Die Ou Jagter

T, when I visited with Norm in Dallas I told him of your promise that he would get me a Leopard like yours.

Seriously I was impressed with the MAN and it is getting more difficult each day waiting for April 18th., normally the flight over is not that bad but this year I know it will seem longer.

17 January 2007, 18:08

Dutch44

Terry:
Won't get a chance for Houston but I got your PM yesterday. Tell Norm hello. Is that Dumas in the photo?

Dutch

"Damn the man who talks shoot but won't wager a nickle on his gun or his ability."

17 January 2007, 18:19

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dutch44:
Terry:
Won't get a chance for Houston but I got your PM yesterday. Tell Norm hello. Is that Dumas in the photo?

Dutch

Dumas is behind Norman in the left of the photo. Dumas is from Mozambique. Amazing tracker and spotter of game. Dumas tracked my leopard for four hours then spotted it going over the mountain after the dogs had awaken it from in the rocks.

www.TexasLSO.com

17 January 2007, 18:23

quote:
Originally posted by Die Ou Jagter:
T, when I visited with Norm in Dallas I told him of your promise that he would get me a Leopard like yours. Seriously I was impressed with the MAN and it is getting more difficult each day waiting for April 18th., normally the flight over is not that bad but this year I know it will seem longer.

Glad you were able to make the show and meet with Norman despite the weather.