Hey folks, just got a nice email from John with the attached picture below of what was to be "my leopard" . A repeat client from Mexico took it on Malangani, he taped out at 7’5.5â€, 180lbs with a skull measurement of 17 12/16â€. Oh well, hopefully he'll be able to "grow" another one for me. In 02 he took Two huge leopards out of there, which goes to show you what sound management of game accomplishes coupled with a ROBUST anti-poaching strategy. As soon as I get more particulars, i.e., caliber, time, range, etc, I'll post. enjoy...jorge

Is it my computer or are others not getting the picture either?

JPK

That little dog caught this big cat all by himself? :rotflmo

Seriously, nice kitty.

Edited to remove now-redundant picture.

No the problem is with mine. I'm at work so I won't be able to correct it until this afternoon, unless I can email the JPEG to a moderator and they can edit my post for me. jorge

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
No the problem is with mine. I'm at work so I won't be able to correct it until this afternoon, unless I can email the JPEG to a moderator and they can edit my post for me. jorge

It was just a problem with the way the image code was in your post originally.

[Edited -- post fixed.]

I spent a cold evening in the blind trying to get that guy. I could hear him roaring during the day.
With this guy gone more male leopards will come in and fill the vacume created by getting this one..steve

What a beautiful leopard. Thanks for posting the picture.

Nice cat. But is "he" a "she"? Head looks like a male but would expect to see some of his manhood given the pose. Regardless, nice kitty.

Most definetly a "HE". DICKS are hard to find on cats, unlike AR. John does not permit the shooting of females in Malangani and besides, he'd never make such an amateurish mistake. jorge

WTF???

Nice attitude. It appears you just added yourself to your own category

quote:

Originally posted by GMaxson:
WTF???

Nice attitude. It appears you just added yourself to your own category

very astute and well said.......

Gmaxon: Guilty as charged. However if you knew the history of the "king of left handed comments," you'd understand perfectly, but as an astute friend of mine (and moderator here)suggested that I was a bit "over the top," I apologize. jorge

Great Leopard! If you look closely you can make out the male's jewels.

Heck, I was too busy looking at the spots and the grin on Hulk Hogan's face. Outstanding cat!!!!

dogcat; EXACTLY. That should have been the reaction . Now watch somebody'll pipe up and question the size/weight of the animal or some such BS. jorge

I don't know, he doesn't look like he is 180 lbs to me ... just look at the shadows, they are not consistent.

An obvious faked photograph.

Those spots are obviously painted on.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Dang nice cat. A lot bigger than mine. Big Leopard are hard to come by. That's an excellent trophy.

Jorge - That cat is not 7.5'. We all know that John is only 5.4'.

John has produced some beautiful leopards through the years.

Excellent leopard!!

Folks: As promised, here's the rest of the story on the cat and as you will read, it was a tough hunt. I have more pictures available to post, but I am unable to do it from work, but I'll try as soon as possible to post them. Here's the scoop as related to me by John Sharp:

Place: Malangani
Time: 21:00
Client: Angel Zamora Estrada – Guadalajara, Mexico.
Caliber: .300 Win Mag
PH: John Sharp

I named this Leopard “The Road Warrior†- for many years I have followed his tracks along a road for as far as 20kms at a stretch before losing them as he turned off into the bush.

I have been hunting this particular cat for four years. I believe he was caught in a trap in the tribal area a while back (he has a penchant for goat from time to time) and this is what made him skittish. His right front foot was bigger than the left side (probably due to damage from the trap) and used to scuff the earth when he walked – this made his tracks easy to recognize. Because he would only hit a bait once and then move on I have been documenting his movements over the past 2½ years so that I could attempt to anticipate his next port of call and outsmart him.

On June 7th he had hit one of my baits and practically finished a leg and a shoulder of Kudu – and then left. I knew where he would go next and sure enough, we got another hit. In the soft river sand at bait #2 it was difficult to say whether it was him or not. On the 8th nothing had fed but the cat had been close and watching. I decided that we would sit on the evening of the 9th.

Hearing Badgers feeding is a common sound at Malangani, and this night was no exception. At around 18:30 a Badger entered the scene but only fed for ten minutes and then all went quiet – most unusual for a Badger banquet. I suspected the Leopard was near but had to live with the silence and an over-active mind. It was cold and the moon was almost full – conditions could not have been better. The time was heading for 21:00hrs and my listening device had been silent for a long time already – too long, and I was starting to lose hope. Then I heard the cat approaching and leaned silently forwards into my binoculars. I could not believe my eyes as this monster slid plainly into view, bathed in ghostly moonlight. I warned Angel to get ready but the cat was nervous and was moving in and out of my sight picture. My heart was thumping in my chest with adrenaline and the thought that he might not stay to feed. He eventually started feeding and was plainly visible to Angel through the scope on my Leopard rifle, reticule slightly illuminated. I turned up the rheostat on the red light ever so slightly for insurance. The shot shattered the silence and the cat dropped, growling horribly, and then took off. We heard it growling once more about 50 meters to the left of the bait and then silence.

Once the vehicle arrived we started the follow-up. Quinn Kloppers (who had been filming), Isaac, Khevin and I took the trail, hearts thumping with that fearsome high that you only get from a continuing flow of adrenaline. The bush was getting progressively thicker as we slowly edged forward but we found no sign of blood. I didn’t like this at all. Something was not right so I decided to pull the lads back – someone was going to get badly hurt. We returned to camp and spent a sleepless night before returning early in the morning.

Once on the trail again we did find small amounts of blood but not the usual trail of a cat well hit. We also found the place where he had lain in wait for us and I realized that I had made the right decision to pull back the previous evening – someone or all of us would definitely have been badly mauled. Rounding the side of a granite kopje we heard a growl from a cave above us – another surge of adrenaline. We climbed cautiously up through the thick bush towards the mouth of the cave. As we reached the mouth Isaac shouted as he spotted the cat bounding up the rocks above us. Quinn had a clear view and loosed a shot from his 3â€12-guage but the cat never flinched. I jumped left to get a clear shot and dropped him off the rock with one shot from my Binelli, 3 ½†12-guage loaded with 00-Buck. I am still amazed that he did not come at us. The .300 mag had broken his right shoulder, gone through the meat of his chest and lodged in his left shoulder – no organs were hit.

So ended the reign of “The Road Warrior†– he had over the years expanded his personal territory to well over 80,000 acres and was ousting other big males from the area. Hopefully things will now return to normal.

Jorge, My God that is a big leopard. As i spent time with John in the leopard blind and reading this account. I kept flashing back to my hunt and re living this hunt. I'm in awe. Thank you for posting this story..steve

Jorge thanks for sharing with us this hunting history ,incredible big leopard ,John belongs to an old school of PHS of incredible valor ,integrity ,and hes a living legend by himself he even fougth in the selous scouts ,as a guide here in Argentina i admire this great PH and i hope somebody wirtes a book about his adventurous life .Juan

That is a wonderful leopard, and an awesome, nicely setup picture that shows a lot of respect for the animal.

Congrats to the hunters!

Jorge,

A dream come true, trophy of a life time...
It sure pays to use good judgement and listen to your Ph...

Mike

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jorge:
DICKS are hard to find on cats, unlike AR.



Good one don Jorge!

quote:

Originally posted by almostacowboy:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by jorge:
DICKS are hard to find on cats, unlike AR.



Good one don Jorge!

Yup

Jorge,
Wow what a cat. On my hunt with John in 04 we too saw tracks from this Leopard. Thought we had him when I shot mine. It was not but a close brother at 180 pounds also. They have big cats there, if you book a hunt with John Sharp you can be assured of great action.
bobga

Now that is a leopard! John should have several males moving in after taking out this big old boy.

Almostacowboy & Jim: I just couldn't help myself with that retort. He has a penchant for "damming with faint praise." must be a mental thing and I've had enough from him & his past comments.

Bobga: I swa your leopard pics and yours was indeeed a great one! As you know, John is a meticulous planner and consumate professional. Obviously I'm prejudiced, but he knows his cat business for sure. He is very excited about this particular cat as it was a four year hunt! I can't wait for mine, but until 08, Duty calls." jorge

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
Almostacowboy & Jim: I just couldn't help myself with that retort. He has a penchant for "damming with faint praise." must be a mental thing and I've had enough from him & his past comments.

Jorge,my question was sincere, honest, and not meant to impugne you, John Sharp or the hunter. Forgive my naiivity, but I have not ever hunted leopard. For that matter, I have only been to Africa once, to RSA for a plains game hunt, thus I am what you and your boys call a "bwanabe". That being said, I just thought you would have seen a pair of huge nuts give how the cat was being held. Nothing more, nothing less, no "damning with faint praise".

noted and I apologized if your intent was sincere. Unfortunately, I'm a firm believer in the "you can't unring a bell" philosophy and given your past ripostes I reacted on impulse. jorge

Jorge,

Thanks and could not agree with your "unring a bell" philosphy. That is why I have no doubt that the source of the ire between us will without a doubt show the true color of his "spots" (pun intended) in due time. Nevertheless, I have said my piece and will not comment on that topic further. Sincere best wishes on bagging a leopard as big or bigger than the one above!

What was the role of the doggie? Did he help track the leopard?

A little off topic but what is a common rifle used for Leopards?
I mean caliber/cartridge not bolt or double. It is my understanding that lots of folks use a 375 as it is their rifle for most all game on a trip but what if you were going for cats only or cats and light Plains game what would be the weapon of choice?
By the way a very impressive cat by anyones standards, nicely executed photo of the cat, client and guide. I hope to have some shots like that someday................

The doggie's John's personal companion and sometimes helps to track... but not cats. Too dangerous. As to caliber, John uses a 300 Win Mag. For leopard a 30.06 is perfectly acceptable, the reason lots of folks use the 375 is just as you stated. Just make sure you have a good scope for low light. The one depicted is a Leupold VXIII 3.5X10X50mm with an illuminated reticle. jorge

quote:

Originally posted by Oldcoyote:
What was the role of the doggie? Did he help track the leopard?

Live bait maybe?

Jorge,

That is my leopard combination 375 with a illuminated 3.5/ 10 50MM Vari XIII with a German #4 ...The red dot i super to aim with...

Mike

Mike: That scope is what John recommended so that is what I bought, same reticle as you although I HATE 50mm objectives. I also have a Swaro that a friend of mine sold me at a great price. It's not illuminated but I don't think it's needed either. jorge

Jorge,

FWIW, If you should change your mind about wanting a red dot in that Swaro, I am pretty sure that Swarovski can retro fit one in certain of the PH range of scopes if so required...My 3-12x50mm PH was so fitted by its original owner..

I have no idea of costs ect, but I doubt anything connected with Swaro is exactly cheap!
Regards,

Pete

Say, that's an idea. I'll have to call them and ask. I'll get back to you on the price. Thanks for the idea. jorge

Most of the regulars know I have been over yet,,so could some one give a thumb nail guide as to what made this one LARGE,, or is one of those things "when you see one ya'll know?"