By far the best and worst experiences in my hunting career have been walking up Lions. To follow up big males on foot is for me a sport like no other. Nowadays it is priced like no other and has to be considered the sport of Kings and Queens. Zambia has again put a limited number of these cats back on quota under ridged guidelines and I and a handful of hunters will be privileged to hunt them.

It is not so much the shooting of the beast but rather the hunting which for me is unmatched and to walk along side an apex predator with the intent of killing him is quite surreal.

There are two vivid recollections from last year and one being the tracking up of two vocal beasts in the cover of some wooded pebble ridges. Their calls were so loud they could be felt with your feet. We could never close the gap and that day the hunting was all about a few paces. I will also remember the day when a great head raised itself above the remains of an elephant carcass and I thought that was all too easy.

The other and most alarming experience was to walk into the lair of of a huge old male knowing he was on bait. His warning growl was a deep bark that stirred your soul and stopped you in your tracks. This Lion was taken as he turned to us at close quarters and was followed up in thick grass with a pair of doubles. He was the most magnificent of beasts and previously assessed as a solitary outcast.

However there is a difference between hunter and PH and whilst some of our emotions overlap my immediate thoughts in the field are always about the quickness of defence and the foresight of my rifle. When the beast is dead sure I can relax a bit but there are far more personal conflicting emotions to address.

Gone are the days where one simply potted a Lion because it was on license with a host of other species. Now one must consider sustainability, age and other factors that make you choose your quarry. For me these factors only enhance the experience and I much admire those who will walk alongside me this year to take on this remarkable animal for again we will hunt the silvery thorn and thickets of the Luangwa and the open verdant savannahs of the Kafue for Lion. It is our passion and we cannot seem to get enough of it.

My Lion hunters are from AR, they are all American and just wanted to share my thoughts here.

Wonderful stuff, Fairgame. I scarcely dare dream of it.

Good fun indeed!

Andrew,

Lion hunting in any form is spectacular sport. Walking one up would be very special.

Mark

Andrew;

It is a privilege to be walking next to you again this year! For me it's all about the hunt and being where wild lions roar!!!!

Can't wait!!!! D. Nelson

Next time my ship comes in (it came in once already, but caught fire and sank in port before I could unload it), if the stars align just right, this is what I would love to do.

Got chance to track one with finger on my trigger albeit while tracking badly wounded buff and lion in tow
Me and PH got glimpse of the lion before it disappeared while not happy
Definitely experience of lifetime
Second time, while helping with baiting when I was elephant hunting, while PH and tracker were checking for tracks, I spotted big dark male slinking away into a thicket maybe 50 or so yards away
These were my close encounters with wild lions and I will always remember those
Good luck with them lions Andrew

Not saying the walking up is the be all and end all and I have had some really scary shit happen in blinds.

I remember one that would repeatedly break into the blind (in our absence) and scatter the chairs into the bush. It is unnerving to walk into your blind in the dark hours to find the door and chairs missing.

I don't do that dark stuff anymore.

Have been lucky enough to partake is the tracking of a few Lion over the years and do concur with you that it truly is a sport of Kings. I only wish I could do it some more...
Nick and Harry, you should consider a Lion hunt, pRticularly one that includes tracking.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Not saying the walking up is the be all and end all and I have had some really scary shit happen in blinds.

I remember one that would repeatedly break into the blind (in our absence) and scatter the chairs into the bush. It is unnerving to walk into your blind in the dark hours to find the door and chairs missing.

I don't do that dark stuff anymore.

That is close to what happened with the lion in my avatar. Two males were roaring as we walked up to the bait in the dark. We were expecting to find the shooting sticks set up as we had left them, and instead found the lions had been in the blind and knocked them over during the night.

Incidentally, Fairgame, this was in Kafue's Mumbwa East in 1993. I recently saw a Google Earth photo of our old campsite and pond that showed dozens of shacks have been erected there. Is there much game left in that area now?

Bill Quimby

Proper stuff Andrew! I hope to give it a go someday. I have heard them when hunting in the Chikwa area. That sound goes deep into your soul. Got a glimpse of one when tracking buffalo, the lion were tracking buffalo too. We left the buffalo to the lions.

Someone asked me once what was my favourite animal to hunt. A sheep hunting nephew overheard the question to me and answered for me. He said it was a bighorn sheep.

I told him that was incorrect. Actually that wonderful ram was not even in my top five. # 1 was lion. And of all the hunting that I have done in my life, and I am now a grizzled varmint, if I could do one more grand hunt - it would be a lion.

Wild and free and scary as hell. The best of the best!!!

Andrew, have you ever thought about writing a book of your experiences as a PH?
I for one would buy a copy.

So would I

Reminds me of an old hunt report I read years ago by one of AR's more infamous members....

Tracked to Death

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Not saying the walking up is the be all and end all and I have had some really scary shit happen in blinds.

I remember one that would repeatedly break into the blind (in our absence) and scatter the chairs into the bush. It is unnerving to walk into your blind in the dark hours to find the door and chairs missing.

I don't do that dark stuff anymore.

That is close to what happened with the lion in my avatar. Two males were roaring as we walked up to the bait in the dark. We were expecting to find the shooting sticks set up as we had left them, and instead found the lions had been in the blind and knocked them over during the night.

Incidentally, Fairgame, this was in Kafue's Mumbwa East in 1993. I recently saw a Google Earth photo of our old campsite and pond that showed dozens of shacks have been erected there. Is there much game left in that area now?

Bill Quimby

The Government has just recently evicted those squatters.

quote:

Originally posted by scruffy:
Someone asked me once what was my favourite animal to hunt. A sheep hunting nephew overheard the question to me and answered for me. He said it was a bighorn sheep.

I told him that was incorrect. Actually that wonderful ram was not even in my top five. # 1 was lion. And of all the hunting that I have done in my life, and I am now a grizzled varmint, if I could do one more grand hunt - it would be a lion.

Wild and free and scary as hell. The best of the best!!!

Exactly.

quote:

Originally posted by bwana cecil:
Andrew, have you ever thought about writing a book of your experiences as a PH?
I for one would buy a copy.

One day and I can tell you some stuff that you would not believe.

Great post, the wonderful thing about a male Lion is you only hunt (push) him so far then you become the hunted..Add to that using dogs to hunt Lion is almost a guaranteed charge..Following dogs in a truck is cheating. How do I feel about using dogs to hunt Lions? mixed emotion in that it is dangerous, thus sporting, and for those with lots of testosterone left in young bodies and if you have a license your going to kill a Lion anyway, but, like I said, I do have mixed emotions on the subject which is neither here nor there because at my age its your problem.??

Nah, I'm sure that they just figured that the Cape Buffalo were as cute and cuddly as the lions that they fawn over.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by billrquimby:

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Not saying the walking up is the be all and end all and I have had some really scary shit happen in blinds.

I remember one that would repeatedly break into the blind (in our absence) and scatter the chairs into the bush. It is unnerving to walk into your blind in the dark hours to find the door and chairs missing.

I don't do that dark stuff anymore.

That is close to what happened with the lion in my avatar. Two males were roaring as we walked up to the bait in the dark. We were expecting to find the shooting sticks set up as we had left them, and instead found the lions had been in the blind and knocked them over during the night.

Incidentally, Fairgame, this was in Kafue's Mumbwa East in 1993. I recently saw a Google Earth photo of our old campsite and pond that showed dozens of shacks have been erected there. Is there much game left in that area now?

Bill Quimby

The Government has just recently evicted those squatters.

Good!

Bill Quimby

Bill,
Isn't that the meat of what make DG hunting awesome..otherwise your just killing..Ive had 2.5 Buffalo charges, meaning two real and one only a starter. and a cow elephant in my lap, what a rush, I loved it..I would fear driving a race car or swimming with sharks however.

I see so many, even here on AR, shouting I don't want a charge or to risk my life, then why in the world do you hunt dangerousl game, do a plainsgame hunt. otherwise its nothing more than Simba in the trophy room depecting ones bravado to the less knowledgable, its the guy with the tape in his pocket, Is why we hunt DG?? I hope not..but to each his own.

Ray:

Agree.

I never was charged by buffalo, although a bull I'd wounded an hour earlier did stop and turn around and glare at us ala Ruark as we were approaching him. PH Rob Martin and I didn't wait for the charge and fired at same time. He died just 10 yards from us.

I've never hunted elephant but I was mock-charged more times than I liked when hunting in the Matetsi and Botswana. I can't imagine what a dead-serious charge would be like.

Bill Quimby

Funny enough, I have shot so many buffalo, and was never actually charged by one.

I have hunted a few lion, and got charged a number of times, but never any of them carry on the charge.

We were out trying to shoot something with a 270 Ackley once in Zimbabwe early in the morning.

He got away from us, and when got back to the truck found some fresh lion tracks.

I swapped my 270 Ackley for a 416 Rigby Improved, and one of my friends there asked "why are you changing rifles?"

"Lions bite. And I have no wish to be bitten by one today"

We followed the tracks, and jumped them sleeping in some grass. The whole lot ran off, except one male, which was not sure what happened.

Roy said "Shoot him".

I did, and he dropped.

Suddenly we heard crashing coming from our left in the grass, and a lioness came charging at full speed.

Roy was shouting "DON'T SHOOT. DON'T SHOOT"

She got to about 12 yards from us, stopped, and walked to the dead lion, looked back at us.

Roy said "We have a lioness on license, and you can shoot her if you like"

I shot her.

Two years ago in Tanzania we were sitting at a bait in a lion blind before sun up.

A young male came along, and lay right against our hide.

I tried asking Alan - on his side the lion was lying - to put his hands under the blind and tickle it - in sign language.

A few minutes later, he got up, walked in front of our blind, and stood about 10 feet away looking straight in our eyes!

On my second trip to Zambia, the PH, tracker and I located a sable bull on the opposite side of a dambo that was covered with reeds higher than our heads. We were following an elephant path and were about half way through the reeds when a small lioness appeared in the trail about 20-30 FEET in front of us.

The three of us halted, of course, and watched her stare at us before she turned and moved into the reeds. About then, we could hear lions in the reeds to the left and right of us, as well as behind us.

We had walked smack dab into the middle of the pride and there was nothing to do but to continue on.

All three of us were intently watching everywhere except at our feet when the PH suddenly stepped into an antbear hole. It broke the tension, and we all laughed -- when we got past the reeds.

The sable was not as large as we'd thought, and we let him walk away.

Bill Quimby

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

I swapped my 270 Ackley for a 416 Rigby Improved, and one of my friends there asked "why are you changing rifles?"

"Lions bite. And I have no wish to be bitten by one today"

I thought you've said hundreds of times here that a larger caliber rifle is pointless?

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

I swapped my 270 Ackley for a 416 Rigby Improved, and one of my friends there asked "why are you changing rifles?"

"Lions bite. And I have no wish to be bitten by one today"

I thought you've said hundreds of times here that a larger caliber rifle is pointless?

You made a good observation for once.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

I swapped my 270 Ackley for a 416 Rigby Improved, and one of my friends there asked "why are you changing rifles?"

"Lions bite. And I have no wish to be bitten by one today"

I thought you've said hundreds of times here that a larger caliber rifle is pointless?

It is pointless, but I have to follow the law of the land.

On other occasions we have seen fresh lion tracks, while out with only the 270 Ackley.

And I said "what happens if we see the lion now?"

"We shoot it" came back the answer.

"I have the wrong gun" I said.

"I bet the lion won't notice the difference".

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

I swapped my 270 Ackley for a 416 Rigby Improved, and one of my friends there asked "why are you changing rifles?"

"Lions bite. And I have no wish to be bitten by one today"

I thought you've said hundreds of times here that a larger caliber rifle is pointless?

It is pointless, but I have to follow the law of the land.

On other occasions we have seen fresh lion tracks, while out with only the 270 Ackley.

And I said "what happens if we see the lion now?"

"We shoot it" came back the answer.

"I have the wrong gun" I said.

"I bet the lion won't notice the difference".

Are you just using one calibre these days Saeed?

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

I swapped my 270 Ackley for a 416 Rigby Improved, and one of my friends there asked "why are you changing rifles?"

"Lions bite. And I have no wish to be bitten by one today"

I thought you've said hundreds of times here that a larger caliber rifle is pointless?

It is pointless, but I have to follow the law of the land.

On other occasions we have seen fresh lion tracks, while out with only the 270 Ackley.

And I said "what happens if we see the lion now?"

"We shoot it" came back the answer.

"I have the wrong gun" I said.

"I bet the lion won't notice the difference".

Are you just using one calibre these days Saeed?

Yes Andrew.

I always used to take two rifles.

One for the big dangerous stuff and one for everything else.

One year in Chete, I had a 7mm Lazzeroni Firehawk and a 375/404.

It was our first day of hunting, and we wanted to shoot a number of impala for leopard bait.

I kept missing easy shots with the Lazzeroni, then managed to hit one at very close range.

Then I we found that the action screws were loose, and we did not have the right Alen key to tighten it.

It went back to the truck, and I used my 375/404 to shoot the bait.

We wanted 5 impala, one was already shot, so a couple of hours later, we had the other 4 impala with 4 shots.

Range was from 50 yards to over 400.

In fact the one at over 400 was high up a hillside as they ran from us after shooting one.

Roy said "never mind, they are too far anyway."

THis buck was facing away, and he dropped his hind legs to answer the call of nature.

I was resting on a large rock, and the shot looked so easy, I said "block your ears" aimed between his horns and fired.

He dropped right where he was.

The bullet hit him in his rear leg, and came out by his neck.

Roy has one of his classic comments "you shot too far back!"

How the hell was I supposed to shoot him anywhere else was beyond me.

WE all laughed.

And as soon as I got back home, I built myself another 375/404.

Now I take both on safari, and both get used by everyone hunting.

I have shot animals over 500 yards with them, despite Walters trying to jinx both me and the rifle.

In Tanzania one year we saw some waterbuck miles away on the flood plain.

There was nothing to help you get close.


Walter, when he heard us we were going to go after them "Hahaha! I want to see how you all are going to get close to them! Hahaha"

We went. And when we started getting less than 500 from them, they started moving. We were on soggy ground, and saw a small anthill ahead of us, and decided to use that as a rifle rest.

I lay down on it, and shot the waterbuck.

Walter came with the truck, and spent quite a while trying to understand where we had shot from.

The only person whoever complains about these rifles is Walter.

When his shooting is not up to scratch, he asks to re-sight the gun.

Roy "the gun does need anything. it shoots just fine. It is you who cannot shoot"

"Roy, I aimed right here! So why id it not hit him?"

Roy "you must have flinched. Saeed does not seem to have any problems hitting anything with it"

"Saeed flinches different to other people"

Now you know.

It is the type of flinch that makes you hit anything or miss everything.

great post - lions are one of the few species that rely most heavily on hunters and yet they are also the species that generates some of the most antihunting rhetoric !

saeed , thats some funny stuff right there !!

quote:

Originally posted by ivan carter:
great post - lions are one of the few species that rely most heavily on hunters and yet they are also the species that generates some of the most antihunting rhetoric !

saeed , thats some funny stuff right there !!

It is of my opinion that Lion populations have remained stable in well managed hunting concessions. It is what is happening outside of our boundaries which is alarming and we as hunters have no influence here. That we have left to others who have failed miserably.

quote:

And as soon as I got back home, I built myself another 375/404.

Beware the man that uses one rifle. In Saeed's case two rifles of the same calibre.

I have been fortunate enough to have tracked lions on a number of occasions with Buzz. For me the most memorable aspects of such hunts have been:

(1) Watching the trackers work. It is one thing to track a hoofed animal through thick grass, leaves, etc., it is an altogether different thing to track a pawed animal in such conditions. As amazing as trackers are generally, trackers that can track lions in places like the Zambezi Valley are simply fascinating to watch. I think it is as much instinct and magic as it is skill.

(2) How the lions suddenly materialize out of seemingly nowhere. You are tracking and tracking and then . . . right in front of you are lions. Throw in a mock charge or two and it is heart pounding stuff.

Buzz just listed a couple of lion hunts in Dande and mentioned an option to track the lions . . . just say'in.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
I have been fortunate enough to have tracked lions on a number of occasions with Buzz. For me the most memorable aspects of such hunts have been:

(1) Watching the trackers work. It is one thing to track a hoofed animal through thick grass, leaves, etc., it is an altogether different thing to track a pawed animal in such conditions. As amazing as trackers are generally, trackers that can track lions in places like the Zambezi Valley are simply fascinating to watch. I think it is as much instinct and magic as it is skill.

(2) How the lions suddenly materialize out of seemingly nowhere. You are tracking and tracking and then . . . right in front of you are lions. Throw in a mock charge or two and it is heart pounding stuff.

Buzz just listed a couple of lion hunts in Dande and mentioned an option to track the lions . . . just say'in.

Agreed.

Blake, his guys, and I tracked the same lion you and Buzz tracked a couple of months earlier. Actually, I should say, I tagged along, rifle in hand, while they tracked him. Amazing to watch them work.

We tracked that "half tailed" cat across Dande right up to him crossing into the next concession at Broken Bridge. He crossed the concession line before we pushed him too far and made a stand.

We got him later, over bait, and I STILL say that hunt is the highlight of my combined hunting experiences, but that day of tracking him was awesome!!!

We were in Matetsi, and not far from camp in the afternoon, we saw some lions disappear into the grass.

Someone noticed a big male among them.

So we parked the truck, and went after them.

There was a grassy area of about 100 yards by 100 yards. The grass was not so high, but it was high enough you could not see a lion walking in it.

We got into the grass - Roy, Alan and me. We could see the grass moving in some places, as the lions moved about.

Then we heard growling, and saw the male's tail twitching.

Apparently he was mating.

Alan said "let us just walk up to them, and shoot him as he charges!"

We started walking slowly towards them.

Then we heard some noise to our left, and stopped to look.

Less than 10 yards away, appeared the head of a lioness, she looked at us, and got down in the grass again!

We had no idea how many there were there, so decided to walk back, instead of trying to shoot our way out if the lioness tried a charge.

We got out of the grass, and stood behind a dead tree that had fallen down, and waited.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose in the grass, about 10 yards from us.

And a big fight got started, but all we could see was glimpses of each lion.

Eventually they cooled down, and walked away. The big male we were after right at the front, with the lionesses behind hi, so there was no way for a shot.

We noticed that one of our trackers was sitting on a leaning branch of a dead tree. Barley 5 feet above the ground.

We asked him what he was thinking climbing such a low tree.

He said "when I heard the lions close, I got up the closest tree. As soon as I as up, I told myself "you are a very stupid man!".

Thor Kirchner, myself and a client tracked this one up and the client shot when I specifically told him not to and the bullet hit a branch which broke up going into the back leg and stomach. After two days of tracking we finally put him down after a full blown charge. This was to be Thor's second charge in a week as an apprentice.

The Lion was shot on day one of a thirty day safari.

I can only wish I had a lion story.

I love Lions, they are so damned unpredictable..I was with Pierre van Tonder in the high grass hunting buffalo when a female lion stuck her head out of the grass, I could have touched her, she was cross eyed from looking at the barrel of my gun (not really but close), then we heard kittens mewing, then I heard Oh shit! from Pierre, I backed around him as directed, then he backed around me keeping her covered all the time, but each time we did that she took a step or two toward us, we didn't want to kill a mama, after couple of rounds of that she turned sideways looked at us with pure disgust! and slowly walked off ignoring our presence..

I recall Barry van Heerden getting a female Lion in the back of his pickup and all the boys jumping out and the Lioness owned the truck..She had her front feet over the back of the truck and her hind legs on the ground and they were going 35 or 40 miles an hour, then she got in the bed with them as the boys left..Id love to had that on film..

You never know what to expect from Lions. A Lion charge is a charge like no other, they roar and sound like a fright train, that in itself is unnerving..I have never had a Lion charge while hunting, but one big male did chase the truck for no known reason and that was exciting and a rather rough ride..The trip in the truck was scary-er than the charge. It was 100 miles to Dar es Salam and I swear we were half way there before we slowed down...

We were in Zimbabwe, and our camp was high on a hill overlooking the surrounding area.

We had a bait a few hundred yards from the camp, in a tree we could see from there.

Between us and the bait was a grassy area.

We could hear lions feeding at the bait all night, so got up very early in the morning and walked to the bait through the grass.

We had two American friends with us, and they were not too impressed with us walking in the dark through that grass with lions feeding close by.

We got there - we did not set a blind up as we thought we could just walk up to them.

There were several lionesses and some young males, so we walked back.

One of our friends likes to walk around the camp when he does not go out hunting.

One day we got back to camp at lunch time after shooting a buffalo.

And Dwight was in camp.

We asked "how far did you walk today?"

"Not far at all. I came back as soon as I saw fresh lion tracks"

"Lions are every where here, and won't be close to camp in the day time"

"But this one was very big! I got scared and came back here"

"How do you know how big he is? Did you see him?"

"No. But I saw his tracks!" saying this, he made a track by holding his two hands apart about a foot!

"There is no lion with tracks that big!"

"Yes there is. I showed it to Simon, and he said it was a big lion"

Now we were intrigued, and asked him to show us where that track was.

We got there, and right in plain sight, was the fresh track of a black rhino!

"If we say the tracks of a lion this big, we would run away too!"