Haven't been to Africa yet, so forgive me if North American stories are out of bounds...

My only close range attack by an animal was two years ago on my little ranch in NW Arizona. I'd had two encounters with a Mtn Lion that day. The first was around 10:30 am while out on a hike with my yellow lab. She was about 25 yards ahead of me as we were hiking downslope on the small mountain that I have on my property. I happened to look ahead and saw to my surprise a Mtn Lion in full crouch stalking up on my dog. It was about 12 feet or so to the right of the dog and she had no idea it was there. I had my 4" M629 on me that morning, so went for a headshot on the Mtn Lion. It ran downslope and out of sight. I tracked it for the next couple hours (good blood trail) until my canteen ran dry and my portable handi-talkie (the wife and I use them around the ranch, very handy) went dead. I also was not enthused about stalking a wounded lion with a sixgun that had 5 rounds left in it. I only had Blazer .44 Special hollow-points in it to boot, so my confidence was not exactly in the stratosphere with that set-up.

I was getting fatigued and due to the above circumstances decided it would be wise to go back to the house, get a good rest, drink plenty of water and then come back out to resume the tracking job with a RIFLE - the only rifle I had available at the time was my .44 Mag 1894 Marlin, but again the only ammo I had for it was the .44 Spl Blazers (this is never the case any longer by the way, I carry full power loads in the .44 Mag and frequently carry my .450 Marlin or even my .375 quite often since having this experience).

I went back to where I had lost the blood trail a few hours earlier and after an hour could still not pick up the trail anymore. I was on the side of the mtn the entire time, the tracks had led along side of the mtn for about 1/4 mile before the blood trail finally died off. It had been tedious work because I'm obviously at a great disadvantage when in the bush vs such a beast, so my tracking job had to be done very slowly and cautiously - ever watching behind me, above me in the trees, etc...

I finally gave up looking for sign and decided to simply try hiking towards "high ground" - towards the top of the mtn - as cats seem to be fond of. I walked quietly and watched with a high degree of paranoia until finally spotting him... The bastard was laying on a rocky ledge about 30 feet from me and upslope from me - he was calmly staring me right in the eyes. He'd been waiting for me and was cool and calmly staring at me. He did not flee as Mtn Lions nearly always do. All I could see was his face, the rest of his body was concealed by the rocky ledge he was laying on. It was the eeriest feeling to see him waiting there. I quickly took aim at his nose and fired. At the shot he stood up and came down the rocks after me. I levered in another shot and fired at his chest as he negotiated through the rocks towards me. He stumbled into a big crevice in the rocks and as he did so I could see that he was now bleeding heavily from the head/neck area. I quickly side-stepped about 15 feet over to the right to get the hell out of his path of travel. When he regained his footing he began coming after me again, this time his rear legs appeared to be out of action, so he was pulling himself by the front paws - stubbornly clawing his way towards me!

I fired a couple more shots into his chest (oh, for a more potent rifle!) and then realized he was about 12 feet away from me. I went to step back over towards where I'd begun shooting to get out of his path again. As I went to step I stumbled on the large rocks we were on and fell hard flat on my back. I frantically scrambled back to my feet (worry about he pain later, lol) and darted over to another spot to put some distance between us. By this time he was drawing his last breaths and had rolled over onto his side his paws still clawing in the air slowly. One last shot in the top of his head ended the matter...

After catching my breath and letting my blood pressure drop 100 points or so, I hollered down the mountainside to let the wife know that I was OK (she knew what I was doing and of course had heard the volley of shots) and then inspected my adversary. It ended up being a 100 lbs female and appeared to be healthy (except for the shot I'd put in the meaty part of it's upper neck earlier that day). I have no idea why it was so bold/aggressive, as Mtn Lions are generally shy and timid and avoid humans whenever possible. You rarely ever see them at all, at least in these parts. They're like ghosts in the forests here. They're there, but you'll rarely ever know it.

A game ranger friend of mine had always told me that if you SEE a Mtn Lion that's your first red flag that something's wrong. Secondly if the Lion doesn't FLEE from you upon your approach that's your next red flag. This lion I find hard to believe did not know I was present when it was about to pounce my dog that morning, I was lumbering down a rocky slope making no effort to be quiet and was about 25 yards from the dog. The second encounter I can assure you I didn't surprise him in walking up that slope while looking for him. When I spotted him (her actually), it was looking me right in the eye very calmly and had known all along that I was coming. I know she was ready to ambush me and (thanks Lord!) I happened to lay eyes on it BEFORE getting too close to it or perhaps not have seen it at all and bypassing it by a few yards and ending up having the bastard BEHIND ME. My steps had taken me directly to the Lion by chance (or divine aid!!) and I was able to take action. The next interesting thing is that it did not flee at the shot on that rocky ledge... It came towards me and even with a broken spine it PAWED it's way to me in it's efforts to get me.

Needless to say I have a whole new appreciation for these creatures - beautiful but deadly as hell - pound for pound perhaps the deadliest creature on this continent dare I say. I now carry a potent rifle and/or full-power .44's - no more plinking loads! We're 35 miles from the nearest town and it's fairly remote, so a lion attack would be highly undesireable to say the least - an ambulance is an hour-plus away if you're lucky.

I'm not sure if that makes me a member of the "50 yard" club or not, but it certainly opened my eyes and is something I won't ever forget...

Dear 458RugerN)1

A very interesting report.
I feel it very humane, natural and upsetting.
You were not hunting DG in Africa. Without searching it You met your DG (and your fate)close to your house. Something natural in fact.
What is upsetting is that it can occur again any time.
In fact, among all posters, it's You who must have stamina...........but every day.
Good luck.

Boom stick,
Tomorrow I'll meet my CAR outfitter to settle everything for my next hunt there in January.
Good chance to arrow a baited leopard at 25 yards.............and calling lion again.

Less than 50 yards toatally non eventfull.

458R#1,

Absolutely, a member of the DG club...
As for shooting a big bullet one of those 450 Mag will be stopping on any cat you meet in your back yard...I never shot anything then full power loads in all of my rifles...Philosophy has always been if I owm a magnum I shoot a magnum...
Good shooting...

Mike

Only one African cape buffalo so far. Plus or minus 50 metres, maybe a little more. One shot from my .375 H&H and a little later a solid through the shoulders just to hurry it up a bit more.

Three Aussie water buffalo so far. All with my .450 NE double.

One at about 25 metres, through the shoulders (at least one shoulder was broken) and several more shots to help him along.

Second was about 40 to 50 metres away, through the shoulder to break the spine. Another round to rake the lungs.

Third was shot in twilight where I couldn't see the front sight properly so pointed and guessed. Maybe 30 to 40 metres. Into the shoulder or chest, PH shot too when he ran (I asked him too if it ran because of the dark). My second barrel into the chest as well. Buff dropped soon after second barrel. Approached and spined him from behind and above angled into the lungs/heart.

Planning to cull shoot between five and twenty cow water buffalo this week so may be able to report on more very soon.

Pursuing a herd in the long grass on a cull hunt, two cows turned to face us at 30 feet, dropped each one with a single shot from my 470 double. A third one was dropped at 25 yards.

458ruger#1...

wow what an awesome story and what a tribute to such a worthy game, never stopped. she had it in for you for shure...45-70 guide gun would be fine im sure... those in africa are starting to give it the thumbs up on thinskined dangerous game like leopard. wow that story will stay with you wont it...the visual of the paws was great

Cape buffalo with a bow at 23 yards

Cape buffalo at 44 yards.
Water buff at 25 and 10 yards.
Lion at 10 yards (see my story on the other page).
Bears at 20 to 37 yards.
Elephant at 35 yards.
Just about everything with a bow is DG!

Lion at 40 yards in the open. Details in hunt report.

Summed up in one sentence....

"It is written that a Cape Buffalo looks at you like you owe them money. If this is true then a Lion looks at you like you are a piece of prime rib."

gotta admit, dragging up an 8 year old post may be a record. but a leopard at 15 feet with SSG probably meets the criteria.

8 years isn't bad going !


Scrub Bull, started charging at 21 yards,
dropped him with one shot at 8 yards.

The odd Buffalo charge, one I turned away
at about 15 yards the other can't remember.

Shot many buffalo, lion, elephant and hippo at 50 yards less.

As DB Bill, said, "bang/flop"

All nine of my elephants were within 50 yards. The shortest was just inside ten and the longest about thirty. I doubt if too many elephants have ever been shot at greater than fifty.

This thread ought to be changed to the 25 yard club even if it is eight years old.

Over 50 yards isn't dangerous game. 50 yards + one might as well be shooting impala or other plains game. Same thrill but a fraction of the cost. YMMV

I shot a bushpig once at exactly 47 yards

Buff at 30 yards, lion started at 70 and ended at 12 yards...

Bongo at 1 yard.

Shot a cow ele in full charge with Alan Shearing standing right beside me, Shaun Buffee filming on my left, right on the muzzle of my rifle. You can see it on Buzz' 3rd video "The Essence of Elephant Hunting".

3 Out of 4 Buffalo at under 50 yards, the closest being 20 yards. 1 elephant at 30 yards

All under 50 yards.

Buffalo
Leopard
Lion
hippo
Elephant
Croc

These were just the shots the animals presented at the time. I have not found it necessary to be inside a particular amount of yards from any animal to know I have hunted it.

Mark

First Cape buffalo maybe 15 yards, another buffalo maybe a lttle less than that, tuskless about 25 yards.

Under 50:

Elephant
Polar Bear
Brown Bear
Bongo (at 10 feet I shot right between the uprights into his spine as he was lowering his horns to stick me in the guts) Blessed be Mr. Rigby.

One Cape buffalo at 10 yrds. Zimbabwe July 2012.
Four 375 H&H and one 500 Jeffery. Died one step in front of me.

Buffalo at maybe 30 and elephant at 40-50 yds.

Interesting Post!!
1984-Chobe, Botswana
1st Buff 40 yds- heart shot 375H&H, Bang, down, immediately up and off 100 yards and down!
2nd Buff- 20 yards in the middle od a herd of 400- Bang and pandemonium, Buff going everywhere, he lead us on a merry chase for about 500yards, Texas Heart Shot next, down, broadside at 20 yards, UP again and final at 10 yards...375 H&H
Lion-follow up- 2nd shot at 10 yards in a flying charge, broke his neck from the TOP...down, final three shots in the chest at 10 feet!!...real Heart Throb!!
1994-Zimbabwe- Gwai River, Forest Concession
Elephant- 470, Brained at 33 paces, Down, PH required two insurance shots, spine and heart at 10feet. Trust me, stalking into this position was a real heart throb, the PH's cool hand on my shoulder was quivering too!!
2010 Mozambique- Zumba on Zambezi River
Hippo- 375H&H 30 yards on land, Bang DOWN
2 Crocs 13-6" and 14-1" 375 H&H from blind at 40 yards- one shot each...DEAD!!
These are the moments that NEVER leave you!!

Cape Buff at 10 ft., had to side step him, he was upset and had 10 holes in him at the time. A .470NE will stop them, I got him in the right eye......... tom

buff at 40 ele at 25
leopard 50 lion 60
yards not feet

Big pig at 12" with a bowie knive

quote:

Originally posted by Full Roar:
Big pig at 12" with a bowie knive

Now you are talking dangerous game!

All those who hunt with rifles are no where near your league.

Whether they shoot a buffalo at 20 yards or 400 yards.

It is all the same when you have rifle in your hands.

Buff at 20 yds. M70 404 Jeffrey with 1 CEB non-con, plus 1 CEB solid to pay the insurance. He might have run 15 yards.

Brown bear at 13 yards, Sept 2011. He squared 8 1/2', wasn't a monster but damn it was exciting ...

http://forums.accuratereloadin...461076361#6461076361

Cape Buffalo in the Okavango Delt at 35 yds with a 404 Jeffery. One shot to heart, one more for insurance.

quote:

Originally posted by Full Roar:
Big pig at 12" with a bowie knive

F*#k that for a lark!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by Full Roar:
Big pig at 12" with a bowie knive

F*#k that for a lark!

Agree.

I would prefer to face a charging bull
than a pig with a knife.

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:

I would prefer to face a charging bull than a pig with a knife.

Too bloody right!

28 yards Buff

During my Caprivi hunt in 2011, buffalo at 22 yards, trophy elephant bull at 15 yards and non-export elephant bull at 11 yards.

I'm going back in August, and I can't wait!!!

Lioness at 12 yards. She was in the process of charging the tracker.

As noted by some, this was a silly thread 8 years ago and remains so. DG is intended to be killed at less than 50 yards, as Todd and other experienced DG hunters have stated; otherwise it ain't dangerous!

I've killed approximately two dozen head of the dangerous 7 and all measured between 15-50 yards. One Buff that was not measured and was killed from a burnt over area where we could not approach any closer, had no cover and the bull knew we were there, might have been at between 50-65 yards.

I really don't consider them to be dangerous game, but I once shot a nuisance black bear at 5 yards. Four of my 5 bear have been at less than 50 yds - I hunt in pretty thick country.