I am currently booking my first Safari to the Dark Continent for my main trophy of Lion on a 21 Day Safari.
I have shortlisted two P.H.'s which I am struggling with on which to commit to.
Any input or experience with these gentleman would be greatly appreciated.
They are Mark Sullivan / Tanzania or John Sharp / Zimbabwe.
Thank you in advance.

Neither. I would go with Dean Kendall with Rungwa Safaris in Tanzania.

MS is cancer on the industry. John Sharp is good but not in the league with a few others. I have not hunted with MS or JS so take my opinion in that context.

I would avoid Hartley Cormrinck as well should you see his name out there.

I love forums, "should I order the steak or the chicken?" Neither, order the lobster.

That said, I think you should provide more information as to areas hunted, type of hunting (bait or "walking it up") etc. Now if you are talking about the INDIVIDUALS, I've hunted with John twice and hope to hunt with him again soon. He is the quintessential professional, honest to the nth degree and what he tells you, take it as gospel. A few folks here have hunted with Mark and I daresay maybe even with both. I have not, but I can unequivocably tell you they just don't come any better than John Sharp. Feel free to PM me and I'l give you my number and we can chat.

jorge

Sir, both are highly qualified! MS has taken many great lions over the years, and if I recall correctly, JS took the "best lion in Zimbabwe - 2010" award.

Most important is location! Where exactly would you hunt with either PH? The best PH in the world, is only as good as the area he's hunting.

quote:

Most important is location! Where exactly would you hunt with either PH? The best PH in the world, is only as good as the area he's hunting.

+1

Jorge,
Mark is favouring walking with minimal baiting (Tanzania)and John is leaning in the opposite direction. With John it will be the Bubye Concession.

cool dude,

As Aaron said it doesn't matter who the PH is if the area is not a good one for the desired game. I don't know where Mark is hunting but I do know the Bubye is very good and I've never heard anything negative about John Sharp. Having said that if you can pay the Bubye price and the TF you have alot of great options in a number of locations.

Mark

quote:

I love forums, "should I order the steak or the chicken?" Neither, order the lobster.

Can't stop laughing over that quote - and not sure why......

quote:

Originally posted by Friday:

quote:

I love forums, "should I order the steak or the chicken?" Neither, order the lobster.

Can't stop laughing over that quote - and not sure why......

That reminds me of a waitress telling(whispering) me to absolutely not order the chefs special chicken dish of the day

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
Neither. I would go with Dean Kendall with Rungwa Safaris in Tanzania.

MS is cancer on the industry. John Sharp is good but not in the league with a few others. I have not hunted with MS or JS so take my opinion in that context.

I would avoid Hartley Cormrinck as well should you see his name out there.

Combrink or rather nicknamed Can't drink.

I think cool dude is set on the mentioned duo and really you have to look at contemporary results and references.

Maybe the Zim lads can shed some more light on the Bubye?

If it were me, I would go with Mark Y.or Aaron N.!

I like walking. Hence I would go with MS.
He has quite a few lion that were taken on foot and quality is always excellent.
I also think you should take a TZ Lion hunt while they are still available?

I've heard that the lion population in the Bubye is healthy. I'll be hunting with John Sharp this summer in the Bubye for lioness.

We will obviously bait heavily, and hope to track them up on foot instead of building and shooting from a blind.

Without a doubt John Sharp in the Bubye Valley Conservancy, I will stake my rep on it!

Mart

I can't comment on Mark's area because I haven't been there but I can tell you the Bubye has great lion, I have seen them. I agree with Martin 100% on his comments! The Bubye has a very strict quota, have you reserved a spot?
PM me if you have any specific questions.

Have you hunted Tanz or Zim before ? I think you are looking at hunting the same animal but at two very different experiences. A 21 full bag in Zim or a 21 full bag in Tanz in a good area I would choose Tanz everyday.JMO

With that said I met John last year in Zim and talked a bit about a lion hunt in Bubye.Good area and GREAT PH.

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Have you hunted Tanz or Zim before ? I think you are looking at hunting the same animal but at two very different experiences. A 21 full bag in Zim or a 21 full bag in Tanz in a good area I would choose Tanz everyday.JMO

With that said I met John last year in Zim and talked a bit about a lion hunt in Bubye.Good area and GREAT PH.

A.

Why would you recommend Tanz over the best of the Zim areas? Just interested.

If you are with John in Bubye, you will kill a great lion and have a great time while doing so.

quote:

Originally posted by cool dude:
Jorge,
Mark is favouring walking with minimal baiting (Tanzania)and John is leaning in the opposite direction. With John it will be the Bubye Concession.

quote:

Originally posted by martin pieters:
Without a doubt John Sharp in the Bubye Valley Conservancy, I will stake my rep on it!

Mart

+100

Go with js to buybe and you will shoot a jaws. 100 percent success rates and lots of big shumba there.

I know the man who shot the lion that won the 2010 award.

Finally. It will be spendy but not near the cost of northern or western Tanzania.

Oh, almost forgot to congratulate you on your dilemma. Helluva pickle you're in here.

For me it would be to hunt truly wild Africa. Extra buffalos on license and so many special game only found there(masailand). I love Zim but its something magical about east africa. For me its about money or I would have done a few 21 days hunting trips there too like I have done in Zimbabwe.

I love east Africa and Mark is well qualified.

Mike

http://huntnetwork.net/modules...ankyou,old%20Boy.pdf

We were in the Bubye (Lemco) in 2005 and I fell in love with the place. Huge amount of game and great accomodations.

Lions were everywhere!!! We saw a pride on a zebra kill, a pride "kicked" my husband and PH out of the leopard blind (see attached link).
We saw big lone males and prides of females often.

Good luck on your hunt.

Here's another suggestion of lobster:

Why not Richard Bell-Cross or Andrew Baldry in Zambia's Lunga Luswishi? The only downside is waiting to see what happens with the concession allocations this year.

quote:

Originally posted by martin pieters:
Without a doubt John Sharp in the Bubye Valley Conservancy, I will stake my rep on it!

Mart

Can't ask for a more ringing endorsement than that. Peer endorsement plus all the rest, I think the choice is easy. jorge

I think you really need to know the concession Mark is hunting to make a good decision......or the best decission for you. If you're looking for a lion hunt this is quite the delema. If you're looking for a full bag hunt I agree with Anton and lean towards Tanzania IF it's the right block.

Brett

Here is another Lobster; I would seriously look at TGTS in Tz. Really good lions done the right way. Pricy but you get what you pay for.

Limted to the two you suggested, I have never heard a cross word about JS. From everyone that I have ever spoken too he has an earned reputation as a top notch PH with a sterling track record.

quote:

Originally posted by sandyhunter:
Here's another suggestion of lobster:

Why not Richard Bell-Cross or Andrew Baldry in Zambia's Lunga Luswishi? The only downside is waiting to see what happens with the concession allocations this year.

Sandy - As you know, when it comes to big lions, there's barely a place that can compare to the northern Kafue of Zambia. But, the man has narrowed his choices down, and either one will likely be a good choice!

Agreed!

http://www.mazungasafaris.com/mazunga-species.html

cool dude,

Attached is a link for success ratio and trophy size in the Bubye Conservancy.

Bubye, definitely.

That is, if there are no other offers out there that tempt you ...

I prefer walking to sitting in a blind, and I damned sure prefer TZ over Zim for the other game available on a 21 day ticket...3 buffalo make for plenty of great baits baits if necessary. IF Mark has a good area for lion I'd look no further. Several other very good operators up there too, Harpreet Brar, Raoul Ramoni and Jack Brittingham all come to mind.

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:

quote:

Originally posted by sandyhunter:
Here's another suggestion of lobster:

Why not Richard Bell-Cross or Andrew Baldry in Zambia's Lunga Luswishi? The only downside is waiting to see what happens with the concession allocations this year.

Sandy - As you know, when it comes to big lions, there's barely a place that can compare to the northern Kafue of Zambia. But, the man has narrowed his choices down, and either one will likely be a good choice!

quote:

Originally posted by cool dude:
I am currently booking my first Safari to the Dark Continent for my main trophy of Lion on a 21 Day Safari.
I have shortlisted two P.H.'s which I am struggling with on which to commit to.
Any input or experience with these gentleman would be greatly appreciated.
They are Mark Sullivan / Tanzania or John Sharp / Zimbabwe.
Thank you in advance.

If these were my only 2 options...it would be John in Lemco hands down.

Other Cadillac choices for lion would be TGTS and Prohunt Zambia...as others have said.

Excellent info. Thank You!
C.D.


Attached is a link for success ratio and trophy size in the Bubye Conservancy.[/QUOTE]

I am envious of your delima, you're a lucky man to have a problem deciding who to use on a lion hunt!
Good luck to you, I wish I had the same problem.

I am scheduled for a lion hunt in Bubye in 13 with Brent Hein. From what I have seen and heard it is a sure thing on a big cat as they have an over abundance of lions. The buffalo/plains game hunting is supposed to be over the top from many of the PH's that I have spoken with.

I was on 2 lion safaris last year. The first was in the Save, where we had cat activity and with the right PH you should get a cat. Unfortunately I was with a very incompetent PH, Terry Anders on Savuli and came home empty handed. I believe he failed on 2 additional hunts for lions after me.

With a burning desire to get a cat, I took off to W Tanzania with Danny McCallum and hunted with Mike Fell. A truly different experience with a great PH in a truly wild area. PH's were/are very nervous with the new laws/fines in place in TZ. The benefit is there is a lot of additional game and I was able to purchase an additional license and take 5 buffalo along with a bunch of plains game I had not hunted before. I believe there were 15+ 21 day hunters with McCallum this year and only 1 client shot a lion. I think the odds in TZ are against you.

Would I hunt TZ again? Yes with a very low daily rate and the difference made up in a lion trophy fee. From what I have heard, success rates on lion were down significantly in Tanzania.

That is why I am off to Bubye

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
Neither. I would go with Dean Kendall with Rungwa Safaris in Tanzania.

MS is cancer on the industry. John Sharp is good but not in the league with a few others. I have not hunted with MS or JS so take my opinion in that context.

I would avoid Hartley Cormrinck as well should you see his name out there.

Combrink or rather nicknamed Can't drink.

I think cool dude is set on the mentioned duo and really you have to look at contemporary results and references.

Maybe the Zim lads can shed some more light on the Bubye?

Hartley made every effort to ruin a hunt was on in 2010. I would not urinate on the guy if he were ablaze.

Has anyone ever wonder why Mark Sullivan does not make charging lion videos?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Has anyone ever wonder why Mark Sullivan does not make charging lion videos?

Because then there would only be one scene in the whole video and none ever after.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Has anyone ever wonder why Mark Sullivan does not make charging lion videos?

I would imagine that like leopards lions don't give much room for error. If that's some suttle hint that Mark doesn't know how to hunt lions....I'd say you're a long way off base. The number and quality of lions that grace the pages of his bookS is more than a testement to his ability. That said a lion shot yesterday or ten shot ten years ago is not a lion shot today, but obviously the man is capable!

Brett