Hello everybody.
This is my first message here, so first of all I would like to say this is a wonderful forum and a place to learn and share hunt stories.
A friend of mine told me about this forum and I inmediatly fall in love with it.
Hope I can write down a new one successful report for you soon.
I would like to have your advice over a Lion hunting in Chirisa with HHK.
I would be pleased to get any clue or advice from you regarding this hunt. What should I expect from this Lion hunt?

Thank you and take care all of you.

welcome to the forum, stary away from the political forum. 1st check with HHK & see if they have a lion permit available. most of the permits are out by 2 years or more. chirisa is a beautiful area, zim in the cheapest place to go, but if i was really looking for a lion i'd be contacting john duploy in zambia and getting into the valley. its going to cost you 50000, but i think that wherever you go for lion that isn't going to far off from that figure. Johnny is 100% and the valley is full of other game. Trophy fees in zambia are going up by 50% next year, but they will still be nowhere near tanz. 2nd choice would be into mozmbique. as much as i love zim, it is going to hell in a handbasket & I don't know that i want to put a depost out on a hunt 2 years from now there. my opinion only, but having made something like 6 or 8 trips there I guess that i have just lost a lot of confidence currently in the place

Thank you for your replay and comments butchloc.
I already got the hunt permit for Chirisa, I will be there by next month, and I have heard a lot of different oppinios regarding the quality of Lions I might find there. That´s why I´m getting a bit lost about manes and sizes of Lions I should shot or not shot.
I already hunt for Lion in Benin, so now I´m searching for a good one, some maned if possible.

do you know who your ph will be yet?

I have looked at some very nice lions in that area . not huge manes but big body and fierce.

Hello Crusher, nice to meet you.
I have been told my PH to be Steve Brewer.

I have met steve and he seems to be a very nice guy and knows his buisness . just be straightforeward with him about what you want and if its there he will help you find it. sounds like a great adventure wish I were going with you. good luck and let us know how this turns out for you.

Thak you Crusher.
I will let you know how everything was as soon as I came back from Zim.

Chirisa lion

Welcome to AR. My husband shot a huge, black maned lion in Chirisa during August 2000. We were there March 2007 on a buffalo/elephant hunt. PH Ross Johnston took some photos of a big maned lion resting by a termite mound. This lion probably got killed in May when the first lion hunter was scheduled to arrive.


There is a very healthy lion population in Chirisa. My husband's lion was previously seen with another big male that everyone assumed was his brother. A few days after my husband shot his lion, I videotaped an even bigger lion walking in the Sengwa river.

I believe only three lions are shot a year in Chirisa. I am confident you will take a very good lion. Please post photos after your successful hunt and once again, welcome to AR.

Wow.
What a Lion Kathi, congratulations for you both, what a wonderful safari you had.
Hope I can find lion like that one.
Thank you for your comments I´m eager to post photos after my successful hunt ;-) Really hope so.

Thank you very much.

Kathi.
In your opinion, which will be the better method to hunt lion in Chirisa? Baiting or following tracks?

Our PH was Johnny Hulmes. On day 2, we came across buffalo tracks and Johnny wanted to increase the bait supply by killing a cow buffalo. As the tracks were being followed, a lion stood up in chest high grass from about 10 yards away growled and ran off. A few seconds later the lion my husband killed stood up and ran away. They were feeding on a buffalo calf. Johnny was sure one of these lions would get killed.

Just at daybreak the next morning we went into the dry riverbed and we saw one of the lions trotting across the riverbed. They tracked the lion but were unsuccesful. They did get close to him on several occassions in the high grass, sometimes yards away, but no shot.

On day three the lion that was shot was seen by the river's edge and a succesful stalk was made.

We had two elderly friends that wanted a lion and they booked a hunt in Chirisa. Bill Lemon was the PH for our one friend and Doug Reynolds for the other. Our friend that was with Bill Lemon had cancer that eventually took his life. He wounded a lion that got away. Our other friend could not locate the lion in his scope
for almost 30 minutes. Neither of these lions were on bait, just seen as they were driving or glassing.

So I guess my answer would be hang baits, but be ready at all times as it seems a lot of lions are spotted while driving or glassing.

My husband's lion story was published in African Hunter Magazine, Shadows on the Sengwa, if you have the old issues.

Thank you again Kathi.
That sounds great. I just can´t wait to be there soon.
I will have a nice story to tell while coming back.
Thank you for all your help.

Spanishhunter,

I have not been to charisa but I have hunted with Steve and HHK, you will be in good hands.

I shot a very good Leopard with Steve in Omay South this May. He is a very good PH and an easy going guy. I envy that you can get a lion permit in Charisa, usually they are booked well in advance.

Any particular reason for going this late in season? it must be very hot in November.

Hello Ahmed.
Thank you for your post. I also have permit for Buff and Leopard and have been told late season is good for Buff and other bush species like Kudu which you can see easily while is less leaves on trees. In my opinion, I also think the hotter the better for Lion as long as they rest more hours a day and feel more lazy to hunt, so it will be easier to bait and also to find them with shorter tracking in the proximity of water, which is first thing they do after eat, but is only my opinion.
Is also an inportant issue, that I took into account for my final decission to take this safari, the fact of the huge increase of prices is going to be in African safaris (Tanzania and Zambia) in the coming years, together with the fact that Zim pollitics are getting worst fast, so I couldn´t let pass this opportunity.

Spanishhunter,

Good luck, please give my regards to steve when you see him. I will look forward to your hunt report on return.

Ahmed Sultan

I will give your regards to Steve.
Thank you Ahmed

spanishhunter:

My only trip to Africa (alas!) was in 1993 and it was in Chirisa for buff. I urge you to bring a small camera at least. ( I used a small Leica Mini that fitted in a shirt pocket. You are going to see some very varied scenery that will astound you ranging from headland mesas that are magnificent to meadow scenes that look like New England, open savannas,and all kinds of varied country like mahogany trees and baobab trees with trunks that four men can hardly encircle with arms outstretched. I never thought about filming anything (except the trophy, of course) before I went but I have always been glad that I had that little Leica with me. I urge you to take one or something like it with you.

Thank you for your advice gerrys375.
I will do it.

I hunted Charisa in August and there was supposed to be only 1 pride using it. We heard them a couple of nights and saw no tracks. No one saw a lion. We had a number of baits out that week for leopard, and no leopards, and no lions came near them. The staff seemed to think something was wrong with the cats in the area (maybe poaching pressure)- I would definitely look for a better cat area than Chirisa if that was my major objective. I met Steve while there and he is a good guy. Lots of buff...I hope I am wrong about the lion...

Wow Tim,
Those are bad news for me. Did you were also hunting Lion in August? Do you know how many Lions did they hunt there this year?
I was told to be in one of the better areas for Lion.
What was your overall opinion regarding your August hunt? Did you get all trophies you were looking for?
I´m just going there for Lion, and that is the purpouse of the hunt and was already told to HHK.

I have also hunted with Steve and enjoyed the hunt very much. Steve is a very good PH. I would highly recommend him to anyone.

Dear Tim.
I have just talked with Graham and he told me they already saw 5 male lions in the last days.
Guess you had bad luck not to see lions when you were over there. I will let you all know about my experience while coming back.

cheers