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Leopard Prime Time
23 January 2008, 06:28
SBTLeopard Prime Time
O.K, I have an offer on a leopard hunt in the lowveldt of Zim that I am giving serious consideration. If I have my choice of dates, what would be optimal?
"There are worse memorials to a life well-lived than a pair of elephant tusks." Robert Ruark
23 January 2008, 06:41
SGraves155BEFORE calving time. June, July, or August.
23 January 2008, 10:29
ozhunterI would probably pick May, before the bulk of the safaris start .
23 January 2008, 15:42
Die Ou JagterThe earlier the better April or May.
23 January 2008, 16:32
Aspen Hill AdventuresI took the leopard pictured in my signature line just past the middle of August and during the day, 45 minutes before dusk. Got it all on video.
~Ann
23 January 2008, 17:30
butchlocmay/june - before a bunch of safaris start and they get all spooky
24 January 2008, 00:12
L. David KeithMid May to Mid June are lowveldt primetimes. Some will go by the Moon phase, others will not think anything about it and in the end, skill and some luck will define the outcome. LDK
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Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#926103994110 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson
Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......
"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."
24 January 2008, 10:05
ivan carteri would recomend early in the year , i dont believe that hunting pressure has a lot to do with it ...my thoughts are mainly with regard to the bush itself , when the bush is still green and therefore thicker , the leopards are more comfortable feeding earlier ..in addition while the game is still spread out ( in other words when there is still plenty of surface water) its far harder hunting for them ...as the game starts to concentrate around the water , leopards start to find it easier and just seem to be harder to really "fix" to the bait ....
by earlier in the year i mean mid april through to mid june ....
i also like to look at the moon , i like to start the hunt close to full moon so that the nights are getting darker and darker and often by the time the leopard is fixed to the bait the nights are nice and dark ...
having said that , of course there will be exceptions ... we all know someone who shot leopard at full moon in late october
the lowveldt has some great areas for leopard ... good luck
24 January 2008, 10:25
shakariLike Ivan, I don't think hunting pressure has a lot to do with it. - Leopards are always spooky.
As to full moon, I don't personally think it makes much difference, if the PH sets everything up right..... in fact, from my experience, they get more civilised at that time, because they tend to come to bait earlier in the evening..... but that's just my experience and others may have had different experiences.
Avoid lambing time though.
26 January 2008, 01:06
LJSI don't think cats in the Lowveldt are going to get spooky as the year goes on. These cats are used to people being around. The most important thing to do when leopard hunting IMHO is to have an arrangement with your outfitter to do some pre-baiting before you arrive. I think it'll be the best couple hundred bucks you can spend.