has anyone hunted there im planning a hunt there in oct for sable and leopard,im told to get a possible sable between 45 to 48 inches kindly advise,thankx

sikander,

Please understand it will be very hot there in October and the baby warthogs may be all over making your leopard hunt very difficult. Also if someone is telling you to expect 45"-48" on n a sable they are blowing smoke up your butt. That area genetically can produce a big sable and has but I think realistic expectations will be for 38".

Mark

i think then its not worth it,and suggestions?thankx

Is there any free range area in Africa where you can expect a 45-48" Sable ?

Anton,

I think you can expect 40"+ in some areas and high 30's in many places but 45" and over is a very big sable almost anywhere. The exception of course would be some game ranches were you can shot 50 inches if you can afford it.

Mark

i've hunted some of those farms in the past. 15 years ago or so you may have gotten a 45, but not today with all the squatters. if you want a 45+ sable i believe you will go to zambia - several times

Sikander...those were government farms on long leases and some of the first to be handed over to local politicians and malitia.The game took a pounding in 199-2002 period. Reasonable game management has been restored to many but recovery to the point where 43" sable was the Average (Peter Johnstone ..I forget which railway farm he had).

Hunting in the matetsi blocks you get one or two sable a year over 44" but I have only ever seen one and never had a client shoot one that big

butchloc,where in zambia?ganyana its matetsi 5 railway farms PH name is honest.www.huntingafricasafari.com.mark h young,im intersted if the sable is 50 inches then i only go for sable,any ideas?.thank and regards

here's a picture of a 46" i took on one of the farms, but that was in the early 90's


there are some big sable in western zambia, but if you want a 50" well i hope you've got a lot of money and even more time.

Hi

I have no record of a PH called 'Honest' taking the exam since 1996 when I started examining and certainly not one that got 'best PH off proficiency' award.

Also- No hunting area has Zambezi National park as Western Boundary and Hwange National park to the east...so the whole operator write up is BS.

Also, the railway farms are a Looong way South Of Zambezi National park and are to the west of Hwange

Send me PH's full name and I'll look up his PH number and see what he actually has

I suspect it is all about as honest as finding 48" sable on a regular basis (or even .45"!!!)

an expectation of 45 to 48 inch sable is not realistic - while matetsi does have some good blocks for leopard its generally not a key leopard area. certainly not on the railway farms .

leopard and sable are hard to mix as the very best sable areas are not great for leopard as they generally prefer different habitats-

the best sable today are in western zambia

there are several great areas for leopard - the zambezi valley is excellent as its the perfect terrain and habitat, there are also some excellent areas in tanzania -

leopard and sable can work in tanzania but you will be hunting roosevelt sable thats most likely not going to get into the mid 40s

I agree with Ganyana and Ivan. 45" is not realistic. High 30s and possibly a few over 40 would be good.

The Save Conservancy has good leopard and sable. I have just come off a hunt at Savuli where I saw a few sable bulls in the High 30s . The Doma area has good sable and leopard as well.

I would also be very keen to find out who this "honest " fellow is....I doubt he will live up to his name

I shot two 42 inch sable off Peter Johnstone's railway farm named Antoinette about 15 years ago. I am told those farms are all squatters now with few sable. That prime area in those days would only get an occasional (like one a year) sable in the 44 or 45 inch range. You probably have better odds of a 100 pound elephant than a 50 inch sable. There used to be a Parks concession next to Johnstones along the railway tracks that held good sable as well. I would think now everything in that area is poached to hell. Ron Oliver books an area that was Johnstones that had a very nice sable herd called Cawston but I think a 40 inch would be an ambitious undertaking. If my heart was set on a whopper sable, I would get a current SCI records book and find out where the big ones are found and plan on an 18 day hunt. I am guessing Zambia is where you need to go.

ganyana,ivan,zimfrosty,ljs,thank u so much i think the guy is really bs as i didnt c any of the PH pics on his web site,the only pic i c is a lady and a guy i donno what he is up to,butim sure i have to b very carefull.i check for other areas now for big sable,thankx a lot guys.

just got back form matetsi unit one and saw a lot of nice sable prob up to about 45-46" also a lot of leopard so its probably a great place to start i just dont know that anyone should get there hopes up for a 48 inch sable without a lot of luck on their side.
best,
Don