hi guys ,

well i just thought that i would share this story , there are a lot of remote camera pics showing uyp here and there and i must say i have really changed the way i hunt leopard and i feel that less leoparde will become educated as a result of the ph seeing what is going on before actually sitting .

these days i never sit till i have seen the cat and that way we know what we are sitting on , what is the best time and all that ..

on this hunt , alan had been hunting bhuff and plains game with the option of a leopard , we were on the mazunga conservancy where the leopards are huge , but as a result of lots of hunting , traopping and general disturbance over the years the big ones are generally well educated ..

day 6 this guys tarted feeding , but veru intermittent , he would come in 2.30 am one day and 6.30 pm the next , then not at all ...we let him settle for four days and his pattern became regular ...at the same time we had three other leopard on bait , a female with a cub , a smaller male and a lone female ..

heres the photo that shows what a great cat he was ..the camera avoided us even needing to disturb the smaller male or even risk looking at the lone female that was still a big cat though ..

then when we knew just what he was up to , where he was coming in from and what time to get in the blind , we set the blind about 80 yards away ..

that evening we sat , as many of you know , the culmination of many days and hours of work and fireside discussion and lots and lots of bait checking by mark , the assistant ph , sure enough , 6.45 , one perfect shot and heres what you get ..185 pounds and 7 foot 8 , about as good as any one could expect ! !!

That's beautiful. He's got that big blocky head and all that, absolutely nice.

Ivan, I hunted there last year and heard leopard calling several times ( I was not hunting leopard). I am booked for next July and thought seriously about trying to take a big leopard but didn't know how big a tom to expect in the conservancy. Would you recommend I upgrade my hunt or is your big tom the exception? thanks

Frankly I do not know if the advent of trail cameras is good or whether it lessens the quality of the hunt.

I have hunted leopard with and without trail cameras.

My best success was with multiple trail cameras when we had 5 leopards on 5 baits in Botswana. This was was with the incredible Dries Visser who could have done the hunt with or without the cams.

We analyized, evaluated and timed the approaches of the various cats. We selected one and shot it the first time in the blind. It was a very good cat. But we already knew that from the timer on the camera - both what size it was and when it came to the bait. There was no suspense - not much suprise.

Is this a better experience than the old way of looking at track size, hairs in the bark of the tree, multiple sittings in blinds listening to strange sounds near the blind....?

After many long and fruitless nights in leopard blinds, I could see this!

But crickett?

sevenmag,
our tom was a huge cat , though the quality in the area is excellent and reasonable expectations can be a cat in excess of 160 pounds and over seven foot southern zimbabwe cats are definitely some of the biggest around ...

allan ,
i agree with you , tyo some degree it lessens the hunt, though i must say without good trackers to work out where he came from where he went etc etc you still wont get there ..

i have used trail timers for years and though they tell the time , who knows what fed and what didnt ..

in the old days when it all went so much slower and cost so much less , we would never dream of mixing leopard buff and ele on any less than 21 days , nowadays as the days allocated get shorter we have to fine tune things a little to produce the same results ..

i am largely old school , but i feel this is one of those steps thats going to seriously change the way things are done in the cat hunting world ...it wont be long till all phs have this in the truck box ...

crickett ?

quote:

Originally posted by Palmer:
Is this a better experience than the old way of looking at track size, hairs in the bark of the tree, multiple sittings in blinds listening to strange sounds near the blind....?

Good question. My answer is that I don't think so. I think, for me at least, reliance on technology to this extent tilts the odds too far in the hunter's favor.

Hunting is all about the hunter's willingness to handicap himself. Hunters the world over willingly do that.

We close seasons, hunt only males (generally) of a minimum size or larger (again, generally), only during daylight hours (once again, generally) and without artificial lights (yet again, generally), don't shoot over waterholes (still and yet again, generally) and so on and so forth.

In this day and age of night vision devices, trail cameras, high-powered spotlights, range-finders, high-powered and semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons, telescope sighted rifles, etc., hunters could, if they were willing and the laws permitted, kill at will and wantonly.

I realize that some condemn hunting from blinds, including tree blinds, hunting over baits, hunting with dogs, etc. But to me, these kinds of hunting have tradition, as well as elements of stealth, skill and hard work on their side. Also, they are essentially techniques, not technology, and they do not, IMHO, violate principles of fair chase. I have hunted and would hunt again using these methods. (I won't even dignify with a response those who say scope sights, range-finders and rifles are unfair, because they are clueless about the need to kill the game quickly and humanely.)

For me, trail cameras, like night vision devices and spotlights, bring technology too much to bear.

IMHO, it is better to rely on the human skills of evaluation of spoor, judgment of prevailing wind and likely approaches to the bait tree and plain old persistence and perseverance. It is better to rely on all of these skills and then sit up all night in the blind if need be, in wait for the elusive prey, even if one fails. In short, IMHO, it is better, and more rewarding, to rely on good old fashioned bare human skill and hard work.

How else can one say that he has truly earned his trophy?

Not to say I that I unequivocably condemn the use of trail cameras, but they're over the line as far as I'm concerned and definitely not for me.

I in the other hand think that the trail cam has done wonders. Not just to make it easier but it is better for the leopards as well as now you can be choosy. Making sure not to take a female or a sub adult male.

Well that will also depend on the PH if he will be willing to wait out for a big tom. It is basically like the talk about taking soft bossed buff just because they have length. Would you rather take a hard bossed leopard to a soft boss as an example. In the end I think the technology helps and so it has if you consider how game ranching/management as improved over the years.

But to each his own I take my hat off to anyone who will rather sit day after day in a blind just to take a chance without any help of technology. You are the hunter in the end and can call the odds.

Ivan, super leopard.

I think it is good to have options. To me, this isn't much different than pre-baiting before the client even gets on the airplane. I can understand why someone who has spent X number of nights in a blind with nothing to show for it until the 3rd trip might be against this...then again, ask them on the 27th night and they might change their mind.

I'm fairly old fashioned myself but I think in this case, it's interesting to have this available in some camps. If time and money wasn't an object then it would be different but it is and it is.

Congrats! No criticism here. I think trail cameras add excitement to the hunt.

Ivan, beautiful cat. Which part of Zim was it taken in?

so you can see a cat in a picture, that doesn't mean you're going to get him. after spending 54 days trying for a leopard like that a picture or two sure would have kept my hopes up just knowing that there was a big guy around. those lowveld educated cats are as smart as they come. Getting one of them is just great. congrats

I've finished to read a ingwe hunt where the technology like light intensifier is heavily used.... and justified by the necessity to hunt the right animal.

Time pass, few second ago on the geological watch we were using sticks, then bows and arrows and sticks, or we used natural traps like ravines to make our preies (is it correct? boh) fall and die, in a tenth of second we arrived to use rifle and electrical deivces to make light in the dark and in the last ag, hundredths of second we are using radios, light intensifier, thermic finders liquid identifiers for blood like Luminol; quad and cars often substituted mule and horses ..... paraphrasing Hunphry Bogart "It is the progress, beauty"

But is so sad....

I don't know! I am in the construction business and we utilize every bit of techonolgy we can to speed up the work, insure better quality, provide better safety for the workers and the public, enhance profits, etc.; why not utilize what is legal and ethical to get the most out of our limited time: i.e. why use a spear when you can use a rifle?

Bryan,
you are absolutely pragmatic, an this is absolutely legal, but IMVHO except some lucky, really lucky occasion, pragmatism eliminates part of the "adventure" or of the dream search, it doesn't help in the search of strong feelings, it takes away beauty and sensations to the hunt.

But this is only My Very Humble Opinion

the cat was taken in mazunga conservancy ..lemco ...the skull went 16 1/4. big trophies are a result of hard work and luck ...always rather lucky than good !

this guy was lucky , in spite of using cameras and all the guille and wit we can , many guys still spend the nights in blinds ...dont worry , leopard hunting will never be easy... this does not make the shooting easier but makes the selection process easier not for big ones anyway ...easy to shoot a female or small male ...and sadly people do but a big old tom is like a giant whitetail , they just think different !

This is my favorite picture of that beautiful cat.



15 clients, 8 PH, 3 cameramen, 2 camps, 10 days, over a 100 plains game trophies, 11 buffalo and a nice leopard. What more can you ask from a safari? My hat goes off again for Ivan and the the rest of his crew for pulling it off. It's an experience I will not soon forget.

I'm not into much of the tech stuff in my hunting camps..Its not about success, its about going back in time, away from modern times, man against beast and fair chase as I see it..I don't want cameras, red dots, battery operated gun sights, night scopes and other modern tools of the trade.

I will be the determining factor, within reason, in each and every case in my hunting and reserve the right to change my mind at any time I please...

The extent of my tech is a 3X Leupold and a repeating bolt rifle of Mauser or pre 64 Win. make. A pair of 8x30 Leicas and a belt full of ammo..although I might choose to use a double and iron sights on my bolt guns..

I do not begrudge another for the use of whatever pleases his heart, or his need to shoot the biggest trophy in the world if that turns his crank. I wish him luck..He should be his own determining factor as I am mine. We all owe that to each other, although I see a lot of desention or this subject.

Nice Leopard and well deserved.

Ivan, Tyge

What an incredible hunt you had. An excellent collection of trophies, congratulations to all the hunters involved.

Dave

quote:

we would never dream of mixing leopard buff and ele on any less than 21 days

Yes yes, Ivan or you could hunt with a REAL ph like Brent Leesmay and get them all in 14 days in Chewore North! Without camera I might add.

Actually a very nice leopard.... congratulations!

Cheers,
Russell

Geez, that looks like 9 eland in addition to the 11 buffalo? Over 100 trophies in 10 days? Your skinners worked some overtime.

Those guys get paid overtime?

russell , like i have said before , rather be lucky than good , i know you and brent worked your asses off on your hunt and got the luck you needed.. its not about numbers though in some areas the game is so good that numbers follow hard work , we had 12 guys shooting and in ten days each took some great great trophies ..

ps ...no the skinners dont get overtime ..just overtip !!

PM to Ivan.

Looks like Lemco. We were there in 2005. Make's me want to go back.

That's Samanyanga Camp, spent 10 days there last July and going back July 08. After looking at that photo I'm going to switch camps! Don't look like those boys left much seed stock !!!!!

Outstanding leopard! Congratulations!