14 November 2013, 09:43
DPSTwo lion hunts 2013 - Tanzania/Zimbabwe
This report is based on two lion hunts I did in 2013. Hunting lion unsuccessfully in 2011 in Zambia I knew that 2013 would be my last chance to hunt lion. I hunted Tanzania in July 2013 and did not connect on a mature lion. I thought that my lion hunting days were over. By chance a friend of mine hunted lion in Zimbabwe at the same time I was in Tanzania. He had some very bad luck and did not connect on a lion. He was offered a return hunt but due to business constraints he could not return. I had been in contact with the same outfitter for the last few years and was at the top of their cancellation list. It turns out I’d get one more chance at lion.Both hunts:
Booking agent – Jeff C Neal – Greg Brownlee did his usual great job in handling the details of the booking.
Rifle – Dakota .375 H & H – Left hand
Bullets – 300 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw
Observer – Cindy Shelly
Hunt #1
July 1-21, 2013
Tanzania – Chunya/Pita area
Outfitter – Danny McCallum
PH – Danny McCallum – Danny is a true gentleman and very tough hunter.
Danny McCallum and his wife Joanna
My Wife Cindy knitted scarves for the guys to give to their wives. I think they liked them just a little too much.
The tsetse flies were terrible. To make it worse I had an allergic reaction.
Buffalo #1
Buffalo #2
Buffalo #3
I had a face to face with this lion. He came in to the blind and literally stuck his nose into my window. It was intense!!!
This is where I was face to face with the young lion.
We saw a pack of 6 wild dogs. Very cool.
Hunt #2
Zimbabwe – Bubye Valley Conservancy
October 11-28, 2013
Outfitter – Pete Fick Safaris
PH – Pete Fick and Andries Kotze – Pete did a great job for us and he hunts hard. Andres is a young up and coming PH that we had for the last 6 days of our safari. It would be a pleasure to hunt with either of these guys again someday.
We shot a giraffe the first day and were able to get 5 baits hung. We put a trail camera up at each bait. The 2nd morning we checked all 5 baits with 2 of them being hit. There was a pride of nine on the first bait and a large lone male on the second bait. We immediately started setting up a blind. It was 8:00 in the morning. As the trackers began setting up the blind the lion started roaring and growling at us. I would guess he was 500 yards away. The entire bush came alive. The bird life was going crazy along with the baboons and impala barking up a storm. It was intense!!! Pete immediately sent the truck away as the trackers said “he’s coming”. We knelt down behind some brush and waited. Everything in the bush continued to carry on as the lion was actually coming. We saw him move to the back side of the bait. We decided to go after him. We walked in the direction we saw him go and probably walked about 200 yards. One shot at 120 yards off the sticks and I had my lion. It was just amazing.
We hunted 18 days a saw lion in person every single day. There is a ton of lion in the Bubye. I tried to hunt a hyena but we couldn’t keep the lion off the baits.
We saw several fresh leopard kills.
There was a lake about an hour from camp and the bass fishing was amazing. We fished the last 2 days for bream and largemouth. We caught over 100 each day. It was a great way to end an amazing safari.
Final notes
Tanzania was a tough hunt and we put in a lot of miles. The tsetse flies were just terrible and definitely took some of the steam out of my hunt. We saw lion but just couldn’t find a shootable male. The buffalo hunting was outstanding. Danny and his staff were great.
The Bubye Valley in Zimbabwe is amazing. We saw incredible amounts of game every day. The conservancy should be a model for all of Africa to follow. They are fully staffed and there are game scouts everywhere. I honestly don’t think there is poaching going on anywhere in the million acres. They are managing this property at the highest standards. I would hunt here again in a heartbeat. Pete and the staff took great care of us and the accommodations were perfect.
Hope you enjoy.
Doug
Congratz!!!
