My apologies for the silence - its been a while.

We have had a few remarkable safaris and just want to share a particular one with you in detail as it was remarkable.

Our Spring (all one day of it this year) marketed the start of a hunt in Sango (Save Valley) and we so happened to be after a lion.

Bait collection as always is important and within a few days all the baits were up and running. Sitting in a blind for a cat is one of the most boring and exciting (2 minutes) of ones life so we had decided that if conducive we would track the lion from the bait and see what happens. (Saves a few hours of boredom)!

I’ll cut to the chase. Beautiful old lion fed with 2 younger lions so we decided this is the perfect opportunity. Starting around 1000 in the morning Noah got on the tracks. This man is an unbelievable tracker and those who have hunted with me will attest to this. Watching him work is a thing of beauty. Tracking lion is slow due to their soft feet but exhilarating as you will never know where he will be.

The 2 younger males split and went around some rocky out crops, so we went back and found the big boy’s track that went off by himself up through some hills.
Stop start, stop start as we entered some long grassy patches. We found where he lay down (in some buffalo turd of all places) and then he carried on up into the hills.

His tracks led up this stunning granite outcrop and we all gingerly climbed the smooth surface of the rock. The wind by this time had started to swirl as it does at midday and so we were all getting rather anxious about it. Finding again where some grass had been flattened a few times where he had rested we knew we were close.

We decided that it was best to go to the summit of the rock and then work our way downward checking big shady spots and thickets to see if he was asleep in some of them. Little did we know that this plan was brilliant, except I did not expect to find him so quickly. Slowly and quietly we approached the top of the granite outcrop (not on any tracks) to get the wind right and I glanced under the only tree at the top, nothing (I thought for sure this would be where he was). Starting downward and heading around a couple of big boulders I glanced to my right and all of a sudden found myself face to face with a patch of mane hair protruding abouve a small rock… 6 yards from me behind a boulder. My eyes got decisively bigger rather quickly and Noah my tracker afterwards had the delight in telling everyone that he had never seen anyones eyes so big before in his life.


The lion was fast asleep in the shade of a boulder facing away from us and as beckoned my hunter to come across to me I was sure at any moment he would feel the movement of my wildly gesticulating arms trying to let everyone know that the lion was not only here but right under my nose!

Lying shooting sticks down on granite rocks is not what I would say a quiet task but definitely wanting 2 hands on my rifle incase things went pear shaped I placed the sticks down. We very very quietly made our way around the boulder to where we could get a shot… at 8 paces away and the rest is as they say history! His final resting pace was on top of a granite outcrop, The breeze in his face and as we stood there looking down and around the Save Valley there was silence. What a majestic creature and no better way to have hunted him.


The rest of the hunt was filled with fun and laughter and what an epic way to end off a lion hunt. Thanks to my team, and all involved in making it all happen and obviously to my hunter who shall henceforth be nicknamed twinkle toes!

This is the way to hunt lions and I would recommend it to anyone… we have one left for next year by the way if there is anyone interested!

Awesome hunt and gorgeous trophy.

Well done!!! That would have scared the buffalo poop out of me....

Fantastic!
Thanks for sharing.


Ski+3
Whitefish, MT

Outstanding trophy and story. What an exciting way to hunt lion. Thanks for posting.

Any idea how much he weighed? He looks to have been eating well with a stocky and powerful build. Congrats.

Fantastic photos! What a beast

What a beautiful lion. Congratulations to all involved.

Arjun

Well done! A beaut for sure.

Mark

Great cat!

Congratulations Phillip

Great lion!

Wow! Would love to do that some day.

That's a dream way to take a great lion!

Wow, your stores and pic’s always amaze!

Please continue with posting more hunts!

Well done, Phillip.

Impressive cat, just look at those front
legs, wow!

And very well posed too.

Thank you for sharing your story and great
pictures.

George

Awesome Cat
Congrats

Proper.

What a Beauty!!!

He's a bruiser! Well done to all involved

Beautiful Lion. Hunted properly. Congratulations.

Gorgeous lion... if one can use that adjective to describe a lion.

Great cat Phillip. Congrats to all.

Great cat Phillip.

Tell me they stock the Save from the Bubye population?

quote:

just look at those front
legs, wow!

I thought the same. What a beast! Congrats!

Sam

Fairgame,

Kick Rocks.

I’d love to meet at the shows sometime bud.

Diesel.

quote:

Originally posted by Dieseltrucker:
Fairgame,

Kick Rocks.

I’d love to meet at the shows sometime bud.

Diesel.

Why not? Lions are being translocated to areas across Africa to bolster populations. Google 24 Lions.

Phillip,

Looks like blood on his mane.
Where did you shoot him?

Well done Ace!!

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Dieseltrucker:
Fairgame,

Kick Rocks.

I’d love to meet at the shows sometime bud.

Diesel.

Why not? Lions are being translocated to areas across Africa to bolster populations. Google 24 Lions.

Do you think Save needs lion bolstering?

Thierry, I think your website has been hijacked. When I click on your link, I get taken to a website about a Ferrari for sale.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
Thierry, I think your website has been hijacked. When I click on your link, I get taken to a website about a Ferrari for sale.

happened to me also......bob

All,

Did not mean to hijack this thread. Lekker Shumba. Great PH. Fine area.

Fairgame,

You can PM me and we can flesh this issue out.

Diesel.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
Thierry, I think your website has been hijacked. When I click on your link, I get taken to a website about a Ferrari for sale.

Thanks for letting me know! I’ll check it out! Much appreciated!

quote:

Originally posted by Thierry Labat:

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Dieseltrucker:
Fairgame,

Kick Rocks.

I’d love to meet at the shows sometime bud.

Diesel.

Why not? Lions are being translocated to areas across Africa to bolster populations. Google 24 Lions.

Do you think Save needs lion bolstering?

You tell me? There are many areas throughout Africa that require Lion.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Thierry Labat:

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Dieseltrucker:
Fairgame,

Kick Rocks.

I’d love to meet at the shows sometime bud.

Diesel.

Why not? Lions are being translocated to areas across Africa to bolster populations. Google 24 Lions.

Do you think Save needs lion bolstering?

You tell me? There are many areas throughout Africa that require Lion.

Were you not the one who said sometime ago after a failed lion hunt with one of your clients that you could go to Sango and shoot a lion off the porch? Or something to that effect?
But anyway to answer your question the SVC has enough of its own lion. Cheers

Great lion Phillip - what was his age estimation?

Proper lion. Proper hunt.