My Wife Lori and I returned home on the 30th. We had a great hunt in Zimbabwe and RSA. We arrived in Bulawayo on the 14th of June and were met by Wayne Clark. Waynes father owns Ukhozi Safaris and Books through Adam Clements at Safari Trackers. This is our second time hunting with Wayne. Our last trip was in 2002 and were were fortunate to hunt the Matetsi with the Vincents.

The flight over was not as bad as I thought it might have been. After meeting with Steve and his Wife at Atlanta We boarded the Airbus. I thought the seats, made by Recaro were less comfortable than the Boeing. The main complaint was the video system. Mine worked for the first two to three hours then quit. More than half the systems stopped working. The Pilot apologized several times and claimed it was only this plane that has had this problem. On the flight back it worked with no problem. The other problem was with the Screen, once the person in front reclined their seat the screen didn't allow enough angle to get a good view. I never had any problem with flight attendants not allowing persons to stand or move about. It certainly is smaller inside and is survivable, if only once every couple years. I wouldn't want to have to work in one every day. I was a little concerned about my baggage getting checked through from SLC to Bulawayo. And was glad to see it there on arrival. I had no problems with Zim customs and breezed through with no bribes or trouble.

We started hunting on the 15th. Wayne had some baits up from a client that had hunted there the previous week.

I started by shooting Impala for more baits as there was some smaller female cats eating on two of the baits. Honey badgers ran two of them off and we moved the baits. By Friday We had a shootable cat hiting on a Bait and Saturday he was eating one. A blind was set up and we got into at 16:30 hrs on Saturday the 19th. I was prepared for a long night. About an hour and a half into the wait the sun was just setting and Wayne sat up,looked through his Bino and told me the Leopard was on the bait. I rolled over to my gun looked through the scope and could see him clearly. He was about 55-60 yrds from the blind and facing me at about 45 deg. It was an easy shot and I hit him on the point of the left shoulder and he dropped from the tree. Within the next minute there was the final growls and groan. After a short follow up, it was now dark Wayne and the two trackers found the cat dead about 15 yrds off. When we first shot the cat Wayne told me to wait at the blind then said it was ok to follow at a distance. He told me "If anything happens run in and put the barrel on the cat and shoot." "Don't shoot from a distance." Wayne had been slightly mauled by a Leopard that had been hit poorly. He was able to hit it with a 12ga. blast of buckshot before it got him. The client then shot the cat with a 338 and the bullet went through the cat and into his butt. His tracker at the time carried a 270 and shot the cat off him. Fortunetly he was not seriously hurt. I haven't asked to see the scar from the bullet. When we got to the leopard I realized it was a big cat. Wayne and the tracker were quite excited and once we got it to the road we realized how big he was. In the photo with the cat over my shoulders, I'm trying to smile and look into the camera without it slipping off, but the body was so big I couldn't get my head up. After several photos, ok maybe a 100, good thing I bought a digital camera, we drove back to the ranch.

Once at the House Wayne got a cloth tape and after several carefull measurments we all agreed that it was 99 inches from tip to tip. I've never had any animal scored, but I may have this one. We didn't have a scale availabe that night. The skinner removed the guts and in the morning he was weighed at 84 kgs.

Wayne told me this was the biggest cat he had ever gotten and didn't expect to ever surpass it. So far Wayne has been 100 % for leopard clients from the SLC area and I was glad the streak continued with me.

The rest of the hunt went very well. I can't remember the order that I shot every thing. But I posted the photos as I recalled. We shot 10 trophy animals including an Impala that my wife shot. I also shot Three Impala baits. We finished up in eight days.

With plenty of time on our hands Wayne asked if I wanted to go to RSA and shoot a Nyala and Bushbuck. After considering the finances I said yes. I also knew that he was preparing to go up to Tanzania, were he is hunting for Adam Clements there. Our leaving early would help his preperation.

We then drove to Bietbridge on Thursday the 24th. We were met there by Garrett Klienhaus, Ph for Tshipsie Safaris and Popallin ranch. Garrett was our Ph for the hunt and assisted us through customs. I had no problem getting through into South Africa. The Officer in charge told me that even though we had checked the baggage from SLC to Bulawayo the Police in Jo-Burg should have issued an in-tranist permit. He said it was no problem though and we were on our way.

Popallin ranch is on the Limpopo river and is a 25,000 acre ranch. By Friday morning I had shot my Nyala a nice 27 inch bull. The ranch has plenty of Nyala and if one were looking for Nyala they could find one there with no problem. I saw more Nyala on the ranch second only to Impala. Finding the Bushbuck was a little more trouble and on Saturday afternoon was able to find the buck I shot. I had hit him a bit far back on an angle and on following him up very nearly shot off it's left rear leg as it turned to run just as I fired. The large gouge on the front right leg is from the second bullet passing through the back leg and grazing the front. But I was able to get him and on looking at the exit of the first shot realized it would have passed through the back of the lungs as it exited.

There was Bush pig on the property, but only saw them once and never again.

For the hunt I was using a Remington 700 in 350 Rem mag. It's a short action with a Leupold 4X. I load the ammo myself and was using a Nosler Partition with 58 gr of H4895. I get an average velocity of 2490 FPS. This is the Kilpie I shot first.

OOOh I think it's working.

That was my Impala, one of five we shot. I'll keep this one to mount with the Leopard.



This is my Kudu. I shot him a bit far back and the chase was on. He's about the same lenght as my first, but much wider.

This next is my Duiker. He was in that thick bush behind us and was a bit tricky to hit him and not the bush.



We were looking for Wildebeest when several ran past followed by a group of Zebra. This one stood still long enough to become a rug and Leopard bait.



On Saturday morning this big boy was feeding on the bait at about 06:30 am. We set up the blind that afternoon and was in there at 4:30 pm. with in two hours with light to spare he was feeding on the bait. I still cant belive how big it really was.



I belive the next two shot are written in "the book" as mandatory poses for Leopard.





The next morning we were on the way back to get the blind and saw some Warthogs and wayne said shoot this one, so I did.



The last animal I shot was this Steenbok. I never did get a shot at a Grysbok, but they are there I saw them running.



Later that evening Wayne convinced Lori to shoot an Impala. She shot it from the truck and it dropped at the shot. Shot it through the neck, breaking the spine. She addmited that she was aiming for the shoulder. Dead is Dead.



I shot this Wildebeest on another ranch. After a short stalk I shot him in the chest and he dropped about 30 yrds away.



We were off to South Africa and hunted with Tshipise Safaris on the Popallin ranch. It didn't take long to find this Nyala. I'll do a full mount with it.



The following day we found this Bushbuck. I thouhgt I had him him in the guts and when I caught up with it, I shot just as he turned and nearly blew off the left rear leg. The bullet passed through and grazed the right front leg causing the laceration on the leg.



We continued to look for Bush pig, but never found any after the first sighting. We did however find these two.





And that's what we did for our summer vacation. The end.

Well apparently I missed something in trying to post the photo's. It's late and I'll try again in the morning.

Ralph, Great story and glad you had a great time. Wayne filled me in on everything as well and can not wait to get the pictures from you. Wayne is in Tanzania now and has started the season there. I will bet that you have taken the biggest leopard of the year. An 8 foot 1" Leopard is very impressive, and Wayne thought it would go 205 pounds.

We took 3 out of 3 leopards on the ranch this year and the other two were 7'7" and 7'3", so all great leopards, but you should be very proud of yours and congradulations.

Kino,

WE NEED PICTURES!!!


ski+3

Thank you Adam. I'll have a cd off to you in the next couple days. I'm sure you have more frequent contact with Wayne. Could you ask him to shoot me off a quick e-mail on the taxidermist for dip and pack so I can send it to Piet at Popallin. And thanks again.

Adam,

I know now what to expect! Tell Wayne I want one JUST LIKE THAT ONE. I'm sure he still is talking and grinning about that one.

Kino, Outstanding leopard. Congratulations. I hunt with Wayne through Adam also. He is a class act for certain. How was Charlie (Blue)doing?

Cheers,

Sam

Ralph, I am in constant contact with wayne either by e-mail or Sat. phone, so will pass on your message to him for sure. Thanks in advance for sending the cd to me.

Sam, You can always expect the best, and am sure Wayne will do his best for you, but gonna be hard to beat an 8 foot leopard! Actually Wayne told me that after they shot this one, they saw tracks of even a bigger leopard! So, they are there for you.

Sam, thanks. When we saw the track to this cat Wayne said it was a shootable cat. He commented that it had small feet for it's size after we got it. We actually had two females eating on two other baits. The other male was eating on a bait in another area and he did have big feet! I'm a 100 % conviced that Wayne is the man for Leopard. I started calling him the Leopard man of Zimbabwe. Charlies doing fine. Still quiet. He's one of the most amazing trackers I've ever seen. He has never stopped amazing me in his skill at locating Game.

When you hunt with Wayne don't forget to put a tether on your hat, and wear eye protection.

Adam thanks for getting the info to Wayne and tell him I washed my hat so I won't have to shoot it.

Kino,
Congratulations on a magnificent leopard! Man, that is a brute.

Very nice leopard and thanks for telling your tale.

Thanks for sharing the pictures and for the great stories!
Looks like y'all had a great time!

Kino

Congrats-You have some great trophies and pictures. I can't wait to return to Africa now. Can you explain the configuration of your sling? Is it a Ching Sling and do you find it effective? Thanks
Cig 2

Ralph,

Yea, I'm familiar with hat teather and protective eye wear. We now know what it would be like to ride on the back of a truck in the Baha race.

One of the many things that I like hunting with Wayne is that he is 110%, balls out for the hunt. He wastes no time and is the hardest hunter that I have ever hunted with.

The wife unit is going to take a few animals next time and she was concerned that he would not slow down for her. He made it perfectly clear to her at Reno that he would hunt her to her ability, and no more.

Seeing your pictures and reading your wonderful story just keeps the fire burning under my passion for Africa.

Thanks again,

Sam

Cigani2, Yes it is a Ching Sling. Slingster will recognize it as one of his. I think the sling is very effective and is designed to be used in a supported position. I did use it on the shot on the Duiker as I was sitting on the ground and could sling up and still see the animal. If the grass is to high and one is shooting from sticks or off hand it is not appropriate to use. On the previous trip I had one on my 375 and used it from a couple jackass sitting positions on the back of the truck and found it made the position more stable.
Sam, my wife was concerned to shoot at an animal because she thought they moved to fast and she couldn't get the shot off. Wayne assured her that we would look for an impala that was jsut hanging around and would give her plenty of time. I would suggest that you take her to the range and shoot from sitting and standing and not just the bench. Get her familar withthe gun she will use will help mire than anything. I didn't think my wife would like shooting the 350 mag but she said she never felt the recoil.

Kino,

Congratulations on a great safari. I personally have had good luck with leopards but that thing you shot puts anything I've shot to shame. What a brute! You did very well on the rest also. The little guys are very challenging and you got three. Very good! The grysbok and bushpig have alluded me also but there always is next time.

Good Hunting,

Mark

excellent leopard, Cangrats!