I had a list minute opportunity fall in my lap around the first of November. My old buddy Leon skyped me and told me their client left early without shooting his lion. If I wanted I could come for a few days and take a stab at a big lion. So I risked a divorce and bought a plain ticket for the day after Thanksgiving. Leon's partner, Mike Payne, greated me in Harrare. All my luggage arrived safely and we quickly headed over to Mike's house for a little sleep before the next days drive to Matendare ranch in the Save Conservancy. Mike actually had a wonderful bedding situation and I slept great.


I got up the next morning and Clive, another buddy of mine, and I headed down to the conservancy. We made good time after about 4 hours we were on the ranch.There were some signs that a shower had occurred the day before and the humidity was fairly high.

When I arrived at camp Leon greeted me. He looked like hell and apparently I had arrived one day to late and missed another good lowveld bash. SO we poured some coffee down leon and and some Ibuprofen and decided to go check some baits Leon had hung before my arrival. No baits hit yet, so we decided to do some plinking with the .470's.

The next morning we were up very early and off to check baits. When we pulled up on the third bait, located at the foot of a large kopje, Leon spotted movement in the bush. We thought it was an impala, and everyone exited the vehicle to inspect the bait. When we jumped out we saw a lion slinking away towards the rocks. There was a mouthful of meat missing off the zebra. The lion had just found the bait when we disturbed him. We quickly hung a trail camera and split post haste. We checked the other baits and spent the rest of the day goofing off and looking at critters.

The next morning we went straight to the bait and saw that it had been smashed in the night. We noticed that the trail camera had taken only one video. To make matters worse a strong rain had pushed through and washed away most tracks of the cat. We could also not find any main hairs at the bait. We knew a lion was here but we had very few clues as to how big he might or might not be. With no other plan we decided to go ahead and build a blind and go get some more meat. On the way to Leon's house we poked a zebra. Shot was a little low so we did about 1.5 hours of tracking caught up with him and tipped him over. Here's me and Clive with the donkey.

We went and checked the single video we had on the memory card. The lion was on there but for the entire twenty second the front half of his body was hidden behind zebra meat and tree branches. We still didn't know if this was a good lion or not. We went ahead hung the ne bait and built a blind. At 4:40 we were back in the blind and ready for action. The heat and humidity was oppressive but we were ready for action. At 5:00 p.m. our boy started talking. Right off the Kopje we could hear roars and moans. No better music to stay awake to while you sweat in the bush. At about 6:30 he stopped calling and the rain began. We sat through the showersand at about 8:40 when the rain stopped I thought I heard chewing at the bait. We turned the red light on and nothing was there. 15 Minutes later the rain started againand ended about an hour later. At about 10:40 we decided to head to the camp for the night. We radioed for the vehicle and exited the blind. Slowly we walked towards the bait only to find that the lion had devoured a large portion of the fresh Zebra! We looked at the trail camera and saw it had taken several videos. We pulled out the memory card and sped back to camp. Everyone was anxious to see what had happened from the trail camera, and soon we knew what had happened. The Lion had come in and eaten during the first rain, and now we could see he was a monster! We must have turned the light on right after he finished. We were pulling our hair out. We both knew we had missed our chance. What were the odds he would ever come back?
The next morning we were up early and out the door to check the bait. Sure enough he had returned to feed later in the night. We stood around scratching head and speculating whether he had eaten enough and was out on patrol now, never to return. None the less with the heat and humidity our zebra half was allready getting pretty ripe. We needed some fresh meat. We quickly jumped in the cruiser and headed towards an Acacia flat. Quickly we located a bull giraffe. I whipped out the .470 double, dropped two in pipes, while Leon steered the vehicle into position. Once we got to the right spot Leon slammed on the breaks and I dove out with the .470. Boooom-Boooom! both barrels hit him like a train. I recognized I had a mechanical problem with the .470 and quickly whipped out my .375 as the giraffe ran for cover. Like the wild west I shucked round after round through the Dakota while Leon laughed, "Hit'em again!" After 120 meters the bull was toast and he fell over. Job well done. Plenty of meat if we still have a hungry lion about.

We radioed for some help and started skinning the beast. Soon we had a hind quarter off and we ran back to the bait sight. By 12:45 we had plenty of fresh meat in the tree. Time to go take a nap, so we could sit all night if we needed to. After lunch and a snooze we headed back to the blind. Upon arriving at the sight we realized the damn cat had allready hit the bait! This cat's behavior was definately bizarre. Here is some video recovered from the trail camera.
<br /><span style="font-size: 70%" ><a href="http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=2agtelz&s=7" >Original Video</a> - More videos at <a href="http://tinypic.com" >TinyPic</a></span></span>
Now we were sure the lion was leaving. He had eaten a lot of meat for an all night march to God knows where. But no matter how bad the cards are, we play them. SO into the blind we went and waited. The heat was still horrible and this time we never heard him call at all. I was sure he was gone. At 6:30 it started raining and at about 7:30 it ended. At 7;50 I could hear a very faint chewing noise from the bait. It was so soft I was sure it must have been a small animal. Leon could hear it also and we sat for 5 minutes listening. We were very unsure of the feeding we could here but Leon told me to get on my weapon and be ready. From here out I take full responsiblity for the events that unfolded. The next time we heard some meat being chewed Leon hit the light. I could see the cat perfectly in my crosshairs as he tugged at the giraffe leg. Leon asked if I could see him and I confirmed. My crosshairs were centered dead center of his sternum and my rest was solid. I went ahead and squeezed the trigger. At the shot he roared and ran towards the kopje. We listened and about 20 seconds later we could hear grunting much like you hear when a big cat expires. Leon asked me how the shot felt and I confirmed it was a good one. We decided to approach the cat before the trackers and Leon's appy arrived with the vehicle. We followed the tracks in the wet earth and found a lot of blood along with a piece of lung. We headed towards the area were we last heard him only to find nothing. We backed out quietly and awaited the trackers arrival. With a big spotlight and several flashlights we entered the bush again and headed towards the kopje. We found an area were he had stood and then walked away. This was a bad sign. We were still hopeful the trail would lead to a dead cat and we continued. Leon was tense and I got barked at a few times for not holding my position in the formation. I was so focussed on my beam of light I would often loose track of which way the party was creaping. At one point, far into the bush, I saw an eye looking towards me. I notified the group and we all froze in our tracks. I saw it 2 more times but no one else in the group saw it. After a lot of staring we decided to press on but Leon told me to keep a look out in the area where I last saw the eye. We approached the first big pile of rocks at the base of the kopje. The tracks and the blood were walking right into them. Leon told us to back off. I think we were about to evaluate situation a little harder when a grunt and leaves rustling made us all spin around. Luckily he was going and not coming. Everybodies adrenaline was pumping hard now. There was no doubt we had big problems, and they awaited us somewhere in the dark corners of those rocks. Suddenly we could hear the fast raspy breathing of the lion. It kept a constant tempo like the ticking of a clock but with a soft grunt at the end of each breath. At the time it sounded far away but that was just my lack of experience. We had to press on. No one in the group whined or tried to back out even the men with no weapons. Every body was ready to deal with the mess I created. We stepped slowly into the rocks and soon found the spot where he had been laying. There was a lot of blood and we could still hear the constant grunting and breathing. We moved a little farther up at a snails pace. The trackers froze and Stamford mumbled in shona something to Leon. Both Leon and I saw him at the same time. Only his head looking down on us from a large boulder. I swung the .375 up and pulled the trigger as soon as the dot was on the blackness of his open mouth. He roled backwards with the shot and we did not here the breathing and grunting anymore, but we could not see him. Slowly we climbed upward only to find dirt and leaves where he had been. We swung our light up and left and spotted him against a big rock. All guns blazing we opened up and he headed down the kopje. I spotted him in front of me one more time but no shot. The we caught up to him at the foot of the hill. One last shot and he finaly fell over. I think every one had the shakes a little and we all just quietly stared at the cat. Everyone kind of looked like they had just charge Omaha Beach, but we were happy. We placed him on a boulder and took some pics. He was the lion of my dreams after a nightmare situation.


We loaded the cat and went ahead and grabbed the memory stick out of the game cam. When we got to camp you wouldn't believe what we found on the trail camera.
<br /><span style="font-size: 70%" ><a href="http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=23hoyys&s=7" >Original Video</a> - More videos at <a href="http://tinypic.com" >TinyPic</a></span>

The next morning we got up and went to tare down the blind. We wlaked back into the rocks again to see how everything had played out. Everything that had seemed like yards the night before was now feet. We could see the shells scattered on the ground and his teeth lying on the ground where the second shot had hit him. There were blast points in rocks from bullets and blood everywhere. We all walked out of the rocks with a lot on our minds. Later that day the skinners gave me a bullet they had pulled from the cat's carcass. It was the .375 that went through his mouth . It had stopped betwee his shoulder blades.


The next day we joined a bunch of Zimbos for the Save Valey Rally. It was a lot of humor and too much drinking.

We drove back to Harrare the next day and met up with Mike again and decided we would head to the Zambezi for some tiger fishing. The next morning we had all the gear packed and boats and left for the Zambezi at 3:30 AM. We drove right into the massive rains and spent all day trying to get to the fishing camp. At 6:00 PM we finally arrived. For the next four days it rained probably 12 inches. We saw numerous crocs and hundreds of hippos. All the kids had too much fun. At the last moment they were able to use a boat and a tractor to get me to Chekwenya airstrip and off to see my family. I arrived back home safely two 36 hours later. I heard from Leon yesterday. They just now got out of the valley and it took two days to do it. This trip was a hellavu adventure. Here are some parting shots.



Cheers

Fantastic, hair raising story. Too bad some of the pics are missing!!


Beautiful lion!
Congrats.

Regards,
Scott

Looks like a great lion!

Holy crap, that sounds like it was intense! Glad it worked out and no one got chewed on.

Great story, my heart was pumping just reading it.

I'm sure a few "nerve calmers" were consumed after that one.

Sorry guys. I was trying a new way to post pics and videos. Think I have it almost all worked out.

Ben

Fantastic Lion, great story, don't be hard on yourself, stuff does happen,great ending...congrats!!!

Now that is a MATURE - Save Valley lion, CONGRATS!!!

Great story, great lion.

Great cat, congrats.

Congratulations!

WOW! Very nice Lion!
Congratulations

Congratulations on a super lion

Ben,

That was a heck of a write up. I was there with you on the follow up every step of the way. Good stuff and a butt puckering experience. Did I miss what actually happened on the first shot? You said you found a piece of lung so did you only get one lung with your shot?

Beautiful lion BTW and an experience not soon forgotten. That Save Conservancy is a magic place.

Oh! The Cornish Jack is a weird one. Sadie caught a huge one in Mapata Gorge a few years ago. They almost look like they're bleeding.

Mark

That's incredible that the trail camera got the first shot hitting him on the bait!!!

Where did the 1st shot take him? I didn't see it in the post!

Incredible story. Thank you for sharing.

Wow! Quite a year for the brothers from Texas!

Nice lion. The Save is a great place.

I wish I had the sense to have left the trail camera up when I shot mine last year.

Where did the first shot hit?

The first shot hit the lion a little low and right of center. It passed through his left lung and exited just the off center of the spine. As a result, instead of blood pooling in his trachea and lower lungs it just leaked right out the bottom of him and he did not drown. The proper and safe choice was to let the lion sit back down on all fours and wait for a broadside shot where I would have hopefully caught both lungs.

The cornish jack was the first one I had ever seen. I did not get to eat him before I flew out but I heard they are tastey. One of my friend's daughters caught a really big one the same day that made mine look like a minnow. It seemed like the little kids on the trip caught all the best fish. No amount of mud could ruin their good time.

Thanks for the kind words. I hope you all have many adventures to come.

Ben

smarterthanu,

Although we've had our differences, congrats on a great cat!!!

Nice job and nice follow up.

Congrats again!

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron Neilson:
Now that is a MATURE - Save Valley lion, CONGRATS!!!

Absolutely!!! What a wonderful lion!!!

Brett

That is a great lion, congratulations.

Congrats Ben . Great Cat. You sure played the story down when we met you at the Rally.I think we are all still giggling with your story about the dream and strangling someone. Dunno, despite what your brother says, you seemed like a great guy

Leon is a top notch PH and great guy. Your liver must need replacing after a couple of weeks with him.Congrats again on a superb cat and great report

WOW!!! what a story. COngrats on a beautiful cat...

Thanks again fellas for the kind words.

Frosty, had good humor with you and the crew at the rally. Each time I party like that I am sure a year falls off my lifespan. The next day I was useless. Next time I'm around I am sure it will be much the same story though. On the way home we kept stopping to hand catch impalas. Its even more fun when you have had too much whiskey. You can't run straight at them plus you can't tell which of their eight legs to grab.

Ben

Question:


I have never hunted lion.

How do you determine if a lion was "captive-farm raised" or born wild free range lion?

I suppose the absolute truth is that you would have to belive your outfitter and PH?


please advise,


dale


PS great story and hunt

Heckuva hunt! Great story, thanks for posting.


.

quote:

Originally posted by daleW:
Question:


I have never hunted lion.

How do you determine if a lion was "captive-farm raised" or born wild free range lion?

I suppose the absolute truth is that you would have to belive your outfitter and PH?


please advise,


dale


PS great story and hunt

Dale,

A very good question, but it needs to be asked somewhere else. Please ask it on the African Big Game Hunting forum. That way we won't take away from Ben's wonderful hunt, lion, experience, or partying! Thanks.

Brett

PS. I started a thread for you. Go to town: http://forums.accuratereloadin...721049541#6721049541

Great lion with a great story. Doesn't get any better than that. Something about night time follow up on cats that makes me really nervous. Glad it all worked out.

Congrats on a great lion. Sounded pretty intense.

Good thing you were able to get a good night sleep in that cute barbie bed before the hunt. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened.

quote:

Good thing you were able to get a good night sleep in that cute barbie bed before the hunt. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened.

GREAT write-up. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Congratulations on a beautiful Lion!!

Hi Mr Smart, Congrats on a great cat, very nice. You and your brother are going to have enough cats to start a zoo with shortly. Was good catching up with you at the rally but agreed, to much wheeesky. Nice little breast feeding cornish there, yet to catch one myself.Mmmmm on that bed - Mike's probably put it up for sale already and hiding his head in some bar. Well done again and good story but wont be asking you to do any dentistry work on me anytime soon.

quote:

Mike's probably put it up for sale already and hiding his head in some bar. Well done again and good story but wont be asking you to do any dentistry work on me anytime soon.

That was actually his daughters bed. I was greatful to have it. Mike and Mel were great hosts. I really did find the thought of me in the Barbie bed a tad humorous.

great report thanks for sharing with us. the pictures an't bad either if it was not for the ugly fella behind the pretty kitty

Out of idle curiosity,was this the lion recently on sale here on AR? Just curious.

Nice lion. The Save is an incredible place.

quote:

Out of idle curiosity,was this the lion recently on sale here on AR? Just curious.

No. It never came up for sale to the general public, and I had to kind of do it at the drop of a hat. However I do believe Mike and Leon will have another lion on quota in the Save for next year and I am sure they would love it if any AR members picked it up. Look up Save Safaris on internet and their e-mail should be on there if you are interested. They run a very pleasant camp in a spectacular area. They also have exceptional buffalo, big leopard , and an assortment of quality plains game. Between the two of them they have a lot of experience. My favorite time to hunt there is early September.

Hello
What went wrong on the 470??
Hunting at night is tough

Larry

Center rib between the barrels broke away. I think it was some overcharged powder in the ammo.

Do you want to tell us who made the double???
Thanks
Larry

It is a B. Searcy. I do not believe this is a normal problem for his rifles and he has been helpful in finding a solution for it.

Thanks
Hope it dont set you back to far to repair it.
Have it ready for Jumbos
Larry