Dates: May 26- June 13
Area: Bubye Valley Conservancy
Camp: Malanghani
Professional Hunter: Brent Hein
Trackers: William, Regeria, Crispen (GS)
Airline: Delta
Travel Agent: Steve Turner
Rifles: Winchester 270, CZ (AHR) 9.3x62, CZ 416 Rigby
Animals taken: Leopard, eland, wildebeest, hyena, zebra, impala, baboon, birds

This would be my fourth trip to the Bubyi Valley Conservancy. It truly is a magical place with an abundance of plainsgame and dangerous game animals. It is always fun to share a camp with people who love the adventure as much as you do. In my opinion, that makes up 50% of the overall trip. The other 50% being a combination of the sights, sounds and actual hunt itself. Murray Jaeger, Terri Lyons and my mom and dad (sevenmagltd) made up our group.
On May 26 we left out of the airport in Austin, Texas and headed for Atlanta via Delta. It was a brutal 16 hour flight to Joburg where we overnighted at Africa Sky Guest House which was refreshing. Bill C and his son from Pennsylvania were also spending the night there. They were headed to the BVC as well.
Once in Bulawayo, we did some shopping and bartering with the street venders. We spent the night at the Bulawayo Club and headed to the conservancy the following morning.
We would be hunting out of Malangani camp which is situated right on the lake. The animal and bird life around camp made it just short of paradise. The two PH’s with us were Blake Wilhelmi and Brent Hein who we have known for several years. I did a hunt with Brent in 2010 and took a kudu over 61” along with an assortment of plains game. I met Blake in 2008 and my dad requested he come down from the Valley and ph for Murray on this hunt. Blake has been hunting for Buzz and felt confident he would give Murray a good hunt and get him a cat (which he did)!
I started out shooting bait impalas and a zebra and after a couple of days had several baits hanging. On day two I had a chance at a nice eland which I wanted to take with my open sighted CZ 416 Rigby. The bull was down with the first shot but needed two more to finish the deal! I also took a “dugga boy” wildebeest with my .416!
Leopard hunting can have its ups and downs but Brent knows how to play the game and has produced some big cats over the years. We sat in two different blinds over four nights before connecting with the CZ 9.3 x 62 which Wayne at AHR had fixed for me. Along the way were the usual distractions of hyenas, rhinos and buffalo all wanting to share the blind with us!!! We had several different toms feeding but Brent thought the one I eventually took was the best. I don’t think there is a better place in all of Africa to take a big tom leopard than the BVC and Brent and Blake proved they can produce Spots! The whole trip was once again an amazing experience and I will never forget looking through the crosshairs and seeing the spotted ghost.

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Africa Sky Guest House with Bill C and son Brett. Great guys!! It’s always good to meet up with AR members!

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Bulawayo Club

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Malangani Camp on the shores of Lake Malangani. We were greeted each morning by the fish eagles calling and impala and waterbuck fighting in the front yard.

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Fire pit

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Eland with .416 Rigby

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First vervet monkey

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Bait tree where I shot the leopard


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Blind setup

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Still looking for tracks

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Lion track

The Hunt:
The first two nights in the blind were not productive. Lions were tearing down the bait and a hyena had eaten the chord that ran from the flood light at the tree to the blind. We checked another location where a bait was hung and found that a big tom had moved it to his own tree! So we moved it back in our tree and built a blind. This seemed promising so we sat that night. We entered the blind at 3:30 and planned on sitting till 9:00. By 7:30,it gets so unbelievably quiet and dark that I could not see my hand in front of my face. I could also hear Brent who was a foot from me swallow! That's quiet! At 8:30, still no leopard but at 8:45 the quiet night was shattered with the "chainsaw" call of the leopard who was now near the tree. I've hunted many different animals all over the world and have been in many tight situations but I have never been this nervous! We could tell he was not in the tree but he was close. I eased up to the gun and Brent grabbed me which meant don't move. So we sat. At 9:00 the leopard was still not in the tree and the cruiser was headed our way. Brent said the cat knows we are in the blind so when the cruiser leaves he would have thought we left with it. Brent sends his tracker William back to where they came and tells him we will sit till 10:30. At 10:30 still no leopard so we call the cruiser and we leave. We could not outsmart the leopard tonight. I am certain that if I would have had to shoot the leopard this night, I would have been a basket case and would have been lucky to hit the side of a barn.
The next night we get in the blind at the same time. Not a sound was made from us or any other animal. At 7:30 we hear leaves rustle and meat tearing. He's in the tree! I lean forward, Brent turns on the light and he's completely covered in the leaves we hung on the meat to keep the vultures off. He doesn't like something so he jumps out. Light comes off. We wait. A few minutes later we hear him eating again. Brent turns on the light and I squeeze off. The leopard bails out of the tree grunting till it fades away. The cruiser arrives and we ease up with the lights. Brent armed with a short barreled 10 gauge and I with my .416 Rigby. We find blood which of course went into the long grass. Brent tells us to stay back while he and his trackers go after it. Within 75 yards the tom was pilled up stone dead. I walked up to look at him and it was sight I will never forget. What an unbelievable animal and what a hunt. The pictures show that it was a trophy of a lifetime and feel fortunate to have experienced something not many guys my age have experienced.

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Where the leopard was found dead the night before!

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This is why you always carry a gun in Africa!

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7 CZ rifles in camp!

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That leopard was huge! Congrats on a very successful hunt.

Suberb Cat. Congrats

That is one serious cat! congrats...

Beautiful leopard - well done!

Tim, Don't know if you remember us but we met at the Atlanta airport in 2010 on our way to the BVC. After realizing the quality of cats on this place we had to go back. My son just graduated from college and this was his reward for his schooling efforts.
The leopard was 7'8" with a 16 5/8" skull, a true toad!!

I do remember well, and that is a great graduation present for sure!

Brute of a leopard, congratulations Imbada!

I really like the photo of the one and a half horned dagga boy.

I've hunted Malangani twice with John Sharp. Headed back (to Bubye) in 15. Trouble now is, YOU SHOT MY CAT!

Jorge - bigger cats are still out there. The one I shot at Shangani on 7 April was 17 3/4"...

......and we saw tracks of a BIGGER cat we never got on bait!

Outstanding cat and nice report.

Great cat and some fantastic photos. Congratulations.

Makorokoto on a fantastic cat!

Awesome Mr. Spots!

BVC is definitely on the list.

Paging Mr. Labat......

Great place to hunt and you did awesome. That is an outstanding cat. I love the dark spots. Good job. I will never forget that feeling when you find your cat laying there after a follow up. Something you just can't explain in words!!!

Jorge,
He didn't shoot your cat, as a matter of fact there was another BIG tom feeding that was just as big but he didn't come in until 5:00 am in the morning! Made for a long night so Brent opted for this one. On the trail cam photo of the cat we didn't hunt, there is a small white tag in his left ear that has "JORGE" on it! Take your pillow my friend!!

Simply FANTASTIC!!!
A GREAT graduation present for sure

Aside from one incredible leopard from ethopia, that is the most brilliant and beautiful leopard that I've seen. Well done.

Wow, fantastic leopard and excellent report. Good to see the guys and the wonderful country. Well done and congratulations!

Will,
When we walked up on the cat in the dark with the flashlights on him, my first thought was, "My son just shot a jaguar". I have never seen a leopard with the spots and dark color of this one, very simply a once in a lifetime leopard.

David,
Brent is a master at working these big cats and the proof is in the salt. He is 3 for 3 this year!
I'll be in Kerrville in a couple of weeks and will give you a call.

Lovely leopard and love that photo of the lion in the grass.
Arjun

I look forward to it!

That is a dream leopard for anybody. That is one old buff you guys came across!

well done what a hunt, love the Leopard love the old Buffalo would have klapped him in a heart beat.

Beautiful colouration on your tom. Congrats.

quote:

Originally posted by sevenmagltd.:
Jorge,
He didn't shoot your cat, as a matter of fact there was another BIG tom feeding that was just as big but he didn't come in until 5:00 am in the morning! Made for a long night so Brent opted for this one. On the trail cam photo of the cat we didn't hunt, there is a small white tag in his left ear that has "JORGE" on it! Take your pillow my friend!!

Sweet!

That broken buffalo is my dream.... Awesome....

Great trip and report!

I've taken four safaris (and elephants) with Brent and William. Good men, both.

Looks like I need to book with them for a leopard. What a cat!!!

Congratulations on your wondeful trophies!

That photo of the broke horn buffalo is sweet!

That is a PROPER leopard!!

The bush buck that was photographed would be welcome in my trophy room as well!!

Wow what a great hunt.

What a magnificent cat. Thanks for the report, and outstanding photos.

Nice Tom and great photos. Thanks for the report

Thanks everyone! It was a great hunt and if all goes accordingly, we'll be headed back in a few years.

Hey Carson - way to go man!!! That is a brute of a leopard. Good shooting too!

We had hoped to visit you guys in the north, but as of day 10 we were still tracking eland!

It was a pleasure talking with you and your Dad. Good luck in the new job.

All the best, Bill & Brett

Excellent leopard as well as other sets of trophies! Congrats.

Thanks Bill! Glad we could meet up in SA. Hope you and Brett had a good time. I'm anxious to hear how yall did.

Helluva cat... well done!

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Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
Aside from one incredible leopard from ethopia, that is the most brilliant and beautiful leopard that I've seen. Well done.

+1

Congrats!

WoW very nice Leopard !! great pics, thanx for sharing

imbada: were these cottages towards the back of the property where the cars are parked? When we were there the front of the cottages where we stayed where right in fornt of the lake and had big screened in windows and an outside tub.