July 28- August 19
Airline- Air France
Game sought- #1 Leopard, #2 Trophy Elephant
Outfitter- Karl Stumpfe
Areas hunted- Khomas Hochlands, North of Khaudum Park, Rupara Conservancy

July 28- Left my home in Shreveport Louisiana for a Leopard hunt with hounds outfitted by Karl Stumpfe. The weather would not allow any planes into or out of Shreveport this morning so when it came down to crunch time I make the decision to drive to Houston so as to ensure that I could make the next leg of my trip. Fortunately my lovely wife had accompanied me to the airport so that she would be able to drive my truck home. Once I arrived in Houston it was clear sailing.

I had accumulated enough FF miles that I was able to secure business class seats for this trip and it was a great improvement over the usual cattle car seating in economy. The Air France crew was very accommodating, the food quite good for airline fare, and the layover in Paris was a welcome interuption in the long journey.

July 30- I arrived in Windhoek about 2:00 pm and cleared customs without too much trouble. The agent asked if I wanted to get a cold drink as he was finishing up my firearm import permit but I acted dumb and said that I was fine without a drink. First time airport people in Windhoek tried to shake me down. I guess they are learning from the crew in Johannesburg.

Karl was waiting for me in the lobby and we made the short drive west of Windhoek to the lodge where we planned to hunt leopard. I was introduced to our houndsman Glenn Nel from the Eastern Cape of RSA. Our black staff consisted of Godfrey, Simon ,Bernard and Ricardo. The cook and housekeepers were Rose and Christine.

We used the afternoon to get settled in and shoot my rifles and check the scopes. Both were hooting really well before I left home but needed a bit of tune-up to place the bullets where I wanted them about an inch high at 100 yards. Thanks Baggage Apes.

We retired early after a great supper as I was still adjusting to the flight over.

July 31-This morning we went to check our leopard baits. They had been last refreshed a couple days ago. None had been hit the night before but a couple had been drug off the day before. We found an old gemsbok bull that had worn his tips down plenty and was thus not going to be much of a scorer and took him to replenish our baits. After a short stalk I was able to get a shot from about 250 yards and hit him well with my 300 Win Mag. He was down in seconds. We got him loaded and back to camp so the boys could get him skinned and quartered. After a spot of coffee we colllected the meat and setout three baits before a late lunch. After lunch we hung three more and then spent the evening in a blind watching one of the baits in hope that a cat would come in before dark. We saw only a passing baboon but still enjoyed a pleasant sit. I thought therer was still enough light for a shot when the tracker arrived in the Land Cruiser to pick us up.

Aug.1- Up at 5:15am and off to check baits by 6:00 am. We have six baits established on the ranch where we are staying. Karl , Glenn and I go to check three baits while Godfrey and Simon go to check the other three. Thia will allow us to get all six baits checked early and that is important because the earlier you start a track the better your chances of catching the cat before the dry heat makes the track too difficult to followNoneof our baits show any activity but the last one checked by Godfrey and Simon had tracks indicating that a cat had walked past but did not feed. We plan to sweetenthi bait up a bit by adding a gemsbok leg to the rack of ribs we have hanging there already in hopes of inducing our kitty to feed. We got the extra bait hung and spent the rest of the morning riding around the property , hunting I am not sure what and certainly not too seriously. With little ele to do while we waited for the cats to feed , we drove into town where Karl and Glen could watch the Springboks play the All-Blacks in a Rugby test match. I used the time to send a message home from Karl's computer.

Aug.2- Up at 5:15 again and out by 6:00. We are on our way to our first bait when the other crew calls to say they have a good track on their first bait. We abandon our baits and hurry to meet them. We arrive to find nearly a whole shoulder has been consumed. The hounds are released and they begin the task of sorting out the cold track. For the next hour they make good progress but unfortunately they are heading toward the property boundary and the private game reserve on the other side. One of the trackers spots the leopard but before the dogs can catch him and bring him to bay he croses the line into the park and we have to give up the trail. A bit of excitement but for now we are still leopard hunting.

We returned to camp for a late breakfast and then went out to shoot another gemsbok for bait. Before we had gone very far we jumped up a leopard from out of a valley below us and by the time I could get out of the truck and get my rifle loaded he was a couple hundred yards out and about to get over a ridge and out of sight. I swung through the cat and touched off my shot much like one would do on a rising bird with a shotgun. My lead was just a bit too much and the bullet struck just in front of the streaking leopard. He was out of sight before I could get a second shot off. Honestly, I was not too dissapointed as I wanted to get the experience of the hound chase and a bayed cat. Killing a leopard at that point would have prevented me from getting the experience I craved.

It was mid-morning and warming fast by the time we could get the dogs rounded up and back to the site wher we had seen the cat. I wondered if the dogs would even be able to work the scent in the dry and dusty conditions. It took them a while and the progress was slow but there was progress being made. As Glenn and crew worked the hounds over hill and through valleys Karl and I used his knowledge of the land to try and get ahead of the dogs and the leopard. Several hours into the track the cat was seen running ahead of the dogs. Moments later they tracked him to a cave on the side of a steep hillside. It was now 2:00 pm and for the next four hours we tried every trick we knew to flush that cat out of the cave. He fought off the dogs until they were just too tired to continue. We tossed firecrackers into the mouth of the cave. We tried backing away and watching quietly from a distance. Nothing worked! Darkness finally forced us to give up on the cat and admit defeat.

Aug.3- Except for some jackal damage to one of our baits we had no action last night. I shot a cow gemsbok to refresh some of the baits as it had been several days since we had hung them and we wanted to keep the meat fresh. The afternoon was spent getting the gemsbok baits in our estabished bait sites.

Aug.4-Left camp this morning at 5:45 just as soon as it was light enough to see what we were doing. At the first bait we checked the bait was not hit but a cat had walked up the trail where the trackers had created a scent trail by dragging entrails of the gemsbok around the bait area.Glenn and Karl thought the track was fresh enough and big enough to be worth a try so we loosed a starter dog. Before hardly any time had passed the dog lined out on the scent and we released the pack. In thirty to forty minutes we had the cat penned in a cave. Not again, I think to myself.

We send the whole pack in and for an hour and a half the fight rages inside the cave, out of sight but not out of hearing. Glenn and I are positioned about 75 yards across the valley on a hillside overlooking the mouth of the cave. If he comes out and breaks either left or right I should be able to get a pretty good shot at him as he tries to make an escape.

Slowly and gradually the dogs begin to emerge from the cave. Most show signs of the struggle. Bloodied and scratched from where they have taken swipes from the cat. Exhausted from the chase and the battle in the dark and cramped cave they none-the-less reluctantly leave the fight to exit the cave and take some water from the pan that the trackers have filled for that purpose.

When the struggle had gone on for three hours and the cat had still not made an appearance we began to catch the dogs as they came from the cave to get a drink. Karl and Genn were familiar with this cave as their dogs had cornered two other cats in this same cave in the past. One they had got out and killed while the other had outlasted them and escaped. They knew that a small opening in the back of the cave's ceiling might be used to drop a firecracker in behind the cat and hopefully inducing him to make for the exit. Once all the dogs were out and tied the plan was put into play. Karl prepared to drop a cracker in the hole and Glenn and I readied ourselves from our position opposite the cave entrance.

The first cracker went off and nothing happened. I relaxed a bit assuming that this was not going to be the answer. Karl tosed a second cracker in the hole and this time the cat stuck his head out of the cave but instantly turned and went right back in before I could get a shot. One more popper was tossed in through the ceiling and this time the cat stuck his head out a bit farther and I could see his head and front shoulder. He paused long enough for me to take a shot and at the report he folded like a tent. He rolled down the side of the hill with me admiring him the whole way. Then he was stopped and crawling back up toward the opening of the cave. I had made a stupid mistake by not working my bolt immediately and reloading. By the time I did so I had only a split second for another shot to try and anchor the cat before he got back into the cave. If the second round struck the cat it had no impact. He crawled back into the cave and out of sight before I could get off a third shot.

After a few moments elapsed Glen and I reported to Karl that the cat was hit hard and that he had managed to crawl back into the cave. Karl climbed down and looked into the entrance. He could see a very good blood trail leading into the cave but no sign of the cat. It was now 11:00 am. We decided to send in the dogs again to see if we can tell from there reaction if the cat is dead. The dogs go into a frenzy inside the cave and we can hear the leopard growling as well. We know the leopard is alive but wounded. Problem is we don't know how badly wounded he si. We let the dogs work the cat until they tire. After about an hour we get the dogs all out of the cave and decide to try the firecrackers again. No sign of the cat.

Karl and the trackers begin cautiously digging into the cave through the opening in the ceiling. They hope that they can get a big enough opening to see the cat. Karl had previously got a cat out of this cave by poking him with a stick through the opening. They did not want to make the opening to big for fear the cat would come up through it if it were large enough.Since the cat had not been heard from in a while the dogs were sent back in to see if the cat was still alive. Two dogs went in and started barking at the cat. In just a few minutes one came back out. The othet settled down and quit barking but refused to come out.Glenn felt that this was a strong indication that the cat had expired.

Karl and the trackers continued their excavation and in about an hour had the hole big enough that they could see the dog and then a bit later the tail of the cat. Karl poked it with a stick and it did not move.Still more digging and Ricardo was able to get into the hole deep enough to actually touch the cats tail.Thirty minutes later as the last of the light was leaving us the leopard was finally pulled from the cave and I finally could admire my cat.

Aug.5-We slept until daylight this morning as there was no sense of urgency to go and check baits. When the light was adaquate we took trophy photos and took more time to examine the cat. My first shot had entered in the front half of the shoulder and exited low in the neck creating a hole large enough to stick your fist in. How he had been able to scale that cliff and crawl back into that cave was a mystery.

We were basically done with our hunt in this area so after turning the leopard over to the skinners we went to collect some rope and tools we had left at the cave and a blind that had been set up at another bait site.On the way Karl spotted a single baboon at a dam as we drove past. I had never taken a baboon and wanted to so we left the truck and took off in hot pursuit. We first spotted him again on a hill opposite us but before we could get off a shot he got over a ridge and out of sight. We moved uphill for a better vantage point and spotted the baboon topping another ridge about 200 yards away. I got on the sticks and let fire with the 375 and the baboob simply dissapeared . "Great shot" said Karl, Glenn and Bernard at the same time. Handshakes and backslapping followed before the boys set off to fetch the critter.

Next we went to pick up the ground blind and then headed back to camp. Not much time passed before we spotted a very nice steenbok. As soon as I saw him I knew he was one that I wanted. After a short dash he stopped and looked back and Karl said shoot behind the shoulder so as to not destroy the mount. Once more the 375 worked its magic and the little antelope was down and out.Photos were taken and once again we sarted to camp.We saw a nice group of three mature kudu bulls but the best looked just shy of 50 inches and I elected to pass on them as I have several very nice kudu in my collection already. We made it back to camp for lunch by noon.

The afternoon was spent lazily watching a waterhole where we saw eland , blue wildebeast, warthog and jackal. As we were heading back to camp we spotted a very nice warthog with pretty evenly matched tusks and I elected to make a stalk. I tried to get in position for a shot before he could get out of sight and rushed a shot at about 250 yards. I missed clean. A quick sprint over the top of a ridge and I next spotted the pig as he ran into the valley 250 yards below. I got on the sticks and as he turned quartering left to right I let loose again and this time he crumbled at the shot. It was too steep to get the truck to the pig so the boys and I carried it out. The final light of the day gave us a great setting for the trophy picks.

More to come tomorrow as we leave to try our luck chasing elephant.

Come on!! I'm on pins and needles!!

Glad you are back, how many of these installment hunt reports do we have to look forward too? I think I will check back in a few days and just read it all at once.

Just curious on a leopard hunt what do you pay to shoot the baits or are they part of the leopard trophy fees?

WoooHoo!! This is gonna be good Mike!

Can't wait to read the rest!! Congratulations on the cat!!!!

Welcome home! Glad all went well. Can't wait to hear the rest.

Good to see you back, Mike. That leopard was a tough nut to crack. Those are some outstanding dogs, and some good, quick shooting as well.

Yuck. Someone really has to want to kill a leopard to do it this way. Dead leopard, yes, sporting, not in my opinion, and this has nothing to do with the earlier Karl thread.

Let the backslapping continue and the flames begin.

Great report Mike!

Aug.6- Today we went in search of a mountain zebra. We went to a farm about thirty miles west of where we had been hunting. The farm belonged to a delightful old gentlemen of about 80 years that was introduced as Mr. Stevens. We were able to locate a herd of zebra but were unable to get close enough for a shot. Up and down and across mountains we chased them but once they knew we were after them the easily kept too much country between us to allow a shot.

We spent the afternoon packing up for the move to the Caprivi area where we intended to hunt a trophy elephant. We also dropped of our trophies at a local taxidermist where they could begin the processs of preserving the skins and skulls.

Aug.7- Today we drove from Windhoek to the elephant concession just north of Khaudum park on the western edge of the Caprivi. This area until just a few years ago was held by Kwai Ewe-Denker and has given up some very heavy ivory in past years. The park forms the southern border and Botswana forms the eastern border. There is a small section on the north east corner that extends into the Caprivi and where Botswana forms the southern boundary. The area is made up of deep sand and has very little natural water.It was after dark when we arrived and we were in bed shortly after supper.

Aug.8-We are up this morning before the sun but it takes the staff a little while to organize breakfast as they are still getting established in our new local. When we have been properly nourished we set out to get my first look at our new hunting area. The plan seems fairly simple. We will cruise the southern and eastern borders of the property looking for tracks of elephant entering our area from either Botswana or Khaudum Park. If a suitable track is located we will attempt to track down the elephant and get a look at him. If no elephant is located in this fashion we will visit the local waterholes ,both natural or boreholes to look for a track there.We do not see a lot of sign on our initial pass through the property. There was a set of tracks where three bulls crossed into our area but they crossed back into the park almost immediately. We also saw some old tracks where a young bull had left our area going back into the park. We visited two water holes only to find that they had already gone dry.

We did see a herd of beautiful zebra. They were Burchell's zebra but lacked the shadow striping seen in most common zebra. I would have taken one but Karl said he had no quata for zebra in this area.

We took a nap after lunch and went out for a drive afterwards. We spotted a nice kudu bull from the truck but once we got out of the truck and tried to stalk a bit closer for a better look he dissapeared and we could not find him again.

Aug.9- This morning we drove the boundary again and saw no new fresh elephant sign. We made a plan to buy a donkey from one of the local families to use for hyena bait. Negotiations began and when the dust had settled we agreed to buy the donkey for $N500. This was the easy part. Next the donkey had to be located which took up most of the afternoon. When he was finally tracked down and brought back to the village we went to fetch him. The whole village turned out to watch the transfer and subsequent assasination.I brained the creature with Karl's 450 Rigby. This gun is Karl's choice for sorting out animals bent on doing nasty things to him and his clients and it certainly proved adaquate for donkey dispatch.

We loaded the critter into our truck and hauled it back to camp where our crew butchered it for us. When we went to pick it up I noticed only three legs were loaded. Turns out the boys held one back for their own culinary delight. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging bait. Tomorrow we add Hyena to the list of game we are pursuing.

Aug.10- We get out at 6:00 am this morning but there is no indication that our hyena baits have been hit and no sign that elephant had crossed into our hunting area. After lunch we made a drive into Khaudum park to a dry river bed about 5 kilometers from the boundary. There was quite a bit of elephant sign and some quite fresh. We spotted one young bull as well. It appears that most of the elephants are in the park at this time and what little traffic we have seen is mostly headed that way.

Aug.11-We headed out this morning at 6:00 to make our circuit but again saw no tracks coming into our area.By 9:30 our elephant hunting is pretty much done for the day. Karl says enough is enough and gets on his phone to make a plan. In less than an hour he has located another area that has unclaimed elephant on quota , has arranged a deal with the concession holder and secured a permit for us to hunt the new area. I am quite impressed with his flexibility and eagerness to make something happen when the things do not go as scripted.

In two hours time the staff have our camp tore down and loaded on trucks and we are driving. The new camp is about 150 miles east near the town of Maduma. It is about 8:00 pm when we arrive. The camp is situated on a flood plain along the banks of the Quando River. The Rupara concession is held by RAS Safaris and the camp manager is George Schuman. He has supper waiting for us and assures us that we have very good chances for elephant but that we may have to brush buffalo aside to get to them.I go to sleep this night anticipating big things in the next week.

Aug.12- We leave camp at 6:00 am and drive through the flood plains looking for a fresh track. We see lots of droppings and several sets of tracks but none of the bull tracks that were fresh enough to pursue. We return to camp about noon for lunch and a brief rest before going back out in the afternoon.As I am looking over a copy of Magnum in my room the camp manager comes to tell me to get ready as soon as I can because game scouts have called to say they located 3 bulls in a part of the concession on the opposite side of the river.

We quickly got our things organised and after a thirty minute drive we reached the village where we met the game scouts. He directed us to where the elephants had last been spotted and we were soon able to locate the track. It took less than 10 minutes to catch up to the herd and as we approached they could be heard feeding through the Mopane forrest. As we moved close a cow trumpeted her dissaproval when a calf strayed too far and herded him back into the group. There were obviously more than three bulls in the group. It looked to me as if there were 8-10 elephants but none carried much ivory. We spent several moments looking them over to make sure that we did not overlook anything.

One of the cows sensed us and began to approach a bit closer to us. Because we had the wind in our favor she was having trouble identifying us. She pushed through some thick brush and at about 15 paces Karl decided that was close enough. "Hey ,get back" he screamed at her. She turned and went back into the group. They all stood very still and quiet now, listening to see what had caused the ruckess.

Moments passed and then the inquisitive cow began making her way back over to check us out. Once more Karl shouted her down and this time the herd began to move away. It was incredible how quickly and how quietly they moved out. We had gotten a pretty good look at all the elephants and there was no need to follow so we simply headed back to where we had left our truck.Although there were no shooters at least we had gotten among them and that was the kind of experience I had hoped for.On my previous hunt I had simply walked in and shot the first elephant I saw and thus had almost no interaction with elephants after that.

Aug.13-We left camp at 5:30 this morning and started looking for tracks in the beam of our headlights. A tracker was placed on the hood of the truck and he watched the trail for fresh sign.We saw lots of old spoor but nothing worth tracking today. George seemed baffled that we were not seeing any buffalo and fewer elephant than what he expected. There were late and heavy rains in much of Namibia this year and water standing in places that are normally dry by now. The adjacent Rupara Park was closed to the public because it was flooded and road access was impossible. Normal game movement had definitely been altered.

Aug.14-This morning we went acros the Quando River to the Mopane forrest before daylight. The game scouts had spotted some elephant in this area late the evening before. We found the spoor and began to track them but soon gave it up because the tracks indicated that the best bull in the group was marginal at best. We went back to the flood plain and began to look for sign there. We sent our trackers across a channel in a boat to check for sign on an island. Shortly they came running back to tell us that they had spotted a nice bull. We circled to get a good wind and waded out to the area where the elephant was last seen. He was supposed to be in a small patch of bush on a tiny little island. We began to work our way quietly around the edge of the island peering into the cover and expecting to see the elephant at any time. We had practically circled the whole island when George spotted the bull moving away through the brush. Karl and I moved forward in an attempt to cut the bull off . As the rest of the crew followed we played hide and seek with the bull for several more minutes. Gradually closing the gap on the elephant he finally realised we had him and he stopped and turned to face us from twenty yards.

I was looking through my scope on low power and had the crosshairs at eyelevel and right through the center. He may have had about fifteen pounds per side, definitely not what we were looking to shoot. I lifted the rifle and looked at Karl. "Let's have some fun with him " he said. The bull turned to move away and we moved with him. He paused behind a tree as we moved behind it from our side. When we could see that he did not go past we backed up and he chose that moment to come our way. Pushing through the tree and screaming as he came, we were caught in the open. Karl threw up his arms and shouted, "Hey, Hey"... The bull turned and trotted off. We let him go this time. Gorge had kept the video tape going the whole time and preserved a neat memory. It took a moment for the boys to make there way back and we had a good laugh over how brave they had been.

Aug.15- Today we went out at first light and made a long walk along the southwest boundary in an area that was too wet to drive. We saw a lot of sign but no elephant. We made the same walk that evening and just at dark we had a very big herd of elephant coming our way but as the end of shooting time came they were still 200 yards on the park side of the boundary.

Aug.16-We were out this morning as soon as we had enough light to function. We had high hopes that the herd we had seen the night before would be inside our area now. We headed toward the southern border where we had seen the elephant the night before. We found no sign that the elephants had crossed into the conservancy , but to our complete surprise a huge herd of buffalo had moved in. There must have been three or four hundred buffalo as they streched out far and wide across the flood plains. After making sure that the elephants had not come in as well we decided to take advantage of the larder that was available. We made several forrays into the herd looking for a really good specimen and eventually Karl and I agreed on one that seemed to have a lot of potential. He was not the widest we had seen but he had very large and thick bosees and had that look that just says maturity. I got on the sticks several times and he would move away or another buff would cover him. Finally I was just about settled to shoot. He was staring at us from about 80 yards and I placed the crosshairs just below his chin in the top of his chest. I wanted to spine him and drop him on the spot. Before the trigger broke he swung to his left and I adjusted to the shoulder and let her rip. He bucked noticibly and I said, "He is hit hard, do you want me to give him another?"
" Yes" ,said Karl , and so I gave him a Texas Heart shot as he moved away. At the report he swung to the right and dissapeared and I said,"I think he's down".

We took our time moving toward the buffalo. The horizon was clouded with the dust of the stampeding herd. We gave them a bit of time to clear out. Soon we could see the bull. He was down but still held his head up. I gave him a couple more to finish the deal and pay the insurance and then he was done.

We took our trophy photos and got the buff loaded and back to camp. While there we had some lunch and got right back out there looking for that fresh set of elephant tracks. They never did materialize.

Aug.17- We spent a few hour the next morning walking the southwest corner of the concession where sign had been the heaviest but never found the fresh bull track we needed.. Although I had another day we could have used we had to clear out of this camp because the next group of hunters RAS had booked were scheduled to arrive that afternoon. We loaded our gear and began the long trek back toward Windhoek. Since we were in no particualr hurry we elected to stop half way and overnight with my good friend Antonie Louw at Makalaan Huntiung Farm where I had enjoyed many good bowhunts in the the past.



SUMMARY-This hunt was booked as a hunt for leopard with hounds and that was my first and foremost goal. The leopard hunt was much more productive than anyone has a right to expect. We ran three cats in four days time. All three cats were spotted by someone in the party. The hunt was extremely exciting and anyone that says hunting leopard with dogs is a sure thing or is not sporting ...well they probably are not speaking from experience. The first two we ran simply out ran and outsmarted us and as far as I know they are still out there. When we had the second cat in the cave the only spot from which we could watch the mouth of the cave was from ten yards in front of the cave. Standing there staring into the darkess of that cave and hearing that leopard growl as he fought the dogs , knowing that at any moment he was likely to come flying out of that cave looking to exact some revenge on whomever gaurded that exit. Well , let's just say it was pretty intense. At moments like this one feels very much alive.

As far as the elephant hunt was concerned, that was a secondary goal.In retrospect, I think a month from now both of the areas we were hunting in will be quite likely overrun by elephants. Most years they would be there by now, but with the exceptional late rains in country this year movement patterns are not what they usually are. The good news is that the antelope species in the north of Namibia are having a banner year. Antonie reports a great calving season this year with many of the waterbuck having twins.

I was extremely appreciative of all of Karl's efforts on my behalf. He spent time , effort and money to move us to a second location in an effort to try to improve our odds for success. How many times have we heard about a hunt like this where game just wasn't there and a hunter had to ride it out for the duration knowing his chances were slim to none. Thank you Karl for going the extra mile.

If anyone has questions regarding my hunt please feel free to ask and I will answer as best I can.Good hunting and keep the wind in your face...eyedoc

quote:

Originally posted by eyedoc:
Aug.6- Today we went in search of a mountain zebra. We went to a farm about thirty miles west of where we had been hunting. The farm belonged to a delightful old gentlemen of about 80 years that was introduced as Mr. Stevens. We were able to locate a herd of zebra but were unable to get close enough for a shot. Up and down and across mountains we chased them but once they knew we were after them the easily kept too much country between us to allow a shot.

"Uncle Steven" is a great old gentleman! I shot my Burchell's zebra on his place.

We got to talking while I was there and when I told him I was from California he told me that he liked reading about California and cowboys. I told him that I had grown up cowboying on ranches in California and still help out now and then and he was just thrilled to talk about it.

Great report, and glad to hear you also had a good time with Karl this year. I met Steven while I was there, his stories about the old days are really worth hearing!
Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Yuck. Someone really has to want to kill a leopard to do it this way. Dead leopard, yes, sporting, not in my opinion, and this has nothing to do with the earlier Karl thread.

Let the backslapping continue and the flames begin.

yep, it is obviously more sporting to blind 'em with a light and shoot 'em out of a tree at 1 AM . kind of like coon hunting. i have done it both ways and personally prefer a dog hunt 10 to 1.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Yuck. Someone really has to want to kill a leopard to do it this way. Dead leopard, yes, sporting, not in my opinion, and this has nothing to do with the earlier Karl thread.

Let the backslapping continue and the flames begin.

yep, it is obviously more sporting to blind 'em with a light and shoot 'em out of a tree at 1 AM . kind of like coon hunting. i have done it both ways and personally prefer a dog hunt 10 to 1.

I am sure there would be alot of action there.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
Yuck. Someone really has to want to kill a leopard to do it this way. Dead leopard, yes, sporting, not in my opinion, and this has nothing to do with the earlier Karl thread.

Let the backslapping continue and the flames begin.

yep, it is obviously more sporting to blind 'em with a light and shoot 'em out of a tree at 1 AM . kind of like coon hunting. i have done it both ways and personally prefer a dog hunt 10 to 1.

Just in case you are not aware of it, hunting at night with a light in Namibia is illegal.

If eyedoc had gone in the cave after him, then I'd be standing up and saluting, but he didn't and IMO the cat should have won that round. What's the difference between firecrackers and tear gas in this case, both of them would have pushed a cat out of a spot that he had used to escape and fight the dogs off? Real fucking sport.

I'm not going to continue to kick this dog, it doesn't matter to me, each person makes his own choices and lives with it. If eyedoc and all you backslapper think that was fair chase, so be it. I don't.

I'm not going to continue to kick this dog, it doesn't matter to me, each person makes his own choices and lives with it. If eyedoc and all you backslapper think that was fair chase, so be it. I don't.[/QUOTE]

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
I'm not going to continue to kick this dog, it doesn't matter to me,

If it doesn't matter to you why'd you write at all in the first place dickhead?

Seems like a great adventure to me eyedoc, I'm glad you had a grand adventure and thanks for the report. I hope your planning on posting photos.

I am going to kick the dog and hard because in fact it does matter to me how people conduct themselves when calling themselves hunters on safari. I have never ever heard of such a shocking account of a leopard hunt. Using crackers to chase it out of a cave WTF! Never in a million years will you convince me that is sporting, honorable or ethical in any way what so ever.People behaving like this give hunters a bad name

Mike, thanks for the great report. Sounds like you had a great time. Look forward to talking with you.

Oh, and let's see some pics!!

Mike,

I am glad you had a successful hunt and had a good trip.

Just curious on a leopard hunt what do you pay to shoot the baits or are they part of the leopard trophy fees?[/QUOTE]

Had a chance to read it all and man you seem to have got your monies worth. Sounded like you got a little of everything, moving camps altering plans as needed, taking advantage of things when you could and making the best of what you had.

I WONDER HOW FAST A CAT CAN COVER 75 YARDS WHEN HE IS PISSED OFF?

I use to chase coons and fox with dogs and love the sound of a bay to this day. Again I think it sounded like you had a great hunt and one that will bring a smile to your face as the days go by.

Harold: Paying for baits, you betchya. Typically, since the baits are non-export animals, they are at a reduced rate. I, for example, paid 200 for non-export zebra and 75 for non-export impala. If you want to take it home, full price.

Eyedoc: Congrats on your cat. Welcome home.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott450:
I am going to kick the dog and hard because in fact it does matter to me how people conduct themselves when calling themselves hunters on safari. I have never ever heard of such a shocking account of a leopard hunt. Using crackers to chase it out of a cave WTF! Never in a million years will you convince me that is sporting, honorable or ethical in any way what so ever.People behaving like this give hunters a bad name

In retrospect instead of calling Dickhead a dickhead I think I should have respectfully suggested a debate on the ethics of using fire crackers and hounds to hunt leopard be carried on in the African Hunting Forum rather than crapping on Eyedoc's obviously enthusiastic hunt report. My appologies to all except one for goofing this report.

Mike has asked me to post some pictures for him, so here goes:

Leopard that we chased back to the parkhas fed well...


The cat that we shot, made the mistake of crossing the sandy part of the road, walking on the previous day's drag marks.


Mike's leopard:


Some of the PG that he hunted:





And his Caprivi Buffalo:


I am leaving today to go and try for a lion, buffalo, hippo, croc and some smaller stuff, see all in about 2-3 weeks.

As to the question of baits, I will normally supply the start up bait, and then the client shoots/ buys extra bait to top up/ refresh.
Typically bait costs about US$ 250 per oryx, and US$ 50 for a donkey.

The buffalo looks like a great mature bull, one I would be proud to hang behind my desk or over the fireplace,,, great job! I look forward to hearing the stories in person at the Dallas Safari Club meeting in January...

That is a superb buffalo by any standard. Congratulations to both of you.

Great report and great leopard. I'd be happy to hunt a cat in a similar fashion. Sounds like a very exciting time.

Bill

Great cat and good report. Fair chase? What is fair chase? A man made watering hole, watching a bait that was not killed by the cat, putting out corn to draw in hogs,planting food plots with plants not native to that area. Explain fair chase to me Gatogordo. Sounds like a great hunt, not much beats a good bayup, with bears or cats. Way to go Eyedoc!!!!

Sounds like a great hunt. Thanks for the report.

Mike, very nice. Great report and the pics are outstanding. Congrats on a great hunt and thanks for sharing your experience with us.

man, getting a little ass is a lot cheaper in Africa than Idaho.

Great Hunt, great pictures, and Good Onya Karl!!

Rich

Congrats on a great hunt EyeDoc! I would not be concerned about the ethics police. It just makes me not want to ever post any pictures or stories of any hunts. I really want a baboon when I go to Namibia but I must say it looks like you are elbow deep in that baboon and no wonder he is screaming!

Eyedoc,

Great trophies! I really like the boss on your buff! Good job and thanks for sharing your hunt with us!

jpj3

costs for bait animals vary country to country. for instance in zim a bait impala i usually paid about $40 for, but in zambia there is no special bait price so you pay the full trophy fee. in the case of using zebra for bait you usually pay the whole fee and then keep the hide. bait costs can add up, i believe that by the time i shot my 1st leopard i had shot something like 75 impala and 3 zebra.

Mike---- good job --- great story!

To those that have cast their negative comments on this adventure --- pound sand! I seriously doubt that you have much if any personal foundation to base your opinions on and as noted above if you really don't care ---------why the hell you wasting your time with your plabber??
G

thanks for the detailed report and congrats on some fine animals. We are all heros to some, goats to a few and unknown or barely acknowledged by most. Its nice to hear yet another positive report on Karl. We all get into pickles when we overbook or oversell expectations. Jim