Calibre - 300 Best of the West
Date - 28th March to 10th April
Place - ARDA (Save Valley Conservancy)
PH - Phillip Smythe
Target - Leopard, Kudu, impala.


The season is off to a great start with this hunt and whilst it was thick out here we had a fantastic time.

The cyclone that Zimbabwe just caught the edge of made sure that everything in the Save was lush, green and wet! It did dry up quickly so that helped and the safari began smoothly.

We had a great time and ended up with this gorgeous cat. I love hunting these animals as its a challenge and this guy proved to be no exception.

The Kudu we managed to find was exceptional and whilst I don't usually whip out a tap measure quickly, I had to on this guy and he ended up going 57 inches. We were very happy to find such a gorgeous animal!

Something for you all to enjoy.

























Happy hunting.

Phillip Smythe

Phillip,

Congrats and that is a bus mate.

Outstanding.

Tell us how you baited it and blind set up? Any photos?

I like that cat!

Good job!

Great trophies! Congratulations on a very successful and fun hunt.

I would love to kill a leopard, but but whenever I do a hunting cost/benefit analysis (cost of hunt+leopard fee * odds of getting a leopard), I always chicken out.

Thanks for sharing.

BH63

Great Trophies!!! I would have shot those last two also!!!

Congratulations. Leopard hunting is a very special experience. All your senses are magnified sitting in that blind. Beautiful cat. That kudu special too.

Great cat! Thanks for posing.

Beautiful Cat Phil. Yes that is a bus. Thanx for sharing and great to have you guys in camp.

Beauty cat!.

2 weeks until I'm there! 2 looong weeks...

Awesome brute of a cat! The kudu ain't bad either . way to start the season and set the bar high

Fantastic leopard and kudu

Great stuff, Phillip. Congrats to you and your hunter.

Well done Ace!! Great leopard!

Fantastic animals!

Congratulations, across the board. I love that leopard, especially. Massive head, neck and forequarters.

What a beast.

Super spots!

Nice way to launch the season. Congrats!

Way to go Philip

quote:

I would love to kill a leopard, but but whenever I do a hunting cost/benefit analysis (cost of hunt+leopard fee * odds of getting a leopard), I always chicken out.

BH63

Do it once and do it right BH63! Ready when you are.


Baited, blind set up - come and hunt a leopard with me fairgame and you can take all the pictures you need

quote:

Baited, blind set up - come and hunt a leopard with me fairgame and you can take all the pictures you need

I am always interested in the variety of methods to hunt Leopard and subsequent success rates.

And thanks for the invite.

wow Phillip you do allow blood to get on your pants! Well done Chap! Nice KUDU....the baby Impalas thank you kindly for wacking their worst Leopard nightmare Beast mode! well done!

quote:

Do it once and do it right BH63! Ready when you are.

I have the bad habit of not always following this advice. This statement can be applied to so many things!

Great pic's! I always enjoy your reports.

P

quote:

Originally posted by Phillip Smythe:

quote:

I would love to kill a leopard, but but whenever I do a hunting cost/benefit analysis (cost of hunt+leopard fee * odds of getting a leopard), I always chicken out.

BH63

Do it once and do it right BH63! Ready when you are.


Baited, blind set up - come and hunt a leopard with me fairgame and you can take all the pictures you need

Did you use lights?

Beautiful trophies!

quote:

Originally posted by drongo:

Did you use lights?

On this cat - yes but I always place a light (operated by remote) in the tree just in case the cat decides not to cooperate during daylight for whatever reason. We can hunt at night in the Save and I would say 60% or our cats are shot in the first 30 to 45 minutes after the sun has gone down. Some re taken during daylight and some are shot at random hours throughout the night (we don't like those ones)!

The more comfortable a cat feels around the bait the earlier he will feed. So its really up to the leopard in most cases. The earliest I ever got in a blind was at 1400 as our cat was feeding throughout the day, 1000, 1300, 1700.

Sorry for my late reply, just got back from a safari.

A toad of a cat!

Nice job, Phillip!