back to africa!

Well I'm changing gears and planning my return back to Africa. I started hearing all this talk about how zambia is now closing hunting and got a little scared. I made a call to my houndsman in SA to see what else was coming down the pipe and got an even bigger shock. Apparently zimbabwe is preparing to close down hound hunting for leopards permanently. All indications point toward this year being the last year the zim will allow hound hunting. namibia has already closed it down and zambia doesn't allow it either. SA only allows it on high fenced areas and there aren't enough quota combined with enough large concessions to allow such a hunt so in my books its about to become an extince hunt. Beings that leopard hunting with hounds was the most adrenalin packed hunt I have ever encountered I decided that I better book another leopard hunt now. Im not sure who my outfitter is but I know that my trusted houndsman has everything lined up and Im heading out in May.

This time im going to apply for a bow import permit ahead of time and make sure I get my leopard with a bow this time. Apparently my guy has a placed picked out where hes been seeing lots of giant toms on bait hunts but hasn't had much success due to them being highly educated on bait hunting. He ended up talking the landowner into allowing us to do the first and only hound hunt on his property. To say my ph is stoked to do this hunt is an understatement. Im hoping I can get back on here and post a good report. Wish me luck.

Tony: Good luck

Having said this, I truly believe you are nuts and off your rocker.

You don't know who the outfitter is, but you booked the hunt? What could possibly go wrong with that?
I understand you trust the Houndsman, but a few more details would be in order before you start sending money. Hopefully everything works out well, but hope really isn't a plan.
Bill

When? With who? Just missed seeing you at Jason's booth they said.

Cat hunting in all of Africa but canned lion hunts in RSA is not looking good.

Using dogs will be done. Most PH's don't reallly csre for it from what i can tell. Talked to several at SCI this year and they love cat hunting but not with dogs. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Enjoy every second after what happened last hear.

No, I'm fine. My ph has already got me the cites work and my import lady is on it and says the import permit will be here no problem. I also check my area out and its all good. I'm not giving this area away as I feel very confident in taking a cat that is going to be a true monster. My wifes going next and I don't want everyone knowing about this place. Sorry for being so vague.

Sorry to have missed you at Jason's booth. However after doing a cat hunt with dogs and killing two on a dead charge I can never go back to bait hunting. We chased dogs over 10 miles on foot every day for 19 days for our two cats. I've never put so much into one hunt and had such an adrenaline packed outcome. I will never think another hunt will match up to leopards with dogs. However johan calitz seems to think my pending elephant hunt in botswana with him is going to top all my hunting experiences. We will see!

Life must be good stomper. Good luck!

Elephant hunting tops everything, period. Nothing really compares to sneaking in on a large bull or group of bulls, to very close range.

LAST EDITED ON Apr-11-13 AT 10:04AM (MST)[p]Stomper, I'll give you a tidbit of advice to help you with anticipation for your upcoming elephant hunt. I was told this by Roy Vincent, who is now semi-retired but was one of the top PHs in Zimbabwe for about 30 years.

Back in May of 1983 we were in an old game rangers office, looking at records of 'control' efforts where various game rangers had shot problem animals ranging from elephants to rhino, lion, buffalo, leopards and others. As we were going through the records, Roy would occasionally mention "He was killed by a lion", "He was killed by an elephant" and other stories about various people listed in the logbook.

Finally, Roy turned and said "What you need to always remember about elephants is that a big bull elephant can hurt you worse on accident than most other animals can on purpose. When an elephant is truly angry with you, the damage he can inflict is unbelievable". He went on to describe a few examples of hunters who were trampled, hammered, gored and otherwise pretty much smashed into unrecogniseable remnants of themselves. The next time you see a mopane tree ripped apart by elephants, stop to consider how hard it would be for one to do that to you.

A few days later, I shot my first elephant bull at less than 10 yards as he was bearing down on us. Actually, my rifle and Roy's went off at essentially the same time.

The only thing that stops me from hunting elephants every year for the rest of my life is a lack of financial ability to do so. If I could, I'd hunt them every year that I'm left on this planet. Nothing else compares,on any continent. When you're standing less than 20 yards from a 12,000 pound bull that stands nearly 13 feet tall, you'll realize why. You simply cannot appreciate how big a truly large bull elephant is until you're right amongst them.

wow is all I can say. I had no desire to leopard hunt. Then last year I got charged by two and now I have 3 more leopard hunts booked just for the adrenaline rush.

Reading your last post has me stoked and ready for September. Johan told me that they want me stalking to within 30 yards of at least 10 bulls before I shoot mine. They want me to get over the jitters of getting in close. I shrugged it off at the time but it sounds like you get that life and death adrenaline rush like I did when my wife's leopard was in mid air jumping on me. (thank god she shot him out of the air).

I'm so ready to go smash Dumbo. this sounds like its going to be an awesome experience. and to think that we will see hundreds of elephants every day. It sounds like a dream hunt and a once in a life time experience. I just upgraded the hunt to 18 days to give me more time to find a 225lb tusker. lol

I wish you the best on your Africa trips this year. I am really interested in the Ele hunt and how it goes.

Leopard hunting with dogs is not my thing but I want to hear about it and see pics.

Good luck and be safe.