Ahhh, Full Cry, you beat me to the punch !!!
Justin, I dont lion hunt out here in the east but I get the same inquirys as yours,about bear hunting with my hounds.My suggestion to you ,unless you want to foot a bill like Full Cry mentioned,is to try doing the following.First,forget about shooting a lion right now.Try and hook up with some lion hunters who can use a hand handling dogs.I have done this with several young guys bear hunting.They come along ,help handle the dogs,put some gas money in now and then,help around the kennels when I need it,generally act like a trainee I guess.After helping out for a year or so,I put aside some time each fall to try and get them a bear.I have one buddy here who took a bear 3 years in a row after we were done with clients.I have 2 young guys now who take a day a week to help me run dogs and its only training season.Now that we are friends and they are helping out,I have told them they will never be a client with me.
You certainly sound like you have good intentions Justin.There is never a shortage of "shooters" come hunting season.If your only intrest is shooting a lion I would think your best bet would be to save the $2800 like FullCry suggested.Hounds are a terribly exspensive and time consuming hobby/sport.To just ask someone to take a guy they dont even know to shoot a lion is asking alot in my book.
Best of luck to you Justin !!