Booked a Lioness bow hunt

Hey everyone, I finally got to book my first trip to South Africa. We haven't finalized our dates yet (leaning toward August or September). We are targeting plains game with lioness added on. I am also hoping to get a chance to take a hippo. My first question is to everyone that has hunted a lioness with archery equipment, how long should we scheduled? As of right now we were thinking of 10 full hunting days. How does one typically go about hunting a lioness? Can we hunt water holes for plains game in the morning and then stalk lion in the afternoon? Just trying to figure out how realistic we are being.

Who will you be hunting with?

Marupa Safaris out of the Limpopo province in South Africa.

Typically plains game are not running around with the Lions in RSA outside of large reserves or parks.

Your proposed plan might entail some driving between concessions... So, I'd wonder/doubt about flipping back and forth on the same day. (Just a guess)

Ask your PH and let us know the results.

Congrats on your booking.

Concentrate on the Lion first. When the skin is in the salt you can turn your attention to plains game.
At this stage it is not legal to hunt any Pachyderm with a bow in South Africa so your Hippo will not be a legal hunt.
Be careful what people offer you on a hunt just to make a few $$.
Ask the Outfitter to first show you the legal permit that gives you permission for a Hippo hunt with a bow.
Sometimes they do grant such a hunt but it is few and far between and only under the guidance of a PH that if fully qualified for Dangerous game with a bow.

Kal awesome fritz has given you some solid advice he is extremely knowledgeable, your Lioness will be done on foot by means of tracking......

My best always.

Fritz,

What about warthog and bushpig!!! Hippo only makes out an taxonomic order of mammal from Pachyderms....

Originally Posted by Fritz Rabe

At this stage it is not legal to hunt any Pachyderm with a bow in South Africa so your Hippo will not be a legal hunt.

Originally Posted by Bushwack

Fritz,

What about warthog and bushpig!!! Hippo only makes out an taxonomic order of mammal from Pachyderms....

Apologies.
The Pachyderms that I refer to are Elephant, Rhino and Hippo. It is also not legal to hunt Croc with a bow in SA. You can get a special permit to hunt them though but it is extremely difficult to get one.
The client and the PH that guides the hunt has to submit testimonials about their experience and the PH has to be fully qualified with a bow. Even for Giraffe you need a special permit for a bow but few people go through the trouble to get one for a Giraffe.
I personally do not agree with most of the laws RE: bow hunting but it stays the law.

Originally Posted by Bushwack

Fritz,

What about warthog and bushpig!!! Hippo only makes out an taxonomic order of mammal from Pachyderms....

Bushwack can you translate to english please.....

I cannot...have seen it from wikipedia...lol

Originally Posted by spike.t

Bushwack can you translate to english please.....

Originally Posted by Bushwack

I cannot...have seen it from wikipedia...lol

excellent

Thanks so much for the info already, I am planning on talking to the PH via email soon. Just trying to get a head start on what to expect. Thank you Fritz for the info I will have to ask more on the hippo. He had told me they get nuisance tags for hippo.

Originally Posted by kal

............... He had told me they get nuisance tags for hippo.

The famous PAC (Problem animal control) hunts.
Much debated, much discussed.

As Fritz said, get a copy of the permit. Credible outfitters will not even hesitate to provide it.

There are people who will present you with great stories of saving the country side from the marauding wildlife. It fits so well into the "hunter/conservationist" story doesn't it. In the used car industry it sounds something like: "It was driven by a little old lady."

Hunters, in our excitement, suspend our typical vigilance and perhaps this is assisted by our lack of experience and lack of information about the local laws.

Why would an Agent/Outfitter/PH mislead me?

Here is a great example:
Kruger Park Times: American promises Krugers lions as hunting trophies...


Here is a youtube video posted with the outfitter noted above:



These are the headers in this video clip...

"Lion hunting adventure"
"On a race against time"
"In a quest for glory"

Absolute Schlock statements in my opinion!

I am glad you are asking the questions here and getting some good answers.
I wish you great success on your hunt.

There are legitimate PAC hunts out there....but as stated, ask for the paperwork. I'm actually about to list a PAC leopard hunt that will have all paperwork and permits required (you can't take the cat home).

Originally Posted by TOM

There are legitimate PAC hunts out there....but as stated, ask for the paperwork. I'm actually about to list a PAC leopard hunt that will have all paperwork and permits required (you can't take the cat home).

Genuine offer, paperwork and the truth: True PAC you are not taking the animal home.

Again thanks for the info. I was under the impression that I would not be able to keep the hippo. I will absolutely ask the outfitter for more information. Trust me the last thing I want is to spend time in a South African jail. The video didn't really do much for me, the lines may have been a little dorky but didn't really see much wrong. Thanks for the info, I am going to send an email to verify everything. This is why I like this forum so much, I would never have known to ask this kind of stuff. I guess I have a hard time seeing why an outfitter would risk there whole operation for 1 animal. Thanks again.

If you want to stay out of jail then you must NEVER EVER even take a bow near a PAC hunt in South Africa. I have shot a good number of problem Hippo here in SA through the years and believe me if I say that I have tried everything to get the go-ahead from the authorities so that I myself could shoot one with my bow. There is no way in hell that it would ever be granted.

If anyone tells you that it will be legal you can send him my personal complements to rather go and shoot Rhino in a zoo. The fine will be less.

Also, in SA they are not called PAC animals although everyone refer to them as such. They are called DCA - Damage Causing Animal.

Please Kal.
We are not trying to scare you. Go and enjoy your hunt but you are welcome to contact me if you have any questions regarding bow hunting. I shall give you an honest answer on how it works in Africa. Anything that you want to know about legalities etc regarding the hunt is only a keyboard click away.
Regards

Happy to see people informing other people of what is OK and what is not OK.

Kal,

Good luck on your adventure ! While you are at it ask the outfitter to give you a copy of the permit to hunt a Lion with Bow . As Fritz said stay away from DCA animals.

Happy Hunting !

Richard

Thank you so much everyone, Fritz I sent you a pm. So back to Lioness, what kind of archery gear should I be planning on using? I would think my normal setup for North American big game would be sufficient but I want to make sure. How does the spot and stalk or hunt on foot go? How do you determine what lioness to shoot?