Leopard hunt!

Yes Brickburn, good points you make. Of course we want to know that the area we are going thousands of miles to hunt has the game we intend to hunt. I am old fashioned probably to a fault and while its a good thing especially for the PH to know that his area has some good potential game for his paying hunters, I for one think part of the mystique of the hunt is taken away by seeing pictures of a particular animal, that becomes the specific quarry. But thats just me and my hangups. And of course that leo may never be seen on the hunt. And its great for all of us to see cool pictures of this cat, but we arent the ones hunting it. Would you feel the same way if it was you going on this hunt? I am off to Zim in June for a number of critters and I dont want to see any pictures of specific animals before I get there. I know they are there in good numbers going by feedback read on this site and by talking to references. What I shoot when I get there I will find out when I get there. Too much technology for me.

S, I have not wrapped my mind around trail cams, for my own hunting really.
To tell you the truth I have received ONE picture of a kudu bull from a trail cam. That trail cam picture was last year at some waterhole that I do not want to know anymore about. But that picture of a live kudu bull did get my blood pumping, way more than all the kill shot videos I have ever seen.
Otherwise, nothing but pictures of past hunts and other references for my upcoming hunts in SA and NA.

I have however, looked at both places I am hunting on Google Earth and have the Garmin SA GPS data for southern Africa and am crazy enough to sign up for a SA PH course so I can have some idea of how to hunt the areas and the game and maybe participate in hunting the trophies, not just the shooting....
So, I guess some technology does not bother me too much.

I keep teasing the one PH about the past hunters trophy 31 inch Nyala though, because they are all that big and just grow on trees and he had better have one tied up for me. :)

References to inches and certainly "requests" for particular trophy sizes is certainly something that appears pretentious, but those who have hunted many times may chose to restrict themselves. You have to present that in a manner that won't be misunderstood as it is difficult to say it out loud without appearing smug or demanding.

From all I have read here and elsewhere, it is the PH's nightmare client to have the tape measure as the primary equipment of choice. "Leave the tape measure at home" is something I have seen on several equipment lists.

I will be looking for good trophies from my hunt, good pictures, video and stories to share.

I want to see all your pictures of our trophies from Zim and hear the stories too and I hope Tap will keep sharing his story here.

Good luck to you both.

I am sorry I mentioned numbers on here. I won't make that mistake in the future.

As for me I want a 60" kudu. I have come close to killing that with my last kudu but I haven't made the mark yet. Would it make any difference to you guys if you knew I haven't entered a single trophy into any book? I don't agree with that. What I do like is knowing I have beat the largest animals.

I have hunted elk for the last 15 years and many times in areas where I knew 400" bulls were. I have tons of pictures of some and patterned even more but I have yet to kill one. I have come close I just havent met my goal yet and will never give up.

I am truly sorry if my dreams offend you but those are my dreams. I don't wish to hunt an area unless the possibility of taking a truly wild 60" kudu is possible. If I ever get my kudu I will then want a 62" kudu. I am very competitive with myself and that's what drives me. When I was in college I wanted to run a five minute mile. Which I did. Then I wanted a 4 and a half minute mile which I did. My hunting is no different.

As far as the pictures go I want all I can get. If I had the money I would go to Africa for a month and do all the baiting and camera watching myself. I sent my ph the cameras and he is doing what I have paid for. Again if this shopping list offends you then I am sorry. I am however not understanding why seeing some trail cam pics of a leopard ensures me of his kill. Baiting and forming patterns based on strikes is how leopard hunting has been done for years but now that I have pictures the leopard my wife may take is now a lesser animal? I guess you aren't familiar enough with hunting to know how it works but on my hunts are very challenging and the outcomes are never known. In the mean time I hope my ph continues to send me pictures as it makes me feel as if my safari has already started even though I still work my daily schedule.

So as not tk offend any more people I will stop posting and wish you all in this forum the best of hunting in the future.

Tony

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Originally Posted by tap

Here are the pictures.

The night pictures are of the big cat which we will be hoping to get.

http://www.africahunting.com/hunting...e=14796&size=1

The daylight pictures are of the cat that seems to have a pattern and will be the secondary cat on our list.

http://www.africahunting.com/hunting...e=14797&size=1

This is of course leopard hunting and I'm pretty sure we will be extremely lucky just to get any cat. It is some reassurance to me that my ph has been seeing the larger leopards tracks on that cattle ranch for the last 2 years. So lets hope that big boy can just stay there a few more weeks :cool:

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I really like the daylight picture of the leopard! It was a great picture and made my heart beat fast.

As far a Tony having goals and setting them, I have no problem with that, he has spent a lot of money, to support wildlife conservation...which is good. I know I'm a liberal supporter of wildlife conservation myself.

I myself will never use trail cameras...too much technology for me...takes away from the hunt for me. I have no problem with people that enjoy them. Chances are they are supporting wildlife conservation too.

I hope you keep posting Tony, and wish you the best of luck on your hunt. You are intitled to your own thoughts and dreams.

Well Tap. Spoken like a spoiled child who is just gonna take his ball home because he didnt get his way or someone offended him. I never said I was offended by anything you said or did. How you want to hunt is your affair. I only offered my opinion for discussion, thats what we do here, its a discussion forum. I was about to post an agreement with others as above that you do of course contribute needed dollars to conservation efforts here and abroad and thats a good thing. Also was going to rescind my snarky remark at the end of my initial post and I do so now. I think you should toughen your skin up a bit, keep posting your opinions like we all do and let us know how your hunt goes. Dont be so quick to bug out. I remember when I went to Botswana, day one I killed an impala and as we walked up to it I pulled out my tape. My PH went a funny shade of red and said - "if you want to go around measuring things I will pull out my big dick and you can measure that all day long!" The tape thing bugs lots of people though I still carry one myself and use it. There is always the possibility of finding a 60 inch kudu in the wild, but thats the point, finding one. If you already know its there and in what area... Stick with AH.

Brickburn, Thanks for the good wishes for my Zim hunt. Meant to do that earlier but got sidetracked. I will of course give a hunt report when I get back from what I expect to be a fun hunt with Touch Africa. I also hope Tap will do the same with his upcoming hunt.

SES

Tony, in no way shape or form have you offended me and I appreciate the fact that you have gone to all the bother to share with all of us.
You have me on the edge of my chair and I hope you can keep me there!!

Lots of PH's have bitched in their promo stuff about hunters pulling tapes out. Why I mentioned it.
I actually thought of bringing mine along and have stopped the packing to ensure that I don't insult my PH's. I'll still be figuring out what a great trophy is for myself with the help of the PH's.

The fact that you want to measure anything does not bother me at all. You pay for the hunt you hunt it the way you want.

I tried to inject some humor to tame people down.

I pray for a 60 inch kudu on my hunt. If I can even get close I will jump up and down for joy.

At home I regularly refrain from shooting Whitetail Deer that are not huge because I have big trophies already. Well, at least until the last day then anything gets turned into steaks.

In Africa anything is going to do, within reason.
I would love to be in your position of having taken great trophies already and respect your interests and values to restrict yourself in your hunting to getting larger trophies than you already have. Makes for lots of looking and not so much shooting though. Its your hunt and you pay for it.

Thanks for contributing. Like I said to SES, throw more water it will only spray my boots. Wipe yours off and Please keep us posted.
PM also sent.

SES, you have a blast hunting in ZIM.

No no no not spoiled at all. I just don't know how to post without offending.

Brick burn you have been nothing but nice u have never offended me. If anyone is interested on keeping up to speed with me on my hunt let me know and I will email you reports from Africa as I can. I won't be with my wife the first week of her leopard hunt as I will be in Zambia but as soon as I get back I am hoping to send out pics of something spotted.

Anyways, the absolute last thing I want is any sort of drama especially when it comes to anything related to hunting. If I want drama I will go visit my inlaws haha

I dont think anyone WAS offended Tap. You seem to confuse opinion differences with offense. We may have different opinions about things, thats life. We get over it and move on.

Personally i do not like to send my client a picture of what i can give him or what he can hunt, i like to send him a picture of what i have hunted in the past. As you all know it is not easy to hunt leopard, to take a picture with a trail cam is a drop in the bucket, to have a leopard feeding means nothing, I had one feeding 14 days strait before the arrival of the client, then it started raining and he is gone until today It comes down to building the blind, to sit still for sometimes hours, to have the blind in the proper spot, The direction the cat comes to the bait, what means do you use to see the leopard before the shot ( spotlight or a light with a dimmer switch ). Then you must make the shot. You do have a big male like this one in the pictures then suddenly a female get's into season two cattle farms away and this cat moves in, he stays away for 7 days and more, who knows maybe he find another bait animal on that property and he is gone.
To hunt leopard takes days, yes 21 is good but it takes the correct set-up and shot then you add 95% luck.
Good luck to ALL hunting leopard this season you included Johan.
Johan

I agree with you that leopard hunting is difficult and since a cat typically runs around 20 grand I have never wanted to gamble on something that is so hard to get.

I have heard that some guys have returned 3 or more times for 21 day hunts and still never bagged a leopard. I personally don't like loosing money and am very worried that my wife will not get a leopard.

To top that off Ian has told us this leopard is very weary and even if he comes to bait he's not sure he would come all the way in with someone in a blind. I've tried calling bobcats in the us and know how picky catsare and how extremely stealthy they are. That is exactly why I haven't gone leopard huntIng. I'm just not very good at cat hunting.

My wife on the other hand has been dying to hunt a leopard and she is the one who set up this entire safari. I'm not complaining at all. I will take any excuse I can get to go to Africa and hunt. I still have lots of doubts about terra getting a leopard but seeing those pictures keeps us optimistic that at least leopards do exist.

Heck, I've hunted nort America since I was four and have never seen a mountain lion so I'm not sure they are real. Now these guys in Africa are trying to tell me they have cats with spots? We wil see! Maybe those pictures are photoshopped. Haha

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I have heard that some guys have returned 3 or more times for 21 day hunts and still never bagged a leopard. I personally don't like loosing money and am very worried that my wife will not get a leopard.

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That pretty much sums up why I have put off leopard hunting too. Who wouldn't want one full mounted in their house? I know I would be nervous because of the money and the fact the leopard might not cooperate.

Guys,

Leopard hunting does not have to difficult or a low success endeavor. Yeah! I know. Mark has a commercial interest so of course he's saying leopards are not that hard. The reality is I've set in the blind in daylight 2 mornings and 4 evenings total and killed 3 toms. I did have a little luck but I hunted where there were good populations of leopards and wild places where the leopards had not been treated like varmints.

If you want a leopard and you want the best chance of only having to do the hunt once there are some things to avoid and things to do. First do not try to book a cheap hunt. Generally speaking if you see a really inexpensive leopard hunt your looking at a very slim chance of killing a leopard. Second Namibia and RSA have some super leopards but these leopards have been treated like vermin for many years so they are very wary and densities are usually low. Expect that your chances of success to be low and the hunt to entail many uncomfortable hours in the blind if you in fact even get a cat feeding. Third if you book a leopard hunt you have to make it the focus of your safari until you kill the leopard. There are people that are just plain unlucky on cats but a 21 day safari in good leopard country with a focus on the leopard should be almost a slam dunk on a good Tom.

My recommendation would be to book your leopard along with a buffalo in Zimbabwe, Zambia or Tanzania. Daily rates are the same or nearly the same for a combination buff/leopard as for a buffalo alone so if you are unlucky on the leoaprd you'll have your buffalo and a load of plains game. Yes, this is more expensive than booking a dedicated leopard hunt in RSA or Namibia but your chances of success on the leopard are two to three times as good and the safari will be a heck of a lot more fun in a much wilder place.

The clients that come to me looking for a successful leopard hunt after striking out on previous atempts almost always have hunted in Namibia and/or RSA. They describe horror shows of shooting twenty baits and not even seeing a track or sitting in the blind 14 nights and never seeing a leopard. They always tell me how difficult leopard hunting is. It isn't!

If you pick the right spot you can have multiple toms feeding, pick the one you want to sit for and expect you'll have a shot in daylight.

Tap how did the leopard hunt go?

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Originally Posted by enysse

I really like the daylight picture of the leopard! It was a great picture and made my heart beat fast.

As far a Tony having goals and setting them, I have no problem with that, he has spent a lot of money, to support wildlife conservation...which is good. I know I'm a liberal supporter of wildlife conservation myself.

I myself will never use trail cameras...too much technology for me...takes away from the hunt for me. I have no problem with people that enjoy them. Chances are they are supporting wildlife conservation too.

I hope you keep posting Tony, and wish you the best of luck on your hunt. You are intitled to your own thoughts and dreams.

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I agree the day time photos are fantastic that would be a Great full Body mount.

We ended up having a good time. the leopards in the picture weren't taken. the daytime leopard was still there and hanging out in a remote area. However, the big male in the night photos was poached by a neighboring landowner dirk terblanche. His hands ended up telling our guys about a big male he had killed and the funny thing about it is that the natal area gives out a limited number of tags and dirk did not have a tag or a damage permit according to parks board game wardens.

Anyways, whats done is done. Ian baited for cats for 4 days and nothing was moving. Finally on the 4th day a cat took a calf from the ranchers beef stock and took it up a tree. Ian decided that a 130lb calf drug up a 15ft tree had to have been done so by a large cat so the decsion was made to sit on the calf. 30 minutes after sunset kudu started barking, impala started sounding off and the baboons were going crazy by the river bed. Ian told my wife to get ready that a cat was on the move and coming in. My wife got really choked up and needed water. With her hand in front of her face she realized it was dark since she couldn't see any outlines of her hand. then all of a sudden Ian tapped her leg which meant the leopard was in the tree and to shoot when she could see in the light well enough to do so. Well she signaled Ian for his water by tapping on it and he handed it to her. She drank and drank to no avail. She was too choked up and ended up caughing. apparently a bushpig was only feet from the blind and ran off squealing. the leopard went as well.

To say that the ph was pissed at this point is a huge understatement. He got out of his chair and laid on the floor and told terra he was gonna get a nap and needed woke up if she thought she heard a leopard. Ian was sure they were in for a long night. Well 5 minutes later my devistated and humiliated wife heard claws going up a tree and then she heard crunching bones. She instantly tapped ian leg and whispered in his ear that she thought a leopard was in the tree. Ian's thoughts were "yeah right!" he slowly got back in his chair, still upset and not believing her, and pulled up his binoculars to look. He quickly tapped my wifes leg which was the "shoot when you can signal". He started turning up the red spotlight and all of a suddent my wife said she saw a large, gorgeous, cat in the tree feeding on the calf. She quickly got her gun aimed at the shoulder and with the touch of the trigger ended her hunt. She said it was the most awesome hunt of her life. She is absolutely hooked on hunting african game and can't wait to get her cat back home.

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Originally Posted by tap

We ended up having a good time. the leopards in the picture weren't taken. the daytime leopard was still there and hanging out in a remote area. However, the big male in the night photos was poached by a neighboring landowner dirk terblanche. His hands ended up telling our guys about a big male he had killed and the funny thing about it is that the natal area gives out a limited number of tags and dirk did not have a tag or a damage permit according to parks board game wardens.

Anyways, whats done is done. Ian baited for cats for 4 days and nothing was moving. Finally on the 4th day a cat took a calf from the ranchers beef stock and took it up a tree. Ian decided that a 130lb calf drug up a 15ft tree had to have been done so by a large cat so the decsion was made to sit on the calf. 30 minutes after sunset kudu started barking, impala started sounding off and the baboons were going crazy by the river bed. Ian told my wife to get ready that a cat was on the move and coming in. My wife got really choked up and needed water. With her hand in front of her face she realized it was dark since she couldn't see any outlines of her hand. then all of a sudden Ian tapped her leg which meant the leopard was in the tree and to shoot when she could see in the light well enough to do so. Well she signaled Ian for his water by tapping on it and he handed it to her. She drank and drank to no avail. She was too choked up and ended up caughing. apparently a bushpig was only feet from the blind and ran off squealing. the leopard went as well.

To say that the ph was pissed at this point is a huge understatement. He got out of his chair and laid on the floor and told terra he was gonna get a nap and needed woke up if she thought she heard a leopard. Ian was sure they were in for a long night. Well 5 minutes later my devistated and humiliated wife heard claws going up a tree and then she heard crunching bones. She instantly tapped ian leg and whispered in his ear that she thought a leopard was in the tree. Ian's thoughts were "yeah right!" he slowly got back in his chair, still upset and not believing her, and pulled up his binoculars to look. He quickly tapped my wifes leg which was the "shoot when you can signal". He started turning up the red spotlight and all of a suddent my wife said she saw a large, gorgeous, cat in the tree feeding on the calf. She quickly got her gun aimed at the shoulder and with the touch of the trigger ended her hunt. She said it was the most awesome hunt of her life. She is absolutely hooked on hunting african game and can't wait to get her cat back home.

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Tell your wife she should be proud all things happen for a reason, when she caughing and the pig squeeled and they ran off there was no shot so the cat was more relaxed when it returned so she could get the shot she needed. and that my story and I'm sticking to it! ;) Beautiful Cat Congrats

That is a beautiful leopard. Your wife looks very happy in the standing photo, as well she should be. You've done well by her.

Tap

i am not sure which one is more beautiful your wife or the great cat....

Sure is a great leopard...and after all the trouble the two of you went through on this safari...

I would have to say well done...

Great cat!

Is she wearing sandels on her feet???

Congrats in any event!