After 18 days of leopard hunting, I had two days left. Mid afternoon, we arrived at the bait location with the blind. We had sat there the prior day and nothing hit the bait. We’re hoping today is the day.
Nick and I got settled into the tent blind and so began the four plus hour sit, while being absolutely quiet. My rifle had a round chambered and ready for action.
To pass the time, I started scrolling through the photos on my phone and deleting duplicate and bad photos. After a couple of hours, Nick nudged me and pointed at the bait. I looked at the bait, and it looked the same. But a few seconds later, the Tom appeared and was soon on the bait. I was a bit startled because I anticipated the cat to appear at last light. It was a good hour before sunset and here Mr Spots was. Two taps on the leg was the signal to shoot and Nick had just done that. Switching the safety off and making a slight adjustment to the rifle to put the crosshairs on the cat, I fired and the cat dropped. However, it clearly wasn’t dead, so I had to take a follow up. Probably not the best shooting I’ve ever done, but I at least had a leopard!
I’m sitting in the Windhoek airport lounge and WIFI is terribly slow. Will post more pictures and add more info when I get home. Thanks for all the positive comments! It was a long, long hunt, but it had a happy ending!
@375 Ruger Fan it was a pleasure to share camp with you!! There was a big Yes yelled in the airport when I heard the news!!! So happy for you!! Congratulations!
Never give up. Hunt to the absolute last minute because you just never know when it’s gonna all come together. Congrats on a fine leopard and even better story.
Congratulations! You certainly earned that leopard. I hunted the same general area (Omaruru and the Erongo Mts) back in April. The tall grass was quite a change compared to my previous trips to the area. I’m not sure which conditions pose the most challenge. Drought conditions means there’s lots of dead animals laying around to scavenge, and there are fewer water holes for the game, making it easier for leopards to ambush them. On the other hand, tall grass gives the leopards plenty of cover for concealment. You persevered, however, and have a beautiful trophy to show for it. Well done!
I have a Chapuis 450-400 double that looks brand new and shoots well, never been hunted from what I can tell. I am willing to part with it as I have a 375 H&H Sodia on it's way from Dorleac & Dorleac. I am looking for $9,250 for it and if you are interested, I am happy to send you some pictures. Regards,
Steve
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.