Leopard hunt
International
Which should be better country for a Leopard hunt, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe or Mozambique?
I would leave out RSA, then after that I think it depends more on the area, PH, and how much you are willing to pay.
Ask tim he is an expert in chaing those things.
Yep Bigpizzaman should be able to answer your question. He's been quite a few times.
Take a good look at Derek Littleton, Luwire Safaris, Mozambique. He likes to set up blinds really close (bow range) to the bait, even for gun hunters. I believe he has guided bowhunters for leopard before.
I would leave out RSA like Gobbler said and also Tanzania. Do your homework and your phone calls as there are good and some great Outfitters in all three countries. What else do you want to combo with Leopard?...that makes a difference as to where you book.
Good Luck. Leopard is SUCH a top predator and amazing trophy!
I also agree with leaving RSA out of the equation.
I know this might be a dumb question...but are you bowhunting the cat?? That makes a big difference as well.
Moz and Zim are great places but Namibia is producing some great cats.
I will like to try with my bow, but if this is not possible, I will use a rifle. i am not tight in a only" bow hunt. Like to combo with roan and bushpig if possible
Press release earlier this week, Zambia reopens cat hunting.
If I had the scratch, I'd be booking Zambia for 2016. Several years of no hunts. . . big cats!
I'd book with Andrew Baldry at Royal Kafue and try for a bomber!!
And Royal Kafue has the roan too
Toby,
I am thinking that Namibia is gun hunting only - no bow.
BPM helped me get straight on this issue a couple yrs ago.
BPM is one of your most valuable resources on this subject.
Yes Namabia is only gun, Tanzania is very pricey, RSA hard to get tags. I'm headed to Vegas for the UFC fights, I'll PM you my number if you want to pick my Brain. Good Luck
Yes Namabia is only gun, Tanzania is very pricey, RSA hard to get tags. I'm headed to Vegas for the UFC fights, I'll PM you my number if you want to pick my Brain. Good Luck
From the beach to Vegas..,, gotta love it!! Have a blast
All I know is you had better post a thread with pics once you get back. My dream is a Leopard. They are the pinnacle in my book. Good luck brother! God Bless
Pat, I'm still trying to figure out how you had such a modern bow in the 1970s. They really give those prototypes out early to you industry big-wigs.
Nice cat!
Zim with hounds would be my first choice, we've had many great cats taken there….one issue with a bow is everything has to fall in place for it to work…Now that Zambia has reopened there will be some huge cats taken there but be prepared to pay $44.000.00 for 14 day safari there and as high as $42 in Zim for a quality hunt…I have clients booked and quota is nearly gone for 2016 and the season has only been reopened for less that a month.
Brent, do they still allow hounds hunt for Leopard in Zimbabwe? So far Zimb and Tanzania looks like the best 2 option to go However as safari mentioned why we shouldn´t consider RSA?
Yes they are still hunting with hounds in Zim the last time I checked. Havent done this hunt personally but have 2 close friends who killed their cat that way. Both said it was the craziest most intense moments of their life.
Both have hunted all over the world...this was #1 hunt for both of them.
The first cat was taken in Zambia recently. It was a good cat too...as expected. But price is high also.
I would highly consider Moz. The value is the best in my opinion.
Toby,
To be honest you should decide before-hand if you're doing Archery of Rifle, Archery is limited, so if you try "Both" you're missing some great Rifle hunts that have super success rates. Like the hound hunts in Zim. Archery is much harder and a lot of PH's sell hunts on success rates, so they won't even consider it.
With archery on a leopard hound hunt , it is a totally different …IF the cat trees and you can get on it for a shot where it does not jump when it sees you or you don't make a good hit and the cat comes out things become an issue…..if the cat bays up it the tall grass or thick shit and you have to try for a shot chances are your going to end up with a charge and not going to get your cat with a bow or the PH ends up shooting it at 3 feet with the shotgun if it was wounded, I've had both. Had a huge cat taken with a bow at 32 yds 1 arrow cat was done had situations where no possible way for a bow shot….the hound hunts are far more successful than the bait hunts in SOME areas not all…. With the hounds you can usually get the big cat your after…I've sat with guys in a blind for days waiting for a big male that had fed and then never returned for reasons that make you pull your hair out…..you get the morning hunt for leopard with hounds and the evening and down time from that hunt is spent hanging baits , looking for tracks and hunting other game that you may want….some outfits now do not want hound hunts as the success rate is high and they have a limited quota where as with the bait hunt your not paying the TF unless you take the cat so they can sell it as another leopard hunt…lots to consider….I am headed back in 3 weeks for lion and we will do a leopard hunt if we have time and there is available quota...
Brent,
I like the weight distribution of that pack out in the 1st pic.
Who is in charge of division of responsibilities on those hunts??
Just got back from South Africa 3 days ago. Took this really large male cat on the 4th day of the hunt. There are some big cats in RSA. But, as previously stated, the permits are extremely hard to get. I think my PH said there were slightly over 30 permits for the entire Limpopo province, and over 1000 put in for them. He didn't find out until the end of the year he had a permit, so I didn't book the hunt until February at SCI. But, under the rules of the permit, neither bowhunting nor hound hunting was allowed.
Congrats Quick Draw.... Great cat.
PICS OF FIRST CATS ON BAIT FOR 2015
This was a few years back and we still use some of the hounds we had in this photo…168 lb male….
Very nice pictures The leopard is one of the most beautiful animals without a doubt..
Jaguar with their rosettes have more detail ,both are amazing….this is a dart hunt and I have a friend who wants to do it with a bow ,so we need to come up with a very light draw weight that will still get the job done and be accurate with the dart attached
Request to the outfitters / booking agents posting here -- please post your actual success rates for these hunts for archery clients. Over the past 5 years, total Leopard bowhunters taken and how actually harvested their cat via archery gear (no firearm used in the harvest). Please also include those who started with a bow and switched to a rifle.
Thanks,
Absolutely stunning animals!
man, an archery dart hunt on a big cat. that's gotta take some stones right there!
Leopards have always intrigued me and are the number one animal on my African list if I could ever afford it. Out of curiosity, is the leopard population stable in most of the countries mentioned, including RSA, and it is just the permits being so hard to get for whatever reason, or is it that the population cant support the hunting? I don't really know anything about them so would love to learn a little here.
njbuck-
I have lots of experience in Africa, but only limited experience with leopards in RSA. So I'll answer your question about leopard numbers based solely on the information I learned from my PH's. According to their experience, there's a very huntable population of cats. We had multiple large males on different baits, as evidenced by trail cams. But the local outfitters are very discouraged with the way the permit system is being administered. From what they say, there are two "political influences" affecting the system. First and foremost is what they call the "greenies". That's fairly obvious, and is basically the "anti" influence. In their minds, there will never be enough cats to justify hunting them. The second influence is basically an "affirmative action" issue, to insure certain outfitters can also have some permits. I don't have any scientific basis to back this up, and haven't done my own research. This is simply what i hear "on the ground" from those whose ability to offer leopard hunts has been drastically reduced.
Those are amazing pictures....all of them!
I definitive will try with rifle. Archery hunts seems much more complicate and talking with seve4ral outfitters ; they don´t recommend it.
This is Walt's big male ….it treed in a knob thorn and Walt was able to put an arrow through a grapefruit size hole and take the cat at 32 yds….the cat hit the ground dead……the adrenaline of hunting leopard with hounds is an experience like nothing I have ever done other than the jaguar, but the jaguar does not fight the hounds quite as aggressive as a leopard will.
Walt is one of the most amazing bow shots I have seen, Walt , Warren Strickland and Chase Fulcher shoot at distances farther and place arrows in smaller groups than 90 % of my rifle clients…I'm serious…!!!!!!!
Reduce my options only to Zimbabwe or Namibia. Besides Thierry Labbat, I am also looking with a guide name Wayne van Der Bergh, both in Zim.
Holy cats Brent! Congrats to you and Walt! A giant for sure!
Mark
Going through some older photos and found this one….this was 1 of the 2 big males we took in 2 days in Zim a few years back…..
Quick Draw, that is a fine looking hat in your leopard pic. PM sent.
