Archery African lion
International
Just thinking. Anyone aware of an outfit that baits African lions to bow hunters that would be in a tree stand or tower blind of some kind. Suppose one could be in a ground blind, but that would be very dicey.
I love bowhunting but poking a lion with a sharp stick does not sound kike a good idea to me.
Lions climb trees, you’re not exactly safe from them up there.
I’m sure if you called a few of the African sponsors on here they could point you in the right direction
I'm not sure if you are going to be able to hunt a "wild" lion with archery equipment and I thought South Africa outlawed ranch lions. Wildwilderness is spot on telling you to contact BS African sponsors.
Al the videos I could pull up on the internet were ranch Lions not wild
Contact Bowhunting Safari Consultants. They could likely steer you in the right direction.
I’m with ahawkeye, not sure how keen id be poking a lion with a sharp stick. Kinda like hunting a elephant with a spear haha
Killing all the big 5 is not hard but it depends on if the local gov. Will let you do it.
I think that's the issue
I have a good friend that killed a buffalo leopard. Elephant with black powder. He found no interest in killing a rhino or lion at the time. I have no idea why. Does not matter
Scoot. That’s awesome. I had several dinners with Capstick. Interesting man for sure
Certainly contributed to putting Africa hunting back on the map for the average hunter
Wasn’t Cecil shot with a crossbow?
Fred Bear, Art Young , and quite a few back in the day hunted African Lions with a bow and pointy stick. I know a different time. But its doable.
If memory serves, when Pope and Young bowhunted lions in Africa every lion that they arrowed immediately charged them (something to consider).
Compound bow was pictured in the hero shot.
You only live once, may as well have a great story to tell Saint Peter
Pat did it. It's on a past Semi-Live hunt somewhere here.
Bou bound is correct
Though a picture may be missing day three
http://bowsite.com/bowsite/features/livehunts/lionbuff2006/INDEX.CFM?DAY=3
I think you could do it in multiple African countries if you can find an outfitter
Given half a chance... Hell yeah!
Would love to skewer one with an arrow off my longbow!!!
RK - Diners with Capstick, WOW, way cool, would have been great, lucky you....
I’m pretty confident their are no wild lions in South Africa. They are all Canned hunts.
There used to be some wild lion hunts in the Kruger area of RSA, outside the park. Hunting Kruger lions, more or less. I don't know if that has changed since the Cecil debacle.
At this time I believe (emphasis on "believe"), that you could hunt a wild lion with a bow in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique. I don't believe any of those lions would be importable at this time, but I'm not sure about that. And you are going to pay one decent chunk of change for those hunts. Some more than others
African lion trophies are not importable into the US. Trump admin allowed one from Tanzania and that was the last since 2016. Same thing with elephant ivory. Supposedly on a case by case basis but USFWS are not reviewing any cases.
SA lion hunting is for captive bred animals not wild lions. Hunting them on APNRs, private nature reserves adjacent to KNP, depends on availability of quota but there’s a moratorium on these as well. Plus these Kruger lion are quite acclimated to humans. You can surmise the rest.
Lion are available on quota in Zim, Moz, Tanz, etc. but again, you won’t be importing any part of the lion and the hunt price is quite high.
Just for your interest, truth, and reality the story of Pope and Young's lion hunt is not one that is likely to occur today: either because a modern hunter would not likely want to go down same path, and Outfitters/Gov'ts are not likely to put up with it. Rather than telling the story, I would suggest that you (all who have not to date) read Saxton Pope's book The Adventurous Bowman, AND if possible the book by Stewart Edward White (their nonbowhunting but rifle shooting companion and backup) Lions in the Path. They are fun, interesting, but also eyeopening
SG
and the fact that they killed a lion from a moving vehicle, chasing it and launching volleys of arrows at it until it was struck and eventually killed. Nope, probably won’t see any real lion hunts done like that these days.
Not being iconoclastic, just drawing attention to how the perception of ethics has changed over time. Can’t imagine any here would condone using a vehicle to chase and tire an animal before launching streams of arrows at it.
Cool about the dinner with Capstick but he was more of a story teller than a hunter. Many of "his hunts" were those of others and picked-up around the campfire over drinks and exaggerated for literary purposes. He definitely hunted Africa but many of his tales are unfortunately tales...
I see similarities to the first modern Hunters killing a lion with the bow similar to Pope &Young. And the early 19th century mountain climbers. The early pioneers we’re just trying to prove it could be done. Once someone proves it can be done. It’s much easier to improve on the tactics.
Summiting the worlds tallest peaks were said impossible and you would die above a certain altitude without oxygen. Most of the first attempts were done by National teams and they failed for decades.
Now it’s considered unsporting to lay siege to a mountain with hundreds of porters doing all the work. What used to take months now climbers complete using more difficult routes without oxygen, in hours instead of weeks. Just decades before the 1970s it took months and was considered impossible. Then Reinhold Messner upended the whole notion of what was possible. and what was considered sporting. So a long winded comparison of what used to be considered sporting changes over the decades
I heard one roaring when I was sitting in a blind waiting for bush hogs at night near Limpopo. Turns out It was a captive in a rehab facility. I imported the memory though. It was really cool sounding, like the African wilderness must have been.
I am glad to see that KM went along with my comments and amplified a bit. I do suggest that if possible that you read the books it entirety as there are many fascinating points including how and how long it took them to get there....and we complain about a 15 hr overnight flight :). As far as hearing a lion in the night: I am sure it was wonderful and I did have the opportunity to see a caged (large compound magnificent "pet" lion) animal in Namibia. It was simply overwhelming to stand and watch the animal from close up and recognize that one would have NO real chance of surviving if attacked without great luck and/or great reflexes and weapons. Not to be obnoxious, but in that regard check out the book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo which was also made into a movie called The Ghost and the Darkness. The real story of a real time.
Food for thought - Did youenz know the Maneaters of Tsavo lions didn't have manes like most African lions, they looked more like lioness... Being odd or different wonder if there was something else in their makeup for them becoming maneaters?
Also curious, are youenz saying Pope and Young hunted their lions my chasing them down with vehicles and flinging arrows at them?
Many male lions don’t have big manes. Genetics and age being the primary factors.
Pope & Young killed several lions in Africa, one of which they chased with a vehicle, flinging arrows at it as they did. The photo of the kill looks like a pin cushion. They also killed one from a baited blind, hunting in tandem, happy that one of their arrows actually killed the cat.
They were a product of the times.
I know for sure you can currently bowhunt Lions in Zambia, Tanzania, Cameroon. Zambia and Tanzania Lions are currently importable to the U.S..
Ken - I remember the pin cushion lion photo, thanks for clearing it up in my mind...8^) and do remember reading them killing grizzlies off dumps in Yellowstone, and as you say products of the time...
Although I luv bowhunting, and its history really never read much of P&Y writings, even the "Witchery of Archery" which I couldn't get through, and the Thompsons, Chief Compton, etc.. My era was Papa Bear, Glenn St Charles, and Ben Pearson and a few other old time gunners like Jack O'Conner, and Elmer Keith, and yes Capstick.,..8^)
(I apologize ahead of time, cause I know I'm gonna get killed for this) - Although I luvs the longbow, was never really a Howard Hill fan...8^)
Thanks for the nostalgia...
Yes, it’s funny how perceptions and ethics seem to change over time. Howard Hill’s 100 yard plus shot on a bear and Fred Bear’s half draw shot on a sheep...these guys were hailed as heroes for these exploits...now, the very same things would get you shunned. What’s changed and why?
KM asks an interesting question which does ultimately come back to ethics and social mores (as noted). I also think that we need to recognize that the current challenges and experiences are not anywhere near what they were in 1926. There is a world of difference between those REAL adventurers and us. When it took 6 weeks on a series of ships to just get to Africa. When the vehicles that they drove in were 1920's cars, when the firearms of that era were anything but reliable, when flashlights were primitive, infectious diseases (malaria, yellow fever, TB, etc.) in Africa were rampant, when Americans were post WW1 and many had nothing, the first talking movie wasn't to appear until 1927 and very few white people had ever gone and done such things which to this day remain "adventurous and potentially life endangering: I think that society allowed and even reveled in those adventures. In addition, America was moving from the "farm to the city" so that hunting was still engrained as a normal activity of life and not an abstraction as it is now for most people. This actually continues to be so up into the 60s where Curt Gowdy and Fred Bear could still go on hunting adventures which were seen and appreciated by the "average guy" on network TV. What happened after that is something we all know about and can skip.
Lion with a bow on the ground has always been my dream hunt, but it would have to be 100% wild... And the price just can't be justified. (For me anyway)
Buffalo are legal and ethically hunted with Ken, naturally propagating Buffalo. Not planted animals.
not a wild lion but still a rush on the ground stalking into bow range of a Buffalo. It’s quite a rush too.
Would imagine back in the day, using a vehicle to chase a lion was not viewed nearly with the same light as trying to kill a lion with a sharp stick. One was "meh...." the other was "must be stark ravin' mad...."
Although I've heard tales of the natives killing them with spears? There's some sport.....
Ricardo is correct. There are still a number of countries that allow Bowhunting of wild lions (albeit quite expensive). Check with outfitters from Zambia, Tanzania, Cameroon and Mozambique. Importable from Zambia and Tanzania.
Pre-Cecil, Zim was also a Bowhunting option, but no longer.
Most of the Bowhunting is done over bait from a well-constructed grass ground blind. It isn’t easy and everything has to go just about perfect to get an opportunity. Hunting wild African Big Game on the ground with an arrow has a near mystical quality, and there is no sound on earth that grabs attention better than the calling or panting of approaching lions.
As for the shot, big cats are thin skinned and not particularly hard to kill with a well-placed arrow. But a bad first shot will guarantee and extremely dangerous follow-up. The biggest mistake most make is their vitals are slightly further back in the body than African Antelope (especially the heart).
Re-read this thread and could not believe seeing someone saying “killing all the big 5 is not hard.” Well, the list of folks who have done it with archery gear is a pretty small club. Expand that to the Dangerous 7 and the list gets even smaller, especially when taking them in the wild. Yes, some LiIons and Buffalo are taken from captive-bred stock in semi-controlled environments, but I’ll tip my hat to any bowhunter pursuing those critters in their completely wild and native habitat. Pursing wild Lions with a bow is not an overly high % success hunt and ends up being far too expensive for most. Another factor is all of the specialized setups involved for dangerous game. Some of my other experiences with other critters on the Dangerous 7 list:
Leopard - bowhunting a Leopard is like trying to shoot a ghost. Everything has to go absolutely perfect. Hound hunting was higher success, but the cat doesn’t care much for it and from time to time somebody ends up chewed on.
Elephant - they are just plain intimidating. Both hunted and unfortunately interacted with them on a number of other hunts. Most consistently aggressive I saw were in Zambia.
Hippo - on Africa’s great rivers this is a huge challenge for a bowhunter (unless hunting a private pond). Completely different hunt for a bow vs rifle hunter - very tough and dangerous.
Croc - been around them quite a bit but never took one. Setting up a proper bowhunting rig is at least half the challenge.
