An Archery Leopard Story
Contributors to this thread:International
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
With all of the great stories being shared here lately, I figured it is a great time for it to be my turn to share one. I just returned from Zambia after chasing leopards and several other critters. This hunt came with every bit of adventure, action and excitement that I could have ever imagined.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
For my entire life, I have been focused on hunting North American animals. I had never given Africa much thought. There were always a few animals that peaked my interest somewhat, but not enough to make me take the trip over the pond to chase them. One that always seemed like a hunt that was worth that trip, was the leopard. In my opinion they are the prettiest animal in Africa. The lure of trying to set up and get one of the smartest animals on the planet in bow range was just a thought that I could not push off any longer.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
In the spring of 2023, I had a few buddies that were booking leopard hunts for themselves with Steven Rufus of Shamwari Hunting Safaris in Zambia for 2024. These hunts are typically done between May and August when the temps are cool and the cats are hungry. With all of the talk and excitement for their hunts I decided to pull the trigger and book my own hunt with Steven for the spring of 2025. My prep work would start immediately.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The first order of business was to figure out what my arrow setup would be. For North American animals, I have killed nearly everything with my normal setup which is a 70 pound Hoyt RX-7 with Black Eagle X-Impact arrows and a 125 grain Viper Trick out front.
Everyone that knows me, knows how much I despise mechanical heads. The amount of failures and horror stories that I have witnessed and heard over the years has always given me no use for them. Leopards are different than North American Animals though. Cats are really soft so penetration is not typically a problem. They have a small kill zone that sits further back than most animals, so a wide cutting head is a must. I decided that I would definitely have to use a mechanical head for this hunt. That decision may ultimately be the reason that my PH, trackers and myself came out of the events that transpired without injury.
From: Ambush
15-Dec-24
I agree that the leopard is stunningly beautiful! I was lucky enough to see one in the wild, up close. Looking forward to the story!
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
Test subject #1
Test subject #1
I talked to a lot of friends and got a lot of suggestions as to what mechanical heads would preform the best. I researched and bought 10 different types of mechanical broadheads to test them first hand before I would choose which one to take to Africa.
One of my big passions is whitetail hunting and all that comes with it on my farm in WI. One thing that comes with a lot of habitat work and food plots is the possibility of an overpopulation of deer. We assess the population and buck/doe ratios every year and come up with a management plan. That plan typically has us taking anywhere from 12-20 does off of the farm each year. This would be the perfect opportunity to test these heads out and build confidence in a product that I had zero confidence in.
From: t-roy
15-Dec-24
Looking forward to this! Bring it on, Dan!
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The shot at the leopard would likely be around 20 yards, so I tried to keep all of my “test” shots around that distance. I found that some of the heads reaffirmed my original opinion of them, and some pleasantly surprised me.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
After I was able to shoot an animal with each of the heads I took the best three, and gave them another try. Ultimately, I settled on the Levi Morgan Swhacker head. It has a 2.5” cut, a decent entry hole, major internal damage, and a great blood trail.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
This blood trail was one of the decision making moments on this head. Man do I wish that the leopard blood trail would have been anywhere near this….
From: Scoot
15-Dec-24
Looking forward to this. This would be such a cool hunt to do...
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
This photo shows how the heart and lungs sit much further back than most animals that we hunt.
This photo shows how the heart and lungs sit much further back than most animals that we hunt.
My gear was basically all decided on, and I still had over a year before it was time to go. I was very fortunate that three friends would be heading over to live this experience that was now becoming something that I was dreaming about most nights. Their preparation, stories and then hunt updates held me over until late this last summer. All that I could do while I waited for my turn was overthink everything, and study shot placement so that I was ready for the moment of truth.
From: JTreeman
15-Dec-24
Hell yeah!
—jim
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
In early September, I was on a hunt with my buddy Matt when I got a call from Steven. He had been awarded an extra tag for the year and was wondering if I would like to come early. He offered it to me for a price that was ridiculously lower than I would be paying in 2025. One call to a buddy to confirm that the timing wouldn’t be an issue as it would be taking place during the rainy season, and then another call to my wife confirmed that I would be headed to Zambia in November!
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
Even though I felt like I was prepared, the hunt suddenly seemed almost too soon. I would have to go into overdrive with my practice and final prep. One of my buddies that had been successful on this hunt earlier in the year, THE Kyle Hudgins, sent me a bunch of the gear that he used which really helped confidence in what I would be using once I was thousands of miles from home. I set up a ground blind in my shed and hung a target in the rafters to practice. I didn’t want to screw this shot up.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
November 16th arrived and I was off. The flights from Chicago to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Johannesburg went off without a hitch. After an overnight in Joberg, a two hour flight got me into Lusaka just after lunchtime. Steve was waiting for me at the airport. We loaded up in his truck and immediately set out on the 10 hour drive to camp. I had been dreading that drive but as soon as Steve started telling me stories and showing me pictures I forgot all about the long travel. As it would turn out, the government happened to do a cat study on the concession from October into early November. This would be huge for our hunt because that study would be used to locate the home ranges of some of the male cats that they wanted to ultimately hunt.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
After a long and eye-opening drive through the true wilds of Africa, we finally made it to camp. Three baits were hung to get started and anticipation was through the roof. After just one day with baits in the tree, the dream scenario started to unfold. One bait had a female on it, and the other had this old male. Game on!
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The first order of business was to get the bait setup on the perfect branch, in the perfect position for a shot. It takes a big crew to do all of this work. This picture shows James about 15’ up on that perfect branch. The weather is really hot in Africa in November, around 90° each day while I was there. They made a grass skirt to cover up the bait so that the sun would not rot the meat quite so fast.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The next order of business was to get the blind setup. They use the same pop-up blinds that we use over here. We brushed the blind in until there were just two small holes, one for Steve look through, and one for me to shoot through. It is extremely still and quiet out in the African bush, and these cats are super smart. Stories are told of the cats coming to the bait and sitting 40 yards away for 4-5 hours just watching and listening for danger. We put carpet down on the floor of the blind so we would be as quiet as possible, and it was ready for us to sit that evening.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The view from the inside.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
We went back to camp for some food and gear sorting. The excitement level was super high for everyone in camp. Very high hopes were shared by all. James was ready!
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
At about 3:00, Steve, Andreas, who is the assistant PH, and myself were dropped off at the blind. James and the rest of the crew would park a couple of miles away and wait for our call. I’ve been able to spend a lot of hours hunting out of a blind in my life, so this was nothing new to me. What was new was this feeling in my chest. I could hear my heartbeat and had as much anxiety as I’ve ever had before. I’m not sure if it was excitement, or if I was actually just plain scared shitless of the thought of an ultimate predator coming into mere feet away with no warning whatsoever. Whatever it was, this was about to be awesome!!!
From: t-roy
15-Dec-24
That Hudgins guy is a lousy tipper!! “All I got was this lousy tee shirt” ;-)
From: Bake
15-Dec-24
Awesome! Watching for sure
From: Pocoloco
15-Dec-24
I will have a Leopard hunt in about 6 months with hounds in Namibia. This is going to be good...
From: Bowfinatic
15-Dec-24
Dream hunt of mine. Following with eager anticipation
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The inside of the blind was scorching hot and pretty miserable. All that we could do was sit, sweat, and listen to the sounds of Africa. It is oddly quiet, but loud at the same time. Everything is still but there are many birds and other random animal calls to keep us on edge. Suddenly a call that I had not heard before broke the “silence”. Steve’s eyes got big and he whispered two words, “that’s him.” If I thought my heartbeat was loud before, I was wrong. I was afraid that James and the crew could hear it beating a couple of miles away at the truck.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
It was agreed that the cat sounded to be about a kilometer away. Steve had told me in one of our earlier conversations that it is very common for the dominant male to be very vocal on his way in. He wants to scare off any other leopards or hyenas or anything else that may have beat him to the bait. He just wants to eat, not fight. Though his call was definitely intimidating me, he had no idea that I was there, and not there for a fair fight. About 30 minutes later he called again. He had cut the distance in half.
From: Mike B
15-Dec-24
Not an animal I would hunt, but I'd sure love to be sitting in that blind with my Nikon!
From: Bowboy
15-Dec-24
Keep it coming!
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
The bait was just 18 yards away. Since you are shooting up into the tree, the blind is propped up for that angle. Because of this, I could not see the bottom of the tree. Knowing that the cat was within several hundred yards puts you on edge like you’ve never been before. I was just sitting there with my head down and listening. I was hoping for another call to ring out, or even better- the sound of claws in tree bark and the cat climbing the tree.
From: Stoneman
15-Dec-24
Beautiful animals for sure. Great start, no rush we need a good story.
From: Dan Evenson
15-Dec-24
Stay tuned, I’ll be back after work tomorrow. Many twists and turns, other species, and decisions that should have gotten me killed yet to come.
From: Marty
15-Dec-24
On the edge of my seat, you're doing great! Thanks for sharing.
From: Scoot
15-Dec-24
Dan-- this is awesome! Thanks for sharing this.
From: Nick Muche
15-Dec-24
“After work”!? You work!? Haha
Great recap so far Danny!
From: LWood
15-Dec-24
Looking forward to tomorrow! Thanks, Dan!
Lenny
From: Ron Niziolek
16-Dec-24
Good stuff Danny, looking forward to the rest!
From: tkjwonta
16-Dec-24
Tuned in for sure, can't wait for the rest!
From: BillyD
16-Dec-24
A Bowsite classic in the making -Fantastic stuff, Danny!
From: BULELK1
16-Dec-24
Unreal to harvest a Leopard with stick-n-string.
Following this thread,
Robb
From: Bliz6
16-Dec-24
Good stuff buddy!
From: RonP
16-Dec-24
look forward to following. thanks for sharing. if you wouldn't mind, post some photos of the trip to camp after you landed. i'm assuming you have some photos of the villages, people, and countryside. tia.
From: bigswivle
16-Dec-24
It is unacceptable to start a story and not finish it.
From: Supernaut
16-Dec-24
This is excellent. Waiting for the next installment!
From: No Mercy
16-Dec-24
Awesome! Great start Dan!
From: Beav
16-Dec-24
Incredible!! Can't wait for the rest of this one!
From: bghunter
16-Dec-24
Great story cannot wait to see the conclusion to it.
From: bohuntr
16-Dec-24
What an incredible experience. You have done a great job of setting the scene. Can't wait for the rest of this to unfold!
From: bigeasygator
16-Dec-24
Things are about to get good! Keep it coming, Danny!
From: tthomas
16-Dec-24
You can probably hear my heart pounding just reading the first 50 posts. Agreed on the Swackers. They do work well. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
From: iceman
16-Dec-24
Tuned in
From: DEMO-Bowhunter
16-Dec-24
It's almost Noon in Wisconsin, you should pretty well done with work now!!!
From: iceman
16-Dec-24
lol Scott. Probably napping now
From: Rgiesey
16-Dec-24
I’m looking forward to the rest of the story! Thanks!
From: bghunter
16-Dec-24
But it was a late packers game last night lol.
Glad to see a fellow cheesehead with a great post and story.
From: JB
16-Dec-24
Waiting impatiently... Great start! Thanks for taking us along!!
From: Scoot
16-Dec-24
Oh shoot- I didn't realize Dan was a cheesehead. Oh well, he seems decent anyway. ...after all, none of us are perfect! :) Haha- cmon Dan, let's hear about it! Sounds to me like we have a modern day Capstick-like adventure acomin!
From: deerhunter72
16-Dec-24
Major hook set deep!
From: APauls
16-Dec-24
I hate you.
From: Pyrannah
16-Dec-24
Uggggghhhh….
Let’s go man! Can’t wait for the recap
Oh and thank you for doing this…. Very cool!
From: Jason Stafford
16-Dec-24
He probably picked up another last-minute cancellation hunt and left us all hanging.
From: No Mercy
16-Dec-24
HAHAHAHA-I was thinking that too Jason!
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
As the minutes ticked by, the knot in my stomach grew. I knew that at any moment the cat would be there. All that I could hear was the sound of birds and an approaching thunderstorm. In my mind I knew that the cat would have to win the race to the bait between him and the rain, and he didn’t even know that he was racing. After about a half hour, the time that it took for him to cut the original distance in half, the race participant that I did not want to win showed up. A sudden downpour hit. We sat for about an hour and it showed no sign of letting up. There was a river running through our tent and we were soaked. As much as I wanted to sit out the storm, it was decided to call it a night. I was not happy to leave that blind knowing the cat was somewhere nearby and hungry.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
We got back to camp and got a much needed good night’s sleep. It ended up raining all night long and it would take a few hours of sunlight for the roads to dry out to the point that they would be passable. Camp was a beautiful setting along the Luangwa River. We hung out for the morning and told stories. As soon as we could get out to check baits we were on our way.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The same pregnant female was on the bait closest to camp. There had been a big male in this location earlier in the year so we wanted to keep this spot going as a backup plan in case he showed up. Bait number two had yet to be hit. We made it to the bait where our Tom was at and as we got there we saw the exact sight that we hoped to see. He had not been there. He must have laid low all night in the rain. This gave us very high hopes for that evening as we figured he would be really hungry now.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
After stopping back at camp for some food and gear, we headed to the blind. It had been sunny all day without a cloud in the sky. After a couple of hours in the hot box, the clouds started to build and distant thunder grew louder. A short while later the rains hit again and day two was over just that quick. Even though we had almost two more weeks to hunt, it was very disheartening to know that we were losing days to kill an active Tom. It would only be a matter of time before he would wander off and not be seen again.
From: Buckeye
16-Dec-24
How in the world do you tell a male from a female, well ,besides the obvious way to tell?
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
That night we sat back at camp and made a plan. The rains don’t usually hit until mid December, but they were obviously early. The unreliable forecast called for four days of clear, and then about a week of rain. It was decided that we wouldn’t put all of our eggs in that one basket. We had to make it happen during this weather window. Tomorrow we would go and get bait and try to have 10-12 baits hanging to up our odds.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
Hippo is the bait of choice in that camp. Steve asked me if I wanted to shoot one, and the answer of course was “hell yes!” I knew that time was our enemy with the bad weather and it was going to take a lot of time to get a hippo with my bow. I opted to have the PH shoot a big bull hippo with his rifle to save time. Leopard was the priority, and I was not to be distracted from that dream. We found the pod and made short work of getting a bullet in one. After about an hour it floated to the surface and four of the trackers swam out to hook a rope onto it.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The amount of ivory in their head is impressive.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The skin is so thick that their primitive knives cannot cut it. All of the work to make the hippo into bait sized chunks was done with a homemade axe.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The hippo was cut up into 16 baits that weighed between 70 and 100 pounds.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
They also collected all of the blood that they could catch as well as all of the intestines. They kept them in large drums in the back of the truck. At each bait, they would cut a large chunk of guts, tie a string to it, and then soak it with blood. A tracker and a guard would then go and run a drag line for about a quarter to half mile circle around the bait.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
After the bait was in the truck, we went to check and freshen the three baits that we already had going. The female was the only visitor. Our male had been gone for a couple of days now. Over the next 6 hours we hung 6 new baits to go with the originals. Just at dark, we were driving through an area and Steve suddenly stopped the truck. He looked at me and said “I have no idea why, but we need to get a bait in this area”. We walked around and found a good tree and hung one more for the night.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
We went back to camp and got another good nights sleep. At daylight we were off to hang a couple more baits and then start checking the ones from the day before. Out of the first nine baits we checked, we only had two females on camera. The last bait to check was the one that we hung in the dark the night before. As we pulled up to the tree smiles grew on everyone’s faces. We knew we had a hit.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
We grabbed the camera and it was not just a cat, but the extra large variety of Tom’s. Game on!
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The cat had shown up just 1.5 hours after we had hung the bait. He stayed there all night long and even stayed for a while after daylight in the morning. We knew that he was comfortable here and there would be a great chance that he would show up in the daylight that evening. It was time to set the blind.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
Here is the view from inside of the blind. 24 yards to the limb that he would sit on to eat. As we drove back to camp to reload for the evening hunt, I told Steve that we would call that bait “The Last Supper.” I had a good feeling!
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
At about 3:00 we headed for the blind. Steve, Andreas and myself were all excited to get in to this new spot. It was again brutally hot out, and the Tsetse flys were brutal. Days later we all looked like we had chickenpox from all of the fly bites. This was to be a miserable sit. Scratch that, it was a miserable sit. A couple of hours later it suddenly wasn’t so miserable when Steve whispered “the cat is at the tree.”
From: Whocares
16-Dec-24
nooooo....
From: caribou77
16-Dec-24
This is good stuff
From: bigswivle
16-Dec-24
Don’t you do this again.
From: Pyrannah
16-Dec-24
My god I never thought I would like a hint like this but man you have me hooked…
Great write up….
Hitting refresh continuously lol
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
I suddenly found it extremely hard to breathe. Even though I was prepared for it and totally expecting the cat to show up at any moment, hearing those words hit me like a ton of bricks. Everything was so still. How could he be at just 20 yards away with no warning? I think that in the next 10 seconds about 500 thoughts ran through my head. Then Steve said, the cat just walked away.
From: Empty Freezer
16-Dec-24
This is crazy awesome.. Thanks for the ride along
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
About a minute later Steve said “here he comes”. The cat got to the bottom of the tree and without hesitation he climbed to the bait. Once he was on the limb he smelled and stared at the bait that had been repositioned from the way he left it that morning. He probably only stared at it for 20 seconds but it was an eternity from my point of view. In that situation it is so easy for the pessimist in you to come out. Does he know something is different? Does he know we’re here? Is he going to bolt? Expecting the worst, all that I could do was hold my breath and watch. In reality, it didn’t take long for him to decide that life was good, and lay down on the branch for a snack.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
He peeled the grass skirt to the side of the hippo shoulder that he thought was the best gift that he had ever been gifted. He became extremely relaxed as he peeled chunks of meat off and ate like a king. It was truly amazing how effortlessly he would pull 2-3 pound pieces of meat and skin off of an animal that knives would not even cut through. The sheer power was insane. I would hate to see how much damage he could do to an animal with any real aggression or real effort. A human wouldn’t stand a chance.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The scenario that I had dreamed of and played out in my head countless times was just 24 yards away. The only problem was that when he laid down to eat, he put his hind end on a branch that was behind the bait from us so he was quartering towards us. My release was on the string, and I was more than ready to draw. I tried to put total focus on controlling my breathing and getting my heart rate down. I told myself that it was a good thing that he was there and I didn’t have a shot yet. That extra time was going to let me calm down and be ready to execute one of the most critical shots that I have ever taken. All of the practice and preparation was mere seconds from springing into action. That dream scenario just needed two things to happen- him to turn, and me to make the shot.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
After what seemed like forever, he stood and repositioned. He was now standing and broadside. It was time. One of my buddies that had been successful on his own leopard hunt just weeks before had given me some advice- before you draw, take two deep breaths. My bow hand was in position, tension was on the string, and I closed my eyes and took those two breaths. It was as silent and still outside as I have ever experienced. Things were in slow motion. I slowly drew my bow as quietly as humanly possible. That’s when horror struck.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
As I was drawing my bow the cat reached forward and pulled at that grass skirt that covered the bait towards him. It flipped over the bait and landed on top of him. He was now wearing it like a horse wears a saddle blanket. The braided grass was completely covering his side. With a fixed blade head I would have shot and blown right through the grass. No chance in a good result with a mechanical if I were to try to do that. I now had a huge decision to make. Do I try to let down, or try to stay at full draw until the grass moved or he repositioned again? It was so quiet out that I decided that I would stay drawn as long as I could, and only let down if I absolutely had to. If I were to let down and make any noise, especially the rattle of an arrow, he would surely be gone and out of my life forever.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
As he tore at the bait and ate, he was wiggling around just ever so slightly. With every motion that he made, the grass would fall down his side just a little bit more. If you have bow hunted very much at all, you have been in a situation where you were at full draw for a long long time. It sucks. This was by far the longest for me. My arms were starting to give out. I lowered my bow and hooked my cam on my knee and put pressure with my leg to help hold the bow back. Finally, the grass settled to where the kill zone was open. I lifted my bow, got my form back, and settled the pin. The green glow of the sight hovered on the rosette that covered his heart. The shot broke and before the arrow even hit him, I regretted staying at full draw for so long.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
I pulled the shot. Solid guts. I watched the arrow fly in slow motion and there was absolutely no doubt where it hit. The 2.5” head blew straight through him and the arrow landed on the other side of the tree. Even with that big hole in him, I would still bet that my stomach hurt worse than his did. I realistically only had one job on this whole hunt and I blew it. A wounded leopard is arguably the most dangerous animal on the planet. My lack of execution just put a whole bunch of people in danger. I was instantly devastated.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The cat tore out of the tree and passed the blind about 20 yards from us. He was snarling and growling like nothing that I had ever heard before. He went through the thickest crap that you can imagine and broke through the brush without issue. When he got about 50 yards behind us the brush breaking stopped, but the vocals of the cat kept going. He had stopped and was yelling at whatever had just bit him. After a few seconds, what sounded like the deepest death moan you’ve ever heard rang out. Steve looked at me and said “he’s dead.” There was no way in my mind that he could have died that quickly with that shot. I told him we needed to wait. He said again that it was dead because they only make that noise when they die. I wanted to believe his experience but mine said that it was still alive and tracking him right away could be suicide. Steve called for the truck because he was sure. We would soon find out that I was right.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
James and the crew soon arrived. We walked over to the tree and I grabbed my arrow. The smell confirmed what my eyes had seen. Our crew of 7 started to track. Three guns led the way into the brush that you could rarely see 15’ in. The blood trail was poor, about what you would expect out of a gut shot. We slowly trekked forward with heads on swivels. It was still dead quiet and the tension was thick. Everyone was on edge. The only break in the silence was the trackers whispers in Afrikaans, which is a language that I had no grasp on. Steve would translate for me every once in a while, but none of his updates were good news. It took about 20 minutes to make it the 50 yards to where we had last heard the cat.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
When we got to where the cat was thought to be, there was no sign of him. I looked at Steve and told him that we needed to stop. As we stood there, the silence was broken by the roar of a lion that was less than a mile in front of us. Steve decided that we would sit down and give it a couple of hours. It was a long two hours! We started back on the blood trail with more caution than ever. Now we knew for sure that the death moan that we heard was definitely not a death moan at all. The cat was, and could be, still alive. We made it only 10 yards and there was a bloody, catless bed.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
We kept on. After about 30 more yards we made our way onto a small rise. Just as I got to the top I caught movement in front of us. I yelled “CAT, 1 O’CLOCK!!! HE’S STILL ALIVE!!!” All of the guns swung towards that direction. The trackers hit the dirt. Everything went still. Nobody could see the cat except for me. All of the guys with guns were standing up and I was close to the ground looking through an opening that gave me and only me a view. The cat turned towards us and then crouched down facing us, ready to pounce. He was less than 20 yards away.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
Steve made his way over to me. He got eyes on the cat. The government game scout and the assistant PH kept guns towards the cat. Steve instructed everyone to get down. The cat was in super thick brush so there was nothing that we could do but sit and wait and see what would unfold. Time ticked by slowly. We could barely see the cat. He would lay his head over. Just as we thought that it had expired it would sit back up. This went on for a bit. Finally the cat started to move. He tried to go to our left but his back legs just dragged behind him. He looked paralyzed but I am confident that if he hit a last ditch adrenaline rush, he would have plenty in the tank to do major damage. The leopard only made it about 3 yards and laid down again.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
After it was all over, I took this picture to show where I shot through. Small opening with spots behind it.
After it was all over, I took this picture to show where I shot through. Small opening with spots behind it.
He moved into a spot that had about a baseball sized opening that showed his chest. There was a bush just in front of us that prevented me from putting another arrow in him. I told Steve that if I could crawl about 10 yards forward, I could get another arrow in him and finish this. He initially said no but I was persistent. He agreed and the three guns ran cover. I again took those two deep breaths and started crawling. Slowly I got closer and after about 5 minutes I made it to my spot. My spot, which was the only place where I could possibly get an arrow through the brush, was less than 10 yards from the cat.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
I had told Steve that I would shoot, and then hit the dirt so they could shoot over me in case he was coming. As the arrow hit the cat in the chest, he let out one big growl and bit at the wound and then fell silent. He was dead in seconds.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
When we first got the trail camera pictures of this cat, we knew he was big. None of us realized how big. I am 6’ 5”. The cat is 7’ 7” nose to tail. We didn’t have a scale but I would guess he was about 180 pounds.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
From: Dale06
16-Dec-24
Congrats on a great hunt and thanks for “telling like it happened.”
From: Bowboy
16-Dec-24
Congrats quite the story. Thanks for sharing.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
This was one happy crew. James, Warren, myself, Perry, Jackson and Andreas. They had radioed back to camp and the celebration was on when we got there. The success of this kind of hunt was so important and exciting to these people. It was truly amazing to see how happy they were. The dancing and singing was one of the funnest celebrations that I have ever been a part of.
From: Pyrannah
16-Dec-24
Congrats and thank you for taking the time to write it up
From: Scoot
16-Dec-24
Many congrats! You had me on the edge of my seat! Really well done- told/written in a way that painted a clear picture in my mind. Thank you very much for taking the time to share with us.
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
From: Beav
16-Dec-24
Such a great story!! Congrats on a great animal and thanks so much for taking us along.
From: Old School
16-Dec-24
Great recap - thanks for taking the time to post it here!
From: deerhunter72
16-Dec-24
Stunning retelling of a great adventure!! Congratulations on your success and thanks for taking us to Africa!
From: labxtreme1.
16-Dec-24
What a hunt! Many congratulations to you and all the effort taken on this hunt
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
The excitement was so intense that there was no chance of sleep that night. I am extremely thankful for this beautiful animal and for all of the people that were so willing to put their ass on the line to make a dream come true. I had so much great help and support before and during the hunt. I have the best friends in the world, and I wouldn’t know any of them if it wasn’t for hunting. This is the best community in the world.
From: Pocoloco
16-Dec-24
Congrats on a real nice adult Tom. I don't think I would have had the balls to crawl towards a wounded leopard. Hopefully I don't have to find out.
From: TMac
16-Dec-24
Great recap and what a beautiful cat congrats!
From: Cajunarcher
16-Dec-24
Unbelievable story telling! Great job telling such detailed story! Felt like I were in the blind. Congrats Dan!
From: Willieboat
16-Dec-24
Thanks for sharing and even more thanks for telling the real story.
Spectacular animal congrats!!
From: Dan Evenson
16-Dec-24
Thanks everyone. This hunt is not close to over. I will be back tomorrow for more. It was the end of the season there so there was still quota on a bunch of animals and I had more arrows. Stay tuned for stories of buffalo, elephants, crocs, swimming the river with crocs, a bunch of plains game, and a pile of pictures.
From: No Mercy
16-Dec-24
Congratulations Dan. Well done!
From: bghunter
16-Dec-24
Congratulations on a great animal. You did a great job writing up the story for us to follow along, cannot wait to hear the rest
From: wyobullshooter
16-Dec-24
Un-freakin’-believable! Terrific photos and story telling. Thanks for taking us along!
From: IdyllwildArcher
16-Dec-24
Ho lee shit man. That is nuts.
From: Paul@thefort
16-Dec-24
Dan, WOW double WOW x 10. More to come? Not sure my heart can stand that. My best, Paul
From: BOBSTER
16-Dec-24
Congratulations on the leopard and what a great recap of the hunt. Bob
From: t-roy
16-Dec-24
Excellent recap so far, Dan! Can’t wait for the rest of it!
From: Marty
16-Dec-24
Thanks! Can't wait for the rest!!
From: beemann
16-Dec-24
Just so cool , congrats to you.
From: petedrummond
16-Dec-24
very well written
From: Whocares
16-Dec-24
congrats and thanks for the story! Will wait for more!
From: Shug
17-Dec-24
Pretty fn cool
From: Ron Niziolek
17-Dec-24
Balls like cantaloupes. Crawling toward a wounded leopard….freaking awesome!
From: TXCO
17-Dec-24
Congrats! Epic story
From: Bou'bound
17-Dec-24
Simply the best.
From: BULELK1
17-Dec-24
Wow-just-Wow
Congrats man,
Robb
From: Nick Muche
17-Dec-24
That was awesome man! Hell yeah.
From: Altitude Sickness
17-Dec-24
Great reading and hunt. Congrats to you, the PH and his team.
From: Supernaut
17-Dec-24
Congratulations on a beautiful leopard!
Thanks so much for the great pictures and outstanding recaps. You had me on the edge of my seat. I can’t imagine being that close to a wounded leopard and being able to hold it together to make a tough killing shot. Nerves of steel!
I’ll be looking forward to the rest of the adventures of your hunt.
From: Bliz6
17-Dec-24
Great read!
From: Mad Trapper
17-Dec-24
Outstanding recap! Congrats again!
From: pav
17-Dec-24
Awesome cat! Congrats and thanks for sharing!! Looking forward to more!!!
From: Charlie Rehor
17-Dec-24
Enjoyed your story/experience. I think it’s neat that the PH learned a tracking lesson or two from an experienced bow hunter. Well done.
Nothing beats experience. Congrats and many more.
From: iceman
17-Dec-24
Good stuff man! Congrats
From: Lewis
17-Dec-24
Well you sure had me totally engaged great job and I really appreciate you telling it like it was Congrats on a fantastic hunt Lewis
From: Pat Lefemine
17-Dec-24
Dan, this is an instant Bowsite classic! Congrats on an outstanding leopard! Brought back memories! You are the man!!! Thank you my friend.
From: WV Mountaineer
17-Dec-24
Heck yeah!!!!! I love it!!
From: hdaman
17-Dec-24
Wow! I caught myself forgetting to breathe at the end! Now that's a great story!
From: Bernie Bjorklund
17-Dec-24
Absolutely the best story of 2024! I can't imagine going through that!
Congratulations on your wonderful recap of the hunt! I'm really looking forward to what's coming next!
Bernie
From: Loesshillsarcher
17-Dec-24
Congrats Dan!!
From: walleyes
17-Dec-24
Well done. Nerves of steel. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
From: njbuck
17-Dec-24
Dan congrats on one hell of a nice leopard! Thank you for sharing, I can't wait to follow along with the rest of your hunt!
A couple questions regarding leopard... Do you think that your leopard was the same one that was hitting the other bait? Are leopards similar in size to a mountain lion body and skull wise? Does your outfitter know the majority of the toms in his concession or are they constantly traveling so new males are available to hunt?
From: Chuckster
17-Dec-24
God damn dude!! What an adventure! My heart was pounding just reading this. You have a great ability to bring us right alongside of you, well done Sir.
From: Zbone
17-Dec-24
CONGRATS!
From: Ironbow
17-Dec-24
I like how nothing in this story is chest thumping. Just straight up story telling. Awesome write up! Congrats!
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
17-Dec-24
Bowsite Classic for sure! Thanks Dan!!!!
From: Potro
17-Dec-24
Congrats great story Thanks Dan for sharing
From: midwest
17-Dec-24
Thanks for making my morning coffee read one of the best ever. Incredible story and pics! Congrats and looking forward to the rest! Wow!
From: KSBOW
17-Dec-24
I so hope that we continue to see this again on Bowsite!!! MBGA!!
From: Buckeye
17-Dec-24
What a hunt, congratulations on a beautiful cat.
From: huntinelk
17-Dec-24
Great story and adventure. Congratulations
From: CTBobcat
17-Dec-24
awesome. congrats. only animal i would ever go to africa for.
From: Quick Draw 1
17-Dec-24
That's insane, buddy. What a great write up. Thanks for taking us along on the ride. I had to crawl up to a wounded leopard once, and shot it with a .375. All that did was piss it off. As he was coming to life...to come for us...we had to shoot simultaneously with a .375 and a .416. So I can only imagine what it was like crawling that close for an arrow. Crazy! Look forward to catching up in person in January!
From: Drop tine
17-Dec-24
Fantastic story telling, a bowsite classic. Congrats.
From: APauls
17-Dec-24
Man that's a heck of a story and memory!!!! Congrats!!!
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Quite the salting job!
Quite the salting job!
Thanks guys! It truly was the hunt of a lifetime. I’m not sure that it’s a great memory Adam, just attention to details. I believe that the difference between a successful rifle hunter and a successful bow hunter is the attention to detail. I believe that the difference between a successful bow hunter and very successful bow hunter is extreme attention to detail. If you pay close attention to everything that happens at all times, you learn from everything and just keep getting better at it. After it is done it is really easy to recall everything and tell the story back.
Buckeye- The only way that I could tell the difference between a male and female was the obvious. Their testicals are actually behind their hind quarters under their tail so they show up in pictures and videos quite well.
njbuck- Definitely a different Tom. Different size and different markings. The two spots were probably 20 miles apart too.
njbuck- Leopards are bigger than our mountain lions. People always talk about 200 pound cougars here, but that is bullshit 99% of the time. This leopard was really big and I would guess him in that 180-200 pound range. No scale in camp to know for sure.
njbuck- The toms have a territory that they claim but the younger ones are constantly roaming around and challenging the older ones. I’ve heard stories of multiple big toms on the same bait. Once you find a big one there is a pretty good bet that he will be in that area for a while.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
After taking care of the cat the next day we had to go and remove all of the other baits. The law requires that they all get taken down right away so that would be the focus for the morning. Of the other 11 baits, we ended up with just the same two females hitting them. It was a very fun morning with all of the pressure off of everyone. I was still on cloud 9 and I’m sure that you couldn’t have wiped a smile off of my face with a 2x4.
From: LWood
17-Dec-24
Awesome adventure, Danny! Congratulations on a giant leopard. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to hear about the rest of the safari.
Lenny
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
This is the tree that we killed the cat from. It was amazing how effortlessly he could climb. The depth of the claw marks in the bark explains why I guess. They are built well for climbing!
From: LWood
17-Dec-24
Awesome adventure, Danny! Congratulations on a giant leopard. Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to hear about the rest of the safari.
Lenny
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
As we were taking the baits down we came around the corner and there was a herd of about 30 bull buffalo bedded near the road. They took off pretty quickly so I didn’t get any good pictures of them. I knew that if we got lucky on a cat that I would have a chance to hunt some other critters. I brought my 80 pound bow with 875 grain arrows with for the chance a buffalo. We gave chase to the herd but after about a mile it was decided to head back and keep taking baits down.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
After the baits were done we decided to recycle some of the hippo meat and go setup for crocs. I planned to shoot one with my buffalo setup if given the chance. The crew buried a 10” log on end about 6’ deep. They then tied the meat to the log right at the water level. This is done in the shallow water so that the crocs have to come out of the water for a shot. We set a pop up blind 20 yards away and climbed in. The trackers chummed the water and retreated to the truck.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
It didn’t take long for them to start showing up.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Our view from the blind.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
We had a pile of crocs come in that afternoon, probably around 20 in all. We only had a few hours to hunt that afternoon and had several shooters, 13’ plus, come in. None of them would ever come out of the water for a shot though. We would try again tomorrow.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
The next morning we went driving to see if we could find any other animals to hunt. The croc hunting is the best during the mid day so we planned to get in the blind around 11. At one point that morning the bank gave out that we were driving on and the truck teetered on its side. This picture was after about an hour of shoveling and winching.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
We made it to the croc blind and re baited and chummed the water. Again, the crocs were there pretty quickly. Finally a big 13’ plus made his way into position. We discussed shot placement a lot. They wanted me to shoot them in the lungs. The theory is that they will climb up on the bank when lung shot since they can’t keep water out of their lungs. They say that heart shot crocs dive to the bottom of the river and die and get washed away. This all made sense to me. When the croc was settled down we picked a spot on him that covered his lungs and shot. The arrow hit its mark and the crocs all erupted back to the River.
From: Zbone
17-Dec-24
Curious, is that just pure salt or other added preservatives like borax they padded your leopard hide down, and how long did they leave it on?... Thanks...
Also, "a homemade axe"... That looks like what Native American's used as a war hawk back in the day... White boy in African, did ya sleep with one eye open...8^)))
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
The croc went under the water and reappeared about 100 yards away on the other side of the river. He was definitely hurting but not dead. He stayed in the shallow water but would not crawl onto the bank. It was decided the he needed another arrow. Steve asked if I could make that shot. I told him that with an 875 grain arrow I would have to aim at the North Star and hope for the best. We would need to cross the river. James, Warren and I walked towards the narrowest part of the river to do what was probably the dumbest thing that I had ever done. Just before we shot the croc we counted 28 crocs within that small area of the river and now I was going to get in that same water. We slowly started walking into the water. Every step I expected to trip over a croc or feel one sink its teeth into my leg. Slowly but surely we walked/swam to the other side. By the time that we got over there our croc had disappeared back into the deep water, never to be seen from again. When we decide to cross the river it took a lot for me to talk myself into it. One thing that did not occur to me was that I would also have to swim back. I can confidently say that will be the last time that I ever swim in croc infested water.
We looked up and down the river the entire next day and never could recover the croc. It had rained over an inch that night and the river rose by about a foot. It sucks to lose an animal. It really sucks when you actually make the shot and it still doesn’t work out.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Zbone- it was just plain table salt. It stayed like that for a couple of days. The axe was made from some specific tree root and a piece of a leaf spring. Their shovels are made the same.
From: Bowfinatic
17-Dec-24
Incredible story I was puckering on your leopard recovery. Gorgeous cat!
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
The forecast was calling for two more days of good weather before a week straight of rain. Since we had to drive the trucks across the river to get out, we thought it would be best to get out of there before the river rose. We would hunt for those two days and then leave early the third morning before the rain hit. We were mainly looking for buffalo and elephants. I brought 1225 grain arrows with if the opportunity for an elephant presented itself. We saw a lot of small males, females and several big trophy bulls. The problem was that the only tag that was left on the quota was for a tuskless bull. It was fun looking for them but we never could find one that met the requirements.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
We left on our 10 hour drive back to town before daylight so that we could hit the river crossing just after sunrise. We got across without problem but then got stuck trying to get up the bank on the other side.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
We flagged down some fisherman in the river and they were eager to help out. We buried a log in the ground to hook our winch to and the winch broke right away. We then jacked up the truck one corner at a time and hauled rocks from the river to place under the tires. After the truck was up we dug out the mud and built a road of river stones. With a puke of guys pushing, we finally got out. Our 10 hour trip took 16 hours in total. It was a long day!
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Some more pictures of camp before we left.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
After a day in town and getting the leopard to the taxidermist/exporter, we planned to go to a concession that was just a couple of hours away to hunt some plains game. I wanted to focus on the animals that we mainly just found in Zambia. Puku, Defassa Waterbuck, Tsessebe and Bushbuck would be the preferred targets.
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Puku
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Defassa Waterbuck
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
Tsessebe
From: Dan Evenson
17-Dec-24
We hunted for a couple more days for a bushbuck but could never find a big one worth shooting.
I had a blast and brought home some incredible animals and memories. The trip home was uneventful. Now it’s time to go back to work and pay for my bad habits.
Thanks a ton for following along and to everyone reaching out. This was my first time writing a story like this and I enjoyed it immensely!
From: Mark Watkins
17-Dec-24
Crazy adventure and write up Dan!!!
Congrats on huge cat!!!
Stop working and keep typing and posting!!!
Mark
From: Bowboy
17-Dec-24
You had an awesome trip thanks for sharing your adventure.
From: Djl
17-Dec-24
Well done and congrats on some fine animals.
From: JohnMC
17-Dec-24
Great recap!
From: midwest
17-Dec-24
Loved it! Thanks so much for sharing it all here!
From: t-roy
17-Dec-24
Well, now you’ve got no excuse for not posting more of your adventures on here! Obviously, you’re pretty good at it! Excellent job, Dan!
From: Scoot
17-Dec-24
Dan, that was absolutely outstanding! What an adventure on many levels. Many congrats and thanks again for sharing with us.
From: bowhunter24
17-Dec-24
Very well done sir on all accounts! Great writing skills and your fortitude to go after a wounded cat reminded me of Jake (medicineman), and his polar bear hunt! Thanks for keeping Bowsite the best!
From: TMac
17-Dec-24
What an adventure but you would not catch me swimming in a river full of crocs that is insane. Thanks again for sharing.
From: Marty
17-Dec-24
Awesome hunt and story recap! thanks for sharing
From: Pat Lefemine
17-Dec-24
Dan is too humble to post this but I will. His SCI scorer scored his animals and sent a message the other day. The cat is officially #1 in Zambia and #14 in the world. The Tsessebe and the Dufassa waterbuck are the new archery world records.
Pretty good for a cheesehead!
From: Altitude Sickness
17-Dec-24
That Dufassa is impressive
From: pav
17-Dec-24
Congrats on an awesome & successful bowhunt in Africa! Thanks for sharing!!!
From: Old School
17-Dec-24
What an adventure! Crawling up on a wounded cat and then wading thru croc infested waters. That will be hard to top adrenaline wise.
Congrats!
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
17-Dec-24
Sheeshhhhhh...what a store and record book creatures to back it up
From: Whocares
17-Dec-24
Great story and adventure Dan!
From: Ambush
17-Dec-24
That is just an outstanding adventure and retelling!!! But I have no problem saying, I would have quit at the croc river crossing! We took a boat tour in Chobe and the river is full of huge hippos and giant crocs. I'd finish that leopard with a barbeque skewer before I waded in that water!!
From: Zbone
17-Dec-24
Thanks Dan, and WOW, CONGRATS on you other trophies!
From: RonP
17-Dec-24
i MAY have approached the leopard knowing i had backup. i have tempted fate a time or two but no way in heck i would have waded and swam in the river. that gives me the willies thinking about it. what an inspiration for adventure, and why we hunt. cool!
From: ki-ke
17-Dec-24
Holy hell, that was a great story!
Congrats Dan and thanks for sharing!
From: Zackman
17-Dec-24
What can you say…Danny does things
From: HUNT MAN
17-Dec-24
Amazing adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us all!!
From: Husker
17-Dec-24
Congrats Dan!!! What an awesome adventure. Thanks for taking us along.
From: IKE220
17-Dec-24
I really enjoyed the recap of your adventure. Thank you for taking the time to share. Congrats on all the animals you were able to take.
From: Quinn @work
17-Dec-24
Congrats. Thanks for sharing this adventure and the great photos.
I really enjoyed getting the whole story of what went into the hunt. The breakdown of the hippo by those guys with rebar hooks and a home made axe were great. They also got that Land Cruiser out of some serious mud with minimal gear. That thing was BURIED!
From: TXCO
18-Dec-24
What an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing!
Would you have done anything different for the croc? Ive seen people use bowfishing setups so they have a float to keep track of them. They seem like the most difficult animal to hunt and recover with a bow.
From: Tyler
18-Dec-24
Great story thanks for sharing. The best thing about doing the write ups is you can go back and look at them some day!
From: ND_Bowhunter
18-Dec-24
Enjoyed that immensely, thanks for sharing your adventure Dan!
From: sticksender
18-Dec-24
Great trip....congrats on that beauty of a cat, and all the bonus animals.
From: B2K
18-Dec-24
He also holds the Wisconsin archery elk state record. https://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=497834&forum=5
From: fishnride
18-Dec-24
Geeze man, that’s good stuff.
From: TREESTANDWOLF
18-Dec-24
Excellent write up Dan.
You had an adventure of ten lifetimes!
Thank you for taking the time to put it all together for us.
Congratulations
From: Smtn10PT
18-Dec-24
thanks for sharing your trip! Congrats on a bunch of nice animals!
From: kota-man
18-Dec-24
Great story telling Danny…Loved it. Congrats again on another “Dream Hunt”.
From: Percy
18-Dec-24
Well done and congrats on some fine animals. Great story telling and pictures, thanks for sharing.
From: BOWNBIRDHNTR
18-Dec-24
Fantastic in every way. Pretty easy to see how adrenaline takes over when you are trying to finish off a wounded animal...and later your brain says WTF were you doing!! Round two in that water had to be terrifying. Thanks again for taking the time to share everything with us and congrats Dan.
From: drycreek
18-Dec-24
This has got to be in the top ten of Bowsite hunting stories, maybe the top five. Helluva recap Dan, great pics, just an all around good job !
From: arlone
18-Dec-24
Great write up about a great trip! was nice to come along with you. Congratulations on all the success.The leopard hunt ended with a "pucker" factor off the chart!
From: Helgermite
18-Dec-24
Thanks for sharing your awesome hunt Dan! Who knew you were such a good storyteller? I know safari hunts typically serve wild game meals. What were the highlights and lowlights of the food there? Congratulations on some excellent trophies!
From: Glunker
18-Dec-24
That was a well told great adventure. It comes across as though the guide was a little quick on the tracking the cat and putting a 2nd arrow into the crock, especially with how wary they are reported to be. I have not hunted either creature but have hunted with NA guides that were not veteran bowhunters who didn't want to wait as long as I did after an arrow hit. Would the guide have put a dog on the cat trail if it got to be a long and thick track job? Very cool.
From: Paul@thefort
18-Dec-24
"an archery leopard story" and more for sure. Nicely done. Paul
From: swp
18-Dec-24
Great stories, thanks for sharing your awesome adventure.
From: Supernaut
18-Dec-24
WOW, what an adventure!
Congratulations on some very beautiful animals and a great adventure. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
From: orionsbrother
18-Dec-24
Incredible!
Wow!
From: kota-man
18-Dec-24
Great story telling Danny…Loved it. Congrats again on another “Dream Hunt”.
From: Nomad
19-Dec-24
Great story Dan. What a hunt!
From: Altitude Sickness
19-Dec-24
Clunker, your question. “ comes across as though the guide was a little quick on the tracking the cat and putting a 2nd arrow into the crock”
In my experience many African PHs do tend to jump on the trail of a shot animal sooner than we tend to do here in the U.S.
They have the luxury of the best trackers on that planet. (No Hyperbole here). So they can get away with bumping an occasional animal. They tend to want to finish off wounded animals instead of giving them :30 to bleed out.
Each dangerous game animal poses a unique risk. They are in the Big Five for a reason.
Leopard usually do not kill humans when they attack. BUT! They are the most likely to attack when wounded so trailing a wounded leopard usually ends with a charging cat. Then they quickly shred the victim. Holding with the mouth while their feet slice and dice. Infection is the biggest threat here.
Lions are more likely to kill you if they attack but attack less than leopards.
Buffalo are even less likely to attack and kill you. but they are also the most hunted of the DG animals so it’s an odds thing. When they attack something bad will happen. And they kill several PHs per year.
Of the Big Five, a PH will tell you a cow elephant if by far the most dangerous animal to hunt in Africa. If an elephant reaches you and grabs you with their trunk. You will be swung around like a baseball bat. Or smashed by tusks or forehead. They are very intelligent and attack with merciless violence. Many victims end up a smear spread out over several acres. When hunting bulls, cows are to be avoided at all costs.
From: Brotsky
19-Dec-24
Holy hell Danny! What an awesome story! Congrats on an epic hunt!! Unreal!
From: Altitude Sickness
19-Dec-24
From: deerhunter72
19-Dec-24
WOW! Amazing stuff, congratulations!!
From: Corax_latrans
19-Dec-24
I REALLY enjoyed the story; refreshing in many ways.
Technical question, though…
If the OP had been interested in taking the hippo which was used as bait… does that end up as a line item when you settle up at the end?? This may seem odd to some, but I have always admired the architecture of animals’ skulls, and I have always wanted a Hippo, in particular….
So for me, the Hippo would have been hard to pass up.
Second technical question… Can you import any part of a leopard to the US?? I recall Jim Carmichael writing back 30-40 years ago that leopards were so numerous in certain areas as to have become problematic — places like the suburbs of Nairobi, if memory serves (and we think whitetails & coyotes are hazards!!) — but I have no idea what the situation is these days, or if some of the protective overreach has been corrected for…..
And yeah, predator skulls are incredibly cool…. And a warthog…. Hmm. Maybe I still want to hunt Africa after all….
From: Altitude Sickness
19-Dec-24
All bait animals are usually charged for the posted trophy fee. It’s generally understood that you have to provide the bait at additional costs.
Leopard importation falls under CITES and is easily done after proper documentation and permits are issued. Of course another charge from both governments.
From: otcWill
19-Dec-24
What a helluva adventure right there. Thanks for posting
From: Dan Evenson
19-Dec-24
Thanks again everyone!
TXCO- I do not know what I would have done differently. I have shot alligators with the float setup that you mentioned, but my PH said that they have tried that several times and the string gets cut every time so. There has to be a better way, I’m just not sure what that is.
Helgermite- They served wild game every night. I am a pretty picky eater and I never had a bad meal. My favorite was the leftovers. Nothing went to waste there and they always made way too much food. Whatever was left after dinner they would make into pot pie sort of things and send them with us for lunch the next day. They were always amazing!
Glunker- I think that I may have come across a little hard on Steve’s decision. He did what his experience told him to do in each situation. Every situation is different, and hindsight is 20/20. I would tell everyone in that situation, having never hunted those animals before, to listen to the PH and trackers advice and do whatever they say. That will be your best bet to not get chewed on or worse in the end.
Corax- It is up front and understood that any animal taken on your hunt is on your tag and on your tab. I could have grabbed the rifle and called the hippo mine, but I wouldn’t know how to use one of those things.
Corax- leopards are importable in most parts of Africa, including this one. Conservation practices have done really well for the population of leopards and they are thriving almost everywhere. The CITES permit has already been applied for and we expect to see the leopard over here in a couple of months. One of the cool parts about the process is that in order to get a tag, it had to be proven how much of the money paid for the hunt gets paid back to the local communities. This insures that nobody is just getting fat rich off of the resources by themselves. No sharing of the wealth, no tag. It’s a great system.
From: Corax_latrans
19-Dec-24
Thanks, Jay — good to know that the regs are at least somewhat keeping up with the reality on the ground.
From: RK
19-Dec-24
Great story and awesome trip
Congratulations on your successes
From: walleyes
19-Dec-24
Well done. Nerves of steel. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
From: No Mercy
19-Dec-24
Congrats Dan-awesome story and hunt!
From: Grunt-N-Gobble
20-Dec-24
I enjoyed the write-up. Thanks for sharing and congratulations!
From: Medicinemann
20-Dec-24
Dan, What is the length of your bow, axle to axle? As thick as the brush was when you spotted your wounded leopard, how were you able to draw and shoot? Did you have to cant the bow, or were you lucky enough to find a clearing? I really enjoyed your retelling of the story, thank you for sharing. Aside from the obvious networking and camaraderie of Bowsite, another great advantage of sharing your story is that it is now a permanent resident of the internet....even if your own journal was ever compromised. Again, well done. I wonder if Bigpizzaman has seen this.....leopard has been his nemesis animal.
From: Mark Watkins
20-Dec-24
An All Time Bowsite Classic!!! Just had to go through it one MORE time!:)
Congrats Dan on an EPIC adventure!!!
Mark
From: tobywon
20-Dec-24
Congrats Dan, great writeup and thanks for sharing.
From: Dan Evenson
20-Dec-24
Jake- 34” axle to axle. That was part of the reason that I had to crawl forward, to find a spot that I could shoot. Much of the brush is only inches off of the ground so finding a place to draw was the biggest challenge. I ended up shooting while sitting on my butt and probably only had a few inches of clearance above my limb. In that situation, I think canting your bow or doing anything that could affect accuracy could be life threatening.
Thanks for the accolades. Tim’s experience and advice were a huge part of my success. He was definitely part of this hunt and I can’t thank him enough for all of his help and encouragement.
From: Bushytail
21-Dec-24
Congratulations! You have a gift for telling a story. Nicely done.
From: Candor
21-Dec-24
Thank you for taking the time to share that adventure, Dan. I am "ADHD" and that was a lot of fun to read and you did a nice job of sharing details that kept it interesting without unnecessarily drawing out the story.
From: Shamwari safaris
31-Dec-24
Well Done San great write up. Zambia is a great place. Drop me a line if any one would like to hunt a leopard My number is +260978270832 What app
From: bowwild
04-Jan-25
I enjoyed sharing in the recollection of your leopard hunt! I agree you really know how to bring the reader along.
Regarding recalling the details. For me, I learned on bears that the more dicey things get, the better you remember everything including the little things!
From: sasquatch
05-Jan-25
Great story! I love it that those Africans area wearing ASAT!!
From: Zebrakiller
06-Jan-25
This is just amazing and love it
