bulldog

I was only an observer on that hunt which started out that morning at 0430 hours on the trail of a small batchelor herd of buff..

The lion was bumped quite by chance later in the day, although we had seen his spoor several times during the day, he was not initially planned as a trophy on that day, but you cannot give up chances when they crop up like that.

During the whole of the above incident from start to finish I was roughly 30 yards to the left rear of the client although candour compels me to admit that we ( one of the trackers who stayed back to keep an eye on me and a second observer) had a termite mount to take cover behind.

I carried only 8x 32 binos so could offer no help even had time and my knowing what to do permitted.

I was wrong on the number of shots, a finishing shot, shot number 4 was applied whilst he was down, quite where that shot was placed I have no knowledge

No video footage exists of the hunt, which is lamentable, but there are in existence a number of 35mm photos taken, and I think I may have one or two of the lion itself, I will try and locate any of the pics that I have and send them on.

My own hunt continued the next day with a leopard, but in all circumstances that hunt was an anti-climax, with noting to report, again using my own .375, this time with a Grizzly 300 grain bullet, made back in those days by a chap in the U.S named Joe Abrams, the bullets were essentially a copy of those made by Joe's friend Bill Steigers of bitteroot fame.

I still remeber my own PH at the time saying the afternoon i shot the leopard that bigcats that were unaware of the hunters presence were not USUALLY so difficult to kill, whether there is scientific basis for that or whether it was to act as a confidence booster for my own hunt I still wonder!