SOUTH AFRICA: Surviving A Lion Charge Lion In The Kalahari!!!

[Rare Breed]

I had two great weeks in Zim with Dalton & York! While my three friends then went home I stayed to hunt a male lion with @Africa Sun Safari in The kalahara desert. I did extensive research and decided to hunt my lion on 22,000 acres with the lion being there for four weeks prior to the hunt…no one week lion on 1,000 acres. The hunt was nothing short of outstanding!!! Justin and his team simply outdid themselves with incredible service and accomidations!!! Adrian his PH that also hunted with me was outstanding as well! The food and sites were out of this world!!! Now on to the hunt

We had tracked this male lion for some time when we finally caught his tracks and caught up to him resting in the short Jess resting. We got within 52 yards with the wind and thorn bush in our favor!!! I had my 470 NE DR on the sticks hoping he would stand up…but with the wind starting to shift and my having a clear Target I took the shot. On autopsi we found my initial shot went through his ear and through both lungs providing a dead cat…someone forgot to send the memo however telling the lion it was dead…it got up and charged me. It stopped at 20 yards as the first shot took its toll…I shot high though on my second shot. The lion then made its final charge giving us time to reload dropping him at 7 yards!!! I thought my heart would come out of my chest!!! You can hear me on the attached video thanking my PH in case I missed on my last shot!!!

I cannot recommend African Sun Safari more!!! First class PH’s and accomidations all the way!!!

 

[VertigoBE]

Congratulations @Rare Breed !
What an experience, stopping a charging lion!

 

[Rich s]

Congratulations. Nice shooting. Craig

 

[Roller]

Nice gemsbok. Looks like a cow though? Horns look thin and the head is narrow . Just curious for reference, what did it measure (if you bothered to do so)? They are often difficult to judge. Thanks

 

[shootist~]

Can't wait to see the video. Guessing you are still working on it?

 

[Scott CWO]

How about we just let @Rare Breed tell us about his trip and keep crappy comments to yourselves?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

@Rare Breed I AM SO PROUD OF YOU ! By the way, your .470 Nitro Express looks suspiciously like a Rizzini Rhino Express.

What ammunition were you using ?

Lion are my favorite of the African big 5 to hunt.

 

[Flewis]

Ok, here we go! I think RBs reputation speaks for itself.

 

[IdaRam]

How about we just let @Rare Breed tell us about his trip and keep crappy comments to yourselves?

Thank you. I agree, it would be nice if this doesn’t turn into yet another argument about CBL. But I’m sure Rare Breed knows this may be a bit of a hot button topic.


Cats in general are born with a hunting instinct and released lions do hunt and catch available prey animals. Success depends on many factors. Released lions will also join up and hunt together which may increase success.

 

[Flewis]

No, let’s pass judgement without knowing ANYTHING!

 

[Sarg]

@Rare Breed I AM SO PROUD OF YOU ! By the way, your .470 Nitro Express looks suspiciously like a Rizzini Rhino Express.

What ammunition were you using ?

Lion are my favorite of the African big 5 to hunt.
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I’m guessing a Merkel 140 ?

Well done, thank you for posting your experience !

 

[LivingTheDream]

Your understanding is incorrect. Captive bred and released lions can hunt. I have personally seen their kills.

 

[IdaRam]

Generally speaking, Hunt Reports posted on AH have been treated with respect and appreciation. Unlike some other websites. Questions with a motivation to learn more about the experience and become better informed = GOOD. Even if the answers may be controversial. Statements made for the sake of furthering one’s own opinions or agenda = Not So Good. So far it seems we haven’t gone completely down the Rabbit Hole. Any member here can start their own thread, including one on Captive Bred Lion Shooting/Hunting, but let’s not detract from someone’s hunt experience by turning a hunt report into a shit show

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Thank you. I agree, it would be nice if this doesn’t turn into yet another argument about CBL. But I’m sure Rare Breed knows this may be a bit of a hot button topic.



This is not the case, at least not as a blanket statement. Although there may be some validity in that it takes practice to become proficient at anything, whether man or beast. Cats in general are born with a hunting instinct and released lions do hunt and catch available prey animals. Success depends on many factors. Released lions will also join up and hunt together which may increase success.

This is true. Back when I was Chief Conservator of Forests of South Bengal, we enacted Project: Tiger Repopulation in 1999.

We released 8 pairs of zoo born & raised Royal Bengal tigers into the Shoronkhola forest range of the Sundarban mangrove forests and kept them under extensive surveillance. We observed that within 6 weeks of their release, all 16 of the animals were proficiently hunting Axis deer and wild boars. We did, however observe that these Royal Bengal tigers were noticeably more hesitant to attack tusked wild boars than Royal Bengal tigers which were born & raised in the wild.

As someone who has hunted a lot of lions over the years (mostly the wild variety in Tanzania but also one farm bred lion), I have this to say:
Captive bred lion hunting cannot compare to hunting real wild lion EVER. But if anybody says that all captive bred lions are inherently non-dangerous on mere principle of being captive bred, then they have no business making comments about any form of lion hunting.

If you can afford it, go for truly wild lion hunting. It's an absolutely regal thrilling experience unlike any other. But let's be honest. Hunting truly wild lion is quite hard on one's wallet and not all of us can afford it. So farm bred lion hunts offer a budget alternative to the real thing.

I still don't quite think of it as highly as I do about hunting wild lion. But I know and understand that it has it's place.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Congrats on an awesome hunt. Thanks for posting.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Nice gemsbok. Looks similar to my one and only gemsbok (old female) I took in June 2022. I was very happy to take her. Congrats on your lion and gemsbok!

 

[Uncontrolled_round_feed]

As a newcomer, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how civil and supportive the crowd has been here vs some other hunting sites, which have been full of negativity.
I do hope this place stays that way.
Tip of the Stetson to the OP on a successful (and safe!) hunt, and cheers to many more.

 

[WAB]

How about we just let @Rare Breed tell us about his trip and keep crappy comments to yourselves?

I totally agree Scott. Let’s not turn a hunt report into a debate. Let the man share his story. If you don’t care for it find somewhere else to debate the issue.

 

[Rare Breed]

Nice gemsbok. Looks like a cow though? Horns look thin and the head is narrow . Just curious for reference, what did it measure (if you bothered to do so)? They are often difficult to judge. Thanks

You are correct. It was a cow on her last year with 37 inch horns. She could not keep up with the herd

 

[Rare Breed]

@Rare Breed I AM SO PROUD OF YOU ! By the way, your .470 Nitro Express looks suspiciously like a Rizzini Rhino Express.

What ammunition were you using ?

Lion are my favorite of the African big 5 to hunt.
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Thanks…you know how very much I respect your awesome accomplishments especially with cats. It was my Merkle 140 in 470 NE. Of my five DRs I have found I do best with shorter 24 inches and heavier 11 pounds. It took me a while to find this out