The best advice I could give you and your friend is to find a mentor. Find a local lion hunter who has success on a regular basis and ask him if he would help you get started. Most hunters will be happy to get you started. The trick will be finding this feller. Go to the local gun store and ask, go to the local feed store and ask.....

Short of that, buy a good coon hound, redbone/bluetick etc put him on house cats. When he gets good at tracking and treeing house cats go to the woods and try to find a fresh track. Again, there are better ways of geting your feet wet than jumping directly in.