I will say, though, that lion hunting isn't 'for me,' the same way hunting with dogs isn't - not that I'm saying others shouldn't do it, but I'd rather avoid doing it. I've thought for a long time that a lot of African safari hunting isn't for me - there are plenty of animals that are 'safari kills' that you're not supposed to eat at all. If I were to go on an African safari, I'd specifically request hunts of the animals that are supposed to be tasty, and if put in a situation where the locals could use a 'hired gun,' I'd help out - but I wouldn't fly to Africa specifically to hunt lions, or any other animal whose death served no practical purpose to me.

Also, people who don't hunt on a regular basis and are unfamiliar with their guns, leading to bad shots, give us all a bad name.

All that said, holy crap. I don't think I'd have stopped shaking for a week.