Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I think I watched this 3 times before I could blink. I'm also quite sure I'd be asking for toilet paper rather then giving high fives.

click here for a Lion hunting video

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I am usually pretty tolerant of things but this is the kind of S*** that gives all hunters a bad name and the Anti's fuel for their campaign. A "hunter" should not be high fiving taking marginal shots at running game and then having all H*** break loose. It is a small miracle that no one was injured or shot during that sequence. If that was me "hunting" the only place that video would be would be in the trash.
NTH

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Why would people hunt Lions????? I don't think you would eat it would you? Looks like he would eat you though!!! Great video! It looks like they almost shot each other when the lion charged and ran between them, too bad! Yahoos!

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Scary, pi$$ poor shots, one guy missed at less than 5 feet it looked like.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Yea, this is how I feel about carnivore hunting- just doesn't float my boat to kill something that can't be eaten, just for the trophy. But, big carnivore hunting, like grizzleys, etc. is a long hunting tradition that I will defend but not do (unless to defend life or property, e.g. a nuisance or dangerous animal).

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Has got to be one of the best videos I've ever seen! Thanks SeaHunter I'm booking a lion hunt tonight!

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Jeez some of you guys are wound up a little tight. I think you are either for hunting or against it. How can you say it's right to hunt one animal but not another, you're already part way to becoming an anti yourself. If you say you hunt for meat only, you are a hypocrite if you take anything to the taxidermist, hang a set of antlers on your wall, or even brag to your friends about how big an animal was.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

That's one heck of a video! I would be in the same boat, needing a fresh pair of underwear. I would probably be shooting badly, too, if that darned lion was about to get me. I don't know what caliber they were using, but I would be wanting something with a little more punch.:D

Thanks for the video.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

That's about the craziest footage I have ever seen. I think I'll pass on Lion hunting.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Oh God. It's deja vu all over again (as Yogi Bera would say). This video was posted on this website about a year ago and there were hundreds of opinions flying... I originally had the same thoughts as some of you, but eventually decided that maybe I was being a bit closed-minded and naive.
From what I can remember, the lion was a problem animal and had attacked villiagers and had to be culled.
Lets remember that just because most of us are accustomed to killing deer and other herbivores (with the occasional hog, coyote, fox, crow, mountain lion, etc.) there are thousands of other places in the world where "other" animals need to be controlled in some way or another. Let me reiterate that I don't like what I see in the video, but don't be so quick to judge other hunters or their methods for killing game.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

JimboHunter1 If it wern,t for your post I too would have thought of the hunters as total idiots. You have shed a new light on the situation. I still hate guided hunts like that though. I guess we are just used to shooting what we hunt.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Shoot.....no wait.....Shoot.....no wait. I would have gotten wary from that point on. As far as the shots are concerned, I wouldn't be caught dead in the woods with someone like that and for them to be happy about it afterwards, not a chance.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore folks....

A wee different "ball game" when the game can turn on you and the hunter becomes the hunted, eh? No surprise that folks that are accustomed to hunting game that has no choice but to either flee or die upon the hunters advance are likely to be uncomfortable with their lack of the "god-like" power over life and death that they are accustomed to when witnessing or participating in a Dangerous Game hunt.

The guide wasn't the problem, the client was. The guide knew the importance of a good first shot, thus the "no wait, no wait". The client never did deliver a "put down" shot. Watch the guide, at the last minute he drops to a knee (classic African technique, so he can shoot under the massive head) and nails the lion just as it is about to make "lunch" out of the client --- that is why the lion misses the flat footed client and then crumples and slides on the ground due to his momentum and then retreats only to be finished as he runs away.

I thought it was kinda cool the guide tried to help the client feel good about his lousy performance and put a good a face on it as he could. Plus maybe, just maybe they were all quite joyous to all be unhurt and still alive. ;)

Jimbohunter1, good point about having a more "global viewpoint."

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I thought it was a cool video. I don't know what some of you are complaining about.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Seen that before ,I'm surprized nobody got shot in the crossfire.What a waste if you ask me.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

ELKampMaster,
Yours is a valid perspective. I would be scared s...less being either the guide or the shooter in that situation though.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

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.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I dont consider that hunting, there wearing kakis and some fruity short shorts and sunglasses, couple of slapdicks if you ask me.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Well bobby5 what do you consider hunting? Sitting on a platform in a tree and shooting a whitetail? That's hunting but this is not because of the clothes they wear? Frankly, any idiot can kill a whitetail, how about hunting something that hunts back?

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I agree with the first part of your statement. Who are we to judge what justifies real hunting? However, it mighty ballsy for you to belittle all of those on this site who thoroughly enjoys whitetail hunting. Imagine a first time hunter reading this thread to the surprise that someone thinks he's/she's an idiot for their marginal, if any, success. I hope that your view of whitetail hunting changes. Especially, with you being on a deerhunting thread.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Hold it, Hold it, Hold it. I feel like the referee in that Miller Light commercial. "Personal foul on Hector for the beer and I need to inspect his girlfriend for further review." Guys are you stupid? If I'm hunting lion I want to be guided. Guides aren't there to just let you kickback and walk up for an easy shot. This PH saved his client's life. There's nothing wrong with this video and it just shows how dangerous game is why they're called friggin dangerous. I bet if they had video back in the day of Teddy Roosevelt, Jack O'Connor, Karamojo Bell, and all the other great outdoor writers of England and the U.S.A. there would be some of you also calling these founders of our sport Yahoos and putting them down for the exact same thing shown on this video. Haven't any of you read how many men are killed hunting for lions and elephants? This is NOT fuel for the anit's. Give me a physical break. They're not clubbing baby seals. Do you tow the line in defense of all hunting (especially eye to eye with a lion at 40 mph) or are you wimps? I hunt whitetails from an elevated stand overlooking crops or corn feeders in the mesquite flats. No one thinks twice and good for me. If hunting lion on the ground without bait and then getting knocked to his ass and rising to his feet for the finishing shot gets him called for hunting unethically then I am more unethical in my pursuit don't you think? All this video really proves is that a wounded maneating beast charging you at 40 mph can make you miss shots with all the adrenaline and you're mighty thankful for the invention of the 5 round clip and whiskey.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

David,

That's odd, I thought this was a lion hunting thread. It might be posted on a deerhunting forum, but it IS a lion hunting thread.

BTW, I've seen all manner of stuff on here that didn't pertain to deer hunting.

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Just curious elkampnmaster. What didn't you agree with on the video? My only beef was the client used a scoped pencil barreled rifle which makes me think it's under .338. PH used a heavy barrel iron sighted safari gun as he should have insisted the client do the same. Also the client didn't immediately follow up when he had the chance.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Sooner,

Any of my comments that follow needs to be tempered by the fact I wasn't there and I don't know the details of the WHOLE story. Some of the things that appeared to have happened may have made more sense if we knew more than what the clip shows....

That said, first the client made his first shot as the lion appeared to be turning away. Second....

That appears to be the greatest sin committed as far as I could tell. The client appeared to shoot once, knocked the lion down and then "stood by" admiring his handiwork as the lion got back up, instead of pumping lead until the lion was down and out. Barring a weapon malfunction, he had plenty of time for the follow up shot(s) and they should have been automatic IMO. Then again, many hunters may vary in the "quality" of their performance when they find themselves face to face with game that can and will "hunt back" like the "simba" in the video footage here.

Wasn't it interesting that out of that crowd of people, the lion knew which one was actively hunting him, and which one "hit" him, and that is the one he went straight for with those 20 foot bounds and that coughing grunt/growl as he closed the distance waaaay fast. Makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Todo. ;)

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

JimboHunter1 said
“….there are thousands of other places in the world where "other" animals need to be controlled in some way or another….” and he is right....

Just to follow up on that, especially since the realities of the topic appear to be so foriegn to so many, an article from our good friends at Sports Afield, the "Reports Afield" section --- November 2004 Issue p.15
=================

"MAN EATERS

Lions Kill Thirty-Five People In Tanzania

Lions killed and ate thirty-five people between August 2002 and April 2004 near Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania. According to a study by Dr. Rolf Baldus, director of the GTZ Wildlife Program in Tanzania, the lions typically attacked by forcing their way through the wall of a hut or jumping on and through its roof.

The lions have killed even more people than did the infamous Tsavo man-eaters, which killed twenty-eight construction workers along the Uganda Railway in 1899-99. Tanzania has Africa's largest lion population and has a history of man-eaters."
=================

I don't think we're in Mayberry (RFD) here. Not in the foothills bike paths of Los Angeles either (mountain lion attacks). Scratch North America for that matter! But apparently "just another day" in the bush of Tanzania....

32 victims in 20 months! Even verified by a Ph D so that makes it official. Could you imagine what would happen if wildlife killed 32 people in the countryside just outside of our capital, Washington D.C. --- I do believe we'd be sic'ing the Dep't of Homeland Defense on it. Communities would be frozen in fear, unable to function --- not unlike what we saw with the "D.C. snipers, Malvo & crew" a while back.

Hmmm.... If it's like that just trying to get a night's sleep in one's own "home" in Tanzania then I wonder what it would be like trying to get some good sleep during the night after a day of safari hunting? Don't think I'd be feeling the same way about the "ole wall tents" as I do when I'm in Elk Camp where my prey has no choice but to flee.

Anyone "game" for renting the "Ghost In The Darkness" video tonight for a little inspiration? ;):D:D:D

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

This is a very true statement, Don. It puts a whole, new perspective on things doesn't it? Look at what the U.S. media did to condem the SUV market a year or two before 9-11 (when they didn't have anything to report upon) because of a handful of tire blow-outs and rollovers! Could you just imagine what kind of a hayday the media would have had if there were 32 lion killings in 20 months? Oh... wait a minute. The solution to this problem may involve lion killing or hunting... Maybe we wouldn't even have heard anything about it if it happened in our backyard! :eek: [:o]

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Well, I was going to get back on here and defend my statement but you did it much better then I could. I got tears in my eyes from laughing! Well said sooner, although I think Auburn should play USC for the national title.;)

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Muley, I'd like to commend you on your elnightening post. The link to Teddy Roosevelt and others is a good relation... What do the rest of you think?
I love a good debate... :)

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

This thread is actually about a lion hunt. Look I hunt whitetails occassionally too, that doesn't mean I consider it a great challege. Frankly, whitetails are the easiest big game animal there is to hunt. I never said anyone who kills a whitetail is an idiot, I said any idiot could do it. I'm belittleing nobody, whitetails are simply not much of a challege. I just find it ironic that a bunch of deer hunters start to question somebody hunting a lion. For God sakes the man was attacked! I wish I could have been there. Deer hunters critcize this, when some of them hunt over feeders, bait, and use those gimpy little "cams" to scout with? I think there arre a lot better examples of questionable hunting right here in this forum.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I retract my statement about this being a great video! I watched it over and over and I counted at least 9 - 10 shots fired at a pretty close distance. I find it actually sad. This guy probably spent thousands of dollars to hunt this lion and is unprepared to do the job and do it correct. Yes being charged is part of the hunt, be prepared! Plus I don't think we see the whole video I believe there is a bit of editing, hard to tell though because of the WMV player skipping around. But I wasn't there so I don't know the whole story but from what I seen I did'nt care for.
Thanks for answering my question, now I know the reasons for lion hunting, thanks!

???????????????

How many Whitetail deer have you harvested??;):D

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Whitetails are not a challenge!Muley are you kidding me or what.I guess they aren't if your a road- hunting doe shooter.I guess everbody who has ever shot a big buck just got lucky.Man your post are so funny you should write a book.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Trac209,

IMHO, you appear to be simplisticly "molding" what Muley69 said into what you WANT it to say, instead coping with what was ACTUALLY said.... here's the difference:

Muley69:
Trac209:
Now, now, that is NOT what Muley69 said ---- READ. He simply stated that in the realm of "big game" hunting, that he considered the whitetail to be the easiest of the bunch.

Now, if you wish to nominate an alternative big game animal here in North America as being easier to hunt than whitetail, then let's hear your position on it.

Bad twisting of someone else's statement.... bad.
=================

On A Totally Separate, But Related Note:

Personally, when teaching a young hunter the ropes I start'em with gun safety and 22 on targets and shotgun on blue rocks, then hunting for rabbits and birds, and then once they progress into centerfire rifles (lite) I start'em in on prairie dogs and then when it is time for the youngster's first big game hunt (lite) it is time to do the white tail hunt, no easier big game (lite) I know of. If you don't get the "drop" on them on the first encounter (some times kids are a little slow to "acquire & fire") then if the terrain is open enough whitetail often give you that wonderful second chance, just let'em run out to 125 yards or so and they so often strike that wonderful and classic "whitetail pose" i.e. turn broadside and look at you for 5-7 seconds, bang game over.

Great place for a kid to "cut their teeth" on big game (lite). IMHO, no other game animal comes close: not antelope (300-400 yard shots are too common), not multi-day remote hunts for elk (too much hardship), nor high mountain mulies, goats, or sheep (air's too thin and the car is too far for them).... nope, IMHO, a whitetail hunt is "thee" starting spot for big game (lite). For the most part, whitetail don't migrate, can be located close to home so the youngster sleeps in his own bed, everyone can fix their own breakfast (usually the kid's mom at home) and then be picked up, it's typically a short walk (less than two miles) in easy, non-mountain terrain to get to the hunting area so kids don't get tuckered out and its easy to take them back to the car [or town] and "warm them up" if needed, whitetail can be hunted in half days (good for a kid's typically short attention span), and whitetail are easy to kill thus allowing the use inexpensive and available, low recoiling/modest performing rifles which allows novice hunters to shoot better. Whitetails are an absolutely great place for a kid (or anyone else for that matter) to "cut their teeth" on their first big game (lite) hunt.
=================

Trac209, I look forward to your nomination for the "easiest big game animal to hunt." [If no answer, then I'll assume you agree it's the whitetail. ;)]

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I read eelse that this lion had been killing a lot of people and was captured and sent to a lion only preserve where it proceeded to kill every other lion it came in contact with.

Metro...

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I am just now sitting down to watch the Ghost and the Darkness, it's great how these threads stimulate us to debate and question the world we live in.

Metro

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

I hear a lot of big talk from a lot of people who have never been on a lion hunt.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

James Vee,

Please give us your read on the issues of this thread; I'm interested in your viewpoint.

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Actually Elk, I agree with a lot of things you have had to say on this thread. I spent quite a bit of time this last summer working/hunting in Africa and I do have experience with lions and lion hunting. You can look at my webpage in my sig if you don't believe that. One of the PH's that I worked with is friends with one of the PH's you see in the video. The video itself is not a bad video. That's the way things go sometimes. It would be nice if every hunt was just as easy as the first shot. But those of us with any experience know it doesn't always work that way. You hunt dangerous game and you will have the possibility of running into some dangerous situations. This just happened to be one of those situations.

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

Good to hear from someone who has actually been there and done it.
I've heard that the PH community over there is pretty tight, interesting that you knew someone who knew the PH in the film --- cool.

Regarding remote/away from home big game hunts (primarily elk in the Rockies), I'm fond of saying that, part of "adventure" is "mis-adventure." Perhaps this lion hunt was "just one of those times" where things didn't go "just right." I like your phrase,
In addition to the African game pix those are some nice whitetail pix (and other NA game) on your web page too.
;):D:D:D

Good for you,

EKM

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

"Thats just the way things go sometimes. It would be nice if it was a easy as the first shot."

Man I understand that, I am not a professional hunter but I am in construction and part of my speciality can be very dangerous when you least expect it. What I have learned and has let me grow to the ripe old age of 37 is that you need to adapt and overcome sometimes in a very short time frame. What seperates the men from the boys is trying to forsee problems but realizing that you can't predict everything and be ready for anything. From the attitudes of everyone after the event, I would guess those guides have probably seen worse

Metro...

RE: Note to self, NEVER go lion hunting.
 

EKM; you hit it dead on the nail. Trac209 is bringing baggage from another thread because he disagrees with me on other issues. The only other big game animal that is even close to the ease of whitetails is the pronghorn. People can read whatever they want to in my post. I even stated that on occassion I too hunt whitetails, but apparently that doesn't matter. My second day out taking a break from elk hunting, I shot a whitetail buck. In less than 6 hours of whitetail hunting I had collected my buck, compared to countless hours of elk hunting w/o success. Whitetail follow trails, have small home ranges, are abundant, have routines and can be easily patterned. In fact, they arre considered a nuisence in many area's of the country.