200lb leopard

S

stinkystomper

Guest
Well I finally took the plunge. I've been debating on what to do for this falls hunts. With money in short supply and not sure when things will be turned around completely I havent comitted to anything. Well that all changed when me ph from africa called me and informed me he had drawn a leopard tag in South Africa about 3 weeks ago.

Knowing that Leopards are extremely expensive I originally told him no way. He told me to hear him out that he had a deal. He asked me how much I could afford now and I told him nothing. He asked me how much I could afford by june and I told him I could have 8 grand saved up by then. He told me he would take the 8 grand and we would take my wife hunting in June. He said he would charge me 14 grand for the whole hunt and would give me a year to pay it back. My wifes dream is to shoot a leopard and to pass up a hunt like this was too much. Leopards usually sell for 17 grand and more. and to have a guy trust me so much as to let me pay him back when I can is awesome. Of course the guy has been guiding me in africa for a while and we are good friends and he knows me. My business has already turned around and by this fall and winter I will be making more profits than I ever have before. So for someone to come along and throw me a bone when I really don't deserve one tends to make a guy feel good when he's already been down on his luck. thanks for generous offer ian and terra is thrilled at the prospect of killing that leopard. From the trail cam pics he showed us it appears to be a leopard between 200 and 220 lbs.

He's a big kitty! Will post pics when qtpie get's er done!
 
Glad you filled us in, as I was hoping the guy's name wasn't Blair or Heathington, LOL! Good luck, as it sounds like a great hunt for a beautiful animal. From what I've already read on here, it sounds like your qtpie will be more than up to the task!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-16-11 AT 11:59AM (MST)[p]Sounds like you're going to have a fun hunt.
After getting screwed on that Elk hunt it must be kinda nice to see it go the other way.

read the photo regrets thread in the NM forum, we want pictures.
 
you will get pics, tons of them. My ph already relayed concerns about terra shooting the leopard. He quickly sent me many videos of the results of tracking wounded leopards. he said 99 times out of 100 the leopard charges and someone usually gets mauled if noone can knock him down. He begged me to bring an extra pump gun and good american buckshot along..... ROFL! I assured him qtpie was a great shot.
 
Tracking wounded leopards may be your calling stinky!!! Even though it took 30+ shots with the Lapua to kill an elk that was not attacking you, putting you in a clutch position of shooting a charging leopard may help your gunning skills. JK Sounds like a helluva opportunity!!! Good luck and keep us posted!!!
 
>Tracking wounded leopards may be your
>calling stinky!!! Even though it
>took 30+ shots with the
>Lapua to kill an elk
>that was not attacking you,
>putting you in a clutch
>position of shooting a charging
>leopard may help your gunning
>skills. JK Sounds like a
>helluva opportunity!!! Good luck and
>keep us posted!!!

LMFAO...

horsepoop.gif


Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.
 
F-er I think I would throw in the extra money for 5-6 more trackers up ahead of me if you know what I mean:)
 
Nope, just me and Ian if ol terra wounds him. Call me sick but im really hoping she does wound one.

And in the back of my mind im wondering how heavily that $2 million life insurance policy is gonna affect her shooting ability? 8[
 
I thought for sure I would open this thread and see stinky's 200 pound a$$ wearing a leopard skin Bandanna hammock. You really let me down
 
Thank you for this post! It really made me take a look at myself and how I could approach things from a different point of view. Give before you receive. Thanks again


Justin Richins
R&K Hunting Company Inc.
www.thehuntingcompany.com
 
Hey stink you will know real fast what she wants the outcome of the hunt to be if she goes to the blind with a 22 hornet or 17 HMR to kill a 200 pound leopard. :) GEEEZ those videos are crazy!!!!
 
Is that why she has already applied for a gun permit with our pellet rifles serial number on it?


hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
 
Stink.
I'm hoping you guys the best.
What a dream come true that would be.

Truly one of the world's greatest trophies, and to have the opportunity that you have right now is what dreams are made of.
Make it happen.

054leopard1999crop.jpg
 
Its called Karma! You both deserve that hunt. I know that I am counting the days until I go! We won't be hunting leopard but will give the hyenas and the smaller cats a try!

It will be hard to top a leopard!!

HH:

That is some unbelievable Taxidermy work!
 
That's an absoultely gorgeous mount. I like that one myself but my wife found this picture and seems bent on mounting her cat this way.

9898leopard_mount.jpg
 
Animal Artistry has put put some absolutely spectacular mounts over the years.
That action pose is incredible.
Phil worked for them for a number of years.
 
OK harry your starting to scare me



....... what color am I thinking of right now!?

j/k

Your dead on. animal artistry is the taxidermist on that piece. Post a link for your guy if he has one. I was planning on picking a pose and forwarding it to paul penny.
 
stinkystomper, tell your wife that if something goes terribly wrong you'll have the mount done something like this, in remberance of her and the hunt.

51leopard_attack.jpg
 
I hate you eel. Been in the hospital for almost a week and still cant walk. My body hurts, and everytime I laugh I cough till I almost pass out..

I think I may have just laughed so long that I passed out for a few hours!

ROFDL! Lieterally!
 
Hey stinkbug!

I'm a little worried about you being the back-up!:D

Don't forget I wanna be there & I'll bring my 357!:D

Just RAZZIN Ya!

I think QTPie will do just fine!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!
 
Stinky, I don't think she's going to be happy when you show all of MM her kitty...just kiddin ;-)

Good luck on the hunt, can't wait to see that big bastard on the ground!!

~Z~
 
Stinks You dog!!!!! thats gonna be awesome. I bet QT cant wait to bag a big ole kitty. Most us guys dream of baggin one of them big ole kitty's in one way or another:) Ha ok maybe not to big. Good luck will be ahelluva time im sure.
 
Congrat. on staying with it guys. I got a question on this deal you made with ian. What if the stinky don't survive the hunt? How's that going to work? ;-)

1934leapard_hunt.jpg
 
Ian just got married so I gues you guys on here can fight over her.

ROFDL lump, that's so friggin true. I imagine that exact same scenario every single day. I'm wondering just how fast I can bring my buckshot to target. I never have been very good at those dove that fly straight down your gun barrell winding and twisting the whole time. This whole leopard thang has really started me to wondering just how good I really am with a shot gun.

And to tell you the truth I'm loosing more and more confidence in my close game every day. Not funny no ROFL's here.
 
You'll think ROFDL when he's moving your ear under your eye!

A shotgun! I thought you were a spear or nothing bad boy.

Actually, you should be able to take a little ole 200 pounder under one arm and give a him noogie while Terra snaps us a few pictures.

DC
 
I can see ole stinky grabbing one of them lions around the neck slapping its sack. Their gonna come home without one round being fired at the leopard. After watchin them videos of them things attacking im wondering what kind of yelp stinky will let out. For a 300 lbs man i bet its higher pitched than a 12 year old boy. Ha ha
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-20-11 AT 07:05PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Mar-20-11 AT 07:02?PM (MST)

Good luck stinker, and have an awesome hunt. I've had the privilege of hunting leopards twice, and can assure you that they're a great animal to hunt, regardless whether you take them by baiting or tracking. I've shot big cats both ways, and would hunt them again either way. I found baiting to be a fascinating hunt, as a lot goes into getting a big tom into the tree with enough shooting light left. Tracking, on the other hand, can be very, very exciting. Haven't done it with dogs, as we had bushman trackers following the spoor on foot instead of dogs.

Here's a cat I shot a long time ago. What do you think this big boy weighed? I'll tell you later, as we weighed him when we got back to camp.

1645dans_deka_leopard.jpg





Keep in mind, a 200 lb. leopard is a GIANT, and very few true 200 pounders are ever shot, unless they have their belly full. At least you're going to be hunting in one of the areas where you might get an outsized cat.
 
Two leopards, I think my skin just turned to a "darker shade of green". Congrads. to you CA, you can't ask for much better than that, IMO. Especially with hunter/trackers, I can only imagine the thrill and adrenalin rush that must have been.

The cougar hunters on here could say far closer than me but based on the cougar I weighed I'd have to guess between 125 and 135. Now, if you tell me 180 then I'd simply say, that goes to show you what little I know about it.

A leopard is such a beautiful animal. What a privilege it would be hunt and bring one home one. Most definitely the African animal of choice on my list.

A jaguar would be the only animal I would select over a leopard. In as much as both are beyond my reach, the jaguar is just as much a dream as the leopard.

Terra I hope your leopard has a full grown kudu inside him when you put him down, maybe you can have him tip the scale at 230!!! Stinky you better tell Ian to pour the feed to that speckled ghost, starting right now, two months of extra ratios could stretch his spots a little more before QT drops the hammer.
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-22-11 AT 09:54AM (MST)[p]Sintky, that tom measured an honest 7'1" between the pegs and weighed 165 pounds. Now, he had an empty stomach, but still, that's a 165 pound cat. I took that leopard in the Deka Safari Area, in western Zimbabwe. My other leopard came from the Kalahari Desert in Southwestern Botswana, and was very different than the one in the picture. That cat was 7'4" and we estimated his weight at around 140-145 pounds (no scale that time). He was long and very lean, a beautiful cat but very different conformation than the one in the picture.

Here's a picture of a very nice Limpopo tom that a PH friend sent to me. If QTpie gets one this large, she'll be a fortunate lady.

6291spear_leopard_2.jpg



And the PH, Ernest Dyason, with a nice Limpopo tom he personally took.
7178ernests_leopard.jpg


Personally, I'm not a fan of the 'holding them in a hug' type photos, but they do seem to be many people's preference these days. They do give a good idea of how big a leopard is, but I prefer the more classical pose with the cat on the ground. Just my taste.
 
By the way, if you really want your blood to run cold, all you need is to hear one growl at you. It is a sound you'll remember the rest of your life.

My Kalahari tom was wounded and laid up in some bush. As we approached, he let out a huge growl that I'll never forget, it was loud, deep and intense. It was immediately followed by receiving a 225 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw from my .338, and thankfuly, he died right where he was laying.
 
Here's a good-sized Namibia leopard that I took a couple years ago, 7'6" and 152 pounds on an accurate scale. Just this past year, my friends took one that tipped the scales at 224#. That is scary big, and the photo looked more like a lioness!

370joel_blank_346.jpg


Any leopard taken in honest hunting conditions is a true trophy .
 
Those are all awesome photos. Are you allowed to bring your leopard trophy back into the US? I thought at one time it was illegal to bring them here?

I would like to see your mounted leopards, if you have them.

Eel
 
Not a great pic, but you get the idea. My wife let me go and paid for half the trip, so I let her pick the pose. She wanted a very relaxed cat, and none of the faked aggression, snarling, eating another mount which is so common. My friend Sam Raby down in Bluffdale Utah did the rock ledge (which we saw all the time on our hunt), and the mount is great.

8259dsc00102.jpg
 
Good luck on the hunt. I think you should go archery, more challenging and the story and pictures would be amazing to say the least!!!
 
Man those are some awesome leopards. I'm just hoping terra bags a giant as well. Ian also told me the whole hunt includes as many baits as I wish to shoot and put out myself. I think to assure my wife of a leopard I'm going to have to shoot at least a few hundred different animals for a total of a few hundred different bait sites. Don't you guys agree???? LOL
 
Heck, tell Ian I would be willing to be the bait if I get to go there with you and shoot whatever I want. Let me get my stuff shot up first though.
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-22-11 AT 09:34PM (MST)[p]Stinky, even you would get tired of shooting impala and warthogs eventually. Especially since you're mostly shooting females or little males for bait. Then, you spend a lot of time driving around, dragging guts behind the truck to the tree you've selected for a bait tree. Finding the right bait tree is something of an art that good cat hunters do well (and a lot of guys are not that good on cats, regardless of what people want to believe). Anyway, once you have some baits up, all you'll do all day long is drive from bait to bait checking them for hits, refreshing baits (especially if it's hot) and shooting the occasional plains game that presents opportunities. Nowadays, with the use of trail cameras, some guys can tell right away if it's a cat they'll hunt or not. Others still do it the more traditional way, and don't use cameras. For a serious leopard hunt, that's really what you're hunting, a leopard, not leopards and fifteen other things too.

She doesn't need a big gun, a .270 is perfectly fine for shooting a leopard, especially over a bait. Most guys will adivse a bgger gun (I shot one with a 300 winchester and the other with a 338, and neither time did I need that big of a gun). Shot placement is everything, so something she is comfortable with and shoots very accurately under pressure is more important than how big the bullet is or how fast it's going. A 30-06 or 308 would be ideal. As for bullets, Nosler Partitions, Swift A Frames, and just about every other quality bullet are fine for leopards. The Nosler Accubond might be the best leopard bullet of all.
 
And you can kiss my arse CAELKNUTS! you go right ahead and send your wife out with a pellet rifle knowing you get to track that cursed animal.


Thanks but no thanks! She's taking my 50BMG and shooting 750 gr hornady amax bullets. We aint trackin no stinkin leopard...... GOT IT!
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-22-11 AT 10:34PM (MST)[p]Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the lord my soul to keep
God bless mommy
and daddy
and sissy
and Fido
and even HH's kitty
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
and just this once lord,
please let the leopard win.



That "200 lb" ship sailed a long time ago stinky.
3294leopard.jpg
 
LMAO

horsepoop.gif


Disclaimer:
The poster does not take any responsibility for any hurt or bad feelings. Reading threads poses inherent risks. The poster would like to remind readers to make sure they have a functional sense of humor before they visit any discussion board.
 
Oh Hell, that was a funny response! I read it ten minutes ago, and I'm still LMAO! That was a great comeback.

Make you a deal stinky. Take me along with you, and I'll lend her the .270 and even follow it if she wounds it, if you'll take me along. Now that's a heck of a deal (not sayin for who, just a heck of a deal!)
 
Should be an awesome hunt!

I hunted RSA last year (not for leopard!) and a guy in camp had been mauled by a leopard while hunting them in the early 90's.

I asked him one night around the fire if he'd like to tell the story, but he politely declined and actually acted much more quiet the rest of the night.

So the next night around the fire I told him that I was sorry if I had bothered him by asking to hear the story...he didn't say anything, just moved his chair really close to mine and started the story. He was talking quiet enough that nobody else could hear, and he got emotional a couple times. It was quite a story to say the least, and you could tell that even after almost 20 years the emotion of it all was still with him. A series of mistakes and unfortunate events led to the attack (the leopard WASN'T wounded) and this guy had been chewed on pretty good. He was (is) a dentist, and almost lost his ability to practice because his hands and arms took the brunt of the attack. The guy's young daughter, I think she was 12 or so at the time, was with them when the attack happened. He credited a native tracker with saving her life...apparently the leopard went straight for her and the tracker jumped on top of her in an attempt to keep her safe. The leopard then turned his attention on him, and he kicked it off once, only to be mauled for a second time. The PH eventually killed the cat.

I'll tell you what, just hearing that story...while in Africa around a campfire...from the guy who lived it...was enough to make your hair stand up. And I felt bad for him still, even after all that time. That cat tore him up in more ways than one.
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-23-11 AT 10:01PM (MST)[p]>Should be an awesome hunt!
>
>I hunted RSA last year (not
>for leopard!) and a guy
>in camp had been mauled
>by a leopard while hunting
>them in the early 90's.
>
>
>I asked him one night around
>the fire if he'd like
>to tell the story, but
>he politely declined and actually
>acted much more quiet the
>rest of the night.
>
>So the next night around the
>fire I told him that
>I was sorry if I
>had bothered him by asking
>to hear the story...he didn't
>say anything, just moved his
>chair really close to mine
>and started the story.
>He was talking quiet enough
>that nobody else could hear,
>and he got emotional a
>couple times. It was
>quite a story to say
>the least, and you could
>tell that even after almost
>20 years the emotion of
>it all was still with
>him. A series of
>mistakes and unfortunate events led
>to the attack (the leopard
>WASN'T wounded) and this guy
>had been chewed on pretty
>good. He was (is)
>a dentist, and almost lost
>his ability to practice because
>his hands and arms took
>the brunt of the attack.
> The guy's young daughter,
>I think she was 12
>or so at the time,
>was with them when the
>attack happened. He credited
>a native tracker with saving
>her life...apparently the leopard went
>straight for her and the
>tracker jumped on top of
>her in an attempt to
>keep her safe. The
>leopard then turned his attention
>on him, and he kicked
>it off once, only to
>be mauled for a second
>time. The PH eventually
>killed the cat.
>
>I'll tell you what, just hearing
>that story...while in Africa around
>a campfire...from the guy who
>lived it...was enough to make
>your hair stand up.
>And I felt bad for
>him still, even after all
>that time. That cat
>tore him up in more
>ways than one.


That guys initials aren't R.A., are they? If so, I know him, and yes, that was a terrible mauling he took from that leopard. If it's the same guy, they were tracking the cat in the Kalahari Desert, and it jumped into the back of the truck with them, unwounded, but very pissed off. He actually lost a big muscle in his forearm when the cat bit down and then ripped it away. He was life flighted to Johannesburg and spent several weeks in a hospital there before being able to fly back to Texas. That cat injured a bunch of people in only about 5-10 seconds and then jumped out of the truck to run away, when he was shot. If it's the same dentist with RA initials, his brother is a good friend of mine, as we see RA once or twice a year. He's doing well these days, enjoying retirement, but not hunting leopards any more.
 
His forearm muscles? seriously? thats definitely not a muscle any self respecting male could afford to loose. That would leave us totally dependent on our wives and leave us completely vulnerable....... Just saying!
 
backinthegame, I'll see his brother day after tomorrow most likely for opening day of turkey season. He hunts on my lease. His brother is a great guy, just like RA. They live about 1/4 mile from me.

Stinky, he lost the muscle on the top of his foream because he threw his arm up in front of his face to protect himself, and the cat bit down and ripped it out of his arm. He was bitten and clawed quite badly, and took a long time to rehab after getting back to the states. They were tracking the leopard, and unknowingly came past it hiding in some bushes. The unwounded cat jumped into the bed of the pickup, where he and others were riding, and went through there like a tazmanian devil. I think the cat injured 4 or 5 people before jumping back out onto the ground. If I recall correctly, RA was the most severely injured by a fair bit. Back, it's interesting that he talked to you about it, I see him about once a year at his brothers, and we've never discussed it a single time. Even when he's been to my house and looked at my leopard, not a word was mentioned about his attack.
 
>His forearm muscles? seriously? thats definitely
>not a muscle any self
>respecting male could afford to
>loose. That would leave us
>totally dependent on our wives
>and leave us completely vulnerable.......
>Just saying!


Ha Ha have to learn to switch it up and use the other one. Im not to cordinated with my off arm so that may be a problem for me.
 
>backinthegame, I'll see his brother day
>after tomorrow most likely for
>opening day of turkey season.
> He hunts on my
>lease. His brother is
>a great guy, just like
>RA. They live about
>1/4 mile from me.
>
>Stinky, he lost the muscle on
>the top of his foream
>because he threw his arm
>up in front of his
>face to protect himself, and
>the cat bit down and
>ripped it out of his
>arm. He was bitten
>and clawed quite badly, and
>took a long time to
>rehab after getting back to
>the states. They were
>tracking the leopard, and unknowingly
>came past it hiding in
>some bushes. The unwounded
>cat jumped into the bed
>of the pickup, where he
>and others were riding, and
>went through there like a
>tazmanian devil. I think
>the cat injured 4 or
>5 people before jumping back
>out onto the ground.
>If I recall correctly, RA
>was the most severely injured
>by a fair bit.
>Back, it's interesting that he
>talked to you about it,
>I see him about once
>a year at his brothers,
>and we've never discussed it
>a single time. Even
>when he's been to my
>house and looked at my
>leopard, not a word was
>mentioned about his attack.


Yeah, I felt bad when I asked the first time to hear the story, because when I did he definitely shut down. My PH had told me that RA had been mauled years ago, and so I asked without really thinking it through...didn't even think that it might be a tough thing to talk about.

I went to him that second night to apologize for asking without thinking, and he that's when he sat me down and told me the story. It was "dramatic" how he told the story, but it was 100% real, he wasn't putting on an act. It was a hell of a story.

And you're right, from what I knew of him in Africa he's a very, very nice guy. Great guy to be around.
 
That's a really good mount. All the way around.


The voices in my head may not be real, but they have
some good ideas!
 

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