Leopard hunting: bait vs hounds

[DLSJR]

I’ve hunted leopards both by baiting and tracking, though the tracking hunt was bushmen doing the tracking, not dogs. The tracking hunt was in far southwest Botswana in the Kalahari desert. It was interesting and exciting, but not terribly sporting the way it was conducted. We killed a large Tom on the first day of a 24-day safari. I don’t know if I’d do it again or not, but if I did I’d probably prefer the bushmen over dogs.

Baiting a leopard is something I’ve done on 3 different safaris and I was successful on 2 of the 3 hunts, killing both cats on the first sit, so I didn’t have to sit more than a few hours on either hunt. However, on my unsuccessful hunt we sat probably 8 or 9 different times and never got a shootable cat in the tree.

I doubt I’ll shoot another leopard since I’ve shot 3 of them, but if I do it’ll most likely be another baited hunt and almost certainly in the Selous Game Reserve with Alan Vincent. The density and age structure of leopards on his Selous concession is outstanding and success is very high.

 

[mark-hunter]

Good for you for doing plenty of research before booking a leopard hunt!

I just came from a great elephant hunt, and having shot an elephant on the second day, I focused on leopard on bait to try my luck.
I am not sure what my next hunt will be, so I may look into leopard theory as well. Then we will see what the future will bring.

 

[Pondoro]

Paw prints always get attention..this is lion BTW..

 

[VertigoBE]

I have done neither successfully, but did spend 8days trying to bait for a leopard. I will not do that again. It was fun for two days, but then the endless driving and sitting removed the fun. As @PANTHER TRACKERS said it so eloquently, hunting is for me the chase. So I’ll either hunt over hounds or not at all. Definitely not over bait, or a drinking hole. (The odd baboon not withstanding)

 

[Betterinthebush]

Interesting timing on this thread. My houndsman yesterday sent me a teaser on WhatsApp of a Tom he treed that morning as the sun was rising. Beautiful images and thrilling sounds of the pack and the cat shaking limbs and branches in the trees. I respect and support every hunter on their method of take. Leopard has always been my favorite of the big five. I’m honored to be in a position to make at least one good, honest run at it. May 6 can’t get here soon enough.

 

[HankBuck]

I’ve hunted leopards both by baiting and tracking, though the tracking hunt was bushmen doing the tracking, not dogs. The tracking hunt was in far southwest Botswana in the Kalahari desert. It was interesting and exciting, but not terribly sporting the way it was conducted. We killed a large Tom on the first day of a 24-day safari. I don’t know if I’d do it again or not, but if I did I’d probably prefer the bushmen over dogs.

Baiting a leopard is something I’ve done on 3 different safaris and I was successful on 2 of the 3 hunts, killing both cats on the first sit, so I didn’t have to sit more than a few hours on either hunt. However, on my unsuccessful hunt we sat probably 8 or 9 different times and never got a shootable cat in the tree.

I doubt I’ll shoot another leopard since I’ve shot 3 of them, but if I do it’ll most likely be another baited hunt and almost certainly in the Selous Game Reserve with Alan Vincent. The density and age structure of leopards on his Selous concession is outstanding and success is very high.

@DLSJR - I’ve never hunted Leopard and it would be an animal that could bring Me back to Africa. I think I have the patience to sit a blind for hours-Days, as I spend many days/weeks each year in tree stands during Deer season and a 6 hour sit is the usual. I’m interested in Why you thought the “Tracking” method (w/Bushman tracking) was “Not terribly Sporting”? Obviously I’ve Never done it but it sounds like it would meet anyone’s definition of “Sporting”? Also, to witness the most legendary & skilled Trackers on Earth - in Action - must’ve been impressive. Would be interested in any details you care to share. Thanks

 

[Philip Glass]

What were you using when it came for you?

Ruger .375 Ruger that failed to eject the empty on the first shot. Part of the journey that led me to the R8.

 

[Philip Glass]

@Betterinthebush - sounds like an exciting and unique hunt and look forward to your Hunt recap. I love hunting with Hounds for “anything” and even rabbits are more Fun because of the dogs. My 3 Cougar Hunts resulted in only 1 Cougar killed (even though we cut tracks and had chases each hunt). I am very picky about what size Cat I will shoot and discussed this with my Guide before booking the Hunt, told him I didn’t want a small cat and rather go home empty handed, made certain I could “pass up” any small cat dogs treed and keep hunting for a better one — Guide agreed (some guides want you to shoot the first “legal size” cat treed otherwise hut is over). On my 2nd hunt dog treed large Tom and I passed up and it was shot by my friend. That big tom Cat “treed” after a short chase and I got to the tree first and stood there under the tree for 15 minutes, along with the Guide, and just watched a large Tom only 20 feet away from me - laying across a limb only 15’ above the ground, very relaxed, panting/exhusted while only one Hound (barking at the base) kept him from jumping to the ground. We waited for my very heavy and Out-of-shape friend to make his way to the tree and let him take the 20 foot shot (which he botched & required a 2nd shot). That Cat then launched out of the tree and ran right past Guide & me going downhill with one dog and Us running after him - cat expired 200 yrds away. I would Not want that ‘Bad shot’ made on a Leopard.
How does Leopard Guide handle it when Dogs tree or bay a small Leopard? Even if they start the dogs on a very clear Large track - dogs can “switch off” and end up chasing another smaller cat (they follow fresh scent Not track size) - wonder what PH does in that situation, as it’s not as easy to get “off” a Leopard as it is a Cougar?

No you can hardly take the hounds off of a leopard. Wrong leopard, big problem. It is not like mountain lion hunting.

 

[Philip Glass]

Can the dogs even be called back if it's the wrong leopard?
To young, a female animal, etc.?

No. Not very easily. You must have a good single male track and trail cam pics to be sure what you are going after. When the leopard sees you he's coming.

 

[Philip Glass]

@Philip Glass how many shots were fired?, by how many people?, with what type of firearms? Sounds like a fast paced and exciting ending to your Leopard hunt

Very fast paced! Running to an opening in the brush to see the cat and the hounds and preparing to fire and the cat comes in a blink of an eye. I shot, hit it in the mouth, my gun jammed (empty failed to eject due to working bolt hard), PH shot with his .416 hitting it in the neck, cat jumped on him, then I was loaded and shot it off of him.
I've told this story over and over but I feel advice given me by Mark Butcher years ago may have saved me in this situation. I spoke to him at SCI and he stated that "this is not a mountain lion where you can take a selfie then shoot it, when it sees you it's coming to kill you".
I don't want to discourage anyone from this type of hunt. There is nothing, I mean nothing, like hearing the hounds and then the first growl of the leopard! Just know the dangers and your capabilities.

 

[Red Leg]

Another key to successfully hunting a leopard is the choice of outfitter. It is a more important consideration than perhaps with any other animal. All sorts of operations get leopard tags, but only a relatively few have consistently high success rates. Five or six years worth of successful hunts posted undated to a website gallery can look impressive even for an outfit with a 20% success rate. Do a lot of due diligence to determine who is really regularly killing cats.

I have never hunted a leopard with hounds, but I have been on two follow-ups of wounded animals (not mine!) using dogs (Jack Russells in both instances). In neither case, were we successful in bringing the cat to bay, and frankly, I am just as glad. Both cats stayed in areas of the thickest imaginable thorn brush. Any charge would have been from mere feet away. I don't care how good someone believes they are at instinctive shooting, in such a situation the odds of getting a biological Cuisinart blender in the face are very, very high.

 

[DLSJR]

@HankBuck The reason I said it wasn’t terribly sporting was that, at the end, my PH chased the leopard with the hunting truck. We found the track mid-morning and my PH, Cecil Riggs, asked if I wanted to shoot my leopard on the first day. I told him that I doubted we’d get a leopard that easily and he replied that if I wanted this leopard, it would be in the truck before we headed back to camp. When I told him I’d believe it when I saw it, he simply whistled to the trackers, said something to them in Bushman language and two of them jumped off the truck and took off at a jogging pace on the track. Tracking was easy in the soft, sandy soil and since we had 4 bushmen on the truck it went at a very fast pace. Two would follow the track while two rested atop the truck. Often, they were running along the track. After a few hours we caught up to the leopard.. one of the trackers whistled and was pointing to a dune about 300 yards ahead and we could see the leopard trotting through the grass going up the dune. Here is where it became not very sporting…

I was riding on top of the truck, so Cecil called out to “Hang on tight” while the Bushmen were jumping back onto the truck. As soon as they were aboard, he gunned the engine and we were in hot pursuit, chasing the leopard. I remember thinking at one point I could have grabbed the leopard by the tail as it was right against the truck, running fast. Cecil was pushing it toward a brush patch and as soon as the leopard saw the brush he broke in that direction and bayed up. Cecil directly me to stay where I was and shoot from the truck. So I did as instructed. It was very interesting watching the Bushmen in action, exciting toward the end, but not sporting the way he ended things. But, Cecil was right that there was no way in hell we’d be able to keep up with the Bushmen as they ran along the track for miles. …and the leopard was indeed in the truck that first day, before we headed back to camp.

To another point, made by @Red Leg. He is spot on when he says the choice of PH is the prime consideration when deciding on a leopard hunt. Some PH’s have very high success on good Tom’s, while most do not. Right behind the PH would be area. A few places have extremely high success rates, but most places are more difficult.

Hunt with the right PH in the right area and right time of year and you’ll only need to hunt leopard once.

 

[mark-hunter]

Just one question on this:
If the truck stopped, say, a few hundred meters from the leopard, would it be possible to stalk on foot?
Or the leopard just kept running, without a bush or a tree to climb up?

 

[HankBuck]

@DLSJR - thank you for the details and NOW know what you disliked about your leopard hunt and I wouldn’t have liked that either, even if that Leopard weighed 150+lbs the ‘Truck Chase’ would’ve detracted from the quality of the cat. I would not of been opposed to riding in the truck until the dogs had leopard bayed up or treed - but Not riding up to the bayed cat, Never shooting it from a truck (parked or otherwise). I thought (assumed) they always Walked In once cat stopped running…I guess this is how some PHs run their Hound leopard hunts but assume Not all operate like this.
Some Cougar Guides with hounds follow dogs on snowmobiles or in their trucks but once Cat is treed/bayed they Walk-In and that walk can be a few hundred yards to a mile or more depending on terrain and access roads etc.. Hearing the hounds barking and the sound slowing getting louder as You walk in and get closer is an exciting part of the hunt. Also, the physical effort (which is often exhausting) to get close to the cat makes me feel that “I did something” besides just pull-the-trigger.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

A tip for aspiring hunters for leopard over bait:
For your bait animal, select either a hippopotamus or a zebra. It raises your chances of success considerably over any other bait animal which I’ve ever experimented with.

 

[Betterinthebush]

My PH gave me 10 references to call. One reference I had to give my number for ahead of time and set an appointment for the reference check (professional athlete). All ten had hunted within the past two years. He offered more references upon request.

I decided for this goal, to have an opportunity to chase a boss Tom in a renowned area, I was going to pull out all the stops and swing for the fence. Win, lose or draw, I wasn’t going to leave, knowing this was my big chance, and took the cheap way. If I go home holding the vacuum bag it wasn’t going to be because I didn’t swing hard.

 

[375Fox]

I understand it’s not a realistic expectation to to track a leopard, so a hound hunt has been growing on my mind. I’m curious though does anybody call them in? I’ve seen a couple videos where they would call croc in and I’m super interested in that. Calling probably turns me on the most but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of anybody doing it for the big cats.

With finite time and resources I don’t personally have much interest in siting in a blind for lion, leopard or even croc. I don’t even like sitting in a tree stand, though I’ve done it when I had to.

You don’t hear a lot about calling because it produces some questionable results. I’d thoroughly look into any outfitter suggesting this as their first choice. Save calling for hyena where any hyena is legal and thermal doesn’t affect your perception of the hunt.

 

[Bonk]

Hunting with dogs (bear, mountain lion, racoons, etc) is not something I’ve ever been interested in. In fact I have an opinion about it that is probably different from a lot of others on this forum. However, @PANTHER TRACKERS description of hunting leopard with dogs was very intriguing and is the first thing I’ve ever seen that might tempt me to try hunting with dogs.