TANZANIA: Splitting a Full Bag In Tanzania

[Scott CWO]

This is the first lion Mike has taken from a blind in 13 years in Maswa North. They usually don’t feed on baits due to all the game present in Maswa but that hippo that Jim shot definitely helped turn the table. This lion was so cagey that I don’t think we would have gotten him any other way. He left the bait at first light and we got lucky to see him change course and head back for the river. I actually chose the blind site with Mike’s blessing and we placed it near the river to try to intercept the lion before he disappeared into the riverside cover. I figured that if I got a lion on this trip that it would be by spot and stalk or tracking. I thought that would be more fun but I don’t regret for a second how it all happened. This lion was too smart for spot and stalk during daylight. I’m proud of the hunt and lion.

 

[Piet Brood]

Awesome!

 

[Altitude sickness]

Wow! He’s a tank. Congrats. What an exciting hunt. He made you appreciate it more.

 

[AZDAVE]

Very impressive lion. I am sure you are relived those shots over and over CONGRATZ!!!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats on the lion! Enjoying reading about the entire hunt!

 

[Fatback]

Doesn’t get any better than that. Congrats on getting the apex African predator. What a hunt and the trophy to remember it by for the rest of your life. Bravo!!

 

[Sideshow]

N

What a cat ! Congrats to Jim for a great pistol shot

Sounds like Mike should check into a Sherp vehicle View attachment 575461View attachment 575465

Nice idea but getting the spare parts would be a mear let alone letting the local fundi lose on it

 

[Red Leg]

Heck of a cat Scott. Well done and really well told.

 

[BRICKBURN]

It is almost like you patterned him. Well done.

 

[ACE (in CT)]

Thank you for sharing your adventure, I really enjoyed following along.

Ever notice how when we plan a hunting trip we obviously want the main quarry part of the hunt to go as planned, but it's so often the unexpected things that make it really special? I suspect that you'll remember the Night you all spent out in the bush and the craziness of the Hippo rodeo as some of the most cherished memories of the trip

 

[Inline6]

Nice cat! Congratulations!

 

[PARA45]

WOW!!!! That is one huge lion, you can tell he was well fed. What an unforgettable experience. Please tell me there is more.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Scott, do you have any pics of you up front near the lions head or front legs for proportion. His head looks huge.

 

[7mmFan]

excellent hunt and report. congrats and thank you so much for sharing it with us.

 

[MontanaPat]

Congrats on a super lion, This has been an exciting story of a great adventure, thanks for sharing and keeping us in suspense.

 

[Scott CWO]

Scott, do you have any pics of you up front near the lions head or front legs for proportion. His head looks huge.

Unfortunately, due to the angle of the first shot, which hit him in an artery or the jugular vein, pictures of his neck, his mane below his head and his pectoral area cannot be posted. We had to move him and clean him up as best we could for pictures. I have some pictures with me holding up his head but I don’t think I should post them. He has a great mane under his head and on his lower shoulders but it would have taken hours to dry if we had cleaned it up all the way with water.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Fantastic lion! Congratulations on another epic adventure.

 

[Scott CWO]

Scott, do you have any pics of you up front near the lions head or front legs for proportion. His head looks huge.

Full-maned lions do have big looking heads. The picture with just Wendy and I isn’t from complete broadside but it’s close to that type of angle. I think it shows his body fairly well.

 

[Scott CWO]

After taking care of the lion, lunch and a nap back at camp, we headed out again in the afternoon. It rained again and I snapped this picture of how the road ruts would fill up with water. Saw some elephants but not much to report.

 

[Scott CWO]

On November 18th and onward, with two cats in the salt, our focus now shifted to elephant, buffalo and plains game. No more checking baits, which was fine by me. The amount of flies around the baits is not something to miss.

This middle part of the hunt also dried out quite a bit and we were able to cover more ground and not get stuck as often. Until now, I hadn’t mentioned the lovely tsetse fly. Of course they were present and nasty in some areas and we sometimes wore a headnet in those areas. Luckily, we didn’t see them around camp.

We headed south in good weather to look for elephants and we found plenty. Along the way, we spotted a Bohor reedbuck with a female. The Bohor subspecies is smaller than the common reedbuck. I have quite a large common reedbuck from Coutada 9 in Mozambique so I didn’t think I would shoot a Bohor as I’m not one to collect every subspecies. While watching the Bohor male, Mike kept tempting me by saying how big it was and that I should try to shoot it. He said it was bigger than Jim’s reedbuck and we all started joking about that. I’m not a competitive hunter but even Jim thought I should shoot it, partly because it was bigger than his. I happily relented after Mike told me a fourth time how big it was!

We dismounted and started walking after the reedbuck. The male was chasing the female around and they had moved off. Once we got closer, we could never get a standing shot due to all the chasing going on. I finally took a moving shot and of course, hit the male a bit too far back. He took off and we gave chase. He was sick and finally stopped. I quickly shot again. He then bolted towards a lower swampy area and went out of sight. He was obviously hit a second time. We tracked him to the swampy area but couldn’t find him anywhere. We started circling and one of the trackers spotted him completely submerged under the water! We pulled him out and the trackers carried him back towards the Cruiser for pictures. And yes, all in good fun,

he was bigger than Jim’s. Haha.