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I am seriously contemplating an archery safari for my 50th birthday next year. This will be my first trip to Africa and I want to do it right but also have to take cost into account. I am primarily interested in Eland, Kudu, Zebra, Warthog and Leopard. Would it be feasible to hunt these in the same area? Would bow hunting Leopard be legal? I would also really love to hunt Lion with a bow but I am afraid that may be out of my price range but it will be a consideration. How long of a hunt should I book? How far in advance can I and should I book? It looks like South Africa would be the most economical. Are there any requirements for bows in South Africa? Any reccomendations on set up? I would like to use my Hoyt Charger @ 65 lbs and use Easton FMJ arrows with DRT broadheads. Any suggestions?

South Africa would be the place. Do not count on using your bow on a leopard....it can be done, but hasn't been done too much for a variety of reasons.......

Lots of RSA operators are set up for bowhunters and can answer all your questions.

You might PM member jjhack first..Good guy.

I have bowhunted SA twice and Zim once in the past four years. I agree with the above gent, on leopard and would add that its very expensive.
If you are an experienced bowhunter, I highly recommend a safari.
If I can help with any specifics, PM me.

Leopard in South Africa will certainly NOT be the most economical. South African cats are big, but they carry a big price tag as well. Looking at your list, I think you should be looking at Namibia. The minimum hunt length for Leopard is 14 days.
I have some areas in Zimbabwe for Leopard, but it won't suffice for the plains game that you have.It's more dangerous game areas within tribal area.
The only place that I can think of that we hunt and where you will find all of those animals in one area, is in Namibia.
Setting up a pop up blind at a waterhole should yield some great results.

So it looks like my best bet is to forgo the Leopard and stick to plains game for the first trip. Since the Eland is the biggest wil ny setup be adequate for the job? I am also thinking that lots of pictures and European mounts along with the Zebra skin would be the way to go also.

Yeah...a quick price check on leopard puts you in the $16K category , plus I wish you the best of luck getting a PH that will go along with the bow plan....again, it can be done, and has been done. But I'd personally rather walk into a lake of fire than stick a leopard with an arrow....

I would not recommend leopard, but I have hunted with 2 different operators in Namibia that are archery enthusiasts. Kowas is an outstanding property and Danie Strauss likes archery gear. Tobin Englebrect at Englebrect Safaris would be my first choice for an archery hunt. He is passionate about bow hunting and has great eland and warthogs. He also has Dik diks.

No knock on bow hunting,a sharp arrow in the right place is a hell of a killer,but your wish list is pretty ambitious.You will need quite a few days and might have to settle for less than top trophy size.Definitely no on the leopard with a bow.
It certainly can be done but if you want to come home with a full bag plan on spending lots of time and bucks.
Good Luck!

Prices go waaay up from $16,000. I received a SA quote of $35,000

I bow and rifle hunted Limpopo and had chances at all the above, except Leopard. Passed on a nice eland with a bow.

pacecars,

I hunted the Limpopo area a few years ago with my bow. It was a great experience, for sure. Took Kudu, Impala, Duiker, and a monster Eland. My bow was a Matthews Reezen, set at 64#, and used a 100 gr. Muzzy 3 blade broadhead. Arrow nearly went thru, with the tip of the broadhead just breaking thru the hide on the far side of the chest area.

We were sitting at a waterhole, hoping to get a shot at a Nyala, when just at dark, we heard the 'click, click, click' of an approaching Eland. This giant showed up, and it took forever for a broadside shot to present itself.

With darkness approaching, we had to return the next morning, and found him dead, and untouched.

Very nice. I have heard that Eland are bigger than Cape Buffalo, I would assume their hides aren't as thick though.

The hide is no different for the most part, they are however much bigger. A big bull Eland will dwarf a cape buffalo bull especially in height. Eland are quite tough as are the majority of the heard species.

I have seen several Livingston bulls jump an 8ft fence on a dead run as well. You could feel the impact of the bulls hitting the ground on the other side when they landed. Imagine is you can 2000 lbs of bull eland 10 feet off the ground, legs folded under the chest it's an impressive sight to be sure!

Bighorn, it must have taken a team of guys to get those stiffened legs folded up so nice the next day! As well as getting the body positioned well! Great Photo, could not have done better myself!

I'll guess your arrows are about 400 grains total with the 100 grain Broadhead. Impressive capability with archery eh! Don't know Draw length, but even so that is a big animal with 64lb of draw weight.

Folks often mistake the lethal power of a surgical razor on a 400 plus grain projectile at 250 plus FPS. I've seen plenty of archery shot game and die in sight of us. Yet near identical placed shots on the same species with a rifle run a very long way. Archery cannot be underestimated!

JJ,

My draw length is 29". Overall arrow weight, if I recall correctly, was 420 grains, and chrono velocity at 275 fps. This Eland was by far the largest game I have ever attempted with a bow, and in fact it's a little difficult to find anything larger to tackle, weight-wise, without way heavier gear.

The bull Kudu I shot with this same setup was slightly quartering to me. Arrow hit tight behind the shoulder, and exited ahead the far hindquarter. Bull ran 80 yards and dropped dead.

There are many good broadheads out there on the market, but it's hard to argue the performance of the Muzzy.
Here's a pic of the eland arrow, snapped in half, probably when he took off running.

Ha Ha! I was close on the arrow weight!

I shoot 28.5" and 125 grain BH's so I was pretty sure I would be close.

You're correct as well that you will not likely find a bigger or more massive animal to shoot with that gear. Safe to say you have reached the functional limit. Not to say it's not possible to kill a Buffalo or a giraffe with that gear. However prudent hunting ethics end with this size animal using that equipment. Using it for bigger game switches to "stunt" hunting from here forward. After all the object is not to kill the animal, it's to find it in good shape in a reasonable time.

I've killed some big species like bison, elk, bears and eland as well with archery. The stress was not worth the accomplishment for me on the bigger animals. At some point we just have to know and accept the ethical limitations of our gear and our skills.

I arrowed a large eland in August of 14, in the Limpopo. Broad side, 20 yards, slick trick mag, full penetration. It ran maybe 50 yards and was dead.
I also arrowed a cape buffalo on that trip.
I think the buffalo was heavier, but not by much, and the eland it quite a bit taller.
I watched the eland get processed and the skin on it was thinner than a whitetail. I also watched the buffalo get processed, the skin was considerably thicker.
I didn't think there was even a comparison in toughness between these two.
The eland was a very easy soft kill. The buffalo, no so much.