How to Shoot a Lion in Six Days

In July of 2025, I resumed my quest for a lion. I had hunted lions in the Matetsi safari concession in Zimbabwe in 2022 with Classic African Hunting, but we had no legal lions come to bait. We shot a nice bull elephant and an exceptional roan antelope, but no lions. Things dramatically changed for me during my 2025 hunt.

Hunting lions in Zimbabwe is far from a sure thing. Permits are limited, and many outfitters book hunts years out. Several bait animals need to be located, shot, cut up, and hung in strategic locations. Checking baits becomes a day-long process until a bait is hit. Tree cameras are critical, and photos need to be carefully reviewed daily. Any lions that come to the bait must meet very specific criteria to be considered legal. They must be males at least six years old, and professional hunters go to great lengths analyzing tree camera photos before building a blind. If a lion is shot and does not meet the criteria, the PH is heavily fined and will lose future quota permits. Taking a lion in less than a week is like drawing into an inside straight six times in a row and winning each hand. During my last hunt, all the cards fell into play perfectly.

Day One – Bait
We started off early on the first day of our safari. The air was crisp, and fleece jackets were a must. We were looking for large animals for bait—a giraffe or a cape buffalo, or a zebra as a last choice. According to Guav Johnson, our PH, a giraffe would give us seven baits, a buffalo would yield only four baits, and a zebra two. After a few hours of surveying the landscape, we finally spotted a small herd of zebra up on a high hill. The stalk was long and protracted, as the zebra held the high ground and could easily spot us. Just as we got into position to shoot one of the stallions, the wind shifted and he bolted. It wasn’t until near dusk that we connected with a bait animal.

As we rounded a turn in the dirt road, my wife Patricia, seated in the top bench in the open-air Land Cruiser, spotted a giraffe. Guav and I quickly disembarked the truck. He set up the sticks, and I put the crosshairs of my .375 on the animal’s vitals. The giraffe only traveled a short distance until it fell. We had our bait.

Day Two – Hanging the Baits
True to his word, we got seven baits out of the giraffe. The pieces of meat were massive, and I was shocked when Guav said that one would only last a few days if hit by several lions. We put up three in the morning and three in the afternoon. We must have driven over fifty kilometers! Hanging lion baits is a non-trivial task. The “right” tree has to be located in the “right” location, usually near a water source. The huge piece of meat is hoisted using the truck to raise it up, and it is secured to the tree branch with chains. It must be at just the right height, forcing the lion to stand on its hind legs to access the meat. Then the bait is covered with leafed branches pre-harvested from a bush selected by the trackers. The covering descends around the bait to keep it cool and protected from vultures. The last step is to position two tree cameras where the best photos of any lion visiting the bait could be taken.

Day Three – Checking Baits and Cameras
While checking baits, I truly sympathized with my wife, who was perched on the top bench of the roofless truck. She felt each bump and sway as we drove over some very rough “roads” across the concession. We visited each bait, swept the area under the tree as needed, and collected and analyzed tree camera photos. Some baits were untouched, and some were visited by female lions or leopards. One was hit by a large male, who got our interest. Guav studied the photos, sent them to other professional hunters, and finally decided that it was “just not legal.” The mane was not full enough, the body was a little too small, and the face was too unscarred. Guav said maybe it would be legal next year. We moved the bait to a new location, as there was no sense in feeding a lion which could not be shot.

Day Four – A Good Hit
Late in the morning of the fourth day, we struck gold, or so it seemed. A large male lion had dined on our bait that was hung just next to a riverbank. Feeling confident, Guav proceeded to build a blind on the opposite bank of the water (river would really be a misnomer this time of year). We set up the chairs and made sure the rifle rest was comfortable and on target before we left. Guav and I returned to the blind later that day.

Our stalk into the blind began while the sun was still high. We made our way into the site walking over a few kilometers in complete silence. Once we got situated in the blind, we discovered that the tree we were parked under was also a roosting spot for the local guinea fowl population. Trying not to spook them became an effort. Dusk came, shooting light evaporated, and we left with no lion in sight.

Day Five – Return and Relocation
We left well before daybreak to re-enter the river blind. When, after several hours, no lions came, we checked the camera. Our lion had not revisited the bait, so we removed the meat from the tree for use in another location and moved on to the next bait. Lo and behold, the camera showed two full-grown male lions feasting on that bait. Guav immediately had the trackers cut brush to erect two blinds, one close and one a little farther from the bait. After two hours, the blinds were built, and we went on to check the “machan” bait, where an elevated blind platform had previously been built. To our amazement, the same two lions had moved on to that bait later in the previous evening. We hurried back to our two blinds, took them down, and headed to the “machan” site. In a few hours, a ground blind was erected, and the elevated blind was camouflaged with leafed branches.

Late in the afternoon, we made the long, quiet stalk into the tree blind. All was quiet until about thirty minutes before sunset. A mature male lion sauntered into the bait area, unaware of our presence. He walked around the bait and lay down. I could not find him in my scope and did not shoot. We left the machan with both Guav and me exasperated. A good lion had just slipped through my hands.

Day Six – A Trophy in Hand
Guav was convinced that the lions would have stayed on the bait overnight, so we headed out very early on day six to get to the blind. The Land Cruiser was parked several kilometers away from the bait site, and Guav and I padded noiselessly down the sandy road. When we approached the ground blind, we could hear the lion gnawing on the giraffe leg. Sneaking into the blind, we waited for sunrise and legal shooting time. I could see the lion standing upright, feeding on the bait. He twisted and turned as the bait swung from the tree. Finally, he let go and presented a broadside shot. Aiming with great care, I sent a bullet through his chest cavity. He rolled, ran off, and died about 100 yards away right by the nearby riverbank. I finally had my lion.

Retrospective
Is this a roadmap for a lion hunt? Hardly. It was a confluence of luck, skill, and timing. We had a dedicated and seasoned PH who knew the area and had killed many lions in previous hunts. We shot the right bait animal and hung the baits early in the safari. The lions were identifiable as legal game from the tree camera photos, and we were able to guess their movements. Everything fell into place for us. Could it happen again? Highly unlikely. Just ask me about my 2022 hunt.

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