Q- The idea of hunting lions fascinates me. Have you ever harvested a lion or
taken a known man-eater? If so, what rifle did you use? I hear it takes a
hell of a gun to down a lion. I could not imagine a more exciting hunt.
A- I killed a magnificant African Lion in the Sudan in 1978 with my Browning Safari Grade bolt-action rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum with Remington CoreLokt 175 grain ammo at about 200 yards. Hit square on the shoulder broadside, he dropped like a bag-o-rocks. He did however roar in my face as I approached him from the rear so I touched off a 500 grain softpoint from my Weatherby .460 magnum. That did it. Lions are relatively soft & can certainly be killed easily with a properly placed bullet in even the lightweight calibers like .243 I am sure. Many have been bowkilled & cleanly taken with .357 magnum & .44 magnum handguns. However, it is universally agreed that a .375 H&H magnum is the best lion caliber, again, as long as shot placement is perfect. He will eat you if he can. There are plenty of lions throughtout Africa in their historical habitat. South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, &others offer great lion hunting. Though Botswana supports a healthy, thriving lion population, that country has caved into anithunting zealots & is now losing valuable conservation revenues while dealing with a lion problem. Go figure. Goodluck & may the King of Beasts bring you much spirit.