By 9:30 we had cut the tracks of a big male and were on foot after him. Within a hour we spotted him twice moving ahead of us at a distance of more than 100 yards. Then he just seemed to take a we could catch up to him again.

We looked for more tracks trying to find another big male lion. The sandy soil of the Kalahari is perfect for tracking. However we found it difficult to sort out a big lion track from all the others; brown hyena, lionesses, and lots of hoofed critters.

We will continue to look for a big lion.

Friends,

I have attempted to send regular updates about my exciting bowhunt for a mature male lion.

Finally after two days of running after tracks in the sands of the South African Kalahari... sweet success is mine!

This big lion ran from us for several hours. Finally he had been pushed enough and began to circle around trying to rest and hide in the shade from the hot sun.

Once he even climbed up into a small camelthorn tree but as we approached the tree limb broke at he lost this balance and half-jumped and half-fell to the ground.

We stayed on his trail continually pushing him as hard as we could in the hot midday sun.

Then, as my PH said might happen, he simply turned toward us and crawled into the middle of a big thick bush. He was completely hidden except for his massive head. From this hideout he could see and hear everything and if not for some sharp eyes and good luck we might have walked right into him.

At 40 yards we spotted him as he glared at us from the shady cover.

His chin rested on the sand as his huge amber eyes seemed to drills holes into me as I looked at him through my binoculars. He had selected the perfect spot to wait for us as we squinted from the bright sun as he layed in the dark shade.

We quickly backed off and made our game plan. The PH was confident that the lion would not run off anymore. He stressed how dangerous our situation was as they kept a close eye on the lion and their big rifles at ready.

We had three choices; we could try to push the lion out of his cover; everyone agreed he would not run but charge.

We could try to shoot him were he was. He was laying under a bush with several thick limbs covering his vitals. Plus his heavy mane hair made it difficult to decipher were the proper spot to shoot would be.

Third choice; we could walk away and look for another lion.

As we studied the situation the big lion continued to lay in his hide staring intently at us.

The plan was for me to slip in as close as possible staying to his left side looking for an opportunity to sneak an arrow into him.

Tension was very high and my left hand was sweaty as I gripped the handle of my bow. I was loaded and mentally well prepared as we crept closer. At 30 yards the lion turned his head directly toward us and raised up a bit...not a reassuring situation for me as I heard the PH's shouldering their guns and safeties clicking off.

I was almost in position but dared to inch into 26 yards. The big lion was now in full view of us: and we of him.

As he layed I would attempt to shoot into his chest, just missing the onside shoulder and driving through the vitals just above the heart.

It sounded easy but the long mane hair, the tall grass, and those limbs on the bush were about all I could even try to calculate.... all while this giant lion is laying there at 26 yards twitching his tail and staring right at me!

My 20 yard pin was steady on him, everyone was ready.....as the arrow streaked into the shadows to do it's deadly job, I prayed that at the hit, the big lion would run rather than charge.

Thud! .....as the big Rage 3-blade drove deep into the lion's chest.

The entire bush exploded as the lion jumped into the air twisting and turning, and when he hit the ground.....he was running away from us growling and snarling. You talk about a tense moment...WOW! The brush shook at 40 yards as I nocked a quick second arrow. Then two more gurgly growls as all was quiet.

We stood there still and quiet half in shock and half wanting to celebrate what looked like a deadly shot.

We waited 20 minutes, which seemed much longer to me, and then moved up to were I had shot the lion. Almost immediately we spotted heavy blood as we cautiously tracked after him.

As we neared the last place we had heard him the pace slowed to one slow step and then another.

The Kalihari sand was heavily stained with lion blood as we cleared a bush and saw him laying there. He had run a loop and was waiting for us on his back trail....but the devastating damage of the arrow had overpowered his natural instinct to ambush us. The giant lion was dead.

I have been blessed to have hunted many

many places and taken more trophies than any one man deserves. But I have never been more impressed with the shear awesomeness of any animal as I was today.

From his giant muzzle to his hind feet he measured nearly 10 feet. At almost 600 pounds he filled the truck bed like a bull elk.

For most of my adult life I have secretly dreamed of this day when I would stand along side the King of Breast taken with my arrow.

Today my secret dream became reality.