The wild look in Duri's eyes said it all... "This is crazy. You're a lun-atic, and I ought to have my head examined for letting you talk me into it!" But as the huge African lion quickly approached us, the wheel-bow and release aid feeling foreign in my hands, the time for second thoughts was long past.

The King weighed some 450 pounds. My PH, Duri, far right, probably still thinks I'm a lunatic, but he no longer questions the lethality of a well-placed arrow.

Duri Simões (pronounced Seemoni-osh) was my PH (Professional Hunter), and I was in northeast Zambia on safari with my buddy, and benefactor on this hunt, Jim Boyer. Jimmy had called me earlier in the year and asked what I was doing in August. The archery deer and elk seasons in my home state of Colorado open near the end of the month, so I asked Jimmy what part of August he meant.

"August!" he replied. "I'm taking you to Jurassic Park for the entire month of August, and it's already booked. So you're going."

I mumbled something about his sanity, started three incoherent sentences, and finally blurted, "Where exactly is Jurassic Park, and when exactly do we leave?"

Jurassic Park turned out to be on the eastern side of the Luangwa River in Zambia, at the Mtowzi Camp of Croc-odile Safaris. The camp operator, P.J. Fouché, would be guiding Jim, while I would enjoy the company of two different guest PH's over the course of the 21-day safari. Duri Simões would be in charge of my last two weeks. He had never guided a bowhunter before, and he was skeptical.

On day 15 of the already successful hunt, as Jim had previously taken a lion, P.J. told Duri of a large lion track downriver from camp. So early the next morning, Duri, his trackers, and I were off to find the spoor of this lion to see if we could figure out a way to get within bow range. It wasn't long before we located fresh tracks.

After evaluating the area, Duri decided he wanted to hang a quarter of a hippo -- an animal we'd taken earlier in the hunt -- in a tree. If you've ever hung a quarter of a deer or elk in a tree, you know that can be an ordeal. Now picture hoisting a 500-pound chunk of hippo up a tree. "Easy" does not describe the process.

In any case, we did get some hippo meat in a tree. Now it was a waiting game to see if The King would find our offering.

Two days later, we were excited to see that the lion had showed up to dine, and the trackers were impressed with the sign he'd left. In his deep, Angolan-born, Portuguese accent, Duri said, "We are hunting a very beeeg lion." I didn't bother to mention that any lion would be "very beeeg" to me!

As the guys began to clear the ground at the base of a large Mopane tree, I asked, "What are they doing?"

"They're building the blind where we'll wait to shoot the cat," Duri replied.

Immediately, I turned and looked at the hippo from where we were standing. "It's too far away," I said.