Broadside
Follow the back line of the front leg up a third of the body. The mane covers the neck and shoulders and makes the chest look deeper and further forward than it is; ignore it and aim by the leg and elbow.
Quartering and other angles
Quartering to, the shot enters at the point of the near shoulder and angles toward the far flank. Quartering away, aim for the far front leg. A frontal shot into the centre of the chest below the chin is a close-range or emergency shot.
Do not
Do not take a lion without a backup rifle ready and a follow-up planned, and do not shoot a lion that has not been aged. A wounded lion in cover is one of the most dangerous situations in African hunting.
Where they live and the typical miss
Hunted in parts of Southern and East Africa where lion hunting is legal. The typical miss is high and back, over the heart and into the top of the lungs or the liver, because the mane misleads the eye.
Over bait and on foot
Lion are usually shot over bait from a blind, or tracked on foot. From a blind, wait for a clear broadside and use the front leg as your reference, not the mane.
The follow-up
A wounded lion charges low and fast. Never follow into cover without your professional hunter.