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I shot a Leopard with the 270 grn. Barnes X bullet in my .375 on a Mozambique safari this past October. The shot was on the shoulder as per the instructions of my PH but the Leopard ran nearly 80 yards before calling it a night. In the furture I'll being shooting a softer bullet for Leopard. | |||
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Gentlemen, I think the above post is worth repeating! Mr. Jolly, the only other choice I would consider in the 375 H&H is a Nosler Partition, but there are many well known PHs who reccomend the silvertip in anything from 30-06 up to and including the 375 H&H for leopard, but I don't know one who reccomends an X bullet in the 375 H&H for the spotted cat! Of course I simply don't know all the PHs, so you can take my reccomendation for the price you paid for it! $0,00.............  ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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Mac, can I then be the 1st Ph you know that reccomends it? Karl Stumpfe Ndumo Hunting Safaris www.huntingsafaris.net karl@huntingsafaris.net P.O. Box 1667, Katima Mulilo, Namibia Cell: +264 81 1285 416 Fax: +264 61 254 328 Sat. phone: +88 163 166 9264 | |||
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I used a .375 caliber, 300 gr TSX on my Leopard in Zimbabwe. Although a bit embarrassed to admit it, I hit the cat too far back (guts and liver), and hit no bones whatsoever. The exit hole clearly showed the bullet had opened. The cat did run 80-100 yards, but was dead by the time we tracked and found it. I don't know how I could ask for better. There was significant internal damage (obviously fatal rather quickly) from a "poor hit". I will opt for the perfect placement every time over bullet construction, but realizing that perfect placement doesn't always happen, I use the TSX. They really do far more damage than you would expect just holding the bullet in your hand. Have any of you seen the Barnes video comparing how fast their bullets open compared to soft core lead bullets? It is a real eye opener. I realize it is a marketing video, but let me say that the slow motion video demonstrates clearly that the TSX bullets opens far quicker than others. While the bullet may look like a solid, it doesn't behave that way in tissue, and has never let me down. Bill | |||
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A .375 caliber Barnes X bullet is probably a bit on the hard side for use on leopard - but from my experience with X bullets, I have no doubt it would work just fine. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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If it wasn't for the spot of blood, we would not have found either the entry or the exit holes. Some of game scouts and trackers had a theory about the black coating we have on our bullets - that is molly coating. They think it is poison! As anything hit doesn't take long to die  I normaly add an additional coat to the bullets we use on "thin" skinned game, to make sure more poison stays in to do the killing  This whole notion that one bullet is too hard for some animals boggles the mind. | |||
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true but the real key everyone is missing in discussing the bullets is shot placement each and every time. That is the real key here. I suupose we can take this argument to the other extreme. From this train of thought we could think that ballistic tips would be the perfect bullet for leopard. Any thoughts? Happiness is a warm gun | |||
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R.Jolly, you are taking an expanding bullet (original Barnes-X). Of course it is not in the fast-expanding class like some others, but you are speculating about how well it will expand on leopard. My bet is that it will expand fairly well due to its high velocity. I say that because when you hunt leopard you are predicting a shot at fairly close range, say 50 yards. At that range your bullet will still be traveling at close to muzzle velocity. I suspect the bullet will be torn open violently because of the speed when hitting a soft target. I imagine that there will be lots of hydrostatic shock, much more than the X-bullet petals can stand. My guess is that it's only much further down range that you might encounter a more sluggish expansion. Thanks for letting us speculate with you on this. Bill That which is not impossible is compulsory | |||
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Many thanks for all of the advise and PMs on this subject. I thought that it may be of interest to post my conclusions. The general consensus would seem to be that hunting both buffalo and leopard with the same bullet from a 375 is a compromise, but that it is achievable. The bullet of choice for most including my Ph and oufitter is the Swift A Frame. | |||
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Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. People talk about getting into shape to do a safari, IMO shooting ability is sooo much more important and the same goes for bullets. | |||
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Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. People talk about getting into shape to do a safari, IMO shooting ability (with good accuracy) is sooo much more important and the same goes for bullets. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting African Big Game Hunting Are Barnes X too hard for Leopard
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