Hi, Looks like I´ll be going for leopard in May! We´ll be hunting for about 10 days and I guess I´ll need some luck to get my cat...but Tino has a good track record on leopards.

Any tips?

Don't miss!

The secret to leopards is to go where they are plentiful and/or naive! I hope the spot you will be hunting is one or both of the above. If it is, no worries.

Luck. 10 days with bait, dogs? What Will says is the deal. Unless your accepting just any Leopard, you need an area where they abound and have age on them. Older Tom's don't get prime by being foolish. But greed will make them slip up once they find another Toms territory suddenly became vacant. All the best my friend, David

RM007 is spot on, and so is LDK's advice. Wayne Grant states in his book "Into The Thorns" that approximately 50% of all of leopard clients either miss or wound a leopard without recovery. That's astounding given the nature of the blind and rifle set up. But, believe me, pressure, LIKE NO OTHER, exists in a leopard blind at the moment of truth. So, take your time, don't jerk and don't miss. . . .and good luck!

Talk to your outfitter about pre-baiting. It is well worth the money to start putting out bait and spreading "trail mix" a few days before you arrive.

Take a book, quiet clothes and something to sit on.

It's the most difficult easy shot you'll ever have. Test fire your rifle the same distance from where your blind is to the tree bait. It's a confidence builder. Use the waiting time in the blind to review all the rules of proper shot placement. Tape the cheat sheet on a page in the paperback book you're reading. When you take aim at him, don't aim for a general area. Pick out a specific rosette on his hide you want to drill a hole through. That way if you're slightly off, your shot still finds the general spot. Take two advil before getting into the blind which will serve as muscle relaxers and pain relievers. They reduce your temptation to squirm and fidget in your chair. When he jumps into the tree don't look at him right away, because you'll react like a lady who's just seen a large diamond ring. Wait for your PH to tell you to get ready to shoot and gradually begin your execution. Don't shoot the cat when his muscles are flexed. Don't play the angle on a leopard, shoot for the near side lung. Because of the contour of his body the bullet almost never exits the same angle that which it enters, so shoot for the vital organ on the side that's presented to you. Unless it's a ground shot remember you're shooting upward which may have a slight effect. Oh, one last thing CEWE. Believe in yourself. Think of all the other nervous moments in your life where you've prevailed the winner. You can do it! I know you can!

Good Luck and I wanna see a picture when you get back (but don't pick it up and hug it.)

Moja

Sable Trail, you've been there. Good advice and way to put him in the blind.
You're right on when you first see him. I thought mine was a lion at first, he was way to big to be a leopard and I've seen lots of leopard. It's different when your the one pulling the trigger.

I will add, take a good range finder, sit in the blind and measure the distance, then go shoot your rifle at exactly that distance, again measured with your range finder. Confidence is the key.

Good luck CEWE.

Jeg vil se bilder når du er hjemme igjen...

I am looking forward to read about your hunt..

Lykke til....

Rino

Everything said above is spot on.

If you are inclined to allergies, take some Flonase and Allegra. The grass used for the blind gave me fits, which, together with my natural edginess, made my poor ph's life hell.

Don't forget to check the baits at odd times. A friend of mine found that the leopard was coming in during high noon when they were out hunting. They changed up their times, and nailed Mr. Spots. Kudude

Book you hunt with Shakari....

I think he is going for 6 odd years with 100% sucess....

Must be doing something right.

If you are shooting from a blind over bait, your shot will be in low light. Your target may be nothing more distinct than a silhouette. No rosettes, not another detail, just a silhouette.

Then, you need, and had better have, a scope with an illuminated reticle. Just put the dot on the shoulder and press the trigger.

quote:

Then, you need, and had better have, a scope with an illuminated reticle. Just put the dot on the shoulder and press the trigger.

That is the best piece of advice, leopard hunting often involve bad light conditions and it is not always possible to pick a single rosette.

Once in the Luangwa valley my leopard came after sun set and it was just before dark, I could only see the silhouette of the cat on branch. There was no way that I could see the crosshair of scope but I was able to take a successful shot with help of illuminated dot in the scope.

Every PH has his own way of hunting Mr Spots and his own tricks of the trade and it's be unprofessional of me to go into exact methods here as my tricks might not be the same as whoever you've booked with......... Locations also differ hugely and this can also dictate a lot of variables. For example, in Tanzania we use grass blinds and in Botswana, where there is a shortage of grass we use material covered over with branches...... so my best advice would be to put your trust in your PH.

However, you can rehearse some aspects of the shot itself and this will help you when the time comes. My advice would be (if you have a suitable location) to try to recreate some typical Leopard shooting scenarios. Set up a shooting position with a chair and completely firm rifle rests etc. Then for your target, take a largish cardboard box and draw an outline of a lifesized Leopard on it, complete with rosettes if possible. Then suspend a small plastic bottle INSIDE the box where the heart will be. - A few small stones in the bottle will help hold the bottle steady. Then suspend the box in a suitable elevated position at a suitable range. - I usually try to set my Leopard shots up at between 35 -45 yards if possible. Then start shooting. It helps when you're picking your shot placement, to select a rosette and shoot for that, but your real aiming point is in the middle of the animal, not on the outside. - Alter this scenario by changing heights and angles etc as much as you can. - The shot at Leopard should be the easiest of your safari, but it's the most crucial and the one most commonly stuffed up. So the name of the game, is practice, practice, practice.

When I set this scenario up for my clients it's at the exact range, angle and exact height as he'll be shooting his cat and I expect him to be able to put 3 consecutive shots through the heart/bottle of the target before we go and sit for the cat. - Since I started using this method, I haven't had a single client wound the cat. - All have been 1 shot kills. - Although not always found at the foot of the tree....... some have occasionally needed a shortish follow up before we found them dead.

Another good investment (at least as far as the PH is concerned) is a Surefire Kroma, which when you use the blue function, will make any follow up considerably easier and safer. - They're expensive, but nowhere near as expensive as the trophy fee on a Leopard.

I'm also a great fan of red lights (which they can't see) on cat hunts and you might like to pack a few of those cheap red LED headtorches to place in suitable locations in case your PH might like to use them.

FWIW, I wrote a piece on the subject for ASG a while ago and you might be able to find a copy of it somewhere.......... I've no idea when they published it though, probably in the last 9 months or so.

I'll also add that 10 days is (IMO) a bit short for a Leopard hunt, so if you can get some pre-baiting done, it'd be a good idea.......

Hope that helps and good luck on your hunt.

Jakkals,

Thanks for those kind words...... I think it's now 7 or 8 years now, but am not sure without trolling through umpteen diaries. Probably since about 2000 or 2001 or so.

does Shakari mean Cat man

On what side of a leopard is the most spots?

375 Fanatic: Most of the spots are on the outside!

Thanks to one and all for the pointers and moral support. I´ve done a lot of sitting in blinds and I don´t fidget much -but I have a tendency to fall asleep...

We´ll do prebaiting and they´re are leopards in th area so that should work.

Why can´t I pick it up for the trophy shot?

And 10 days is a bit short but I just had to have it...

Just think of it as shooting another Impala for bait. Oh 375 the outside.

wawoo,i think u guys can do magic,the way u have explained looks like one is sitting in the blind waiting for the moment of truth, the best thing is to remmber when the time comes,best of luck i know u can do it,just belive in urself,cheers

Reading this thread just makes me want to leave right away!

I have been known to come down with some major buck fever from time to time. Boha has taught me some deep brathing techniques which have helped.

I´m just hoping I dont´t get overly jittery when the time comes.

Cewe,

The lighted recticle is important in low light... The German #4 is how my scope is configured... What I did when the cat came in was talk myself thru all the steps of the shooting sequence... From holding the rifle to the shoulder and don't touch the trigger till the cat is in the crosshairs the safety will be off, so no click pushing it off.. Then do what you have practiced for " make the shot"

The results...

Sniper: The Erasmus family grows on one doesn´t it?
What will you be going for this year?

Boha is working on the rifle I´ll be using for the trip, a 9.3x64 built on an M98 action. I´ll be using the RWS TIG (or was it TUG?) bullet for the cat.

I can´t wait to get going! So far I´ve usually hunted earlier in the year...

CEWE:
One more thing. Set your scope on mid-power. Let's say you're topped with something like a 1.5 X 6. Set it just a touch past 3-power. This will reduce the appearance of the rifle shaking, especially if your prone to buck fever. Whatever you do, make sure you don't twist for full magnifiation, it will look like the leoard is dancing. Just personal preference on the "hugging" snapshot. I'll tell you a funny story one day of a buddy who experienced a tick that decided to switch bodies, right around the "waist" area, after he hugged his leopard. It was painful! He felt the pain at about 3:00 a.m., and made such a commotion in camp that we all woke up. He thought somebody was biting his d _ _ k! Needless to say, watch out for them if you get intimate with the leopard during the photo session. Everybody has really provided excellent comments here. Someone should condense these in a file, for next person who seeks such advice. Shakari, excellent advice!

Moja

That's another thing the illuminated reticle is good for...looking for ticks!

in afrikaans we call it "die bosluis in my hol sindroom" its when that ticks start to work you later

375 fanatic: I see your point -I´ll cross that one when (if) I get to it.

Lot´s of good info, thanks.

Sniper: I got a good waterbuck last year but it took awhile. Hold out and you´ll get a good one. PM me your email adress for pics from last year.

Goddammit, the man is in a hurry.. I'm chequering my eyes sore at the moment to get his leopard gun ready...

Boha

I didn't read all of the posts. Perhaps someone has already said this. Take those yellow shooting glasses that gather light. These can make a difference between getting the shot or not.

If shooting over bait, and money is not too limiting otherwise: I'd get the best optics scope I could afford (like S & B, Zeiss, Swaro) with a large objective and low power to optimize light gathering. There may be others (Nightforce, high-end Leopold) but I don't have experience with them. There's a reason the Europeans build those scopes with too much objective lens: for low light shooting. As stated elsewhere, an illuminated reticle is a great help. Shots are likely to be with failing light (assuming they are not spotlighting them). I used an illuminated reticle, oversized Swaro on my leopard, and it was excellent for this job (for other applications my rifles have much smaller leopolds).

There is one school of thought that "softer" bullets are better for leopard, but discussion of this is cans of worms. The main thing is shot placement.

If you will be shooting "after dark" if its legal where you are the best thing is to keep practicing putting your head,eyes and hands on the gun whie you are waiting in the light and make sure the bait is still in your crosshairs, muscle memory means a lot just ask any golfer that takes a practice stroke. That way when you turn on the red light on top of your scope and can only see red or pink you will be able to rely on your muscle memory to pick out the chest and possibly a rosette. It really looks different with the red light than it does in the daylight. Good Luck know your rifle and practice nothing is more important than that.
I got mine on the last night of the last day and never saw dinner after just the bar to celebrate with my other 4 family members that were along and hunting.
Doc

quote:

Originally posted by cewe:
Reading this thread just makes me want to leave right away!

I have been known to come down with some major buck fever from time to time. Boha has taught me some deep brathing techniques which have helped.

I´m just hoping I dont´t get overly jittery when the time comes.

cewe,I don't have a Leopard, but I have sat in a blind for pleanty of game,some very dangerous game, and the key is to practice setting your mind off the leopard, and putting it on the target! By that, I mean calm yourself down, and think of the target as a paper target on the range at home, not a $10K leopard, and concentrate on the shot, with the idea in your head, that you are starting a three shot group, and you want the tightest group you can shoot. This way the first shot will be very percise, and that mindset will avoid buck fever!

A poorly hit dangerous animal, that must be followed into the thorn, may be fun to talk about back home,after it is over, but I assure you, it is not fun while it's happening, so make that first shot a good one!

.............Good luck on your cat!

Boha: You are creating a masterpiece -again. Man you should be given tons of walnut and a shop to make beautiful stocks in! You are an artist.

Mac: Sounds like a good tip! If I close my eyes I can already see the leopard...Tino can usually keep me concentrated until the shot, he´s whispered me through brown hyena and bushpig