The post about illuminated reticles and Leopard hunting got me thinking. I have a new .338 I bought with Leopard in mind. What are the typical shot distances over bait from blinds.

300,

The physical layout around the bait tree may dictate the distance of the blind from the bait but I would expect under 50 yards to be pretty normal. The three leopards I have shot were between 34 and 37 yards. If the leopard comes in shooting light and you don't get too excited you'll get your leopard.

Mark

It will all depend on the terrain, mine was 97 yards.

Beware of the leopard at 37 yards that looks like it is at 97 yards. I've seen leopards in the skinning shed not much bigger than house cats.

Will,
I remember thinking just before I shot that my Leopard was huge and was one of the "monster" cat's that my PH takes every other year or so....when I approached it, it shrunk alot!
It weighed approx. 140lbs, not 200lbs like I thought it would.
Seriously, have you seen cat's taken that were the size of house cat's?

Females that were suppose to be males, and tiny, tiny leopards. Yeah as big as a large house cat. But I don't kiss and tell, details anyway.

My father and I both took our toms last July in Zim Matetsi unit 1, while on a 21 day safari.His was 7'2" and taken at 62yds(ranged with a rangefinder) on the 8th day,mine was day 16 and taken at 32yds(with a rangefinder) and he was 6'10".Like Mark Young said terrain will dictate yardage and blind placement.The wait will feel like it last for ever, but after the cat is in the tree time will fly and your heart will pound and the cat will look huge.Make sure your Ph knows what you are looking for size wise as some very small cats are shot.Thanks
wesley

My first shot was at least 100 yards, running across the rock face of a kopje. I missed by a few inches. The flying rock particles fired his afterburner. We were hunting with dogs and he flushed. I took him later when we flushed him again out of a crack in the rocks. The second shot was about 40 yards, and he was running like hell.

He weighed 110 pounds, and looked as big as many I seen (in pictures) that were supposed to be 180 pounds or more. I suspect there's a lot of BS going on. Also, he had an empty belly, and I've been told that chui can eat and hold 35-40 pounds of meat.

Hey Wesley,
How much did the 6'10" cat weigh?

It seems that my leopard was just under 40 yards. It was a chip shot except it was in the dark. Last possible shooting light. Good luck on your hunt. Shoot striaght, and don't get scratched. "D"

For me Mr Spots was about 80 yards out.

I am no expert, but I have learned that a huge element of the skill in leopard hunting, perhaps the greatest part of it, lies in choosing the right tree.

The right tree will generally be found:

1. where a multitude of big tom's tracks show him to be present; and
2. in an area where the topography and plant variety are such that a good concealment blind can be built in a location:
(a) downwind from the leopard's path of approach;
(b) downwind from the tree;
(c) where the glare of the setting sun or the rising moon will not be in the hunter's eyes at dusk or dawn; and
(d) where the blind can be placed 40 yards or less from the tree.

Some of these things (such as the presence of a tom leopard, of course!) are more important than others, but any tree that does not permit all of these things is not an ideal tree, and is more or less of a compromise.

Also, when I have been after leopard, we used a range finder to measure the distance from the shooting point in the blind to the branch of the tree where we expected the cat to show. Then we went to an area distant from the site of the blind to zero my rifle at precisely that range.

IMO, that is a terrific idea. It removes any vestige of doubt from your mind that you may not be aiming correctly at the moment of truth. All you have to do is hold dead on and press the trigger.

Just remember how many clicks of elevation you dialed down to lower your crosshairs, and don't forget to re-zero by cranking them back up afterwards!

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
But I don't kiss and tell, details anyway.

Names and photos please.

A PH (who shall remain unnamed) told me of a leopard hunt last year. In advance he instructed the client not to shoot until the PH said. A 30 pounder climbed into the tree. The PH wanted to switch flashlights, so he leaned over to the client and whispered "Don't shoot." The client heard the 'shoot' part and shot the cat.

Chui was taken off a lion bait at 40yds..Both lion and leopard were using the buf for food...

Mike

Last year someone posted about a PH that carried the client's leopard back to camp in the drink cooler.

What do you do with it when it's that small??

Lie about it.

And "forget" the Camera...

You could always make a hatband...?

Rgds,
FB

Every PH hunts Leopards his own way and it can be a very complicated mind game. Selection of location(s) and everything else is all part of that. Then there are a lot of tricks to make life easier and/or increase your chance of success.

One easy way to be sure of your Leopard's size before the shot is to mark the branch where the cat will lie with tape or a cut in the branch etc so you have a guidline as to size.

A way to be sure of the sex of the cat before the shot is to position the blind so you can see the cat's balls sticking out his rear end. -I use a spotting scope for this.

FWIW, I like to site my blinds between 30 -50 yards from the bait and slightly crosswind to it.

Just with these two methods I'm absolutely sure of size and sex of the cat before the shot.

Here's a pic to show you how I mark the tree. If you look closely, you'll see two sets of small pieces of reflective tape on the two branches.:-

I shot my leopard at 81 measured yards. My PH said he preferred that distance because he believed that there was less chance of detection, but a lot depended on the abilities of the hunter. By the way, I used a 338 win mag with 250gr a woodleigh PP. More than I needed for sure but I was hunting other game, up to and including eland.

WOLFGAR,

A leopard that weighs an honest 140 lb. is a big leopard and you should not be at all disappointed with him. I think you will find the overall average to be considerably smaller. In some areas particularly wilderness area where the plains game is not abundant a 140 lb. leopard is an absolute monster.

Mark

Two leopard blinds. One was 125 yards (way too far) and 40 yards. We had access to good scales for the leopard shot at 40 yards. He was 7'6" nose to tail and weighed 165 pounds before feeding. He was a very big cat. I saw one shot in the Lowveld that looked like a lioness. He had to be 200 pounds but because of the heat he was skinned before we could get him to scales. He was shot from a ground blind at 35 yards by a good friend. There are whopper leopards in the Lowveld.

I agree with Mark. If you read Craig Boddington's latest book entitled Leopard, he points out in there that leopard weights have been overstated in many cases and that the average leopard weight is much lower than most would believe.

I've hunted Africa for close to 30 years - more than half of that profesionally and I've never been to a hunting camp that has scales large enough to weigh a Leopard...... I'm not suggesting there are none with that capability - just that they are few and far between......

Shakari: I am surprised at your comment about scales. Almost every place I've hunted in Zimbabwe had a commercial butcher facility nearby complete with scales. I encountered the same in SA where the game meat is resold. Granted the scales are not in camp but not far away. I'm sure in the wilder parts of Africa this not the case but unfortunately I havn't gotten there yet. Somewhere in my pictures I have a photo of the staff weighing my cape buffalo. That's quite a sight!

FWIW, my Selous leopard was 7'4" long, but he only weighed - according to my rough measure gleaned by cleaning and jerking him up and over my shoulders - no more than 100-120 pounds.

Diet is the determining factor, and there is no doubt in my mind that the lowveldt leopards of Zim are the biggest on earth.

Mark,
Thanks for your comments. I am extremely pleased with my 140 pounder, and I consider myself blessed to kill such a beautiful creature!! Man, he did look HUGE in the tree!!