Greetings Gentleman
I have a question about leopard hunting in Africa. I see that most writers say you should use a heavy caliber for these critters. 375 H-H Mag and up. I am a down home boy from Oregon where Cougar are abundant. The Leopard looks to be the same size as our Cougar .They look to have soft skin with no heavy bone mass.
I know many would use any old Deer caliber for them. The question is this. Why do you need such a large caliber to hunt Leopard with? Wouldn�t a 180 gr. 308 or 30-06 with a soft point bullet in the boiler room devastate this critter ?

30-30 Man

I agree with you. Anything a reasonable man would kill a whitetail with ought to do. A 243 is maybe stretching things, but a 25-06 or 6.5 should be plenty.

H. C.

What has been discussed recently is that for DG most African states have minimum calibers. Just as you can not legally hunt a whitetail with a .22. When ever traveling or planning to travel you should always know the laws. If smaller calibers are your bag then from what I understand private concessions may be for you.

Cougars just don't have same dispositon as leopards, that's why. Leopards seem to have a whole lot more fight in them than cougars, pound for pound. It's been said over and over again that African animals are much harder to kill.

I am pretty sure that the leopard is under the dangerous game list and therefore requires a minimum of a .375 H&H mag. Every country is different and ones PH will definitley cover this with you if you are intending on a trip to the dark continent.

Enjoy,
Justin

I'll get in early on this one, before some of the more experienced guys chime in. A 25-06 will certainly put down a leopard (and a lion), but what if the first shot wasn't quite what you had in mind? That widely circulated canned lion hunt video shows that an angry big cat covers a lot of ground very quickly. Tracking a wounded cat into bushes or high grass with a 25-06 isn't something to look forward to. At that point I'd wish Browning made their BAR in 375H&H or better yet 416Rem. So maybe a 375 isn't a bad idea.

I think I get what you are saying 475guy. It�s like our Badger over here in the States. Pound for pound the Badger is one of the most tenacious animals around. It is said that a Grizzly Bear wont mess with em. Am I on the right track ?

Thank you all for the info.

30-30 Man

Yep.

Actually I think the minimum caliber for leopard is not the .375 in certain countries. I believe there was a thread on gun laws in Zimbabwe where a 7mm was the minimum. That seems fairly reasonable considering how much the average leopard weighs.

Another reason for a big hole is a good blood trail is real important if you need to track a wounded cat. A .25 caliber hole just isnt going to bleed enough.

There is some confusion here.

From what I read an big calibre is recommended for a PH following up a wounded leopard.

For a client to shoot one over bait then a 30 cal with a frangible bullet is ideal.