If you were planning a leopard safari, what rifle would you take? What would be your ideal leopard cartridge?

Landrum

On my first safari I used a 300 win mag for plains game. My PH comented that my Ruger m77 mk II with a 50 mm LPS Leupold scope was a near ideal leopard rig. I was not hunting leopard at the time but I didn't forget it. Last year I did take a leopard at last shooting light with that same rifle. The only thing I would change would be to use an Illuminated reticle. These are not really large cats. They have a reputation for being sensitive to hydrostatic shock, (fast bullet and a bullet that opens quickly). Most any good deer rifle will work as long as you are very familiar with it and it's limits. 270, 280, 7mm mag, 30-06, 300 winmag or on up. Pay attention to your countries as some have a 375 H&H low end starting point for leopard. Scope selection needs to be the best glass you can afford and a large objective and as said an illuminated cross hair would help. My cat came at the absolute tail end of shooting light. I couldn't see but the vaguest hints at my reticle. I had to use the center of the circle rule and use what little of the reticle I could see to make the shot. The Nosler Partition is a good bullet for leopard in my opinion. The front half of the bullet splatters and opens quickly. The back portion then becomes a solid and sails on through. Other conventional bullets would work as well or maybe better. You can get into difficulties with too light and frangible a bullet/ too much speed/ not enough penetration/ how much bone will the bullet have to go through?. If using conventional bullets a heavy bullet in round nosed configuration would not be bad. If you have hunted whitetails in Tennnessee and have a favorite deer rig you may be in business with some minor tweaking. Good luck and share some pictures. "D"

Landrum,
I would agree with D Hunter on his excellent response to your question. I'm no expert, but I did kill my first leopard in August. I'll add my 2 cents and say that you should use the rifle that you shoot the best, since placement is most important by far, way more than caliber choice. Even big Leopards aren't that big, so I think that just about any good expanding bullet in the right place will work...a 375 in the guts and you have a problem.
I used my 7mmRemMag with 160gr Accubonds, and my cat fell out of the tree dead. I could see it through the recoil, falling, and all four feet were up in the air as it fell over. It looked like it just tipped over dead.
I would use something even as light as a 7mm-08, or 260 Rem, so long as you go with a good Accubond, Partition, etc. I would NOT use a Barnes X bullet, and probably not a Ballistic Tip either....two extremes, I think.
Enjoy yourself...it will be the thrill of a lifetime.

Hey D-Hunter, where are the pictures of your cat??

What about a 9.3x74R drilling with buckshot and slug in the shot barrels. If you are hunting over a bait you'll only get one shot anyway and if you are chasing with dogs the shot barrels will be handy.

European scopes with an exit pupil of 7mm are among the brightest. Illuminated reticles may help but I haven't used one yet.

mike

Although I have not shot a Leopard yet, my choice would be my Blaser R93 in 9.3x62 with the Schmidt&Bender 1.5-6x42 I/R and Woodleigh RN softs .
If I was in an area without Big Game I might take the 300 or 7x64 Barrel. But in the thick cover of Zim, not likely .
ozhunter

Assuming you are hunting bait and blind and not sing dogs or Bushman tracker...the scope is far more important than the calibre. Anything from a 7x57 to a .375 will work perfectly. I dislike scopes with too much magnification as often all the client can see is a circle of rosettes and not what part of the animal they are located on A Nikon Monarch UCC 30mm variable 1.5-6 works for me.

Aussie Mike- I dislike shotguns on cats- Brian marsh wrote an excelent article on this subject in magnum a good few years back- Nikudu may have got it up on his files by now. Also, Here in Zim it is illegal to to use a shotgun on an unwounded cat- there is a little loophole in the law that allows a shotgun to be used on a wounded one. If you want stopping power out of a shotgun you need to use Brenneke slugs. If you are going to use slugs - why not just load a reasonable soft point in your rifle?

Why not buckshot? Small or plated pellets bounce off the skull. Unplated pellets flatten on the chest muscles and fail to penetrate. So, are you going to keep OOO plated in the right barrel for chest shots and AAA lead in the left for head shots??? Lou Halimore likes a shotgun for wounded leopard but specifies Rotweill brand of shells only. With good reason. They have the highest velocity of any buckshot I have ever Chronographed and the pellets are hard lead- don't deflect too easily off the skull but do go through chest muscles.

I have hunted leopard with my 9,3x74R Chapuis double on my first 2 safaris, but on my last trip I used a Blaser R 93 in 308 with 165 Federal factory Trophy Bonded beardclaws.
I used the 308 Blaser because of its special scope. I feel the 308 is plenty enough for the first shots on Leopard, however I did have the 9,3 double in the blind for the follow up, and for protection against elephants, one of which tried to get in the blind with us one evening.

I am with Ganyana, the scope is most important, and I want no part of buckshot on the follow up.

I am planning a hunt with Norman Crooks in the spring for Mr Spots with dogs and I have no qualms about my 338 WM using 225 Grain Barnes X's.

did most of mine with a 3006 o/u

I shot mine with a 375 using 300 grain Bear Claws and a 1.75x6 Zeiss scope. One shot and worked well. That said I agree totally on the illuminated reticle scope for the next one. I would also switch to Nosler Partition bullets. Caliber is the least important component IMHO and I would probably use a 30/06 on a dedicated leopard hunt if legal. A 9.3X62 should be a perfect leopard caliber!

There have been a few threads on this interesting subject, perfect for me as I am planning my first leopard hunt. I agree with Ganyana that the scope is equal to or more important than the caliber used.

I believe in "high speed" with a not-too-hard bullet when it comes to leopards. I have a very nice Custom Shop Model 70 my wife gave me in 338, so I loaded it with 210 Nosler Partitions@2910 fps. I tried and quickly replaced a Leupold VX-III 1.5X5X20mm(with a 30mm Tube and German #4 reticle) as light transmission was not very good with that tiny 20mm objective.

So I held my nose and put a Leupold 3.5X10X50mm with an illuminated reticle just for the cat hunt as I despise large objectives. My backup rifle's a 340 Weatherby with a Swarovski 1.5X6X42 PH model and 225gr Swift A Frames @ 2950 fps. jorge

I used a Rem. 700 in 350 RM, 4x Leupold, 225 gr Nosler partition. One shot at 50 yrds. Dead Cat.

I'll be taking a 9.3x74R Merkel double next year when after leopard. I expect most any cartridge above a 25-06 would be plenty, but there is no such thing as too dead.

I had a try once this year and was very pleased.

I used my Sauer 202 in 375HH with 300gr Swift A frame
a 2.5-10x56 Swarowski with an illuminated dot. The best of all was the Swaro 56mm gathering plenty of light. It’s very important when shooting at night is against the law.

the bait


Here is a pic of the set up.

Note the rifle was tied with a tube. The aiming was exactly at the right place and the hair trigger did the trick. Fortunately, for I was paralysed by the Chikungunya virus.
For retrieving the cat, the guide had a sewed off 12 gauge and a Weatherby 460, myself the Sauer without the scope.
We went and collect the leopard despite hearing growling and coughing on our right. The PH totted his Weath and I the Sauer. The tracker had his machete. The 12 gauge was just an extra back up. It was needless, the cat was dead before hitting the ground.
What we heart was another leopard at about 50m. His sweetheart or a pal???? Don't know, he never came. Probably the FRench stench

I, too, am planning a hunt for Mr. Spots and he better be willing to fall (provided I do my part) when being hit with a 375 loaded with 235 gr Speers or 260 gr Accubonds...cause that's what seems to be working good in the Ruger. Of course I'm going to have to change my 1.5 x 5 Looppy like everyone else seems to be doing...although I want to take another buff on the same hunt and the 1.5 x 5 is great for that...especially with QD rings that work GREAT.
Of course I could shoot him in the daylight and not have these issues............

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer

Gary,

Your 375 is excellent for your leopard and anything else. Personally I've shot some leopards and heavy premium bullets work fine if they are placed in the vitals. In my mind having a special leopard load and a special scope is unecessary. A 1.75X6 Leupold and whatever soft you will use for buffalo will work perfectly. If you hit the leopard through the shoulders you'll get a nice nickel size hole and a very dead cat under the tree.

As to the original question I have no favorite leopard rifle. I feel as Ganyana stated that anything 7x57-375 is perfect with the right bullet placement. High velocity would seem to be called for but I've shot leopards with loads going 2900, 2700 and 2500. They all died quickly but the one taken with the slowest velocity bullet actually died right in the tree. I do think that the very lowest power scopes are not the answer. For me I think a 1.75x6 or 2.5x8 set on 6 is about perfect.

Mark

I'd use anything 7mm or bigger with NorthFork softs. A 30-06 would be perfect. The NF softs open very big very fast even on soft game, but hang together in one piece so big chunks of the hide would not be blown away.

The Nosler Partitions tend to fragment the nose and I've had them blow big gaping holes in deer hides.

JB...what did your cat weigh?? He's beautiful!!

I am planning on my first leopard hunt in July 2007. I will use either a 300 win mag with 180gr hornady interbonds or a 375 H&H with 260gr accubonds. Both have excellent leopold scopes.

I shot mine with a 30-06, nice Vari-X III scope, and 180 gn Swift A-Frame. Worked fine. Of course one leopard certainly doesn't make me an expert (except on my block), but the PH had no issue with my setup.

It was what I was using for most of my plains game hunting as well.

The biggest thing is that you are very familiar with the rifle and the optics are up to low light conditions. Mine was shot on the ground in a creek bed at last light. The optics made all the difference in the world. You don't want to be dinking around with your setup when the oportunity presents itself.


FWIW,

-Steve

Hey Steve, Nice pictures on your site. I also got mine out of West Nick...great place for cats right?
Look at mine in post, Leopard&Plains game with John Hunt...maybe our cats are related?

Wolfgar, I have not mastered the posting picture thing. I will e-mail you the pics and if you can you are welcome to post them. Thanks. D

Use the same rifle for shooting bait that you will use for the leopard.

Then when it comes time for that high pressure shot at a leopard you will already have been shooting that rifle and load for a few days and will have confidence in how it is shooting.

Also use the same lighted reticle scope for the bait shooting that you will use for the leopard.

If you are hunting in an area where there are leopards there are also most likely to be other dangerous game around you - lion, buff or elephants.

So, as you go about finding tracks, shooting bait, shooting plains game and hanging bait in trees, why not carry around something that will work if you get into an unexpected problem - such as a 375 with 300 grain A frames?

I used a 300 Winnie with 168 gr. TSX's for mine. I was worried that the bullet would be too hard, but it ended up working just fine.

I agree that the most important thing is probably the scope. I used a 2.5-10 Swarovski PH with a #4 German reticle. Having the heavier reticle made aiming a lot easier in low light.

Are electric lighted reticles illegal in the African countries?

quote:

Originally posted by Wolfgar:
Hey Steve, Nice pictures on your site. I also got mine out of West Nick...great place for cats right?
Look at mine in post, Leopard&Plains game with John Hunt...maybe our cats are related?

Wolfgar,

Nice cat!

I actually never shot anything in West Nick. The weather was so bad that we gave it up after a few days and returned to our base in Nyamandlovu. I ended up shooting him the last night at a place (Shilo Ranch) not far from the Bulawayo/Vic Fall highway, about an hour and a half drive (if I remember correctly ) from Nyamandlovu.

West Nick was lovely though.

Congrats on what looks like a GREAT hunt.

-Steve

I think one can use pretty much any caliber he wishes for leopard, as long as he can shoot it well enough.

It really amazes me why people wound leopards on a bait.

One is normally sitting down, with a good rest, and the distances are very short.

I think I will stick to my own rifle if going after a wounded leopard, rather than use a shotgun.

Earlier this year we sat in a leopard blind, the bait was in a tree that was surrounded by so much grass and bush.

We shot the leopard just before dark - there were two leopards in the tree. We saw the leopard fall off the tree, and although I was sure the leopard was dead - one cannot be absolutely certain until you can see it lying dead.

As we approached the tree, we heard a growl to our left. Alan - my PH - just smiled and said "that is the other one".

We walked slowly to the tree, looked under the branch off which the leopard had fallen, but could not see anything because of the thick bush.

An ant heap surrounded the tree trunk. I stood to the side, rifle ready, as Alan climbed the ant heap to look from that position.

He still could not see anything. We saw our truck arrive, with lights on.

We went back to the truck, both my self and Alan got onto top of the cab, and drove back to the tree.

We found our leopard dead within two yards of where he had fallen.

He was lying dead less than 5 yards from where we stopped looking for him when we were on foot.

Alan has a very positive outlook at hunting. Once he set the blind so far away from the bait, when we sat in it I asked him, how much bullet drop should I allwo for that distance, he just said what he usually say when we look at an animal to shoot "that is a shootable distance"

He has endless arguments with Walter as Walter tries to shoot something.

"Shoot the one on the left" he would say to Walter.

"That is too far to shoot"
"No it is not. Just shoot the bloody thing before they run off!"

"These bullets won't get that far"
"They do when Saeed shoots them"

"Saeed is shorter than me, he aims at the moon when he pulls the trigger. Where is the moon so I can aim at it too to hit that zebra"

By this time whatever animal they are trying to shoot has gotten tired of waiting to be shot and ran off.

They walk back to us.

Walter "Here is your useless gun, useless ammo, AND your useless professional hunter. He wanted me to shoot a zebra 500 meters away"

Alan "It was only 300 yards"

I asked him once if he wanted to shoot a leopard.

He said "no, I will miss it!"

At least he is honest.

Great comments, Saeed. You have a knack of telling it like it is. I can just picture it now. . . .