I shot mine at 46 yds with a 300 WM 180 Nosler Partition. It went about 30 yds. I personally think that could be considered overkill. Since I took my 375 and 300WM with me, the 300 was what I chose.

I have never shot a leopard, but my wife did in Zim in 2005. We usually always bring three rifles and a shotgun on safari. On that trip, she had both a 338WM and a 7mm Rem. Mag. I thought she would use the 338 and I got her 200gr. Ballistic Silvertips. Just in case our PH thought the 338 was "too big" for a leopard, I also got her 150gr. ballistic silvertips for her 7mm. The PH said to use the 7mm. She did, and got her leopard. It went about 75 yards and was dead when we got there.

It's interesting to listen to all of the veterans here and what they have successfully used on leopard. I now want to take one for myself as well. If I take the normal three rifle battery it will be a 458L, 375H&H and 30.06. I will use the 30.06 on the leopard. If I take a two rifle battery this time, it will be my new 404J and a 338WM, and I will use the 338WM for the leopard. I do not want to hijack this thread, but I would like to hear the opinions of this learned group as well, and I think it pertains to the same questions as the original poster. I'm thinking of the Federal 180 gr.Tipped Trophy Bonded at 2880 fps for the 30.06 or the Hornady 225 gr. Interbond at 2800 fps for the 338. Any opinions, pro or con? Your help/suggestions are valued.

Surefire, the bullet debate is not one I delve into very deeply. I have found it to be a matter of preference. Leopards are very susceptible to hydrostatic shock and ideally you want the round to stay in the animal and lodge in the off shoulder. That is ideal. I think your 30.06 will be more than sufficient. I personally have shot more animals in Africa with Nosler Partition, excepting solids and have absolutely no complaints. I now use Barnes TSX and have had excellent results, though it's been outside Africa. If you were to ask me why I made the change, I'm not sure I could give you a valid reason. I am headed back to Africa in July and will use Barnes this time. I personally would lean towards the 30.06. To my way of thinking, I don't know what you could not shoot comfortably in Africa other than DG with your ought six. You have your 404J for that.

I shot my leopard in April with a 375 H&H and a 300gr TSX bullet. While some will rightly claim this is overkill, my shot was a bit far back in the body from optimum. In other words, I took out the cat's liver vice heart and lungs. So, in my case, the "overkill" helped me out. Given the rifles you are using, I would agree with Todd Williams and use the .300 Weatherby with a 180gr TSX bullet. That said, I think your choice of scope on your rifle to be much more important than your bullet selection. I recommend you use the absolute brightest scope you have and practice shooting the rifle in low light conditions. If you are are shooting a nocturnal cat that can be legally hunted with a light, I would recommend mocking up that setup as well to see how bright your scope really is in total darkness with a spotlight on the target and see if you can get a shot off within 2 seconds of the light coming on. This practice will pay huge dividends when it really counts!