Leopard cartridge choice; Poll

my choice is not listed. I only own a 300 RUM. I would use that and a 180 grain Accubond probably. I just got back from Zimbabwe and specifically asked my PH what he recommended. He likes a fast magnum. He said leopard is one animal where shock helps a lot. He said he’s had best luck with guys shooting 7mm REM Mag.

Anything from 7x57R to 30-06 in a light drilling without a barrel selector. Fitted with a 12 / 20 / 16 gauge loaded with buckshot.

I am using 300 WM 180 gr Federal Fusions in 2028.

308WIN, 30-06 or 300WM with a quick expansion bullet will be plenty. About the only time I’d recommend using the NP.

30/06 With Sierra 165gr game king or 168gr Nosler ballistic tips. Both will expand rapidly and transfer max energy to your leopard.

I have not hunted leopard yet, but plan to, I will use either 300 win mag with 200gr Partitions or 338 win mag with 250gr Partitions, is the plan.

I don’t like any of those cartridges. Give me a 7x57 or 30-06. Both have over 100 year old pedigrees of success on African game. Leopard is a thin skinned light framed animal. Magnums are really not needed. Just one old hunters opinion.

I voted 7mm Rem Mag but my Leopard Rifle is a M70 chambered 7 STW loaded with a fast 175 gr topped with a Zeiss 3-12x56. I like a fast 7 because it allows use of a max light gathering scope with short critical eye relief.

I had a super visit with two Zim PH’s over the weekend on this subject. Their opinions were pretty much in line with what little experience I have on hunting leopard.

This exercise I offered was intended to, given the choices I outlined, let me really see if hunters would truly be comfortable using one and why. I omitted .308 Win and .30-06 specifically because (in all honesty) I believe either are adequate cat chamberings with a big edge going to the Springfield pushing a projectile 300 f/sec. faster. Judging from posts it seems like my intuition was correct.

One PH I hunted with in Zimbabwe in June and another that I’m going to be hunting with in June ‘30 for leopard in a blind that I spoke with over the weekend both agreed that a .30 caliber bullet traveling at 2900f/s+ with a fast expansion is their preference. Specifically the Remington Cor-Lokt or something similar. But the speed of the bullet they were adamant about. The hydrostatic shock to the CNS that puts the lights out on a leopard and allows for either a controlled follow up or an outright bleed out at the bottom of the tree.

Both these conversations were initiated by me to them subsequent a conversation I had with my Houndsman/PH. He has had it with .40 cal.>. The projectiles create a large wound channel but the bullets are simply not shocking the CNS and incapacitating the great cats. To that end he told me that he had a .300 WM built specifically as a rental for clients and that he cannot risk anymore injuries to his pack. His limit was a .375 H&H projectile traveling at a minimum of 2600f/s.

My choice is a .338 WM with Rem Cor-Lokts

Im thinking there was a post or thread and video i made on this about this topic. Leopard are something i hunt very often and love it. my choice and what i encourage client to do:

The .375 H&H with the 260 grain Nosler Accubond. its like a hot hand grenade inside a cat.

It is the best in my experience and i think i have killed about 25 or more with this exact load. I load them a little hot and then the lighter fragile bullet kills really well with shock and expansion but then the bigger base also pushes all the way through on any leopard of course. it vaporizes the internal organs and has saves me some stiches on bad first shots where the neighboring organs were just fried.

The other advantage is this same rifle will easily take all the bait need and your buffalo croc or even Hippo with Swift or Barnes or Partition. Then you can travel with one gun that you know how to use and can get comfortable with it. This is something that i see hunter mess up imo for Africa - get a solid well built accurate gun and get used to it and shoot it and stop playing musical chairs with you rifles for dangerous game. With elephant and if youre hunting a lot of buffalo them maybe play the game and step it up a caliber or two with a heavy gun for special occasions!

I’ve never hunted leopard, maybe someday. I chose the 338 WIn Mag and I would use 250 grain Nosler Partitions. While it may be overkill for leopard, if you have it in your hands and come across something much larger, it will still be effective.

Wildwillalaska said:

Legitimate side question, if the blind is set within appropriate range, is a 500NE double simply a dumb idea for initial (hopefully only) shot on a leopard?

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Depends on your night vision I would suppose. The more important consideration is not the caliber or the rifle but the quality of the glass attached to it. Shots are typically at very last light. Having said that and in response to your question - I think the rifle with which you can make the most precise shot in low light is the best chambering. For any human being I have ever met, that list would not begin with a 500 double.

What surprises me most about this poll is that 96% of the responders picked the wrong cartridge. The clear choice on that list is the 35 Whelen or its cousin the 9.3x62.

30-06 WOULD DO ME AND THE CAT.

you should have the 30-06 as an option on your poll as well, ironically, 3 of the cartridges listed are based on the 30-06 case.

i voted for the 300 win, never wished for a smaller gun or less bullets. the north fork percussion points in 165-180gr would be ideal, made for cats. i suspect the nosler partition would work well too.

1dirthawker said:

you should have the 30-06 as an option on your poll as well, ironically, 3 of the cartridges listed are based on the 30-06 case.

i voted for the 300 win, never wished for a smaller gun or less bullets. the north fork percussion points in 165-180gr would be ideal, made for cats. i suspect the nosler partition would work well too.

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Ironically I addressed your point (and quite a few others) in post #49.

awesome! ironically, i did not read the whole thread, just jogged down to the bottom and commented.

No one wants to ruin their $25k pelt with the explosion of a V-Max?

csmcclain said:

No one wants to ruin their $25k pelt with the explosion of a V-Max?

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I don’t think they make a suitable v max in 30 cal...

Im sure a 180gr SST in 300 win going 2900 would do fantastic. "jelly" is how I would want the cats vitals to be.

dchum said:

I don’t think they make a suitable v max in 30 cal...

Im sure a 180gr SST in 300 win going 2900 would do fantastic. "jelly" is how I would want the cats vitals to be.

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I was just kidding, but they do make some in the lighter calibers listed like the Creedmoor