Bullet Selection for Leopard and Crocodile

brettp

brettp

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Gentlemen,

I am headed to Namibia next year. In addition to elephant and buffalo (for which which I will be using a 458 Lott), I have leopard and croc on license and hope to take both.

I plan to use a 338 win mag for my light rifle for these guys.

I am trying to select a bullet that is soft enough for leopard, but hard enough for croc.

I was leaning to my trusty 250gr sierra game king, but the PH prefers a stiffer bullet.

I am thinking maybe Accubond, Barnes TTSX, North Fork, A-Frame, Bear Claw or some such.

I would really appreciate thoughts from the group here. In particular, PH's with a lot of experience on both animals.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Brett
 
I shot both the leopard and a 15 foot croc.. with 300 grain nosler partition,s in 2015.My rifle was a 375 Ruger.Hope this helps.John
 
Have North Fork loads for 5 different rifles and calibers. They have an exposed lead front and will expand quickly, but then retain their weight. I don't think you'd go wrong with an A-Frame either, but I think maybe they expand a little less quickly from what I've read.

But the Accubonds, TTSX I think would be fine also.
 
no1waterdog said:
I shot both the leopard and a 15 foot croc.. with 300 grain nosler partition,s in 2015.My rifle was a 375 Ruger.Hope this helps.John
Click to expand...
I just shot my croc, lion, hippo, etc with 300 gr Nosler Accubond in .375 Ruger as well. Worked well.
Best of luck on a dream hunt!
Regards
Philip
 
A Frame all the way!

With Accubond in second.
 
Nothing wrong with Bear Claw!
 
The croc is a small target so accuracy is king, all of those bullets are great, you should try them all and use the one that shoots the best in your rifle.
 
They make the Partition in 338 also,just reccomending A bullet. John
 
A-Frame or Barnes TSX or Peregrine VRG4. The 338 will push a 250gr at a sufficient velocity for them to open nicely on the cat at sub 100yards. And you won't need to worry about ruining your trophy with bullet fragmentation.

For the croc, accuracy is important as mentioned, so the bullet that groups best is your one!
 
I would think Leopard would be a tricky decision.

I'd be thinking that since you have a known yardage at the blind (50-70 yards) that you'd one of two things:

1.) A fast gun with a rather flimsy bullet to make sure it opens up for you and sticks around in the animal. (e.g. 338 win mag with a nosler ballistic tip)

2.) A slow gun with a pretty tough bullet for that nice controlled expansion. (e.g. 30-06 or 35 Whelen with a Partition or A-Frame heavy for caliber)

I always try to be on the slow bullet, heavy for caliber, controlled expansion side of the universe. I firmly believe in the 6.5x55 swede philosophy that "hang time" in the animal is a significant killing factor. A bullet traveling at 2200-2400fps makes a hell of a mess many times greater than the mushroom diameter of any bullet. A-Frames and Partitions are great examples of bullets that work very well under these velocities.

I'm not sure how heavy a 338 bullet you can get but I'd be a bit concerned that the velocity of a 338 could cause glancing issues or bullet malfunction on such a small, 140lb animal. You're going on a great trip that is very costly, any chance you'd bring an additional rifle?

Maybe someone else knows a specific combination for optimal leopard kills with a .338 at 50 yards. Hate to see you blow the hide or have it zip through so fast that you don't get enough resistance and duration to open that bullet up properly.


Wishing you much success in both of your endeavors! I envy your hunt.
 
Tim Beahan said:
Am I the only one who read that he's looking for suggestions for a 338, not a 375?
Click to expand...
The difference between the two is almost moot for his application I think. What works on a .375 will work in a .338

As to the OP I would suggest looking into woodleighs. They are soft enough for leopard and fully bonded for croc. If not those... Then tsx or ttsx all the way.
 
brettp said:
Gentlemen,

I am headed to Namibia next year. In addition to elephant and buffalo (for which which I will be using a 458 Lott), I have leopard and croc on license and hope to take both.

I plan to use a 338 win mag for my light rifle for these guys.

I am trying to select a bullet that is soft enough for leopard, but hard enough for croc.

I was leaning to my trusty 250gr sierra game king, but the PH prefers a stiffer bullet.

I am thinking maybe Accubond, Barnes TTSX, North Fork, A-Frame, Bear Claw or some such.

I would really appreciate thoughts from the group here. In particular, PH's with a lot of experience on both animals.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Brett
Click to expand...

so many bullet choices i am confuzed.....the alphabet has been used up and ........then there are building references and animal extremities used as well.......only clapped a couple of leopards for myself and they were with 180 grn partitions in .308 and .300 win and and it was a while ago but as they didnt go far i presume those bullets worked......:)....as for the "odd" crocodiles.....have used various cals from .....to and the bullets of various types and make ( cant remember as over a period of time....:unsure::))and when put in the correct place they worked ......
 
Tagging along to see more opinions...
 
You will do well with the bullets mentioned in the post.
 
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