By Riaz Sharrif
HUNTERS ALMOST GETTING HUNTED
“ I met Loha in the head office of Allwyn Cooper Limited , as soon as I possibly could .
Loha explained to me what had happened . Loha was guiding a German client on a Shikar for a Hunting Leopard in the outskirts of Nagpur ... early in the morning . The Client was armed with a 8x57mm IRS caliber over under Double Rifle made by Frantz Sodia of Austria . The rifle was loaded with German RWS 198 grain soft nosed cartridges.
The client had taken two shots at the Hunting Leopard and was reloading the rifle ... in order to give the animal a third shot . However , when reloading the Double Rifle ... the weapon’s automatic safety had re-engaged , and the gentleman was forced to fumble with rifle’s safety for a couple of vital seconds . Thus , the client was not able to get off a shot fast enough to prevent the wounded Hunting Leopard from escaping into the long grass .
Loha had hired a group of beaters to start converging towards the centre of the patch of forested area ... Where the wounded Hunting Leopard had retreated . Loha and I were to reach the centre of the forest , as soon as possible . I understood what had to be done .
Loha readied his Indian Ordinance Factories .315 caliber bolt action rifle . He loaded five 244 grain soft nosed cartridges into the magazine of the rifle . He put ten more cartridges into the breast pocket of his half sleeve silk shirt ... while I loaded my William Wellington Greener 12 Bore Side By Side Shotgun , with two Eley Alphamax LG cartridges and stuffed 12 more LG cartridges into the pockets of my Shikar vest . We , then set off in Loha’s Land Rover Series One car to the outskirts of Nagpur ... intent on reaching the centre of the forested area , where the beaters would be converging in a few hours . With us , were ten coolies ... who were all armed with long spears . These spears were made of bamboo shafts and had long barbed blades , made of the iron taken from rail road tracks . We also had six Alsatian Dogs with us . All of these dogs were exceptionally well trained and loyal to a fault .
We arrived at the centre of the area , where the beaters were supposed to converge .
They had the area surrounded by establishing a parameter , of a three mile radius ... and were completely ready by the time , we had arrived . Loha raised his Indian Ordinance Factories .315 caliber bolt action rifle to his shoulder and fired a shot into the air . This was the signal for the beaters to commence the beat . And thus ... the beat had begun .
Loha and I cautiously waited , alongside the ten coolies and our six Alsatian Dogs .
While waiting , Loha and I began to mumble about how one automatic safety on a Double Rifle had ruined both of our days . Loha was intending to end the Shikar early , and then spend the rest of the day with his children ... at a local fair . I was intending to spend the day with Melina . And both of our plans had gotten ruined ... all because of the automatic safety on the German client’s Double Rifle .
But what to do ? Back in those days , virtually all German and Austrian gunmakers would install automatic safeties on their Double Rifles and Combination Guns by default ... unless otherwise specified . English Doubles Rifles and Belgian Double Rifles and Combination Guns , on the other hand ... would usually install manual safeties on their wares , which were much more preferable to automatic safeties when selecting a Double Rifle or a Combination Gun for the Shikar of Dangerous Game .
We waited cautiously, as the sounds of the beaters got louder and louder . The beaters were drawing close to us . We had seen countless Chinkara sprint , right past our direction ... having been flushed out by the beaters . This was a tell tale sign that the wounded Hunting Leopard would be closing in , on us very soon . For it is conventional wisdom that Herbivores always get flushed out , during a beat ... before the Carnivora does . Loha and I were both extremely vigilant . The coolies were nervously looking , left & right .
Suddenly the Alsatian Dogs began to bark savagely . We already knew , all too well ... what they were barking at . The Hunting Leopard was somewhere nearby . Loha stared at the direction , which the Alsatian Dogs were barking at . And then , for a split second .... we saw it . A pair of red blood shot eyes were staring at us ... from within the bushes . We heard a low feral snarl . And that was that .
The wounded Hunting Leopard hurled itself out of the bushes and charged at us . Loha snapped up his Indian Ordinance Factories .315 caliber bolt action rifle to his shoulder ... and fired off a shot . The 244 grain soft nosed bullet hit the charging animal in the base of the chest , causing the Hunting Leopard to somersault on the ground ... only to instantly regain it’s footing . The coolies immediately had the enraged animal surrounded ... and had their spears trained upon it . This essentially prevented the Hunting Leopard from escaping ... without getting itself impaled on the spears . I raised my William Wellington Greener 12 Bore Side By Side Shotgun to my shoulder and wasted no time in discharging the contents of the left barrel into the head of the Hunting Leopard ... at a range of only nine feet . Those eight .36 caliber LG slugs slammed hard into the Hunting Leopard’s head ... with enough force to knock the determined animal , right off it’s feet . It stay down for maybe two seconds ... before getting ready to make a second attempt at charging me . I quickly pulled the right trigger of my shotgun , which roared .... as the eight LG slugs collided loudly with the head of the Hunting Leopard , knocking it down a second time . The animal’s face was now almost completely covered in blood ... as it slowly ( but painfully ) began to rise up to its feet once more . At that moment ... Loha frantically , but cleverly used the sheep’s foot blade of his Sheffield Navy Pocket Knife ... to slash through the nylon cords which were connecting the leashes of all of the six Alsatian Dogs to the trunk of a tree . This proved to be our saving grace .
If a Hunting Leopard crosses paths with a single Alsatian Dog ... then , the Hunting Leopard always mangles the Alsatian Dog to death ... on the spot , before eating it . However , if you unleash a pack of Alsatian Dogs on a Hunting Leopard ... then , the Hunting Leopard will frantically attempt to get away from the Alsatian Dogs ... by any means necessary . This was exactly what had happened that day .
The Hunting Leopard’s mood suddenly shifted ... from “ fight mode “ to “ flight mode “ . I frantically flicked the top lever of my shotgun and got the breech open ... which caused the two spent Eley Alphamax LG cartridges to fly out of the chambers , and plummet onto the ground . I slammed two fresh Eley Alphamax LG cartridges ( which I had been keeping , between my fingers ) into the chambers of my shotgun ... before snapping the breech shut . I raised the shotgun to my shoulder once more ... Hellbent upon finishing off this Hunting Leopard , by any means necessary . The animal was desperately attempting to struggle with the Alsatian Dogs ... when it suddenly ( and miraculously ) dropped to the ground ; dead .
Both Loha and I could not believe our eyes . Was this troublesome animal finally dead ? “
Circular Positions Taken To Put Down Wounded Hunting Leopard During Shikar
Coolie & I Examining Dead Hunting Leopard
Loha’s Indian Ordinance Factories .315 Caliber Bolt Action Rifle
