HUNTING Leopard

Hopefully this isn't too off topic, I didnt want to start another thread for it, feel free to delete if it is.

When does everyone find is the best month for leopard by bait?

I'm looking at September in namibia. Have heard how oryx calving can challenge a leopard hunt to say the least, is there a general time when this usually happens every year?
 
It appears that I will be joining in on the leopard fun this upcoming August in Namibia. Was wondering if my Browning X-Bolt .308 with Federal 165gr Fusion ammo (it is zeroed at 200 yards- 1.5" high at 100 yards). I am VERY comfortable with this rifle- drilled a nice whitetail buck in my backyard at about 65-70 yards this past November as well as have shot MULTIPLE plains game with it successfully.

Or should I consider taking my .300 WSM with muzzle brake and Noslers (I believe 180 grain). I have only shot one bull elk in New Mexico with it 4 years ago- rolled him at 60 yards but have not really shot it since.

Advice please!
 
It appears that I will be joining in on the leopard fun this upcoming August in Namibia. Was wondering if my Browning X-Bolt .308 with Federal 165gr Fusion ammo (it is zeroed at 200 yards- 1.5" high at 100 yards). I am VERY comfortable with this rifle- drilled a nice whitetail buck in my backyard at about 65-70 yards this past November as well as have shot MULTIPLE plains game with it successfully.

Or should I consider taking my .300 WSM with muzzle brake and Noslers (I believe 180 grain). I have only shot one bull elk in New Mexico with it 4 years ago- rolled him at 60 yards but have not really shot it since.

Advice please!
No experience with this yet, but who did you book with?
 
No experience with this yet, but who did you book with?

Jacques Spamer of JKO Safaris- we are looking for another individual after leopard to join us if you’re interested. Send me a PM if so and I’ll give more info on August dates, etc. Thank you!
 
It appears that I will be joining in on the leopard fun this upcoming August in Namibia. Was wondering if my Browning X-Bolt .308 with Federal 165gr Fusion ammo (it is zeroed at 200 yards- 1.5" high at 100 yards). I am VERY comfortable with this rifle- drilled a nice whitetail buck in my backyard at about 65-70 yards this past November as well as have shot MULTIPLE plains game with it successfully.

Or should I consider taking my .300 WSM with muzzle brake and Noslers (I believe 180 grain). I have only shot one bull elk in New Mexico with it 4 years ago- rolled him at 60 yards but have not really shot it since.

Advice please!

Just spoke with Jacques and turns out that the .375 caliber is the minimum for Big 5 in most countries so looking like my .375 CZ 550 Safari Magnum it is!!!
 
I killed my leopard in Namibia with a 300WSM.
 
Just spoke with Jacques and turns out that the .375 caliber is the minimum for Big 5 in most countries so looking like my .375 CZ 550 Safari Magnum it is!!!
Belt safaris has made some posts saying theyve had great luck with 260gr accubonds being pushed fast out of .375HH for leopard

I plan on working up something similar for my cat as I want to shoot it with my double which I have .375 barrels for (and it's a Blaser S2 so it's very accurate, adjustable for regulation, and easily topped with a nice light gathering scope)
 
Shot first with 308 and 165 gr accubonds and another with outfitters 416 Rigby, not sure off bullet. Both went 50 yds and were dead when we got to them, so both worked as required. Not sure of legalities, both were in Namibia, could not get it done in Zim. Latest outfitter did not like my Leopold 2x7x33 on 308, not enough light gathering ability for the dark nights in blind, so I used his large objective 3x9x50 on his Rigby.

I would recommend sighting in any weapon at blind range if using that method.

MB
 
I want to shoot it with my double

Can your double hit a Leopard spot at 75 to 100 yards in fading light?
Both my Ph's set up leopard blinds as far away as they could and still see the bait tree.
This was looking down on the tree just over 120 yards:
fullsizeoutput_6aa.jpeg


Off the top of a cliff:
SniperHide.jpg


80 yards down into a dry river bed:
fullsizeoutput_4fc.jpeg


Everything I've read about doubles are for close work and the barrels a regulated at under 50 yards?
 
Can your double hit a Leopard spot at 75 to 100 yards in fading light?
Both my Ph's set up leopard blinds as far away as they could and still see the bait tree.
This was looking down on the tree just over 120 yards:
View attachment 330477

Off the top of a cliff:
View attachment 330478

80 yards down into a dry river bed:
View attachment 330479

Everything I've read about doubles are for close work and the barrels a regulated at under 50 yards?
Absolutely...Its a Blaser S2, easily scoped and shoots MOA or less out of each barrel and under 2" barrel to barrel at 100 yds with the 470NE and I expect and have seen posts about even better results with .375HH from the same model gun

This will 100% be verified before it is used (I just got my 375 barrels), but it was part of the reason I chose that double
 
Last edited:
Screenshot_20200130-064452_01.png

I personally always prefer aiming for the region between both the eyes for hunting leopards on bait , or stopping charges . The leopard just drops to the shot .
 
Last edited:
View attachment 331677
I personally always prefer aiming for the region between both the eyes for hunting leopards on bait , or stopping charges . The leopard just drops to the shot .
Maybe your experienced enough to do that but the average hunter experienced or not shooting in very dim light over bait between 75-100 yards is asking a lot. What you need for leopard hunting is quite simple, if the country your hunting in does not require a minimum of 375 then anything from a 270- 30-06 and 300 are plenty of gun. Highly recommend a Trijcon scope for the best light gathering capabilities. . Noslers are highly recommended by most PHs. Stay away from bullets such as Barnes ttsx as the just pass thru unless you hit bone. High shoulder shots can be difficult under those conditions. Just pick a rosette center body just behind the leg.
 
No experience with this yet, but who did you book with?
Mike, book in months when it’s cold as baits last longer. Your nights sits will be damn cold I can tell you that. Be prepared.
 
Maybe your experienced enough to do that but the average hunter experienced or not shooting in very dim light over bait between 75-100 yards is asking a lot. What you need for leopard hunting is quite simple, if the country your hunting in does not require a minimum of 375 then anything from a 270- 30-06 and 300 are plenty of gun. Highly recommend a Trijcon scope for the best light gathering capabilities. . Noslers are highly recommended by most PHs. Stay away from bullets such as Barnes ttsx as the just pass thru unless you hit bone. High shoulder shots can be difficult under those conditions. Just pick a rosette center body just behind the leg.
Forgive me , sir. It is my mistake and l should elaborate . When l used to be a professional shikaree guiding foreign clients in Nagpur , India from 1961 to 1970 , my personally favored region to shoot a charging leopard would be between both the eyes , when l had to follow up a wounded leopard into the thickets . Back in those days , leopard hunting was invariably done at night , in India . This is because leopards are predominantly nocturnal feeders .
When l used to hunt leopards on my own license , or leopards which were labelled man eaters by the local government , l would use the following method for shooting leopards -
1) Tie a goat to a tree and quickly move out of the goat's sight . When the goat begins to think that it is alone , it begins to bleat . This bleating is what attracts the leopard ( of course , this will only works in areas where there IS a leopard ) .
2) Hide either in a hole dug in the ground , or a macchan in a tree . I would use my 12 Bore shot gun loaded with spherical ball cartridges , and keep a small pencil torch light attached to the fore end of my shot gun with masking tape.
3) When the leopard would come at night , it would commence cleaning it's claws on the bark of a tree the minute it saw the goat ( leopards always clean their claws before making a kill ) and the goat would stop bleating when it saw the leopard.
4) When the leopard got closer to the goat , and within range of my shot gun ( say ... less than 30 yards . ) , I would quickly flick on the pencil torch light attached to my shot gun and shine the torch light on the brute's head.
5) As the animal turned to look at the source of the light , I would instantly put a 1 ounce spherical lead ball through the region between both it's eyes. This had to very an extremely Swift action , because l had a fraction of a second before the leopard began to run away.

Now , of course ... a 12 Bore shot gun , loaded with a 1 ounce spherical lead ball does not have good penetration for body shots on a large leopard . I had to make do with what l had on hand . With this weapon , l learnt that the only way l could kill a leopard reliably was by shooting it in the region between both the eyes .

For a client , of course ... Different considerations must be made and they usually brought good quality centre fire rifles. Clients were also typically less comfortable of shooting leopards at such close range. They preferred shooting from at least a distance of 50 yards and often at distances up to 100 yards . The best bullet for leopard which existed , during our time was the Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet and it was devastatingly effective for leopards . The Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet was another good 1.
There were ( and are ) 2 varieties of leopards in the Indian subcontinent :
The 1st variety is called the spotted leopard / village panther . These creatures typically lurk around villages and steal goats and chickens . They weigh in the ambit of 60 to 120 pounds and are quite brazen around human beings.

These creatures can reliably be killed with even a .270 Winchester and a 130 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet .
The 2nd variety is called the hunting leopard / forest panther . These creatures live deep within the forests of India and typically feed in cheetal deer or barking deer or 4 horned buck . They are quite shy around human beings and the heaviest specimens can weigh up to 200 pounds .
For these creatures , l would recommend at the very least , a .300 Winchester magnum calibre rifle and a 180 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet .

I 100 % agree with you about novices and clients eschewing the head shot . It makes for an extremely small target and is difficult to hit , unless you have considerable experience .
For the novice or the client , l would highly recommend the point of aim being behind the shoulder . The client's rifle rifle should always be equipped with a telescopic sight for making an accurate shot . During our time , the most popular telescopic sight brought by by clients to India was the Weaver K series . However , much more modern telescopic sights exist on the market today .

The specimen below was taken by a client using a 7 mm Remington magnum calibre Remington Model 700 and a 175 grain Core Lokt soft point bullet . The point of aim was behind the shoulder.
Screenshot_20191018-013938_01_01_01.png




Of course , there is a great deal of difference between between hunting leopards in India in the 1960s and hunting leopards in Africa in modern times. I understand that it is now illegal to hunt leopards at night in many parts of Africa. It is interesting to read how leopards are hunted in Africa nowadays in modern times.
 
Last edited:
Thank you sir for that interesting observation. Your experience is one few can match.
 
Hi, I’m going on a Leopard & Lion hunt, I’m taking my 338 Blaser mag loaded with 225gr Nosler Accubond moving at 2850ft/s. Will the Nosler Accubond be an excellent bullet on this leopard & lion? Thanks
 
Hi, I’m going on a Leopard & Lion hunt, I’m taking my 338 Blaser mag loaded with 225gr Nosler Accubond moving at 2850ft/s. Will the Nosler Accubond be an excellent bullet on this leopard & lion? Thanks
Leopard yes I would not use it on a large male lion
 
What weight A frame and speed?
its 250gr and moving at 2730 ft/s
but I don’t get them to groep they don’t groep nearly as good as the Accubonds.

just for curiosity thy not the Accubond on ‘n big male lion? If it’s going to work perfect on a leopard

thanks
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,618
Messages
1,131,270
Members
92,675
Latest member
jhonmark007
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top