I thought long and hard if its a good idea or not to post this video...
Like all of us, (I hope), I hate wounding and losing an animal. Let alone the fact that a lost dangerous game animal may kill someone down the line, we all strive to let the animal suffer as little as possible.
With this in mind, I thought it a good opportunity to show the video so that prospective leopard hunters (and possibly others), does not make the same mistakes.
Background:
The video shows what happens when you are in a hurry to shoot. The cat came in on schedule, and instead of waiting for it to feed and become relaxed, the hunter took a shot at it where it was sitting in a fork to the right and lower than the bait. The fact that he was shooting from a Caldwell rest (that holds the rifle's fore end as well as the pistol grip), that he had to force/ "drive" to shoot to different position than what we set the rest up for, did not help.
The bullet clearly strikes the tree first, and after following the cat for 4 hours, with very little blood loss, we lost the tracks and had to abandon this magnificent creature.
What we can learn from this:
Wait till the cat is relaxed, in the anticipated position, and preferable feeding. Enjoy the moment, it is not often that we see these mostly nocturnal critters in such broad daylight, and maybe get yourself a bit more relaxed. Do not "force" these kinds of rests to a different aiming point.
Hope this helps someone!
Like all of us, (I hope), I hate wounding and losing an animal. Let alone the fact that a lost dangerous game animal may kill someone down the line, we all strive to let the animal suffer as little as possible.
With this in mind, I thought it a good opportunity to show the video so that prospective leopard hunters (and possibly others), does not make the same mistakes.
Background:
The video shows what happens when you are in a hurry to shoot. The cat came in on schedule, and instead of waiting for it to feed and become relaxed, the hunter took a shot at it where it was sitting in a fork to the right and lower than the bait. The fact that he was shooting from a Caldwell rest (that holds the rifle's fore end as well as the pistol grip), that he had to force/ "drive" to shoot to different position than what we set the rest up for, did not help.
The bullet clearly strikes the tree first, and after following the cat for 4 hours, with very little blood loss, we lost the tracks and had to abandon this magnificent creature.
What we can learn from this:
Wait till the cat is relaxed, in the anticipated position, and preferable feeding. Enjoy the moment, it is not often that we see these mostly nocturnal critters in such broad daylight, and maybe get yourself a bit more relaxed. Do not "force" these kinds of rests to a different aiming point.
Hope this helps someone!
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