The Hunting Leopard Which Almost Killed My Client

Major Khan

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Tonight , I shall be sharing another reminiscence with my fellow members of African Hunting Forums . However, tonight's reminiscence is not mine . This is a reminiscence of my good friend and former fellow professional shikaree ... the ever talented Riaz Sharrif .

Riaz has been exceedingly kind enough to provide me with English translations of a few chapters from his book ," Ekti Shikaree Er Jibon Er Obhiggota " ( The Life Experiences Of A Professional Shikaree ) , the moment I had asked him for them ... so that I could share the stories about this great man on African Hunting Forums. I had shared Riaz's very 1st article a few days ago , on African Hunting Forums ... Under the title of " A Beat Gone Wild ! " .

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/a-beat-gone-wild.56434/

Tonight , I shall be the narrator of a story about quite a hair raising incident ... early on in Riaz's career . It was the incident where a forest panther nearly did Riaz's client in , during a botched panther shikar .

Let us begin , Dear Readers .

Below , I have provided a photograph taken by myself of a man eating forest panther which I had dispatched... as a reference .
Screenshot_20200416-234140_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01_01.png
 
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Waiting in anticipation of another exciting tale!
 
By Riaz Sharrif

THE ORDER

“ It was the November of 1963 . I was tending to the Tea Estate of my late Father in what is now known as the modern day Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. With my education fully complete by now and the work on the Tea Estate going steadily , I dedicated my free time to the sport of Shikar in the forests around the Tea Estate . That is... when I was not actually being employed by Allwyn Cooper Limited in India to guide foreign clients for Shikar . One such time was that unassuming little week of November.

I had received a telephone call from Mr. Shukla , who asked me if I was free to guide a group of European clients on a Shikar the following week . Hearing about the chance of getting to hunt , or guiding a Shikar back in those days ... used to immediately make me get elated with joy and forget about everything else . I immediately said “ Yes “ and made preparations to depart to Nagpur on the following day .
I packed my William Wellington Greener 12 Bore Side By Side Shotgun , 25 Eley Alphamax LG cartridges , 25 Eley Alphamax Number 6 cartridges, my Case company carbon steel trapper folding knife ( which had two blades in it ) , my compass , a spare set of clothes and the rest of my Shikar inventory .

Early in the morning , I took the train to Calcutta . From there , I took the train to Nagpur . When I finally reached the head office of Allwyn Cooper Limited , I saw that Mr. Shukla was waiting for me at his office ... with a hot meal ready for me , as usual . I was served toasted bread , fried duck eggs , grilled mutton sausages , baked beans , butter , jam , orange juice and black Turkish coffee . As I sat down to my meal , Mr. Shukla briefed me on what my assignment was to be .

A wealthy European couple ( a husband & wife ) wanted to shoot a Chital Deer and a Hunting Leopard in the state of Kuch Bihar . I was to be their professional Shikari .
The couple had one stipulation , however . The Hunting Leopard’s weight must cross 200 pounds... come what may . I asked Mr. Shukla if the couple wanted to take both the animals on the same day ... or if they would like to bag the Chital Deer and the Hunting Leopard on two separate days . Mr. Shukla told me that it was of no consequence to the clients ... as to how the animals were harvested .

I then rationalized that organizing a beat would the best course of action , if we intended to hunt both the Chital Deer and the Hunting Leopard on the same day . For this task ... I would need at least 50 beaters and five gunners ( who would be assigned to stay behind the beaters and protect them , at all costs ) .
I would also need to enlist the help of some Shawtal trackers , who could help me narrow down the general area ... where both Chital Deer and Hunting Leopards could be found.

I enlisted the assistance of Mr . Loha Singh , a part time professional Shikari ( Referred to , as ‘ Choota Shikari ‘ ) working in Allwyn Cooper Limited . Mr. Singh assured me that all the necessary arrangements would be made . That , he would take care of it . So the next day... I met both of my clients at the lounge room of Allwyn Cooper Limited .
They were a newly married German couple ... both of them were in their mid twenties ( I myself was only 21 years old , at the time ) . They had come to India for Shikar ... in order to celebrate their honeymoon . I had the opportunity to examine the battery of my clients . Both of their choices reflected their continental European heritage.

The gentleman had brought along a Belgian Fabrique Nationale Mauser 98 action 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber bolt action rifle . The lady had brought along a Belgian Auguste Francotte over & under “ Combination Gun” ( Meaning that the firearm was a combination of both rifle and shotgun) . The rifle barrel was calibrated for the 9.3x74 mm R ( Rimmed ) caliber , while the shotgun barrel was a fully choked 12 Bore with a 70 mm chamber . Along with this , they had brought along 30 rounds of German RWS 347 grain soft nosed cartridges of 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber , 30 rounds of German RWS 286 grain soft nosed cartridges of 9.3x74 mm R caliber and 30 rounds of German RWS 12 Bore 67 mm SSG cartridges ( which held 12 slugs per cartridge) . The firearms were of unrivaled beauty and finesse. I had a feeling ... that this Shikar was going to be quite a memorable one . It was .


But for all the wrong reasons. “

1FB8C7C2-923A-4400-AD70-103167C4241D.png

12 Bore William Wellington Greener Side By Side Shotgun .
Weight - 7 pounds
Chambers - 70 mm
Chokes - Left barrel : Half choke. Right barrel : Cylindrical choke.
Triggers - Double
Ejectors - Automatic
38ADB7B3-4129-43A3-A153-A3103A8FEC5F.jpeg

12 Bore Eley Alphamax LG cartridges ( Old Stock ) Cut Open To Demonstrate Eight .36 Caliber Slugs Inside.
 
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By Riaz Sharrif

HOW IT ALL WENT WRONG

“ A week later , at around 8 AM in the morning , we were all in a particular patch of the forest of Kuch Bihar ... an area which was known to the locals for harboring both Chital Deer and Hunting Leopards ( Which is actually quite normal , especially considering that Hunting Leopards practically live on Chital Deer ) . Our Shikar party consisted of 64 people .

There were our 50 beaters , who had surrounded the entire forest by setting up a circular perimeter around it ( encompassing a five mile radius) . Stationed alongside the beaters for their protection , were our five gunners ... who were armed with Indian Ordinance Factories .315 caliber bolt action rifles , loaded with 244 grain soft nosed cartridges. Then there were five coolies . And of course... There was myself , Loha Singh and our two clients .

The previous day , our coolies had toiled all day to erect two macchans in the very center of the forest ... for our clients to safely shoot from . Today, our clients climbed up on the two macchans and were ready for the beat to begin . I gestured to Loha Singh to fire a shot into the air ... which would alert the beaters to commence the beat . Loha Singh fired a shot from his Indian Ordinance Factories .315 caliber bolt action rifle into the air . And that was that . The beat had begun . From all around the forests , the beaters slowly began to converge towards us , beating.

Loha Singh and I remained on the ground , while our clients stayed on their Macchans . Time passed and we could all hear the growls , screeches and calls of all manner of fauna ... as they were slowly being driven towards us , by the beaters .
We saw a large group of Chital Deer making their way towards us . I hurriedly shouted to our clients , “ Sahib ! Mem Sahib ! The Chital Deer are drawing close ! Get yourselves ready ! “

As all of the Chital Deer got within range ...our female client took careful aim at a large Chital Stag and fired off the 9.3x74 mm R caliber rifle barrel of her Combination Gun . The 286 grain soft nosed bullet struck the animal ... right behind the right shoulder of the Chital Stag . It went less than 30 yards , before fall to the ground and expiring . I myself decided that I would bag a delicious Chital Stag for the pot ( and share half the venison with old Loha ) . I waited for most of the Chital Deer to pass through our area , before catching sight of a fine Chital Stag drawing closer to us . Snapping up my shotgun ( which was loaded with LG cartridges in both the barrels ) to my shoulder ... I took aim at the fine animal and let off my left barrel at him , at a range of less than ten paces . The concentrated charge of eight LG slugs caught the Chital Stag , right in the chest and downed him on the spot . Loha and I smiled triumphantly at the prospects of our dinner . However , this was no time for rejoicing. We knew that if the Herbivores had passed through our location ... then that meant that the Carnivora were obviously bound to be somewhere , close by .
I hurriedly broke open the breech of my shotgun and watched the expended Eley Alphamax LG cartridge casing get popped out from the chamber of my left barrel by the automatic ejectors ... before falling to the ground . I then replenished the left barrel’s chamber with a live Eley Alphamax LG cartridge and closed my shotgun .

True to their nature ... a male Hunting Leopard, his mate and three Hunting Leopard Cubs were , in fact drawing closer to our location . One of our coolies had managed to spot them , from the top of a tree ... with the aid of binoculars .
Loha and I crouched behind a rock in order to keep ourselves hidden from the view of the Hunting Leopards . I shouted to the clients , “ Sahib ! Mem Sahib! The Chita Baagh are coming ! Aim for the huge one ! That is the male ! “ .

It took about another 15 minutes , before the Hunting Leopards were within shooting range of our clients ( 50 yards ) . Our male client raised his 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber bolt action rifle to his shoulder and took careful aim at the male Hunting Leopard . He squeezed the trigger . The gun shot rang out and we heard the male Hunting Leopard roar in pain . We also saw him somersault onto the ground , struggle back to his feet and disappear back into the long forest grass . The female Hunting Leopard and the cubs hurriedly rushed past our location , but the male Hunting Leopard had retreated into the direction from which he was coming .

I snatched up my William Wellington Greener Shotgun and went to the spot , where the male Hunting Leopard had been shot . I saw a massive pool of blood and immediately speculated that my client had punctured one of the Hunting Leopard’s lungs . I ran back to where the macchans were and shouted to my male client , “ Sahib ! Your shot must have wounded the huge male Hunting Leopard . Would you like me to spoor it , for you ? “ . My client told me that he wanted to pursue the wounded Hunting Leopard alongside me ... because he was the one who was responsible for wounding it . I nodded , admiring the gentle man’s honorable code of conduct . Despite fearful protests from his young wife ( who naturally cared about his safety ) , he climbed down the macchan with his 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber bolt rifle and worked the bolt of his rifle ... to extract the empty 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber cartridge casing . However, he kept working the bolt until the other three live cartridges were also ejected from the rifle’s magazine . Then , he freshly loaded the entire magazine once again with four cartridges. He carried out this practice , because the rifle was built on a Mauser 98 action ... and Mauser 98 actioned rifles must always have their cartridges fed up into the chamber only via the magazine . The Shikari cannot feed a cartridge directly into the chamber of such a rifle , without risking a breakage of the Mauser 98 action’s ejector . I myself , broke open the breech of my William Wellington Greener Shotgun and checked to make sure that both barrels were loaded with Eley Alphamax LG cartridges. As an added precautionary measure ... I kept two extra LG cartridges in between the fingers of my non shooting hand , to aid me in the event that a speedy reload became necessary . I instructed Loha to stay behind with the female client and the coolies at the location of the macchans ( in order to protect them ) ... while my male client and I pressed forward , in search of the wounded male Hunting Leopard.

We went deeper and deeper into the long grass , cautiously following the blood trail of the wounded Hunting Leopard . For ten minutes , we found nothing . It was as if the wounded animal has just vanished into thin air . And then , it happened .

All of a sudden , the huge male Hunting Leopard hurled itself upon us from close range . He had been cunningly and vengefully lying in wait for us , among the long grass . My client snapped his rifle up to his shoulder ... in a desperate attempt to shoot the charging , enraged animal . Unfortunately, the Hunting Leopard had gotten ahold of the rifle’s muzzle between it’s vice like jaws . It aggressively tugged at the rifle . While my client desperately struggled to hold onto his rifle ... his knuckle accidentally struck the release button of the rifle’s magazine floor plate ( which , like all Mauser 98 actioned rifles... was located inside the bow of the trigger guard . This set up is referred to , as “ Oberndorf Style “ . ) . The magazine floor plate sprung open and all four of my client’s 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber RWS soft nosed cartridges had dropped onto the ground . The rifle was now as useless as a big stick . The enraged Hunting Leopard pounced upon my defenseless client ... who was knocked on to the ground by the animal .

I acted fast ... and on instinct . I could not shoot the Hunting Leopard right away , because my shotgun was loaded with LG cartridges . Each LG cartridge held eight .36 caliber lead slugs and I knew that if I fired at the Hunting Leopard... there was a virtual certainty that one of those eight slugs might end up hitting my client . So , I reversed my William Wellington Greener Shotgun and brought down the butt stock of the weapon hard onto the furious animal’s skull . I clubbed it three more times , before it finally leapt off my client and attempted to make for the long grass once again . I hurriedly let off both barrels of my shotgun at the fleeing Hunting Leopard . The double charge of LG slugs slammed right into the area behind the animal’s shoulder .
It fell to the ground , but quickly struggled back to it’s feet . I wasted no time in breaking open the breech of my shotgun and slamming the two Eley Alphamax LG cartridges ( which I had kept between my fingers , beforehand ) into the chambers ... before closing the breech of the shotgun . The Hunting Leopard charged again . I fired my left barrel at the head of the Hunting Leopard ... at a distance of a mere ten feet . The Hunting Leopard fell to the ground ... only to start struggling back onto it’s feet again . I aimed for the head of the Hunting Leopard once again ... this time in the region right above both the eyes . The moment the Hunting Leopard had gotten back on it’s feet ... I pulled the trigger . Those eight LG slugs punched through the top of the Hunting Leopard’s skull and penetrated right into the defiant animal’s brain . This time ... He was dead for good . I hurriedly turned my attention to my injured client . “
DA936944-268A-4092-8076-9561B9979DFF.png

The crouched , dead Hunting Leopard with blood still dripping from it’s mouth .
 
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By Riaz Sharrif

EPILOGUE

“ My client was fortunate enough to remain largely unscathed by the attack of the wounded Hunting Leopard . He had suffered a few fairly deep scratches on his chest and arms . However , other than that... he was perfectly alright . His wife was crying out of joy to see her husband , safe and sound. Loha opened a first aid kit ( which he was carrying in his bag pack ) and proceeded to clean out our client’s injuries with the contents of an ethanol bottle . Our female client and Loha then proceeded bandage our male client’s injuries .

I supervised the coolies as they flayed the carcasses of the two Chital Stags ( Shot by our female client and myself ) and the Hunting Leopard . The Hunting Leopard had been shot five times - Once by a 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber 347 grain RWS soft nosed bullet and four times by Eley Alphamax LG cartridges. He was certainly rather tenacious of life . The 347 grain soft nosed bullet had penetrated one lung of the Hunting Leopard , prior to shedding it’s jacket and failing to penetrate into the second lung . 11 LG slugs went found , lodged in the rock hard muscles of the Hunting Leopard’s shoulder ... virtually all of them flattened against the muscles . Seven LG slugs were found lodged against the facial muscles of the Hunting Leopard... also flattened .Three LG slugs had managed to punch through the skull of the Hunting Leopard ( in the region... right above the two eyes ) and reach the animal’s brain . This was what had finally downed the resilient animal , permanently.

I was extremely terrified of what might happen to me ... if my injured client had decided to complain about me to Mr. Shukla , for failing to protect him . Losing my job at Allwyn Cooper Limited would be the least of my worries . Professional Shikaris could get hung to death by the police for letting their clients get killed during Shikars , back in those days . Professional Shikaris could also get sent to prison for up to five years for letting their clients get injured during Shikars , back in those days . Perhaps if fortune smiled upon me ... I could walk away from the entire mess by merely having to pay a fine . Miraculously , none of those eventualities had occurred .

On the contrary ... neither of our clients could stop singing praises about both Loha and me , to Mr. Shukla . My male client tipped me handsomely for saving his life and the female client tipped Loha handsomely for his services , as well . Needless to say , Mr. Shukla was extremely pleased with the way both Loha and I had carried out our duties .

Thus , not only were our clients perfectly safe... but Loha and I had both received our payment , a generous amount of tips and a delicious Chital Deer ( The venison of which , we shared with Loha’s wives and children ) at the end of this Shikar .

I will conclude by sharing one thought , however . Had my male client been armed with his wife’s Combination Gun instead of his 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber bolt action rifle , while he and I were spooring the wounded Hunting Leopard ... then the Hunting Leopard would have never gotten the opportunity to pounce upon him at all . In fact, had my male client taken the initial shot at the male Hunting Leopard with the rifle barrel of his wife’s Combination Gun... then, it is my humble belief that the male Hunting Leopard would have died on the spot without necessitating a spooring task , in the first place . The penetration capabilities of those 9.3x74 mm R caliber 286 grain soft nosed bullets were immense . I have no doubts that a well placed double lung shot from this weapon ... would have cleanly punctured both the lungs of the male Hunting Leopard without any shortcomings , whatsoever . “

THE END
 
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Interesting that 10.75x68 failed on such smallish animal such as leopard. However, this comes in line with opinion about the caliber by John Pondoro Taylor in his writings.
Thank you sir, for this fantastic article!!!(y)
 
Very entertaining story! Thank you for sharing!

I do have a question - when the leopard charged the first time and the client accidentally hit the magazine release, all 4 cartridges dropped. Am I to understand that he was following a wounded leopard without a round chambered?
 
Another very exciting ending to a very enjoyable story! So glad Riaz didn’t get into trouble! The clients were very honorable. If one steps into harms way, one has to be prepared for what ever the eventual results will be.
 
Poton, did this incident influence your decision to use the "Lethal Ball" in lieu of the Alpha Max for hunting panthers? I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to future episodes / tales from Riaz Sharrif's book.
 
Interesting that 10.75x68 failed on such smallish animal such as leopard. However, this comes in line with opinion about the caliber by John Pondoro Taylor in his writings.
Thank you sir, for this fantastic article!!!(y)
Oh , those .423 Mauser calibre German RWS brand 347 grain soft point cartridges were vile , vile things , Mark Hunter !
Tobin Stakkatz used to use the exact same make and model of weapon during his career as a professional shikaree . He despised the performance of those German RWS brand .423 Mauser calibre soft point cartridges SO MUCH... that he would exclusively use German RWS brand 347 grain solid metal covered cartridges for hunting EVERYTHING !
 
Very entertaining story! Thank you for sharing!

I do have a question - when the leopard charged the first time and the client accidentally hit the magazine release, all 4 cartridges dropped. Am I to understand that he was following a wounded leopard without a round chambered?
Why thank you so much , Cagkt3 !
As soon as I read about your inquiry ... I immediately got curious , myself and so I sent Riaz a text message to ask him about what had actually happened . He replied a few minutes , back .
Here is his reply . The client's name has been blurred for obvious reasons of confidentiality .
Screenshot_20200502-191923_01.png

The mistake was mine ... when I was formatting Riaz's transcript to post on African Hunting Forums . When the client's knuckle had accidentally struck the magazine floor plate release catch ... the other 3 cartridges ( not 4 ) had dropped on to the green forest floor .


This is why I was wondering ... What kind of a doddering imbecile follows up a wounded forest panther without having a cartridge already loaded in his rifle chamber ?!

This is why it is always challenging to narrate another shikaree's story ... unless I was actually physically present at the scene , myself ! Hopefully , Riaz shall keep his promise to me and join African Hunting Forums himself , very soon ! That way , he may be able to narrate his articles with flawless accuracy .
 
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Poton, did this incident influence your decision to use the "Lethal Ball" in lieu of the Alpha Max for hunting panthers? I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to future episodes / tales from Riaz Sharrif's book.
Ah ... Let me explain to you , Shootist43 .
" Lethal Ball " and " Spherical Ball " are 2 different kinds of shot gun BULLETS .

" Alphamax " is a CARTRIDGE CASE .

Observe .

received_754328681676018.jpeg

This is an Eley Grand Prix cartridge ( loaded with spherical ball ) . It is 2.5 inches long and has a brass head length of a mere 8 mm .
38ADB7B3-4129-43A3-A153-A3103A8FEC5F.jpeg

This is an Eley Alphamax cartridge ( loaded with 8 LG pellets ) . It is 2.75 inches and has a 16 mm brass head length .

For my hand loaded spherical ball cartridges ... I would use Eley Alphamax MAGNUM cartridge cases . These were 3 inches in length and had a brass head length of 16 mm . I would remove the BB bird shot pellets from these cartridges and replace them with a spherical ball bullet from an Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridge . This allowed me to achieve satisfactory velocities with those 1 ounce spherical ball bullets ... on account of the much larger charge of powder .

I 1st used ordinary Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridges for shikar . However , I found the low powder charge to be generating quite unimpressive velocities . Then , I shifted to Eley Alphamax 2.75 inch Lethal Ball cartridges ... which I kept using until 1968 , when I had expended my supply of them ( Eley had already ceased to manufacture them by 1957 , and I was simply using old stocks of cartridges ... which had been brought to me by my clients ) . I also found that Lethal Ball bullets often tended to fragment too easily upon the muscles and bones of the largest of the male forest panthers . After that , I began to use my hand loaded spherical ball cartridges ... which I still regularly use to this very day , without having any reasons to complain , whatsoever .
 
Why thank you so much , Cagkt3 !
As soon as I read about your inquiry ... I immediately got curious , myself and so I sent Riaz a text message to ask him about what had actually happened . He replied a few minutes , back .
Here is his reply . The client's name has been blurred for obvious reasons of confidentiality .
View attachment 345660
The mistake was mine ... when I was formatting Riaz's transcript to post on African Hunting Forums . When the client's knuckle had accidentally struck the magazine floor plate release catch ... the other 3 cartridges ( not 4 ) had dropped on to the green forest floor .


This is why I was wondering ... What kind of a doddering imbecile follows up a wounded forest panther without having a cartridge already loaded in his rifle chamber ?!

This is why it is always challenging to narrate another shikaree's story ... unless I was actually physically present at the scene , myself ! Hopefully , Riaz shall keep his promise to me and join African Hunting Forums himself , very soon ! That way , he may be able to narrate his articles with flawless accuracy .

Thank you for the quick follow up sir!
 
Major Sir

This was another brilliantly written story . I remember Riaz relating this story to me in 1975 . Upon hearing about how the client’s magazine’s floor plate had popped open after his knuckle hit the release lever , I resolved to have my 7 millimeter Remington Magnum built on a Springfield Model 1903 receiver instead of a Mauser 98 receiver.
In a rifle that employs a Springfield Model 1903 receiver , your probability of something like this occurring is literally zero .
0B8CA6C4-08DF-409C-9861-66EA57BC1776.png
 
Major Sir

This was another brilliantly written story . I remember Riaz relating this story to me in 1975 . Upon hearing about how the client’s magazine’s floor plate had popped open after his knuckle hit the release lever , I resolved to have my 7 millimeter Remington Magnum built on a Springfield Model 1903 receiver instead of a Mauser 98 receiver.
In a rifle that employs a Springfield Model 1903 receiver , your probability of something like this occurring is literally zero .
View attachment 345770
Yes , that is an extremely sensible action to build a rifle on , Panther Shooter. Then there is also the :
> Winchester Model 70
> Pattern 14 Enfield
> Enfield Model 1917
> BRNO ZKK Series
> Zastava Model 70
> CZ 550

Currently , the Winchester Model t is the only 1 still being manufactured ... to the best of my knowledge.
 
@Major Khan
Zastava m70 is still in healthy production!
You may also want to take a look at Ruger m77 series.
 
By Riaz Sharrif

EPILOGUE

“ My client was fortunate enough to remain largely unscathed by the attack of the wounded Hunting Leopard . He had suffered a few fairly deep scratches on his chest and arms . However , other than that... he was perfectly alright . His wife was crying out of joy to see her husband , safe and sound. Loha opened a first aid kit ( which he was carrying in his bag pack ) and proceeded to clean out our client’s injuries with the contents of an ethanol bottle . Our female client and Loha then proceeded bandage our male client’s injuries .

I supervised the coolies as they flayed the carcasses of the two Chital Stags ( Shot by our female client and myself ) and the Hunting Leopard . The Hunting Leopard had been shot five times - Once by a 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber 347 grain RWS soft nosed bullet and four times by Eley Alphamax LG cartridges. He was certainly rather tenacious of life . The 347 grain soft nosed bullet had penetrated one lung of the Hunting Leopard , prior to shedding it’s jacket and failing to penetrate into the second lung . 11 LG slugs went found , lodged in the rock hard muscles of the Hunting Leopard’s shoulder ... virtually all of them flattened against the muscles . Seven LG slugs were found lodged against the facial muscles of the Hunting Leopard... also flattened .Three LG slugs had managed to punch through the skull of the Hunting Leopard ( in the region... right above the two eyes ) and reach the animal’s brain . This was what had finally downed the resilient animal , permanently.

I was extremely terrified of what might happen to me ... if my injured client had decided to complain about me to Mr. Shukla , for failing to protect him . Losing my job at Allwyn Cooper Limited would be the least of my worries . Professional Shikaris could get hung to death by the police for letting their clients get killed during Shikars , back in those days . Professional Shikaris could also get sent to prison for up to five years for letting their clients get injured during Shikars , back in those days . Perhaps if fortune smiled upon me ... I could walk away from the entire mess by merely having to pay a fine . Miraculously , none of those eventualities had occurred .

On the contrary ... neither of our clients could stop singing praises about both Loha and me , to Mr. Shukla . My male client tipped me handsomely for saving his life and the female client tipped Loha handsomely for his services , as well . Needless to say , Mr. Shukla was extremely pleased with the way both Loha and I had carried out our duties .

Thus , not only were our clients perfectly safe... but Loha and I had both received our payment , a generous amount of tips and a delicious Chital Deer ( The venison of which , we shared with Loha’s wives and children ) at the end of this Shikar .

I will conclude by sharing one thought , however . Had my male client been armed with his wife’s Combination Gun instead of his 10.75x68 mm Mauser caliber bolt action rifle , while he and I were spooring the wounded Hunting Leopard ... then the Hunting Leopard would have never gotten the opportunity to pounce upon him at all . In fact, had my male client taken the initial shot at the male Hunting Leopard with the rifle barrel of his wife’s Combination Gun... then, it is my humble belief that the male Hunting Leopard would have died on the spot without necessitating a spooring task , in the first place . The penetration capabilities of those 9.3x74 mm R caliber 286 grain soft nosed bullets were immense . I have no doubts that a well placed double lung shot from this weapon ... would have cleanly punctured both the lungs of the male Hunting Leopard without any shortcomings , whatsoever . “

THE END
My dear friend Ponton
Another very exciting hunt by your friend Riaz. The client was indeed a very lucky man . Riazs actions surely saved his life. For the pellets to have flattened on the animals muscle means they are one tough critter, not to be taken lightly.
Please get Riaz to translate more of his exciting tales.
Your friend
Bob Nelson
 

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