Which of these two rifles would you recommend for leopard?

[deewayne2003]

My PH for the tuskless hunt in Zim was a self professed Leopard junkie; I asked him what his preferred caliber and ammo for clients to bring for leopard.

“.300Win and Nosler Partitions, it opens fast, penetrates and is tough enough for any bait; illuminated reticles are a big advantage also.”

 

[gillettehunter]

The Scirocco's are known to be picky about seating depth. When dialed in they can be very accurate. When reloading check several different depths. You might be surprised.
Bruce

 

[Beck]

I shot a a box of the 180 grain Swift Scirocco yesterday in the .300 and they did not group well at all. If I can't get a bullet to group a 1 inch MOA I won't use it. I see Swift has bullets available on their website right now so I might try some hand loads.

You might look into a Sako, they seem to shoot everything well.

 

[buffybr]

Either of your choices should work fine.

I shot my leopard with a 168 gr Barnes TTSX handload from my .300 Wby with a 50 yd shot. He dropped dead 19 paces from where I shot him. I had my scope turned down to 4.5 power.

 

[mark-hunter]

300 win mag. because of a bit larger front lens on the scope, if you will shoot at evening hours.

 

[Nhoro]

I absolutely want to overthink it. Overthinking is the only thing I am really good at!

What do you think about the partition in 165 grain?

I think the bonded bullets are better but partition will work. I think lead core bullets open quicker than copper or brass softs. Remember a leopard is relatively small- 160 pounds or so. Quick expansion is what you look for.

 

[MacJenkins]

Just take your 7mm to 300 deer rifle, they are small and shots will be close.

 

[Green Chile]

Either one would be great with soft, quick expanding bullets. The better question is which scope and your illuminated model is the perfect one for leopard. Put that optic on your rifle choice and enjoy the hunt.

 

[DLSJR]

Either would be great, but I’d suggest the 338 and Nosler Partition. Besides, that scope is a bit better choice as 18x is way too much top end.

I’ve shot 3 leopards:
One with 300 Winchester and a 180 grain Nosler Partition. The cat was dead before he fell off the limb.
Two were shot with 338 Winchester and 225 grain Bearclaws. One died about 10 yards yards from where he was standing (Kalahari tracking hunt, He was on the ground when I shot him) and the other was about 20 yards from the tree limb he was standing on.
All 3 were quickly graveyard dead.

As everyone has said - either rifle will be fine. I just like the 338 better than a 300, it’s always been my light rifle when I take two guns. But don’t use a TSX. Use a Partition, Bearclaw, Accubond, Scirroco, Northfork Percussion Point or similar. You want to walk up on a stone dead cat.

 

[Philip Glass]

I shot a a box of the 180 grain Swift Scirocco yesterday in the .300 and they did not group well at all. If I can't get a bullet to group a 1 inch MOA I won't use it. I see Swift has bullets available on their website right now so I might try some hand loads.

It's a process sometimes. The main thing is that you are planning and working on being ready for that all too important moment when your PH nudges you to shoot!

 

[codofish]

I just ordered 165 grain partitions and 170 grain round nose partitions from Blue Collar Reloading and 165 Scirocco from Swift, all for the 300 Win Mag. If I can get an accurate load I may take the 300 to Zimbabwe instead of the 338. If I get my leopard there are a number of other animals I will hunt including eland. I would be comfortable shooting a eland with a 250 grain partition in the 338 but not so much with the 165 grain in the 300. Oh well, one size doesn't fit all and the leopard the most important so that is what I will focus on.

 

[codofish]

After much hand loading I have given up on getting the Scirocco to group and and my rifle doesn't really like the partitions either. It does like the 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip which groups to a 1/2 inch MOA at 100 yards. What is your opinion of the Ballistic Tip for Leopard? Will it fragment too much?

 

[Green Chile]

What is the velocity on those BTs?

 

[codofish]

What is the velocity on those BTs?

2950 FPS at muzzle

 

[wildwilderness]

I would say that setup will work great. My leopard ph also prefers the 300 win going fast for max shock effect. The Ballistic tip will dump all its energy and most likely the leopard dead before it hits the ground.

As to size comparison- would you shoot a 160 lbs whitetail deer with that set up? And expect it DRT? Of course you would

As you alluded to, accuracy and confidence in your shot is the single most important thing with leopard hunting.

 

[Green Chile]

BTs are designed for impact between 1800-3200 fps. Within that window, their weight retention is 50-60%.

 

[mark-hunter]

Ballistic tip for leopard? Interesting theory. I never considered that bullet for leopard.

 

[Green Chile]

I'm not sure that it will thrill most PHs as penetration is low at higher speeds. What is your PH requesting for bullets?

 

[Sarg]

As said both will work fine, Leopards are not particularly tough or hard to kill if shot correctly, if not all bets are off.

I’d use the .458Win if you can shoot it well with no flinching, I shoot Warthogs, Bushbuck, Zebra, my largest Kudu, even Klipspringer with standard 500gr soft nose, only proviso is it may want to be in a heavier rifle to mitigate recoil, most of mine a in the 8lb range & recoil is stiff.

I have used some rickety blinds & plate forms & sometimes the angles are tricky which could put your eye a bit close to the scope !

 

[Surgeon1]

Pick one Leopard's spot right over his heart and take his heart out! If you flinch with the 458 leave it home for everything as the last thing you want is to pull a shot. I Shot several deer and antelope years ago with 150BT in 7mm and they worked well. Should work on a big cat at 50 yards.