RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

I thought about booking a hunt this summer. I was going to take my 300 win mag. Most leopards I have seen killed were done with an 30-06.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

You're right. Inside 100 yards almost any caliber will be just fine. However, you said elk sized game on the plains and I immediately assumed long range shots might be in order.

If you can get a 7mm-08 to getover 3000 ft/lbs at the muzzle with a 160 gr. bullet, than perhaps you should start working on a cure for cancer or startselling your magical reloading recipe. Or at theleast you deserve a cookie! :)

You'd have to push a 160 gr. bullet over 3000 fps to generate that much energy.

A .308 won't even do that with a 150 bullet and 6 more grains of powder!



If you recall you were the one asking for suggestions for plains game.


Pardon me for answering your request. Seems you already have the Excalibur of cartridges. All I did was throw one out off the top of my head. I'm not at the reloading bench with you and I can't read your mind to know you have this fantastic handload.

Seems like you don't need to bring anything else with you to Africa. Good luck.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

I don't recall saying I could get a 160gr bullet over 3000 fps. All I said was I could fire it. Last I checked...ain't no 160gr bullets coming out of a 270, at any speed.

Yes, I did ask for suggestions on plains game as well. But, the leopard is my interest in this new rifle. Thats what I am gunning for, and I would like this leopard rifle to be capable of taking those plains game too. If my 7-08 was a divine bolt of lightning, I wouldn't be asking for opinions now would I?

I thank you for your suggestions and your time brutal, but please, don't just "throw calibers at [me] off the top of [your] head". There is nothing magical or excaliber like about my handloads, or anyones for that matter.I never said there was. What I am talking about, is being able to load a more diverse bullet weights in a 7mm08, rather than having only three choices in a .270. It just isn't as practical, or versital as a caliber I already own.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

Well you said your 7mm-08 would outperform a .270 WSM which is total BS.

I'm not trying to start a new argument but now that was nonsense..270 WSM will push a 150 gr. bullet at over 3000 fps easily so I just want to make sure you're not trying topull my leg or having delusions or something. ;)Feel free to post your load data including the CUP. I'dlove to see your data on the same bullet out of a 7mm-08.

That was the highest energy, flattest shooting caliber I could think of without a ton more recoil. I apologize for it not being diverse enough for you.If you wanted "diversity" then I guess you could have stated that in thebeginningand saved us both a whole lot of time right?

It's probably best for you to use the gun you're most comfortable and confident with anyway.

Good luck on your hunt. If you need someone to track a wounded leopard in the dark I'm all for it! :D

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

Even if a leopard is a relatively small and thin skinned animal the damage it can do if not dispatched quickly in my mind dictates hitting them very hard. I have been using a remington model 7 custom KS in .350 rem mag using 225 gr. Partitions and have to admit it is the deadliest and most versatile rifle I have ever owned. It drops deer, moose and bear like nothing else and I find it actually kills quicker than my .338 win mag did. I have also seen that round take caribou at over 300 yds and again it literally dropped them in thier tracks. You can tuck yourself to bed every night reading marketing brochure ballistics tables but real life experience has shown me and several other friends of mine that the .35 cals are extremely effective way past what people think they are good for. A .35 whelen is virtually the same as my .350 and I wouldn't feel bad about carrying a .338-06 either. A .35 caliber Partition will smash both front shoulders of your cat while transfering a lightning bolt like shock wave. My experience with it is all "one shot kills" with dead in thier tracks performance. I have never recovered a bullet yet nor had any animal ( moose included ) go more than 20 feet after a shot. My 245 lb buck crumbled in his tracks this year at the shot.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

I doubt they can match up to my .375 H&H with .260 Gr. NP. I mean, say what you want, if you want to hunt with a .35 cal go for it, but I'm gonna stick with the .338 or .375 cals. They seem to work a lot better.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

African plains, .338 Winchester Magnum.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

point 1. the 375 may not be required by you, or by the law, but it may be required by your hunter. better that you punch a big hole in the cat than it take a piece out of you or the PH.

point 2. you are going to africa. unless you are simply going to land in windhoek, drive out to the bait tree, blast a leopard, and come home again, you need to be prepared for whatever the country could present. even if the leopard is the sole aim, you would be mad to touch down with nothing but the 7mm. what happens if you have a weapon failure, or customs intervene for some reason? it does happen. rifles can get damaged. some people have found that they can bring one rifle in, but the second gets tangled in red tape at the airport. most safari's tend to be undertaken with at least two rifles - a "light" rifle and atminimum a "medium" rifle.

your 7mm will do the job on zebra etc as the light rifle all right, but that still leaves you in the great position of having to buy something bigger:)
the 30-06 you saw would be an excellent light rifle (better imo than your 7mm), but still doesn't fill the medium gun void.

the 375 H&H is the classic african round because it can handle pretty much everything if it has too. it's versatility is it's strength.

this could be your once in a lifetime experience. pull out all stops to make it memorable.

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

SwampCollie..ask your guide..he'll tell you the O6 is all you need!

RE: What Caliber for Leopard?
 

Bell was a poacher, many of his elephants were shot and left wounded to die later. He'd come back sometimes weeks later, find the dead animial and take the ivory.... He didn't care how, or when they died, all he wanted was to get the ivory...

This isn't "new" news, it's been talked about many times on different forums...

DM