Anyone use TSX on leopard?

[JohannRademeyer]

I have a leopard and elephant combo hunt coming up in Zim. I'm thinking of taking one rifle (416 Rigby) to do the elephant, bait animals and leopard. I'm going to verify that I can get Barnes 400 solids and 400 TSX to print close together. Has anyone used TSX on leopard? I know that's more gun than is needed but I just returned from a 1 gun hunt (.375 TSX on buff, croc, sable and honey badger) and it was so nice to simplify paperwork and packing and always have the right gun. In this case it would be TSX and solids but if they print close together, it could be a good option. I'm checking with the PH of course but wondered about TSX experience on leopard.

Good day, exciting to look forward to a leopard. 7mm is the legal minimum for leopard in Zim, so if at all possible I would suggest a second rifle in addition to your 416. A leopard specific bullet will also probably not group with your other 416 loads. Take your 375 that's perfect. Bullet selection is critical.

Like others have said, you want a quick expanding bullet going fast. North Fork Percussion Point (starts at 375 cal), Nosler partition (tip is not bonded).

 

[SRvet]

My experience with light for calibre Barnes TTSX at good velocity has been very fast expansion, even on very light framed game. I would not hesitate to use a TTSX providing the velocity is sufficiently high (2800fps +) and providing I can shoot it well. If you watch gel tests of the TTSX then you can see the expansion in fluid rich media happens almost immediately. In contrast I understand that the Berger penetrates for a while then loses structural integrity and comes apart which to me seems suboptimal. For clarity I should add that I have not shot a Leopard but have shot many hundreds of game animals with TSX bullets. If the first shot is well placed then there should be no problem.

 

[gillettehunter]

Every bullet has its limitations. Choose what you believe will work best in your most important situation. Just make sure you know what is going to happen when you pull the trigger. Best of luck to all.
Bruce