Calibers for leopard

[thriller]

Shot Placement & Law Zimbabwe

www.africahunting.com

 

[drbortone]

I have also hunted jaguars with 12 gauge buck shot but it has ti be at closed distance (usually the case) but I feel more confident with a larger caliber. It is all about shot placement.

 

[thriller]

Minimum Equipment Requirements for Rifle Hunting in Zimbabwe
- Class A Game
5300 Joule
Minimum caliber 9.2mm in diameter
(Elephant, Hippo, Buffalo)
- Class B Game
4300 Joule
Minimum caliber 7.0mm in diameter
(Lion, Giraffe, Eland)
- Class C Game
3000 Joule
Minimum caliber 7.0mm in diameter
(Leopard, Crocodile, Kudu, Oryx / Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Wildebeest, Zebra, Nyala, Sable Antelope, Waterbuck, Tsessebe, etc.)
- Class D Game
850 Joule
Minimum caliber 5.56mm in diameter
(Warthog, Impala, Reedbuck, Sitatunga, Duiker, Steenbok, Jackal, Game Birds, etc.)

- Black Powder Rifles
Minimum caliber .40

 

[drbortone]

I usually take 300 Win Mag for smaller game and large game .375 :
This info you shared is excellent thanks so much

 

[shootist~]

The South African 2011 Norms and Standards show a 150 grain bullet as the minimum for leopard.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

I have also hunted jaguars with 12 gauge buck shot but it has ti be at closed distance (usually the case) but I feel more confident with a larger caliber. It is all about shot placement.

Where and when did you hunt jaguars? I’d be interested in hearing more about that

 

[Travis2282]

I would think a 300 win. mag with a 180gr partition would work nicely!

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I can say with absolute confidence that you are wrong and should review the laws surrounding this subject for Zimbabwe at your soonest convenience.

I can say with absolute confidence that you are wrong and should review the laws surrounding this subject for Zimbabwe at your soonest convenience.

I was in Zimbabwe in August, and I have read the regulations on this. I can say with absolute confidence that you are wrong. You can even look it up here in AH.

 

[drbortone]

Where and when did you hunt jaguars? I’d be interested in hearing more about that

It was in my ranch in Venezuela - killed cows and I hunted it for 2 weeks. I also hinted panthers (black jaguars) in the Savannah close to the Amazon. I would not recommend to go now - communists running all of South America

 

[thriller]

I was in Zimbabwe in August, and I have read the regulations on this. I can say with absolute confidence that you are wrong. You can even look it up here in AH.

Hey Doug I can’t find any information that this is the case and it certainly wasn’t where I was in 2021. I would be very interested to see the regulations if you have a copy of them that you can provide.

 

[thriller]

It was in my ranch in Venezuela - killed cows and I hunted it for 2 weeks. I also hinted panthers (black jaguars) in the Savannah close to the Amazon. I would not recommend to go now - communists running all of South America

That’s incredible I would love to hear some stories.

 

[IvW]

You

Min cliber is .375 in all of Africa for the big 5

You choose to make such statement yet you are clueless regarding the facts, you own a Ranch in Venezuela and you live in Dallas Texas.....interesting

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Hey Doug I can’t find any information that this is the case and it certainly wasn’t where I was in 2021. I would be very interested to see the regulations if you have a copy of them that you can provide.

If I wasn't technologically retarded I would send these to you, but I don't know how. If you go to the AH home page and look under "Hunting Information by Country" it's all there.
In short the minimum requirement for leopard is:
Zimbabwe - 7mm with 3000 joule energy. You can also use 7mm for lion with 4300 joule (not that I would do it!)
Namibia has no caliber restrictions but does require 5400 joule for dangerous big game.
Mozambique has no caliber or restrictions at all for caliber or energy.
South Africa has no restrictions at all in most provinces, but a few require .375 for dangerous game.
That's all of the countries that I researched before my last safari, and frankly I'm not sure how Namibia or South Africa would classify leopards in regards to being dangerous big game. They are dangerous but not really big.
I recently read about another country in Africa, although I don't remember which one, where the minimum caliber for leopard was .270.
At any rate, I went to Zimbabwe and can promise that a .375 is not required for leopards there.

 

[John Wasmuth]

Killed a 130 pound mountain lion with one shot through both shoulders with an 8x57 Mauser taking out the lungs and heart with a complete pass through at 100 yards using federal factory ammo many years ago. No, not a leopard by any stretch of the imagination but built about the same. Shot placement is critical none the less.

 

[Wiley64]

You should bring a much larger rifle

 

[Tanks]

...
In short the minimum requirement for leopard is:
Zimbabwe - 7mm with 3000 joule energy. You can also use 7mm for lion with 4300 joule (not that I would do it!)
...
At any rate, I went to Zimbabwe and can promise that a .375 is not required for leopards there.

I shot my Leopard in Zimbabwe with 9.3x74R double last year. I could have shot it with a .308 and it still would be legal as pointed out.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

If I wasn't technologically retarded I would send these to you, but I don't know how. If you go to the AH home page and look under "Hunting Information by Country" it's all there.
In short the minimum requirement for leopard is:
Zimbabwe - 7mm with 3000 joule energy. You can also use 7mm for lion with 4300 joule (not that I would do it!)
Namibia has no caliber restrictions but does require 5400 joule for dangerous big game.
Mozambique has no caliber or restrictions at all for caliber or energy.
South Africa has no restrictions at all in most provinces, but a few require .375 for dangerous game.
That's all of the countries that I researched before my last safari, and frankly I'm not sure how Namibia or South Africa would classify leopards in regards to being dangerous big game. They are dangerous but not really big.
I recently read about another country in Africa, although I don't remember which one, where the minimum caliber for leopard was .270.
At any rate, I went to Zimbabwe and can promise that a .375 is not required for leopards there.

Oh, and Zambia has a minimum caliber requirement of .300 for both.lion and leopard. Still not .375.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

You

You choose to make such statement yet you are clueless regarding the facts, you own a Ranch in Venezuela and you live in Dallas Texas.....interesting

Does something seem a bit off to you?

You have a lot more experience, in multiple countries, than I do. Does any country that you know require a .375 for leopard?

Doug

You

You choose to make such statement yet you are clueless regarding the facts, you own a Ranch in Venezuela and you live in Dallas Texas.....interesting

 

[DLSJR]

I’ve only shot 2 leopards, the first with a 300 win mag and 180 Nosler Partition. The Tom was dead before he fell off the limb upside down. The 2nd was with a 338 win mag and 225 Trophy Bonded Bearclaw. This was a Kalahari cat on the ground and that bullet simply crushed him. In both cases, it was more gun and bullet than needed but a 338 is what I do most of my hunting with so that’s what I had in a leopard blind in Tanzania last year. Didn’t get a shot opportunity last year.

This coming August I’ll have leopard on license in the Selous and will again be using that 338 in the leopard blind, but mainly because it’s the smaller rifle I’m taking.

If I was on a dedicated leopard only hunt, I’d probably just take a 30-06 shooting a 180 Partition or a 270 shooting a 150 Partition. Either would be fine for a leopard. But I’d damn sure be shooting my own rifle.

 

[shark_za]

One thing really shows the bias, people who think the 7x57 is much better than a 6.5 CM.
If you shoot a 156gr Oryx out of a Creed and a 175gr anything in a 7x57 you will NOT see any difference on game.
In fact a Leopard is one of the only animals where a soft bullet is better than a premium; load up those 143gr ELD-X and explode them in the chest.

The fact that all he has is a 6,5 CM is the issue, where is this hunting area?
How old is the PH?

Id use a 9.3x62 with PPU softs or Partitions. And have a shotgun with buckshot handy too.