Could a .22LR possibly kill a leopard?

[WAB]

We’ve been expecting it any day for a month now.

 

[rinehart0050]

What a wonderful thread. To @Kawshik Rahman thank you for sharing your experiences. Really inspiring stuff.

To @Hoss Delgado very much looking forward to your book. You should offer limited, signed editions here on AH. I'd certainly buy a copy!

 

[Hoss Delgado]

What a wonderful thread. To @Kawshik Rahman thank you for sharing your experiences. Really inspiring stuff.

To @Hoss Delgado very much looking forward to your book. You should offer limited, signed editions here on AH. I'd certainly buy a copy!

Thanks man let me try a .510 Wells Express first !

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

What a wonderful thread. To @Kawshik Rahman thank you for sharing your experiences. Really inspiring stuff.

To @Hoss Delgado very much looking forward to your book. You should offer limited, signed editions here on AH. I'd certainly buy a copy!

Thank you Rinehart0050 , for your kind words. I , however , hope no body reads this and tries to go after big game with a shot-gun. The sporting method is to use a good medium heavy caliber rifle . The one exception to this is leopard for which l will always recommend a shot-gun with two barrels and SG shot of 12 bore calibre,

 

[gesch]

I am flattered by the compliments given by the posters : Spike T, Red Leg , Phoenix Phil , Marko Hunter and Wyatt Smith. Thank you .
To answer the question about Hunting in Bangladesh : Hoss Delgado described the procedure correctly and l have nothing further to add to his answer , except one little detail : Do not bring a three knot three rifle as it is a prohibited bore . Other than the aforementioned calibre , other rifled or smoothbore arms are permissible. Hoss describes the boar problem with accuracy . Boars are very dangerous things and damage our tea gardens and menace our workers . Our workers are hill tribal people ( in Bengali , we refer to them as " Upojati '') and eat pork , so shooting the boars serves a secondary purpose .
Marko Hunter describes an incident with a two two . He is sound in his experience and is a good , ethical Shikari . Perhaps my next sentence may properly describe the subject . Deer may be killed with a two two but cannot be hunted ethically with a two two . The owner of the deer skin on my sofa in the third picture was killed by the two two rifle in the middle picture . The rifle in the second picture is a two two bolt action Czechoslovakian rifle which l have purchased for my niece , Fabliha to use whenever she visits Bangladesh every year. She is like my daughter and she killed this deer when she was eighteen years of age. Now , she lives in the United States of America with her boyfriend , Daniel. However , when she and Daniel visit the tea gardens , she often shoots rabbits with that two two . She shot this deer when it came to feed near the gardens. The ammunition used was from a firm called CCI . She used a telescopic sight on the rifle of the brand , Weaver , which l also purchased for her. It was a straight shot through the auditory canal of the deer , identical to the same shot used by Karim to kill the leopard in 1966. For such a shot , the shooter's margin for error is non existent. Needless to say that it was such a proud moment for me , that l have kept that skin on my sofa for the last five years. This is not a shot that can be counted on to always be presented to a shooter. Which is why l prefer the magnum two two which burns a larger charge of powder behind it's forty grain bullet and shoot deer in the neck region with it.
To answer Hoss Delgado's three questions : I own currently a twelve bore over- under Beretta model S686 special with a half choke on one barrel and a 75 % choke on one barrel which is in the middle picture , a Belgian two two auto loading rifle and an ISSC Austrian bolt rifle in magnum two two calibre . These are my personal arms . I have the license for the two two bolt action rifle which Fabliha uses but l never use it for myself . In the past , l have used my previously mentioned Ishapore shot-gun during my days as an Indian Shikari in Darjeeling and for guiding American and European clients , loaded with SG shot . I also fired Karim's two two Brno auto loader many times .
I have had the opportunity to to try out some arms belonging to client shikaris . I have tried thirty ought six , three seven five and twelve bore solid slug projectiles from them . These were the most common. One client used to bring a four fifty eight Winchester magnum calibre rifle made by Birmingham Small Arms to use on boars and Gaur . I tried it out and found it a powerful rifle initially . However , he later went to shoot a Gaur with it and had to shoot the beast repeatedly to kill it . Karim and l later cut the creature up. Some bullets did not go six inches through. It was shot seven times with the four fifty eight and took two charges of SG shot in it's throat from my shot-gun and one charge of SG shot from Karim's shot-gun in it's flank before it died. Perhaps his brand of ammunition , an American brand named Hornady , was faulty. I cannot say . Perhaps the calibre is problematic in and of itself. I have only shot that one four fifty eight Winchester magnum so l cannot jump to conclusions . I know that they were hard nose bullets with a flat head . Clients with three seven fives never seemed to have such problems .Generally speaking , flat head munitions tend to perform better on beasts than round head munitions. Pointed bullets are the worst for hunting .
During Bangladesh's war for Independence , l was issued a Soviet Kolashnikov fully automatic rifle in 7.62 millimeter calibre with pointed bullets . But this was for war against other human beings and not for hunting wild beasts . I also trained for operating the light machine gun post ( which we call LMG )
The calibres most popular were from the United States of America . Thirty ought six and four fifty eight Winchester magnum are American calibres. The three seven five is English , but l always saw clients bring American brand ammunition for this caliber , namely Winchester. Winchester silvertips in three seven five performed best on leopard and a client who brought them for a shikar was a most sensible man.
Indira Gandhi's government painted American and European hunters visiting India as exploitative and racially prejudicial against Indian locals and damaging towards wild life . However , from my experience , this was untruthful. Most American and European shikaris treated us with much respect . They were good sportsmen and tipped us with healthy amounts . They ate in the forests with us , showed genuine interest in the way of life here and were respectful to Muslims and Hindus . One taught us how to cook bear meat . One gifted me a two blade pocket knife from the American Company , Schrade which l still keep with me to this day . It has real steel and not the stainless steel which is so common on knives these days and so difficult to sharpen . That said , many were often surprised that Karim and l spoke English passably . Occasionally , we met a few clients who were a little peculiar in their demands . One gentleman refused to shoot leopard on foot and only shot his trophies ( which we call " Puroshkaar " ) from a Jeep . He wounded a leopard once with his thirty ought six which went into the bush where the jeep cannot go . Despite Karim and my suggestion that we should go finish off the wounded animal on foot , he refused to leave the jeep . So I had to drive the gentleman back to the town while Karim went after it alone with his shot-gun loaded with SG and a torch light as it was getting dark. But he was a very good and kind hearted man . My favorite film actor was John Wayne and my favorite film was Stage Coach . He was kind enough to send me a film reel of the cinema when he returned to the United States of America .
Folidol is a most dangerous poison and it was what caused the most wanton destruction of Indian wildlife . As can be understood , l wholeheartedly support arms ownership and hunting . However , folidol is something which l wish never reached India. In the hands of uneducated farmers and poachers who wanted leopard and tiger skins , it was used to devastating effects on our wildlife . The Indian government decided that the solution was to impose restrictions on licensed fire arms ownership and ban hunting but they did nothing to prevent folidol being sold at every local trader. That went only as well as a sane man thinks it will go . It was disastrous . Folidol destroyed wildlife but hunters and gun owners took the blame from media . Perhaps , l am a hypocrite to blame folidol even though Karim and l used it on a few leopards before shooting them . However , l am unmoved in my view that this poison should have been banned instead of hunting .
My first picture is of a box of two two ammunition which Don Fernando Delgado ( your grandfather ) gave Karim and which Karim gave me in 1981 . I still have not opened it as it serves as a memory of a different time.
I apologize for my late reply. Our day time is night time in the United States of America and vice versa.
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[gesch]

Fantastic reply. Your explanations and history are incredibly interesting to me. I especially enjoyed your teaching on how well meaning politicians ruin wildlife populations—perhaps some are not well meaning. We face this type of approach in the US in our day. I am looking forward to the book by Hoss Delgado—especially the portion on your life. When you visit the US if you are near Wisconsin I would greatly enjoy hosting you for a meal and hearing more reminisces of your life. Thank you again.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Fantastic reply. Your explanations and history are incredibly interesting to me. I especially enjoyed your teaching on how well meaning politicians ruin wildlife populations—perhaps some are not well meaning. We face this type of approach in the US in our day. I am looking forward to the book by Hoss Delgado—especially the portion on your life. When you visit the US if you are near Wisconsin I would greatly enjoy hosting you for a meal and hearing more reminisces of your life. Thank you again.

Thank you for your kind words. But only the condition that l treat you and your family dinner as well the following day . I am a fan of many American chains : Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits , Chick Fil-A and White Castle. I make it a point to eat at these places when ever l visit my niece once every two years. American Fast Food is a guilty pleasure of mine . And the mint chocolate cookie ice cream from Ben and Jerries .

 

[Shootist43]

Kawshik Rahman, rest assured that you would be a welcome guest into many if not most of AH members homes. When and where in the U.S. will your visits take you? If by chance it is near Detroit, please give me a shout.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Kawshik Rahman, rest assured that you would be a welcome guest into many if not most of AH members homes. When and where in the U.S. will your visits take you? If by chance it is near Detroit, please give me a shout.

Thank you for your kind words. I will be visiting my niece and her boyfriend in Arizona. Then , l will go to Texas to visit my former client and friend , Don Fernando Delgado ( grandfather of the member , Hoss Delgado ) . I have a 10 year visa in the United States of America and whenever l go , l stay for a month. I am certain l can clear time on my schedule for any fellow hunter. I will also be purchasing 250 rounds of Federal 12 bore cartridges , as l usually use Winchester , Remington or Game Bore in my country ( as those brands are among the best imported ones ) and have heard excellent things about the Federal brand of shot-gun cartridges.