Leopard bullet choice

[Von S.]

350 gr jacketed round nose soft point out of a quickened 458 winmag will absolutely knock the snot out of big kitties.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Dr. Robertson in his book The Perfect Shot states “The various 7mms and the .30s are all suitable for leopards, with the right, fairly quick-expanding, softpoints. In these calibers, stay away from bullets in the class of the Barnes TSX or Swift A-frame as they are simply too good. In fact there is nothing wrong with good, old fashioned roundnose softpoints.” In the 375 H&H he goes on to recommend the 260 Accubond and 260 Partition.
This is what a 165 Barnes TTSX at 180 yards does to a mange covered coyote.

This is the exit wound.
You might want to talk to your PH for his recommendations.
Hope this helps?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Do any of the southern African countries have minimum caliper requirements for leopard?

 

[johnnyblues]

No minimum. As @Ridgewalker said the TTSX is just to good. I remember in 2015 when I did the first leopard hunt some Ph's also said Nosler Partion would be a better choice, so between my 300 shooting 180 noslers and my 270 wsm shooting 140 accubonds I am confident if I make the shot count it will do the job.

 

[dchamp]

I would think a Nosler Ballistic Tip, Hornady SST or a Speer Hot Core would be good. I know my son took his Leopard with a 180 gn Ballistic Tip in 8x57, it worked well. Best to see what your PH would like you to use.

 

[crs]

In .458 diameter, the 300 grain Nosler PP at 2200 fps worked for my .45-90. It would also be great from a .45-70.
After the shot, the cat did not move or even twitch - DRT.

I have shot many deer/antelope type critters with this bullet at 1850 fps and it devastates them.

There was an old saying about many ways to skin a cat.

 

[Sako AV]

I don't think you can go wrong with the Nosler Partition in this case. Best of luck to you regardless of which bullet you decide on.

 

[Eric Anderson]

I would think a Nosler Ballistic Tip, Hornady SST or a Speer Hot Core would be good. I know my son took his Leopard with a 180 gn Ballistic Tip in 8x57, it worked well. Best to see what your PH would like you to use.

Speer hot cores have relatively shallow penetration at close range, but every 120lb deer I have shot with them just collapse. It looks like a grenade went off inside them. Just turns the vitals into a jelly like consistency.

No Texas heart shots with them, but a broadside or front shot causes complete disenegration of the chest cavity.

I have never tried a quartering to or quartering away shot with them though.

 

[bruce moulds]

the 270 gn woodleigh pp has proven on penetration test on dead camels to be very fast opening, and in fact stayed in the head of a camel shot from the rear at about 10 yds from a 375 h&h.
the round nose version could well be more amphatic.
not having shot a leopard i cannot say this is ideal performance, or not, but it would seem that the bullet is fast opening.
bruce.

 

[Luvthunt]

Yes, the Nosler Part. Is a good choice, used a 340 with 225 gr Partition on a couple of leopards and lionesses and drop to shot was the effect,

 

[Scott CWO]

Like Nathan, I would suggest the Accubond over the Partition. After 28 years of guiding, I prefer a bullet that holds it’s weight and mushrooms over a bullet that comes apart at the tip and just drives it’s core forward mostly unexpanded.

 

[bruce moulds]

pure lead cores bonded to pure copper jackets in some form have a lot going for them.
they open fast, but hold together well.
the minute you go away from those 2 basics you lose performance at high or low velocity, and on big or small targets.
hardening cores with antimony or using tough alloy jackets only works in very specialized situations.
the swift aframe has proven superior to the nosler partition on big and small game in 7mm and 9.3mm.
this includes feral goats, wit a 280 rem, where the swift is clearly and statistically a faster killer than the nosler , while also being superior on donkeys.
might this apply to leopards as well in an appropriate calibre?
in the day the 400/350 rigby was considered highly.
a 310 gn bullet at around 2000 fps.
its bullet was a very long cup and core that could keep expanding and losing mass and yet still have mass and frontal area to keep travelling.
it is said that while the 350 rigby magnum shot flatter, with its 225 gn bullet, also cup and core, it was never the reliable killer of the older cartridge .
nowadays swift and northfork have the benefit sf the 400/350 killing power combined with the trajectory benefit of the 350 magnum faster bullet.
bruce.

 

[Scott CWO]

Shot my leopard with 225 grain Swift A-Frame from a .338 Win Mag and it was dead before it hit the ground. Never moved. Your .270 or .300 with the Accubond will do the trick.

 

[johnnyblues]

Thank you Scott, I’m going with the accubond in both calibers. Glad I started this thread. I went down to the gun safe to check on ammo and somehow the gun gremlins attacked my 270. After my return in 17 from Africa where I used my 270, I cleaned it and put it away, no issues. Took it out of the safe and noticed the bolt would not come out and would not dry fire. ..So I have my local gun shop shipping it back to Hill Country Rifles’s to check.

 

[Ridgewalker]

..So I have my local gun shop shipping it back to Hill Country Rifles’s to check.

I’ll be interested to hear what the problem is.

 

[johnnyblues]

Me too Phil, very strange. The reason I sent it back to them is simple, they built it and the accuracy is in the trigger mechanism as I’m told by my local gun shop. HCR will fix it and resight the gun. That gun shoots sub moa and I’ll need that for the cat, they also built my 300 WSM which I’m taking but I want a back up gun I trust.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Yes I was on there as you can see. This is why I started this thread. I m going with my original plan to bring both the 300 and 270 WSM for the leopard hunt. My only trepidation is I know how well the trijicon is in low light I ll see what the leupold looks like with the illuminated reticle at low light.

Sounds like it's going to be an awesome hunt but have a question. Is your Trijicon an Accupoint/tritium or the Accupower with the battery. The reason I ask is with the tritium version, the life is supposed to be about ten years. I have two 2.5-10 Accupoints with the posts and now in low light conditions, one seems to be fading. If you have a recent manufacture model, disregard and GOOD LUCK!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Shot Placement:
- minimum calibre for leopard: 7 x 57 Mauser
- recommended calibre: any .300 magnums

 

[johnnyblues]

Sounds like it's going to be an awesome hunt but have a question. Is your Trijicon an Accupoint/tritium or the Accupower with the battery. The reason I ask is with the tritium version, the life is supposed to be about ten years. I have two 2.5-10 Accupoints with the posts and now in low light conditions, one seems to be fading. If you have a recent manufacture model, disregard and GOOD LUCK!

Thanks bought that scope in 2015 it’s the tritium version so I should be ok. My 270 has the battery for the illuminated reticle which is also a 50MM so I think I’ll be fine in a low light situation

 

[Pheroze]

Great thread!