Going to Zimbabwe

[R W Mack]

Hello all,

I will be going to Zimbabwe later this year and I "might" go for a Leopard. The rifle caliber that I would use is a .300 Win Mag. I will admit that the reason I'm considering this round is because my wife bought this rifle for me as a Christmas present and is unhappy that I do not hunt with it much. ( Although I will be taking it on a elk hunt in Wyoming ) Unless I'm mistaken this caliber is legal on Leopard in Zimbabwe. I know that this cat is thin skinned and a big male will weigh around 200 pounds so it should be plenty of gun. please give me your opinion on this. I'm really partial to Barnes ammunition and have taken Cape Buffalo and many types of plains game with it. Now, I have read that when using a 300 Win Mag on leopard that 150 or 165 Gr. bullets should be used because of the cat not really being that big and having a thin hide. I was thinking 180 Gr. What are your thought's on using Barnes in say 165 Gr. on Leopard? What other brands and bullets should I look at?

Thank you all, Robert

 

[K-man]

Well congrats on getting to go to Africa and "maybe" a leopard. Your .300 win mag is an excellent plains game caliber and the Barnes is a great round in 180 grain. Ask your P.H. about its suitability for leopard - most will say it's not the best choice for leopard. It's a bit too fast for a thin - skinned cat. The choice of a Barnes or similar bullet is too hard for a cat, you need a softer bullet for the hydrostatic shock. As another note, make sure your P.H. has a valid tag and paperwork for hunting Leopard, as well as you will need to have a Parks scout accompany you at all times until the leopard is taken. Good luck on your upcoming trip!

 

[R W Mack]

Thank you K-man, perhaps my 30.06 would be a better choice on the leopard although I wasn't planning on taking it. I was taking the .300 Win Mag to use for a bull Eland.

 

[K-man]

It's what I used last summer in Zim. Dead before he hit the ground.

 

[R W Mack]

That is one fine cat! 300 Win Mag? What ammo?

 

[meigsbucks]

Welcome Robert. I’ve never hunted leopard and really don’t have a desire to. That said, I’ve been reading and watching everything I can about hunting Africa for about fifty years and been fortunate enough to hunt there twice so far.
As @K-man suggests ask your PH. I think a .30/06 or .300 mag would be great for leopard, however, I’d choose a softer bullet for the cat. Personally, I’d lean toward a Nosler Partition.

 

[K-man]

That is one fine cat! 300 Win Mag? What ammo?

Blaser r8 in .30-06. 160 grain winchester silvertip. 60yds.
Have you considered taking a .375 this time? would do all the hunting you want, including Eland?

 

[375Fox]

Well congrats on getting to go to Africa and "maybe" a leopard. Your .300 win mag is an excellent plains game caliber and the Barnes is a great round in 180 grain. Ask your P.H. about its suitability for leopard - most will say it's not the best choice for leopard. It's a bit too fast for a thin - skinned cat. The choice of a Barnes or similar bullet is too hard for a cat, you need a softer bullet for the hydrostatic shock. As another note, make sure your P.H. has a valid tag and paperwork for hunting Leopard, as well as you will need to have a Parks scout accompany you at all times until the leopard is taken. Good luck on your upcoming trip!

What do you mean by too fast? Are you talking about exit hole from bullet?

 

[K-man]

What do you mean by too fast? Are you talking about exit hole from bullet?

According to the P.H.'s I have talked to, a faster bullet doesn't have time on a thin skin cat to mushroom fully and the energy doesn't get dumped into the cat. It will still die, it's just not as instant. the saying was, "he just doesn't know he's dead yet"... I don't want a leopard looking for whoever shot him. Other people here may have a better explanation, that's just mine.

 

[CAustin]

Took my cat with a 9.3 x 62 this past year. Originally he outfitter and PH had a 300 WSM lined up for my use. If you hand load slow the 300 WM down a bit and it will work. Can not say about the legality of this caliber in Zim so as mentioned ask you outfitter.

 

[R W Mack]

Took my cat with a 9.3 x 62 this past year. Originally he outfitter and PH had a 300 WSM lined up for my use. If you hand load slow the 300 WM down a bit and it will work. Can not say about the legality of this caliber in Zim so as mentioned ask you outfitter.

Hi Charlie I hope you are doing well. Yes I believe that the 300 WM would be legal for leopard. This is what I found when I looked for minimum rifle requirements for hunting in Zimbabwe : Minimum caliber requirement for rifle hunting is 7 mm for Class C Game. Minimum energy is 3 000 Joule. CLASS c Game: leopard, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, sable, waterbuck, tsessebe. I will as you and others have advised, ask my PH / outfitter.

 

[R W Mack]

Blaser r8 in .30-06. 160 grain winchester silvertip. 60yds.
Have you considered taking a .375 this time? would do all the hunting you want, including Eland?

I really would like to keep the rifles I'm taking to two. My .416 Rigby that I have not taken any game with as of yet and my .300 WM. I really like the .375 tough. I took my buffalo with the .375 H&H.

 

[TSIBINDI]

...just for info: I shot my leopard with a .270 150gr NP. One shot dead below the bait. My wife shot her leopard with a .308 180gr NP, one shot, ran twenty yards fell dead. I've witnessed the shooting of two other leopard. One with a .30-06 150gr Remington Core Loc. One shot, dead. The other was shot with a .416 Rigby, 400gr Swift A Frame. One shot, dead.

I've had the opportunity to discuss leopard hunting with several P/H's in Zimbabwe, regarding which caliber they thought was "Best" for leopard. There didn't seem to be any consensus for "Best." To the man, they emphasized the importance of shot placement, no matter the caliber.

Shoot straight and you'll have your trophy.

 

[Commish]

I took my leopard in Zim with a 300 WM with 200 grain A Frames. Dropped like a sack of potatoes right under the bait. The sound of it thudding on the ground dead as a door nail was one of the best sounds I’ve ever heard.

 

[C.W. Richter]

I have 2 (one for bad weather, the other good). Please use yours more! lol It'll kill a Leopard, No Problemo. Simply do the opposite of what you'd do in America on the larger animals, for bullet selection. Use low SD, lighter, thinner-jacketed bullets that tend to erupt upon impact (i.e. 150 gr Nos BTs, any of those cheap 150 gr factory ammo featuring the "whitetail" name.) Hit that cat right and it'll be "Lights Out," if your PH allows. The nervous system of a cat is quite involved, so just hitting them with a relatively explosive projectile going 3,250 fps, tends to shut down the power, immediately. It's why A-Sq developed special bullets called "Lion Load" once upon a time, for just the purpose I describe (and most A-Sq cartridges were of the high velocity nature.) Read Kevin Robertson's prose concerning the effective taking of cats...It's a 180 lb (at best) thin-skinned animal (with the crazy nervous system). Akin to a deer-that will bite/scratch you badly if the shot is blown. Don't overthink it. I've never tried it, but knowing how the Berger VLD target bullets perform (not the more stoutly constructed hunting VLDs,) I think they'd work wonderfully on cats (lions weigh 3x leopard, so more gun is recommended there, but same concept re: the bullets.)

 

[Rakman]

Well congrats on getting to go to Africa and "maybe" a leopard. Your .300 win mag is an excellent plains game caliber and the Barnes is a great round in 180 grain. Ask your P.H. about its suitability for leopard - most will say it's not the best choice for leopard. It's a bit too fast for a thin - skinned cat. The choice of a Barnes or similar bullet is too hard for a cat, you need a softer bullet for the hydrostatic shock. As another note, make sure your P.H. has a valid tag and paperwork for hunting Leopard, as well as you will need to have a Parks scout accompany you at all times until the leopard is taken. Good luck on your upcoming trip!

What paperwork would be involved for said leopard hunt… Permits, etc?

 

[Jamie D Van Roekel]

I love Barnes. That said if you use Barnes use the TTSX not TSX. So you know it will open up. I would also use 150s. I have used 150 TTSX on 3 trips in 300 win and one in a 30-06 and shot everything fro monkeys to zebra with no problem. But for leopard I would lean to a 180 NP it dumbs a bunch of energy on the way through.

 

[Tanks]

... Now, I have read that when using a 300 Win Mag on leopard that 150 or 165 Gr. bullets should be used because of the cat not really being that big and having a thin hide. I was thinking 180 Gr. ...

I shot mine last year with 9.3x74R using 286 grain Hornady Spire tip bullet. Dead before it hit the ground. 180 grain should be fine.

 

[Philip Glass]

Hello all,

I will be going to Zimbabwe later this year and I "might" go for a Leopard. The rifle caliber that I would use is a .300 Win Mag. I will admit that the reason I'm considering this round is because my wife bought this rifle for me as a Christmas present and is unhappy that I do not hunt with it much. ( Although I will be taking it on a elk hunt in Wyoming ) Unless I'm mistaken this caliber is legal on Leopard in Zimbabwe. I know that this cat is thin skinned and a big male will weigh around 200 pounds so it should be plenty of gun. please give me your opinion on this. I'm really partial to Barnes ammunition and have taken Cape Buffalo and many types of plains game with it. Now, I have read that when using a 300 Win Mag on leopard that 150 or 165 Gr. bullets should be used because of the cat not really being that big and having a thin hide. I was thinking 180 Gr. What are your thought's on using Barnes in say 165 Gr. on Leopard? What other brands and bullets should I look at?

Thank you all, Robert

Firstly I am concerned that you say “you might hunt a leopard”. Quotas are tight and the cost is very high. Do you have a leopard hunt booked or not? Please don’t take this wrong I just don’t want you to be hoping for something that won’t happen.
I will go after another leopard next year with a .300 Win mag. I am already putting back some ammo for that trip. Although I am a huge Barnes fan and have hunted at least 5 different calibers with TSX the leopard needs a more easily expanding bullet. I will be using Swift Scirocco 180gr and they are in stock now on Swifts website.
If you are hunting other animals in Zim you will likely also need a .375.
best of luck on this adventure.
Philip

 

[Jaegger]

I’ve only hunted Zim x 1, but for me - it was the true Wild Wild West of Africa in a good way!

My go-to operation in Namibia is under a Leopard Research Project, team tracks +/- 4 dominant males across their est. territories & I’ve been privy to some video - quite amazing! Landowner is very smart on these Big Cats & we’ve had many of fireside stories - this trophy, requires some sound homework & proper preparation.

I agree w/ Philip G., Leopard Hunts are traditionally center-piece & all in vs. a maybe add-on. That said, your operator may have a healthy population & access to permits, as needed. Best advice: glean solid tips from past Big Cat hunters on AH successful/unsuccessful & take that Intel for a proper discussion w/ PH. All the success …