Looking at hides and mounts (as well as some quick Google Fu), leopards seem to be no bigger than mountain lions. Are they thicker skinned/heavier boned or something, or is their dangerous reputation what drives the common suggestion of needing a bigger round for them?
While I wouldn't endorse it on leopard by any means, I have seen several mountain lions killed easily by .22 LRs and it seems like the shots people generally get on leopard are similar to a treed mountain lion. I am just curious as to why some PHs recommend rounds from the 7mm Mag and up.
