I’ve only shot 2 leopards, so am far from an expert but know what has worked for me. My first leopard was shot with a 300 Winchester and 180 grain Nosler Partition. He was dead before he fell off the limb, and was directly under the tree limb when we walked up to him. Second leopard I shot with my 338 Winchester and 225 grain Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. This one was a Kalahari Desert cat, so on the ground. It crushed him, DRT.
You DO NOT NEED any magnum to cleanly and quickly kill even the biggest leopard, just a standard caliber rifle shooting a good standard bullet like a Sierra Game King, Remington Core Lokt or Nosler Ballistic tip. A 270 or 30-06 shooting one of these Bullets would be close to perfect as a leopard cartridge. With leopards, it really is all about making a good first shot, then you won’t need a 2nd shot. They’re not hard to kill if shot well with the first shot.
I’ve got a hunt coming up in 2 months and leopard (likely my last one) will again be one of the animals I’m hunting. I’ll be shooting it with my 338 and either a 225 grain Bearclaw or Barnes TTSX. The only reason I’m shooting it with this rifle is because it’s what I do the heavy majority of my hunting with, not because I need that much horsepower for any cat.
