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Correct me if I'm wrong but shooting a leopard at very close range with a heavy calibre would do nothing except pass right through the animal without expanding and unless you hit a vital area, you would have a problem.

Generally-speaking, any caliber that generates over about 2000 fps at the strike also produces a certain amount of hydraulic affect that normally causes severe cavitation. This can be seen dramatically in testing media and in animals. Your statement is more a possibility than a probability tho I've seen this lack of hydraulic affect occur with smaller calibers at very close range.

Most importantly tho, it is not the "caliber" that passes thru. It is the bullet. Use a bullet that will expand and you will have a massive wound with a heavy NE caliber at bayonet range. Even if a guy is stuck with stoutly constructed bullets he could trick the points a bit to ensure quick opening. And the shots that Shakari is talking about are not at 400 meters but 4 feet where essentially muzzle velocity prevails.

As far as penetration is concerned with 00 BUCK ,those knockers of this round have obviously never used it.
I've personally shot pigs,goats ,donkey and scrub cattle with this round and put them all down.

I loaded some 410 2 1/2 inch cartriges with3 x 36 cal round balls and shot cattle at close range a while ago with a one shot one kill.

00Buck is 330 diameter.

My original post I thought was pretty clear. It is the poor patterning of 00 that I criticize, particularly on smaller critters I've used it on. Where it provides a tight pattern it provides no advantage; up close. There, a guy might as well use a rifle. A guy in my opinion is far better served with a gun that will do what the buckshot gun will do up close, and also be capable of, say, a 70-yard shot should that possiblitity occur. A 00 buck loaded shotgun would be worthless on a leopard at 70 yards. Also, my media testing of buckshot exposed one more problem with it that I never much thought of before I tested it; the erratic and relatively unpredictable nature of penetration. It was very difficult to predict how many pellets would go how far in the test media. Since shooting involves a certain amount of probabilities, I'd take a rifle every time over buckshot, tho obviously tons of game has been shot with buckshot over the years, in all countries everywhere.

As for shooting leopard from a hide on a bait,IMHO it would be more exciting going to the local shooting gallery.

To each his own. I suppose there are those who would say you aren't a hunter if you use a modern rifle, a 4x4 vehicle or Gore-Tex boots, too.

Incidently, we are not allowed to shoot cougar over bait, but I can assure you you will come home empty handed if you think you are going to merely wander into a secretive cat like the cougar or the leopard. For example, I know woods workers {loggers, foresters, etc} here that have spent their entire lives in the woods and never saw a lion, not one. Almost 30 years ago I spent six weeks tromping around leopard country in Congo and never saw one, just one serval cat at night. Just making the point that they aren't standing around waiting for a handout.

Here, we can chase lion with hounds and that is essentially the only way to do it. Tracking is impossible.

Interesting Shakari finds chasing leopard with hounds is undesireable to him. Maybe it is the terrain that makes it boring? I have never found the chasing of bear or cougar uninteresting here, that's for sure.

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