Actually a fellow is less likely to be crippled or dead from a leopard mauling than from a rifle bullet. Not that I would wish either on anyone.

Also a general comment, when going into a dangerous situation it is best to be mentally prepared and to have your decisions pre-made (if X happens I will shoot, if Y happens, I will not shoot, etc.). One thing that was drilled into me constantly as a kid was not to pull the trigger unless I am sure of where the bullet will go and what it will hit. Lots of leopards have been shot off guys safely because the shooter ran up, made sure that there was no human flesh on the off side of the leopard and then shot. But just a few years ago a tracker shot a leopard off a PH in Namibia, taking out several inches of the PHs leg bone in the process. And remember the Zim incident where the client shot at a charging buffalo and shot off a big section of the PH's arm? Getting attacked by an animal is terrible, but so is getting shot. To sum it up, I am suggesting that the medicine can sometimes be worse than the disease.