Once Mr. Purdey expressed the opinion that he could learn as much from his customers as they could from him. The author thought this so shrewd a remark, that, having a knowledge of the many good sportsmen and big-game hunters who employ the weapons of the Messrs. Holland & Holland, Messrs. John Rigby, and Messrs. Westley Richards, he wrote to each of them to ask their opinions of the best bore and weight of rifle, sort and weight of powder, sort and weight of bullet, and velocity of bullet to be expected, for each of the following animals, as if each were the only object to be pursued by the sportsman. He stated at the same time, that compromise to meet the requirements of several, or many, of these animals he regarded as a personal and individual matter to the sportsman. He pointed out also that in asking for opinions he knew that he was asking for a consensus of opinion of the past customers of the firms in question. It is interesting to compare the views of each maker as to the best rifle to use for everything, from a rook and rabbit, to an African elephant charging down on the gunner, and requiring the frontal shot. What is intended is the very best weapon to have in hand at the moment, if there were nothing else to be considered. Mr. Holland’s reply is as follows:—
“98 New Bond Street, London, W.,
“October 11th, 1906
“Dear Mr. Teasdale-Buckell,—It is impossible in the space of a short paragraph to go thoroughly into the question of the best bore, weight of rifle, etc. etc., best suited to each kind of game. A good deal must depend upon the conditions under which the rifle is used, the capabilities of the sportsman, etc., but taken generally the rifles mentioned below are those we have found to give the best all-round results, and our opinion is formed upon the reports received from a large number of sportsmen, including many of the best known and most experienced game hunters.
“Rooks.—.220 or .250 bore.
“Rabbits.—.250 bore; weight about 5 to 6 lbs.
“Red Deer, Scotch.—(1) .375 bore double-barrelled; weight 9½ lbs. (2) .375 bore sporting magazine rifle, Mannlicher-Schonauer for choice; weight 7½ lbs. (3) .375 bore single-drop block; weight 7½ lbs.; velocity about 2000 ft.; charge 40–43 grains of cordite or its equivalent; 270 grains bullet, either soft-nosed solid or hollow point.
“Chamois.—Same as for Red Deer, also .256 Mannlicher.
“African Antelopes.—.375 bore as above.
“Indian Deer.—.375 bore as above.
“Moose, Wapiti, and big 35–50 stone Deer of Hungary, etc.—.450 bore double-barrelled rifle; weight 10½ lbs.; charge 70 grains of cordite powder or its equivalent; bullet soft-nosed solid 370 or 420 grains; velocity about 2000 ft.
“Lions.—(1) 12 bore Magnum Paradox; weight 8–8½ lbs.; charge of smokeless powder equivalent to 4½ drams of black powder; 735 grains hollow-point bullet; velocity 1250–1300 ft. (2) .450 cordite rifle same as for Moose, etc.
“Tigers, from houdah or machan.—12 bore Paradox; weight about 7¼ lbs.; charge equivalent to 3¼ drams of black powder; 735 grains bullet; velocity about 1100 ft.
“Lions and Tigers, followed up on foot.—12 bore Magnum Paradox.
“Elephant, Buffalo, etc., in thick jungle.—10 bore Paradox; weight 13 lbs.; nitro powder charge equivalent to 8 drams of black powder, in solid drawn brass case, solid nickel-covered bullet 950 grains.
“Elephant, Buffalo, in more open country.—.450 cordite rifle same as above; charge 70 grains cordite or its equivalent; nickel-covered solid bullet 480 grains.”
Mr. Rigby replies as follows:—
“Rooks.—.250 bore, shooting usual Eley or Kynoch cartridge.
“Rabbits.—.300 bore, shooting usual Eley or Kynoch cartridge.
“Red Deer, Scotch.—Double-barrel hammerless .303; shooting cordite and split-nose bullets; weight of rifle about 8 lbs.
“Chamois.—Mauser-Rigby magazine rifle with telescope sight; weight of rifle 7½ lbs.; Mauser 7 mm. cartridges with split bullets.
“African Antelopes, Indian Deer, Ibex, and Tibet Wild Sheep, Lions and Tigers.—.350 bore Rigby double barrel; weight 9¼ lbs.; cordite cartridge giving 2150 f.s. m.v.; bullet 310 grains, split and soft nose, or Mauser-Rigby magazine shooting same ammunition; a grand rifle.
“Eastern Elephants, Eastern Buffalo, African Buffalo, African Elephants.—.450 high velocity cordite double barrel; weight 11 lbs.; bullet 480 grains m.v. 2150 f.s.”
Mr. Leslie B. Taylor replies for Messrs. Westley Richards thus:—
“Bournbrook, Birmingham
“October 13th, 1906
“Dear Mr. Buckell,—I regret that I could not give you the information earlier, being up to my eyes in work. I have filled in the sizes I think suitable for each kind of game gathered from our clients’ own opinions formed from experience. You will notice that in some cases I have mentioned the .450 high velocity rifle. As regards India, this rifle will now be unavailable; a recent alteration of the shooting regulations excludes the .450 bore, which like the .303 cannot be imported into that country for private use.
“The new accelerated express rifle .375/.303 will no doubt, on account of its being associated in the minds of the officials with the actual .303 bore, come under the same ban. But this is a powerful rifle, as you will gather from the enclosed particulars, and when used with the capped bullet becomes a most formidable weapon, and has been satisfactorily employed against Tiger.
“I have just introduced a new extension of the accelerated express system .318 bore, 2500 feet velocity, 250 grains bullet, muzzle energy 3466 ft. lbs., and this ranks only second to the .400 bore rifle. It is remarkably accurate, and as it is used in conjunction with the copper-capped expanding bullet, it will take the place of the .450 bore now prohibited.
“I merely give you these particulars, as you will see that very shortly, if the Indian regulations continue in force, as I have no doubt they will, the other information might be considered out of date.—Yours very truly,
“Leslie B. Taylor
“Rooks.—.250; some prefer .297/.230, a similar one.
“Rabbits.—.250 or .300; latter preferred if country will permit.
“Red Deer, Scotch.—Many sizes are used, from .256 Mannlicher; the .360 high velocity is effective. For those who prefer a very flat trajectory superior to the Mannlicher, the new accelerated h.v. .375/.303 is taken.
“Chamois.—Nothing less than .360; the .375 with copper-capped bullet is very effective, although the .256 is often used: it is found not to kill the beast.
“African Antelopes.—.360 and nickel-capped bullet, a .375/.303 accelerated express; many sportsmen are using the .303 with nickel-capped bullet.
“Indian Deer, Ibex, Tibet Wild Sheep.—.256 Mannlicher, Mauser .275, also .360 and .375 bore with capped bullet; some use ball and shot guns 12 bore.
“Lions and Tigers.—.360 to .450 h.v. express; the new .375/.303 has proved successful at Tigers with the capped bullet.
“Eastern Elephants.—The best weapon I know, of which I have the most excellent accounts, is the .577 h.v. rifle, 100 grs. cordite and 750 grs. solid and capped bullet.
“Eastern Buffalo.—.360, .400, and .450 h.v. express.
“African Buffalo.—.450 h.v. express and .577 h.v. express.
“African Elephants.—The .577 .100/.710; some use the .450, but the former is a most deadly weapon.
“I have just received information from an African sportsman that he has shot an African buffalo with a Westley Richards 12 explora, the horn measurements of which are strikingly fine, and promise to be a record.”
In reply to further questions, Mr. Holland writes as follows:—
“October 13th, 1906
“Dear Mr. Teasdale-Buckell,—I don’t think it necessary to distinguish between African and Indian elephants. No doubt the former is more difficult to kill with the frontal shot, but you must try and get another shot; then, again, the 480 grain (450) bullet gives enormous penetration, and probably would penetrate the head of an African elephant as well as any bullet you could use. For a charging elephant, there is nothing like the big bore for stopping, or at any rate turning the animal. Velocity: it is a curious thing that we appear to get practically the same elevation with the 375 (450) bullet as the 480 gr. one, and practically the same velocity. We attribute this to the extra weight of the 480 gr. offering more resistance to the powder, and thereby setting up higher pressure, greater heat, though practically making the powder do more work.
Henry Holland”
It may be said that at this moment velocities are undergoing radical change, due to the improved powder Axite, and that one maker offers rifles giving to the 303 bullet a muzzle velocity of 2700 f.s. This means a greater stride than that from the express to the high velocity rifles, and if it is accurate, then trajectories have been very much reduced.
In reply to a still further question, the following is a reply that explains itself:—