The sporting battery which I should take were I now fitting out an expedition, would be—
One double .577 Express rifle (with 250 cartridges for six weeks).
One double 8-bore Paradox ball gun (with 150 ball cartridges and a few buckshot).
One double 12-bore Paradox ball gun (with 100 ball, 200 shot).
One single Lee-Metford .303 rifle (with 300 rounds).
The cartridges would be filled and soldered up in tin in convenient quantities by the gunmaker who sold the rifles. I have never taken the trouble to load rifle cartridges; a good maker will load them well, and if soldered up they will keep for years. I believe most of the letting off and wounding of game is due more to the inability to get close enough than to defects in rifle or cartridges. For the open plains, when the game is shy, the Lee-Metford will be very useful. The grass is often so short that shots may be taken on the back position. Every shot knocks up a puff of dust, enabling one to correct one’s aim. In the case of an antelope the neck should be aimed at, so that the animal will be missed or killed; and a very deadly shot is obtained when the animal is standing head on, so as to present the length of the body to a raking bullet. If the distance be very great, the animal will, if unwounded, stand for several shots. In this way, managed with science, long shots are not unsportsmanlike, and I must confess to a feeling of pleasure when an almost black bull hartebeest, whose horns have been admired at leisure through the telescope, and who has been standing four hundred yards away thinking himself out of range, drops stone dead as if struck by lightning after a few unsuccessful shots. To fire at random into a herd, unless meat is urgently required, of course is utterly indefensible.
In buying rifles there is a great choice of good makers. Personally I have nearly always gone to Messrs. Holland and Holland for my rifles and ammunition, and have been perfectly satisfied with the way in which I have been treated. Their eight-bore Paradox ball gun I consider the best weapon in the market for heavy game such as elephant or rhino. I had a four-bore rifle with fourteen drs. and hard spherical ball, but found that the conical steel-core projectile of the eight-bore gave greater shock and penetration.
Snider carbines are useful weapons for the escort, and it may be noted that the ammunition makes excellent practice at short ranges when fired out of a .577 Express. This can be done if the chamber happens to be of the right shape, and the knowledge has been useful to me more than once, although whether such a proceeding is good for the rifle is questionable. A revolver or pistol is a useful weapon to carry, especially if one wanders about in the bush alone. I recommend, if a double shikár pistol be taken, that one of about .577 or twelve-bore be chosen, with one trigger for both barrels on the Lancaster principle. When after lion or leopard, and not well backed up by the gunbearer, a situation may arise where such a pistol would be handy. In a home charge the rifle would be knocked out of the hands, but the pistol, being on the belt, would always be ready. I have known two cases of a native trying to beat off a lion with his bare hands. One man was successful and the other lost his life. I feel sure that in the latter case a good pistol would have made all the difference. It is worth remembering that when buying a Lee-Metford rifle of military pattern, the bayonet should be supplied with it, as it is a perfect shikár knife for the belt.
In disturbed country, where an attack by robbers may be apprehended, the eight-bore Paradox gun loaded with S.S.G. slugs would be a good night weapon to rely upon. I therefore recommend that a few cartridges be so loaded for this and the twelve-bore. Among the .577 Express bullets should be about 10 per cent of hardened solid bullets. They may be very useful in finishing off heavy game.
When after thick-skinned game, such as elephant or rhino, I think the Lee-Metford would be a useful rifle, provided a quiet head shot could be obtained with the animal standing still, both barrels of the double eight-bore being kept in reserve for use if it should get into motion. Although I have always believed in large-bore rifles, I think there is a great future in store for the very small bores of the Lee-Metford class, having a long bullet and plenty of powder. Although the section is so small, the great remaining velocity of the Lee-Metford bullet causes a considerable shock to the animal, especially if the latter has been standing end on, and the bullet has raked forward for some distance. I consider the Lee-Metford about the best rifle for oryx-shooting in uninhabited country, and have in my latter trips had great success with it. I used the ordinary military cartridge.