MY SOMALI BOOK 263 



as t^^pical of the first class of dangerous game, it will be 

 advisable to consider how far the nature of these beasts 

 or the conditions under which they are usuall}^ shot 

 may tend to place limitations on our choice. 



Lion, tiger, or leopard, all are cats ; naturally 

 nocturnal and stealthy of habit ; addicted to cover by 

 day. It follows that they are rarely to be met with in 

 the open, and opportunities for shooting them at long 

 ranges do not ordinarily occur. The proportion of 

 tigers, and still more of leopards, shot at over one 

 hundred yards range must be exceedingly small, and 

 the distance is generally much less. In parts of i\.frica 

 no doubt longer shots are sometimes fired at lions, but 

 not commonly, and I think most sportsmen will agree 

 with me that, for obvious reasons, such shots are as 

 a rule to be deprecated. As many rifles of compara- 

 tively high trajectorj^ are quite accurate enough up to 

 one hundred yards, my first conclusion is that a very 

 low trajectory is not, in view of the short ranges 

 involved, a necessity. 



Other distinguishing characteristics of the big cats 

 are their agility and the rapidity of their attack, and 

 their marvellous faculty of self-concealment in the 

 scantiest of cover, so that a charge may come at the 

 most unexpected moment. It is clear, then, that the 

 man who has to follow up a wounded beast needs a 

 weapon that will enable him to get in his shot with the 

 greatest possible rapidity consistent with accurac}^ 

 It is sometimes argued that a charge is a rare occurrence, 

 and that therefore it is unnecessary to consider it in 

 the choice of a rifle. If the rifle is intended to be 

 used on dangerous game, such reasoning is the height 



