MY SOMALI BOOK 305 



from a heavy cordite rifle will have a far greater 

 stunning or knocking down effect than that of a light 

 bullet. Even where the brain is hit, the clean drilled 

 hole made by a light bullet of great velocity is, accord- 

 ing to a recent writer in The Field, not certain to pro- 

 duce any immediate effect. The somewhat slower 

 heavier bullet is likely to cause much greater injury 

 from the increased shock. And for a body shot the 

 greater value of the bigger bore hardly needs affirmation. 



My conclusion is the same as before : let the experi- 

 enced shot use a small bore if he will, but the ordinary 

 individual will be wise to take the most powerful 

 rifle he can handle. 



There is some authority for the statement that the 

 •577 cordite is the most sviccessful modern rifle against 

 elephants. But its weight will be a disadvantage to 

 many, and the '450 and -470 have been found efficient 

 substitutes. The only rifle lighter than these that 

 approaches their power is the new *425 Magazine. 

 The shot-and-ball guns are lacking in velocity and 

 therefore out of the running. At the same time, with 

 a big pachyderm's great bulk, which usually ensures 

 that there is no waste of a bullet's energy, it is probable 

 that the difference in effectiveness between, say, a 

 •360 No. 2 and a '450, is less than in the case of a smaller 

 beast, so that the former rifle would be less often 

 unsafe against an elephant than against a lion. It is 

 also possible that the importance of an immediate 

 second barrel is on the whole less than with the great 

 cats. But these remarks are merely suggestive. It 

 is with regard to the Felidce that I should wish my 

 conclusions to carry conviction. 



