ROUND THE CAMP FIRE 325 



when the doomed animal will, to use a favourite phrase, 

 " fall as if struck by lightning ! " 



But when the inevitable catastrophe arrives, no allowance 

 is made for the fact that, on occasions, nothing in the 

 way of firearms appears capable of "stopping" an animal 

 unless struck in brain or spine ; so, condemned out of 

 hand, without a thought as to the real reason, nothing can 

 then be too bad for the wretched weapon ! 



Many men have been disappointed with these new rifles 

 when making trial of them on antelope, etc. They expect 

 so much of these weapons that it is disappointing to find 

 that, in such cases, their killing power does not seem to be 

 much advance on the old " Express." But they should 

 suspend their judgment, and not be disheartened until 

 they have given the cordite rifle a trial against heavy 

 game, when its extraordinary power, meeting with the 

 requisite amount of resistance, will be fully developed. 



The many advantages of the medium-bore cordite rifle 

 are too well known to require repetition. Its disadvantages 

 seem apparent in but one direction its somewhat ex- 

 cessive weight when made in the double-barrelled form. 



Single-barrelled rifles of this type are not of all-round 

 use, while in them recoil is unpleasantly increased. Maga- 

 zine rifles of this class have been attempted, but hitherto 

 seem to have been only dangerous failures. 



That the new weapons, when properly constructed, can 

 be perfectly satisfactory under Indian conditions is proved 

 by the fact that the writer, in practice and in shikar^ has 

 fired over six hundred rounds from his (a '400 55 400. 

 hammerless, top-snap action) under all climatic conditions 

 of the plains of India, using it with perfect results against 

 almost every kind of game there to be found. The breech 

 action and barrels are as true and tight as when received 

 from the makers (in 1899), and the weapon, except for 

 slight wear to the browning, is not to be known from a 

 new and unused weapon. 



