NOTES ON EQUIPMENT, TRAVEL EXPENSES, ETC. 1 03 



trigger is sometimes fitted to a Mauser or Mannlicher rifle, but such a contrivance is 

 apt to be dangerous unless great care is taken. 



Rifles made for rimless cartridges seem to work smoother than those made for 

 rim cartridges. 



I have found the '275 Mauser a very handy, reliable weapon, but some people 

 prefer something bigger, such as a 7-9 mm. (-31 1 bore) or a '350 or -360. The '275 

 is 7 mm. Mausers can be got in 7 mm., 7^9 mm., 9 mm., and 1 1 mm. bores. Not long 

 ago a party of Boers, headed by Mr. J. W. Viljoen, killed in the Lo-Magundi district 

 of Southern Rhodesia eighty-one elephants within the space of a few days, and 

 Mr. Viljoen killed to his own rifle in one day eighteen elephants, and he was using a 

 7'9 mm. rifle, which proves it is quite large enough for elephants. The late Mr. A. H. 

 Neumann once killed fourteen elephants in one day's shooting in British East Africa, 

 using a 303 mainly. I have killed a number of elephants and rhinos with rifles of 

 that bore, and many of my friends and others have also done the same, so a big bore 

 is not absolutely necessary unless one is making a business of elephant shooting, 

 which cannot be done nowadays owing to restrictions. I therefore think an ideal 

 battery would be a 7 mm. or 7*9 mm., and a single falling-block "400 rifle, or double 

 if preferred. All sights should be screwed down to prevent their being shifted by a 

 knock or fall, and a rifle should have a non-automatic safety catch, that is, on loading, 

 the rifle is ready to fire without the safety catch being touched. 



Great attention should be paid to the types of bullets used for the various game, 

 as on this depends most of the killing power of the rifle. For game such as elephants, 

 rhinos, hippos, and perhaps buffaloes, solid bullets should be always used, and for 

 antelopes, lions, leopards, pigs, etc., a good form of expanding projectile, with a small 

 amount of lead exposed at the point, or a short hollow. Only two kinds of cartridges 

 need be taken, viz., solids and expanding. 



The solid bullets should be the comparatively old pattern, with the fairly blunt 

 point, for the new sharp-pointed bullets now used for target-shooting at home are apt 

 to be deflected on hard, round bones. 



As to sighting, the ordinary fairly broad V with a silver line or ivory cone down 

 the centre is sufficient, and such sights are quicker in use than the Lyman aperture 

 sight or others of a similar pattern. Eyes fitted to the stock and barrel for a sling 

 will be useful while on hilly ground, when the rifle may have to be slung so as to 

 have the use of both hands. Canvas covers for the rifles, a strong cartridge-bag, 

 and a bag known as a "rucksac" will be useful. The latter is handy for carrying 

 odds and ends in, and is large enough to carry a duiker or a spare change of clothes 

 and a blanket when following elephant spoor. 



