THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 333 



For a second gun I used, as before, the .405 Winchester. 

 It is light, handy, and delivers a very hard blow at close 

 ranges. Beyond 150 yards, however, it loses velocity too 

 fast to make it of the first use. It is a good brush gun, and 

 has always done me well with lions. Its record was: 



Shots fired .... 33 Animals shot at . . 14 



Hits 29 Animals killed ... 14 



Misses 4 



In the case of the four lions I was forced to take on at 

 once, I used alternately the Springfield and the Winchester. 

 One of these was a bolt action, the other a lever action arm. 

 According to those who argue most vigorously on either 

 side of the rather bitter controversy, this alternating of 

 weapons should have confused me, or at least caused me. to 

 take thought. As a matter of fact, it did nothing of the 

 kind. I used either with equal facility and with equal un- 

 consciousness. My firm belief is that neither action has 

 the slightest advantage over the other in practical work. 



My third, reserve, weapon was the Holland and Holland 

 .465 cordite. This was useful only on the very heaviest 

 game . Except for buffalo, rhinoceros, and perhaps elephants, 

 I could very weU get on without it. 



VII 



These paragraphs are intended in a suggestive rather 

 than a controversial spirit. The author advances nothing 

 theoretical that he considers final. The facts, however, 

 are matters of careful observation. 



We are all familiar with the rather bitter discussions into 

 which have plunged the proponents and opponents of the 



