Old and Modern Rifles Compared. 81 



or double muzzle-loading rifle or smooth bore with the 

 splendid weapons that can be procured at the present day. 

 Imagine standing up to a growling lion or a shrieking 

 elephant with one of these old weapons and having to 

 keep one's wits about one while the powder was first put 

 in, then the bullet rammed home, and, lastly, fumbling in a 

 pouch or pocket for a minute cap to place on the nipple, 

 before the shot could be fired. This all required a nerve 

 that the modern sportsman does not require to display with 

 his double hammerless ejector or quick-loading magazine 

 rifle. 



Take the old single 4-bore smooth bore,, for instance, 

 which I have handled in Mr. Selous's museum at Worplesdon, 

 and imagine killing a crusty elephant or buffalo with it. 

 The weight was little considering the charge it fired, so it 

 must have kicked like a stubborn mule ; more especially 

 when it was dirty. 



After showing me this prehistoric weapon and some of 

 the trophies it and other old weapons had shot, Mr. Selous 

 took me to his library and showed me his '375 cordite rifle. 

 What a difference there was in the two weapons ; and it 

 made me think that not nearly so many men would hunt 

 game at the present day if they had to use these old muzzle- 

 loaders. 



The old hunters, such as Oswell, Gordon Gumming, 

 Baldwin, Selous, and many others certainly were men of 

 courage and endurance, or they would not have done what 

 they did. 



A modern rifle of '450 or -470 bore has a much more 

 paralysing effect on an elephant, rhino, or buffalo than had 

 a 4-bore or 8-bore rifle, be it a muzzle-loader or a breech- 

 loader, and, of course, the former high velocity rifles have 

 the additional advantage of being quickly reloaded after 

 being fired. 



Although I have possessed a -450 cordite rifle, I have 

 killed the few elephants I have shot with either a '303 or a 

 7'gmm. rifle, but there is no doubt that, if a man intends 

 to shoot many elephants, these small bores are dangerous 



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