xvi BIG GAME AND BIG GAME HUNTING 171 



brain, heart or vertebrae, but under ordinary con- 

 ditions, such as dense cover with sharp contrasts of 

 light and shade, these shots are difficult, and what 

 is requisite is a rifle with a flat trajectory, which 

 will, should a vital spot be missed, deliver a smash- 

 ing, disabling blow. 



With a '303, I have killed all kinds of game from 

 elephants downwards, but it must be remembered 

 that the hunter who uses a weapon of such calibre 

 against large and dangerous game at close quarters 

 in bush country, runs considerable risk of losing his 

 life, for the bullet has neither the requisite weight 

 nor velocity always to prove thoroughly effectual. 

 And with regard to their use against smaller game, 

 though such light bullets have great penetration, 

 they do not administer a sufficiently paralysing blow 

 to prevent a wounded animal from bolting and 

 thereby obliging the hunter to pursue his quarry 

 for miles, with a chance of losing it altogether and 

 leaving it to die a lingering death in the bush. My 

 experience has, therefore, taught me to consider the 

 303 a thoroughly unsuitable and unsportsmanlike 

 weapon, the use of which should most emphatically 

 be discontinued. For all kinds of game, save 

 rhinoceroses and elephants, my ideal rifle is one 

 that fires a bullet, lead-nosed or copper-capped, 

 weighing between 350 and 400 grains, and leaving 

 the muzzle with a velocity of 2,300 ft. or more 



