348 MY SPORTING HOLIDAYS 



was serving me well for a new and untried rifle 

 always prevailed in the end. So I generally stuck 

 to the '400 express. 



One of our party, H. M. Denny, used a Mannlicher 

 for two seasons, and found its killing powers excellent. 

 I well remember one fine stag, an eleven-pointer, that 

 he killed with this rifle. It was an end-on shot. 

 The stag was running from him, and the bullet, enter- 

 ing between the haunches, raked the animal fore and 

 aft. This particular shot, the effects of which we 

 carefully examined, exemplified in a remarkable 

 manner the deadly effects of the modern rifle. Both 

 penetration and expansion were all that could be 

 desired. It was possible in this particular case, owing 

 to the unusual amount of penetration required, that, 

 had the rifle been an express, the stag might have 

 been lost. 



It may here again be observed that the foregoing 

 remarks refer mainly to the killing of soft-skinned 

 animals. In the case of large, heavy-boned pachy- 

 derms the difficulty has always been to obtain the 

 penetration sufficient to reach a vital spot, and the 

 questions of soft-nosed bullets and their expansion are 

 not concerned. 



There is a final and obvious truism, equally applic- 

 able to all varieties of bullets, that we may as well 

 remind ourselves of here namely, that their efficacy 

 must depend mainly on the use of * straight ' powder. 

 A well-known deerstalker and fine rifle-shot of my 

 acquaintance was once asked by a leading gun-maker 

 what particular variety of expanding bullet he pre- 

 ferred. He promptly replied that, having tried them 

 all, he found very little difference, provided the deer 

 was hit in the right place. 



