188 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



aim being taken. I consider a *400 rifle as above 

 mentioned quite as efficient as, and infinitely 

 more handy than, an 8-bore black-powder rifle. 

 My rifle weighs a little over 10 lbs. An 8-bore 

 weighs from 15 to 17 lbs. Rather a difference ! 

 Many men hamper themselves — unnecessarily it 

 seems to me — with a *500 D.B. high-velocity rifle, 

 or even a "600. A "500 weighs over 12 lbs., that 

 is, 2 lbs. more than a # 400, and the additional 

 weight of 2 lbs. is a matter for consideration 

 in the tropics. Besides, it is unnecessary. If 

 a "400 fails to stop a charging beast, a "500 will 

 not succeed in doing so. 



As the circumstances under which I came to 

 invest in a *400 high-velocity rifle, rather than 

 one of heavier calibre, were somewhat unusual, 

 it may be worth while to narrate them. For 

 some years I had shot big game with a D.B. 

 10-bore Paradox gim by Holland and Holland, 

 taking eight drams of black powder and a 2-oz. 

 steel-cored bullet. This rifle was sighted to 

 fifty yards, and was as accurate as a weapon of 

 the sort could be. At sixty yards it could put a 

 bullet into the centre of the lid of a cigar box, 

 and could be relied on for all practical purposes up 

 to eighty yards, beyond which distance accurate 

 results could not be counted on. The steel-cored 

 bullet gave a smashing blow ; but powerful as 

 the rifle was, it lacked the penetration of the 

 •400 subsequently purchased. This rifle had 



