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 
