Part 9

“Eastern Elephants, Eastern Buffalo, African Buffalo, African Elephants.—.450 high velocity cordite double barrel; weight 11 lbs.; bullet 480 grains m.v. 2150 f.s.”

Mr. Leslie B. Taylor replies for Messrs. Westley Richards thus:—

“BOURNBROOK, BIRMINGHAM “October 13th, 1906

“DEAR MR. BUCKELL,—I regret that I could not give you the information earlier, being up to my eyes in work. I have filled in the sizes I think suitable for each kind of game gathered from our clients’ own opinions formed from experience. You will notice that in some cases I have mentioned the .450 high velocity rifle. As regards India, this rifle will now be unavailable; a recent alteration of the shooting regulations excludes the .450 bore, which like the .303 cannot be imported into that country for private use.

“The new accelerated express rifle .375/.303 will no doubt, on account of its being associated in the minds of the officials with the actual .303 bore, come under the same ban. But this is a powerful rifle, as you will gather from the enclosed particulars, and when used with the capped bullet becomes a most formidable weapon, and has been satisfactorily employed against Tiger.

“I have just introduced a new extension of the accelerated express system .318 bore, 2500 feet velocity, 250 grains bullet, muzzle energy 3466 ft. lbs., and this ranks only second to the .400 bore rifle. It is remarkably accurate, and as it is used in conjunction with the copper-capped expanding bullet, it will take the place of the .450 bore now prohibited.

“I merely give you these particulars, as you will see that very shortly, if the Indian regulations continue in force, as I have no doubt they will, the other information might be considered out of date.—Yours very truly,

“LESLIE B. TAYLOR

“Rooks.—.250; some prefer .297/.230, a similar one.

“Rabbits.—.250 or .300; latter preferred if country will permit.

“Red Deer, Scotch.—Many sizes are used, from .256 Mannlicher; the .360 high velocity is effective. For those who prefer a very flat trajectory superior to the Mannlicher, the new accelerated h.v. .375/.303 is taken.

“Chamois.—Nothing less than .360; the .375 with copper-capped bullet is very effective, although the .256 is often used: it is found not to kill the beast.

“African Antelopes.—.360 and nickel-capped bullet, a .375/.303 accelerated express; many sportsmen are using the .303 with nickel-capped bullet.

“Indian Deer, Ibex, Tibet Wild Sheep.—.256 Mannlicher, Mauser .275, also .360 and .375 bore with capped bullet; some use ball and shot guns 12 bore.

“Lions and Tigers.—.360 to .450 h.v. express; the new .375/.303 has proved successful at Tigers with the capped bullet.

“Eastern Elephants.—The best weapon I know, of which I have the most excellent accounts, is the .577 h.v. rifle, 100 grs. cordite and 750 grs. solid and capped bullet.

“Eastern Buffalo.—.360, .400, and .450 h.v. express.

“African Buffalo.—.450 h.v. express and .577 h.v. express.

“African Elephants.—The .577 .100/.710; some use the .450, but the former is a most deadly weapon.

“I have just received information from an African sportsman that he has shot an African buffalo with a Westley Richards 12 explora, the horn measurements of which are strikingly fine, and promise to be a record.”

In reply to further questions, Mr. Holland writes as follows:—

“October 13th, 1906

“DEAR MR. TEASDALE-BUCKELL,—I don’t think it necessary to distinguish between African and Indian elephants. No doubt the former is more difficult to kill with the frontal shot, but you must try and get another shot; then, again, the 480 grain (450) bullet gives enormous penetration, and probably would penetrate the head of an African elephant as well as any bullet you could use. For a charging elephant, there is nothing like the big bore for stopping, or at any rate turning the animal. Velocity: it is a curious thing that we appear to get practically the same elevation with the 375 (450) bullet as the 480 gr. one, and practically the same velocity. We attribute this to the extra weight of the 480 gr. offering more resistance to the powder, and thereby setting up higher pressure, greater heat, though practically making the powder do more work.

HENRY HOLLAND”

It may be said that at this moment velocities are undergoing radical change, due to the improved powder Axite, and that one maker offers rifles giving to the 303 bullet a muzzle velocity of 2700 f.s. This means a greater stride than that from the express to the high velocity rifles, and if it is accurate, then trajectories have been very much reduced.

In reply to a still further question, the following is a reply that explains itself:—

“October 15th, 1906

“DEAR MR. TEASDALE-BUCKELL,—I have your letter of the 12th inst. With regard to the .500/.450, I think I said 2000 ft.; it should have been about 2100 ft. As a curious confirmation of the above, I may point out that in Kynoch’s book on the ballistics of various rifles, it gives 2150 ft. as the muzzle velocity of a .450 bore rifle with 70 grains cordite and 480 grains bullet, whereas with 70 grains powder and 420 grains bullet it gives the muzzle velocity as 2125 ft.