well i'm just out of the hospital with the back surgery complete, so while it hurts yet i thought i could cause some trouble. I always see posts about how light a rifle can somebody use to shoot this or that. if anybody mentions something bigger it seems like bells name comes up and that he a 275 rigby on eles. So he did, and he killed alot of them with it, but does anybody find mention of how many he wounded??

He may have wounded numerous, but there is a great quote that goes something like this:
"Bell's exploits resulted in the death of many a lesser man."

Bells exlploits as an Ivory "businessman" have no bearing on the rifle that a modern sport hunter should choose, IMHO.

I choose to be over gunned.

Be it rifle, pistol or bow.

But that is just me.

Butchloc,

Good luck with the recovery.

Bell wounded very few- but he started out with a .400 double and killed a bunch with heart shots and dissected the heads until he was sure he knew what he was doing.

The key to his sucess both as a hunter and fighter pilot was being able to see where he wanted the bullet to end up, as oposed to what he was looking at . All 5 airial victories in palestine were with a bolt action rifle fired over the side of his plane rather than with a synchonised machine gun. Once is luck- five is awsome shooting. Same applied to elephant shooting. He want good, he was outstanding.

An ace with a bolt action rifle! He must be the only one ever. An awsome accomplishment!

Just an opinion from someone that has no desire to kill an elephant regardless of the caliber available.

But I equate Bell's Elephant killing in Africa with the Buffalo Runners on the Plains of America in the late 1800's.

Both were business men that thru choice set out to do a job and make a living at it.

As with ay other job, it requires tools and for the good business man to stay in businees and make a livig at it, He Has To Get Very Good With Those Tools.

Bells choice was a rifle and his office was Africa and the commodity he dealt in was Ivory, and he dealt in that commodity Daily.

Bell's rifle became extensions of his body, and my guess is that could we get in a time machine and go back to Bell's HayDay of Ivory hunting we would see things very different than those that hunt elephant today do.

We would also see, IMO that Bell was never more than an arms length grab from his working rifles at any time, and he new just exactly what those rifles were capable of and he new just exactly where each bullet was going when those guns went Bang!

The Professionals, live with their rifles and they know just exactly what they can expect from them if they do their part in aimig and squeezing the trigger.

JMO.

I believe that he also had a large caliber double available too. If memory serves, it was a .450 NE. He may have been an outstanding marksman, but no one has ever called him foolish.

Geronimo

Get well soon Butch!
David

quote:

have no bearing on the rifle that a modern sport hunter should choose

+1.
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Geronomo:
I believe that he also had a large caliber double available too. If memory serves, it was a .450 NE. He may have been an outstanding marksman, but no one has ever called him foolish.

Geronimo

John Taylor did! And "LUCKY" as well. (emphasis in the original)

JPK