I would love it Todd...

I am going to Zambia for buffalo at the end of the month with a Ruger #1 in 375 H&H. Will let you know how it works out when I get back. Have used a #1 in Africa before for plains game. I don't feel handicaped by using a single shot, but I practice a lot.

I'm guessing the guy taking a big bore single shot to Africa has shot it a hell of a lot more, and practised with it, that the average "Joe" taking his new bolt action in a "huge" calibre he has not shot much.

A suggestion, if I may.

Buy a double of your dreams and go on the best safari you can pay cash for, but be ready to sell the double when you get back if you need to. Factor in the possibility that you might take a loss on the resale of a few grand, but if you buy wisely, the gun could be worth what you paid for it or more.

Let me add a caveat. I'm not saying to borrow money or to spend more than you have, but, in making your calculations, remember that a good double is an asset that can be sold to get back your "money buffer" that we all should have.

Certainly it hurts to sell the double when you get back, but without my doing what I've suggested, I'd never have been able to take a Rigby, a Westley Richards, a couple of Cogswell and Harrisons, a Lyon & Lyon, an Army and Navy or a couple of the Searcy's I've owned to Africa.

I'm fortunate enough to now have a .450 N.E. Searcy and a Merkel 9.3x74R that I dearly love (and for now, can afford), but if it comes to paying for another safari (or a house payment or whatever) or keeping the rifle, it's a no brainer to me. Some may think it's sacrilegious, but the experience (to me, anyway) is more important than retaining the hardware.

^ Wise man.

Judge,
You are right on point. On my first trip to Africa, I took a really nice H&H 500/465 double to Zambia and shot my first buffalo with it. Not long after I got back I sold it and made enough to partially pay for the hunt. For me, there was nothing to compare with my first trip to Africa. It was everything and more that I had dreamed it would be. It was made even more special to me by hunting with a vintage and proper rifle. Since then, on all my trips back to Africa, I try to always have at least one vintage rifle, whether bolt or double, with me. With all that being said, I wouldn't hesitate to go on a DG hunt with my Ruger No. 1 in 450/400. The PH's I hunt with are consumate professionals and I have no doubt in there ability to pull my fat out of the fire if I screw up.

Whenever I think about this, these videos from Heym always come to mind
Bolt http://www.heymusa.com/videos/HEYM_video_2.wmv


Double http://www.heymusa.com/videos/HEYM_video_4a.wmv


Now imagine a single shot...

Jabali: That guy was very fast and accurate with the .404; almost murderously slower getting off shot No. 3 with the .470. I'd like to see an equally skilled shot run those two scenarios with a single.

quote:

I'd like to see an equally skilled shot run those two scenarios with a single.

When you find an equally skilled type let us know! A lot of claims but no pudding proof as yet.

Jabalihunter,

I know the double guys, and single guys, defend their favorite toys with their lives, but in 90% of the cases a bolt is better than a double, and a single shot probably isn't even on the chart.

But I know they will keep up the D-FENCE. It makes for lively discussions.

If a using a single shot is special to you for your hunting experience by all means go for it.

If being practical is important a bolt is the way to go.

If you want to look cool carry a double on your shoulder.

There is no way a single shot is going to be as fast a double or bolt on any shot other than the first.

Rip,

While we agree on many things we will havve to respectfully disagree on this one.

A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition. These rounds are loaded from a magazine by means of a manual or automatic mechanism, and the action that reloads the rifle also typically recocks the firing action. The term repeating rifle is most often applied to weapons in which the next cartridge is loaded by a manual action, as opposed to self-loading rifles, in which the force of one shot is used to load the next.

Repeating rifles were a significant advance over the preceding breech loaded single-shot rifles when used for military combat, as they allowed a much greater rate of fire.

I think Butch had his ah ha moment about DG hunting recently and I would bet Aaron feels the same. I have advocated the use of a single shot for DG but recently have in general had a change of opinion on the subject.

I killed two buff and a leopard with a single shot and would not change any experience I have enjoyed in Africa. Would I do it again.....under the right circumstances, maybe.

quote:

....under the right circumstances, maybe.

Under what circumstances would that be? No charges, won't miss if charged, ...

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

....under the right circumstances, maybe.

Under what circumstances would that be? No charges, won't miss if charged, ...

We all know single shot shooters are better shots so there would not be a charge

Maybe in an area that is wide open where the shots are a little further, but that is doubtful in my future.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

....under the right circumstances, maybe.

Under what circumstances would that be? No charges, won't miss if charged, ...

With the title of this thread being "SS for DG", not "SS for Buffalo or Elephant", one circumstance for me would be just like my hunt this past June. I used a Ruger #1 for Leopard over bait as 1 shot is usually all you get. I did however, use the 500NE with 570 gr. Lion Loads for follow up!

Maybe we should get Jeffe or someone to build a .404 Jeffery pump gun. Now that would be fast!

First I cant imagine selling my rifle, especially to pay for the safari. When I spoke with one PH about the hunt and told him I was looking for a double, he suggested that he had a DR I could rent to use during the hunt. Its probably a good idea but NOT for me. When Im too feeble to hunt, I want to be able to look at the wall and see my trophy AND the rifle that took it, (even if it is a single shot).

As for dangerous game I was thinking Elephant, Buffalo, or Hippo(on land). No doubt multiple shots may be in order for Lion; but as for Leopard, am I wrong thinking that one shot is all I'll get and when sorting out a wounded animal the PH will be in the lead.

To be clear, Im thinking of a Ruger No.1 that I only just acquired in 577 Nitro Express. The point being that the single shot would be cheaper than a similar Double Rifle and as such get used more.

Ultimately, I have zero problems with a PH backing me up if I choose a single shot, in much the same way as I would expect him to do so if I have a muzzle loader or a bow.

Hi Impala, your No1 will be fine .... It is better to use a rifle you know, than something bigger that you hardly use....A well placed 375 is far better than a badly placed 470. Any way you will have a PH to back you up if required, I bet he wont need to......

Enjoy....

quote:

Originally posted by Bandedsolid:
....A well placed 375 is far better than a badly placed 470.

Man, I just hate that statement as it insinuates that no-one can shoot anything larger than a 375!

I agree that the statement is correct, but it is also correct that a well placed 470 is better than a badly placed 375!

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by Bandedsolid:
....A well placed 375 is far better than a badly placed 470.

Man, I just hate that statement as it insinuates that no-one can shoot anything larger than a 375!

I agree that the statement is correct, but it is also correct that a well placed 470 is better than a badly placed 375!

And a well placed 470 is better than a well placed 375.

Thanks Bandedsolid, I know the #1 will be fine. I have been shooting #1's for a long time. I also know you have to pick your shots, and you may have to pass up some shots.
Doesn't everyone who hunts, bolt, single shot, auto, pistol, bow, have to do the same sometimes?

Other than for the first shot at a baited lion or leopard, I would never consider using a single shot for DG. I believe in being ready and able to handle any contingency that might occur if needed. My PH may not be able to help out in some cases. I also don't believe 'in taking chances when my life or the staffs lives may be in danger.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
...in 90% of the cases a bolt is better than a double...

quote:

Originally posted by Mike70560:
If being practical is important a bolt is the way to go.

Wise words, and practical too

I've used single shots a lot, have hunted dangerous game with Ruger No. Ones and Dakota M10 in various calibers. Someday I would love to have an original Farquharson in something like .450-3 1/4"--but, heck, those rifles are pricier than doubles today so I doubt I ever will. I think it's perfectly okay for guys like me--hunting clients, not professional hunters--who are not hunting alone and will have (hopefully competent) backup available. The one shot does make you careful, and with practice I agree a properly tuned single shot can be very fast. But never as fast as a double, and under most circumstances (and in most hands) not as fast as a bolt action. So, when using a single shot, there may be times when the PH needs to chime in, and he may not have needed to if a different action type was used. I've been lucky; I've never actually needed a followup shot from a PH when using a single shot...but there is a greater possibility than when using a double or a bolt gun, and when using a single shot you simply must accept that. For a PH, well, I think the single shot is too risky. I've never actually seen a PH carrying a single shot for backup, but I suppose there must be someone out there somewhere...
Cheers, Craig

Back to my original post: Absurd and Irresponsible.

quote:

Originally posted by JabaliHunter:
Whenever I think about this, these videos from Heym always come to mind
Bolt http://www.heymusa.com/videos/HEYM_video_2.wmv


Double http://www.heymusa.com/videos/HEYM_video_4a.wmv


Now imagine a single shot...

Jabalihunter the man firing both rifles is Monty Kalogeras who owns the SAFARI shooting School. At the time that film was made Monty was deadly with his 404, but I doubt he had fired more than a box of 470NE from a double rifle in his life at that time! Take a proficient double rifle shooter to shoot against him and I think you wouldn’t be so smug!

That film was made about six or seven years ago, and Monty has since bought a Heym double from Chris Sells and I’m sure he would do a far better job with the double today!

Chris was far faster than Monty shooting against each other both shooting doubles, and tho0ugh Chris is fast, I know about ten guys personally that can, or could beat both of them in that same shoot though both may be faster today!

Nobody I know can beat Monty for both speed and accuracy with that 404 bolt rifle. However I’ve seen several people who can, or could, beat Monty with a double! About 20 of us (members of the DRSS) have shot at Monty’s place by invitation by Monty. It is quite a place and almost anyone could learn something there

It is my suggestion that we as dangerous game hunters, need to start some shooting things like the Houston boys have done for the last 4 or 5 years with their HOOT&SHOOT get-togethers! They are not only fun but are a learning opportunity, for big bore single shooters, bolt shooters and double rifle shooters alike!

..................................................

The difference between a bolt and a single shot is that, if you wound the animal with the first shot, there will be times you will get a second with the bolt but not with the single shot. If I had not had a bolt action on my first elephant, I never would have gotten the second shot off and we would probably not have recovered the animal.

As for the "don't worry the PH will shoot it" school of thought, I have seen PHs miss elephants completely on two occasions, once with two shots.

A single shot may be "almost" as fast but "almost" is often not very good.

quote:

It is quite a place and almost anyone could learn something there

Come on, Mac.

Chris, et al, went through the gyrations shown in the videos on his website of trying to speed up reloading doubles, but there is just no way a double can compete with a bolt with 3 or 4 shots.

Doubles are two-shoters, or is it shotters?, and that's about it. One can pretend they're something else but they're not.

Doubles have their place, in the thick stuff, where is there is not going to be much of a chance for more than two shots, whether something is charging or not. Or where something is wounded by the client or PH and is tearing off and out of sight in an instant.

But where someone has blown it and not stopped charging or departing Mr. X with the two shots from a double, and there is still time, a bolt wins the day.

And before someone says that never happens, please remember the buff charge faced by A. S. and his client where they both ran out of ammo in their bolt rifles, the PH shooting a 458 Wm, presumably a 3 round magazine, and the buff then tore him a new one.

Even the bolt wasn't enough.

Like many other things in life, doubles are wonderful in their place (and maybe even single shots!) but let's not pretend they are something they are not.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
Back to my original post: Absurd and Irresponsible.

Im going to guess theres just a little tongue stuck in your cheek on that response, otherwise you might be suggesting the only thing appropriate is a belt fed, flame throwing, grenade launcher. As surly a bolt gun with its limited magazine might not be enough if things get bad.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

It is quite a place and almost anyone could learn something there

Come on, Mac.

Chris, et al, went through the gyrations shown in the videos on his website of trying to speed up reloading doubles, but there is just no way a double can compete with a bolt with 3 or 4 shots.

Doubles are two-shoters, or is it shotters?, and that's about it. One can pretend they're something else but they're not.

Doubles have their place, in the thick stuff, where is there is not going to be much of a chance for more than two shots, whether something is charging or not. Or where something is wounded by the client or PH and is tearing off and out of sight in an instant.

But where someone has blown it and not stopped charging or departing Mr. X with the two shots from a double, and there is still time, a bolt wins the day.

And before someone says that never happens, please remember the buff charge faced by A. S. and his client where they both ran out of ammo in their bolt rifles, the PH shooting a 458 Wm, presumably a 3 round magazine, and the buff then tore him a new one.

Even the bolt wasn't enough.

Like many other things in life, doubles are wonderful in their place (and maybe even single shots!) but let's not pretend they are something they are not.

The above is a very well written opinion, but in the final analysis is just that OPINION, of an Elephant hunter who, admittedly, has a problem properly handling a double rifle! However in this case it got you to write something more than a one liner for a change!

What I stated in my post on the subject is not a guess or a pie-in-the-sky opinion, but a fact that has been proven many times! Proven not only by ME, but also by several others of my acquaintance, and the PH qualifying trials in Zimbabwe, and other places by professional dangerous game PH trainers in Africa. Proven that a man who knows how to handle a double rifle is not handicapped shooting against a bolt rifle for four shots! We all know that the first shots being equal to the bolt, and the second shot to bolt is no contest, but I say the third shot from the double is about equal to the bolt’s third shot, while the fourth is faster again!

For many, I’d admit, a single shot, bolt, double, or a belt fed quad fifty wouldn’t be enough, I have personally seen a couple of that type shooting under pressure!

I’m not saying everyone can handle a double like Monty handles his bolt 404, but I also doubt most here could out shoot him with a bolt action .22lr much less a 404 or a double rifle. That however also doesn’t mean a man that is good with a double rifle can’t match the average bolt client shooter with some experience in the hunting fields of Africa for four shots.

In those film clips Monty handicapped himself by loading from the belt, after fumbling with the unfamiliar double rifle after the first two shots. This film proves nothing except the shooter is not a double rifle shooter, but is a fine bolt shooter! Bolt fans can take this to mean a double rifle is slower than the bolt rifle, but that is not the case if the double rifle shooter knows what he is doing! In this case he didn’t! It is clear he is a very proficient bolt rifle shooter, and a very poor double rifle handler!

IMO, for what ever that is worth, a person who is an avid fan of big bore double rifle for hunting works harder to hone his skill, than the average bolt shooter. In my experience most bolt rifle shooters do their practice on a firing range over sand bags.
Most double rifle shooters, I know, and that is a bunch, hunt everything with their doubles from jack rabbit to elephant, standing on their hind legs shooting instinctively. The old saying, “Beware the man who shoots only one gun for is likely to know how to use it!” applies her I think.

Here I’m not talking about a guy who simply buys a double rifle and five boxes of factory ammo, and leaves in the next ten days for a buffalo/elephant hunt! That fellow would be lucky to hit a close-in elephant anyplace with the first shot, and almost assured to miss with the second, then stand and watch the ele leaving the scene if the PH didn’t back him, wouldn’t be much better with a bolt rifle. The awesome sight of the size alone of a close-in elephant would likely rattle him no matter what rifle he was using, and certainly not improve his gun handling! In the first place in the subject you are addressing in your post above is, or should be, with people who KNOW their respective rifles. Match those two and I think you will be quite amazed at the outcome!

All said and done, the above is only my OPINION, and worth no more that you paid for it! Opinions vary however!
.....................................

It's your hunt and your ass and if you have a PH for backup, it's your hunt and your ass. That said, I once saw TC "shill" Larry Weishun(sp?) go after a Cape Buff with one of those abhorrent TC single shots in 416 Rigby. He shot the buffalo at close range, about ten yards or so. Fortunately the buff took off in the opposite direction. It took him a full eight (8) seconds to effect a reload and get his second shot off and he shoots that POS on a regular basis. Had that buffalo turned the other way and gone Larry's way, the PH would have had to intervene.

Also, Craig B in one of his books said he'd never do it again given the choice. Works for me. jorge

I've hunted DG probably a bit more than most. Only once did it matter if I had "more" than a single shot.

A buffalo (to then, unseen and with a snare on its leg) came at me from nowhere (17 steps and at full charge as if it came from a catapult). There was a tree between the P.H. and the buffalo, but nothing between me and my maker but a bolt action .458 Win Mag. My first shot didn't immediately end the problem and I'm darn glad I had a second shot or I might not be writing this.

If anyone thinks that your P.H. can always be in a position to save your ass, I beg to differ.

JudgeG

Like everything, they only have to be lucky once,
you have to be lucky all the time.

.

Just a thought; but is it possible that if the added rounds from a magazine are so vital or beneficial during a charge, that the shooting started Toooooo soon? Perhaps, and Im just guessing here; but if during one of these magazine emptying charges the shooter waited till the target was say at thirty feet, then a brain shot might have been possible.

I realize that requires the hunter to actually stand and face the charge waiting for the shot while the animal approaches, instead of spraying wild shots at longer distance; but seriously how dangerous is Dangerous Game at 50 yards???

Wow that was hard to say with my tongue stuck in my cheek, so I guess only part of it is meant to sting.

Mac, A good hand who is practised with any rifle can be amazing to watch but if we are comparing properly set up bolt rifles like this one built by Lon Paul, there is no way any man with a double can fire three, four, five, six or seven rounds as fast.

Mac and Will,

I seem to remember seeing a video a few years back of two guys shooting side by side; one a double, the other a bolt gun. I can't remember where I saw it or who it was but i think the outcome throughout several attempts was that the double was just about as fast as the bolt over 4 shots.

Have either of you or anyone else seen this video and if so, where can it be found? Short of good quality video of competent and proficient riflemen competing side by side, I doubt this argument will amount to anything other than opinion!

As far as the single shot goes, it is really obvious if being honest with yourself. Yea, you can get proficient with it. But still, there is no way to get a second shot off with the SS faster than the bolt gun. Logic follows that the 3rd and 4rd would be slower still. The only real argument here is whether or not time delay between the 2nd and 3rd shot on a double can be made up by the quickness between the 1st / 2nd & 3rd / 4th as compared to the bolt over 4 rounds.

I've got no problem with shooting a SS at cats out of a blind. But once I step out of that blind to go have a "look see", I want the double in my hands!

Let's see if we can dig up that video!

quote:

I seem to remember seeing a video a few years back of two guys shooting side by side; one a double, the other a bolt gun. I can't remember where I saw it or who it was but i think the outcome throughout several attempts was that the double was just about as fast as the bolt over 4 shots.

The problem with old guys recollecting the past is that .... uh, I forget.

What some guy (one in a hundred thousand?) did on any particular day in front of a paper tiger is a bunch different than some real life dude getting charged by an elephant.

A.S.?

Arne Saknussem? Journey to the Center of the Earth? D'oh, I'm dating myself again ...

quote:

Originally posted by Cross L:

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
They worked for Selous

But would he have used them if he could have the bolt rifles we have today--that is the question

SSR

Frederick Selous chose single shots over SxS rifles.

quote from F.Selous:



“... the more experience I had in shooting heavy animals likegiraffe, buffalo, rhinoceros and hippopotami with the .450- bore rifle by Gibbs of Bristol, the more confidence I gained in its efficiency, till at last one day I tried it on elephant. On that day I killed six of these animals, under no means favourable conditions."...

“...I was on horseback and quite alone when I saw it, and when I fired I was standing in front of my horse. My bullet did not hit the lion, but immediately I fired it came straight at me, at the same time giving vent to a succession of deep hoarse roars, which always accompany a lion’s charge, and I believe that when it started it fully intended to charge home. “The rifle with which I fired at it was the single-shot weapon I have referred to before (his .461 Gibbs-Metford) and as there was no possibility of reloading it before the lion was on me, I did not attempt to do so, but stood quite still facing it, and holding the rifle crosswise in front of me. At the same time I kept shouting at the top of my voice.
“Now this charging but unwounded lion came right on, galloping over the ground like a great dog, till it was within three yards of me when it suddenly swerved to one side without touching me. I feel had it been wounded and really furious it would have seized me, and I also feel that had I turned my back on it and tried to mount my horse, it would have sprung on me....”

... “In 1893, I first used a small- bore rifle in the modern sense. That was a single-shot .303 and its power, accuracy and low trajectory astonished and delighted me, and caused me to abandon with regret my beloved .461 Gibbs- Metford. Since then I have used a .256, .275, .310, .375, and a .425, and I have seen a .350, .450, and a .500 Cordite rifle in use. All of these were the most beautiful weapons, as superior to the terrible old big-bore guns I once had to use as were the latter to bows and arrows. Perhaps it is because I have had to make shift with such rude firearms that all modern rifles now appear as such unsurpassed excellence. “My own hunting days are fast drawing to a close, but could I renew my youth and begin again I would never wish for a better armament than a .470 or .500-bore for the heaviest of African game, and a .275 Magnum shooting solid pointed bullets would afford me all the thinner skinned and smaller boned animals.”

How do you draw that conclusion?

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
How do you draw that conclusion?

F.C. Selous - guns he used during his hunting career.

Selous tells that he arrived at Delagoa Bay on the 4th of September 1871 with;

“400 pounds in my pocket and the weight of 19 years upon my shoulders”.

He travelled first to the diamond fields, where he equipped himself with a wagon and oxen, before setting off to Matabeleland to meet Lobengula, King of the Matabele, from whom he required permission to hunt elephant in his domain.
On his way he met a trader from whom he bought a pair of Hollis four- bore muzzle-loaders , and on his arrival he met and became friendly with the famed South African elephant hunter, Jan Viljoen, with whom he later hunted. Jan sold him a third four-bore for seven pounds ten shillings.
This piece weighed 15 pounds and had originally been a flintlock duck-gun which had been shortened and converted to percussion, and Selous had this to say about his three four-bores, commencing with the gun Jan sold him:

“Elephant had probably been shot with this old gun in the Cape Colony before the Boer Voortrekkers crossed the Orange River in 1836. When I bought the old gun, its original stock had long since disappeared and had been replaced by one roughly hacked out of a piece of hard African Thorn wood. In addition to this cut-down 4-bore I also owned two muzzle-loading 4-bores bearing the name Hollis and Sons, Birmingham, which I bought from the trader in Kuruman for six pounds each. They weighed 121⁄2 and kicked terribly ...”

Selous went on to say that he never owned another 4-bore that “drove as well as that old duck-gun”, and that he loved this gun. He goes on to tell that he eventually sold the pair of Hollis but kept this ancient piece for the rest of his lifetime .

An Damascus barrelled and heavily gold-inlayed Arab flintlock was given to Selous as a token of esteem by the Sultan of Zanzibar.

Selous in his ‘Sportsmen’s’ article tells that on the evening of his arrival at the diamond field after his journey from the Algoa Bay his Reilly double breech- loading rifle chambered for the .577 Snider cartridge was stolen .
The Jacob Snider conversion to take this cartridge was a pivoting breechblock mounted into the cutaway breech of the barrels of the then obsolete British Army Enfield muzzle-loaders. A .577 cartridge was inserted into the breech and the hinged breechblock was swung over into the space behind it. Ignition was by means of the existing external hammer, which struck a slanting firing pin within the block.

Selous replaced his stolen Snider with another, which he described as a “short Snider”.
The .577 Snider fired a 480gr bullet at a muzzle-velocity of 1250fps, producing 1665ft/lbs of muzzle-energy.

The .577 Snider did not in any way resemble the .577Black Powder Express, the first of which being made for Sir Samuel Baker by Holland & Holland of London,which later became the favoured tiger gun of India. This was chambered for two and a half and three-inch cases, the heaviest load firing a 610gr solid bullet at 1650fps, generating 3688ft/ lbs of muzzle-energy.

Texan professional lion hunter, Yank Allen, shot well over 200 lions on the one-million acre Nuanetsi ranch before it was sub-divided to become Nuanetsi and Liebigs ranches. Yank, who tracked and hunted his lions entirely alone, averred that his choice as a lion rifle was the .577 Black Powder Express... But the ammunition for it was expensive to buy, and he traded it eventually for a .303 SMLE.

Selous avers that the quarter pound missiles thrown by his 4-bores were not infallible however, and in support of this comment he describes facing a buffalo charge with one of these guns:

“I once hit an old bull with a four ounce round bullet full in the chest as he was charging. This large round leaden ball traversed the whole length of the animal’s body, cutting a piece out of the side of the heart, and yet he still came on”.

Selous tells of many failures with his 4-bores but blames the quality of the powder he was obliged to use rather than the guns. Good quality powder was available in 1lb. tins, which were rare in Selous’ parts of Africa, and he was obliged to use the common trade powder sold in five pound bags. This was often dirty and he admits to losing a number of elephant because of its weakness – and to facing a number of charges from elephant, when he confirms that when charging they can be stopped or turned by a bullet:

“My experience was that if one stood one’s ground and fired at the oncoming monster, no matter whether it was hit in the chest or trunk or any part of the head, it would immediately give up its charge, either coming to a sudden stop, swing right around, or going off sideways. It must be remembered however, that in those days I used muzzle-loading guns, carrying very heavy round bullets, which possibly delivered a heavier blow than the modern bullets propelled by nitro powder and travelling at enormous velocity”.

Selous makes comment that these “three very rude weapons, very heavy smooth-bore guns” which he used for the duration of his first journey into the interior, were very inferior in workmanship and accuracy compared to the well-made, two- grooved double-barrelled rifles used by Gordon Cumming and William Cotton Oswell more than 20 years previously.

On his first trip back to England in 1876 he bought three new rifles. Two of these were single-barrelled, breech-loading 4-bores, shooting spherical bullets with a charge of 12 drams of powder, and the other a single-barrelled 10-bore , using six drams of powder and spherical bullets.

On discovering how versatile his 10-bore was, he hunted with it almost exclusively for the next four years, taking everything from the smallest antelope to elephant and he used his 4-bores very little. The 10-bore fired a 670gr bullet propelled by 273gr of black powder at 1600fps producing 3809ft/lbs of muzzle energy. It proved a very reliable and accurate weapon but had a very high trajectory, limiting his shots to 100 yards.

In 1880 Selous “became possessed of a single-barrelled .461-bore Modified Express rifle by Gibbs of Bristol – a better weapon in every way than my well-tried 10-bore” .
The .461 was on a Farquharson action with a Metford barrel, and was the breech-loading development of the .461 Gibbs-Metford muzzle-loader. Throughout his earlier writing Selous referred to this rifle as his .450 Gibbs, and indeed it is listed as a .450 calibre, but as with the .577/.450 Martini-Henry, .461 was the actual bore size. Selous wrote in Travel and Adventure in South East Africa:

“... the more experience I had in shooting heavy animals like giraffe, buffalo, rhinoceros and hippopotami with the .450- bore rifle by Gibbs of Bristol, the more confidence I gained in its efficiency, till at last one day I tried it on elephant. On that day I killed six of these animals, under no means favourable conditions."