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Would You Shoot An Elephant With A Shotgun?
Would You Shoot An Elephant With A Shotgun?
One has just got to love Hollywood!
Watching Jurassic Park, it seems everyone is armed with a shotgun to kill T.Rex!

03 June 2013, 17:25
retreeverAnd I thought it was a 600 nitro.

Mike
Michael Podwika... DRSS bigbores and hunting
www.pvt.co.za " MAKE THE SHOT " 450#2 Famars
That was in the Lost World I think.
Jurassic Park they were definitely using 12 gauge shotguns.
03 June 2013, 18:33
Todd WilliamsDon't forget, they specifically are "pump action" shotguns. Thats the only thing that works for Hollywood. That way, they can repeatedly rack the action in a threatening manner, regardless of how long they've had the bad guy, or in this case, T Rex, covered with the empty gun!

No, but I would shoot a T-Rex with it. Bring me a T-Rex and I'll prove it.
Frank
"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953
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03 June 2013, 19:43
Larry SellersOf course I would. A little buckshot in the elephants arse would make things a bit more interesting. Why not?
Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member
03 June 2013, 19:50
Hunting For AdventureIf I remember right they were shooting SPAS 12's, which everyone knows is perfect dinosaur medicine.
Tom Addleman
tom@dirtnapgear.com
03 June 2013, 19:53
AnotherAZWriterHey, Bob Brister once killed a Cape buff with a shotgun slug.
If I was going to have to face a T. rex...I believe I would stick with my .500 NE double and some CEB 570 solids.
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03 June 2013, 20:22
BaxterBI think BUtch Searcy built the ones for the Lost World.
03 June 2013, 20:35
Jaco HumanMmmmm, unless I am seriously sick and tired of my job, which is unthinkable to me

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www.sahuntexp.com 03 June 2013, 20:40
MacD37quote:
Originally posted by BaxterB:
I think BUtch Searcy built the ones for the Lost World.
Butch built a 600NE double for one or the other of those movies. The rifle was kept by the director after the movie was finished, but it was sold later from the same California auction house that auctioned off Teddy Roosevelt's 500/465NE H&H double.
The rifle Butch built for the movie was called the Jurassic rifle, and is gold inlayed with dinosaurs.
Butch probably has a picture of the rifle that he can post, and tell you which movie it was used in. I can't tell you because movies like those do not interest me, but the rifle does.
..........................................................................

....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1
DRSS Charter member
"If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982
Hands of Old Elmer Keith
03 June 2013, 20:48
Wendell Reichquote:
Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Hey, Bob Brister once killed a Cape buff with a shotgun slug.
I am sure Ray Ray has too!

03 June 2013, 20:53
analog_peninsulaI used to own an SPAS 12, and liked it greatly; it had too many small parts for my comfort however, and I sold it to buy a Valmet 76, which I later sold for 3x the original price.
I'm not sure what this has to do with elephants. Perhaps the real question is this:
Which is a worse elephant gun, a Valmet 76 or an SPAS 12?
analog_peninsula
-----------------------
It takes character to withstand the rigors of indolence.
03 June 2013, 21:19
mmassey338Hard to say. I've never seen an elephant with a shotgun.
03 June 2013, 21:29
MacD37The only way I’d shoot an elephant with a shotgun is if that is all I had in my hands when he charged me out of the bush. If I don’t shoot he will kill me, if I do shoot him in the face it may turn him, so I can get away, If it doesn’t turn him, or I cant get away, he will kill me anyway, so what choice do I have?
NOW! If the question is would I purposefully go to shoot an elephant with a shotgun the answer is
HELL NO!..................................................................

....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1
DRSS Charter member
"If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982
Hands of Old Elmer Keith
03 June 2013, 21:31
cal pappasButch made up two .600 nitro double rifles for the second Jurassic Park film. I believe I have a photo of one in my book.
As to elephant with a shotgun, yes if a 4-bore with a ball and 14-16 drams of powder!
Cheers,
Cal
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quote:
Originally posted by cal pappas:
Butch made up two .600 nitro double rifles for the second Jurassic Park film. I believe I have a photo of one in my book.
As to elephant with a shotgun, yes if a 4-bore with a ball and 14-16 drams of powder!
Cheers,
Cal
The 600 is shown in the third movie.
In the second they had what looked like Barret 50 Browing.
Which did not do much good if I remember rightly.
They just landed on the island, and one man left the plane with one of these rifles.
There some shots fired, while the rest of the people got into the plane.
As the plane was taking off, the man appears from the bush minus his rifle, bloodied.
A TRex appeared and ate him

03 June 2013, 21:47
ScriptusI know one bugger who herded a run away hippo back to his property with a 12 guage loaded with no 6 bird shot. He said it picked up speed every time it got a dose. He was grumpy as the previous occasion the hippo went for a walk, it cost him a car. The hippo trashed the car while the owner was whispering sweet nothings into a lady companion's ear in a secluded spot. Not only was the car ruined. The lady must have felt the earth move.

Funniest thing. This thread just may have explained something.
I once heard that Stephen Spielberg had a Searcy double rifle. I believe it was one of the most expensive.
And I wondered, considering CA and Hollywood and all, why in the world would he be interested in such.
For use in a movie would explain it.
Now, does he still have it? What did he do with it?
It would be fascinating (but hopefully not disappointing) if there was some way we could make contact and find out...
03 June 2013, 21:59
londonhunterI once brought my double rifle to Russia for brown bear
After clearing customs , this custom officer cannot stop grinning
On the way out the airport I politely ask my host as to what was so funny ?
He said the custom officer think I am not going to come back alive going in with such a small shotgun .!?!!!
03 June 2013, 22:23
MacD37quote:
Originally posted by londonhunter:
I once brought my double rifle to Russia for brown bear
After clearing customs , this custom officer cannot stop grinning
On the way out the airport I politely ask my host as to what was so funny ?
He said the custom officer think I am not going to come back alive going in with such a small shotgun .!?!!!

Londonhunter, your post brought a smile to my face as it brought back a memory of my own.
A few years ago some friends and me went to Canada for a black bear hunt. As we went through Customs in Toronto, we were asked to open our gun cases for inspection. I was using a S/S 450NE double rifle, and it had a claw mount quick detach 4X illuminated scope on it. I heard someone behind me laugh. When we cleared my friend behind me asked if I heard what the guy behind him in line had said. When I answered that I hadn't heard, my friend
said "He said look at that, that dumb American has a 410 shotgun with a scope on it!"
..................................................................

....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1
DRSS Charter member
"If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982
Hands of Old Elmer Keith
03 June 2013, 23:16
shootawayI remember being young and watching an elephant get shot for the first time, with a double rifle from up close on TV once.I could not believe my eyes-someone shooting an elephant with a shotgun -I thought.I went into the living room where my father and company were and announced that I had just seen someone shoot an elephant with a shotgun.My father gave me a weird look and I thought to myself-How could a shotgun kill an elephant?
quote:
Originally posted by Shack:
Funniest thing. This thread just may have explained something.
I once heard that Stephen Spielberg had a Searcy double rifle. I believe it was one of the most expensive.
And I wondered, considering CA and Hollywood and all, why in the world would he be interested in such.
For use in a movie would explain it.
Now, does he still have it? What did he do with it?
It would be fascinating (but hopefully not disappointing) if there was some way we could make contact and find out...
I thought he kept one and the other was kept by
someone else associated with the movie.
However, that was a while ago so they may well have been sold by now.
Previously 500N with many thousands of posts !
quote:
Originally posted by shootaway:
I remember being young and watching an elephant get shot for the first time, with a double rifle from up close on TV once.I could not believe my eyes-someone shooting an elephant with a shotgun -I thought.I went into the living room where my father and company were and announced that I had just seen someone shoot an elephant with a shotgun.My father gave me a weird look and I thought to myself-How could a shotgun kill an elephant?
Would that have been Stewart Granger
in the opening scene of one of his movies ?
The opening of King Solomon's Mines.
Previously 500N with many thousands of posts !
03 June 2013, 23:41
shootawayquote:
Originally posted by 505G:
quote:
Originally posted by shootaway:
I remember being young and watching an elephant get shot for the first time, with a double rifle from up close on TV once.I could not believe my eyes-someone shooting an elephant with a shotgun -I thought.I went into the living room where my father and company were and announced that I had just seen someone shoot an elephant with a shotgun.My father gave me a weird look and I thought to myself-How could a shotgun kill an elephant?
Would that have been Stewart Granger
in the opening scene of one of his movies ?
The opening of King Solomon's Mines.
I dont know what it was but I can remember the scene clearly.I will check the film you referred to and see if that was it.
quote:
I thought he kept one and the other was kept bysomeone else associated with the movie.However, that was a while ago so they may well have been sold by now.
The Spielberg gun would be worth really serious money.
For comparison, the blank firing Auto Mag used by Clint Eastwood in "Sudden Impact" went to a collector for $60K.
Clint was given its fully operational mate, which he may still have. Nobody knows.
03 June 2013, 23:54
shootawayquote:
Originally posted by Shack:
quote:
I thought he kept one and the other was kept bysomeone else associated with the movie.However, that was a while ago so they may well have been sold by now.
The Spielberg gun would be worth really serious money.
For comparison, the blank firing Auto Mag used by Clint Eastwood in "Sudden Impact" went to a collector for $60K.
Clint was given its fully operational mate, which he may still have. Nobody knows.
I would think that the Spielberg gun would be worth less at least if I was buying.(if there is such a gun)
04 June 2013, 06:30
Aaron Neilsonquote:
Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
quote:
Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Hey, Bob Brister once killed a Cape buff with a shotgun slug.
I am sure Ray Ray has too!
Just had to go there, didn't ya Wendell??
Aaron Neilson
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www.huntghr.com 04 June 2013, 08:11
JBrownquote:
Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
quote:
Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
Hey, Bob Brister once killed a Cape buff with a shotgun slug.
I am sure Ray Ray has too!
That may be true, but I can say for sure that he used to claim that he carried a 7x57 when following wounded buffalo because only a CNS hit would stop them so he figured the 7x57 was as good as any other rifle.
He had quite a cheering section here and on HA as I recall.
Jason
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04 June 2013, 08:55
NakihunterI know a coffee planter in South India who shot a tusker at 6 paces with Wesley Richards 12 bore slug & LG. The animal was a known rogue that had killed people before and it surprised him at close range.
He shot it in the chest from the hip (or should I say - stock resting on his thigh) with both barrels. The animal crashed down and this man fell to the side. He broke the stock of the gun in the process!
"When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick."
04 June 2013, 08:56
Mark ClarkA one ounce (427grain) slug at 1500 F/Sec
Better than a 44 Mag pistol and they have been use on elephants.
Only as a last resort, a non expanding slug would be nice to have.
And a SPAS would not look good in the trophy pictures, never hunt with an ugly gun.
Mark
05 June 2013, 00:13
muck rackerI know of a PH in zim that backed up on an PAC Elephant a few years ago with a benelli. I do believe he used a federal slug expander. it uses a 300 grain solid. He did it to test penetration. I do believe it performed well. Not that he would hunt with a shotgun. Why use a shotgun when there's better equipment out there?
I was always told that there is an elephant gun and an elephant rifle. The gun shoots a ball from a smooth bore and a rifle shoots a bullet from a rifled barrel.
I reckon a number of big game have been killed with an elephant gun.
I sold a four bore Holland & Holland many years ago at the Tulsa gun show and it was a single shot smoothbore. The same show I sold a Clayton Nelson 4 bore muzzle loading rifle.
Soooo.....I reckon I would but it wouldn't be fun.
Better tomorrows!
You can borrow money but you can not borrow time. Go hunting with your family.
05 June 2013, 02:10
465H&Hquote:
Originally posted by MacD37:
quote:
Originally posted by BaxterB:
I think BUtch Searcy built the ones for the Lost World.
Butch built a 600NE double for one or the other of those movies. The rifle was kept by the director after the movie was finished, but it was sold later from the same California auction house that auctioned off Teddy Roosevelt's 500/465NE H&H double.
The rifle Butch built for the movie was called the Jurassic rifle, and is gold inlayed with dinosaurs.
Butch probably has a picture of the rifle that he can post, and tell you which movie it was used in. I can't tell you because movies like those do not interest me, but the rifle does.
..........................................................................
Mac,
For the sake of accuracy, Teddy's double was a Holland & Holland 500/450 3 1/4" double not a 500/465 3 1/4".
465H&H
05 June 2013, 03:44
Gayne C. YoungWould you shoot an elephant with a shotgun?
A pink elephant, yes.
05 June 2013, 03:59
Duckearquote:
Originally posted by Saeed:
One has just got to love Hollywood!
Watching Jurassic Park, it seems everyone is armed with a shotgun to kill T.Rex!
Shotgun is better than no gun.
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12 June 2013, 00:18
MinkmanI'd use a shotgun, but only if I had Carmelo with a 45/70 and MS in front of me.

12 June 2013, 06:26
GatogordoWithout doubt, the modern sabots or buckmaster type slugs would kill one grave yard dead with a heart shot. Not a reasonable choice, of course, but it could be done.
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