Just read a story on him in an old SCI journal. He was a naturalist/hunter/conservationists that was intrumental in having mt. McKinley/Denali national park so designated back early in the last century. It gave an account of his gear which he kept to a bare minimum. The gun was a .256 Jeffery in a Dutch Mannlicher bolt-action. He took specimens for the national museum from Alaska and into Mexico that included big grizzilies(in Mexico too) and moose. That little mannlicher was in keeping things light but being by himself most of the time in the wilderness it seems he was pushing the envelope just a bit with that caliber. What exactly does the .256 Jeffery compare too?

leo Depending on the source.. 160gr. bullet at 2300fps, or a 156gr at 2380. This caliber was very popular around the early 1900's. Widely used by many. Some used it for elephant with solids..

"The Wilderness of Denali" by Charles Sheldon is one of the great books of the North.

6.5 x 54 Manlicher Schonaur. I got one of those little 1903's. 160 gr Hawk around 2300fps and kills just about every think I put the sights on. You could get the same thing with a 6.5 x 55 in a 19 or 20 inch barrel, or you could get the same from a Model 7 in 260 Remington and just load 160 gr Hornaday RN's. This way you would not have the headaches of finding 6.5 x 54 brass or loads for that matter. Put a leupold 6x with a German # 1 Retical and well you would be all set.

I believe that was the same caliber that Mr. Grey, an African of note because a lion killed him because his 6.5 wouldn't stop it...well documented along with some others...

Certainly a long 160 gr. bullet at that slow velocity will perform the primary function and that is pentitration and nothing can live with a hole through its heart and lungs...but it CAN be around long enough to do you great harm.

Bell shot elephant with a 303, 7x57, 06 and other calibers and thought the .308 would make a perfect elephant rifle..

Shelton and others never owned up to how many and/or if they ever wounded animals, just not done you know...

When I hear this stuff, I take a lot of it with a grain of salt, it can be done but its not a smart thing to do. I figure they also had bouts with stupidity and ego back then,just like today, or they would have used a proper rifle for the game hunted...

Then again, I and many others are also guilty of such rash, unintelligent behavior and likly will be again before the reckoning. mostly it boils down to poop happens and it proves nothing of value, as in Sheldons and Bells case. It certainly proved nothing in my case other than I had a good time.

I say if one wants to shoot Buff and stuff with a 256 or 45-70 then high tail it over to the dark continent and have at it if your PH allows it..You will probably have a heck of a good time, but don't push your luck. The law of averages normally works I figure.

In the NRA museum, a match rifle in 6,5 x 53 R (= .256 Mannlicher) is on display, a commercial turnbolt Steyr with military stock. This gun won a 1000 yards match (!) in the beginning of the century.

Carcano

O'K, now I see. The .256 Jeffery is not a .25 caliber but a 6.5mm simular to the swede. With the 160 grain bullets that's a bit more reasonable than a .25 caliber and 120 grainers. Certainly the penetration is there. And that very light weight little rifle would have made for easier going in the bush.

This was one Bell's favorite rifles for African hunting, including elephants, along with the 7x57 & 318.

Old Mr. Gray, tried to stop a lion charge with a 280 Ross and some sort of 140 gr. Bullet as I recall the tale. It didn't and both the 280 Cartridge and the Ross rifles fell into disfavor. As for hunting dangerous game with a 6.5, while it has been done, I would not do it since I am not a rich man and can't afford not to recover the game I shoot. On the other hand, there is with some exceptions, I would hunt just about any horned or antlered game with a 6.5 x 54 and a good 140 or 160 gr bullet. If you leave out Eland and M'bogo, there is a whole lot of game you could shoot, same goes for Brown Bear and Polar. Thats what they make 375's and 416's for. For todays Hunters, there are other better cartridges to shoot. Guys forget that in the years gone by, hunts lasted months if not years, and with lots of time, well if you didn't get a good shot today there was tomarrow. Today with hunts that are of short duration 5 to 10 is about the norm, the little guns are not pratical because less that perfect shots angle wise have to be taken more offen than not.

GeorgeS,
OK make that Mr. Black!! However I agree completely with your post.

Ray, I will only disagree with what you have to say on one count. I have read most of Charles Sheldon's books and he was very open and honest about his experiences in losing game when that happened. He also was not truly a trophy hunter, but a hunter-naturalist. He was not particular - shot sows with cubs, tried to take cubs alive which he later killed to put out of their misery. Two of his books - Wilderness of Denali and Wilderness of the Desert Bighorn and Seri Indians - were published after his death because he was not interested in notoriety and wished not to publish his exploits. A rather humble guy who I believe was the first to take all four varieties of North American sheep and took a heap of them of all shapes and sizes.

The funny thing about his book is that he was not really interested in rifles and ballistics - he owned only a couple and only rarely mentions anything about them. His principle gun was a 6.5X53R made by Jeffery in 1900 on an 1895 Dutch Mannlicher action. His journals show numerous misfires with this gun when in Mexico. He was also known to hunt with a 1903 Springfield .30-06. That was it for his rifles.

thanks Rob for the heads up...I was speaking in generalities and have not read Sheldons books..my mistake...

However, I doubt that anyone in the history of hunting wounded more game than Teddy Roosevelt and his dippy son...they went willy nilly throughout Africa shooting the legs off and gut shooting everything that walked talked breathed and crawled, and it didn't seem to be any big deal to them.

I have read all of Mr. Shelton's books, they are excellent reading indeed. He did not dwell on the rifle, it was simply a tool to him. He did detail all his bad shots and told of many hours of trailing wounded game. The winter he spent in Denali was a very good commentary on survival, alone in the wilderness under the worst of conditions. Had he used a .300 or up he probably been a more efficient killer, as it was he hardly mentioned the rifle, and except for footnotes I don't remember he telling of the chambering. Good shooting.

In the early days of smokeless , alot of famous hunters used pretty light calibers , apparently they were thought by some to be better killers than the old black powder loads........250/3000 and .22 High Power were used alot on big stuff along with the 6.5 Manlicher ......one guy in China thought the .22 high power was just the thing for man-eating tigers !

Leo: Thanks for starting this thread, as I had forgotten just how important Charles Sheldon was to American conservation. Not only did he conceive of the idea of establishing Mount McKinley National Park (which he wanted called Denali way back in 1907), he also led the fight to establish our national wildife refuge system here in the United States. There is a vast refuge stretching from Hart Mountain in south central Oregon into Nevada named for this great sportsman and conservationist. A Yale man, he was also chairman of the Boone and Crockett Club. He had a great deal of faith in his .256 Mannlicher, which we also know as the 6.5X53 Dutch Rimmed, from which the rimless 6.5 M-S later descended. The fellows are right: this round gave Sheldon 2300 fps with the 160-grain bullet, and he told Dennis Lyell in a letter that it was suitable for all North American game, including moose and the big bears, if the bullet was properly placed. This cartridge was also the favorite of Blayney Percival in Africa.

Remembering reading some old Jack O'Connor material that the .280 Ross was a high velocity round with the 140 grainers. In those days light bullets hadn't been perfected. He stated that it was thought that the bullet blew-up on the lion that Mr. Grey was killed by. But then again stopping a charge on anything is not a sure bet.