The Cannon Myth: Why I'd Rather Hit Than Bruise

Flipper Dude said:

How many times you gonna shoot the SOB?

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Until he agrees to stay down

Flipper Dude said:

How many times you gonna shoot the SOB?

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After the first 40 rounds, I had to send a tracker back to my cabin for more.

Back to WDM Bell . I am a huge fan of his writings . I must say I am probably more interested in his exploration and engagements with tribal communities than the hunting part . We all know he was as tough as teak and a great shot . I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about his preferred rifles . His rifle choice was dictated by ammo quality and availability . He is very clear that once reliable ammo was available , his preferred rifle was a 318 WR . It seem to me that the 275 Rigby gets all the glory but Bell ditched it pretty fast for the 318 with good ammo . Similar story with Corbett - we hear about his 275 Rigby - but he also used a WJ Jefferey 450/400 double for a lot of hunting . I think Rigby win the marketing prize . While not wanting to diminish Bell’s exploits - which I believe , the fact is he came from money ( born in the family castle ) , made a nice living hunting and survived both Africa and WW1 to then marry one of the richest women in England . His estate in Scotland near Inverness was a wedding gift . Bell was sufficiently wealthy that he and his wife commissioned the great Olin Stephens to design a 72 foot steel yawl - the first steel ocean racer to be built in England and at the height of the Great Depression . This yacht was launched in 1934 and the following year Bell an amateur came in second behind Olin Stephens and a professional crew on board Stormy Weather in the 1935 Fastnet Race. No mean feat . A hunter/ soldier / sailor / gentleman and author - Bell lived a remarkable life .

In the Appendix entitled " On Rifles and Shooting" in Bell's autobiography entitled BELL OF AFRICA he says the following: "...the object sought is to penetrate deeply enough to injure a vital organ sufficiently to cause death. In the case of large animals this calls for a long heavy bullet of 3 1/2 to 4 diameters in length, moderate velocity if a jacketed one, so that the envelope will not rupture on impact with bone. ...speaking from personal experience the moderately fast bullets seem to hold a truer course than ultra fast ones...In order to excel as a killer and to be even commonly humane to one's brother animals a study of anatomy is essential".

Here is download article he wrote , the last of his . « Small bore vs large bore «

He went to larger bullets as he went on and they got better . But he had not only a .318 , 400 but a .416 Rigby also .

There was found several elephants dead in areas he had been in after he vacated them , but that ain’t much spoken about .

PerH said:

Here is download article he wrote , the last of his . « Small bore vs large bore «

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Thank you but Bell did NOT write the posted article. Rather it was written by Jon C. Branch the founder and senior editor of Revivaler magazine. It is a fine accounting of Bell's writings.
Thank you once again.

Your comment about lost, dead elephants sums up the small bore argument. In Bell's time as in today, one didn't sell articles or books by writing about mistakes. Also when market hunting as Bell did for ivory, a few lost elephants per herd was probably about average. It was a much different time then.

For my $40,000 (plus travel...) or more elephant hunt, I don't want any chance of my elephant running away with a bullet in its head! A good shot but not perfect with a .458 will have a much better chance of not needing one's PH to back them up than the same shot with a .375... Can't decide, take a .416 !

I'll hunt elephant with a .458 bore rifle, you with your small bore can take your chances!

Mark A Ouellette said:

Thank you but Bell did NOT write the posted article. Rather it was written by Jon C. Branch the founder and senior editor of Revivaler magazine. It is a fine accounting of Bell's writings.
Thank you once again.

Your comment about lost, dead elephants sums up the small bore argument. In Bell's time as in today, one didn't sell articles or books by writing about mistakes. Also when market hunting as Bell did for ivory, a few lost elephants per herd was probably about average. It was a much different time then.

For my $40,000 (plus travel...) or more elephant hunt, I don't want any chance of my elephant running away with a bullet in its head! A good shot but not perfect with a .458 will have a much better chance of not needing one's PH to back them up than the same shot with a .375... Can't decide, take a .416 !

I'll hunt elephant with a .458 bore rifle, you with your small bore can take your chances!

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A PDF download link for his article is there to download , if i forgot to mention that .

Watched an older video of Jeff Rann taking a couple of elephants for himself y’day, shooting his double, while his gun bearer toted his bolt action rifle along side.

On both elephants the frontal brain was missed, as was the subsequent side brain attempt on the turn. One elephant totaled 4 missed brain shots and then a shot at the hip going away that was too low. Jeff managed to get a shot into the chest that finally sorted him out, but that was after a full speed dash while reloading. With the bolt rifle IIRC.

Now only our friend OH would question Jeff’s experience and skill on hunting elephant.

All that to say this. It ain’t always easy!

At least the next client Jeff had that flubbed a shot most likely got A LOT of grace from Jeff.

Mark A Ouellette said:

Thank you but Bell did NOT write the posted article. Rather it was written by Jon C. Branch the founder and senior editor of Revivaler magazine. It is a fine accounting of Bell's writings.
Thank you once again.

Your comment about lost, dead elephants sums up the small bore argument. In Bell's time as in today, one didn't sell articles or books by writing about mistakes. Also when market hunting as Bell did for ivory, a few lost elephants per herd was probably about average. It was a much different time then.

For my $40,000 (plus travel...) or more elephant hunt, I don't want any chance of my elephant running away with a bullet in its head! A good shot but not perfect with a .458 will have a much better chance of not needing one's PH to back them up than the same shot with a .375... Can't decide, take a .416 !

I'll hunt elephant with a .458 bore rifle, you with your small bore can take your chances!

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Reasonable assessment, IMO. Bell wrote about a hint of it. He recounts shooting a bull with his 7MM Mauser, 173 gr DWM, side brain angle, not dropping the elephant but hearing the whine of the ricocheting bullet. A hint… acknowledging a loss indicating some unknown number of losses. Simple reality of hunting, especially elephant/ivory over a hundred years ago.

Pic below of 173 gr 7MM Mauser DWM I tested in wet pack with inserted bone simulation media. Note slight bend which certainly accounted for its curved trajectory through the test media.

Based on Bell’s writing of ivory hunting as a business, I’m sure it was a numbers (pounds of ivory) and percentage game of gathering as much ivory as quickly as possible while accepting some inevitable loss rate. In contrast, the material by Selous about ivory hunting reveals the reality and logistics trade-offs (necessitated by the earlier era than Bell) when choosing a rifle for killing large numbers of elephants for the business of ivory. Selous, in no uncertain terms, described his dislike for the heavy recoil of the massive BP 4 bore he used, blaming it on permanently ruining his accurate shooting skills.

SStomcat said:

Yes, and Bell must have been smart enough to know that he could carry and use a much lighter rifle more effectively than a 12–13 pound rifle, day in and day out.

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I think in those days they used gun bearers as well.

PCC600 said:

Back to WDM Bell . I am a huge fan of his writings . I must say I am probably more interested in his exploration and engagements with tribal communities than the hunting part . We all know he was as tough as teak and a great shot . I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about his preferred rifles . His rifle choice was dictated by ammo quality and availability . He is very clear that once reliable ammo was available , his preferred rifle was a 318 WR . It seem to me that the 275 Rigby gets all the glory but Bell ditched it pretty fast for the 318 with good ammo . Similar story with Corbett - we hear about his 275 Rigby - but he also used a WJ Jefferey 450/400 double for a lot of hunting . I think Rigby win the marketing prize . While not wanting to diminish Bell’s exploits - which I believe , the fact is he came from money ( born in the family castle ) , made a nice living hunting and survived both Africa and WW1 to then marry one of the richest women in England . His estate in Scotland near Inverness was a wedding gift . Bell was sufficiently wealthy that he and his wife commissioned the great Olin Stephens to design a 72 foot steel yawl - the first steel ocean racer to be built in England and at the height of the Great Depression . This yacht was launched in 1934 and the following year Bell an amateur came in second behind Olin Stephens and a professional crew on board Stormy Weather in the 1935 Fastnet Race. No mean feat . A hunter/ soldier / sailor / gentleman and author - Bell lived a remarkable life .

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As tough as Teak, I heard it after a long time, I'm sure you are referring to Teak wood a highly prized timber down south.
Jim Corbett killed the marauding Rudraprayag Panther using the 275 Rigby which was presented to Corbett in 1907 by Sir J.P. Hewett (Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces) as a reward for killing the Champawat maneater. The leopard killed 125-126 people possibly more between 1918 and 1926. Jim Corbett successfully tracked and killed the leopard on May 2, 1926. There is a monument where the Leopard was killed.

PerH said:

Karamojo Bell: The Small Bore Ivory Hunter - Revivaler

W.D.M. Bell went from being just an adventurer trying his hand at being a professional ivory hunter to becoming a legend. 800 elephant taken with a small .275 Rigby Rifle.

revivaler.com

Here is download article he wrote , the last of his . « Small bore vs large bore «

He went to larger bullets as he went on and they got better . But he had not only a .318 , 400 but a .416 Rigby also .

There was found several elephants dead in areas he had been in after he vacated them , but that ain’t much spoken about .

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The link does not resolve..FYI

IvW said:

Yes he does hunting in Cameroon does not require more than a 375H&H.....in zzim he prefers 470 NE and 458 Lott.....

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That is simply not true. He uses a mod 70 .375 in Zim.

Not looking to argue, but he does not use a 470 or a lott - Anywhere, go ahead and ask him

SStomcat said:

The link does not resolve..FYI

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By Jon C. Branch - As to who wrote it? Look under the title where they put those things.

Tanks said:

I think in those days they used gun bearers as well.

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True, however I'm unsure if he would need one for his 7X57 or 318 WR which he used to harvest. For the bigger ones for several days or months probably he did.

Red Leg said:

By Jon C. Branch - As to who wrote it? Look under the title where they put those things.

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I meant to say, I'm getting a technical error - "Host does not resolve" and times out.

The Leopard of Rudraprayag, For Eight Years, This Man-Eating Leopard Terrorized the Garhwal Himalayas, Killed 126 People, and Evaded Hunters Until Jim Corbett Tracked It Down​

Colonial 1757–1947 CE




The Leopard of Rudraprayag was a notorious man-eating leopard that terrorized the Garhwal region of present-day Uttarakhand between 1918 and 1926. Official records attributed 126 human deaths to the animal, making it one of the deadliest man-eaters ever documented.

The leopard operated in the rugged Himalayan terrain around Rudraprayag, a major pilgrimage route used by travelers heading to Kedarnath and Badrinath. Its attacks created widespread fear across dozens of villages. Unlike many predators that avoid human settlements, this leopard became infamous for entering villages at night, breaking into homes, and carrying away sleeping victims. The fear was so intense that many residents refused to leave their homes after dark, and pilgrimage traffic in the region was severely affected.

One explanation offered by Jim Corbett and other contemporary observers was that the leopard may have begun feeding on human remains during the influenza pandemic of 1918, when the large number of deaths and difficulties in conducting proper cremations in the mountainous region left bodies exposed. Having become accustomed to human flesh, it allegedly transitioned to hunting living people.

Numerous attempts were made to kill the animal. Hunters, soldiers, local authorities, and villagers employed traps, poisons, and organized hunts, but the leopard repeatedly evaded capture. Its ability to avoid these efforts contributed to its legendary reputation and made it one of the most feared animals in Indian history.

In 1926, the British administration requested the assistance of Jim Corbett, who had already gained a reputation for tracking dangerous man-eaters. After a lengthy and difficult pursuit, Corbett successfully shot and killed the leopard near Rudraprayag on 2 May 1926, bringing an end to nearly eight years of terror in the region.

The story of the Leopard of Rudraprayag was later immortalized in Jim Corbett's writings and remains one of the most famous cases of a man-eating animal in recorded history. More than a century later, it continues to be remembered as a remarkable, and chilling chapter in India's wildlife and colonial-era history.

PerH said:

A PDF download link for his article is there to download , if i forgot to mention that .

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Works now, thanks. However please note it installs a new app called GooPDF, I do not want anything on my laptop to view anything other than standard software I use. Just saying,,,installing any of these tools has given me lot of Headaches in the past.

SStomcat said:

Works now, thanks. However please note it installs a new app called GooPDF, I do not want anything on my laptop to view anything other than standard software I use. Just saying,,,installing any of these tools has given me lot of Headaches in the past.

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Ok

I saw it only on my tab and I downloaded the file to keep it , since elsewhere it was originally posted , NRA magazine I think took the file down some years ago . This is only place as I know that it can be found .