The Art Of Hunting The Royal Bengal Tiger: A Comprehensive Guide

[Major Khan]

As per the encouragement of my dear fellow forum members , @spike.t and @Newboomer and a few others , l have decided that l am going to be providing all of you gentlemen ( and ladies ) here with a comprehensive guide on how Royal Bengal Tigers used to be hunted back in the time when l used to be a professional shikaree working for Allwyn Cooper Limited in Nagpur India , from 1961 to 1970 .
You never know . Maybe , just maybe Bangladesh may legalize the occasional hunting of a royal Bengal tiger some day . It may even be in our life times ( hopefully . )
Being that l was the royal Bengal tiger specialist of Allwyn Cooper Limited from 1961 onwards , and l apprenticed under the great Rao Naidu of Hyderabad himself , l believe that my experience on this subject is fair .
During my career as a professional shikaree , l have shot 1 dozen royal Bengal tigers ( 11 of which were wounded by my clients and had charged our shikar party with nefarious intent . )
For the sake of convenience , l shall break this article down into the following sections :
1) The Great Cat Himself
2) Royal Bengal Tigers & Man
3) Tracking Royal Bengal Tigers
4) Beats
5) Baits
6) Shooting The Royal Bengal Tiger
> Shot Placement
> Adequate Armaments
> Correct Ammunition Choices
7) Following Up Wounded Royal Bengal Tigers
8 ) Field Dressing Your Trophy
9) General Remarks

Here is a photograph taken by my loyal servant , Ponual of the very 1st royal Bengal tiger which l had ever killed in my life , in 1961.

 

[Major Khan]

The Great Cat Himself
To my knowledge , royal Bengal tigers are the largest and heaviest members of the feline species in the world . The heaviest specimens can regularly weigh in the excess of 500 pounds in a full grown male . This specimen , weighing 503 pounds was shot by my client , Mr. Tom Bolack ( the former Governor of New Mexico . ) in 1963 in Darjeeling , India.

The average height of a royal Bengal tiger is between 8 and 10.5 feet . This large male specimen shot by 1 of my clients in 1963 , measured just under 11 feet from snout to tail.

A royal Bengal tiger lives predominantly on the following herbivores :
> Sambhur Deer ( 1st preference )
> Cheetal Deer ( 2nd Preference )
> Wild Boars ( 3rd Preference . )

Unlike a panther which may get injured by the tusks of a fully mature wild boar while trying to attack it , a royal Bengal tiger is ( obviously ) more than a match for even the largest 300 pound Indian Bush Boar.
Generally speaking, a royal Bengal tiger
does not prey on the smaller species , such as hog deer , Muntjac deer , swamp deer , Chinkara , black buck or 4 horned buck . However , the exception is when he is very hungry . Unless they are very, very hungry , a royal Bengal tiger will not usually attack a Neelgai as their flesh is rather stringy and coarse ( save for the tenderloin , which makes for excellent eating ) . The exception of course , is when there is no other food available in the area where the royal Bengal tiger is lurking about .
Here is a photograph of 1 of Kawshik's clients with a sambhur deer which he had just shot.

Here is the skin of a cheetal deer which l shot , just last year.

Here are some wild Indian Bush Boars , 1 dozen of 63 killed during 1 of our culling programmes .

Despite being classified as a soft skinned animal , the muscles of a royal Bengal tiger are actually rather thick and as hard as rocks. The jaws of the royal Bengal tiger are the strongest among all the feline species of India . It is with these jaws that it can chomp down on the largest sambhur deer with impunity . The canines of the royal Bengal tiger , is unmatched in stoutness.

Coming up next ....
" The Royal Bengal Tiger & Man "

 

[gesch]

The Great Cat Himself
To my knowledge , royal Bengal tigers are the largest and heaviest members of the feline species in the world . The heaviest specimens can regularly weigh in the excess of 500 pounds in a full grown male . This specimen , weighing 503 pounds was shot by my client , Mr. Tom Bolack ( the former Governor of New Mexico . ) in 1963 in Darjeeling , India.
View attachment 327117

The average height of a royal Bengal tiger is between 8 and 10.5 feet . This large male specimen shot by 1 of my clients in 1963 , measured just under 11 feet from snout to tail.
View attachment 327123

A royal Bengal tiger lives predominantly on the following herbivores :
> Sambhur Deer ( 1st preference )
> Cheetal Deer ( 2nd Preference )
> Wild Boars ( 3rd Preference . )

Unlike a panther which may get injured by the tusks of a fully mature wild boar while trying to attack it , a royal Bengal tiger is ( obviously ) more than a match for even the largest 300 pound Indian Bush Boar.
Generally speaking, a royal Bengal tiger
does not prey on the smaller species , such as hog deer , Muntjac deer , swamp deer , Chinkara , black buck or 4 horned buck . However , the exception is when he is very hungry . Unless they are very, very hungry , a royal Bengal tiger will not usually attack a Neelgai as their flesh is rather stringy and coarse ( save for the tenderloin , which makes for excellent eating ) . The exception of course , is when there is no other food available in the area where the royal Bengal tiger is lurking about .
Here is a photograph of 1 of Kawshik's clients with a sambhur deer which he had just shot.
View attachment 327137

Here is the skin of a cheetal deer which l shot , just last year.
View attachment 327138

Here are some wild Indian Bush Boars , 1 dozen of 63 killed during 1 of our culling programmes .
View attachment 327139

Despite being classified as a soft skinned animal , the muscles of a royal Bengal tiger are actually rather thick and as hard as rocks. The jaws of the royal Bengal tiger are the strongest among all the feline species of India . It is with these jaws that it can chomp down on the largest sambhur deer with impunity . The canines of the royal Bengal tiger , is unmatched in stoutness.

Coming up next ....
" The Royal Bengal Tiger & Man "

Thank you Major for your comprehensive approach. I will never have an opportunity to hunt the Royal Bengal Tiger, but I am confident that Your article will give me the next best experience!

 

[Major Khan]

The Royal Bengal Tiger & Man

I visited my good friend , former fellow professional shikaree and fellow forum member , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman at the Bangladesh Export Fair yesterday and we both had a lengthy ( and fun ) discussion about what we consider to be the most dangerous of Indian game . I consider the Indian forest panther to be the most dangerous among Indian game , while Kawshik considers it to be the royal Bengal tiger . The reason l consider the panther to be the more dangerous brute , is because of it's sheer speed , which makes it far more capable of ambushing you than a royal Bengal tiger , especially in the thickets . Kawshik considers the royal Bengal tiger to be the more dangerous brute . His logic is that the lightest royal Bengal tiger ( 400 pounds , roughly ) is far heavier than the heaviest panther ( 200 pounds , roughly ) . Therefore , it can be clearly inferred that the lightest royal Bengal tiger is at least twice the weight of the heaviest panther . This means that a royal Bengal tiger ( obviously ) demands considerably more powerful armaments than a panther does . This is an extremely sound logic . However , Kawshik then pointed out 1 more inescapable fact to me : If a panther pounces on you , you will end up looking like confetti , but ( unless you are dealing with a man eater ) you will probably survive . If a gaur charges at you , you can probably outrun it ( unless if it manages to ambush you in the thickets . ) . If an Indian Bush Boar charges you , then you will , in all probability survive . If an Asian Sloth Bear manages to maul you , then you will have a 50-50 chance of survival . If a Buri Ganga river crocodile attacks you on land , then you can probably escape it ( unless if it stealthily ambushes you. ) . However , if a royal Bengal tiger pounces on you , once then it will not stop mauling you until you are dead . This means that royal Bengal tiger attacks almost always result in fatalities .

There are only two kinds of royal Bengal tigers which have a propensity to actually kill a human being . The first is a wounded royal Bengal tiger which is being approached by a human being and the second is the royal Bengal tiger which has turned man eater .
A royal Bengal tiger may turn man eater for a single reason , a combination of reasons or no reason at all . Allow me to elaborate .

A royal Bengal tiger may get injured by a shikaree's bullet and turn man eater. In the old days of my youth , it was sadly common practice for local shikarees to wound game , but not actually follow up the wounded creature and finish it off . While wounding any animal without finishing it off is abominable , irresponsible and unsportsmanlike , this actually produced extremely dangerous long term consequences when the wounded animal happened to be a panther or a Royal Bengal Tiger .
This is because the wounds inflicted on these great cats would leave unable to hunt their ordinary quarry ( Muntjac deer or cheetal Deer in the case of leopards , sambhur deer or Neelgai in the case of royal Bengal tigers .) Thus , these panthers and Royal Bengal Tigers turn to man , as their source of food as they view man as a far weaker quarry and thus easy to attack and kill for food. Before hunting was banned in India due to the so called Wildlife Protection Act - 1972 , most local shikarees used to hunt with the Indian Ordinance Factories .315 Bore sporting rifle , which was built on a cheap Indian copy of the venerable British Lee Enfield action . Not only were these rifles complete trash ( just like everything made by Indian Ordinance Factories ) but their 244 grain soft point bullets were propelled at velocities under 2000 feet per second . As a result , more often than not , local Indian shikarees who attempted to hunt animals with these foul rifles , ended up wounding many animals without being able to properly finish them off ( including royal Bengal tigers , the subject of this article ). As a result man eating royal Bengal tigers during my youth were as rancid as a viral disease.
This is a photograph taken by my loyal servant , Ponual of a brace of man eating royal Bengal tigers , killed by my maternal grandfather , Sepoy Jalaluddin Khan and myself ( pictured ) . What a thrilling way to spend time with your maternal grand father ... hunting man eating royal Bengal tigers !

A 2nd reason why a royal Bengal tiger becomes a man eater may be if it gets stabbed in the paws or some other part of the body by porcupine quills. Porcupine quills cause severe pain and disturbance to any creature who is stabbed by them . Initially , this may seem to be a very rare occurrence . However , it happens a great deal more frequently than sportsmen care to think.



A 3rd reason may be if a royal Bengal tiger somehow comes across a human corpse and takes a few bites from it , out of morbid curiosity . In India , during my youth an unfortunate reality was that many Hindus of the lowest caste working in factories or rubber plantations were simply not given a proper cremation if they died . Their corpses were simply dumped into rivers . The current of these rivers would often cause the corpses to wash up on the river banks near forests .
Curious royal Bengal tigers would bite off chunks of these corpses and then become man eaters. During the Bangladesh Liberation war of 1971 , thousands of human corpses would get thrown into the Meghna and Jamuna rivers which found their way into the Sundarban man grove forests. As a result , for the next few years after the 1971 Liberation War , man eating royal Bengal tigers were rancid in the Khulna division of Bangladesh . I have a friend who successfully shot no less than 10 man eating royal Bengal tigers , which were terrorizing the villages around the Sundarban forests from 1972 to 1977 . He is quite an interesting fellow , and l am certain that he would be privileged to join this web site some day .

A 4th reason why royal Bengal tigers may become man eaters is if their mothers were man eaters and got the young royal Bengal tigers accustomed to the eating of human flesh ,since they were cubs . This reason is actually the most difficult reason to pin point , since there are no blemishes on the royal Bengal tiger's body which might act as a visual aid .

A 5th reason why a royal Bengal tiger may turn into a man eater is if it's natural food ( for example , sambhur deer or cheetal deer ) is no longer available to it . This may either be caused by uncontrolled hunting or deforestation which causes the sambur deer or cheetal deer to move out of the area.

Finally , a royal Bengal tiger may become a man eater for no apparent reason whatsoever.


What is clear however , is that once a royal Bengal tiger has gotten the taste of human flesh , it will eschew all other forms of meat in favor of the flesh of man . They will often travel miles to find their quarry. Thus , a royal Bengal tiger which has turned man eater must be put down .

The easiest way to determine whether a human victim was killed by a man eating royal Bengal tiger or simply ran afoul of a royal Bengal tiger which attacked them on instinct , is by examining the buttocks of the corpse . A man eating royal Bengal tiger will ALWAYS and without exception , consume the flesh from the victim's buttocks . A royal Bengal tiger which instinctively kills a human being will only claw and bite their victim from the front side , but will not touch the buttocks .

Kawshik will probably throw a fit if he reads me criticize his favorite Stewart Granger film . However , l feel that l must point out a very large inaccuracy depicted in the film " Harry Black & The Tiger " . While it is an excellent film ( and Stewart Granger's double barreled .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre rifle in the film is what got me 1st interested into double barreled rifles as a teen ager. ) , the film gets 1 thing extremely wrong .
If any of you have ever watched " Harry Black & The Tiger " , then you will recall a scene where the brute mauls Stewart Granger's character , but suddenly jumps off him and escapes into the forest . In real life , this would never happen . If a royal Bengal tiger pounces on you , then it will not stop mauling you until you are dead . Or until someone manages to shoot him off you.
Here is a photograph taken from the internet of that infamous scene.

Coming up next ... " Tracking Royal Bengal Tigers " .

 

[Major Khan]

Tracking The Royal Bengal Tiger

There is a saying in West Bengal , “ Shombor horeen jabe jekhane , Baagh jabe shekhane “ ( Where goes the sambhur deer , there goes the royal Bengal tiger . )
The sambhur deer being the natural food of the royal Bengal tiger , the royal Bengal tiger will always inhibit areas where populations of sambhur deer are high . This is a key trick to be able to gauge the area where 1 is most likely going to able to find a royal Bengal tiger .

It must be remembered that these are extremely heavy brutes and thus their paw prints will be quite visible on soil suitable enough to leave an imprint .
When hunting a royal Bengal tiger which is a man eater , some times the paw prints themselves will be a dead give away , as to what ailment the brute is suffering .


If you wish to track a royal Bengal tiger , then having Garo trackers is a God send .
These are tribal people who live in the hills of the Indian sub continent and l can say with 100 % certainty that if you have these people to track your royal Bengal tiger ( or indeed , any game ) for you , then they will absolutely , positively guarantee you a royal Bengal tiger.
To quote my good friend , Kawshik " If is as if Garo trackers have been blessed by Divine Providence itself with the inhuman ability to track down any beast , large or small . " These people are extremely alert , vigilant and observant. They are fiercely loyal and will willingly put themselves in harm's way to save their employer ( the professional shikaree ) . They have no greed whatsoever and only demand 1 thing from the professional shikaree at the end of the shikar : The testicles of the royal Bengal tiger , which the Garo tribes men believe is an aphrodisiac which boosts their sexual prowess . I believe that l can safely say this on behalf of every member of these forums , but l do not think that any of us here would ever have a problem with giving our trackers the testicles of the royal Bengal tiger.

Unfortunately , these loyal tribes men only inhibit the hills of West Bengal .
In Nagpur , where l was based , l had to make do with Shawtaal trackers . These people were also greatly skilled . However , by the mid 1960s they had developed an uncontrolled addiction to liquor and this severely jeopardized their competence in the field ( and their honesty ) .
If you wanted Shawtaal trackers who were any good for the task at hand , then you HAD to make sure that your men were sober for the tracking tasks , at least 2 days prior to the shikar.
Here is a photograph taken by myself of our loyal Shawtaal trackers , Mintu and his elder son , Devashish. Since Mintu made it a point to always only consume liquor AFTER a successful shikar was over , l always knew that l could rely on him . And true enough . He never let me down when tracking any game , large or small.

Royal Bengal tigers are largely territorial creatures. Once they find an area where there are plenty of sambhur deer or boars or cheetal deer , then they will keep frequenting that area again and again .

If the royal Bengal tiger happens to be a man eater and it finds a village or settlement where it can easily prey on human victims , then in all probability , it will keep frequenting the area.

Here is a photograph taken by myself of the paw prints of the very 1st man eating royal Bengal tiger which l had ever shot in my life , in 1961 .

Let us play a game . I want you all to take a close look at these paw prints and try to guess why this royal Bengal tiger became a man eater. If you cannot guess , then no problem. It is just a game. I will provide the answer at the end of this article.

Coming up next ... " Beats "

 

[Pondoro]

Major..this is a bit off topic, but I found this on Youtube..

After Your article is finished...could you please tell us about the hunt for asiatic lion in India..?

I knew about pig sticking as sport for British officers….but hunting leopard With Spears is pretty hilarious… They must have been very bored for doing something like that..

 

[Major Khan]

Beats

The most popular method for drawing out a royal Bengal tiger was to organize a beat. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of beats , please allow me to elaborate :
A group of trackers would narrow down the general forested area where a royal Bengal tiger may be lurking . Then , the professional shikaree (s) would hire anywhere from 4 dozen to 5 dozen villagers and give them a series of instructions.
Here is a photograph of my good friend , Kawshik organizing a group of beaters for a royal Bengal tiger shikar.

The beaters would comb through the entire patch of forested area in a single row ( with each beater being 5 metres apart from the other ) loudly beating drums and blowing flutes . The whole concept was to " spook " the royal Bengal tiger away from the beaters , so that it would move towards the other end of the forest , where the shooter(s) would be waiting , invariably on macchans .
Here is a photograph taken by myself of a typical macchan where a shikaree would wait , for the royal Bengal tiger to be flushed out towards him by the beaters

Here is a photograph of a group of beaters whom l had hired once to conduct a beat and flush out a royal Bengal tiger for a client .

Now , every lover of Indian shikar who is familiar with the works of the great Jim Corbett or Sir Samuel White Baker always imagines a beat being conducted whenever a shikar for a royal Bengal tiger was being carried out. Infact , Stewart Granger's excellent cinematic piece " Harry Black and the tiger " infact illustrates , very accurately a how a beat for flushing out royal Bengal tigers would be conducted back in the old days.

However , the truth is that we professional shikarees used to HATE conducting beats . They were extremely labour intensive and costly . Gathering 5 dozen villagers to comb through a portion of the forested area , loudly blowing musical instruments in order to flush out a 500 pound royal Bengal tiger towards the direction of the shooter , is by no means an easy task , l can assure all of you. 1stly , getting all these villagers to agree to conduct the beat was quite challenging , especially when they were made aware of the fact that the animal in question is a 500 pound royal Bengal tiger. Upon knowing this , very few of them actually would decide to go forward with it , out of fear for their lives . And those who did agree to go forward with it , would often demand 200 - 300 more Rupees than what we were offering them to do the job . We always paid it a point to pay them AFTER the best had been conducted . Otherwise , there was always a risk of them taking the payment and then conveniently " disappearing " from the village on the day the beat was to be conducted.

The villagers were rowdy and undisciplined and would often start fighting with 1 another for the pettiest of reasons . Making them stay in 1 single row was a chore , in and of itself and it was not uncommon for them to break the line and flee for their lives during a beat if they so much as heard the growl of a royal Bengal tiger in the distance.

As a precaution , lest the royal Bengal tiger choose to turn and attack the beaters , 6 professional shikarees , armed with either rifles ( typically Indian Ordinance Factories .315 Bore bolt rifles ) or shot guns loaded with spherical ball cartridges ( typically Indian Ordinance Factories 12 Bore side by side shot guns) were posted to stay with the beaters at all times . When l began my career as a professional shikaree in Allwyn Cooper Limited , for the very 1st few years l was predominantly assigned to " Beat duty " and therefore l had to spend a great deal of time walking behind the beaters with my old Belgian shot gun to protect them , lest the royal Bengal tiger choose to move towards the beaters rather than away from them . The whole affair was extremely loud and the whole village would be disturbed by the loud noises , while the beat was being conducted ( often for up to 4 hours ) . Infact , my ear drums would almost always hurt and my head would always ache , for having to stay behind the beaters for a prolonged period of time.

Nevertheless , l have been on beat duty no less than 2 dozen times in my career.
Any client of Allwyn Cooper Limited , who opted for the classic " Fur & Feather " package had the option to choose whether their royal Bengal tiger should be drawn towards them by the option of baiting , or beating . Most chose beating and thus , organizing beats became a regular chore for the employees of Allwyn Cooper Limited.

Coming up next ... " Baits " .

 

[gesch]

Thank you for this great article.

 

[Major Khan]

Baiting

Unlike a panther , a royal Bengal tiger seldom ( if ever ) resorts to scavenging . Therefore , using dead animal baits to draw out a royal Bengal tiger will ( usually ) not work . Therefore , it is imperative that live bait be used .
A Bullock or a goat , are very sensible options for using as live bait . In the days of Old India , virtually every farmers kept a Bullock or 2 , to graze on their land and to aid with ploughing. Few farmers in India had tractors back in those days and thus bullocks were invariably used for ploughing the crop fields . However , a Bullock used to cost 30 Rupees back in those days , which was quite expensive .

A more affordable option would be to use goats as live bait. Most villagers used to keep a goat or 2 around , as a source of fresh milk.The most economical of these , was an old she goat which had stopped giving milk . Such a goat would cost 15 rupees . If you brought the goat back to the farmer unblemished , then you could get back 10 Rupees .

Here is a photograph taken by myself of a dead bullock , which was partially eaten by a royal Bengal tiger. Note the bite marks .

What you do , is this : You ( make your trackers ) look for an area where you see royal Bengal tiger tracks leading towards ( or out of ) a cave or nullah . Then , you tie the goat to a tree .
The father of fellow forum member , @Timbo ( who actually hunted in India ) used a variation of this method . He would tie the goat to a tree and make the goat stand on a kitchen table ( but more on this method later .)

Once , you have tied the goat to the tree , it is imperative that you move out of the goat's sight . Only when the goat is convinced that it is all alone , does it begin to bleat , and it is this bleating which attracts the royal Bengal tiger .
Royal Bengal tigers feed mostly during the day time ( save for man eaters ) . while forest panthers feed predominantly at night . This is fortunate for the forest panther , because , if the royal Bengal tiger and the forest panther chose to feed at the same time , then the royal Bengal tiger will kill the forest panther .

If you wish to bait a man eating royal Bengal tiger , then it is imperative that you use a human corpse , preferably a fresh 1 on which Rigor Mortis has not yet begun .

READER DISCRETION ADVISED :

THE FOLLOWING IS EXTREMELY GRAPHICAL AND MAY UNSETTLE SOME READERS . THEREFORE , IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH , THEN PLEASE READ NO FURTHER AND SKIP TO THE NEXT POST .




I am going to talk a bit about how to prepare a human corpse as bait for a man eating royal Bengal tiger ( or panther . )
Back in the old days , Hindus of the lowest caste were treated as inferior beings by Hindus of the higher castes.
Therefore , the lower caste Hindus were perceived by the higher caste Hindus as little better than animals. If a Hindu of the lowest caste died ( for example a factory worker , farm hand or sewage cleaner . ) , and they had no family members to claim the corpse , then the corpse would be given to the students of the local medical college , to use as cadavers . You could purchase a human corpse from them for 45 to 50 Rupees depending on the condition of the human corpse .

The ideal corpse to use , is 1 which has not yet begun to delve into Rigor Mortis .
The corpse should be taken to the area where you plan to bait the royal Bengal tiger without having the entrails removed .
Once , you are at the area where you plan to bait the royal Bengal tiger , then you slice open the stomach of the human corpse and remove all of the entrails ( be sure to wear gloves while carrying out this task . ) . Human intestines are roughly 35 feet in length and care should be taken to remove all of the intestines and organs from within the human corpse. These entrails should be smeared on all of the trees around the bait area . The human corpse should then be dressed in pre worn clothing ( to ensure that they still have a strong human scent on them . ) Then , the corpse should be made to sit upright , as if it is sitting in a natural position.

A word of caution is imperative here. If you are using a female corpse as bait , make sure never to leave your coolies alone with the female corpse . On more than 1 occasion , l was unfortunate enough to catch them molesting the corpse . Why these people are attracted to sexual deviancy with a rotting corpse, is anybody's guess. According to my dearly deceased friend and former fellow professional shikaree , the late Tobin Stakkatz , and my good friend and fellow forum member and former fellow professional shikaree , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman , this was a rather common occurrence among the village men whom we would use as coolies.

I sincerely apologise to all of my dear readers for all of the grotesque detail which l have provided . Fortunately , using human corpses nowadays , as bait for man eaters is relegated to history and is now a thing of the past . To the best of my knowledge , no 1 has used a human corpse as bait for a man eater , since 1974. I initially was hesitant to provide this information. However , my good friend , @Captain Nwz suggested that l should disclose this information to my readers , as a method of keeping a historical record if nothing else , at all.

Coming up next ... " Shooting The Royal Bengal Tiger " .

 

[Shootist43]

Very interesting, I'm looking forward to the next installment.

 

[ryan80]

Thank you Poton for sharing these details, though they are very disturbing.

 

[WizzyH]

A very interesting and informative series of posts! I look forward to the next installment.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Baiting

Unlike a panther , a royal Bengal tiger seldom ( if ever ) resorts to scavenging . Therefore , using dead animal baits to draw out a royal Bengal tiger will ( usually ) not work . Therefore , it is imperative that live bait be used .
A Bullock or a goat , are very sensible options for using as live bait . In the days of Old India , virtually every farmers kept a Bullock or 2 , to graze on their land and to aid with ploughing. Few farmers in India had tractors back in those days and thus bullocks were invariably used for ploughing the crop fields . However , a Bullock used to cost 30 Rupees back in those days , which was quite expensive .

A more affordable option would be to use goats as live bait. Most villagers used to keep a goat or 2 around , as a source of fresh milk.The most economical of these , was an old she goat which had stopped giving milk . Such a goat would cost 15 rupees . If you brought the goat back to the farmer unblemished , then you could get back 10 Rupees .

Here is a photograph taken by myself of a dead bullock , which was partially eaten by a royal Bengal tiger. Note the bite marks .
View attachment 327397

What you do , is this : You ( make your trackers ) look for an area where you see royal Bengal tiger tracks leading towards ( or out of ) a cave or nullah . Then , you tie the goat to a tree .
The father of fellow forum member , @Timbo ( who actually hunted in India ) used a variation of this method . He would tie the goat to a tree and make the goat stand on a kitchen table ( but more on this method later .)

Once , you have tied the goat to the tree , it is imperative that you move out of the goat's sight . Only when the goat is convinced that it is all alone , does it begin to bleat , and it is this bleating which attracts the royal Bengal tiger .
Royal Bengal tigers feed mostly during the day time ( save for man eaters ) . while forest panthers feed predominantly at night . This is fortunate for the forest panther , because , if the royal Bengal tiger and the forest panther chose to feed at the same time , then the royal Bengal tiger will kill the forest panther .

If you wish to bait a man eating royal Bengal tiger , then it is imperative that you use a human corpse , preferably a fresh 1 on which Rigor Mortis has not yet begun .

READER DISCRETION ADVISED :

THE FOLLOWING IS EXTREMELY GRAPHICAL AND MAY UNSETTLE SOME READERS . THEREFORE , IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH , THEN PLEASE READ NO FURTHER AND SKIP TO THE NEXT POST .




I am going to talk a bit about how to prepare a human corpse as bait for a man eating royal Bengal tiger ( or panther . )
Back in the old days , Hindus of the lowest caste were treated as inferior beings by Hindus of the higher castes.
Therefore , the lower caste Hindus were perceived by the higher caste Hindus as little better than animals. If a Hindu of the lowest caste died ( for example a factory worker , farm hand or sewage cleaner . ) , and they had no family members to claim the corpse , then the corpse would be given to the students of the local medical college , to use as cadavers . You could purchase a human corpse from them for 45 to 50 Rupees depending on the condition of the human corpse .

The ideal corpse to use , is 1 which has not yet begun to delve into Rigor Mortis .
The corpse should be taken to the area where you plan to bait the royal Bengal tiger without having the entrails removed .
Once , you are at the area where you plan to bait the royal Bengal tiger , then you slice open the stomach of the human corpse and remove all of the entrails ( be sure to wear gloves while carrying out this task . ) . Human intestines are roughly 35 feet in length and care should be taken to remove all of the intestines and organs from within the human corpse. These entrails should be smeared on all of the trees around the bait area . The human corpse should then be dressed in pre worn clothing ( to ensure that they still have a strong human scent on them . ) Then , the corpse should be made to sit upright , as if it is sitting in a natural position.

A word of caution is imperative here. If you are using a female corpse as bait , make sure never to leave your coolies alone with the female corpse . On more than 1 occasion , l was unfortunate enough to catch them molesting the corpse . Why these people are attracted to sexual deviancy with a rotting corpse, is anybody's guess. According to my dearly deceased friend and former fellow professional shikaree , the late Tobin Stakkatz , and my good friend and fellow forum member and former fellow professional shikaree , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman , this was a rather common occurrence among the village men whom we would use as coolies.

I sincerely apologise to all of my dear readers for all of the grotesque detail which l have provided . Fortunately , using human corpses nowadays , as bait for man eaters is relegated to history and is now a thing of the past . To the best of my knowledge , no 1 has used a human corpse as bait for a man eater , since 1974. I initially was hesitant to provide this information. However , my good friend , @Captain Nwz suggested that l should disclose this information to my readers , as a method of keeping a historical record if nothing else , at all.

Coming up next ... " Shooting The Royal Bengal Tiger " .

Friend Ponton
Drastic times call for drastic measures. It is a part of life that has been relegated to the the annals of history. Without these facts your story would lose out on the history of the time. Yes these things happened in the past so did a lot of other horrific things. They may not be nice but I'm sure the method of baiting back then saved countless lives.
Thank you for you accurate account of life in that eara and not letting political correctness influence your story on the royal Bengal tiger.
Cheers friend Ponton
Bob

 

[mark-hunter]

I have a question. Specifically for man eating tiger. Is it still possoble to hunt maneating tiger by beating, or by waiting above waterhole?

 

[Major Khan]

Shooting The Royal Bengal Tiger

We now come to my favorite part of this article .... The part where we talk about shooting these great cats .
> Shot Placement
These are the regions on a royal Bengal tiger's body , which a shikaree should take aim at :
1) The heart
2) Both lungs
3) The spinal column
4) The head

On an unsuspecting royal Bengal tiger , the ideal shot for the novice client shikaree to attempt is the double lung shot . This shot should always be attempted when the shikaree is facing the royal Bengal tiger from a broad side position . A perfectly aimed shot which pierces both lungs will prove fatal quite swiftly , but not instantly . A royal Bengal tiger which has had both it's lungs pierced by a quality expanding bullet , will roughly go 120 to 130 yards , coughing blood from it's mouth and nose , before collapsing lifeless. An advantage of the double lung shot , is that ( on account of the large target being presented ) it is the easiest shot for the novice to attempt .
For all of my beginner clients , my advice would always be to opt for the double lung shot .

Another considerably more effective shot , albeit 1 that should only be attempted by a skilled operator , is the heart shot . When facing the royal Bengal tiger from a broadside position , the shikaree's point of aim ( in order for his bullet to reach the heart ) should be the upper part of the fore leg , behind the shoulder . It is imperative that the bullet be of premium quality , which will hold together , as it pierces the brute's fore leg bone and then expands inside it's heart.
When opting for a heart shot on a royal Bengal tiger from the front side , the shikaree must take care to remember that the heart is located at the base of the royal Bengal tiger's chest , tucked between the 2 fore legs .

The spinal column of the royal Bengal tiger is the most vulnerable part of a royal Bengal tiger . However , it is also the most difficult part of the royal Bengal tiger's body for the shikaree's bullet to reach . The only position from which a shikaree can take aim at the royal Bengal tiger's spinal column , is if the shikaree is shooting from an elevated position and the royal Bengal tiger has it's back turned to the shikaree's direction .

The head of the royal Bengal tiger should only be selected as a target , when facing a royal Bengal tiger from the front . Personally speaking , this was my favorite region to aim for , when shooting charging royal Bengal tigers , because a bullet which penetrates the brain of the royal Bengal tiger brings instant death to it . The point of aim should always be in the region between both of the eyes . However , this is not the easiest shot to make , on account of the small size of the target ( if the royal Bengal tiger is moving while the shikaree is attempting this shot , then it only makes things worse . ) . I would only recommend this shot for a professional shikaree or a client shikaree with a great deal of experience in using brain shots.

> Adequate Armaments
We now come to the question of what makes good royal Bengal tiger rifle calibres .
My client , Mr. Tom Bolack ( Governor of New Mexico ) successfully took this 503 pound royal Bengal tiger with a single 130 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet fired from his .270 Winchester calibre pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle. Here is a photograph taken by Kawshik of Mr. Bolack and the head mount of the slain brute .

However , this marvellous feat does not even hold a candle to what the gentleman below , accomplished.

In my 10 year career as a professional shikaree , the smallest calibre rifle which l have ever seen a client successfully use to hunt a royal Bengal tiger was a .243 Winchester calibre Savage Model 110 bolt rifle , loaded with 105 grain soft point Winchester bullets . This was also the very 1st client in my life whom l had guided with Kawshik , in 1963. Here is a photograph taken by Kawshik of our victorious client.

Now , men who can work wonders with the .243 Winchester and .270 Winchester calibre rifles on large dangerous game , are certainly to be envied. However , these great men are the exception and not the rule. The mere mortal man should not tempt fate , by going after these 500 pound vicious brutes with such small calibres.

For me personally , 5 calibres qualify as the perfect royal Bengal tiger calibres . Below , l have listed them in ascending order :
1) .338 Winchester magnum , using a 250 to 300 grain bullet .
2) 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser , using a 286 grain bullet.
3) 9.3 × 74 Rimmed , using a 286 grain bullet.
4) .375 Nitro Express / Mannlicher , using a 270 grain bullet.

5) .375 Holland & Holland magnum , using a 300 grain bullet .

By far , the most popular calibre used by roughly 70 % of all of my clients for successfully hunting royal Bengal tigers , was the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre . Today , judging by the posts of most of my brother sports men on African Hunting forums , the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre is the gold standard of rifle calibres for the visiting client hunter to use on an African safari (Smart people ! ).


When l was guiding clients in Nagpur , the minimum legally permissible calibre for use on royal Bengal tigers , in the state of Nagpur was the .375 Mannlicher / Nitro Express . However , in many other states of India , such laws did not exist . Infact , even in Nagpur , these laws were not strictly enforced .

Below , is a photograph kindly provided by my good friend , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman of 1 of his Continental European clients who successfully took this royal Bengal tiger with a 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser calibre bolt rifle .

While l have no experience with the .35 Whelen calibre , my good friend , @Shootist43 tells me that it is quite similar to the 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser calibre and therefore , l do believe that it would make a perfectly acceptable calibre for royal Bengal tigers .

You can obviously go higher than .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre if you wish . However , l believe that there is no need ( unless of course , the larger calibre rifle happens to be what you have on hand ) . If you cannot kill your royal Bengal tiger with a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre rifle , then you cannot kill it with a .600 Nitro Express calibre rifle either.

Here is a photograph of 1 of Kawshik's clients , who dispatched this royal Bengal tiger with a .458 Winchester magnum calibre double barreled side by side rifle , built by the British company , Holland & Holland .

Among bolt rifles , my favorite rifle for royal Bengal tigers would have to be , hands down , the pre 64 Winchester Model 70 chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre with a heavy " Bull barrel " . However , any good bolt action rifle with reliable feeding and extraction will do.
Were l to choose a double barreled rifle for royal Bengal tigers , l would opt for the Belgian company , Lebeau Courally ( l love their work ! ) .
Such a rifle would be in a side by side configuration , with a beaver tail fore end , double triggers , no automatic safety and barrels not longer than 24 inches. It would be chambered in .450/400 Nitro Express , regulated for the 400 grain bullet .
While l have no experience with the .404 Jeffery , my layman's knowledge of ballistics leads me to understand that it is merely a bolt rifle version of the .450 / 400 Nitro Express which l have personal experience with. Thus , a .404 Jeffery calibre bolt rifle would certainly be a very welcome tool for dispatching royal Bengal tigers .

Whether or not you wish to use a bolt rifle or a double barreled rifle for hunting royal Bengal tigers , is purely a matter of personal preference and depends solely upon what the operator is comfortable with. My maternal grand father , Sepoy Jalaluddin Khan used a .405 Winchester calibre Model 1895 lever rifle , loaded with 300 grain soft point ICI Kynoch cartridges to dispatch 2 man eating royal Bengal tigers in his life. My former superior , the great Rao Naidu of Hyderabad used to use a double barreled side by side rifle , made by the English company , Westley Richards , chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre.

Personally , all of the wounded royal Bengal tigers , which l have dispatched in my career as a professional shikaree , were with my " Old Belgian " pictured below. However , l only used it because l did not have access to a proper rifle . To it's credit , it NEVER let me down , even once in my life .

It is a Belgian 12 Bore double barreled side by side shot gun with 3 inch chambers , extractors and 28 inch long barrels ( The left barrel was fully choked. The right barrel was a modified choke . ) I loaded this gun with 3 inch Eley Alphamax cartridges , hand loaded with 1 ounce spherical balls of hardened lead .
At close range ( say , less than 15 feet ) , a shot from this gun aimed at the head of a wounded , charging royal Bengal tiger ( at the region between both of the eyes ) would drop a royal Bengal tiger instantly when the ball penetrated into the brute's brain . However , l do not recommend this practice for anyone who has access to a proper centre fire calibre rifle .

If you want to look at the extreme end of Armaments used to kill a royal Bengal tiger , then just take a look at this photograph.

This is the last of the 4 royal Bengal tigers killed by my good friend , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman in 1969 . It is also 1 of the 2 royal Bengal tigers killed by Kawshik using 2 SG cartridges in his Indian Ordinance Factories 12 Bore double barreled side by side shot gun . For those of you gentlemen who use the American measurement for shot sizes ... SG is the equivalent of American 00 buck shot. A 2.75 inch 12 Bore SG cartridge holds 12 copper plated pellets , each being of .33 calibre . What is more flat out terrifying about Kawshik is that he is (to my knowledge ) the ONLY person to ever successfully stop a charging royal Bengal tiger with SG cartridges to protect 1 of his clients . Among all of the members of Bangladesh Shooting Federation , this is the 1 single feat which made Kawshik 1 of our most revered members. Kawshik himself , being the incredibly modest human being whom he is , refuses to attribute his success to anything more than sheer luck . However , all of us know that there was a considerable amount of skill involved In Kawshik’s part .Whenever we all praise Kawshik about this feat , Kawshik simply replies “ Shahib ke bacchate hoyechilo. Ek bar kore par peye geyechi . Ar kono din korbo na “ ( I had to stop that thing from making a meal out of my client . I got extremely fortunate once. However , l will never do it again . ) Make no mistake gentlemen . Buck shot is for nothing larger than Muntjac deer . Avoid this sort of ammunition for royal Bengal tigers at all costs.


> Correct Ammunition Choices
Around 3 months ago , a pair of “ Trolls “ from India attacked Kawshik by commenting on 1 of his article in these forums . They claimed to be “ modern day government appointed hunters “ in India who currently deal with man eating royal Bengal tigers and panthers. I was , at the time , not yet a a member of these forums , but l would read all of Kawshik’s articles on these forums . Kawshik , being the mild mannered and simple minded innocent gentleman that he is , genuinely assumed that these “ trolls “ were actually who they were claiming to be. Thus , he was baffled as to why they were trying to discredit him. For 2 weeks , a very public argument raged on , between Kawshik and the " Trolls " . Then , 1 day l pointed something out to Kawshik . I asked him , " Ei shalara ashole Baagh er shikaree hole , ora sheesha er guli diye Baagh marar kotha bole keno . Kawshik , tara toke boka banacche . " ( Kawshik you simpleton , these bastards are making a fool out of you. If these people are actually real hunters of royal Bengal tigers and panthers , then why are they claiming that they use solid bullets for killing the great cats ? ) . Kawshik immediately realized that l was correct in my speculation and he caught on to the idea that these so - called " government appointed hunters " were nothing but " Trolls " and fakes. Being professional shikarees , both Kawshik and l ( and indeed anyone who has ever hunted panthers or royal Bengal tigers . ) knew from a very young age , that you always use quality soft point bullets for royal Bengal tigers. With the help of a few other helpful and supportive forum members , Kawshik successfully shut down both the " Trolls " . However , shortly after that Kawshik stopped writing new articles on African Hunting forums ( although , he remains a regular poster on these forums . )

For royal Bengal tigers , only premium quality soft point bullets should be used. During our time , hands down , the FINEST bullets for use on royal Bengal tigers was the Winchester Silvertip soft point cartridges . A .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet can crumple a 500 pound royal Bengal tiger , all day , any day . They would open up perfectly inside the vital organs of the brute and and make short work of it .
These Winchester Silvertip soft point cartridges were so devastatingly efficient on royal Bengal tigers , that we professional shikarees affectionately nick named them , " Baagh er Guli " ( Tiger Bullets ) .

Below , is a pair of photographs taken from the internet of a box Winchester Silvertip soft point cartridges . Chances are , that if any of you fine gentlemen remember these , then you are at least 50 years old.

There was another extremely popular make of soft point cartridges available during our time , which was dastardly efficient for making short work of royal Bengal tigers - The Remington Core Lokt soft point cartridges . These were every bit as efficient as the Winchester Silvertip soft point bullets. As a matter of fact , they are still in production today . Here is a photograph taken from the internet of a box of Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets.

Another excellent manufacturer of quality soft point bullets , during our time was Hornady . Yes... Hornady actually used to be an A grade brand , during our time . The steel " jackets " with which their bullets used to be constructed were of an extremely fine quality . Unfortunately , the Hornady of today no longer holds a candle to what the great company once used to be . There have been over a hundred independent reports of Hornady dangerous game ammunition failing miserably in the shikar field in modern times ( many of these reports were by our very own African Hunting forum members ).

Below , is a photograph taken from the internet of a box of Hornady soft point cartridges.

Among European companies , the German company , RWS was particularly renowned for their soft point bullets.
Here is a photograph taken from the internet of a box of RWS soft point cartridges .

In the 1980s , more than a decade after l had retired from being a professional shikaree , my good friend , the late Tobin Stakkatz showed me some new excellent soft point ammunition on the American market named " Trophy Bonded Bear Claw " soft point bullets . What really impressed me about the " Trophy Bonded Bear Claw " bullets was that the steel " jackets " were chemically bonded to their lead interior and this was a revolutionary idea ( at the time. ) The gentleman who designed these bullets , Mr. Jack Carter was truly a genius in his own right. I have heard a few rumours about the quality of Trophy Bonded Bullets deteriorating in quality , in recent years. However , l am ( at this time ) unable to confirm the accuracy of these rumours .

Here is a photograph taken from the internet , of a box of Trophy Bonded Bear Claw soft point bullets .

Today , many new excellent soft point bullets of flawless quality exist on the market which l often read about on African Hunting forums , but have no personal experience with.

I see glowing reports about the Swift A frame soft point bullet and the Barnes TSX soft point bullet . Based on my layman's knowledge of Ballistics , l am confident that either of these bullets would make short work of a royal Bengal tiger. If there are any other excellent soft point bullets on today's market which l am not aware of , then please do educate me , dear readers. I consider it a privilege.


Coming up next ... " Field Dressing The Royal Bengal Tiger . "

 

[Tubby’s Canteen]

@Major Khan i wonder if the person or persons whom troubled our good friend @Kawshik Rahman are still lurking about. If they are I should like to have harsh words with them.

There is a saying my farther was fond of, "illigetimi non carborundum" it is a slang Latin term. It was originally attributable to British intelligence officers during world war 2. Roughly translates to " don't let the bastards grind you down" I believe it would be good advice for our dear friend. I know many of us where very fond of the articles he posted and I will be the first to say any whom attacked his character where of the lowest sort.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Shooting The Royal Bengal Tiger

We now come to my favorite part of this article .... The part where we talk about shooting these great cats .
> Shot Placement
These are the regions on a royal Bengal tiger's body , which a shikaree should take aim at :
1) The heart
2) Both lungs
3) The spinal column
4) The head

On an unsuspecting royal Bengal tiger , the ideal shot for the novice client shikaree to attempt is the double lung shot . This shot should always be attempted when the shikaree is facing the royal Bengal tiger from a broad side position . A perfectly aimed shot which pierces both lungs will prove fatal quite swiftly , but not instantly . A royal Bengal tiger which has had both it's lungs pierced by a quality expanding bullet , will roughly go 120 to 130 yards , coughing blood from it's mouth and nose , before collapsing lifeless. An advantage of the double lung shot , is that ( on account of the large target being presented ) it is the easiest shot for the novice to attempt .
For all of my beginner clients , my advice would always be to opt for the double lung shot .

Another considerably more effective shot , albeit 1 that should only be attempted by a skilled operator , is the heart shot . When facing the royal Bengal tiger from a broadside position , the shikaree's point of aim ( in order for his bullet to reach the heart ) should be the upper part of the fore leg , behind the shoulder . It is imperative that the bullet be of premium quality , which will hold together , as it pierces the brute's fore leg bone and then expands inside it's heart.
When opting for a heart shot on a royal Bengal tiger from the front side , the shikaree must take care to remember that the heart is located at the base of the royal Bengal tiger's chest , tucked between the 2 fore legs .

The spinal column of the royal Bengal tiger is the most vulnerable part of a royal Bengal tiger . However , it is also the most difficult part of the royal Bengal tiger's body for the shikaree's bullet to reach . The only position from which a shikaree can take aim at the royal Bengal tiger's spinal column , is if the shikaree is shooting from an elevated position and the royal Bengal tiger has it's back turned to the shikaree's direction .

The head of the royal Bengal tiger should only be selected as a target , when facing a royal Bengal tiger from the front . Personally speaking , this was my favorite region to aim for , when shooting charging royal Bengal tigers , because a bullet which penetrates the brain of the royal Bengal tiger brings instant death to it . The point of aim should always be in the region between both of the eyes . However , this is not the easiest shot to make , on account of the small size of the target ( if the royal Bengal tiger is moving while the shikaree is attempting this shot , then it only makes things worse . ) . I would only recommend this shot for a professional shikaree or a client shikaree with a great deal of experience in using brain shots.

> Adequate Armaments
We now come to the question of what makes good royal Bengal tiger rifle calibres .
My client , Mr. Tom Bolack ( Governor of New Mexico ) successfully took this 503 pound royal Bengal tiger with a single 130 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet fired from his .270 Winchester calibre pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle. Here is a photograph taken by Kawshik of Mr. Bolack and the head mount of the slain brute .
View attachment 327421
However , this marvellous feat does not even hold a candle to what the gentleman below , accomplished.

In my 10 year career as a professional shikaree , the smallest calibre rifle which l have ever seen a client successfully use to hunt a royal Bengal tiger was a .243 Winchester calibre Savage Model 110 bolt rifle , loaded with 105 grain soft point Winchester bullets . This was also the very 1st client in my life whom l had guided with Kawshik , in 1963. Here is a photograph taken by Kawshik of our victorious client.
View attachment 327420

Now , men who can work wonders with the .243 Winchester and .270 Winchester calibre rifles on large dangerous game , are certainly to be envied. However , these great men are the exception and not the rule. The mere mortal man should not tempt fate , by going after these 500 pound vicious brutes with such small calibres.

For me personally , 5 calibres qualify as the perfect royal Bengal tiger calibres . Below , l have listed them in ascending order :
1) .338 Winchester magnum , using a 250 to 300 grain bullet .
2) 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser , using a 286 grain bullet.
3) 9.3 × 74 Rimmed , using a 286 grain bullet.
4) .375 Nitro Express / Mannlicher , using a 270 grain bullet.

5) .375 Holland & Holland magnum , using a 300 grain bullet .

By far , the most popular calibre used by roughly 70 % of all of my clients for successfully hunting royal Bengal tigers , was the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre . Today , judging by the posts of most of my brother sports men on African Hunting forums , the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre is the gold standard of rifle calibres for the visiting client hunter to use on an African safari (Smart people ! ).


When l was guiding clients in Nagpur , the minimum legally permissible calibre for use on royal Bengal tigers , in the state of Nagpur was the .375 Mannlicher / Nitro Express . However , in many other states of India , such laws did not exist . Infact , even in Nagpur , these laws were not strictly enforced .

Below , is a photograph kindly provided by my good friend , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman of 1 of his Continental European clients who successfully took this royal Bengal tiger with a 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser calibre bolt rifle .
View attachment 327429

While l have no experience with the .35 Whelen calibre , my good friend , @Shootist43 tells me that it is quite similar to the 9.3 × 62 mm Mauser calibre and therefore , l do believe that it would make a perfectly acceptable calibre for royal Bengal tigers .

You can obviously go higher than .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre if you wish . However , l believe that there is no need ( unless of course , the larger calibre rifle happens to be what you have on hand ) . If you cannot kill your royal Bengal tiger with a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre rifle , then you cannot kill it with a .600 Nitro Express calibre rifle either.

Here is a photograph of 1 of Kawshik's clients , who dispatched this royal Bengal tiger with a .458 Winchester magnum calibre double barreled side by side rifle , built by the British company , Holland & Holland .
View attachment 327435

Among bolt rifles , my favorite rifle for royal Bengal tigers would have to be , hands down , the pre 64 Winchester Model 70 chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre with a heavy " Bull barrel " . However , any good bolt action rifle with reliable feeding and extraction will do.
Were l to choose a double barreled rifle for royal Bengal tigers , l would opt for the Belgian company , Lebeau Courally ( l love their work ! ) .
Such a rifle would be in a side by side configuration , with a beaver tail fore end , double triggers , no automatic safety and barrels not longer than 24 inches. It would be chambered in .450/400 Nitro Express , regulated for the 400 grain bullet .
While l have no experience with the .404 Jeffery , my layman's knowledge of ballistics leads me to understand that it is merely a bolt rifle version of the .450 / 400 Nitro Express which l have personal experience with. Thus , a .404 Jeffery calibre bolt rifle would certainly be a very welcome tool for dispatching royal Bengal tigers .

Whether or not you wish to use a bolt rifle or a double barreled rifle for hunting royal Bengal tigers , is purely a matter of personal preference and depends solely upon what the operator is comfortable with. My maternal grand father , Sepoy Jalaluddin Khan used a .405 Winchester calibre Model 1895 lever rifle , loaded with 300 grain soft point ICI Kynoch cartridges to dispatch 2 man eating royal Bengal tigers in his life. My former superior , the great Rao Naidu of Hyderabad used to use a double barreled side by side rifle , made by the English company , Westley Richards , chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre.

Personally , all of the wounded royal Bengal tigers , which l have dispatched in my career as a professional shikaree , were with my " Old Belgian " pictured below. However , l only used it because l did not have access to a proper rifle . To it's credit , it NEVER let me down , even once in my life .
View attachment 327441
It is a Belgian 12 Bore double barreled side by side shot gun with 3 inch chambers , extractors and 28 inch long barrels ( The left barrel was fully choked. The right barrel was a modified choke . ) I loaded this gun with 3 inch Eley Alphamax cartridges , hand loaded with 1 ounce spherical balls of hardened lead .
At close range ( say , less than 15 feet ) , a shot from this gun aimed at the head of a wounded , charging royal Bengal tiger ( at the region between both of the eyes ) would drop a royal Bengal tiger instantly when the ball penetrated into the brute's brain . However , l do not recommend this practice for anyone who has access to a proper centre fire calibre rifle .

If you want to look at the extreme end of Armaments used to kill a royal Bengal tiger , then just take a look at this photograph.
View attachment 327443

This is the last of the 4 royal Bengal tigers killed by my good friend , Sergeant Kawshik Rahman in 1969 . It is also 1 of the 2 royal Bengal tigers killed by Kawshik using 2 SG cartridges in his Indian Ordinance Factories 12 Bore double barreled side by side shot gun . For those of you gentlemen who use the American measurement for shot sizes ... SG is the equivalent of American 00 buck shot. A 2.75 inch 12 Bore SG cartridge holds 12 copper plated pellets , each being of .33 calibre . What is more flat out terrifying about Kawshik is that he is (to my knowledge ) the ONLY person to ever successfully stop a charging royal Bengal tiger with SG cartridges to protect 1 of his clients . Among all of the members of Bangladesh Shooting Federation , this is the 1 single feat which made Kawshik 1 of our most revered members. Kawshik himself , being the incredibly modest human being whom he is , refuses to attribute his success to anything more than sheer luck . However , all of us know that there was a considerable amount of skill involved In Kawshik’s part .Whenever we all praise Kawshik about this feat , Kawshik simply replies “ Shahib ke bacchate hoyechilo. Ek bar kore par peye geyechi . Ar kono din korbo na “ ( I had to stop that thing from making a meal out of my client . I got extremely fortunate once. However , l will never do it again . ) Make no mistake gentlemen . Buck shot is for nothing larger than Muntjac deer . Avoid this sort of ammunition for royal Bengal tigers at all costs.


> Correct Ammunition Choices
Around 3 months ago , a pair of “ Trolls “ from India attacked Kawshik by commenting on 1 of his article in these forums . They claimed to be “ modern day government appointed hunters “ in India who currently deal with man eating royal Bengal tigers and panthers. I was , at the time , not yet a a member of these forums , but l would read all of Kawshik’s articles on these forums . Kawshik , being the mild mannered and simple minded innocent gentleman that he is , genuinely assumed that these “ trolls “ were actually who they were claiming to be. Thus , he was baffled as to why they were trying to discredit him. For 2 weeks , a very public argument raged on , between Kawshik and the " Trolls " . Then , 1 day l pointed something out to Kawshik . I asked him , " Ei shalara ashole Baagh er shikaree hole , ora sheesha er guli diye Baagh marar kotha bole keno . Kawshik , tara toke boka banacche . " ( Kawshik you simpleton , these bastards are making a fool out of you. If these people are actually real hunters of royal Bengal tigers and panthers , then why are they claiming that they use solid bullets for killing the great cats ? ) . Kawshik immediately realized that l was correct in my speculation and he caught on to the idea that these so - called " government appointed hunters " were nothing but " Trolls " and fakes. Being professional shikarees , both Kawshik and l ( and indeed anyone who has ever hunted panthers or royal Bengal tigers . ) knew from a very young age , that you always use quality soft point bullets for royal Bengal tigers. With the help of a few other helpful and supportive forum members , Kawshik successfully shut down both the " Trolls " . However , shortly after that Kawshik stopped writing new articles on African Hunting forums ( although , he remains a regular poster on these forums . )

For royal Bengal tigers , only premium quality soft point bullets should be used. During our time , hands down , the FINEST bullets for use on royal Bengal tigers was the Winchester Silvertip soft point cartridges . A .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre 300 grain Winchester Silvertip soft point bullet can crumple a 500 pound royal Bengal tiger , all day , any day . They would open up perfectly inside the vital organs of the brute and and make short work of it .
These Winchester Silvertip soft point cartridges were so devastatingly efficient on royal Bengal tigers , that we professional shikarees affectionately nick named them , " Baagh er Guli " ( Tiger Bullets ) .

Below , is a pair of photographs taken from the internet of a box Winchester Silvertip soft point cartridges . Chances are , that if any of you fine gentlemen remember these , then you are at least 50 years old.
View attachment 327451 View attachment 327452

There was another extremely popular make of soft point cartridges available during our time , which was dastardly efficient for making short work of royal Bengal tigers - The Remington Core Lokt soft point cartridges . These were every bit as efficient as the Winchester Silvertip soft point bullets. As a matter of fact , they are still in production today . Here is a photograph taken from the internet of a box of Remington Core Lokt soft point bullets.
View attachment 327453

Another excellent manufacturer of quality soft point bullets , during our time was Hornady . Yes... Hornady actually used to be an A grade brand , during our time . The steel " jackets " with which their bullets used to be constructed were of an extremely fine quality . Unfortunately , the Hornady of today no longer holds a candle to what the great company once used to be . There have been over a hundred independent reports of Hornady dangerous game ammunition failing miserably in the shikar field in modern times ( many of these reports were by our very own African Hunting forum members ).

Below , is a photograph taken from the internet of a box of Hornady soft point cartridges.
View attachment 327454

Among European companies , the German company , RWS was particularly renowned for their soft point bullets.
Here is a photograph taken from the internet of a box of RWS soft point cartridges .
View attachment 327455


In the 1980s , more than a decade after l had retired from being a professional shikaree , my good friend , the late Tobin Stakkatz showed me some new excellent soft point ammunition on the American market named " Trophy Bonded Bear Claw " soft point bullets . What really impressed me about the " Trophy Bonded Bear Claw " bullets was that the steel " jackets " were chemically bonded to their lead interior and this was a revolutionary idea ( at the time. ) The gentleman who designed these bullets , Mr. Jack Carter was truly a genius in his own right. I have heard a few rumours about the quality of Trophy Bonded Bullets deteriorating in quality , in recent years. However , l am ( at this time ) unable to confirm the accuracy of these rumours .

Here is a photograph taken from the internet , of a box of Trophy Bonded Bear Claw soft point bullets .
View attachment 327456

Today , many new excellent soft point bullets of flawless quality exist on the market which l often read about on African Hunting forums , but have no personal experience with.

I see glowing reports about the Swift A frame soft point bullet and the Barnes TSX soft point bullet . Based on my layman's knowledge of Ballistics , l am confident that either of these bullets would make short work of a royal Bengal tiger. If there are any other excellent soft point bullets on today's market which l am not aware of , then please do educate me , dear readers. I consider it a privilege.


Coming up next ... " Field Dressing The Royal Bengal Tiger . "

Friend Ponton
Woodleigh Australia manufacturer premium soft nose and solids for use in big game calibers from a 240 grain 30 cal projectile up to massive 600 cal projectile for the 600 nitro express. These bullets are renowned world wide. Federal loads them as well as Hornaday in their DG cartridges.
Cheers
Bob

 

[1dirthawker]

Thank you for this great article.

+1

 

[Major Khan]

Following Up Wounded Royal Bengal Tigers

Being the professional shikaree of Allwyn Cooper Limited , who was specifically assigned to guide foreign clients for the shikar of royal Bengal tigers , it goes without saying that l have had to follow up wounded royal Bengal tigers more than once in my 10 year career . As a matter of fact , 11 of the 1 dozen royal Bengal tigers which l have killed in my life , were all royal Bengal tigers which had been wounded by my clients and which had charged our shikar party with nefarious intent.
Below are some photographs taken by myself , or my servant boy , Ponual of some charging royal Bengal tigers which l have had to dispatch in my career.

For a safe, enjoyable , ethical and humane shikar , the client shikaree must always aim to ensure that his 1st bullet is placed correctly on the royal Bengal tiger in a vital region . In a perfect world , there would be no wounded game for ANY shikaree to need to follow up.

However , let us be honest . We do not live in a perfect world . We live in the real world , and thus occasionally there comes a time when even taking the greatest amount of precautionary measures , still results in a wounded animal which needs to be followed up. The royal Bengal tiger is certainly no different.

When wounded by a shikaree's bullet , a royal Bengal tiger will ALWAYS retreat into the thickets in an attempt to evade his tormentor(s) . It is the following up of the royal Bengal tiger which leads to the most fatalities and / or injuries to members of the shikar party .

Much like the wounded panther , a wounded royal Bengal tiger lies in wait , in the densest part of the thickets , to ambush the shikar party . As previously discussed above , if a royal Bengal tiger manages to pounce on you , then it will not stop mauling you until you are dead ( unlike a panther , which usually just gives you a brief series of bites with it's teeth and scratches with the claws of it's fore paws , before jumping off you. Attacks seldom last for more than 30 seconds . You will end up looking like confetti . However , unless you are dealing with a man eater , you will usually survive. )

However , no reason to fret . Unlike a panther , a royal Bengal tiger is huge and heavy . Therefore , ( while still extremely fast ) , it lacks the speed of a forest panther . While moving through the thickets , it will make a great deal of noise as it snaps twigs and branches . This allows the shikaree time ( say , a couple of seconds ) to pin point the general direction from which the royal Bengal tiger is creeping up towards you .
You then snap your gun up to your shoulder and fired .

In order to stop a charging royal Bengal tiger , l find that the ideal region to aim for , is the spot , right between the 2 eyes.
By using my Belgian shot gun , loaded with spherical ball cartridges , l would always wait for the brute to get to within less than 15 feet of me , before l fired a 1 ounce spherical lead ball , right into the spot between it's 2 eyes. The 1 ounce spherical lead ball , backed by the large powder charge of the hand loaded Eley 3 inch Alphamax High Brass cartridge case , would penetrate into the brain of the brute and that would lay him low instantly .

It is in " charge " type scenarios such as these , where the fallacies of the smaller calibre rifles become evident very quickly . A royal Bengal tiger can certainly be dispatched with a .243 Winchester or a .270 Winchester calibre rifle . However , these great cats can be a real devil to stop , when they are charging . This is because they :
1) Are coming directly towards you and thus , you can only opt for the frontal brain shot or the frontal heart shot .
2) Have adrenaline pumping through their veins and this causes their muscles to harden significantly . Practically speaking , it is the chest muscles of a charging royal Bengal tiger , which provide the most resistance to the shikaree's bullets.

From personal experience , I can confidently say that my old Belgian shot gun ( despite all of it's virtues ) , using spherical ball cartridges could NOT reliably be used for the frontal heart shot on a charging 500 pound royal Bengal tiger . The 16 bore ( 1 ounce ) spherical ball of hardened lead , even when backed by the larger powder charge of the hand loaded Eley 3 inch Alphamax High Brass cartridges , would not penetrate more than 6 inches into a royal Bengal tiger's chest muscles .
Therefore , l was forced to learn how to master the frontal brain shot . I did this by learning to aim for the spot between the brute's 2 eyes and refraining from firing until the royal Bengal tiger was within less than 15 feet from me . THAT put them down !
Unlike the task of following up a wounded panther ( where a double barreled rifle is a MUST , on account of the wounded panther's sheer speed . ) , a bolt rifle is no handicap for use on a wounded royal Bengal tiger . Most operators with reasonable proficiency will be able to operate the bolt of the rifle quickly enough to get off at least 2 or 3 well aimed shots at the brute's head or heart . At the ranges at which you will get charged , it is almost impossible to miss.
Any good rifle , chambered in .338 Winchester magnum or a larger calibre , will be more than adequate for the task of stopping a charging royal Bengal tiger . With a rifle of such calibre , you can opt for the frontal brain shot or the frontal heart shot , at your discretion . I personally favor the frontal brain shot , due to the way it instantly " switches off " the brute , the moment the bullet penetrates into the royal Bengal tiger's brain . However , the novice may prefer to opt for the frontal chest shot , since it presents a much larger target for the shikaree , than the head of the royal Bengal tiger.

Coming up next ... " Field Dressing The Royal Bengal Tiger '' .

 

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Question: are scopes a hindrance when dealing with a charging Royal Bengal Tiger? It seems to me it would be difficult to acquire the target in this situation? Thanks again Major for your writing this article.