Hunter Habib, I think I am not alone in wondering why you choose a relatively small caliber like the 7x57.
Please, let us know why a highly experienced shikaree like you and others (e.g.Jim Corbett) opted for a caliber that would not be legal in Africa to shoot a lion..
Hi, Ofbiro
As you can read in post #6 of this article again, the 7x57mm Mauser was the largest center fire caliber of rifle & fresh ammunition which was available to me at the time. You will notice that I never specifically asked the shop keeper for a 7x57mm Mauser. I simply told him that I needed the largest caliber rifle which he could give me and which he had fresh cartridges for.
I bought the Pakistani 7x57mm Mauser Churchill Gun Makers Model Deluxe rifle in 1989, with the intention of using it against the final man eater. I picked that caliber, because 7x57mm Mauser was the only center fire rifle caliber for which fresh ammunition had been imported after 1971. Due to lack of demand, only firearms and ammunition in 12 gauge, .22 caliber (L.R, W.M.R & Hornet) and .32 caliber (S&W Long & A.C.P) were imported. Waterfowl hunting, upland hunting and small game hunting was/is very popular here amongst locals. Relatively few people hunt(ed) big game (predominantly Axis deer, Muntjac deer, wild boar & the odd Sambar, Nilgai or Serow). And those who did/do, mostly prefer(red) shotguns as a general purpose firearm which could be used for both birds and big game (as well as for home defense).
T.C.B (Trading Corporation Bengal) had imported 20,000 rounds of Winchester Super X 175Gr soft point factory loads for the 7x57mm Mauser in 1985. When I bought that 7x57mm Mauser rifle from a local gun store in 1989, the owner could only manage 12 cartridges with it for me at the time. Fortunately, I only needed one shot to bag that final man eater (even though he succumbed to the gunshot wound 3 hours later, because the bullet only managed to penetrate 1 lung).
If I had a choice, then I would have opted for a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum BRNO ZKK602 and 300Gr RWS KS cone points for hunting that man eater. Based on the choices which are available today, I would have opted for a .500/416 Nitro Express Kreighoff boxlock ejector double rifle loaded with 400Gr Nosler Partition soft points.
