It was November 20 , of 1977 . Work at the tea estates was going pleasantly . There was enough construction work for my company to keep ourselves preoccupied and well paid , but not so much as to keep us stressed . I had recently partaken in the completion of an outhouse in one of the tea estates situated at Sri Mangal ( located in the northeastern tip of the country ) and it did not look as if our company would be involved in any new projects for the rest of the month . This gave me some free time time for indulging myself in some leisure activities . I decided to spend a few days in Dacca ( the capital city ) and do some shopping .
I had arrived at Dacca at around 5:30 PM in my old Ford pickup truck , and took up a room for three days at the Purbani hotel . After leaving all of my luggage ( just one suitcase ) in my room , I went off to tour the city and purchase some new things which would benefit me . I first went to my tailor ( whose shop was located right outside Purbani hotel ) and had three new check cotton poplin dress shirts made for me ( in light blue , light green and light pink ) with my usual preferred features : Single button cuffs , a breast pocket and hidden button down collars . I also had two new cream woolen flannel dress trousers made for me with my usual preferred features : Four pockets , brace buttons , double forward pleats and cuffs .
After that , It was off to one of the local arms shops - Ahmed Hossain Arms Co . Here , I purchased four 25 round boxes of 12 bore ( 2 3/4 inch ) Eley Alphamax number 4 birdshot shells and four boxes of Eley Rifle Club 40 grain solid lead factory loads in .22 Long Rifle calibre . Back in those days , this was just about the only ammunition which one could find in any of the arms shops in Bangladesh . Then , it was a trip to the electronics shop where I wanted to purchase a VCR ( video cassette recorder ) . Watching films was a rather favorite nocturnal pastime of mine ( it still is ) and thus I bought a VCR so that I could record my favorite films on it , when they would play on the television .
With everything purchased , I returned to Purbani hotel at around 9:00 PM and dined at the cafe on the ground floor of the hotel . Purbani hotel used to serve the best deep fried chicken cutlets and mashed potatoes in all of Dacca city ( they still do ) and thus , this was what I naturally dined on . I completed my dinner with a cold tin of Heineken beer and spent the next two hours watching the television at the hotel’s common lounge . The news was going on , and one very particular segment interested me .
There was a marauding Royal Bengal tiger at large , in the Dublar Chor forest range of the Sundarban mangrove forests . So far , it had fatally mangled 24 local villagers in the last month and a half . The Sundarban Forest Department had declared the animal to be a menace which must be destroyed , and were offering a bounty of 800 Taka to any local licensed arms owners who would successfully manage to dispose of the creature .
I weighed in my options . I could either spend the rest of the month in Dacca city , shopping at different places ( even though I had already purchased what I was in need of ) and eating at different restaurants . Or I could go to the Sundarban mangrove forests and try my hand at disposing of the marauder . If I succeeded , then I would be pocketing 800 Taka which used to be a great deal of money back in the 1970s . After I would get the job done , I could probably shoot a nice Axis deer and bring back some delicious venison for my larder . Besides ; I enjoy(ed) hunting far more than I enjoyed shopping , eating at restaurants , watching films or doing anything else for that matter . Thus , I had made up my mind .
The very next morning , I drove my old Ford pickup truck back to Sylhet from Dacca . I arrived at my apartment by around 5:45 PM and kept my VCR there , alongside the Eley Rifle Club .22 Long Rifle . Unlocking my closet , I retrieved my Flaig’s Enfield Model 1917 action custom .458 Winchester Magnum . Then , I unlocked my airtight gun safe and retrieved a yellow 20 round box of Winchester Super Speed 510 grain soft nosed factory loads . The box of shells was fairly old , because Winchester had ceased using the yellow box by 1972 ( at the time ; I possessed two such yellow boxes of soft nosed factory loads and one white box of Winchester Super X 500 grain round nosed cupronickel jacketed solid factory loads , which was produced sometime after 1975 ) . However , the box was unopened and I had kept all the contents of my gun safe completely fresh by using a substantial amount of silica gel ( which aided in keeping out the moisture and prevented my .458 Winchester Magnum ammunition from getting exposed to the elements ) .
I packed my .458 Winchester Magnum and my box of soft nosed ammunition into the back of my Ford pickup truck . My Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector double barreled side by side shotgun was already in the back of the truck , alongside the boxes of Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch number 4 birdshot shells and four rounds of Eley Alphamax 2 3/4 inch LG shells ( with each containing eight antimony hardened lead slugs of .36 calibre ) . I also packed a spare set of clothes and toiletries . Using a piece of bailing wire , I attached a six cell torchlight to the fore end of my .458 Winchester Magnum . Using another piece of bailing wire , I secured another six cell torchlight to the fore end of my Laurona 12 bore sidelock ejector . I slept at my apartment that night , intent on setting off to the Sundarban mangrove forests early in the morning .
Pre 1972 Box Of Winchester Super Speed 510 grain Soft Nosed Factory Loads For The .458 Winchester Magnum
