Come Thursday ... our shikar party was guiding our client through the forests on the outskirts of Nagpur for the shikar of a sambhur deer . Our shikar party consisted of myself , old Tobin , 4 coolies , our client and of course ... my indispensable Shawtaal tracker , Mintu . I carried my trusty , old “ 12 Bore DBBL Made In Belgium “ , which was loaded with 1 of my hand loaded 3 inch Eley Alphamax Magnum Spherical Ball cartridges in each barrel . Tobin carried his Fabrique Nationale Mauser 98 bolt rifle , chambered in .423 Mauser , fully loaded ( 4 cartridges ) with 347 grain German RWS brand solid metal covered cartridges in the magazine . 1 of our coolies carried our client’s .458 Winchester magnum calibre double barreled rifle . Our other coolies carried refreshments , butcher knives , an ice box and a folding chair for our client .
Our client , himself wore an expensive looking leather bandolier , filled with .458 Winchester magnum calibre soft point 510 grain cartridges. Mintu was preoccupied with following the tracks of a large sambhur deer and we cautiously trekked forward ... well aware that we were moving through royal Bengal tiger country .
A brace of hours passed , before we were able to catch sight of our client’s fine trophy . He was a large , Majestic looking male sambhur deer , identical in size to an American Elk . Both Tobin and I imagined gleefully how much juicy , delicious venison this fine specimen must have been carrying . Our coolie handed the .458 Winchester magnum calibre double barreled rifle to our client and Tobin silently whispered to the client , “ Follow me quietly . Let’s get within range for a clean heart shot . “ Our client was most obedient and sensible . He followed Tobin quietly until they were within 50 yards of the sambhur deer ( the quintessential essential range for operators of double barreled rifles . ) .
Hiding behind the broken stump of a long dead Banyan tree ... the client raised the double barreled rifle to his right shoulder and flicked off the safety catch . Taking careful aim and concentrating ... he let off a single shot . The 510 grain Winchester “ Super X “ soft point bullet was absolutely devastating upon the sambhur deer . It struck the animal square behind the shoulder and the sambhur deer went only a few steps forward , before dropping lifeless on the green , forest floor and expiring.
Both Tobin and I heartily congratulated our client and we all went forward , so that our coolies could begin to field dress the animal. The folding chair was set open for our client , while Tobin and I supervised our coolies on skinning the sambhur deer . Tobin took out his old military GI zippo lighter , his tobacco pipe and a pouch full of tobacco to fill his pipe with . He begin to fill his pipe , as I took out a bottle of lemonade from my satchel and opened it , in order to take a swig .
Just then ... I heard a snarl coming from the thickets . Even before I turned my head to look at the thickets ... my blood ran cold , because I knew that snarl all too well . Only 1 creature can snarl like that , especially in this part of the forest . I instinctively turned my head towards the thickets . Yes .... It was a royal Bengal tiger . The largest , which I had ever seen. He must have been been stalking that sambhur deer , just like we had been stalking it ! And now , he was staring at our shikar party from the thickets ; snarling . Clearly , he did not take too kindly to us hunting , what he considered to be HIS meal . My client instantly snatched up his .458 Winchester magnum calibre double barreled rifle ( which was laying across his lap ) and snapped it up to his shoulder . Taking swift aim , our client fired the right barrel . The 510 grain soft point bullet struck the brute in the shoulder and he roared , as he began to run in to the thickets . Our client pulled the trigger for the left barrel , but click ! It was empty, because the gentle man did not have the opportunity to replenish his left barrel , after he had taken the shot at the sambhur deer .
Hurriedly , our client broke his double barreled rifle open at the breech , in an attempt to re load his rifle with a brace of fresh cartridges . However , despite the double barreled rifle being equipped with automatic ejectors.... the expended .458 Winchester magnum cartridge cases were simply not extracting !
Seeing that the royal Bengal tiger was making good his escape.... I hurriedly snatched up my old Belgian 12 Bore side by side shot gun and yelled to Tobin , “ Protect the client ! There may be more of these brutes lurking about , Tobin ! “ .
And with that... I gave pursuit to the brute .
Below , I have provided a photograph kindly lent to me by good , old Kawshik of a sambhur deer , which was hunted by his client , Don Fernando Delgado .
