African hunting back in the day

[M99]

LOL

Beaten too it with the same link - I have that Bookmarked too!!

Mike

[Sandgroper]

LOL

Beaten too it with the same link - I have that Bookmarked too!!

Mike

:lol: Great minds and all that!

[M99]

I really do want one of these - I so enjoy shooting them - just need to find the "right" one!

Mike

[Sandgroper]

If I had the money spare at the moment I'd be on the look out for a MH Carbine, but unfortunately I don't, so I'll just have to be patient.

[zzr1100]

How things change ... British army in the Zulu war using a round you could hunt elephant with .. British army now using a round that some would describe as a "varmint" round !!

[Sandgroper]

Something to do with the type of enemy?

[Sim G]

Two of my reloading manuals credit .303 British with taking more big game than any other cartridge.....

Not because of it's suitability but because of the prevelance of that cartridge, in the vastness that once was the British Empire.

[M99]

Two of my reloading manuals credit .303 British with taking more big game than any other cartridge.....

Not because of it's suitability but because of the prevelance of that cartridge, in the vastness that once was the British Empire.

I bet it has also killed more Deer than any other calibre too!

Mike

[ovenpaa]

Has that claim not been replaced now by the 7,62x39 in Africa?

[Rearlugs]

I grew up as kid in East Africa, and went hunting a few times. There were still plenty of old white hunters left over from "Tanganyika Territory" days. They used two types of .303 ball - normal MkVII military stuff for anything up to Kudu size, and old MkVI for anything up to elephants. The MkVI was of course a solid, round-nosed bullet, with completely different penetration to MkVII. Kynoch's commercial .303 solid nose hunting ammo used to come in a variety that was identical to MkVI.

I had my first and very painful experience with large-bore rifles back in those days. An old boy said "have a go with this" and handed me a rattly (lot of play in the forend and action) old side-by-side gun that I assumed was some sort of shotgun. It was nitro express (IIRC .500/450), and the appalling shock of the recoil into my bony thin shoulder caused me (or the dodgy gun) to let go the second barrel as well.... I was in real pain for about a week, and bruised for about a month.