mehulkamdar wrote:

"Could be any of the following:

1. The one you shoot best with
2. The one gifted to you by someone you love - your father or wife
3. The one you admire and want to have but cannot afford (kind of like wanting a supermodel or actress as a mistress)

I know the best rifle in the world in my opinion. It is a single shot 22 lr with a side swinging block that belonged to my closest friend and childhood hunting buddy from about twenty five years ago. He left India never to return and I bought the rifle from his mother just before I moved to the USA. I don't have it with me, but it is a reminder of my boyhood and a fantastic one at that. I don't think there is a better rifle in the world!
Cheers."

Hi,
And may I ask Mr. Mehul Kamdar what specie exactly were you 'hunting' with .22 LR in India???
As far as I know the legal hunting of all wildlife was prohibited by law under Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 with several amendemnts & different level of penalties. Virtually all Wildlife is protected under this act -Schedule 1 to 4- exceptions -Schedule 5- are Crows & Rats which are considered vernins.
There are some other exceptions provided within law such as for protection of human life & in certain rare cases for standing crops. I have experience with both the exceptions provided by law.
In year 1986 I was permited -The Chief Wildlife Warden being an acquintance- to hunt down a menacing cattlelifter in Kangra Region of Himachal Pradesh (Lower Himalayan reaches), my first posting as a young lieutenant. Almost 2 months elapsed by the time I made preperations & got all the info from the locals -being an outsider I was not completely fimiliar with the area. Meanwhile the leopard was not sitting idle he graduated from a petty cattlelifter to a confirmed man-killer (not maneater, he never ate the human victim) by attacking a small herd boy attending his mixed herd of sheep & goats. The end came one evening when I shot him dead on the outskirts of a small village where he was lingering looking for an easy food. Later we found he was in good health, the only explanation I could think of was scarcity of wild game. Weapon used was a Rem model 1917 in 3006, firring a Win Silvertip 180 gr Rn.
Another man-killer/cattle lifter leopard was killed by me in 1988 near our family farm in Dehradun region of Shivalik Ranges (again, lower Himalayas). Incidentlly, it's the place is not far from where F W Champion (Indain Forest Service) did most of his photography & documented it in his books: (1) With a Camera in Tiger Land & (2) The Jungle in Sunlight & Shadow. He has already killed 3 people on different occassions who were protecting their herds, one being our farmhand & another a nomad buffalo herder known to our family for many years. I was given permission by the Chief Wildlife Warden of our area to shoot the animal. This particular Leopard was known to me by it's footprints, he has been in the area for several years. After several attempts I shot him over his kill one night, with the same rifle & same ammo.
Another incidence which ended in a disaster for me being penalized for shooting a rouge elephant. This elephant was a known crop raider and has chased the buffalo herders & crop watchmen from their posts many a times and has been reported to kill (unconfirmed) several people -across the river in another forest range- pulling them from the trees or platforms. But due to some foolish religious sentiments local authorities were reluctant to declare it a rouge.
Year & year again it has raided & destroyed our paddy sugar cane crops and uprooted fruit trees, he was getting bolder with with every year attacking & chasing the night watchmen from there watch towers (raised platform). One late evening a farmhand came running shouting hysterically that the elephant has attacked one of the watch platforms and that the watchman was still on that platform when this guy got a chance to wade through the crop. I immediately took my Sako 375 H&H and followed him to the scene of action. He was not quiet I could hear him from quite far, while he was engrosed in depreditions demolishing the platform I got a chance to go around him took a position behind a large mango tree & fired on his temple, I emptied the magazine in quick succession with 2 hitting his head one neck & 2 other behind shoulder. We found him dead next morning less than 1km inside the forest. The authorities were informed & I was charged for illegally shooting a schedule 1 animal, after a long battle with the forest dept. on my lawyers advice I paid the fine, which was 400,000 ruppes in those days, just to get rid of the stress the litigation was giving me. It also spoiled my service record. Later I was told by one of the forest rangers that the case & charges was meditated by the local deputy conservative of forest because he carried a grudge against me for repeatedly expelling his illegal contractors from the adjoining reserve forest who were extracting some rare wood & were poaching wild boar by killing them with a ball of potash mixed with corn flour and instigated by a former police officer of a high rank who had a long standing land dispute with our family, his son was the public prosecutor in my case.
The reason I mentioned above incidence is though the hunting is completely banned since 1972 still poaching is rampant & is being carried out with impunity and india is losing it's wildlife with exorbitant rate.
So, if you were 'hunting' in india with a 22LR after 1973 most likely you were poaching wildlife and it's good you never get caught.