I think the elephant would have been shot more like 30 yards.

You must buy "Bell of Africa" and/or "Karamojo Safari". They were the first African hunting books I read and are very good reads.

I always remember how he described dealing with hostile natives. If he camped outside their villages he would be attacked and killed so he marched straight into the middle of their villages and then managed to get the 'laws of hospitality' involved so they could not kill him till he left. In the meantime they got lots of meat so they became friendly.

Another story was how warriors came to him and started collecting around him. They appeared to not have good intentions. By chance he had a Mauser automatic pistol and several zebra came by. When he shot several of them raid fire they warriors were very impressed and left him alone.

Amazing stuff from another age.

I get the feeling Bell was bit of an ornery character and probably not an enjoyable fellow to hunt with. JMO.

The rifle is a .275 (not .257) which is an English name for the 7x57mm. Bell used long round nose heavy solids for penetration on elephant skulls.