Hi John, My name is Ashok. I was born in India & now am a Kiwi for the last 15 years. I am a new member on this site. My dad was a forestry & widlife manager from 1947 to 1983. He was a passionate hunter turned conservationist & was the Chief Wildlife warden of Tamil Nadu state in South India for a while. He shot 2 tigers in 1952 & 53 - he used an Astra 12 bore hammer gun (new) with "lethal ball" Elley ammo. Both were females at 9ft 6in "between pegs". They were killing cattle belonging to the forestry staff & dad had to either shoot them or see them poisoned (pesticide in the kill) by the locals. I still have old photos but the skins were not well preserved. He also bought a 423 Mauser (10.75X68) FN rifle in 1957 (after I was born). He shot 2 leopards with that rifle - both big males 7ft 6in "between pegs" which was considered a great trophy even then. One skin was ruined in transit & the other still hangs on the wall of a cousin's house (it was gifted to my grand dad & then it went down the line of male heirs!). This was done by the famous taxidermists Van Ingins of Mysore.

Let me confess that I am not at all experienced in the above subject but have been passionate about it since I was 12 years old, when dad sold his firearms in 1968!

Your stock looks stunning & I would suggest the following calibers only because they are what dad's friends used in the mid tom late 60's before all legal hunting stopped in India. The bolt action rifles I can remeber are 375H&H, 404 Jeffrey, 318 WR (I know an old friend from college who has one & I haven't seen him for 30 years - may be I should call on him!), 423 Mauser, 416 Rigby and the 9.5X57 Mannlicher Schoenauer (375 express). This was the era after Jim Corbet & he used double rifles for most of his tiger shooting. I had never heard of the 9.3s in India (though I bought a Simson & sohon here in NZ & am having it refurbised). My caliber for nostalgia would be either the 318WR or the 404 Jeffrey. I still hope to track down dad's 423 some day! He is now 83 & not too well, but still congratulated me on my nice black bnear (brown phase) I got last month in BC.

Good luck on your project.