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"I had Minnie bullet moulds made for my rifles; but so long as the spherical bullets go through and through large game, I do not see the use of runing the risk of shaking the stock of the gun, and of the extra recoil, by using the heavier balls." Major Shapkespear, the author of Wild Sports in India

In reference to the previous sentence about a 14 bore ball gun's use on animals of the forest, "Mr. Baker has stated, that 4 1/2 drachms (drams) will drive a ball of that size through both sides of an elephant's head, and 4 1/2 or even 5 drachms (drams) may be used in such a rifle without any very unpleasant recoil, and without any bad effect on the accuracy of the ball, but the reverse." Lt. James Forsyth, The Sporting Rifle and its Projectiles

Note that was a 14 bore rifle using a 15 bore ball, not a 12 bore using a 13 bore ball. The larger the ball, the greater the shock and penetration, alloys being identical. Yes, Indian Elephants are smaller than the African variety -but impressive, it still is. I use almost a 15 1/2 sized ball in my 14 bore rifle with 6 drams on moose and bear - dose a 'smashing' job.

Forsyth says in his book of 1862 - "Mr S.W.Baker, author of The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon unsurpassed in experience with very heavy game, writes as follows in the Field of march 23rd 1861: - I strongly vote against conical balls for dangerous game; they make too neat a wound, and are very apt to glance on striking a bone. The larger the surface struck the greater will be the benumbing effect of the blow...In giving an opinion against concial balls for dangerous game, I do so from practical proofs of their inferiority. I had at one time a two-groove single rifle, weighing 21 lbs., carrying a 3 oz. belted ball (5 1/2 bore by weight - probably 6 or 6 1/2 bore size), with a charge of 12 drachms(drams - 328gr.)powder. This was kind of a "devil stopper," and never failed in flooring a charging elephant, although, if not struck in the brain, he might recover his legs. I had a conical mould made for this rifle, the ball (concial) of which weighed 4oz., but instead of rendering it more invincible, it entirely destroyed it's efficacy, and brought me into such scrapes that I at length gave up the concial ball as useless."

The brackets are mine.

With this information preserved and presented, from those with experience in what we are dwelving in today, must we go through those same learning steps ourselves, or can we learn from the past? Some can, some can't. Repeating history seems to be our forte` forte` .

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Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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