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As a small boy, Jim Corbett was first taught to shoot with a Dease 12-bore muzzle-loader, which apparently sat him on his backside from recoil! Jim's first firearm was another muzzle-loading shotgun, which had only one useable barrel, the other having been split from an over-load by a previous owner. His next firearm, and his first rifle, was a .450 Martini Henry, with which he killed a leopard while hunting by himself at age 10. At age 17 he acquired a shotgun and an unspecified "light-calibre rifle" for pot-hunting while cutting timber for the railway.

He tackled his first man-eater with a shotgun and a .500 Express, which is said to have fired a round ball rather than a bullet in some texts. After killing the maneater, he was presented with a .275 Rigby Mauser (Serial No. 2516) by Sir John Hewett, Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces at the time. The rifle was bought from Mantons of Calcutta for 12 guinneas, weighed 7lb 8oz with a 25-inch barrel, and had a 14 3/8 inch length of pull. A silver plaque mounted in the buttstock was inscribed:
Presented to Mr. J.G.Corbett by Sir J.P.Hewett KCSI, Lieutennant Governor of the United Provinces in recognition of his having killed a man-eating tigress at Champawat in 1907.

It was from then on his favourite weapon, and I'm not sure why he bought the .275 Westley Richards from Mantons in the mid-1930s some 30 years later, perhaps he had worn the Rigby out!

There are several good biographies of Corbett, but my favourite is possibly the earliest one: "Carpet Sahib" by Martin Booth, published in 1986. I like Hawkins' earlier selected stories too, as it was my first Corbett book, but it would offer little once Jim's own titles are on your shelf. Specific references to Corbett's firearms are pretty scarce in all of them, especially in his own books as we all know.

Mac:
Corbett was definitely using a .450 double when he and Ibby caught the wrong leopard in the gin-trap.

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Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
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www.marrakai-adventure.com.au

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