"About ten per cent of bulls shot in the head received a second shot when using the .275, and this per-centage
was appreciably reduced when the .318 was used.- I put this down to the fact that the 250-grain bullet of the .318
held a truer course than the 170-grain bullet of the .275. - I know, too, that in the case of slanting shots from
behind where the bullet would have to traverse the im-mense neck muscles to reach the brain, the .318 long
250-grain bullet was more uniformly successful than the .275."
-Karamojo Safari- (p.242-243)
"Broadly speaking, the best bullet for killing elephant is one which combines a good weight (it will not be easily deflected),
long parallel sides (this will help it keep course), good sectional density (not too much diameter to length), and a good but
not excessive velocity. - In my opinion the 250-grain .318, although far from perfect, approaches most nearly the big game
hunter's ideal bullet, followed by the 7.9 mm. or 8 mm. Mauser."
- Karamojo Safari- (appendix p.291)
Some conclusions on Bells calibres:
> The .256, .275 and .303 were all competent reliable performers for various angles on the brain except for slanting shots from behind.
> The .256 may have likely remained his DG rifle of choice were it not for splitting necks in Austrian ammunition.
> The .303 was in some circumstances the preferred rifle over .256 and .275 due to superior function/reliability and capacity.
> Bell did form personal rifle/cal. preferences based on pragmatic reasoning, but which didn't necessarily mean all other
rifles/cals were inferior.
He simply chose to carry the smoother action .275 more often than the more agricultural .303...Several times when 10-shot
capacity would have been an advantage on herds, he happened to have instead his 5-shot .275 in hand... At other times he
was in two minds whether to take his .275 or .303
" I still had the .303 ten-shot rifle and wondered if I should require it this time".
-Karamojo Safari - (p.138)
" The morning found us up and about, fresh and eager for the hunt.- This time I carried the .303 ten-shot rifle and hope ran high.
Scarcely had we gone a couple of miles when we ran into elephant."
-Karamojo safari - (p.156)
"In my search for the ideal weapon for my purpose I had accumulated a number of quite good rifles. I had a double .400 by
Fraser of Edinburgh, a beautiful weapon but delicate. Then there was a .303 from the Army and Navy, a splendid gun with
which I had killed over two hundred elephant........Finally I decided on the three .303's..."
- Karamojo Safari- (p.203)
The high capacity .303 seems to have also been the preferred choice when facing the perils of 2 legged dangerous game:
"With some twenty-five Sniders and a very limited stock of ammunition, together with my half dozen personal rifles,...
...They were scared stiff and so was I, but I did not show it. Instead I seized my ten-shot .303 and a lot of ammunition"
- Karamojo Safari- (p.183)
