All that is great, but we forget an important issue for all hunters in Africa 100+ years ago. The availability and the cost of ammo dictated
what they could use. Nitro Express rounds used in doubles have always been pricey. Most of these guys that were ivory hunters were
not wealthy landed aristocrats. If they had been, they would have stay in England and lived on their estates, meaning they had to watch
their money. Next, the distribution and availability of ammo in various calibers was spotty. Ordering and restocking was slow. Orders
went to England by boat, and the order retruned by boat.
Point is they often used what was available. After the Boer War and WWI, 7 x 57 Mauser (AKA .275 Rigby) as well as .303 both with FMJ
were readily available. These guys used them, had success, and marched on. Rifles were cheap, as was the ammo.
I havent forgotten anything like you suggest , I am well aware of their ammunition- logistics issue. Bell clearly highlights the unreliable patchy supply
of SxS big-bore cartridges in remote Africa, a major consideration he took when selecting his rifles & calibres...that aside ,he found .450/400 SxS
unsuitable for persuing elephant in very thick foilage. ..When he pushed through leaves with dried mud from earlier passing elephants, it would
fall into the action as he moved along reloading, preventing it from closing....His .303 sporter proved far more capable of maintaiing function in such
conditions, even better than his M98.
To think it was all about rifle and ammunition cost and supply, is erroneous...In the case of Bell, carrying a 10lb rifle for hrs and many miles in the day,
sometimes running for miles along side fleeing herds to pick off bulls and also fast shooting scenes, where he may take a dozen or nearly twenty bulls
in short minutes, .450 SxS and .416 mauser were a hindrance to nimble fast efficient shooting and an unnecessary weight burden overall.
Bell was not alone , Lyell found big SxS rifles an impractical pain to lug around for arduous long hot days, were more susceptable to jamming or the action
not closing due to common contaminants like grass and small twigs. He found small bore bolt rifles up to 8 lb also offered decisively better handling.
He had a Jeffery .577 SxS but soon got rid of it, as he preferred his .303 (ref: Memories Of An African Hunter- DD Lyell) .Harry Selby also favored a lighter
more dynamic bolt rifle, hence why not long after obtaining his .416 Rigby, he got the tools out and thinned the stock.
