This is the power which every elephant-gun should possess: it
should have an elephant's head under complete command in every
attitude.
There is another advantage in heavy metal; a heavy ball will
frequently stun a vicious elephant when in full charge, when a
light ball would not check him; his quietus is then soon arranged
by another barrel. Some persons, however, place too much
confidence in the weight of the metal, and forget that it is
necessary to hold a powerful rifle as straight as the smallest
gun. It is then very common during a chase of a herd to see the
elephants falling tolerably well to the shots, but on a return
for their tails, it is found that the stunned brutes have
recovered and decamped.
Conical balls should never be used for elephants; they are more
apt to glance, and the concussion is not so great as that
produced by a round ball. In fact there is nothing more perfect
for sporting purposes than a good rifle from a first-rate maker,
with a plain ball of from No. 12 to No. 10. There can be no
improvement upon such a weapon for the range generally required
by a good shot.
I am very confident that the African elephant would be killed by
the brain-shot by Ceylon sportsmen with as much case as the
Indian species.
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