In subject 2874, Scott Kellogg [email removed] writes:
> Quick question to the gun experts:
>
> What is an elephant gun? What type of ammunition does it use?
> What sort of Penetration/Damage does it have.
>
> The hunting rifle as listed in Trav does not seem to be up to
> a description I read a long time ago (something about George
> Orwell shooting an elephant)
>
> According to him, firing a large number of rounds with a normal
> rifle did little harm to the elephant compared with the
> elephant gun.
Well, speaking as an ex-Marine with lots o' hunting experience with
a *HUGE* variety of weapons, and rabid NRA member (whatever that's
got to do with anything), here goes. :-)
The above description is fairly accurate. The question is not one
of velocity, but of slug mass (and big kenetic energy, as a result).
While something like a 30-06 is usually considered an adequate hunting
rifle for most types of big game (up to and including Kodiak and Polar
bears), it would take an extremely well placed shot (maybe several) to
drop an African elephant or water buffalo. The problem is tha the
animals vital organs are so deep in the body that the must generate a
massive trauma on surface impact to have any stopping power. An .-06
wound would probably kill the elephant eventually, but not before it
ran over both the hunter and the Range Rover he fired from. :-)
For *really* big game, enthusiasts use something like a .458 Winchester
Magnum (Ruger No. 3 Tropical rifle) or a .460 Weatherby Magnum. Around the
turn of the century, one of the popular African big game rounds available
(although hard to find today) was the Holland & Holland .600 Nitro Express.
The shells were as big as cigars and the slug was the size of your thumb.
On impact, they created hideous pie plate-sized wounds. Hydrostatic shock
and massive blood loss usually dropped the animal in it's tracks.
Supposedly, these rounds could split a water buffalo's skull (30-06 rounds,
on the other hand, have been known to ricochete). If fired at a human
being, a Nitro Express slug would leave a bloody neck stump after a
head-shot, and if fired at the torso, could potentially tear a person
in half if the spine were struck.
I don't have my MT rules here at work, but I'd probably give the
H&H round a PEN of about 8 or 9, and a Dmg. in the range of 6 to 7.
One final note: the H&H .600 Nitro Express only fires 2 shots before
reloading (it looks like a double-barreled shotgun and reloads the
same way). The Ruger No. 3 Tropical rifle, chambered for the .458
Winchester Magnum is a single-shot weapon with a rolling block
reload. The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a 3-shot bolt-action. All
three have a terrible recoil (although the Weatherby *does* have
a very nice recoil pad). I'd probably rule that any MT character
with either a STR or CON of less than 8 would be knocked over by
the kick (or at least make it a Formidable task to stay on their
feet).
Later,
Mark F. Cook
USMail: User Interface Technical Support
Hewlett-Packard - Interface Technology Operation
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