Karamojo Bell and his Small Bores - Stubborn Resolve or Logical Choice?

Several John Rigby & Co. rifles in various stages of development at the London shop.

It’s near 70 years since Walter D.M. Bell left this world, but I do wonder if his opinions on rifle and calibre choice were well reasoned, especially for the time he lived?

Bell is a highly regarded if somewhat contrarian figure in the modern history of hunting luminaries. He made it plain that he favoured small bores for everything from plains game to pachyderms. Before his name became associated with the .275 Rigby, he bought, used, sold, and traded a plethora of rifles and calibres. He went through an extraordinary period of trial and error in his mid-teens when, by sheer pluck, he talked his way into the role of hunter for a survey crew on the Kenya-Uganda rail line. This was just months before the Man Eaters of Tsavo brought the world’s attention to this corner of the globe, and Bell was there, fresh off the boat. Those early days tested his adaptability and nerve, but what was it that lead him to prefer small bores when everyone else was going the other way?

The order book for John Rigby & Co. from 1913-16 that includes Bell’s orders for two .416 Rigby Mauser bolt action rifles. Rigby introduced the .416 just two years before in 1911.

An order entry for W.D.M Bell Esquire in the John Rigby & Co.’s sales ledger from 1913. This is the first of two .416’s that he ordered in that same year, both on Mauser actions although the second specified to more closely meet his particular needs.

Is there a better place to discuss the trade-offs of various calibres and gauges?