Man-eaters of Kumaon

[okie john]

I am surprised how small and handy the 450/400 appears despite the large round. It must be punishing to shoot.

Here's the auction listing for it. https://www.morphyauctions.com/james...item/1038-373/

It looks handy because it's short. The typical bolt action is about eight inches long. Double rifles don't have that, so they handle more like carbines even though they often have 26" barrels.

I'd guess that recoil isn't all that bad mostly because even though it throws a 400-grain bullet, the muzzle velocity is 2,150 fps. Most doubles like that weigh between nine and 10 pounds. So more recoil than a 30-06 but not as bad as a light 338. More of a shove than a snap, I'd think.


Okie John

[Borderland]

If one likes double guns this is a good forum. https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

Lots of collectors and knowledge there. I was deep into doubles in the 90's. Even had one imported from the UK when the great firearms purge was moving lots of doubles to the US. All of mine were shotguns but the makers were the same. Almost any of the London makers could build a fine rifle. Rigby, H&H and Jeffery come to mind. I think I still have a G E Lewis (lower end Birmingham maker like Greener) in my safe. Probably couldn't give it away these days although it's hand engraved.

[Rick R]

We are reading Man-eaters of Kumaon right now and I have to say Jim Corbett is very interesting cat.

I am surprised how small and handy the 450/400 appears despite the large round. It must be punishing to shoot.

I found several copies of Man-eaters of Kumaon at a used book store and purchased one. It’s an excellent read and a peep into the past when men were men.

A friend has a double rifle in .470NE and recoil isn’t that bad, about like 12ga turkey loads. Corbett also owned a Rigby bolt gun in .275 that saw some use on game way out of its intended league.

https://www.johnrigbyandco.com/rigby...5-rigby-rifle/

[Doc_Glock]

Here's the auction listing for it. https://www.morphyauctions.com/james...item/1038-373/

It looks handy because it's short. The typical bolt action is about eight inches long. Double rifles don't have that, so they handle more like carbines even though they often have 26" barrels.

I'd guess that recoil isn't all that bad mostly because even though it throws a 400-grain bullet, the muzzle velocity is 2,150 fps. Most doubles like that weigh between nine and 10 pounds. So more recoil than a 30-06 but not as bad as a light 338. More of a shove than a snap, I'd think.


Okie John

Thank you for that context. The lack of a reciprocating bolt is what makes it so "handy" of course! This was his heavy rifle.

Corbett also owned a Rigby bolt gun in .275 that saw some use on game way out of its intended league.

https://www.johnrigbyandco.com/rigby...5-rigby-rifle/

Thanks for the link I was going to discuss this morning that he called this his "mountain" rifle. I guess it was significantly lighter than the 450/400. At least one point in the book he laments at how he chose the light rifle for a scouting expedition because it carried so well, only to be faced with a pretty legitimate threat from tiger, and the light rifle wasn't all that comforting at that point.

Another fun vignette was when he only takes 3-4 rounds of ammo with him, ends up using it all on various game, then has to dispatch a wounded, but still very much alive bear with an axe. Lesson learned.

Men were men indeed!

Also: My 12 yo loves when I read this book out loud to him.

[Coyotesfan97]

Maneaters of Kumaon is two dollars for Kindle on Amazon.

[Coyotesfan97]

I just finished it. It was in the queue for awhile. It’s a great read. I really enjoyed his writing style and his love of the outdoors and the animals in it shines through. I’ll raise a glass for his dog Robin. He sounded like a great companion.

[Balisong]

Maneaters of Kumaon is two dollars for Kindle on Amazon.

Great, now I have another book in my Kindle to read. Unfortunately its gone up $5 since you posted this. I managed to scrape up the dough somehow

[LittleLebowski]

Great, now I have another book in my Kindle to read. Unfortunately its gone up $5 since you posted this. I managed to scrape up the dough somehow

Try this link.

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Eaters-Ku...s%2C167&sr=8-2

[Coyotesfan97]

Great, now I have another book in my Kindle to read. Unfortunately its gone up $5 since you posted this. I managed to scrape up the dough somehow

Try this link.

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Eaters-Ku...s%2C167&sr=8-2

I saw there is a Kindle edition that has the original illustrations in it for $7 and the link LL posted for $2.

[Coyotesfan97]

And I also found a book he wrote called My India that I bought too.