There are many things to be considered before an order should be
positively given. What is the rifle wanted for? What is the personal
strength of the purchaser? In what portion of the world is he going to
shoot? Will he be on foot, or will he shoot from horseback or from an
elephant? Will the game be dangerous, or will it be confined to deer,
etc.?

Not only the weapon but the ammunition will depend upon a reply to these
questions, and the purchaser should strongly resist the delusion that
any one particular description will be perfect as a so-called general
rifle. You may as well expect one kind of horse or one pattern of ship
to combine all the requirements of locomotion as to suppose that a
particular rifle will suit every variety of game or condition of
locality.

In South Africa accuracy is necessary at extremely long ranges for the
open plains, where antelopes in vast herds are difficult of approach. In
Indian jungles the game is seldom seen beyond fifty or sixty yards. In
America the stalking among the mountains is similar to that of the
Scottish Highlands, but upon a larger scale. In Central Africa the
distances are as uncertain as the quality of the animals that may be
encountered.

Upon the level plains of India, where the blackbuck forms the main
object of pursuit, extreme accuracy and long range combined are
necessary, with a hollow Express bullet that will not pass through the
body. How is it possible that any one peculiar form of rifle can combine
all these requirements? Rifles must be specially adapted for the animals
against which they are to be directed. I have nothing to do with the