I just received a new book from Safari Press - RIFLES FOR AFRICA - Woods, G. - that gives a good description of early 4 bore elephant guns and their place in African history. Bloody mouths and noses, permanent nerve damage, broken fingers, dizzyness, headaches, dislocated shoulders, uncontrollable lifetime flinches... and that's just from being on the back end of the rifle! And then unless they were very fortunate, they had to shoot any given elephant several times to bring it down... often at distances of nine paces... that is if it didn't stomp the democrat right out of them in the meantime. NO THANKS! No romantic 4 bore notions here.