[Jeff Higgins]

There is a big difference between a "killing" shot on game vs. a "disabling" (or "stopping") shot on game. Even Bell, armed with his ".275 Rigby" (really the 7mm Mauser) preferred lung shots on elephant. They would wander off and eventually die without disturbing the rest of the herd. He could shoot a good number of them that way as long as he went undetected.

Bell was also the master of the "stopping" shot, reportedly having an uncanny ability to visualize the location of the elephant's brain inside that massive skull and hit it from any angle. His little 7mm was more than adequate when coupled with his knowledge of elephant physiology and ability to remain calm and make good hits under intense pressure. Bell well understood that the only real "stopping" shot was to some component of the central nervous system, either the brain or the spinal cord.

Folks confuse a "stopping shot" with "stopping power". Able to succeed at the former, one does not need the latter. Any properly designed bullet, regardless of size or kinetic energy, so long as it has adequate penetration to reach the brain or spine will stop any animal in its tracks. Where we would like to have the latter at our disposal is simply when there is some doubt as to being able to succeed at the former.

John "Pondoro" Taylor probably expounded upon the "stopping rifle" and "stopping power" more than anyone before or since. He even went as far as to assign "knockout" values to all popular sporting calibers with standard bullets. This "Taylor Knockout Value" relates to the likelihood of stunning an elephant, and how long said elephant is likely to remain stunned, with a non-lethal frontal head shot. When you miss the brain. This is the value and purpose of the big "stopping" rifles - to buy time under less than ideal circumstances of either time, distance, or more likely both. Stagger the bastard until you can finish him. Not as elegant as Bell's precise approach, but this world hasn't seen many men of his ability.

And yes, more bear have fallen to native hunters armed with the little "triple deuce" the old .222 Remington, or the .223 Remington, or the venerable .30-30 than all of our big magnums combined. These guys are patient, experts in the physiology of their quarry, and fully understand concept of "it's the Indian, not the arrow". A hit behind the ear, from close range, with a .222 trumps a muffed too high or too far back broadside shot taken by a "hunter" in the next province blazing away with his latest .338 Eargeschplitzenloudenboomer.