Elephant gun

Due to their ineffectiveness on the largest game (up to 35 shots being recorded by some writers for a single elephant), they soon developed into larger caliber black powder smoothbores.

[2] These very large and very heavy firearms were the first to be known as the elephant guns of the black powder era (1850—1900), though their use also included all thick-skinned dangerous game such as rhinoceros, hippopotamus and cape buffalo.

Thus, dangerous game hunting in the 19th century was as much a test of the gun-bearer's ability to relay guns to the hunter, and of horsemanship to evade charges long enough to reload.

[2] Following the bore guns were the brass case "express" rounds, which incorporated black powder with modern ballistics by making relatively smaller projectiles go faster.

Other wildcats based on the heavy machine gun .50 BMG and similar anti-materiel rounds have been devised which are much more powerful, though they are not generally considered useful hunting arms as their weight usually exceeds 11 kg (25 lb).

The British used elephant guns as a means of countering the German tactic of having their snipers advance towards enemy lines under the cover of a large, 6–10 millimeter (0.24–0.4 inch) thick steel plate.

[6] In World War II, Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta gave his personal collection of elephant rifles to Royal Italian Army troops under his command during the East African campaign.