A Close Shave
Today I am going to relate a small incident which happened with my father. This event took place before the ban of hunting in India in 1972.
I am sorry but I will not relate the place of this occurrence due to obvious reasons.
A few words about my father .My father is a very energetic man. He is very fond of fishing . We still go fishing when time permits us. He was very fond of hunting. He used to reload his own cartridges. My grandfather had a IOF 12 bore DBBL (Double Barrel Breach Loading) gun which he later sold due to personal reasons. My father was expert in all types of firearms. His expertise with shotguns can be ascertained by the fact that he dropped 16 green pigeons using a no. 2 shot in his friend’s SBBL (Single Barrel Breach Loading) 12 bore gun.
Now on to the story . It occurred in the first week of February . It was a pleasurable afternoon .My father had returned from college and had finished his lunch. He was sitting in the courtyard when his friend came and informed that wild boars have started coming down from the hills in the nearby fields of sweet potatoes .He told that he was planning to hunt them with his father’s IOF 12 bore DBBL (Double Barrel Breach Loading) and wanted my father to join him. My father being a keen sportsman readily agreed to it. They left for the fields arming themselves with the shotgun and spherical ball cartridges by Indian Ordanance factories. They had converted the shot cartridge into balls and tightened it with refolding machine owned by his friend’s father.
When they reached the field they looked for a suitable place to make an “Aata”( blind in the ground). They made their Aata ”( blind in the ground) and sat down covering themselves with the thick blankets in wait for the wild boars. Soon it was dark and cold winds started flowing. Time was passing steadily when in middle of the night they heard a boar munching heavily on the sweet potatoes. In the dark my father could make out that it was a very big boar by its munching sound.
My father signalled his friend and he flashed the torch on the boar. Bang went the gun .The brute was hit but instead of going down he charged at my father. My father threw his blanket and fired again but the gun misfired. In a fraction of second he jumped in opposite direction of the brute’s charge. The brute’s tusks had missed my father’s stomach by a few inches. Any delay would have been extremely fatal.
They reloaded the gun and searched for the boar. It was hit for sure because they later found a pool of blood near the river. The boar however was not found and later they found out that the local villagers had stolen the big boar in the dark of the night. They were very disappointed.
My father still hunted till the ban on hunting in 1972. He is an expert fisherman also.He used to land big fishes with great ease.
The spot is still present and my father always points it out whenever we cross that area.
To this day my father remembers that horrifying night where he had a close shave with death.
About the whole incident , he just says that it was God who protected him that night.
I would like to Thank Major Poton Khan Sir who inspired and guided me in preparing this article.
He also sent me pictures of the DBBL Gun and Cartridges for my article.
IOF 12 Bore DBBL Gun(Double Barrel Breach Loading) Gun.
Sample of some old cartridges. They came in various shot sizes like no.2,4,6,7.
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