The Largest Tiger Ever Taken

[shooter50]

Just happened to pass by on my annual tour. It was a 450/400 I think. The tape might have been shrunk a little to please the Viceroy.

 

[shooter50]

25°30'42.6"N 77°43'00.0"E https://maps.google.com/?q=25.511843,77.716674

 

[Professor Mawla]

My mentor , the late Pachabdhi Gazi shot a marauding Royal Bengal tiger which was nicknamed the “ Terror Of Golkhali “ in 1972 . This occurred in the Gabura Union of the Buri Goalini forest range . It was his 55th marauder and measured 12 feet . He killed the marauder with an Eley Alphamax LG shell fired from his Belgian 12 bore exposed hammer side by side shotgun . The incident is briefly talked about , in Pachabdhi’s biography in this video :

Speaking for myself , the largest marauding Royal Bengal tiger which I have ever shot till now weighed only 273 kilograms and measured only ten feet seven inches ( from snout to tail ) . He charged , so I took a frontal brain shot with my .458 Winchester Magnum and a 510 grain Winchester Super Speed soft point factory load .

I was so impressed with the animal’s size that I featured the photograph on the cover of my book , when I first published it in 1999 .

 

[Red Leg]

600 lbs - what a huge beast!

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Are these measured from peg to peg, or over the curves?

 

[shooter50]

My guess is these measurements are over the curves.

 

[R.M.C.]

It would be nice to know how they were measuring. Huge cats anyway!!!!

 

[Professor Mawla]

600 lbs - what a huge beast!

@Red Leg Sir
Thank you very much . Pachabdhi Gazi’s 55th marauding Royal Bengal tiger actually weighed 306 kilograms ( 675 pounds ) .

 

[Professor Mawla]

Are these measured from peg to peg, or over the curves?

@Wyatt Smith
From the end of the tail to the tip of the snout ( below my bullet hole ) .

 

[Professor Mawla]

It would be nice to know how they were measuring. Huge cats anyway!!!!

@R.M.C.
From the end of the tail to the tip of the snout ( below my .458 calibre bullet hole ) .

 

[Randy F]

@R.M.C.
From the end of the tail to the tip of the snout ( below my .458 calibre bullet hole ) .
View attachment 367283

Hey, you ruined the mount. Couldn’t you have asked him to turn broadside while he charged at you?

Seriously though, that’s a heck of a shot under pressure. Well done.

 

[Professor Mawla]

Hey, you ruined the mount. Couldn’t you have asked him to turn broadside while he charged at you?

Seriously though, that’s a heck of a shot under pressure. Well done.

@Randy F
Thank you very much . To quote @Major Khan Sir “ Self preservation is a man’s first duty “ .

 

[Randy F]

@Randy F
Thank you very much . To quote @Major Khan Sir “ Self preservation is a man’s first duty “ .

Without a doubt.
It’s one thing to say you can do it. We all assume we could. It’s quite another for those of us who haven’t been tested as certain death (by rather nasty painful causes) bears down at high speed only feet away.
My hat’s off to all of you who have done it. I love to read about them all on this forum from cats to buffalo, pigs to elephants.
I hope I never have to find out if I can do it.
The closest I’ve come is a bluff by a black bear. I stood my ground and thankfully didn’t have to make the shot. But that doesn’t mean I completed the process with clean pants.
The only other time was when I had a white tail doe rear up in front of my because I had accidentally walked too close to her fawn while turkey hunting. That time I ran like a little girl.

 

[Professor Mawla]

Without a doubt.
It’s one thing to say you can do it. We all assume we could. It’s quite another for those of us who haven’t been tested as certain death (by rather nasty painful causes) bears down at high speed only feet away.
My hat’s off to all of you who have done it. I love to read about them all on this forum from cats to buffalo, pigs to elephants.
I hope I never have to find out if I can do it.
The closest I’ve come is a bluff by a black bear. I stood my ground and thankfully didn’t have to make the shot. But that doesn’t mean I completed the process with clean pants.
The only other time was when I had a white tail doe rear up in front of my because I had accidentally walked too close to her fawn while turkey hunting. That time I ran like a little girl.

@Randy F
I am certain that you are far braver than you give yourself credit for . The closest an animal ever came to killing me , was a rogue Asiatic elephant which I was hunting in 1977 . It actually managed to ambush me . Here is an English translation of the story of the marauding Royal Bengal tiger , which I had shot in 1976 . I do hope that you shall enjoy it .

The Day I Learnt The Importance Of Proper Information & Preparation

Tonight , I will relate a story of a hunting incident from the winter of 1976 . It features in chapter five of my book . It highlights the importance of taking proper preparation , when going off to hunt dangerous game . And why failure to do so , can have adverse consequences for not only the...

www.africahunting.com

 

[Randy F]

Thanks I’ll check it out.
I think for most it’s it’s probably less a question of bravery than experience level and preparedness. When it happens, I’m sure it quickly becomes less a choice but, as you say, survival. I’d guess most on this forum have hunted most of their lives and although experience levels may vary, they likely wouldn’t be in that situation if they weren’t confident in their abilities and experience to count on them when the time comes to react. As maybe reflex. They are in the situation because they’re actually looking for game, and know what the risks are in the first place. But you still have to place the shot whether or not you stand your ground. That has to be an unforgettably intense moment. That is impressive to me.

 

[Professor Mawla]

Thanks I’ll check it out.
I think for most it’s it’s probably less a question of bravery than experience level and preparedness. When it happens, I’m sure it quickly becomes less a choice but, as you say, survival. I’d guess most on this forum have hunted most of their lives and although experience levels may vary, they likely wouldn’t be in that situation if they weren’t confident in their abilities and experience to count on them when the time comes to react. As maybe reflex. They are in the situation because they’re actually looking for game, and know what the risks are in the first place. But you still have to place the shot whether or not you stand your ground. That has to be an unforgettably intense moment. That is impressive to me.

@Randy F
I will share my own fear with you - Having to hunt a Royal Bengal tiger during the daytime .

I am often asked by apprentice Probem Animal Control Officers “ Are you more afraid of hunting Royal Bengal tigers during the daytime , or during nighttime ? “ . My answer is always , without hesitation “ Daytime “ . Upon hearing this , many question my assessment but I do believe that an explanation is in order . Suppose it is daytime , and a group of beaters have a Royal Bengal tiger surrounded for you . You approach the scene ; rifle in hand . The beaters point at the Royal Bengal tiger for you and ask you to shoot it . As soon as you make eye contact with the Royal Bengal tiger , it will ignore everyone else and attack you ( the person armed with the rifle ) right away .

This is strangely not the case , during nighttime . As a young man prior to 1974 ( when Royal Bengal tigers still had not been formally recognized as a legally protected species in Bangladesh ) , I used to spend my entire nights chasing and shooting Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarban mangrove forests . On some occasions , I would see three Royal Bengal tigers lying down and I would shoot two of them to death at point blank range . The third one ( even after locking eyes with me ) would refrain from attacking me and would simply bound off into the foliage . For some reason , Royal Bengal tigers are far less aggressive during the nighttime than they are during the day .

 

[Randy F]

@Randy F
I will share my own fear with you - Having to hunt a Royal Bengal tiger during the daytime .

I am often asked by apprentice Probem Animal Control Officers “ Are you more afraid of hunting Royal Bengal tigers during the daytime , or during nighttime ? “ . My answer is always , without hesitation “ Daytime “ . Upon hearing this , many question my assessment but I do believe that an explanation is in order . Suppose it is daytime , and a group of beaters have a Royal Bengal tiger surrounded . You approach the scene ; rifle in hand . The beaters point at the Royal Bengal tiger for you and ask you to shoot it . As soon as you make eye contact with the Royal Bengal tiger , it will ignore everyone else and attack you ( the person armed with the rifle ) right away .

This is strangely not the case , during nighttime . As a young man prior to 1974 ( when Royal Bengal tigers were still formally not recognized as a legally protected species in Bangladesh ) , I used to spend my entire nights chasing and shooting Royal Bengal tigers in the Sundarban mangrove forests . On some occasions , I would see three Royal Bengal tigers lying down and I would shoot two of them to death at point blank range . The third one ( even after locking eyes with me ) would refrain from attacking me and would simply bound off into the foliage . For some reason , Royal Bengal tigers are far less aggressive during the nighttime than they are during the day .

Wow. Well there you are, experience and preparedness. There is no way for you to have discovered that without them. Because of those things and your willingness, you became not only capable but the the go-to guy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[shooter50]

Cant imagine hunting tigers at night. On a car/jeep with a spotlight yes maybe. But on foot at night a big NO

 

[Professor Mawla]

Cant imagine hunting tigers at night. On a car/jeep with a spotlight yes. But on foot at night a big NO

@shooter50
In the Sundarban mangrove forests , a vehicle is out of the question because there is water everywhere . There are three methods of hunting a Royal Bengal tiger :
A ) Beats
B ) Over bait
C ) Stalking on foot and shooting over torchlight .

With the exception of three marauders , most of the Royal Bengal tigers which I have shot were by using method C . I assure you . It is completely simple and a straightforward . A gentleman such as yourself could easily do it .

 

[cpr0312]

Wow big cats!!!