Harold Harton is a veteran outdoorsman and photographer, and a longtime contributor to the Lampasas.Dispatch Record. I never have wanted to kill an elephant. If I did, it would be in a situation where a destructive rogue elephant was killing people and destroying crops and homes.

If I were in a situation like that, I would use the largest caliber I could handle with the heaviest, non-expanding bullet designed to penetrate the depth of the skull and reach the brain. I cannot imagine using a 7mm bullet of 175 grains shot from a 7X57 Mauser.

That is the very caliber and load chosen by D.W.M. Bell, a well-todo Englishman who traveled to East Africa in the late 1800s and early 1900s where he proceeded to kill more than 1,000 elephants, mostly for the ivory. That was his lifelong profession.

Although he used other calibers, Bell was very fond of the 7X57 Mauser built for him by the Rigby firm in England.

My 7x57 built on the Fabrique Nationale Action, Douglas Premium Barrel, Leupold 4x Scope. PHOTO BY HAROLD HARTON How does the above relate to my choice of the all-around caliber? Well, it just so happens that the 7X57 Mauser – or .275 Rigby as it is called by the English — is my choice.

This caliber was developed as a military round about 1892, and it has served many countries around the world in this capacity. The load used militarily was a 175-grain full patch (non-expanding) bullet loaded to produce about 2,200 feet per second from the muzzle. The breech pressure was kept in the low 40,000 poundsper square-inch range due to the weak earlyday actions for which it was designed.

This cartridge case is 57 millimeters long (2.235 inches) and fires a 7mm or .284-inch diameter bullet. This case has been the parent case for the development of cartridges such as the .224 Clark, the 6mm Remington, the .257 Roberts, the 8X57 Mauser -- which was the German military round during most of the 20th century -- and the 9X57 sporting cartridge used by some of the African hunters. All these cartridges were simply the necking down or expanding up to the size of the bullet diameter.

Bullet weights vary from 100 grain through the 175 grain, but my favorite is the 140 grain, which offers a very flat trajectory and excellent killing power, especially using some of the new solid copper bullets made by Hornady and Barnes bullet companies.

Today, the modern hunter can get a very different cartridge using the same case in a modern, strong action, such as the Remington Model 700 or the Ruger Model 77 bolt action. The very fine Fabrique Nationale Mauser-design action is also a good choice for the foundation for a custom rifle. These actions will handle pressures safely up in the high 50,000 pounds-per-square-inch range.

Loading data for these actions will produce a cartridge that will almost duplicate the .270 Winchester and the .30-06 in muzzle energy, and will do so with several grains less powder and less recoil.

My experience with this caliber in a Remington Model 700 reached slightly over 3,000 feet per second muzzle velocity with a 140-grain bullet out of a 24-inch barrel and with no indication of high pressure. This load will give one killing power that compares with the 130- grain .270, and will do so with about 10 grains less powder and less recoil.

Although the late Jack O’Connor was an avid fan of the .270 Winchester, his wife took her custom-built 7X57 with her to Africa and took all her animals on several safaris using this, her favorite rifle.

There are so many fine choices of caliber that will fit this description as an all-around caliber, but this old man, who is about 118 years old, is a great choice.