I picked this movie up out of the cheap rack at Best Buy for like $6.99 today.

Granted it is not the greatest movie, but I like the turn of the century weapons that abound.

Does anyone know what bolt action rifle Val Kilmer uses in the movie? I'm guessing it is an early Enfield type  but was wondering if anyone knew the exact model?

"You went into battle with an untested weapon?!!"

I enjoyed it, but there were some really dumb moments. The missfire is one.

You pull the trigger and it doesn't fire... SO YOU JUST STAND THERE? Atleast turn it around get ready to use it as a club.

Nobody knows?? Ideas?? Anyone??

I am a little disappointed.

I'm going off memory here but isn't it a mauser actioned rifle? Probably on one fo the large, turn of the century cartridges like .375 H&H.

Edit: Definetly not a Mauser action. It does appear to be an Enfield action, but not my area of expertise. Anyone know?

Here is the first rifle that he uses.   I have to go for a while so when I get back I will post more pictures

enfield in what 303?

It looks like .303, but it is not a SMLE action.

What was the precusor to SMLE?

I like the movie.

When the movie came out, I was dating a girl who really liked that Val guy. So I took her to see the movie, she was in my lap just about the entire movie, Yup a real good movie that one was....

Peterson used a .303.

The movie covers the first 1/3 of his book, "The Maneaters of Tsavo."  I was strolling through Books-A-Million and it jumped out at me.

The movie took a fair amount of liberties and hollywoodizing, but some things, like making a trap with a rail car and live people in it were true.  He was some distance off at a right angle to the expected line of fire and bullets were whizzing past him when those guys started shooting.

Also, the misfire with the borrowed rifle happened.

It's a pretty interesting read.

Ok, I think I answered my own question.

It looks to me to be a sporterized Lee-Metford. This would be the proper rifle for the time and chambered in .303.

What do you guys think?


Lee-Metford Mark I, Mark I* (1888) and Mark II (1890):

.303 was considered an adequate cartridge for African game back then, no need for a .499SuperDuperMagnum.

Kharn

so was the 8mm mauser but it think id rather have my 338 at the smallest and my 475 at the other end.

the stuffed lions are here in the field musuem in chicago pretty cool, but about half the size of the movie lions

Quoted: the stuffed lions are here in the field musuem in chicago pretty cool, but about half the size of the movie lions

IIRC that was due to part of the hides being made into a rug or wall hanging, the rest of the hides were then mounted for the lions you see on display.

Quoted: the stuffed lions are here in the field musuem in chicago pretty cool, but about half the size of the movie lions

Here you go,

After completing the railroad, Patterson became chief game warden in Kenya and later served with the British Army in World War I. He published four books and lectured widely on his adventures. After speaking at The Field Museum in 1924, Patterson sold the museum the lion skins and skulls for the then-sizeable sum of $5,000.

The skins arrived in less-than-perfect condition--old and dry, they had been cut down into rugs. (In real life the lions were even larger than they appear as taxidermy mounts.) The skins were also blemished by gunshot wounds and thorn scratches. Museum taxidermist Julius Friesser did an extraordinary job creating the life-like mounts you can see at The Field Museum.


www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/tsavo/default.htm

Quoted: The skins were also blemished by gunshot wounds and thorn scratches. Museum taxidermist Julius Friesser did an extraordinary job creating the life-like mounts you can see at The Field Museum

lol, no crap they'd have been blemished by GSWs, they didnt die from heart attacks.

Kharn

Quoted: Ok, I think I answered my own question. It looks to me to be a sporterized Lee-Metford. This would be the proper rifle for the time and chambered in .303. What do you guys think? Lee-Metford Mark I, Mark I* (1888) and Mark II (1890): www.militaryrifles.com/Britain/MetfordMK1-02.JPG

It might be either a sporterized Lee/Metford or Long Lee (Lee Enfield) or a commercial variant. The Lee Metford and the Lee Enfield and eventually the Short, Magazine, Lee Enfield (SMLE) are all basically the same action. the big difference is the rifling, the Lee Metford have Metford rifling, and the Lee Enfields have Enfield rifling. The switch from black powder to smokeless and cordite wore the Metford type rifling too quickly, thus the change. The Lee comes from the developer of the magazine feeding system (He was a Canadian by the by).

SMLE (The No. 1 rifles, Marks I, I*, I*IP, III, III*, etc) all developed from shortening the original "Long Lee", which devceloped from the Lee Metfords. These rifles came about in the late 1800's...a time when many officers were truly a different class, and would purchase their own rifles many times. Just as US officers could purchase their own fancy "Officers Model" Trapdoor Springfields, British officers could purchase their own fancy grade with many options. BSA was also a commercial manufacturer, and manufactured fancy grade hunting Lee Metfords/Enfields for private purchase, mainly by the gentry (the common man could not afford one!).

Notice in the close up pic, the magazine has been cut down, and there is checkering on the forearm...but it retains the military magazine cut-off lever. In any case its a beauty, wish I had it in my collection!

Quoted: Quoted: the stuffed lions are here in the field musuem in chicago pretty cool, but about half the size of the movie lions Here you go, After completing the railroad, Patterson became chief game warden in Kenya and later served with the British Army in World War I. He published four books and lectured widely on his adventures. After speaking at The Field Museum in 1924, Patterson sold the museum the lion skins and skulls for the then-sizeable sum of $5,000. The skins arrived in less-than-perfect condition--old and dry, they had been cut down into rugs. (In real life the lions were even larger than they appear as taxidermy mounts.) The skins were also blemished by gunshot wounds and thorn scratches. Museum taxidermist Julius Friesser did an extraordinary job creating the life-like mounts you can see at The Field Museum. www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/exhibit_sites/tsavo/default.htm

Yup, I understand that, being through all that, they still represent sizeable cats.

Also, Hollywood gave them big bushy manes, but, although both were male, neither had a mane.

i thought it was a good movie plus i got it for $5