But hunters of that era rarely worked alone, and you gauged the character of your friends as if your life depended on them, because it very well could.
I think it was once said that companion hunters of the highest possible skill and courage were required to hunt BUFF and that selection for such a hunt was a compliment of the highest order. BUFF and HIPPO kill more folks each year than just about another other species.
I remember the reload sequence for a double rifle was to have the spare rounds held between the 1st and 2nd & 2nd and third fingers of the off hand for quick insertion into the chambers. Is that correct?
Sort of. The Cape Buffalo [Syncerus caffer or Baas Buffel killed more people including natives than the other members of the African *Big Five,* while the very territorial Hippo kills more members of hunting parties at disputed waterholes; either can easily outrun a human. But neither consider humans as a primary food source, and crocs do.
I remember the reload sequence for a double rifle was to have the spare rounds held between the 1st and 2nd & 2nd and third fingers of the off hand for quick insertion into the chambers. Is that correct?
That's one method, and probably the most common. Another was to carry a single round in the off hand, on the theory that if that last shot was needed, it'd be a matter of desperation, and having two holes to drop the single round into doubled the chances of making it happen, usually during a hunt for big cats. And there were those who carried that last backup round in the mouth between their teeth instead, rim outward.