IIRC, doesn’t the assassin use a .22 LR cartridge to try the shot?
Unless at very close range, that choice for a shooter that would only get one shot seemed chancy.
It’s been almost fifty years since I saw the movie. I really can’t recall but the way the rifle was hidden seems as though a smaller caliber would be required.
I’ve wanted to rewatch this movie for years and will tonight.
They looked like .22 to me. But they were explosive rounds (involving mercury somehow I think). It disassembled into a walking stick. The scene where he sights it in with a watermelon is unforgettable.
I always assumed it was a .22 WMR, Hornet or Bee.
IIRC, the actual bullet for the kill shot was explosive Lead-azide or something similar.
Personally, I prefer the weapon Bruce Willis used in the 1st remake.
Poor Jack Black!