Spike TV rarely quickens my heart, but there is one particular show that I do enjoy watching: The Deadliest Warrior. I suppose that it is a guy thing, but seeing a variety of ancient and modern weapons brandished is always exciting. I do like the fact that they TRY to be scientific with their measurements. The fact is that quite often they are not. However, the results are still quite impressive. A blade or bullet can do some interesting things to bone and ballistics gelatin. In the past I've rooted for the Samurai and William Wallace as my favorites, but I have one to top them all now!
I offer for you consideration the deadliest warrior of them all (who is not really a warrior):
Well, okay. Not Roosevelt HIMSELF, but African hunters in general (especially those dashing British army officers). First of all, hunters excel in bushcraft and deception. I would say even more so than most basic military forces. We are sneaky people by nature! Secondly, hunters bear very, very powerful firearms. Oftentimes these firearms are chambered in cartridges that are vastly more powerful than their military counterparts. Finally, the first white hunters in Africa were current or former British army, so they had both military and hunting experience. That is a combination that is dang tough to beat.
A man is only as good as his weapons though, and luckily for the African hunter of say, the 1920's the options were good!
Firstly, I present to you the Webley Mark VI Service Revolver:
Yes, it is old. It is also UTTERLY RELIABLE and fires a quite powerful round, the .455 Webley. How powerful, you may ask? How about a 265 gr. bullet at over 750 feet per second? The famed .45 ACP, of 1911 heritage, fires a 230 gr. bullet at 830 feet per second. That is not bad at all. The Webley also has a lot of other stuff going for it. As mentioned before, it is very reliable and performed excellently in the mud and trenches of two world wars. It also is a break-open revolver, which means the it loads quickly. In addition, there was a considerable amount of accessories for the pistol, including a bayonet, quickloader, and a carbine stock.
Next, I offer you the mainstay, the Lee-Enfield Rifle:
What can one say about the Enfield? Again, it was a British Army mainstay and different versions of it have been in service from 1895 to present. It is capable of considerable accuracy and was used effectively as a sniper rifle. It also has a large capacity for a bolt-action (10 rounds) and by using the "volley-fire" technique one can easy shoot a round per second. What is more, it is chambered in the .303 British cartridge, which fires a 150 gr. projectile at around 2770 feet per second. This approaches the velocity of modern the .308 Winchester (7.62 NATO) round. It was used to kill every imagineable enemy of the British Empire and even elephants by some (See Walter "Karamoja" Bell). What is more, it was even used by the Irish to kill the English. Suffice it to say that if you design a weapon and your enemies decide it is good enough to be used against you then you are onto a keeper.
For extremely close range the African hunter would have a panga or machete.
There isn't much that needs to be said. Whether you are felling trees, enemies, or beheading buffalo, the machete will get the job done.
That brings us to the final offensive weapon of the African hunter. What a dandy it is! I will preface this by saying that there isn't a single specific weapon, but rather a class of weapons that fit the bill. These are the classic British double-rifles chambered in cartridges intended to stop big game. These cartridges range from the .450-400 Nitro Express 3" to the behemoth .700 Nitro Express.
For our purposes I'll take the middle ground and standardize the .470 Nitro Express as the cartridge of choice. The .470 pushes a 500 gr. bullet at 2150 feet per second. That is enough to stop an elephant, hippo, or cape buffalo in its tracks. It is also enough to blow completely through an engine block. This makes it an effective choice for taking out light vehicles. What is more, you don't have to pack around some awkward RPG and can shoot from concealment much more easily. If the .470 isn't enough for you, you could easily go with the .700 Nitro Express, which actually has more energy at the muzzle than the .50 BMG. Either way, you've got a rifle that has loads of power and can be fired very quickly in succession.
Finally, the African hunter would wear a stylish pith helmet:
These helmets were first made out of pith and then later cork. Not only are they stylish, but there can be soaked in water to cool the wearer and can be camouflaged as necessary. It goes without saying that they are super-classy!
Well, there you have it! That is my nomination for the Deadliest Warrior! What can stand against that?
