In the Kenya colony of the early 1900s, a favourite pastime was shooting lions by ‘galloping’ them from horseback. Lions were considered vermin in those days and, as abhorrent as it may seem today, shot on sight.
One man who participated in this dangerous pastime was George Grey, an Englishman of aristocratic birth who happened to be the brother of Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary of the time. On the morning of January 29, 1911, George wounded a big lion with his .280 Ross. The .280 Ross was then a red-hot cartridge, firing a 145-grain bullet at almost 2900fps, roughly the equivalent of a .270 Winchester in today’s context.
Grey wounded the lion from long range and, as the cat charged him, dismounted to face the approach. A first shot at 25 yards as well as a second one at five yards failed to stop the enraged cat as it grabbed Grey and mauled him severely.
Grey’s companions eventually shot the lion but he succumbed from his
