GregSY, here are some quotes from T Roosevelt's journal concerning his trip to Africa,
"Roosevelt wrote to Kermit “I think I shall get a double-barreled .450 cordite… It is no child’s play going after lion, elephant, rhino and buffalo.” Perhaps acting on this knowledge, this rifle was built in 1908, and in January 1909 Edward North Buxton, a personal friend of Roosevelt and a well-known hunter, together with a group of 55 British zoologists and sporting enthusiasts, presented the rifle as a gift. In a note of thanks to Buxton, Roosevelt called the rifle “a perfect beauty. The workmanship is like that of a watch…I cannot say how delighted I am with it.”
Kermit Roosevelt recalled “it shoots very accurately, but of course the recoil is tremendous....so severe that it became a standing joke as to whether we did not fear it more than a charging elephant!” This monster of a rifle later acquired the unofficial nickname of “The Big Stick,” derived from Roosevelt’s famous quotation “speak softly and carry a big stick,” itself from a West African proverb."
