unusual rifles

A

alan

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Speaking of unusual rifles, if anyone has read Unintended Consequences by John Ross, a long but interesting read, consider a couple of the rifles mentioned therein. Start with an English made 4 bore bp double, 2100 grain bullets over 440 grains of Fg. Then there was a five round .500 on a U.S. Enfield action and finally a 348 Winchester necked down to 6mm, for a single shot "varmint" rifle.

Some of the above may existed solely in the writers imagination, for the most part, I never got past 30-06 and .308's, but the bookj, a novel IS interesting from several points of view. Sorry if my "mixing of metaphores" upset anyone..
 
Alan. The 4 bore did exist. In John Taylors RIFLES AND CARTRIDGES FOR AFRICAN GAME, there is a picture and discription of the round in detail. As to a .500 caliber round in an Enfield? Why not? The 1917 Enfield has been chambers for many of the longer magnum rounds. The above mentioned book shows a couple of .500's that could easily have been put in an Enfield. As to the 6mm/.348? I couldn't find anything in any of my lierature, but based on the multitude of 6MM wildcat cartridges in P,O, Ackely's books, I see no reason to not believe the cartridge has not been done at one time or another.
Paul B.
P.S. I might consider shooting that .500, but darn well would stay as far away from that 4-bore as I could get. I think that one would hurt, just a touch.
P.B.
 
During May of this year, I was at a tradeshow in Nashville's Opryland Hotel. I saw an exhibit of some of the Roy Acuff gun collection. Among other things were at least two, if not more--I disremember, now--of black powder four-bores. One was a double. One had a rather thick-walled barrel (circa 1859) which might not have had the recoil of the lighter version(s).

As near as I can tell about U.C., the guns were based on reality and the shots were practicable.

FWIW, Art
 
Back in the mid to late 1970s the "American Rifleman" had a feature article entitled "Mighty Rifles of the Past" by George Hoyem and there was a picture of a 4 bore double rifle and a Kynoch 4 gauge brass shell on the front cover. (I used to own that 4 gauge cartridge). They really existed and there was an explorer/hunter, I think by the name of Selous, who had a double discharge with his 4 bore rifle while shooting an elephant -- lacerated his cheek and dislocated his shoulder and the rifle flew out of his hands. He says he had an awful flinch for the rest of his life. The elephant was dead in his tracks. I've seen .50 BMG cases necked down to .22 cal "just for fun" and Winchester used to make a shotgun primer that looked like a miniature PPC case; people would stick a #6 shot in it and call it a 2mm (or whatever the diameter) "Whatzitt." I even saw a cartridge that had a reverse taper -- the bullet was twice the diameter of the base and rim! Beware of fakes!
 
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