The Firearm Blog

Have you ever wondered how much big bore ammo cost? Here is a list of cartridges from a few manufacturers. It is not a scientific sample, I have not taken into account quality of the brass or bullets. I am sure by hunting around you could find cheaper prices (ha, no pun intended).

The reason many are very expensive is that they are not mass produced, unlike the .405 Winchester and .375 H&H.

* Cost of bullet+brass unloaded, includes shipping cost.

Sources:

Winchester
The Firearm Blog
Kynoch Ammunition

There is ‘big bore’ and then there is the 2 bore. Schroeder & Hetzendorfer make a cartridge called the S&H 2 Bore Blackpowder Express.

These photos are amazing

.700 nitro express next to 2 bore and 3500 grain bronze solid

.500 S&W, .45-70, .700 Nitro Express, 2 bore

The caliber equivalent of 2 bore (’bore’ is generally interchangeable with ‘gauge’ in regard to caliber) is 1.326″ or 33.68mm! The bronze solid bullet weights 3500 grain / 1/2 pound / 226.80 grams!

While technically fired from a rifle these are more like massive shotgun slugs: a heavy projectile at a low velocity. The 2500 grain bronze solid leaves the barrel at 1500 ft/s and with 17487 ft·lb of energy.

Apart from the nerve destroying recoil, heavy rifle, heavy ammo and expense these big bullets slow down dramatically after entering the game and hitting bone. A problem when hunting elephant.

They even come bigger than this. The 1 bore has a caliber of 1.67″. The A Guage/Bore, about 2″, was used for punt guns.

More info at Schroeder & Hetzendorfer.

ACE has an interesting article on the 4 bore.

UPDATE

Jay Schroeder emailed me the pricing for for the brass and bullets:

Cartridge Cases are $495.00 per 10 pack shipped.

Copper FN Solids are $295.00 per 10 pack shipped.

All components are USA made by Americans from American material.

Although it may seem expensive, you are probably not going to purchase more than one set of brass.

The Gun Nut reviews the Remington Model 798 Safari Grade

Lurking, almost unsung in the Remington 08 lineup, is an absolutely terrific rifle called the Model 798 Safari Grade. It is a true, long-action, all-steel Model 98 Mauser stocked in laminated wood that looks like high-grade walnut. The barrel is 22 inches long, which is the proper length for a dangerous game rifle, and the front sling swivel stud is out on the barrel where it won’t gouge your hand. The price is $1,119 for a .375 H&H, and $1,189 for a .458.

More here

I found that several people have expressed an interest in obtaining a bolt action rifle in 45-70 caliber, most commonly done by converting a Siamese Mauser or P-14 Enfield. Many have suggested

instead getting a 458 Winchester magnum and loading it down, or using the 458 X 2″ wildcat. Now the 450 Marlin is available, and any bolt action with a H&H magnum bolt face can ve easily adopted to it.

An interesting discussion @ rec.guns.

The nearly 7 feet tall Anzio 20mm rifle (or cannon) is one amazing gun!

Featuring a 49″ long barrel (4 feet)

Bullet comparison of the .223 Rem (left), .338 lapua, 50BMG and 20mm Vulcan

Continue Reading »

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has bought 14 Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf AR-15 rifles.

The article is obviously written by someone with no clue about firearms. For example “…the new semiautomatic, .45-caliber Heckler & Koch machine pistols.”. I can’t be sure that the journalist understood the real reason why the Sheriff bought the .50 Beowulf rifles.

The journalist claims that the rifles are for ridding the expressway of cows and exotic animals, who sometimes escape from the local theme parks, such as elephant and lion.

I do not think killing cows would be money well spent on these expensive rifles. Surely a .308 will dispatch a cow just as fast and at a longer range. They are sure to have tactical rifles in their arsenal.

(Disclaimer: I have never hunted exotic dangerous game … the following is just my uninformed opinion)

If they were really worried about dangerous game a few .375 H&H rifles would be more effective.

According to Alexander Arms and Cartridges of the World 11th edition this is how the .375 H&H and the .50 Beowulf compare

The .375 H&H also offers much greater penetration due to the smaller caliber.

I do not think the Sheriff is really planning on using his new AR-15 rifles on elephants or lions! It is most likely for use against people and vehicles.

From Alexander Arms:

The external ballistics of the Beowulf® cartridge are well suited to urban environments where the shorter range template allows for more flexible application and the large projectile energy delivered by the ammunition can disable both motor vehicles and assailants with body armor. Windscreen glass does not affect the trajectory of the bullet nor does automotive body panels.

The .50 Beowulf AR is defiantly a very nice rifle Here is a video of is being shot:

David has written a post about Safari Outfitters Ltd. who produce left hand custom big bore rifles.

Safari Outfitters Ltd. Is a high-end gun store in Salt Point, NY, that is owned by Niles Wheeler. Niles is one of the finest human beings in the world, shoots left-handed, and has a soft spot for the directionally challenged. There are almost always a couple of nifty left-handed rifles (and sometimes even shotguns) in the racks, and since he knows a lot of sinistral shooters, he can often get hold of something left-handed when others can’t.

Below is a photo of the custom .416 Taylor rifle he is referring to in his post.

Read more here.

Have you ever heard of a punt gun?

A punt gun is a type of extremely large shotgun used in the 19th and 20th centuries for shooting large numbers of waterfowl for commercial harvesting operations. Punt guns were usually custom-designed and so varied widely, but could have bore diameters exceeding 2 inches and fire over a pound (.5 kilos) of shot at a time.

(From Wikipedia.org)

2 inches is over 50mm!

20mm is considered a cannon in the military! Unfortunately not many punt guns exist these days and most are not capable of being fired.

Here are some photos of punt guns and two videos showing one in operation.

A humorous blog post from Dave Petzal:

If you are not familiar with the 8-bore, it shoots a 1,250-grain conical bullet at about 1,500 fps, or an 860-grain round ball at 1,650 fps ….. This year, one of the .375 shooters got the chance to try it, and asked me if he should.

“Sure,” I said, “it will take you into a whole new world of pain that you never dreamed of.”

The round ball shot out of an 8 bore has a diameter on .820 inches! That is just over 20mm!

In one of the comments ThreePutt wrote:

“You teach a good lesson: One mans kick is another mans recoil.”

Very well said, I could not put it better myself!

Some of the other comments pointed out the dangers of both perceived recoil (how bad it feels to you) and actual recoil. I recommend reading the comments.

Below if a picture of an 8-bore rifle, it may be a Greener, but I am not sure: