The Firearm Blog

Perfect for muzzle loader hunting season and living out your South Seas whaling fantasy Just $22,000 (shipping from Norway not included in price).

More about it at Snowflakes in Hell.

If the suave gentlemen in the above photo had a beautiful woman beside him, I think the scene could hardly be distinguished from a Bond movie. Style, sophistication and an incredible amount of high explosive firepower!

The side mounted pistol grip makes this a very compact weapon for its class.

Quite frankly, this is an awesome piece of hardware. I can't say much else than that. I hope to be writing more about this weapon in the near future.

A big thanks to Groot Mamba for the photos.

Master gunsmith Steve Zihn, who made the huge 2 bore rifle I have blogged about before, emailed these photos of this magnificent .54 caliber flintlock rifle he built.

Look at the trigger blade. Beautiful.

It has a 44″ swamped barrel.

The rifle along with a matching custom made knife is being raffled off to raise money for the Cowboy Church in Riverton, Wyoming. Tickets for the raffle cost $10 each or 3 for $25 and can be purchased from CJ Vandermuehlen. He can be contacted at 1-307-851 8829 or at the below email address.

Colin Stolzer, who owns Stolzer & Son’s Gunsmithing, emailed me photos of a custom 8 Bore Boxlock muzzleloader he was recently build for a client. It is a true work of art.

Click to expand the photos (the small thumbnails do not do it justice):

8 Bore (.835″) 1:104 twist Octagon to wedding band transition then straight tapered round to the muzzle.
Jeff Tanner Ball Mould (.805″).

The finished rifle weighs right at 11 pounds.

The Action is a Pete Allan Boxlock Casting, it is representative of the 1860’s Edwin Wesson Boxlocks. The metal finish is rust blued.

The Ramrod is Rosewood w/ a steel button on one end and a threaded steel tip on the other for accessories.

It has a full length underrib to add a little weight.

The Stock is rock maple, stained with a dark walnut stain and then oil finished and then waxed to a sheen.

The forearms has an ebony tip, all the pipes, underrib, front sight and sight base were custom made in my shop.

The action was also reshaped, and the original triggerguard was removed and replace with the more elegant and classic one in the finished pictures.

The butt plate is a wide English style plate. The checkering is flattop.

I asked Colin to email me some photos to give a sense of scale to large bore size.

8 bore balls. These would weight 875 grains is they were pure lead.

A nickel on the barrel.

Many thanks to Colin for emailing me this photos. If you are wanting a custom muzzleloader designed I am sure Colin could make you one. His contact info is on his website.

Billll @ Billlls Idle Mind took some photos of a friends’ 2-bore rifle.

More photos and load info here.
Later in the week I will be posting a heap of 2 Bore photos I have gotten from a gun maker who specializes in big bore rifles.

I have blogged about the S&H 2 Bore cartridge before. The problem is visualizing such a massive cartridge with no reference. I asked Jay at Schroeder & Hetzendorfer if he could take a photo featuring a 2 bore and a common cartridge and he kindly obliged.

9mm Parabellum vs. S&H 2-Bore. Click to expand the image.

9mm rifle cartridges are considered big bore, for example the .375 H&H*, yet the the caliber looks minuscule compared to the mighty 33mm (1.326″) caliber 2-Bore!

Individually the S&H 2-Bore Blackpowder Express cartridge cases sell for $49.50 each.

For more information and ordering visit Schroeder & Hetzendorfer.

A big thanks to Jay for the photo.
* Technically the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum uses a 9.5mm bullet.

Scientist say that may realistically be able to regenerate the Mammoth. The NY Times reports:

Scientists are talking for the first time about the old idea of resurrecting extinct species as if this staple of science fiction is a realistic possibility, saying that a living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million.

I think this would be the hunting equivalent of space tourism. The richest hunters from all over the world would be competing for the title of “First Mammoth Hunter in 10,000 years”. Ancient animal hunting would become an industry in of itself and firearm manufactures would no doubt jump on the opportunity to manufacture the .900 Mammoth Express.

Wooly Mammoths by Mauricio Anton (CC-By-2.5)

Unfortunately a T-Rex will not be able to be bred:

The same technology could be applied to any other extinct species from which one can obtain hair, horn, hooves, fur or feathers, and which went extinct within the last 60,000 years, the effective age limit for DNA.

Scientist seem to be eternal optimists. I don’t expect to see one in my lifetime.

Ruger and Hornady have teamed up to produce the new .416 Ruger cartridge which will be available next year (2009).

The round is basically a necked up .375 Ruger and offers performance comparable to the classic .416 Rigby in a standard length cartridge. The Ruger M77 Hawkeye bolt action will be available chambered in this cartridge.

Hornady claim on their website that the 416 Ruger offers the same performance in the compact 20″ barreled Ruger M77 Hawkeye Alaskan as the .416 Rugby in a full length rifle.

416 Ruger cartridge delivers the same performance as the fabled 416 Rigby, but does it in a shorter 20″ barreled Ruger Hawkeye rifle that is extremely compact and easy to carry.

I am skeptical about this claim. It will be interesting to see what results firearm magazine writers get when they test the ammunition.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Alaskan (20″ Barrel)

Ballistic infomation:

Click to expand.

Product Video (there are a couple of video snippets at the start of charging elephants being shot. Really crazy stuff!):

The .375 Ruger has proved to be popular and I think so could the .416 Ruger. The standard length action is a compelling reason to choose this cartridge over the .416 Rigby and .416 Rem. Mag.

More info at Hornady.

About 6 months ago Metal Storm was awarded AU$1.4 million in development contracts from the US Navy to develop a 12 guage (.729″ caliber, not the 12 gauge shotgun cartridge) multishot weapon that mounts under an M16 and M4.

The MAUL has no moving parts and weights just 2.75 pounds.

All four rounds can be loaded into the chamber at once and are electronically ignited. It can fire lethal rounds, such as grenades, and non lethal rounds.

The weapon system was exhibited at AUSA Expo this year and should be in production next year.

Bill emailed me a photo of a friend’s 2-bore rifle and another of the 2-bore balls. The first photo really gives a sense of scale.

Click to expand the image

I assume the bigger balls are for the 2-bore
and the smaller for another gun

The guy in the photo is apparently a big guy (so you get the sense of scale)

The rest in the above photo came with the gun.

A big thanks to Bill for the photos.

More 2 bore goodness:

- S&H 2 Bore Blackpowder Express
- Cost of big bore ammunition
- 2 bore rifle photos

A while back I posted some photos of a 2 bore cartridge. While browsing the Nitro Express forum I came across this amazing photo of a 2 bore muzzleloader. All I can say is “Wow”.

I wonder which end hits harder

I read in another thread that this rifle was going to weight 32 lbs and has a 36″ barrel. To put this in perspective: the caliber, barrel length and weight are very similar to smaller swivel cannons!

I am not sure if this is a true rifle or a paradox gun (mostly smoothbore but rifling near the muzzle).

A few more photos of the rifle (click to expand):

The owner was considering a load of 275 – 325 grains of blackpowder firing 3500 grains of lead.

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.