4 Bore Rifle Build

[Bill Raby]

Here is the last rifle that I finished. It is the classic 19th century elephant gun. 1 inch bore firing 4 ounces of lead with up to 550 grain powder charge. Instead of a few photos I did a series of 75 videos of building it. Each about a half hour long. Maybe some of you will be interested in watching it. The videos will give you some sort of idea of what is involved in building a custom rifle.

Yes, it has a lot of recoil. It is more than double the recoil of a 600 Nitro Express. I have fired about 100 shots through it now with more of the powder charges from 400 to 450 grains. It DOES NOT give you a concussion or detached retina. It does not make you spin around AT ALL. Any historical writer that talks about firing full charges from horseback was either full of it or forgot to mention that part about not being on horseback anymore afterwards. There is no recoil pad. Just a brass butt plate. I have never gotten a bruise from shooting it. Stock design and shooting technique makes all the difference.

Here is a link to the first video in the series.
4 Bore Rifle Build - Part 1

 

[robertrwalsh]

Isn't that classified as a "destructive device" these days with that bore size? Still sounds seriously way cool.

 

[Bill Raby]

It loads from the muzzle so NFA rules do not apply.

 

[AJ]

Interesting build. Going to be a wall hanger after it is fired the first time? I had a Remington 700 Custom in .300 Winchester Magnum in my younger had lots of recoil. Nowadays this old boy likes small stuff with almost no recoil. Semiautos are good.........

 

[max503]

Somebody must have really wanted an elephant, real bad.

 

[jdlii]

I would take it to Alabama. The Tuscaloosa down there!

 

[Bill Raby]

Interesting build. Going to be a wall hanger after it is fired the first time? I had a Remington 700 Custom in .300 Winchester Magnum in my younger had lots of recoil. Nowadays this old boy likes small stuff with almost no recoil. Semiautos are good.........

I got about 100 shots through it so far. It has more than 10 times the recoil of a 300 Winchester Magnum.

 

[Leonard]

Samuel Baker was reported to use a 2 bore, some say it was actually a 3 or 4 bore. Many years ago Holland and Holland had what they claimed was his rifle on display, I cannot remember what bore it was but it looked like a sewer pipe. I visited the old store many times when stopped over at Heathrow on my way to Africa. One day the manager who knew me from the SCI conventions took me downstairs to show me a new gun. They had a large conference table with a new double 700 Nitro, which he handed me. I think it weighed close to 20lbs, my hands are large, but I could barely put one around the barrel.
I have had 577s in a Farquharson, same caliber in a Westley Richards double, neither recoiled like my 500 A square with a 707grain bullet.
I cannot imagine what a 4 bore recoil is like.

 

[Bill Raby]

Samuel Baker's rifle was made by Holland & Holland. Serial number 1296. H&H has the records on it. That rifle was a 3 bore. He mentions it firing half pound explosive shells. That is conicals, not round ball. There were six 2 bore rifles built during the 19th century. There is no written account of any of them ever used for hunting.
As for recoil, it will do 340+ ft/lbs recoil energy. So a bit more than double what a 500 A-Square will do. However, recoil is surprisingly tolerable. It will knock me back about 5 or 6 feet with each shot, but it is not at all painful and does not leave a bruise. I still wait about 5 minutes between shots though. A recoil pad would not help at all. Once a pad is fully compressed it will do nothing at all to help with recoil and this rifle goes far beyond that. At that point a well designed metal butt plate is probably a better option. Anyone experienced with the larger dangerous game rifles would have no problem shooting this rifle.
Westley Richards double in 577. You are making me drool! I would love to stop by the Holland & Holland store. But those are out of my price range and I would just be wasting their time.

 

[Leonard]

Samuel Baker's rifle was made by Holland & Holland. Serial number 1296. H&H has the records on it. That rifle was a 3 bore. He mentions it firing half pound explosive shells. That is conicals, not round ball. There were six 2 bore rifles built during the 19th century. There is no written account of any of them ever used for hunting.
As for recoil, it will do 340+ ft/lbs recoil energy. So a bit more than double what a 500 A-Square will do. However, recoil is surprisingly tolerable. It will knock me back about 5 or 6 feet with each shot, but it is not at all painful and does not leave a bruise. I still wait about 5 minutes between shots though. A recoil pad would not help at all. Once a pad is fully compressed it will do nothing at all to help with recoil and this rifle goes far beyond that. At that point a well designed metal butt plate is probably a better option. Anyone experienced with the larger dangerous game rifles would have no problem shooting this rifle.
Westley Richards double in 577. You are making me drool! I would love to stop by the Holland & Holland store. But those are out of my price range and I would just be wasting their time.

You bring up a couple of good points on recoil. Putting aside stock design and rifle weight is how fast the recoil is generated. For example a 378 Wby comes back hard and fast, to me far more uncomfortable than a larger bore at a lower velocity.
With regard to recoil pads, I always preferred having a pad preferably a silvers pad with a leather cover. The English rifles used this pad which is very solid, too soft of a pad and its almost like not having the butt firmly on your shoulder, a moments delay and back it comes. The leather cover comes up better no rubber dragging on your shirt, this can be important when speed is paramount.
But at the end of the day when your using these guns as they were meant to be used you do not notice the recoil, which is great as long as you do not develop a flinch when practicing.

Wanted to add, you mentioned H&H records the downstairs office had a lot of ledgers both H&H and at the time Jeffrey it would have been cool to have spent an afternoon going thru them.

 

[Nick B]

Patiently waiting for more videos.

 

[muzzleblast]

I got about 100 shots through it so far. It has more than 10 times the recoil of a 300 Winchester Magnum.

If you start seeing blue "lightening flashes" in your eyes under recoil, you may want to talk with an eye doctor about risks of retinal detachment. Just sayin'.

 

[Bill Raby]

If you start seeing blue "lightening flashes" in your eyes under recoil, you may want to talk with an eye doctor about risks of retinal detachment. Just sayin'.

I am starting to think that detached retina from guns is a myth. This is about the most recoil you will ever get from a shoulder fired rifle and I have not had any problems at all.

 

[Bill Raby]

Patiently waiting for more videos.

Here is all 75 of the 4 bore videos and a few of the next rifle. A new video goes up every weekend.

BillRaby

 

[Imissedagain]

I got about 100 shots through it so far. It has more than 10 times the recoil of a 300 Winchester Magnum.

Sounds like it might only be 5 times the recoil of a 458/500gr WinMag.
Great videos.
Thx

 

[JJEH]

Good Lord....

 

[Doug M.]

I'm sure the work is gratifying and well done. I am also sure I will never have any interest in trying it out.

 

[bummer]

needs wheels and should be towed artillery

 

[Ruger 13]

Pictures???