4-Bore with cast bullets, Africa 1983

[willicd76]

First buff with 4-bore, killed with one shot. Bullet destroyed the shoulder and lodged just under the skin on the far side.

Attachment 233228

I find it amazing that the bullet could be stopped by anything but an elephant or a lengthwise shot on a buffalo.

[woodbutcher]

Great video and information.Thanks for posting.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[MTyotehunter]

Amazing, thanks for sharing your video!

[HABCAN]

"Unintended Consequences" Ross?? THANK YOU for that, it spoke to a lot of us! And thank you for this retroactive video and your beginning comments on game management: they're absolutely right on. Them were the End Days in Africa, methinks.

[HABCAN]

Was it Kenya? Tanganyika? One of those 'former British colonies' where, upon achieving independence, the army(?) equipped with Ma Deuce jeeps, slaughtered nearly everything that moved having been freed to 'enjoy their natural resources' after being 'prevented' for a century or so?? T'was a while ago. <Sheesh!>

[AdamW]

Buyer has until noon to have the money for the Rodda or the deal is off! Not 2pm! Where is it going for auction? James Julia or Rock Island maybe?

Thanks for sharing John!

[temac]

I had a gunsmith years ago that worked on my IPSC stuff, handed me this book. Never was a novel reading kinda guy never thought I would ever read it, found myself unable to put it down. Ordered myself a copy and loaned it out to many and never got it back hopefully, it is still getting read. Anyhow came across this thread about 4 bore and thought huumm... What a small world.

[John Ross]

Buyer has until noon to have the money for the Rodda or the deal is off! Not 2pm! Where is it going for auction? James Julia or Rock Island maybe?

Thanks for sharing John!

Rock Island early May.

Over a dozen nice pieces, including a 17 lb. Greener 8-bore with fluid steel barrels, Thomas Bland 16 gauge harpoon gun with harpoon that I used as a house gun when I lived alone, Elmer Keith's .577 Rigby Farquharson (the only one Rigby ever made) that I fondled as a teenager in Elmer's attic, a replica Hotchkiss revolving cannon, a half scale Gatling, several pre-29s including the lowest known serial number 4-screw, a couple of nice Champlin African rifles, a beautiful Walter Abe Enfield .338 Abe Express, the .500 S&W JR prototype and serial #s JRA0001 and JRC0001 NIB, etc.

[John Ross]

Almost 2500gr. at 1400fps. Pretty amazing. Another vote for a look at the mold/bullet. Had to be an interesting proposition to cast.

I'll dig it out and get some pics. The previous owner had NEI make it when Walt was still alive; it was in their catalog, .970-2000 #410. I lengthened the base band and bored out the center to about .955" The resulting bullets weighed about 2650 grains IIRC, and I shortened the bases in a lathe to get different weights to test to get the gun regulated. 450 grains FG with a 1970 grain bullet gave 1490 FPS and put both barrels into less than 1-1/2" for 4 shots @50 yds.

I was close but not quite there when I left for Africa; Art had only finished 13 cases and the ammo I took was 437 grains of FG with 2040 grain bullets for 1420 FPS. The barrels shot about 3" apart at 50 yds with these loads, and I compensated for that when I aimed.

After showing Piers how the gun shot (seen in the beginning of the video), I had eleven loaded rounds left to hunt with. I used six, as the footage shows.

[Bigslug]

John, can you recommend any source reading material on the big "gauge" rifles?

Have you and any of your "boomer" cohorts perhaps thought of getting together a bunch of load data and pics of guns and ammo to be permanently enshrined in later editions of Cartridges of the World?

The reason I mention this is that over the last few years, my father and I have been fiddling around with a French Mle. 1866 Chassepot needle rifle, and certain historical tidbits about that rifle appear to be lost. . .and they made about a million of those. The Rodda and guns like them were only made in the long dozens for that brief BPCR era, and there's a lot of fading knowledge because of it.

[John Ross]

John, can you recommend any source reading material on the big "gauge" rifles?

Giles Whittome has written some stuff over the last 40 years or so, also Ross Seyfried. Google search those two names.