W.J. Jeffery 8-bore double rifle

[Matt85]

Some people have asked me to post some pictures of my 8-bore.

This is my W.J. Jeffery 8-bore 3.25". The rifle has 24" barrels with 0.847" bores and weighs in at 16lb 10oz. Per the ledger that was given to me with the gun, it was made in London on October 21st 1895. The two projectiles I've been using are a 0.85" ball or a 1200gr boolit made from an Accurate Molds 84-1200 mold (customized to 0.85").







Here is a nice picture of the stock:


Here is a picture of some cartridges for comparison. Left to right: 45-70, 270 Win, 416 RM, 500 NE, 505 Gibbs, and the 8-bore 3.25".

[fjrdoc]

Beautiful firearm. That baby really throws a hunk of lead.

[sigep1764]

There are so many questions..
You got shoulders like boulders from carrying that thing?
What’s the fps on that Accurate boolit load?
Where did you find this beautiful hunk of metal?

[Rockingkj]

That is one dandy rifle!

[725]

What a piece of history. As stated above, I bet you need shoulders like boulders just to fire that thing.

[Harleysboss]

I see that you're in Everett. Bring it down to the south sound...I just saw a T-Rex walking by the Puyallup Walmart. Beautiful rifle!

[Slugster]

Absolutely beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Thank you for sharing the pics!

[Matt85]

There are so many questions..
You got shoulders like boulders from carrying that thing?
What’s the fps on that Accurate boolit load?
Where did you find this beautiful hunk of metal?

I have been struggling to get readings with either of my chronographs due to the filler. I've managed one reading at 1340fps. That is using a "nitro for black" load.

I bought the gun off the classifieds section of another forum I frequent.

[murf205]

Wow Matt, you win the show and tell for sure. That is a work of art.

[sigep1764]

Matt, that's cool as all get out. Any provenance or hunt history on it? For elephants and rhino?

[Matt85]

Matt, that's cool as all get out. Any provenance or hunt history on it? For elephants and rhino?

Sadly, I don't have any information beyond its manufacture. Here is a copy of the original ledger, given to me by the gentleman who sold me the rifle.


It's hard to read, but it just states the specs of the gun, who made it, when it was made, and the price it was sold for.

[sigep1764]

25 pounds sterling? Go back in time and buy 4

[Bigslug]

Matt85 is in the orchestra. . .

He plays the BA-THOOM.

I always figured the old English gunsmiths were hiring Japanese bonsai tree gardeners to train their walnut trees to grow perfectly around the receivers of their rifles. I was recently looking at a military Snider-converted rifle-musket that had almost that same level of fit around the lock plate. They just don't DO that anymore.

[35 Rem]

My goodness that will start a man daydreaming about far away exotic places and real adventure. The old doubles have always been a dream of mine ever since I started reading Peter Capsticks African books in the 1970's. Have since collected up a bunch of African books of the late 1800's to mid 1900's and the double rifle is always the star of the show for me on those hunts. I looked up that Accurate mold and apparently it was made just for your rifle as it shows only 1 has been sold. Being able to cast your own bullets makes this rifle affordable to shoot too which is even better! Thanks for posting the pictures.

[Rusty Goose]

What a beautiful piece of art! Absolutely amazing, you sir are a lucky man!

[sigep1764]

Is it a black powder round? How many grains of powder does it take to move that golf ball of a boolit?

[Matt85]

Is it a black powder round? How many grains of powder does it take to move that golf ball of a boolit?

Regulating load is 10 drams or 273gr of black powder. I also use 67gr of Alliant Blue Dot as a nitro-for-black load.

[sigep1764]

25 rounds per pound of powder, she's a hog for sure!

[elmacgyver0]

Beautiful rifle!
I would say, lucky man, but I doubt if luck had much to do with it.

[Matt85]

The 8-bore had its first public debut this weekend at a small neighborhood gathering. My original plan was to load 10 cartridges with a ball over Blue Dot (lightest recoiling load), but then I looked at my dwindling supply of Blue Dot... and the plan changed. So, I went with the original regulating load and my neighbors got to shoot the 8-bore with its original regulating load. While not many people were brave enough to try the gun, the few who did, discovered it was actually lots of fun to shoot! Once the guys got the hang of it, they stopped worrying about recoil and began hitting a gong target we had set up at about 30-40 yards.

I used 273gr of Shuetzen FFg powder, an 8g fiber cushion wad, a generous dose of homemade lube, topped with an 85 caliber ball made from scrap lead. While Blue Dot powder is technically more cost effective and less messy... you can actually find FFg black powder! So, until Alliant decides to grace us with some more Blue Dot, I will likely be making extensive use of this load.