4 bore Bolt action

[Grumpy gumpy]

Arr is that an Imperial Cartridge Co 4 Bore made for London Guns ?

I reckon give the hole in a plank a try, it will slide forward.

That is very unusual to happen like that, as if loaded with BP & a little wadding the projectile can’t go that far in, is it a Dummy or did Imperial load Nitro for Black loads, should still be wads I suppose ?

Yes it is, it also has a small rifle primer which I found odd. I was told it was a BP load, won’t know till I pull it apart.
I was going to try an aluminium collet in two pieces because of the flare on the mouth. Just haven’t got around to it yet
Gumpy

 

[WC86]

I hope this takes off and catches like wildfire just so I can see the inevitable thread:

“.470 should be banned from buffalo hunts!”

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Could it be made? Yes.

It would be an EXTREMELY expensive project that would yield a fairly impractical firearm.

If you make it and it is made properly (weight and balance), id be willing to shoot it.

Having fired your 8 bore once, I think I'll just watch you touch off the 4 bore! ;-D.

 

[skydiver386]

Confucius say "Stupid man make mistake, but wise man learn from stupid man's mistake."

 

[Flbt]

We had Ross Seyfried hunt with us way back & if I remember correctly he had a Double 8 bore & a single 4 bore on a hunt, the 8 bore was so so in killing Buffalo but the 4 bore was devastating on them, I now wish I had taken more note of loads & ball/bullet weights but back then I wasn't that interested in old Guns !

Now his pistols I was interested in .

I remember reading about him using them on buff.
With the 4 didn’t he use round ball
And had 2 explosive shells for back up. And if I remember right he had one full attention with the round ball then loaded one of the shells and that took all the fight out of the buff.

It’s been so long since I read that article I think it was on guns and ammo.
I wish he would put out his articles in a book form.

 

[matt85]

A ball is the standard projectile for the 4-bore. With the 8-bore it depended on what you were hunting. A ball was typically used for most game but was considered inadequate for elephant, so a conical of roughly 1150-1250gr was used.

I use a 1200gr conical mold from Accurate molds. I also have a ball mold but found accuracy to be better with the conical. The recoil with the ball is much more managable though. I can fire 6-8 shots fairly easily using ball loads, while more than 4 shots using conicals will lead to lasting negative effects on my body.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

A ball is the standard projectile for the 4-bore. With the 8-bore it depended on what you were hunting. A ball was typically used for most game but was considered inadequate for elephant, so a conical of roughly 1150-1250gr was used.

I use a 1200gr conical mold from Accurate molds. I also have a ball mold but found accuracy to be better with the conical. The recoil with the ball is much more managable though. I can fire 6-8 shots fairly easily using ball loads, while more than 4 shots using conicals will lead to lasting negative effects on my body.

The 4 bore bullet that I have is conical. The man who gave it to me said that he had bored a hole in the nose, put black powder in the cavity and squeezed a .44 rimfire cartridge into the hole. I assumed he had pulled the bullet and powder before putting the shell in. He had the magazine with the article and lot of pictures including a box full of phone books with pages scattered all over. I can't remember if he used one of these explosive bullets when he took the elephant.

 

[Bill Raby]

I shoot 4 bore frequently. The 19th century descriptions of these guns are wildly exaggerated. A single shot bolt action would work just fine. A magazine fed bolt action would be ridiculous and not even close to practical. No such thing as a quick second shot with a 4 bore. In the real world you can get a second shot off just as fast with a muzzleloader.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

This may sound stupid but do you gentlemen think it is possible to make a 4 bore bolt rifle ? I think it is possible on a custom action. A 4 bore cartridge is 4.7 inches (which is shorter than 50 bmg ) the only problem i can think of other than the recoil is the width of the cartridge. What are your opinions ?

@bigborelover
Anything is possible if you have enough $$$$.
The real question is it practical. What weight would it be, me thinks around 25-30#, and would it be practical.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

With a lathe, a milling machine and some imagination, anything is possible.

The question that's already been asked is why?

Is it possible to build a coal burning steam engine to power my pickup truck? Of curse, as there were actually steam powered cars at one time, but a gasoline or diesel are better in every way.

If you are desperate to have one, a scaled up 10ga bolt action shotgun would be the place I'd start.

@skydiver386
The Stanley Steamer was built a long time ago and was capable of 100mph. Now that's fair flying for a kettle on wheels.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I have a Pedersoli double s x s 10 gauge BP shotgun, Super Deluxe made between 1980-1983.

The first time I shot it I used math and loaded it 1:1; volume weight: ~135 grains 2F Black Powder, ~135 grains #8 shot.

After the first touch of the trigger firing the right barrel, I didn't want to touch the second trigger.....but I did....the recoil sent the back of the front trigger into my trigger finger. Put a gash in my trigger finger that took 2 weeks to heal.

While I disassembled the barrels from the stock for cleaning that's when I discovered it was rated for a max load of 109 grains. By volume I only load sixty to eighty grains of 3F with same volume of shot. Eighty grains for patch and round ball.

A fun gun I have used to hunt: dove, quail, pheasant, ducks, geese, squirrel, turkey, and deer.

@Ridge Runner
That first load sure would have got your attention.
Reminded me of firing a 58 cal Hawken with a 600gn Minnie and 120 gn of black powder.
That thing lit me up better than the 4th of July. I still cringe at the thought of it.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

View attachment 726653
Confucius say "Stupid man make mistake, but wise man learn from stupid man's mistake."

@skydiver386
Confucius also say
Man who puts stiff in box not necessarily undertaker.
Also
Man who put cream in tart not necessarily pastry cook.
Also
Girl who lay on side of hill definitely not on level.
Bob

 

[matt85]

I shoot 4 bore frequently. The 19th century descriptions of these guns are wildly exaggerated. A single shot bolt action would work just fine. A magazine fed bolt action would be ridiculous and not even close to practical. No such thing as a quick second shot with a 4 bore. In the real world you can get a second shot off just as fast with a muzzleloader.

This was my experience with 4-bore rifles as well. A quick follow up shot is somewhat challenging with these rifles. I don't know about a muzzle loader being just as fast though. That might be a bit of an exaggeration .

This is also why I prefer the 8-bore. Follow up shots are much easier, even with conical bullets. Here is a video showing the controllable recoil (1200gr conical over 280gr of FFg black powder).