.500, .450-400, 4-bore Double Rifle

[cal pappas]

Three more pieces of eye candy for you double rifle men.
Top rifle is Jack Lott's .500 nitro Watson Brothers double. Non ejector, 24 inch barrels, 3" case, 11m1/2 pounds. This will be my grizzly rifle in June after I return from the lower 48.

The second rifle here is a Harrison and Hussey .450-400 3". Made in 1920 with 26" barrels she was owned my Douglas Jardine, captain of the UK cricket team who destroyed Australia's team in the 1930s. He hated anything down under and they hated him for his unethical (but not illegal) body line tactic. Jardine was a hunter who contacted tick fever in Zambia in 1957 and he died a year later. His widow sold his rifle to an auctioneer and it ended up in Australia in the early '60s and I bought it there in the mid 1990s.

The third rifle here is my Robert Hughes 4-bore. Made in the 1890s with 28-inch barrels she weighs 22 pounds and 23 pounds when loaded. Shoots balls and conicals to the same point of impact but was rifled 1:50 for a conical. Top muzzle energy figure is a 1400-grain ball with 120 grains of Blue Dot for 1740 fps and 9300 ft lbs of energy. Conical is just under 1900 grains or 4 1/4 ounces.

I have several more to post.
Cheers and enjoy.
Cal

 

[shuter]

Stunning! That .450/.400 gives me palpitations! How much does that one weigh, Cal?

 

[cal pappas]

10 pounds 4 ounces.
Cal

 

[shuter]

10 pounds 4 ounces.
Cal

I assume it has claw mounts for that scope too? Absolutely sweet!

 

[cal pappas]

Yes the claw-mounted scope is a Swarovski 1-4x.
Cal

 

[IdaRam]

Oh my

 

[boldo 42]

You could sit in those 4 bore barrels to get out of the weather

 

[cal pappas]

Not quite. However I do use the rifle as a single shot and keep a sandwich and Coke in the other barrel.
Cheers,
Cal

 

[Viti]

WOW.....

 

[cal pappas]

I stretch the truth a bit in my reply also.
Good load is 100 grains of Blue Dot and a 1400 grain ball. 120 grains is great velocity but accuracy suffers.
1900 grain conical (4 1/4 ounces) and 80 grains is good but 100 grains sees accuracy suffer to excessive velocity.
1750 fps with the ball gives 9522 ft. lbs of muzzle energy.
It is a handful.
Anyone interested in buying he? I have my eye on another.
Cheers, all.
Cal

 

[Excessexpress]

It is a handful.

No shit Cal!

Still, it would answer my concerns about a 470 being a touch light for T-Rex.


I am uproariously amused that Jardine's rifle wound up in Australia, that would have put a cherry on his jaw......


Oh and Cal, do you find the coke in the other barrel gets a bit.....fizzy after a few shots?

 

[cal pappas]

Three folks owned the rifle prior to Jardin and they were returned to the factory for unknown reasons. Douglas purchased the rifle for his 1957 safari to Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). He had cancer and then contacted tick fever which weakened him further. Just before he died his soon to be widow sold the rifle back to the company and they held it for a few years and sold it to an auction company and it ended up down under. That was in 1963. (I've read books on Jardine and in the '30s he and the Aussies absolutely hated one another). 30 years later (about) the then owner died and the rifle was going to the scrap heap to be melted down and I bought it with the assistance of a mate there. I've taken more game with it than with all of my other doubles combined: several caribou, moose, bears, white tail, water buff, cape buff, leopard, lion, hippo, croc, and two dozen plains game. While not fancy engraved as are many of my other doubles, this one has history in the past and lots of hunting history with me and remains one of my favorite.
cal

 

[DBateman]

OH my those are nice...

 

[bassasdaindia]

Three folks owned the rifle prior to Jardin and they were returned to the factory for unknown reasons. Douglas purchased the rifle for his 1957 safari to Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). He had cancer and then contacted tick fever which weakened him further. Just before he died his soon to be widow sold the rifle back to the company and they held it for a few years and sold it to an auction company and it ended up down under. That was in 1963. (I've read books on Jardine and in the '30s he and the Aussies absolutely hated one another). 30 years later (about) the then owner died and the rifle was going to the scrap heap to be melted down and I bought it with the assistance of a mate there. I've taken more game with it than with all of my other doubles combined: several caribou, moose, bears, white tail, water buff, cape buff, leopard, lion, hippo, croc, and two dozen plains game. While not fancy engraved as are many of my other doubles, this one has history in the past and lots of hunting history with me and remains one of my favorite.
cal

that 450/400 really appeals to me , well done and congrats.

 

[cal pappas]

Thank you. This proves a double does not have to be a Holland Royal to have class.
Cal

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

those are all amazing rifles with allot of history. Can you imagine if they could tell you stories around the camp fire.

 

[cal pappas]

The 4-bore is very plain and unique as it is one of the few 4s ever made. Where it went and who owned it will remain a mystery and lost to the passage of time. 8s were common, 4s were not. They are fun to shoot and can be painful with a heavy load. Remember, any gents here on AH are welcome to our next shoot on May 7th. The .500 was Lott's rifle so he used it, I'm sure, but I have not found any of his writings that referenced it.
cal