# Really Big Bore Musket



## GunnSmokeer (Jan 10, 2012)

I don't own a blackpowder firearm now, but I used to have a couple.
I'm in the mood for a really huge-caliber musket.  I'm thinking something like a 4-bore, 2-bore, etc. Maybe even something with a 1.00" bore diameter. In that ballpark, size-wise.

Who else things that kind of blackpowder long gun would be cool?  Not very practical, and not a big improvement as a hunting tool over the .50 muzzleloaders on the market today.  But something to plink with.  When you want to launch a slug the size of a golf ball that weighs almost a pound.  Even if the velocity was low, only 500 f.p.s., it would have a lot of knockdown power.  It would probably be visible to the naked eye as it goes downrange. I've watched 9mm and .45 slugs fly into the target before, shooting with the sun behind me in the evening.

I know the ammo would have to be expensive. Lots of metal in those projectiles.  Maybe they wouldn't have to be solid lead. Maybe they could be steel spheres, coated with lead (for longer range use) or steel balls coated with plastic (for shorter range use)?

Of course if some gun company came up with such a firearm, it would be outrageously expensive because it would be so rare. Like a custom gun, basically. But what if it became popular?  With more demand and a large market base, mass production and wide-scale distribution can make them cheap.

Who would want a normal-length long gun, maybe weighing a few pounds more than normal, that fires a HUGE fat projectile at low to moderate speed, if the price were right and the ammo guaranteed to be available for decades?

P.S.   To avoid BATF classifying it as a "destructive device," make it a replica of some historical blackpowder firearm that also used very large caliber balls.


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## Supercracker (Jan 10, 2012)

There was a custom guy in Montana, I think, that makes 2 bore single barrels.  They're a replica of a late 19th century elephant gun.

Here's an excerpt from a Mid 19th century book talking about a 2 Bore.



> "Among other weapons, I had an extraordinary rifle that carried a half-pound percussion shell; this instrument of torture to the hunter was not sufficiently heavy for the weight of the projectile: it only weighted twenty pounds, thus with a charge of ten drachms of powder and a HALF-POUND shell, the recoil was so terrific, that I spun around like a weathercock in a hurricane. I really dreaded my own rifle, although I have been accustomed to heavy charges of powder and severe recoils for some years. None of my men could fire it, and it was looked upon as a species of awe, and it was name "Jenna-El-Mootfah" (Child of a Canon) by the Arabs, which being a far too long of a name for practice, I christened it the "Baby", and the scream of this "Baby" loaded with a half-pound shell was always fatal. It was too severe, and I seldom fired it, but it is a curious fact that I never shot a fire with that rifle without bagging. The entire practice, during several years, was confined to about twenty shots. I was afraid to use it, but now and then as it was absolutely necessary, it was cleaned after months of staying loaded. On such occasions my men had the gratification of firing it, and the explosion was always accompanied by two men falling on their backs (one having propped up the shooter) and the "Baby" flying some yards behind them. This rifle was made by Holland and Holland, of Bond Street, and I could highly recommend it for the Goliath of Gath, but not for the men of A.D. 1866."
> 
> Sir Samuel Baker -The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin Of The Nile, 1866 pp.138


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## Supercracker (Jan 10, 2012)

Here it is. 

http://stolzergunsmithing.webs.com/finished2boreboxlock.htm

I'm about to start building a 12 Bore SxS double rifle to take to Australia in 2013. Barrels are being profiled now.


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## Desert Rat (Jan 10, 2012)

Can't say I've ever seen any shoulder mount bigger than a 4 bore.
(Not counting some of the things I played with in the Army.)


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## Jriley (Jan 18, 2012)

Where were you when I was trying to sell my 4-bore? LOL. I eventually sold it to a guy in California.


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## Jriley (Jan 18, 2012)

The problem I had with mine was that it was proofed in 1868 in Birmingham, England. But, I didn't trust it enough to shoot it two years ago when I bought it. When I had it appraised the guy said it was proofed to fire a "lighter" load of 12 drams of black powder! Some were proofed for loads up to 16 drams. When coupled with a 1000-grain lead ball that would be like a small artillery piece.


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## Migraman (Jan 18, 2012)

I shot an 8 bore single in Scotland once.  Market hunting is still legal over there and they make shells (black powder - don't know how many drams but I'm sure it was a bucketful) for them.  The guy shot it, handed it to me and said once a day was enough for him.  After I shot it, I decided once in a lifetime would be all I wanted.  And that was with a load of shot.  Solid ammo would be 10 times worse.  How those old Africa guys shot these things day in and out is amazing.


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## Lukikus2 (Jan 18, 2012)

That 2 bore is way cool.

Here is a video link of a 2 guage muzzle loading shotgun. Might need a friend to help carry it. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4L6Zpg9klw



.


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## fishfryer (Jan 18, 2012)

Try googling Pacific Rifle Company,they make .62,and .72 caliber rifles. They are an underhammer design. I believe they use to make much bigger ones,ask them.


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## Jriley (Jan 18, 2012)

.72 Caliber is 12 bore and Cabelas used to sell a double barrel muzzleloading rifle in that caliber. It was around $1,000 if I remember right. Of course, it could be more today.


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