Post by: gunmaker on January 04, 2016, 01:51:29 PM
Heart of beast is a 30.00" tapered .829 rifle bore bbl. by the gun works in Oregon. Along with a Davis Ron Long bar lock.
Bastone walnut wood from a blank. steel trim, 14 lb out the door.
When I work up my courage....I'll send in a range report, if I survive that is....Click pic to see a few more.. thats a .54 ball in muzzle !!! comments ? ...Tom
(http://i1164.photobucket.com/albums/q577/tomknight1943/8%20Bore%20Rifle%20Project/P1030719_zpstpszl82d.jpg) (http://http)
Post by: rollingb on January 04, 2016, 01:55:07 PM
Post by: snake eyes on January 04, 2016, 03:01:45 PM
NICE! Don't believe I would want to carry it around all day. Shooting it should get
your attention.
snake-eyes
Post by: Spotted Bull on January 04, 2016, 04:19:45 PM
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 04, 2016, 09:15:39 PM
What rate of twist did Joe put into it for you? I always had him spin it at 1:144 (well, actually I think his machine only would do 140, but close is close.) I wound up with 300 grains of Fg as a service load, an .820 dia round ball out of a Jeff Tanner brass mould and I think it was 2 1/4" pre lubed round cleaning patches for the ball patch. I bought up a bunch of Ox Yoke 8 bore cushion wads for use between the powder charge and the patched round ball. Not sure if they have any more of those or not. I think I left those for John at October Country when I sold it to him. If you want some, you might give him a call.
I think that 300 grain charge gave it about 1,425 fps. Going up to Ffg powder increased it to 1,525 and 300 grains of Pyrodex RS took it to 1,630.
Hold it in tight and get your feet situated under you before you pull the trigger and it isn't too bad. If you hold it loose and it gets a running start at you, Oh baby, you are in for some pain. But, it's no worse than getting punched in the arm by a big man, like Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield or Lenux Lewis or one of them guys.
My guns always weighed in at about 14-15 pounds so the weight of them is pretty close.
I do like the idea of the pistol grip on this rifle. With guns like that, it becomes quite functional, not just a style.
Enjoy, sure looking forward to a range report on this.
John
PS You DO NOT want to shoot this off a bench or from a prone position. A standing rest or tall cross sticks is the answer for supported shooting.
Post by: gunmaker on January 05, 2016, 12:03:09 AM
I have a .815 Tanner mold on way, we'll see what ball vs slug come out as. 300 gr. ? God a mighty.
me start at 150 2f.......Tom
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 05, 2016, 01:11:28 AM
I had a customer with the same warped logic. he wanted a 12 bore to shoot a slug. Had a mold made and the bullet was 1,200 grains. He wanted the rifling to be 1:28. My goodness, what a beast that was. Fortunately, he wanted a 36" barrel that was 1 1/4" straight octagon. Trying to get some decent velocities out of it I took it up to 250 grains of Fg. Man, that thing rang my chimes at that charge. Seriously, I do believe I got a light concussion from shooting it.
For the 8 bore, 150 grains sounds like a decent starting charge, but you will probably want to pump up the volume a little bit. And learn to love Fg powder. Especially with these big boomers.
Have fun!!!
John
PS I am not so sure about some of these people. How much more does a person need, the round ball weighs in at about 860 grains, IIRC. And he needs a slug? For what purpose? Tyrannosaurs Rex has been extinct for some time.
He wants a bigger projectile, build him a 4 bore with one of Joe's barrels. I think that weighs in at about 1,450 grains for a .980 ball.
Post by: gunmaker on January 05, 2016, 04:49:45 PM
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 05, 2016, 05:55:31 PM
I am pretty sure that it will take the Lee Production (6 cavity Mould) handles. That is what I had to use on the .980 mould from Tanner. Probably the same situation. Melt lots of lead, it goes away in a hurry casting projectiles that size. You get about 8 balls to the pound including sprues. Maybe 5 or 6 with your conicals?
Post by: Uncle Russ on January 05, 2016, 08:13:12 PM
To my eyes it has that certain "express" look, if you know what I mean.
Never had more than a passing desire to own such a rig, but deep down inside I always envied those who can shoot and manage the really big bores.
The largest big-bore I have personally ever fired was one that bigsmoke himself once owned, and that was a .72 caliber, which now resides here in Moses Lake.
That particular rifle was a piece of cake, actually enjoyable to shoot, even with 150gr FFg. I suspect I was more surprised about that than anything else. Of course 150gr FFg was his "paper load", from there on it got downright scary, but the accuracy never seemed to change.
And, it was accurate, almost beyond belief....not by me shooting, but by the new owner.
Pure pleasure to watch both the rifle and the shooter pull of some the shots on that particular day.
Very nice gun Tom!
Uncle Russ...
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 06, 2016, 12:14:55 AM
That's another of the rifles that I have owned that I have wondered why the hell I ever sold it. But it was sold with the provision that I get visiting rights. Have had a chance to shoot it a couple of times since the new owner took possession of it and it is sure a sweetheart.
When I took it on my buffalo hunt in 2001, I let the guide shoot it afterwards. The rifle never seemed to kick much for me, regardless of the load. He said it was the worst kicking rifle he had ever shot. Of course, there was a little more powder in it than the 150 grain plinking load you favored.
Post by: gunmaker on January 06, 2016, 03:06:25 PM
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 06, 2016, 06:03:14 PM
Like all the .62, .69 and .72's we built, it was rifled 1:104. It had 8 narrow lands and wide grooves, and the rifling was about .006 - .008. Pretty much followed Forsythe's formula.
The 8 and 4 bores were the same configuration, except the rifling was a tad deeper at about .010 - .011" and 1:144".
For a powder charge, I used as a rule Ffg powder, sometimes Fg in the .72. Most always GOEX, although sometimes for hunting I kept a can of Swiss, but frankly I found that to be somewhat overrated through chronograph testing. I went with a 200 grain charge for the hunting charge, sometimes going up to 225. I had some customers report back to me that they were running 250 grains, but I never really got too excited about using that much powder in it.
What amazed me about the rifles was the ridiculously flat trajectory they had. For example, when I shot my buffalo, I was required to shoot it in either the neck or the head, so as not to mess up the lungs and/or heart. The USDA vet had to inspect each buffalo taken there. So, I elected a neck shot. I didn't want to mess up the skull. First shot was about 55 yards and he went down to his knees then got up and ran out a ways. Second shot was at 100+ yards. It hit the critter hard enough to roll him all the way onto his back. I think the ball deflected off his spine and came to rest on the far side against his hide. Then he got up and ran about another mile. What a rugged beast! He finally got tired and laid down. I came up to him and shot him again at about 10 yards, which did the trick. When he was skinned out, we discovered that the three shot group from three different ranges was about the size of a soda pop can top. All shots were taken at point of aim from a kneeling position. While I felt terrible about inflicting this much pain upon the poor critter, I was sure proud of the gun. It did its job just fine.
Post by: gunmaker on January 06, 2016, 06:50:44 PM
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 06, 2016, 08:13:11 PM
Seeings how you mentioned it, yes, as a matter of fact, I do have one for sale. It is a .69 caliber pistol grip rifle. I affectionately call it P1, as it was my prototype rifle from when we first started to produce them. He can get in touch with me at bigsmoke72@charter.net It has an L & R lock, a Moody barrel, I think it is about 33 or 34" long and 1 1/4" at the breech then turned round to 1 1/8, IIRC. All the hardware is from Pete Allen except for the three blade Express Sight. Front sight is a T/C Hawken as I recall.
(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii161/bigsmoke72/GASRP-1.jpg) (http://http)
It does have a few scratches and dings on it from various causes, including some from a slide down a shale face. I have matching scars on my left leg as well.
Reason for selling it is that it has been more than 10 years since I shot it, figure I might as well turn it loose and let someone who will use it enjoy it. I think it is a fine rifle.
It comes with a English style valved powder horn of my construction.
(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii161/bigsmoke72/IMG_5278.jpg) (http://http)
Also anything I can find around here that fits the .69. Might have some round ball or some patches. I think i have a speed loader or two as well.
Post by: gunmaker on January 06, 2016, 10:03:59 PM
Post by: Bigsmoke on January 06, 2016, 11:02:30 PM
I am not aware of any English style breechplugs in 1 1/4" which would be better for .69 or .72, IMHO.
He also makes a 1 1/8" percussion breechplug that I was really thinking about mounting an 8 bore barrel on for a little big bore stalking rifle. I thought that would be really neat, but alas, just another unfinished project that went by the wayside. It would have probably finished out at about 10-11 pounds, maybe run 150 or so grain charges and have a ball.