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……….. back to Nitro John's original question: "Early Big Bore Bolt Action Rifles"



There was the Cogswell and Harrison "CERTUS" which was, via updated patent in 1900, offered in the large cordite Nitro Express cartridges.
Their 1903 catalog advertises .450/.400 3 1/4", .450 3 1/4", and .450 No.2 3 1/2".
The .450/.400 and .450 NE cartridges were both offered in special proprietary "CERTUS RIFLES" loadings. The .400 loads with what amounted to "tropical" loads of Cordite and, in the case of the .450, a 440 grain bullet vs the usual .450 NE 480 grain bullet.
The .450 No.2 was, due to its size, a single shot but none the less was a bolt action.

Have not seen mention of any surviving .450 No.2, but there are (mine included) a few .400's and .450's to be found.

The CERTUS is/was certainly an odd duck (tho it worked) and was only marketed for a few years.
IMO once Rigby introduced the Magnum Mauser action it was all over for the very unique C&H CERTUS.
- Mike

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I mentioned a counter argument in my opening post. This was from a thought about the Certus bolt action repeaters using .450 sized NE cartridges.

At a small fraction of the price of a double rifle.

So if I was a "poor" Abadare mountains farmer facing elephant, rhino and buffalo galore in the thick jungle and bamboo thickets maybe a Certus could be acquired. But they were fairly rare. So probably a .303 or a 8x57 might still be carried.

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John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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There was a long gap between the 404, 425 & 416 and the 458WinMag.
I guess there wasn't the craze of trotting out the "New and Improved" that we see in the last 25 years or so.
The 500 Jeffery (& 500 Schuler) came out in that gap - 1926 I think, but after that, not much with commercial success was launched until 1956 when the 458 was introduced.

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My old-timers allowed me to only think of the .500 Jeffery and the .505 Gibbs only when creating the opening post.

First funny, no bolt action .450 was created until the .458 Win Mag some 50 years later. When the NE cartridges were dying ...

When were the .500 Jeffery / Schuler created? And the .505 Gibbs?


Any other greater than .375 bolt action cartridges?

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John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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First funny, no bolt action .450 was created until the .458 Win Mag some 50 years later. When the NE cartridges were dying ...

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110.75x68 Mauser introduced in 1920s.

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First funny, no bolt action .450 was created until the .458 Win Mag some 50 years later. When the NE cartridges were dying ...

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What Was the lonnnngggggg actioned bolt rifle chambered in .450 Nitro?

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Daryl,
Check the first part of this thread where I mention the Cogswell & Harrison CERTUS. They were available in .450 Nitro; given the relatively short life of the CERTUS, and the early 1900's ban on .450 in India and Sudan, I'm not sure how wide spread they were.
Most surviving CERTUS rifles seen these days seem to be .450/.400 3 1/4" Nitro.
- Mike

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"Here's to killing people you don't like with people you do"

"Will Rogers never met a fighter pilot"
- Anon

“Always carry a flask of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake."
-- W. C. Fields

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