My friend Dr Ka'imiloa Chrisman has found an old 6 Bore Muzzleloader which he plans to restore. He has some questions as follows:

" I recently stumbled upon an old, much repaired double-barrel muzzleloading gun made I'm sure for dangerous game such as elephant hunting in its infancy in the 1850s. It is Birmingham proofed at 6-bore yet now measures 5 bore (.98") with no sign of rifling I can see. The whole gun is massively built, barrels are 24" long yet the barrel set alone weighs over ten pounds. Barrels made by the English barrel-making firm of Rose's and is stamped ROSE'S near the front proof mark. Total weight 16 pounds plus. Barrels and locks in good shape and latter plus breech tang have English style engraving. I will restore it and shoot it.
Would much appreciate any and all assistance or references about such muzzleloading big-bore guns: loads, usage, articles and books - especially the 6 to 4-bore range of course. I have had little luck at finding information. Thank you all in advance."

A picture of the gun in question is:

As Ka'imiloa has many friends here and some may mail information to him directly, I would request that if you do this, please also post this information on the forums so that we have a pleasant thread about the discussion in question.

Thank you very much in advance and good hunting, everyone!