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Its not a 4 Bore, Its not even a 8 Bore; but its available if a bit pricey for a toy. OTOH there arent a lot of options in big bore rifled muzzle-loaders. Ive generally been pleased with Pedersoli guns. Before I make the leap, Im wondering if anyone has one? |
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I have one but haven't shot it yet... I know... bad! bad! bad! Pedersoli should have made it with a ram rod - it looks to be the exact same stock as the Gibbs match rifles. The sights are a bit modernish for what is really supposed to be an early 19th Century style rifle but overall fit and finish is quite nice. |
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I dont own a Gibs hunter but a year ago I bought one of their Whitworths. To make a long story shoot it would not shoot and I have been going back and forth for almost 8 months. It was in one of there repair facilities for 7 months and when I finally got it back it shot even worst than when I sent it in. I am now weighting on a new barrels and I am informed it is a couple of months down the road. Second bad Pedersoli I have ended up with and there will not be a third after this fiascoes. If you have a warranty issue you will wish you never heard of them. |
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I have one and I like it. I accept that the fit and finish is not the same quality of my British or German double rifles or guns, but then the Gibbs cost is thousands of dollars less. I have shot my a few hundred times. I will be hunting with mine this Fall. The only thing I dislike is not having a ramrod mounted on the rifle. Dracb |
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Mike is usually decent for videos. I haven't watched it yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-C4Q1AWEWk Just watched it, not much going on about the particulars. |
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Here it is again, rate of twist 1:75". Gibbs Hunter, Rifles Gibbs (1865) - Davide Pedersoli www.davide-pedersoli.com Caliber .72 Grooves 6. mm, inches. Twist, 1:75. Barrel's length, 740, 29 1/8. Overall length, 1.150, 45 5/16. kg, lbs. Weight, 4,200, 9.25. It looks quite nice, but the lack of a rod is a bit of a bummer. |
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I agree, I dont like the rear sight; but in my mind thats just a reason to add a set of folding leaf Express Sights. It is bothersome that for $1800 that it come with a modern looking aperture. Conversely I do like the look without a ramrod....but it would have been nice to have one included. |
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Have you looked at [ The Gun Works ]? They have an English Sporting Rifle in several calibers. "The English Sporting Rifle will feature the following: Available in 45, 50, 54, 58, 62, and 69 caliber Oregon Barrel Company tapered octagon 1-1/8" to 1" barrel Barrel lengths: 28" to 36" Twist and rifling depth are made to order. Forsythe Rifling available. Davis lock and single trigger Standard length of pull is 13-3/4" Available in two grades of Maple or Walnut: Select: with figure, but can fade out Select Plus: with figure throughout" They also have a 4 and 8 bore. I know nothing of there Quality, but I do have one of there .69 cal barrels. With .120" land and .160" groves, slow twist. looks good! Have not shot it yet. |
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Good to hear, Bruce. |
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I have known the owners of the gun works for over 25 years. Joe just passed away a few months ago. I worked in their barrel shop for several years and they do make good barrels. |
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I guess you need to have a pair of these rifles, and a gun bearer who loads and passes you the rifle as needed. I believe the old live pigeon guns in England often did not have a ramrod on the gun and you had a loader who carried that and the gear to load. I note some European hunting rifles had aperture sights. |
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What am I missing here? 12 gauge slug gun? Brown Bess musket? Joe Williams has passed. Last time I was in his shop was 81-82. Joe sold me 25 lbs of FA Black powder for my cannon. |
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Oh yeah, rifling. |
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Is LUST a bad thing, cuz Im reaaaaally wanting the 4 Bore. Its pricey but sooooo much cooler than the 72cal Gibbs--and I thought the Gibbs was cool. I know the 72cal Gibbs would "do" anything I likely be hunting and the 8 Bore is classic; but damn, the 4 Bore is just screaming my name. It way too much for anything in the US, but I back to just wanting one. Suddenly it makes the the Gibbs look like an affordable necessity. |
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I have a 7 ga smoothbore, sure would be nice to have the 8 rifled. The 7 ga shoots a 7/8". 1000 grain roundball at 1100 FPS. Mild load! |
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Quote: http://www.thegunworks.com/custprodgun.cfm?ProductID=2544&do=detail&Cat2Option=yes# English Sporting Rifle - Ultimate - 4Bore(TGW-U4) $4,750.00 Select Plus Wood Model Manufactured by Custom Pieces: 1 Stock: Walnut Barrel Length: 31in Twist: 1:104 Caliber: 4Bore Diameter: 1-3/4in to 1-1/2in In the mid to late 1800's, many hunters used large bore rifles to hunt dangerous African game. Many safaris were made atop an elephant's back. This is the rifle for living one's dream successfully. The Ultimate 4 Bore English Sporting Rifle with a pistol grip will feature the following: Available in 4 Bore Oregon Barrel Company tapered octagon 1-3/4" to 1-1/2" barrel Barrel length: 31" Rifling twist:1:104 Custom Davis lock and single trigger Standard length of pull is 13-5/8" Available in Walnut Select Plus: with figure throughout Ebony nose and pistol grip cap Checkered grip and forend On Orders Specify: Rear Sight placement from breech plug http://www.thegunworks.com/custprodgun.cfm?ProductID=2543&do=detail&Cat2Option=yes English Sporting Rifle - Ultimate - 8Bore(TGW-U8) $4,750.00 Select Plus Wood Model Manufactured by Custom Pieces: 1 Stock: Walnut Barrel Length: 31-1/2in Twist: 1:144 Caliber: 8Bore Diameter: 1-5/16in to 1-3/16in On may of his African safaris, one of Sir Samuel Baker's weapons of choice was the 8 Bore Sporting Rifle. This rifle, even though being lighter and smaller caliber than "Baby", will be just as deadly with a carefully placed shot. The Ultimate 8 Bore English Sporting Rifle will feature the following: Available in 8 Bore Oregon Barrel Company tapered octagon 1-5/16" to 1-3/16" barrel Barrel length: 31-1/2" Rifling twist:1:144 Custom Davis lock and single trigger Standard length of pull is 13-5/8" Available in Walnut Select Plus: with figure throughout Ebony nose cap Checkered grip and forend On Orders Specify: Rear Sight placement from breech plug |
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I finally got out today to try out the African Hunter! First, I must admit that I have been a fool to not get this thing to the range long long ago. Just about the most fun possible! The bullet I'm using is a grease groove 780gr conical. The base belt being slightly smaller in diameter than the second and that a bit smaller than the third. The first two can be pushed down the barrel with your thumb but the top belt needs a firm push/whack with a starter and the ram rod. Loading was not overly difficult however. I had measured out some 100gr (Graf's FF) loads and the bullets were pan lubed loaded with a 12bore cork wad over the powder. I shot at just 25yds to see if the holes were round and was surprised at making an offhand three shot group of less than an inch. All holes nice and round! I was not expecting this rifle to shoot a heavy bullet at all so am very pleased with the results. I did shoot out at 100yds at a stick on the berm but I find the rear ghost ring sight to be too big for distances like that. I think that a proper V sight mounted on the barrel would be a welcome modification. Overall, I'd say that this African Hunter is all and more than I was expecting and look forward to running charges up to 120grs to see how she does - will try to chronograph them too. The 100gr charge was very pleasant even with the 780gr projectile. |
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Cool! I look forward to seeing how you do with it. |
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Glad you finally got to shoot the .72. A 780gr. slug is quite short in 12 bore (ball+1/2), so not surprised it shot decently. On the other hand, I am interested in how it shoots with a .715" 545gr. RB with up to about 6 drams of 2F. That 8 bore pictured by NitroX is fairly proportioned for a BIG gun. The 4 looks a bit chunky to me. |
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Daryl I do agree with your opinion regarding the two rifles. It is probably difficult to make such a large rifle elegant because of the sheer size of the bore, and the weight needed to absorb the recoil to some degree. Pictures of Baby shew a rifle that is not ver elegant. Huvius, a picture of both rifle and target would be much appreciated. Cheers Gordon |
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I’m fortunate to have found one with decent looking wood. Good grain flow through the wrist. Here’s the bullet I’m using: Since the bullet needs some prodding to get down the tube, I made a little starter with a concave end and a garden hose washer to protect the muzzle. Will get a photo of a target next trip to the range. |
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Nice wood, and a good idea for a short starter. Will look forward to the photo of your next target. |
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Yes- starter "stud" is a good idea, and once started a little bit (first band being smaller) is a big help in getting this starter stud itself started straight which will properly align the bullet. All working together - good planning!! |
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I’ll hopefully get out tomorrow and shoot it a bit more. As an aside, I’m so thoroughly jazzed about big muzzle loaders now that I finally turned a stub to measure the bore of my Rodda 6bore rifle so I can order a roundball mold. Well, guess what? It’s actually an 8bore!! I guess I could have taken the barrel off and actually LOOKED at the proofs. The ‘8’ stamped on the barrel would have been a good clue... |
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Let's see that Rodda! |
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COOL!! yeah - pictures or it didn't happen. and the measurements were - bore and groove diameters????????????????????? |
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Shot the African again today. 100gr charge with the 780gr projectiles were averaging 925fps. Tried a couple of 130gr loads and got a bit over 1100fps with a noticeable increase in recoil. Still tolerable though. Only the 100yd range was available so grouping wasn’t stellar. Still, flying straight and not tumbling. The stock ghost ring is too big for my liking (like a 20yd fov at 100yds) so I drilled a tiny hole through a screw and used a brass thumb nut to hold it into the original ring making the aperture much smaller. |
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Here’s the Rodda. I think I had a thread about it some years ago. Bore is .850” so I think a ball of .840 with a thickish patch would be good. The bore isn’t the best so I think a patch on the thicker side would maybe be good technique - correct? On the left. |
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The picture of the pair of rifles, just goes to show, that Gibb's has good lines. Nice 8 bore! I might even go with a .835" ball, Huvius, to allow a 12ox or 14ox. denim patch. The thicker the patch, the more lube it carries. Good thinking on your part. I'm sure a .710" to .715" ball (provided the bore is .720")on the Gibbs with a substantial patch should improve the 100yard accuracy quite a bit. The 130gr. powder charge sounds about right for today's powder. I might even try 10 to 15gr. more. A speed around 1,400fps to 1,500fps is a good goal for the Gibbs and 1,250fps to 1,300fps for the 8 bore. |
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Looks great! The thick denim patch has helped me with rough bores. Give it a try. |
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NOW we’re talkin! Got my .835” mold from ballmoulds.com and now my Rodda will be hurling these 852gr balls of lead downrange soon! Here, next to the puny 12bore ball. |
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Very Nice! |
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About ball and patch fit! I would suggest a tighter patch. With paper patched bullets, you are relying upon obturation of the bullet to fit the grooves. Likely as well, with paper patched bullets, the bore will be wiped every shot. With a patched ball, the tight fit between the bottom of the grooves and the patch AND ball makes for the cleaning, softening fouling situation between shots. The patched ball cleans the previous shot as it is loaded. If the patch is not a tight enough fit, there will be powder flame blow-by, burning the patch and destroying it's ability to do it's job, that of sealing and wetting the fouling. The thicker the patch, the more lube it carries. Lube for a hunting load is very important. We've found real Neetsfoot Oil And Track's Mink Oil to be the best, the mink oil the best. If you cannot shoot 10 shots without having to wipe the bore, the patch is not thick enough OR the ball is too small for that patch. I have found 12 and 14 ounce denim to be terrific patch material. I run new material (I buy several yards at a time) twice through the washer, once with soap, the second time without soap, using a double rinse each time - then into the dryer on medium heat. |
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Incidentally, I have a .677" mould for my .69 for shooting hard balls. The mould casts .675" which are .015" "under" just as your new mould is. I use the 14 ounce denim with those balls, either hard or pure lead. They load very nicely indeed & I actually prefer them to the .682" I normally shoot. |
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Huvius, what is the bore and groove diameter? Got a picture of the rifling? The first shot can be a very tight ball patch combination. |
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I know this is an older post, but I wanted to reply regarding Daryl’s “chunky” comment on the 4 bore. He’s right. Please see below when compared with a 16 bore built from a Don Brown Kit. One is like dancing with a gymnast versus a ballerina. Heelerau is right, it may be hard to make it much more elegant especially in the pistol grip version. The 4 weighs 18.6lbs and to be honest could use some weight in the butt for better balance. I thought you might enjoy a different view of the rifle that NitroX provided. Thanks. |
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That 16 bore sure is a nice looking hunting rifle. I see it has a boss for a tang sight as well. That 4 bore is all business. Interesting patent breech. |
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Quote: Then paper ctgs. with powder and ball after that. I have found they shoot to the same poi as patched round balls, with the same hunting load in both, however, the ball was a mere .008" smaller than the bore and there was 2 thicknesses of paper, each side. The paper ctg. around the ball made for quite a snug fitting in the muzzle, but I could load and fire an aimed second shot in 8 seconds after the first shot. This, of course, including re-capping the nipple. I used a leather wheel capper than carries 24 caps around it's periphery. Thanks for reminding me of the paper ctg's. Bruce. They are indeed a God-send for large bore muzzleloading rifles, especially if hunting in freezing weather, when normal patch lubes become stiff. Bruce's site has pictures and methods, if he cares share that. |
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How many grains of power are you using in the guns (ffg, fffg)? |
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Since your question appears directed at me, I use 165gr. of 2F GOEX for hunting moose. 1st load, as noted, was 165gr. 2F GOEX with 100% natural Neetsfoot or Track's Mink Oil, a 12 ounce denim patch and pure lead .682" ball (not .684"). Paper ctgs. are tapered in shape (cone) and are 2 layers of bond/printer paper - about 20 pound. The small end is folded and glued. The powder is poured into the cone, then a ball dropped in on top of the powder, then the paper folded over the ball and glued with white glue. I have carried these 'paper ctgs' in my parka pocket all fall, without any damage to them. After loading the rifle in camp with patched ball, the round disk capped is placed in an upper pocket and a number of paper ctgs. placed in the parka pocket. No horn nor possible's bag is required to be carried. The ball in the paper ctg. is usually WW alloy, but can also be pure lead, NP. To load, the end of the small end is ripped off with the teeth, then it is shoved into to the muzzle. It will stop on the ball. By the time the rod is out of the pipes, the powder has drained into the bore and the rod is choked up on and the ball is shoved into the bore. As I noted, the paper is slightly engraved by the rifling, but does not tear. The ball with paper ctg. is shoved down the bore onto the powder charge, firmly. The rod is replaced in the pipes or dropped if this is for a fast second shot. A cap placed on the nipple and it's ready to fire. In testing from a bench rest, I put 3 pure lead 482gr. denim patched balls into 2" at 100 meters at the club. I then loaded and fired 2 paper ctgs. at the same target to check their POI. Both of the 466gr. balls landed inside the group already there. It doesn't get much better than that. With practice in a timed event, I was able to fire an aimed second shot in 8 seconds after the first. That all happened 'some' years ago when I could see. LOL I still do OK, but haven't done this "trick" for 25 years or so. |
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Huvius, I anxiously await your testing of both rifles, with paper ctgs. DPhar of this site also has tested and used these paper ctgs. If having trouble with ball and patch combos, these paper ctgs. are a viable alternative to ball and patch. As I noted, due to the snug fit, I am able to shoot 10 of them before fouling becomes restrictive in loading. Then a VERY wet, dripping wet (saliva) patch and ball is loaded, and fired. This cleans the bore as it goes down and that allows another 10 paper ctg. to be shot. Another forum member, BStrickling also uses paper ctgs. He has a site detailing this.(if he would be so kind as to post it - I can't find it now) |
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Took the African out again today and am just as happy as ever with the performance of this rifle! In my opinion, everybody should have one! Settled on 110gr FF and the 780gr greasers - can shoot quite a few of those comfortably. The low shot was a ball. |
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What was the distance to the target? |
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50yds |
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Awesome group Huvius - you must still have good eyes! She's a big banger alright! |
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Nice shooting! Really like the 12 bore, but must say I love the Rodda!! |
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Gosh what fun reading these older posts after an unexplained layoff from Nitroexpress.com -- and seeing familiar names: Daryl, Huvius, Gordon (Heelerau), et al. Daryl, if you see this, what paper are you using for your cartridges? |
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Quote: Bill, you're 2004 vintage, an oldie and almost an original from the founding days. Welcome back. |
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I missed this thread, Huvius, due to being at the lake (I assume). I'm glad it has been resurrected. Hi Bill. For my paper ctgs. I just used normal bond paper, which would be in the 20 pound range. .003"/.004" or so. You want the rifling to have a VERY snug fit. Huvius's accuracy is quite decent for a large bore. Round balls in paper ctg. gave me the same accuracy as cloth patched balls. Today, that moose stagger'r is my match rifle.(.69 cal.) |
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John, thank you and thank you for your devotion to this forum. Daryl, thanks for the details on the paper you use. Hope to put it to use when the new/old stock Kodiak .58 is at hand. I just remembered I bought a ream of Esleeck 25 percent cotton onion skin paper for paper patching for BPCR. It is running .004 but more like a 10-pound weight. I wonder if it would be heavy enough. |
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.004" will give .016" increase to the ball diameter. 9 pound "Onion skin" was closer to .0015", I thought. Simplicity patterns (fairly cheap) if very thin. I used it in a .45 3 1/4" rifle I had once a-pon-a-time. For a paper ctg. you want enough strength to work. The really thin paper is too much that way, I would assume. I could carry my ctgs. in my parka pockets all season without damage. I did this as a test. Having a tapered paper ctg. made orientation easier as well as easier inserting into the muzzle (I found). Too, it resulted in less powder loss after tearing off the powder end. |