| szihn |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/11/17 07:19 AM |
Well this has come full circle now.
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Ken G. ("BigDog") contacted me some years ago on this very site. He said he's seen one of my 4 bore rifles and was very impressed. He asked me if I could build him a 2 bore sporting rifle. At first I thought he was kidding. He was not. I did some research and as far as I could determine, it had never been done in all history. there are 2 bore wall guns and some Whaling guns that were made 150 to 250 years ago, but as far as a true "sporting rifle" I was nt able to find any documentation of one ever being made anywhere at any time.
That's not to say one wasn't. It's just saying I was not able to find any record of one.
So I talked to ken and said I'd do it for him, but we'd be learning as we go because there were no patters for me to follow. So I agreed and we started the project a few months later.
Sadly Ken passes away a while back. Some of his collection is now being auctioned off my Rock Island Auction Co. Here is the link.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail...rcussion#detail
I am sure some of you folks remember my posting of the pictures of work in progress.
He had me name the huge rifle "King Kong" and I engraved it as such on the side plate. The barrel is 36" long and the gun weighs 22 pounds.
Collectors will probably not care, but shooters should be aware that ken was Left -Handed and so the gun is a lefty.
I called Rock Island and let them know I was the maker, but was only able to leave a recorded phone message. Maybe they will call back. If they do I'll post the details of the conversation and let you all know what's going on with the gun.
| Wayne59 |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/11/17 12:17 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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Are you referring to a cartridge 2 bore. There was one 2 bore double barrel that was (I beleave) called babe. Would love to see photos when complete.
| Well_Well_Well |
| (.333 member) |
| 13/11/17 01:55 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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I think Giles Whittome made a 2 bore rifle some years ago. Can't remember where I read about it.....
| szihn |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/11/17 02:18 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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Colin Stolzer has made several since I made this one. There may be a few others too.
I do believe this is the 1st one however.
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 14/11/17 05:28 AM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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An Englishman made a single shot 2 bore in the 90's or early 2,000's, seems to me. I saw the video.
As far as in the 1800's, I've not seen any proof there was one.
Baker's biggest rifle was a 4bore. He thought to make it even more effective and had a 3-to the pound elongated hollow based conical made for it. In his own words, "'it' led me into such scrapes to which I eventually gave up the conical as useless" (for killing dangerous game).
In a ML, conicals have to be pure lead and as such, rivet on heavy bone or hard tissue, turn and do not follow a straight path through the animal.
Rounds balls of correct size can be made in any alloy and out-penetrate conicals.
I still have pictures of Big Dog, RIP friend, holding and shooting the big gun in my photobucket account, but they have copy-righted my videos stored there and will not let them be uploaded back to my computer - pictures yes.
| kuduae |
| (.400 member) |
| 14/11/17 06:11 AM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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Here are some links to YouTube videos on 2-bore rifles. The double and the pistol were apparently also made by szihn for the same left-handed customer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXoa5zNn0TU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RIT5KloknI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlDgwo52tI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQvkrshZqak
| szihn |
| (.400 member) |
| 14/11/17 10:20 AM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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No, both the 2 bores in the 3rd vid were made by my old apprentice (now one his own and doing well)
His name is Colin Stolzer. Colin is without a doubt the worlds most experienced man in making 2 bores. I made one the one above. Colin has made several more and it's likely that he had made (my guess) 90% of all the sporting 2 bores on earth. I am sure both were made for the same customer that ordered Gun #1 from me. He was a regular on this site a few years ago. BigDog was his screen name.
They were both made after I made the 1st one, in the pictures. Ken "BigDog" wanted a breach loading double. I suggested Colin because I have the capability of only making the muzzleloaders and all my parts that can't be made on my lathe are hand made with hammers, files and a hack saw, whereas Colin has a milling machine.
The 4th vid started with a picture of my hand holding the above 2 bore at the muzzle, and again several seconds into the video, but all other pics were of things that had nothing to do with me.
Here are pics of the gun when it was in the process of me making it.
2 bore September 4 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
2 bore Sept 4 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
2 Bore muzzle by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
2 bore Sep 4 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr| Wayne59 |
| (.400 member) |
| 14/11/17 12:58 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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Just out of curiosity who bored reamed and rifled your barrel.
| CowboyCS |
| (.333 member) |
| 14/11/17 03:29 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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Quote:
Here are some links to YouTube videos on 2-bore rifles. The double and the pistol were apparently also made by szihn for the same left-handed customer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXoa5zNn0TU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RIT5KloknI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYlDgwo52tI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQvkrshZqak
The first video is a Falling Block 2 Bore By Weight,(3 Bore by bore size) that Giles Whittome built.
Video 2 Is a 2 Bore Boxlock(my own design) Muzzleloader that I built.
Video 3 is the Double Deuce(2 Bore SxS) and the Lil Deuce(2 Bore Pistol), I built both of them for BigDog(Ken).
Video 4 is a mix of SZihn, Mine, the Underhammer is a Lewis and the one supported by the metal shooting stand was made by Gefroh.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/72/3554/stolzer-2-bore-percussion-smoothbore-gun#detail
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail...le-rifle#detail
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail...ussion-p#detail
| szihn |
| (.400 member) |
| 15/11/17 01:01 AM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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Well a man from Rock Island Auction Co contacted me by e-mail last night. He may call me today on the phone. They want to know more about the rifle. So they may be modifying the page on their company web site to reflect new information.
I volunteered to help if I can. I'll answer all their questions and perhaps that will help to generate interest in the gun at auction time.
| ducmarc |
| (.400 member) |
| 18/11/17 01:22 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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what a nice piece of wood. cool gun too
CptCurl
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| (.450 member) |
| 18/11/17 11:12 PM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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I wouldn't want to shoot it!!!!
Curl
| DarylS |
| (.700 member) |
| 19/11/17 05:24 AM |
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Re: Well this has come full circle now.
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LOL