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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

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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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