4 Bore interest only

[subsonicnat]

I Was Asked by someone on here to post some old pictures, taken a long time ago, sorry:

And had to Re_take them from my camera, so quality is poor:

It Was a 4 Bore I made many years ago, it has seen quite a bit of action, mainly I might add, For Charity Work:

It has been fired thousands of times.lol. (Just for interest.. Thank you:

[rapid basher]

Omg I bet that would give a bit of a kick!

What range and diamiter spread would you get ?

Edited January 11, 2013 by rapid basher

[subsonicnat]

Hi mate it is a 4 bore, Black powder of course: NO it does not kick, but by crikey it does SHOVE lol.

It Loads with a quarter of a pound of lead, so it has a GAME LOAD: 286 BB flying through the air at approx 850 ft per second:

each pellet has the stricking power of about 6/7 ponds per square in, so each pellet is capable in theory of killing 286 ducks .lol.

it would only take one pellet to kill a duck in the head, or somewhere vital:

As For Range, I would not Bare my bcakside to it at 100 yds:

 

it whieghs 21 pounds for obvious reasons, the kick: it has a 48" barrel and the Stock is English Walnut:

Made : LOCK:STOCK: AND BARREL, As they say: it did make the shooting times some years back at the Game fair:

Hole in the stock is for a boar, rope, so it does not kick you in the face.lol.

Edited January 11, 2013 by subsonicnat

[thepasty]

Was Asked by someone on here to post some old pictures,

 

That was me (as you know)

 

Now THATS a shotgun!

 

Holy **** Colin that thing is huge! not something you want to be carrying around all day!

 

I'm most impressed you made that yourself, looks like you did an awesome job

 

If I'm ever around your way I'd love to take it out for a shoot with you, even just to see you shoot it.... I'll play pack mule and carry the tons of lead etc

 

Thanks for sharing, thats something very special you've created.

 

cheers

 

steve

[Big Mat]

I hate to think what the cost of the non toxic shot would be if fired it on foreshore :o

[kent]

If they were flying low that barrel could prove pretty darn dangerous on its own when swung 4ft and 21lb gun weight, you wouldn't be poking with that once you got it going. Swinging it fast could maybe take you off your feet without even firing! must have taken some work, well done you

[shakin stevens]

I hate to think what the cost of the non toxic shot would be if fired it on foreshore :o

£7 a bang with 3 1/2 oz of non toxic.

[njc110381]

That's an impressive piece of kit. It's a shame we don't see much of works of art like that these days - it really is a cracking looking gun! And on top of that you made it. Do you have a gun making background or are you just a very skilled amateur?

 

If you get a chance would you post a couple of modern pictures of the gun? I assume you still have it? It would put most of the "post a picture of your gun" entries to shame that's for sure!

[aris]

What are the legalities of making your own gun? Do you need a license? I presume it must get proofed too.

[Rimfireboy]

Nice one subsonic, that's something to be proud of. Looks like some good workmanship there fella, and I'll bet its an experience to shoot. Thanks for sharing. Do you still have it?

[RED BEARD]

it would be nice to see some more detailed pictures of the gun,if you still have it.

[wildfowler.250]

Thats sweet! Must get a big bore one of these days,(and a 10 doesn't count ). Would love to see a video of that at the geese.

[bumpy22]

lovely gun.Had a nice chat with a man at the westcountry game fair who made his own punt gun which was a great piece of engineering

[subsonicnat]

I hate to think what the cost of the non toxic shot would be if fired it on foreshore :o

 

Yes , That is the Problem, IO can ONLY use Bismuth: So very cost prohibitive:

[subsonicnat]

What are the legalities of making your own gun? Do you need a license? I presume it must get proofed too.

 

Yes, you can make your own, I lost 2 stone in whieght making it.lol.

And to make it LEGAL, it has to be Proofed, it was done at Birmingham Proof house, apparently they tested it, With,,, WAIT FOR IT:>>>>>

1lb of lead and 16 drams of black powder:: Needless to say, you would NOT put that to your shoulder.

As For carrying it, yes I used to, and with a 3" Magnum as well down the Marsh.lol. + the Lead...

Most of the Work is inside it, the lock and Mainspring, Cock half cock etc:

I am just an Engineer By trade, but took the challenge on: Put it this way, I will never make another, its a one off.

I do have a couple more pictures of it in the WHITE just before Birmingham Proof Test:: Will put them on some time this week:

It Did take 6 weeks to Brown the barrel, it was a lovely Plum Colour, I was really chuffed: Stock was Hand rubbed,, My hand got very hot.lol.

[subsonicnat]

Nice one subsonic, that's something to be proud of. Looks like some good workmanship there fella, and I'll bet its an experience to shoot. Thanks for sharing. Do you still have it?

 

Yes, it is in the gun cabinet, broken down of course.lol PS: the Bore is EXACTLY 1.001" : Bang on 4 Bore:

[wildfowler.250]

How long did it take you to build? Impressive job!

[subsonicnat]

Hi mate, right about 3 months, but that was working every hour god sent, at night at tea breaks at work, several hours over, turning the barrel and screw cutting the block etc, and loads of files BURNT OUT.lol. The spring steel was the toughest to do as it is very dense::

Will try and get some pictures of the inside if any body is interested as there is more work in there than all the rest put together,

it is not to be started lightly, did have a very careing misses, let me sit in the lounge with the Stock, just a blank bit of wood.lol.,, But had to have the hoover stationed a the side of me clearing up every now and then. The stock I exchanged for a Cheery tree my mate had just cut down, mine had been seasoned for a number of years about 15 I think: It will be noticed, if you could see it properly, the butt end has a Brass butt plate, so you can tell its not that bad, A lot of people won`t fire it because they are frightened of hurting their shoulders, (WIMPS). It is AMAZING to Fire, One Bloody great shove.. I had one lady fire it 3 times and said she could fire it all day: Blokes on the Clays were chickening out, I did stoke it up for one lad, but stood behind him, his mates gave me the WINK.lol. :yahoo:

[wildfowler.250]

That's really impressive that you managed to make it in 3 months though. Wish I had the ability to attempt something like this

[subsonicnat]

That's really impressive that you managed to make it in 3 months though. Wish I had the ability to attempt something like this

 

You never know mate: I Did not think so either. its all in the mind:

[Pigeon_snIPer]

Wow looks like a real professional job, can you please put up some more pics.

Thanks

/S

[camokid]

that's a beast i just may be able to hit something with that good workmanship

[subsonicnat]

These are some old pictures of the 4: they are of Me and my old gaffer from that period, who is now dead: Rest in Peace:

The pictures show the Gun "IN THE WHITE" ready for Proofing at Birmingham Proof House, The Next day, Just in case they Blew it up.lol. I will as somebody has asked to put some more recent pictures up on here, which I will Do in due course: I do have to get it out of the Cabinet and break it down, so you can see the inside, which took a long time to do:

Of course all the bites and trigger, and cams had to match, or it would not have worked:

I have over the years made thousands of pounds at charity do`s: it did set one womens hair on fire, (Laquer) on her hair, I had t o put it out with my hands, it was then I realised somebody could probably SUE me, so I stopped doing them:

Thank god it wasn`t too bad just singed, but did make me very wary of carrying on:

The first time (i) Fired it, to say the least was a tense moment,,, But exceeded my expectations by miles:

It was Quite funny really as where I used to shoot on a Farm, in the west midlands near Coventry:

The only thing I could think of at the time to STUFF it with, was toilet paper (Loads of it), it was on STUBBLE..LMAO;

I was runnning round the field putting all these little fires out, it was hilarious:::

I then found the right stuff::: the insulation they used to put between the walls in buildings, sort of thick compressed Cardboard, they still sell it.. I made a wad punch to cut it, still works today::

The wadding must be 2 x Bore size,, so it had to have 4 x 1/2" wads ,, making 2" long:

They Break up a treat, and rot within weeks, its only cardboard:::

SO:: Over powder Card 1/8" + 2" + 1/16" undershot card+ Shot 4oz`s+ 1/16" overshot card: (TOTAL)..

Yes it sounds a lot but can be done, in a very short time really: The first Goose I had (RAN INTO A BRICK WALL):

it stopped: DEAD in its tracks: like it had hit a solid object in the sky:!!!!. Yes it is an all time goose stopper::

I have walked miles with it, but funny enough never felt the wheight, (WHY) Because it was Mine, and gave me a spring in my step so to speak:: (Why not I MADE IT):: I suspect a lot of the Fowlers on the foreshore would have been over the moon to have fired it.. I even made the STRIKERS to strip the CAPS on to the Nipple, I robbed an old windup train set of its spring to make it clockwork, Sadly,, I lost it on the marsh but I do have some of the FRAMES i made, Maybe one day I will replace it.. I do go on:::lol. Flame in the dark is probably 12`t long.Hmmmm..

Right will get her down over the week-end and take some pictures for those interested::

PS: you will note there is no trigger GUARD of Hammer, I had not made them, Just a clamp to COCK the gun:

I am 5` 8" tall on these pictures, My gaffer is 6` 2", it looks like it fits him better.lol.

Edited January 14, 2013 by subsonicnat

[Hopper Bopper]

This is a most impressive feat of engineering to say the least!!! Well done.

What steel did you use for the barrel and how did you heat treat it to meet the proof?

I run my own engineering company and just love proper engineering like this.

 

ATB

 

HB

[Blackpowder]

Looks even better when you see it full length, great stuff .

 

Blackpowder