6-Bore Dangerous Game Gun

William Greener Maker Birmingham 6-Bore Dangerous Game Gun. (1861)
I am still working on history and the rifle just showed up today. I will be posting another thread in hopes of helping find the right size ball to start with and where I can find one (or a mold).

I am afraid that in its day it may have been used for African big game but not has it is now it must have lost at least 12 inches of barrel but it will only be useful now for shot with a moderate powder load
Feltwad

Feltwad ... I would like to know more on your comment. I have seen many fouling pieces in 6 bore with a much longer barrel, but the dangerous game guns/rifles generally had shorter barrels.

Beautiful gun. Aprox. 90 caliber. You shoot it, I'll read the report.

Seems like you should try a ball .010 under bore size with a patch to start .It is all trial and error GOOD LUCK

TexasJacob said:

Feltwad ... I would like to know more on your comment. I have seen many fouling pieces in 6 bore with a much longer barrel, but the dangerous game guns/rifles generally had shorter barrels.

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First was the gun for big game hunting I believe not to me it was a fowling gun for geese and ducks and would have had a barrel length of 36 to 40 inches ..If the barrel had been an original smooth bore or was the rifling bored out which looks to me that it was ,to shoot a round ball from the barrel has it is now would need a ball of 3 oz and a powder charge of 8 drms of Fg or FFg which in a short barrel with most leaving the barrel un burnt with a lack of velocity, My advise use it has a shotgun with a moderate load I have used for many decades big bore guns for geese etc also at game fairs here in the UK demonstrations of black powder guns
Feltwad

Feltwad ... thank you for that information. I plan to contact Greener and see if they have any records from that time period to see what this gun started out as. I tend to agree that it may have been a riffle at some point and had the bore ground out to make it easier to shoot. If that is the case, it may have been an 8 Bore that was expanded to a 6. Not sure, I understand that at this time as they were exploring Africa and India, they were doing what they could with what they had to take down the big game. Only later did they develop specialty rifles for hunting big game.

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Ok, some more photos and information. First, it is 1851. My eyes are not what they used to be, so I had to take a picture and expand it to confirm the correct date. Also, I see some proof marks on the bottom of the barrel.

For starting out I like @Feltwad ‘s suggestion of a lighter shot load to get you shooting. Punch out a few 1” diameter shot cards from your empty box of Caption Crunch, Fruit Loops or whatever you enjoy for breakfast and have at it. Nothing complicated to get started.

I don't know. Just guessing. But my first thought on seeing this was that "it is some kind of line throwing gun." Not a hunting gun at all. I do think that Greener made line throwing guns for rescues, etc.
Looking at the photos, to me the barrel walls look awful thick, too thick, I think to have once been a rifled gun that was then reamed smooth.

Feltwad said:

First was the gun for big game hunting I believe not to me it was a fowling gun for geese and ducks and would have had a barrel length of 36 to 40 inches ..If the barrel had been an original smooth bore or was the rifling bored out which looks to me that it was ,to shoot a round ball from the barrel has it is now would need a ball of 3 oz and a powder charge of 8 drms of Fg or FFg which in a short barrel with most leaving the barrel un burnt with a lack of velocity, My advise use it has a shotgun with a moderate load I have used for many decades big bore guns for geese etc also at game fairs here in the UK demonstrations of black powder guns
Feltwad View attachment 324680

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NEAT GUN !!
This gun resembles smoothbore Market Gun & I 100% agree with Feltwad that the barrel was originally 'much' longer.
The slight ding between surface of the breech plug & barrel indicates at some point the barrel was removed from the breech for service & rear sights was added lto use as a smooth bore rifle.
Possibly the forward section of the once longer barrel developed a bulge & was shortened ?

All of the large bore English & Scottish big game rifles I've collected have had forward-action locks as this style of lock provides more strength through the wrist area to handle pressures of heavily loaded projectiles & round balls.
Back-action locks are more common on shotguns & smaller bore rifles where load pressures are lower.
CONSIDERATION;
Over the past 60 years I've run across a few smoothbores with shortened barrels or bad bores & turned them into very nice quality 'sporting rifles' by having a rifled liners installed.

Interestingly enough, I have found Greeners to often be back action .... Here is my W.W. Greener 12 Bore Double (1872) (and) My old W.J. Jeffery 8-Bore Double (1895)...

The 8 Bore is now with a buddy of mine who is going to use it for a Hippo hunt. I have aging my collection to the early days of Exploration and Adventure when they still used Muzzleloaders ...

Jacob

Very nice !
Your correct many English cartridge double rifles were back action.
I was referring to English big bore English muzzleloaders having primarily front action locks to maintain higher recoil strength though the wrist area.

Big bore flint & perc Jaegers have long been my personal favorites but have also owned a number of those rifles in percussion with back action locks as their stocks are generally broader through the wrist area.

William Greener is the father of William Wellington Greener The father is more associated with muzzle loaders and his son breech loaders born in the early 1800 at Felling in Tyne and wear and started has a apprentice for Gardener of Newcastle upon Tyne leaving has a journeyman gun maker for John Manton He returned to Newcastle married and set up business in Collingwood Street it was here that WW was born also it was here that his business became more involve in big bore muzzle loader, this was due to his work for the Dundee waling fleet that came in and docked in the river Tyne his job was supplying harpoon guns and such plus restoring and removing rust caused by salt water this was a main part of his business .He did make sxs percussion gun for the gentry .
Feltwad

Is the son, Greener, the inventor/developer of the Greener action in later breechloaders?

Marplot said:

Is the son, Greener, the inventor/developer of the Greener action in later breechloaders?

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Both father and son had many patents registered at the patent office not only for shotguns but also rifles and pistols.
Feltwad

I still say it's a line throwing gun, although much better refined than this one.

TexasJacob said:

William Greener Maker Birmingham 6-Bore Dangerous Game Gun. (1861)
I am still working on history and the rifle just showed up today. I will be posting another thread in hopes of helping find the right size ball to start with and where I can find one (or a mold).

Click to expand...

LEM Moulds will make you any bore size mould you require if he doesn't pop up as' LEM Moulds' let me know I have his E whatever Felt Wad says you can bet he's right he really knows his big bores & little Bores come to that
. Regards Rudyard PS LEM moulds now Glenn McQuire has been in bussines makeing every sort & size of moulds since the 1960s very well established .I
like many another have boxes of his & Tanner moulds
Rudyard

TexasJacob said:

William Greener Maker Birmingham 6-Bore Dangerous Game Gun. (1861)
I am still working on history and the rifle just showed up today. I will be posting another thread in hopes of helping find the right size ball to start with and where I can find one (or a mold).

Click to expand...

dangggg. thats a cannon. bet its going kick. but i bet there is going be a lot of smoke coming out that pipe.i like that. thanks fot pics