Isaac Hollis and Son .75 Percussion Sporting Rifle

[smoothshooter]

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Gentlemen, my mate dropped in the Isaac Hollis Sporting rifle, it is well used but nice and serviceable. Looks like .75 7 wide grooves and very narrow lands, Henry Rifled? I am guessing it uses a patched round ball, the bore is lightly rusted but will likely clean up fine. The cone is pretty worn, has the same thread as the Enfield, but a shorter thread section, by a bit more than one turn, will see if I can get a new one from Track of the Wolf, or make a copper packing washer to take up the extra. I may have to re solder the under rib as it is a little loose near them muzzle. Does anyone have any information regarding these sporting rifles. I see this one has a tiger engraved on the lock plate, so assume it was made for use in India. It has just one single folding rear sight leaf, and has been dovetailed for a double based front sight . I have seen this occasionally on American Long Rifles, but have forgotten as to why. Any information about ball or bullet and charge weights would be appreciated. I just took a look at the inside of the lock, lovely order, Enfield lock, just been tarted up with a civilian pattern hammer, all engraved [

As regards the two front sight dovetails, it is very likely that the gun had some serious ramrod wear at the muzzle, and/or pitting, that required a half-inch or so of the barrel cut back and re-crowned. Setting the front sight back in a new dovetail may have been done as a matter of aesthetics, and a little more protection when the muzzle is bumped against something hard.

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Idaho Lewis,
The 400 grain charge for the 4-bore sounds Ok . The proof charge is 27 drams of powder, so something over 730 grains.
I forget the second proof load, and weights of the projectiles. been near 40 years since we made ours!

 

[aeatwood]

Based on my .72 Pedersoli Gibbs, you will do much better with F ot FF than 3F, and recoil will call a halt at 4 drams. 3 - 3 1/2 should be plenty. Mine weighs 9 or so, and it gets jiggy FAST over about 110 gr.

 

[JBrandon]

Check out Baker's book for contemporary accounts of hunting with huge percussion guns. My notes when I read it.

Baker, Sir Samuel o
1889? [1853?] The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon. The Burroughs Brothers Company, Cleveland.

Shooting adventures 1845-53. Ah, what could be more English than sport! I.e. shooting things that don’t need to be shot. In this case, mostly elephants, although he goes to great pains to show how dangerous they are to villagers etc. Amazing adventures, you have to admire these guys’ courage. But awful attitudes toward game: shot birds until my ears rang from the reports on one page, next page he complains about too many guns have now ruined the sport at places he used to like. Elephants shot several at a time, young, old. Buffalo massacred, left to lie, except sometimes cut out the tongue. Long shots with almost no chance of hitting, although at least some effort is made to put downed animals out of their misery. ‘Elk’ (sambar) chased with pack of hounds and killed with only a hunting knife! But it’s expected that the hounds won’t last very long. Etc. Attitudes toward natives just as bad. Shooting with a huge elephant rifle rested on shoulder of bearer for long shot, ‘recoil cut his ear open’ [I expect he blew out the man’s eardrum as well, with 16 drachms of powder too].

Info on his guns P 28 [these are all percussion muzzle-loaders]: recommends double barreled, No 10 bore, weighing 15 lbs, shooting conical ball 2.5 oz, 12-groove rifling loads as fast as smoothbore. “Two-groove rifle” loads too slowly for dangerous game. Smoothbores lack range, although just as good as rifle at 20-30 paces, but you never know what you’ll be shooting at [because if it moves, it’s game], or the range. “My battery” by which he means what his bearers carry for him] = one 4-oz rifle, single barrel, 24 lbs; one long single barrel 2-oz rifle, 16 lbs, and four double barrel No 10 rifles, each 15 lbs. [see conversions to understand what huge guns these are - a 4-oz ought to be 4 gauge, meaning the ball is over an inch diameter, 27mm! Even a No. 10 is .775 caliber.]

 

[Pukka Bundook]

J Brandon,
Yes, very different rough and tumble days !
Shoot everything, then bemoan the fact there's nowt left to shoot at.
Still, his ilk Did see life. (and death) and a world we can only read about, and thankfully Baker and some others left a pretty vivid picture of how it used to be.
Gordon Cumming was quite a character as well, plus William C Oswell. (If I remember right)

Baker was very fond of his 10 bores. the 4-bores were usually loaded with a hand-full of coarse powder, carried loose in the pocket.
Tough as rawhide though, these chaps.
I recall an English couple walking 40 miles into Nairobi ...for a few sets of late afternoon tennis!
I don't think they make 'em like that anymore...