My new French Big Bore Smoothbore 8Bore

[German Jäger]

Hello Friends,
Here are my new Smoothbore the Barrel are 20mm Bore and 1,30m long all over Size 1,75m! French Lock St. Etienne!
Wie Test it with Dhoot at 50 Meter with good Patrern! Who knows more about this Big Gun?!

 

[PathfinderNC]

Big is right! Have fun and good hunting!

 

[TFoley]

Around 1840-ish or later - back-action locks came into vogue around this time.

 

[German Jäger]

But what should it be? For Geese or for the boat or shooting by hsnd?! Load data?

 

[oldwood]

I still have one of these barrels bought in 1971 from Turner Kirklin , Dixie GW. Mine is stamped Liege Belgique. I loved to blast away at stuff with it. Once shot at a grouse on a logging tram road. Had a load of # 2 lead shot , 160 gr. of FFG and shot by volume. There were saplings along the trail full of brush , and I laughed out loud at how that amount of shot cut through the limbs and the brush fell to the ground. Didn't get Mr. grouse. I think the patched round balls were 780 gr.. Almost shot at a deer 30 yds. out , , but had not enough confidence to guarantee a vital hit. I should get that aged safe queen out , and shake the dust off. It hurts to fire it , but is one of those bucket list things to do. Dixie catalog said , the barrel I bought was intended to make elephant guns. A fast runner was able to run up to an elephant , shoot it in the vitals , and the group of hunters could follow the beast until it fell , and transport the edible meat back on their village.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Before you use it, make a ramrod that’s long enough to load the barrel.

 

[Sam squanch]

Looks like a sturdy wildfowling gun made from military parts, the lock plate looks like it’s from a French percussion musket, or it was styled that way. I’m jealous!

 

[Feltwad]

Useful fowling gun does not look too heavy for the shoulder and should kill geese clean out to 50 yards , what load do you use and what size of shot , I always preferred size 4 shot for my big bores but when lead shot was banned for fowling I retired my big bores .
Feltwad

Punter shooting a single 4

 

[German Jäger]

Wow what a nice Collection! I use Shot Number 3 in most Times! So i put in 220grs Swiss No.3 Powder snd arround 70 Gramm Shot.

 

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Wow big is beautiful! A fine arquebus, Sir!

 

[shorthair]

The feds banned those about 100 years ago where I live so consider your self fortunate to be someplace that you can still enjoy this beautiful tool for the purpose it was intended.

 

[oldwood]

I have a Dixie Gun Works 8 ga. smooth bore brl. to be restocked. Originally it was scratch built back in the early 1970's intending to just use it for hunting and general fun. Being new to the scratch building side of things back then , dumbkoff , me , made the stock drop inadequate , so it was a bear to shoot , but fun as a barrel of monkeys. I will try to rebuild the 8 ga. and perhaps try again with reduced loads. I think my original shot load was 2 1/18 oz. pushed by 160 gr. fg.. I think the ball is a patched 680 RB. With shot, the gun might be good to obliterate timber rattlers , oops , I mean "relocate" them , here in Pa.. It's illegal to kill them , just relocate them. Relocated one last Saturday. Public service.

 

[Eterry]

Hello Friends,
Here are my new Smoothbore the Barrel are 20mm Bore and 1,30m long all over Size 1,75m! French Lock St. Etienne!
Wie Test it with Dhoot at 50 Meter with good Patrern! Who knows more about this Big Gun?!View attachment 316404

She's a beast! I know a trap shooter who built an 8 bore. He uses a square load of 2 oz, until handicap trap, then he ups his load. I can't recall that one.
Years ago I read a story of a market hunter when it was legal. The hunter used a punt gun, then used several 8 bore doubles for singles and cripples.
Was a dirty job, but a living.
Again, a wonderful piece of history.

 

[Hermit Tim]

That thing is a hoss. How does it feel to shoulder it?

 

[Relic shooter]

Hello Friends,
Here are my new Smoothbore the Barrel are 20mm Bore and 1,30m long all over Size 1,75m! French Lock St. Etienne!
Wie Test it with Dhoot at 50 Meter with good Patrern! Who knows more about this Big Gun?!View attachment 316404

Many guns like yours were supplied to natives in Africa.
Your gun is out of my collecting background but could possibly be considered an African Trade Gun ?

 

[oldwood]

I bought my 8 ga. brl. from Turner Kirklin in the early 1970's. The write up in the Dixie catalog said these Liege , Belgium marked barrels were made for African use. Story says a speedy native would run up to an elephant and gut shoot it. Then the hunting party would follow the beast until it collapsed , and cut it up into transportable size chunks to be carried to the villiage for all to sup on.