The Largest Caliber Muzzleloader?

[Mulebrain]

I threw this question out to KanawhaRanger, and he replied with a .75! Any other opinions on what is the largest?

I want to know what is the largest caliber muzzleloading gun that was shouldered??

 

[rmonday2]

I have seen barrels at Friendship and read articals about a 4 bore which is in the latest muzzle blasts magazine,and it has some pretty impressive kill at both ends. If I'm not mistaking it has some where in the neighborhood of 60 + # of recoil with .985 or so round ball. The artical is well worth reading :shocking:

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I threw this question out to KanawhaRanger, and he replied with a .75! Any other opinions on what is the largest?

I want to know what is the largest caliber muzzleloading gun that was shouldered??

Are you qualifying that condition? I think there were some front-loading rocket launchers/grenade launchers that are fired from the shoulder, but they aren't what you're looking for I'm sure.

I had heard somwhere of an elephant gun in a 1 pounder, but find that hard to believe, for that would make the gun have a bore that measured 1.67 inches! That just can't be possible, can it?

Too much for this poor old body!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[Stumpkiller]

2" bore punt gun. These were laid on a rest (in a "punt" - a small boat), but not mechanically attached to it, so I guess that qualifies as being shouldered (as much as a bench-rest firearm). Used to take out rafts of floating waterfowl with more concern for meat than sport.

2" bore is "A" Gauge and is recognized as the largest commercial/official bore size (Gun Barrel Proof Act of 1868). After that, you're in cannon sizes.

 

[No Deer]

Friend of mine has a 4 bore shoulder mounted flintlock. It was originally an African trade gun, used for the big game in Africa. It does pack a whallop when touched off. Some guys drool over the big bores, one time firing this was enough for me!! :crackup:

 

I own a .79 caliber rifle (20mm anti-aircraft gun barrel, actually). Only a 28" barrel though...with 200gr of FFg and a 955gr maxi, the recoil is on the order of being hit by a small car.

 

[musketman]

I want to know what is the largest caliber muzzleloading gun that was shouldered??

That would be any gun that Squire Robin has... :crackup:

 

[Mulebrain]

I want to know what is the largest caliber muzzleloading gun that was shouldered??

That would be any gun that Squire Robin has... :crackup:

Well now Squire is pretty generous :hmm: :crackup:

 

[Tumblernotch]

Now, didn't you say biggest rifle? Like I said in my PM, the biggest I've seen personally was a .75 flintlock. I have seen some swivel gun barrels in Ed Rayl's shop that measured 1"- 1 1/4" that I believe he was going to rifle. They're a semi/shoulder fired weapon.
:thumbsup:

 

[robinghewitt]

That would be any gun that Squire Robin has... :crackup:

Largest I have without a swivel is just under 0.8", but I have seen a 1" elephant gun, full octagon in damascene -drool-

I can't tell the story that went with it 'cause I get censored :thumbsup:

 

[Mulebrain]

Now, didn't you say biggest rifle? Like I said in my PM, the biggest I've seen personally was a .75 flintlock. I have seen some swivel gun barrels in Ed Rayl's shop that measured 1"- 1 1/4" that I believe he was going to rifle. They're a semi/shoulder fired weapon.
:thumbsup:

You are correct Ranger!

Now I want to know the largest gun caliber in black powder that can be shouldered!

Cheers!

 

[Mulebrain]

That would be any gun that Squire Robin has... :crackup:

Largest I have without a swivel is just under 0.8", but I have seen a 1" elephant gun, full octagon in damascene -drool-

I can't tell the story that went with it 'cause I get censored :thumbsup:

Cmon no fair! Tell the story, or PM it! Or send it to Claude, so he can take out the bad stuff and he can submit it :haha:

 

[Mulebrain]

I own a .79 caliber rifle (20mm anti-aircraft gun barrel, actually). Only a 28" barrel though...with 200gr of FFg and a 955gr maxi, the recoil is on the order of being hit by a small car.

Pics????

 

[robinghewitt]

Cmon no fair! Tell the story, or PM it!

You have mail ::

 

[hairsmith]

I own a .79 caliber rifle (20mm anti-aircraft gun barrel, actually). Only a 28" barrel though...with 200gr of FFg and a 955gr maxi, the recoil is on the order of being hit by a small car.

How about a Pic......
and how does she shoot ?
That sounds like a fun project. Did you bild ?

Hairsmith

 

[Gary]

I know someone who is building a Rifle Shoppe kit of a British Wall Gun. It has an 1" rifled bore. He wanted rifled and not the original smoothbore. That should reach out to 600 yards.

 

[oomcurt]

Just for comparison....I once read that Weatherby's .378 Mag has 128lb recoil.....

 

[bigsmoke]

October Country produced a line of big bore, English style sporting rifles. The "baby" was .62 caliber 20 bore, then .66 caliber 16 bore, then .69 caliber 14 bore, then .72 caliber 12 bore, then .84 caliber 8 bore, then 1.00 caliber 4 bore.
The .62 through .72 calibers were rifles 1 turn in 104". The 8 bore and the 4 bore were 1 turn in 144". These guns weighed in around 18 pounds.
I have a double eight bore rifle that shoots a 835 grain .820 round ball over 300 grains of Fg powder. It does kick, but not all that bad. I can get about a dozen shots out of it before I start seriously flinching.
Joe Williams at the Gun Works and Oregon Rifle Barrel Co. has made a couple of 2 bore barrels (1.325 caliber) 8 ounce ball, and a fellow I know in Colorado has a underhammer gun with one of those barrels on it. He prefers to square off against someone like Lennox Lewis than to shoot it with a full charge, like 450 - 500 grains Fg. He says it is really tremendous.
Look forward to chatting about the big guns some more.

Big Smoke

 

[pepperbelly]

Have you ever seen the videos on the Accuratereloading site of the guys firing the ".577 T-Rex"?
That's recoil!
Jim

 

[Okwaho]

There are numerous guns shown in "Battle Weapons of the American Revolution" by George C. Neuman, mostly American fowlers and composite guns that range from .75 to .82 caliber and which are comparable in weight to military muskets of the period.There may be others that have a larger bore but I didn't look mat all of them.
Tom Patton