Indians For Guns

A couple of weeks back, I attended another gun auction at Bedford.Grumps could not make it. Missed meeting him there and learn a few things.Due to the short interval from the previous auction, the number of guns was low and interesting ones even lesser.However,there were a couple of interesting things.

A Belgium made Browning B25 with interchangeable barrels.20 bore and 8mm rifle barrels.Sold for 3700 GBP.






That's an 8 bore and a 10 bore cartridge



a 2" 12 bore for comparison


For those into collecting cutlery.

A bunch of British made American Bowies.The practical aspect escapes me.The size of my arms and weigh a ton.Made by Henderson of Sheffield.Most went for a 100 quids or more.



Now the real deal.

These knives are made by a friend of ours, Mick.He is good with his hands and made these knives from deactivated Damascus gun barrels and walnut stocks.You can see the proof marks.



The grip on the first knife from left is made of ,the same wood used to make the fabled English longbow.Next to it is made of deer antler.



Have fun.

Best-
Vikram

thanks for the pics!looks like you had fun. would have loved to join you. maybe next time? when is the next auction BTW?

Great Pics Vikram thanks for giving us folks back home a chance to enjoy the real action vicariously.
Regards
Vinayaka

Thanks guys. Always a pleasure.

Anand, the next auction is due in March.Sometime, isn't it?


Best-
Vikram

Thanks for sharing the pics Vikram.

How do the rocket cartridges work? Are they like flares?

Pran

Hi Pran, I have no idea! Grumpster is the right person. The Eley 2" you see is just that.A 2" shotgun cartridge.

Best-
Vikram

Vikram";p="33131 wrote:The Eley 2" you see is just that.A 2" shotgun cartridge.

Yup, saw that written on the carton.

Vikram, is 8 gauge legal in the UK?

Pran

Yes, 8-Bores are legal in the UK......and 4-Bores......and 2-Bores. Anything up to a 2 inch Bore in fact.
My favourite game gun is a 12-Bore 2" lightweight. The shot loads are pretty much the same as a 20-Bore but with better patterning due to the short shot column.
Those Eley `Rocket` cartridges probably have brightly painted shot. The concept was reintroduced a few years ago......briefly. The idea is that the shot is more visible which makes them suitable/useful for training purposes. They wouldn`t contain `tracer` type shot or flares because of the risk of setting fire to wheat/corn stubble, etc. 12-Bore `Flare` cartridges are available for signalling purposes but they are fired from a `Very` type pistol.

>Yes, 8-Bores are legal in the UK......and 4-Bores......and 2-Bores. Anything up to a 2 inch Bore in fact.

Damn.. 2-Bore must be like an hand held cannon!

Grumpy";p="33136 wrote:
Those Eley `Rocket` cartridges probably have brightly painted shot. The concept was reintroduced a few years ago......briefly. The idea is that the shot is more visible which makes them suitable/useful for training purposes. They wouldn`t contain `tracer` type shot or flares because of the risk of setting fire to wheat/corn stubble, etc. 12-Bore `Flare` cartridges are available for signalling purposes but they are fired from a `Very` type pistol.

Thanks Grumps.

Pran

Thanks Grumps.

"Damn.. 2-Bore must be like an hand held cannon!"


Pran, they are more like "boat- held" cannons. They are punt guns.But, I used to have a picture of a guy my friend knows who shoots hand held 4 bores

Best-
Vikram

>Pran, they are more like "boat- held" cannons.

Vikram";p="33179 wrote: They are punt guns.But, I used to have a picture of a guy my friend knows who shoots hand held 4 bores

Did he manage to stand upright after pulling the trigger?

Pran

The second half of this video clip shows a punt gun in action.........note the recoil, even though the gun is tied down with a rope:

This second clip shows a punt gun in action mounted on a `punt`:

Thanks Grumps. You ever shot any of these 'canons'?

Do the 2 bores and 4 bores have cartridges or are they all muzzleloaders?

Pran

I`ve shot a 4-Bore black powder, percussion muzzle loader with a 4 oz shot load and a punt mounted 1 1/4 inch bore screw breech, percussion black powder gun with a 6 ft barrel which used an 8 oz shot load.
There were certainly 4-bore cartridge firing guns built - both shotguns and rifles. I think that there 2-Bore cartridges but am not certain - I know someone who will know though......the guy who made the knives shown above.

Thanks Grumps.

Pran