Indians For Guns

505 GIBBS - BREVEX MAUSER - PH Carl Labuschagne Maker - Help Needed

Hello All,

I recently acquired this wonderful 505 Gibbs and I'm researching its maker. Its a Custom Magnum Mauser built on a 1955 Brevex Action. The Brevex markings on the action's bottom are; "M 400" and "42" and "BV" (Brevex Model 400 - sn 42 - BreVex BV monogram)



I've been told this may have originally been a Belgium Dumoulin in 505 Gibbs caliber, of which only a very few are known to have been imported into South Africa in the mid-late 1950's. At one time this rifle had a G&H style side mounted scope. The rifle was eventually purchased by the South African Professional Hunter, Carl S. Labuschagne. In addition to being a PH, Carl was also a very competent "Rifle-Smith". He hand-made this rifle's stock and performed a Major Redesign / Customization to the rifle for his own personal use. (noted by the barrel marking) As you would expect from a man that made his living with a rifle, no detail was omitted. Note the special "recoil wedge" that was added to the bottom of the barrel, under the quarter-rib, to prevent stock splitting from the 505's heavy recoil. (3rd from last photo)

Carl also pioneered "Scout-Scope" mounting on Dangerous Game rifles. (also Jeff Cooper's favorite) Apparently Carl felt strongly that conventional scope mounting on a heavily recoiling dangerous game rifle could cause very severe injury to the shooter if he became caught-up in a hurried shooting situation where the gun was not properly positioned or adequately supported to the shoulder. Such an unexpected, "disorienting blow" to the shooter's eye could even lead to his "death" in a dangerous situation.

Another one of Carl's custom rifles, a Mauser in .460 A-Square, with the same Scout-Scope mounting, is shown in the book; "African Dangerous Game Cartridges" - by Pierre van der Walt. (below photo)



My search for information about Carl Labuschagne also discovered a "Special Dedication" to him that appears in the recent book; "Shooter's Bible Guide to the Hunting Rifle and Its Ammunition" by Thomas C. Tabor.

Carl must have been a well known PH in the World of Dangerous Game because there is yet another dedication in the book, "Guns over Africa", by Jamel DuBois. It also lists Carl Labuschagne's by name.

(But sadly, my research has just found that Carl Labuschagne passed away this last September. Unfortunately no first hand information is available about his life or this rifle's history of use.)

In addition to Carl's talents as a Professional Hunter and Rifle-Smith, Carl was also a Freelance Writer, having published at least half-a-dozen articles (perhaps more) in the mid 2000's. I'm hoping that possibly some of you may know of his writings so that I might obtain copies. I would like to learn more about Carl.

For your interest, I have the following details about my rifle. It is truly the "Quintessential Elephant Gun" and it has gone to the very top of my "Favorite Guns List". I actually used it (successfully) in this years Wisconsin Whitetail Deer season. (last photo)

Your comments would be most welcome. Thanks

The rifle is a Custom Square Bridge "Brevex" Magnum Mauser (4-round capacity)
The rifle is in 505 Gibbs caliber.
The stock is checkered Deluxe Walnut with Buffalo Horn Forend Tip and Shadow Outlined Cheek Piece
The stock has a Silvers Recoil Pad
The rifle has a Quarter Rib with Single Standing Sight and is cut for Warne Scope Rings
The rifle has a Gold Bead Front Sight with a Swivel-Folding Hood
The Metal Grip Cap has a Compartment for an optional Moon Sight (not with the rifle)
The center top of the barrel is hand engraved: "Customized by C. S. Labuschagne"
The top of the barrel behind the front sight is hand engraved: "Bundock" (a variation of Bundoki which is Swahili for "Big Gun" or "Cannon")
The floorplate is hand engraved with a "Bull Elephant" and signed "A. D. Winkler" (A Ferlach trained engraver still practicing in S.A.)
There are various Accent Engravings throughout.
The Brass Escutcheon inlaid into the bottom of the stock is hand engraved with Carl's initials: "CSL"
The bottom of the trigger guard is hand engraved: "1014"
The left side of the receiver it is hand engraved: "1014 / 505 Gibbs"
The left side of the barrel is stamped with the number "1014"
The bottom of the action is stamped" "M400" "4.2" "BV" (Brevex model 400 - sn 42 - Brevex monogram)
The barrel Length is 21" with Barrel-Band Sling Swivel
The weight of the rifle is 11 pounds 2 ounces (loaded w/ scope & sling)
The length of pull is 14-1/8"

Here are some photos for your interest.

Nice Rifle,amazing wood,one of the best DG Cals, Congrats on such a beautiful buy,Best Amit P.S; gimme a shout if you are planning a Safari in CARLS { May he R.I.P} home country.

Another great acquisition Buckstix. Congratulations.



TC

Very nice gun in a classic caliber, a lot of history. Thanks for sharing the pics & the history. Herb.

Buckstix, a very nice rifle, indeed. It does not come up short in the history, metal work, or wood department, and looks beautiful in your pictures. Thanks for sharing that one!

Hello Amit357,
Hello TC,
Hello herb,
Hello timmy,

Thank you all for the kind comments. I've owned (still own) a lot of different rifles. Many are custom. But I don't think any have such classic lines as this one; with or without the scope.

I've shot it nearly a hundred times in the last 30 days since I bought it on November 23rd, and I still get the "shivers" when I get it out of the case and look at it. I sure wish we had Elephants, Rhino, or Buffalo here in Wisconsin. Slaying the dangerous whitetail deer, just didn't cut it.

I can understand, .505 is not your typical whitetail caliber, maybe some day you should take her home to Africa for a visit.

Even if you don't , with a beautiful gun like that you don't have to shoot anything, just looking at it would make your day.

Herb

herb wrote:I can understand, .505 is not your typical whitetail caliber, maybe some day you should take her home to Africa for a visit.

Even if you don't , with a beautiful gun like that you don't have to shoot anything, just looking at it would make your day.

Herb

Hi HERB,IMHO,505 would be too much a GUN for the America's,Buck are you reloading or using Factory Ammo,do let us know the details of the ammo you are putting through this beauty,& how is the recoil,for me the question is personal cause i am very Recoil sensitive,is it 30 pounds + ,being 11.5 pound rifle the recoils should be manageable,but i still shudder to think.For me anything over the 375 is too much recoil.Best Amit

Hello Amit357,

There are all kinds of loads for the 505 Gibbs with bullets in the 525g - 700g range. However, I found very little reloading data for reduced loads. These were the only ones I located.

The following loads were found on the Internet.
THESE ARE NOT TESTED - USE THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK

bullet ---------- powder in grains --------- velocity
525 ------------- 90.0 IMR 4064 ------------ 1750
600 ------------- 50.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1450
600 ------------- 55.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1540
680 ------------- 45.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1350


I emailed Accurate Powders and asked them for load data for 505 Gibbs using their 5744 powder.
This is what they sent me. THESE WERE NOT TESTED

bullet ---------- powder in grains --------- velocity
535 ------------- 55.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1600
535 ------------- 62.5 AA 5744 ------------- 1800
535 ------------- 70.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1900
600 ------------- 52.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1525
600 ------------- 58.5 AA 5744 ------------- 1650
680 ------------- 65.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1800


The following loads WERE TESTED in my rifle with its 21" barrel.

bullet ---------- powder in grains --------- velocity
350 ------------- 55.0 IMR 4198 ------------ 1630 (short case)
350 ------------- 55.0 IMR 4198 ------------ 1590
525 ------------- 56.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1500
525 ------------- 60.0 AA 5744 ------------- 1600





This time of year the weather is very cold so I didn't do my best for holding a tight group. I wanted to record velocities for the 5744 powder to get an idea of what to try next.

Buckstix: So Accurate wouldn't give you any information on reduced loads, or whether their powder(s) are safe with reduced loads or not? I looked in Barnes's Cartridges of the World and, judging from his loads (100 gr of 4064 --> 525 gr @ 2060 f/s), it looks like you already have the "mild loads."

BTW, what did you end up getting to use for large base dies? I confess, I have been curious.

Hello timmy,

I purchased a set of RCBS dies.

I have "only" tested the 5477 and 4198 powders. Nothing else as of yet. I use 1-1/2" of 5/8" dia backing rod (foam) as a filler. This is the same foam as used by Kynoch in their "smokeless-for-black" cartridges. Works great.

Hello All,

My research continues.

I've contacted Magnum Magazine in South Africa and have ordered 6 back issues; July 94, Oct 95, May 07, Dec 07, Feb 08, Sept 08. These contain articles written by Carl Labuschagne.

I'm not sure about the subject mater of the articles, but I'm hoping that perhaps one of these will give the details of building this 505 Gibbs rifle.

I'll update when I receive the magazines.

Another master piece you got there. Its a beauty.

Buckstix,

Congratulations on acquiring the very nice looking artillery piece with an interesting provenance. I really like the way it is put together. I think you have a steel shoulder to shoot that monster a hundred times even in a month.

Thank you for sharing the photos and the history of the rifle with us.

Best-
Vikram

Hello Vikram,

Thank you for your reply. I don't have a steel shoulder, but there are times when I wish I had one. I've been slowly working my way up to max loads, to see what I can tolerate. I'll let you know when I get there.