Hunting rifles from the 1800's

1899 said:
Any pictures guys? Lots of the stuff posted so far is really interesting.
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Not quite 1800's but more than 100 years old now. My old M1894 in .30WCF left the factory ~1912 and it was given to me by my father when I was 14. I took a bunch of deer and a few moose with it until I was "informed" that it wasn't "big" enough for anything bigger than a jackrabbit. :rolleyes:

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Nice rifle 'Boo - perhaps you should take it out again this year. You've got a good spot for it.

After reading through these posts, I got to thinking that I don't have a Winchester lever action or a .303 at the moment. That should be against the law or something and needs rectifying.

burnt_servo said:
I think it was marstar that had a reproduction double barrel flintlock rifle awhile back ( around 3/4 of a inch bore ) , I thought something like that would be interesting to go hunting with . ( even though it was recently built ) .
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Yes, I was looking through some old books and pictures and recalled that I had shot a deer with a T/C Hawken:


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It was fun and very satisfying.
 
Here are some pictures of the 8 bore rifle, with a TC 45 cal, bot guns weigh about the same the 8 bore is .835 bore and shots a .810 ball,

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I sold the 12 bore Egg that I shot the deer with but here is a 12 bore Westley Richard that shoots 750 grain bullet, the gun was made in 1848 and has the bullet mould in the case also, I carried this gun in the Yukon after bear but with no luck as I am limited to range

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My 1910 Winchester 1894 is in .32-40 and is fun to plink with but due to a frosty bore & rough chamber, I can't run loads much beyond 1000 fps. or extraction becomes difficult. This is a perfect candidate for a re-bore & re-chamber to .35-30 which was done a lot back in the early 1900's to keep these buggers going. I'll have to get Ron Smith Enterprises to do the re-bore.
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I don't hunt very much anymore, mostly just around the back 40 here, but every year I take my old springpole out looking for a nice whitetail buck.
Its not pre 1900,but close - DOM in 1911 - only ever taken one animal with it (a nice fat whitetail doe), but the 35 Remington does a good job if I do my part.

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1903 vintage M1894 Norwegian Krag converted to 6.5 x 54 Mannlicher Schoënauer. This is my go to close range bush carbine ill take it over a 30-30 anyday of the week
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I have a sporterized 1869/71 Swiss Vetterli in the original short 10.4x.38R, for which I make my own rounds. Die set is from Buffalo Arms in Minnesota. The complete setup, including rifle, cost less than $500 Canadian. 50/70 Starline brass is from The Bullet Barn. A bucket of 1000 soft lead .44s are $99 from Wholesale Sports in Nanaimo. Pyrodex RS tin is $35. After setup, each round costs me approximately $1.50 to produce. Not the cheapest, but the smile factor is out of this world. At 100 yards, I can group shots to about 4 inches on a benchrest. I have a war issue 1944 .303 Fazerkerly Enfield which I use to hunt and have been tempted to switch to the Vetterli. Shooting a .44 soft lead round at anything at 100 yards will leave a large hole with considerable knock-down power. The only thing I need to do is re-blue every bit of the rifle to protect it from the elements and a substantial oiling.
 
My uncle use to have one of those Krags, always thought tossing a handful of cartridges in the side was a little odd lol. Nice rifles though!
 
I have a 1873 Martini Henry mark 1, been playing around with it and reloading 480grain bullets. Best group so far 13/15 in a 6 inch circle at 100 yards. Every season I plan to use it on moose but then go to my 375h&h or 9.3x62 with scopes as often difficult to see the sights with my aging eyes. Next yr year plan to take it elk hunting. Hopefully can call a bull in close.
 
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