So... any of our members here have an interest in firearms?

Jones in LA

Following up on @SpeedyPhill 's query about who among us has fired the largest weapon, how about a query on the largest weapon fired by each of us individually?

I go to our local rifle range maybe once or twice each year, and just fire a Remington .223 bolt action "varmint" rifle, and a couple of clips, (10-round, of course -- this is California) from a 9mm Police Carbine. From time to time there will be a fellow there, at the far, far end of the firing line, with his bolt-action .50 cal setup. Except that it's not a .50 cal exactly, but rather, a 0.49 cal. Why .49 cal? Because .50 cal is banned in California. This fellow's rifle is called, rather facetiously, a "Ferret .49 Cal".

Anyway, when he's there he'll let others fire his rifle for $5/shot -- he provides the ammo, and I suspect he may not be breaking even these days at that price. The cartridge case is the same case as the Browning .50 cal case, so the Ka-Boom is essentially the same as a "real" .50 cal. His rifle does have a substantial muzzle brake, which keeps the recoil tolerable. I always give him a $20 bill and joyfully send four rounds down the range. I always aim at the large 600yd metal target and I don't think I've ever hit it yet. But really, it's the Ka-Boom that makes it worthwhile.

lindo

Your post reminded me of a Westley Richards .500 BP express double rifle I picked up in a country gun dealer's shop many years ago for the princely sum of $140 - he said none of his local farming clients had any interest in it, so he just wanted to get rid of it. It needed cleaning up, but emerged as an attractive example of the classic double rifle, with the name Westley Richards inlaid in gold on the lock. In those days (1980) I could still pick up ammunition for it (!).

I enjoyed shooting it at the local range. I have no memory of how accurate it was, but recall the boom and the cloud of smoke when I fired it the first time, which caused a hiatus in shooting and the comment from a shooter down the line "what the hell was that?".

Unfortunately I was persuaded to sell it a few years later. I have a poor image from those days -

noelekal

The three biggies that I've shot over the years are: a Ruger M77 .458 Winchester Magnum owned by a coworker and shooting bud, a Weatherby Mark V .378 Wby Magnum owned by a gun shop owner bank customer of mine, and a single shot Harrington & Richardson Moderl 176 chambered for 3 1/2-inch 10 gauge Magnum that I have.

Honorable mention include a Winchester Model 70 Super Express .375 H&H Magnum and a Winchester Model 1895 in .405 WCF, both of which I own.

The most dreadful of the lot to shoot off of a rifle bench rest is that ol' '95 Winchester .405. It is punishing, like being in a bad auto accident; the kind that leaves you stumbling stunned up and down the highway.

It's the dimensional characteristics of the Wincherster '95 .405 that render it a chore to shoot. The rifle is far too light in weight, the stock way too short with too much drop, and it has a vicious very curved steel butt plate that's also thin in width. It's the only one that could really hurt a person who didn't mind his hold technique with it.

I've shot the H&R 10 gauge quite a bit since I bought it in 1976, but never attempted to shoot the thing off the bench. I would imagine that it would rattle the fillings out of one's teeth.

Jones in LA

Oh, my! Ten Gauge! Definitely on my bucket list.