475 A&M Mag - the ultimate CANNON for Hunting African Dangerous Game

[PaulT]

An incredible story of a very unique rifle with a very interesting past.

Great photos, thanks to Buckstix for posting

 

[Jfet]

Now you know the rifle's history, you need to get busy adding your own touch to that history.

 

[CAustin]

Thank you for sharing such an interesting story.

 

[buckstix]

Hello CAustin and Jfet and PaulT

Thanks for the reply. I think I enjoy this 475 Brevex rifle more than the others. I especially like that the stock was carved by Nils Hultgren, a Master Stock "Carver" with no equal.

 

[siml]

That is truly amazing, brilliant to see the pics of old.

 

[Panielsen]

What an amazing journey that rifle has had, and you as well! It is special to get such a rare stomper such as that, being in magazines, and talked about as a Dino smasher and all, but to hear the tale of it's trip to Africa, and seeing the pics? Epic! Then the rifle killed the great Buff of 1972, probably still talked about in that village, man! Great post! I really got to get some work done today.....

 

[Panielsen]

So did you ever get up to the full load? How was it to shoot?

 

[Bullthrower338]

Buckstix,
Thank You for the story, I am truly happy for you that the man was alive and you got the rifles story first hand. There is truly something special about a rifle with great history, really makes you think when it is in hand. Cal Pappas has a BPE that belonged to Boyd Alexander that I would walk through Compton at midnight just to touch a few shots off. Enjoy your fine rifle Sir!
Cheers,
Cody

 

[buckstix]

Hello TMS and Panielsen and Bullthrower338,

Thank you all for your reply.

I absolutely love guns with history. Even when its only a ship-to address or a manufacturing date.

And then, every so often, I find one of those with "real" history, and then on occasion one with a story to tell, like this one. People think I'm nuts chasing these stories, but I enjoy doing the research.

Right now I'm in the process searching WWII archives for a soldier with the initials "G.A.H." and the last 4 digits of his military number "0418". So far I have scaned 325,000 records ..... out of 803,500 posibilities, over the last month. I'm hoping he won't be the last one searched. Once found, I'll try to see if I can locate him, and get a story to tell.

And to Panielsen, no! .. I've never shot a full house load, and don't feel a need to do that. The 475 A&M Mag, is a detached retina waiting to happen.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Excellent Sir, so many interesting rifles get stuffed in the back of a safe and forgotten. Keep them alive.
I ordered a set of books by Cal Pappas that you may want to a set for your collection. They are beautifully done books with tons of history.
Cody

 

[buckstix]

Hello Bullthrower338,

Good idea!

 

[Panielsen]

You may like this article from Field and Stream's Gun Nuts as it mentions your rifle.

Petzal: The Hardest Kicking Cartridges
by David E. Petzal

Herewith, a rogue’s list of shoulder shredders, clavicle crunchers, retina wrenchers, and subdural hematoma hasteners that you don’t want to shoot. To give things a little perspective, a .30/06 in an 8-pound rifle produces 21 foot-pounds of recoil; a .375 H&H, which maxes out most shooters, comes in at 40.

.700 H&H: This is the cartridge for those who think the .600 Nitro Express is kind of...wussy. 1,000-grain bullet at 2,000 fps, 8,900 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. In a 19-pound Holland & Holland double rifle, 109 foot-pounds of recoil. A friend of mine who has shot one assures me that it’s unmanageable. Pull the trigger and the muzzle points at the sky while the butt ends down at your belt. Also, the rifle costs over $200,000.

.600 Nitro Express: 900-grain bullet at 1,950 fps, 7,600 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. In a 16-pound double rifle, 99 foot-pounds of recoil. For 90 years, until it was surpassed by the .700, the .600 was numero uno in sheer brute power. Very few .600s have been built, to the sorrow of orthopedic surgeons everywhere.

.475 A&M Magnum: Shooting it is no worse than being in a plane crash. 600-grain bullet at 2,500 fps; 8,340 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. In a 12-pound bolt-action rifle, 97 foot-pounds of recoil. This obscure but very sincere wildcat was developed by the Prescott, AZ gunsmithing firm of Atkinson & Marquardt in 1959. It’s a .378 Weatherby case necked up to .47. I’ve only seen one gun chambered for it; the first time its owner pulled the trigger the stock split as if struck with an axe.

.577 Tyrannosaur: T-Rex himself would hesitate before pulling the trigger on one of these. 750-grain bullet at 2,460 fps; 10,000 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. In a 12-pound bolt-action rifle, 172 foot-pounds of recoil. The cartridge and rifle are made only by A-Square, which claims that it is a popular load. I would rather get a horn through the liver.

.460 Weatherby: Practially a maiden’s kiss compared to the preceeding, but a monster in its own right. 500-grain bullet at 2,600 fps. 7,500 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. In an 11-pound bolt-action rifle, 93 foot-pounds of recoil. The original version of this cartridge, which appeared in 1958, was loaded a little bit hotter. Even so, shooting a .460 Weatherby is still an unforgettable experience.

.454 Casull: For sheer pain, unequalled among handgun cartridges, shoot this one. 325 grains at 1,525 fps. 1,630 foot-pounds of muzzle energy 40 foot-pounds of recoil in a 3-pound single-action revolver. Although it’s outclassed in power by the .460 and the .500 S&W, these cartridges are chambered in huge, heavy revolvers designed to control insane amounts of recoil. The Casull, on the other hand, is encountered in standard-sized handguns. For sheer, carpal-crunching agony, there is nothing that compares to the .454.

 

[buckstix]

.475 A&M Magnum: Shooting it is no worse than being in a plane crash. 600-grain bullet at 2,500 fps; 8,340 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. In a 12-pound bolt-action rifle, 97 foot-pounds of recoil. This obscure but very sincere wildcat was developed by the Prescott, AZ gunsmithing firm of Atkinson & Marquardt in 1959. It’s a .378 Weatherby case necked up to .47. I’ve only seen one gun chambered for it; the first time its owner pulled the trigger the stock split as if struck with an axe.

Hello Panielsen,

Thanks for the reply.

I had seen this mention of my 475 A&M before. I believe my rifle is one, of only two originals, built by Atkinson & Marquardt. [the other one was sold by Wells Sport Store (Fred Wells) in Prescott Arizona last year] I am told a third rifle was started, but a catastrophic failure before completion injured one of the builders, so it was never finished and no more complete rifles in this caliber were ever again built by A&M.

Of interst, my rifle weighs in at only 10 pounds-7 ounces - so a full-house load with a 600g bullet at 2500 fps delivers 125 foot-pounds of recoil. This explains why James had his first "two" stocks split before A&M added a second recoil lug in the forearm.

This extreme recoil of a full-house load is something I can assure you - I will NEVER experience.

 

[Panielsen]

Hello Panielsen,

Thanks for the reply.

I had seen this mention of my 475 A&M before. I believe my rifle is one, of only two originals, built by Atkinson & Marquardt. [the other one was sold by Wells Sport Store (Fred Wells) in Prescott Arizona last year] I am told a third rifle was started, but a catastrophic failure before completion injured one of the builders, so it was never finished and no more complete rifles in this caliber were ever again built by A&M.

Of interst, my rifle weighs in at only 10 pounds-7 ounces - so a full-house load with a 600g bullet at 2500 fps delivers 125 foot-pounds of recoil. This explains why James had his first "two" stocks split before A&M added a second recoil lug in the forearm.

This extreme recoil of a full-house load is something I can assure you - I will NEVER experience.

Lol, I don't blame you! I was wondering if the author was watching the previous owner of yours fire it when the stock broke. In any case, cool to own such a rifle.

 

[buckstix]

Hello Panielsen,

Thanks for the reply.

I was wondering the same thing. For me, my load has been a 500g bullet at 2000 fps. A 458 Win Mag equivalent with about 49 ft-pounds of recoil

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

That’s a beast of a rifle with an interesting history

 

[cash_tx]

The custom mesquite stock is beautiful. I can't help you with the actually history of the rifle but the choice of wood is intriguing. To ranchers in Texas and the Southwest US it is a nuisance plant that is hard to eradicate.

Mesquite thorns will go through the soles of your boots. They will puncture your tires and of course tear your clothes. Its primary positive use is for fuel to grill steaks. It is a very good fuel. The wood is very hard and dense. I imagine this is a plus for this rifle. As someone that has to regularly deal with this wood it is nice to see it used in such a beautiful functional form. I will remind myself of this thought the next time I am changing a flat tire.

When I was in high school back in the late 1980's, my best friend's dad traded a Browning Superposed at a small gun shop near Marble Falls, Texas for a custom rifle in 257 Roberts that had a beautiful mesquite stock. Unfortunately, he was never able to get the rifle to shoot to his satisfaction; so he wound up getting rid of it a few years later. But it sure was a good looking gun; and to this day, is the only mesquite stocked rifle that I have seen in person. It makes me wonder why it isn't used more often; I guess maybe because most land owners are just trying to get rid of that nuisance wood as fast as possible(?).

 

[Andrew Short]

That’s a beast of a rifle with an interesting history

I agree. Absolutely incredible to obtain the history of the rifle from the original owner years later!

 

[Woodcarver]

Hello sestoppelman,

It would be nice to see a set of grips made from Mesquite.

Made these for a Ruger Vaquero being auctioned at the 75th DU Anniversary banquet held in Colorado Springs a few years ago. Hand rubbed oil finish on a butterflied piece of mesquite from AZ.
Mesquite is my preferred wood to work with. Very stable, easy to carve, with beautiful grain.

 

[Woodcarver]

When I was in high school back in the late 1980's, my best friend's dad traded a Browning Superposed at a small gun shop near Marble Falls, Texas for a custom rifle in 257 Roberts that had a beautiful mesquite stock. Unfortunately, he was never able to get the rifle to shoot to his satisfaction; so he wound up getting rid of it a few years later. But it sure was a good looking gun; and to this day, is the only mesquite stocked rifle that I have seen in person. It makes me wonder why it isn't used more often; I guess maybe because most land owners are just trying to get rid of that nuisance wood as fast as possible(?).

While beautifully grained, mesquite is known for having inclusions, including rocks occasionally, it's heavy, and can have internal voids you usually find about the time you thought you had it about done. Most stock makers don't want to put in the time just to discover that flaw in a critical location and have to start over. Most buyers don't want the added weight.
I've got a couple pieces set aside that are destined for making that attempt one of these days. Hopefully they don't surprise me with an unseen issue when cut.