What rifle gives you 'The Fizz'?

[Cervus elaphus]

Serious "Ghost and the Darkness" stuff! Love mine as well - bits and pieces of other souls live in such rifles.

View attachment 392115

Fine looking three-oh

 

[HWL]

Thought I would bung up a pic or four of my Westley Richards .375Ex as well, cool old rifle with Buffalo Horn bolt knob .

Would be great to find a WR done on the 1910 action !

View attachment 392585
View attachment 392586
View attachment 392587

Beautiful rifle... is this a Dutch M1895 Hembrug action?


HWL

 

[Cervus elaphus]

Hey guys,

What rifle do you own that gives you 'The Fizz'?
By The Fizz I mean makes you feel just awesome holding and using it...

And it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive it just has to be 'just right' in your eyes...

For example, the rifle that gives me 'The Fizz' is my Zastava M70 in .458 Winchester Magnum.
It's fitted with a Hogue stock (with the full aluminium bedding block) and a Leupold 1.5-4 scope in Warne bases and rings.
It's really accurate, feeds and ejects perfect straight out the box, it's reliable and at 9lb, not too heavy.
The Hogue stock is stiff and grippy in all weather conditions and as a bonus, It also soaks up recoil really well.
This rifle fits me perfectly and it's in my favourite caliber, the .458
I'm feeding it a handload with the 550gn Woodleigh at just under 2100fps - and I would feel supremely confident with this rifle and load against any animal anywhere in the world.

It certainly gives me 'The Fizz'!

Would love to hear what rifles give all you "The Fizz' and why...

Cheers,

Russ


View attachment 391920

Anchutz .22 magnum with 6x fixed scope used for rabbits and hares. Match trigger and flawless performance. Sorry no photo. BSA .243, killed more deer pigs and chamois than any other rifle. To my shame I shot a hind going directly away downhill - the bullet went through the rectum, pelvis, through the gut and exploded at the diaphram shredding everything in front - animal dropped on the spot and didn't even twitch.
Photo courtesy rebelgunworks.

 

[TennJay]

My Ruger M77 in 375 Ruger with Leopold VX6 The only left hand rifle I own.


It hasn’t made it to Africa, but it is a deer killing machine.

 

[bruce moulds]

Anchutz .22 magnum with 6x fixed scope used for rabbits and hares. Match trigger and flawless performance. Sorry no photo. BSA .243, killed more deer pigs and chamois than any other rifle. To my shame I shot a hind going directly away downhill - the bullet went through the rectum, pelvis, through the gut and exploded at the diaphram shredding everything in front - animal dropped on the spot and didn't even twitch.
Photo courtesy rebelgunworks.

View attachment 392642

attention bob nelson!!!
do not read this post!!!!!!!
bruce.

 

[PaulT]

Interesting how there are a lot of very pretty rifles listed here.

The rifle of mine that gives me the fizz is not pretty at all but it certainly gives me a fizz to hear the cases rattling around the ground after being shucked out from my pump 7600.
As a mate of mine says, "if you can't shoot well, shoot fast and shoot plenty".

 

[bruce moulds]

cervus,
just for interest sake, what bullet did you shoot the hind with?
bruce.

 

[bruce moulds]

hey paul,
a bit like voting.
bruce.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

attention bob nelson!!!
do not read this post!!!!!!!
bruce.

Haha. I also like the 35 Whelen which should square things up.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

cervus,
just for interest sake, what bullet did you shoot the hind with?
bruce.

iirc, it was either a Norma or Winchester 100gr - the heaviest ammo I could get at that time, it could have been heavier than 100gr, did either of above make one in 120gr?
more... on that day we were coming down a ridge and off to the right my hunting mate saw a set of antlers come up out of the low scrub. A stag was bedded down and lifting his head every now and then to check the breeze. We stalked down to within 20-30m and as he was carrying a .308 it was decided he would take the shot with me as backup. The next time stag lifted his head, Brian shot him and he went down. At the same time a small hind stood up and bolted downhill and I shot her from behind. When we gutted her the damage from her diaphram forward was like a shrapnel grenade had gone off inside. I have shot other deer (side on) pigs of all sizes, and chamois with the .243 but never saw this kind of damage before. Being allergic to lead in my venison sausages, we only took the back half (all of it, no wastage). The stag iirc was about a 8 pointer.

 

[fourfive8]

Love that model 1851! Have a "fizzer" or two from that era that I need to post as well.

Yes, for certain post those! I have quite a number of examples of both Mexican War and Civil War arms. I shoot them for historical perspective and now have a pretty fair idea of what it was like being so armed.

The Mississippi Rifle was produced by the US Armory at Harper's Ferry and by a few US contractors including the southern armory at Palmetto SC. The one I have and pictured was made by Whitney under US contract. I also have a couple of Peace Flasks appropriate for the era as issued with and used to charge the Mississippi. I shoot blackpowder in it and cast and load the Lyman #533476 410 gr pure lead 54 cal Minie'. Of course the history of the Mississippi Rifle is interesting in that many, including Davis whose men used it in the Mexican War, lobbied hard to have it adopted as a standard arm of the US leading up to the Civil War. Of course forces were already in motion to standardize around the 58 cal rifle musket and not the 54 caliber.

In my opinion, a few things are very attractive about this rifle in the context as a mid-1800s military small arm. It is much more compact than both the longer M1842 smoothbore and the M1861 rifle musket. The 54 Minie' is perfectly adequate for tactical battlefield use as would be a patched roundball if conditions necessitated. The rifle is simple with the non-adjustable rear sight. It requires less lead and powder to propel the 54 cal Minie' than the comparable 58 caliber Minie' or the buck and ball loads of the 69 caliber M1942 smoothbore. A logistics advantage on the battlefield.

I was pleasantly surprised by the uncanny accuracy of my example shooting a 54 Minie' loaded over about 54 gr of FF black powder. This rifle, a Whitney US contract, is somewhat unusual in that all my reference sources fail to accurately describe the bore of this rifle. Some sources do list the correct 7 land/groove configuration and do describe the correct ratio of land to groove width but I have yet to find a source that lists the correct twist rate. All sources either don't mention the twist rate or list it as a standard 58 caliber type slow Minie" twist of about 72". This rifle has a twist rate of 48" which, IMO, probably accounts for the excellent accuracy with the Minie'. It could be a simple omission or oversight within the records where some of the Whitney bores were produced with the faster twist but not recorded as such. Between the accuracy and simplicity and condition and overall appearance of mine with the brass furniture and the rich browned iron finish... yes it is one of my rifles that gives me the Fizzzzz!

Pics top to bottom:
rear sight and tang
muzzle and front sight
left side with Peace Flask that would have been correct issue with the rifle
50 yard, 5 shot target shot with rifle- 54 cal Minie' and blackpowder

 

[Cervus elaphus]

attention bob nelson!!!
do not read this post!!!!!!!
bruce.

Regarding the ongoing safari between opposing groups i,e, .243 (actually I would have preferred the 6mm but it suffered the same fate as .404J v .416 Rigby) and the 35 Whelen - well I won't be sucked into that argument (discussion?) as I like both very much and just to throw a spanner in the works, on my next safari I'm looking at taking a .243 and a 35 Whelen both for PG. Any suggestions on the Whelen? waziwazi ndio? I probably would be looking at a rifle than can take a battle scar or three, an oldie but a goodie, rather than a wallflower. Suggest away pilgrims .....
(nope it wouldn't fit although many have tried).

 

[bruce moulds]

well, 243 and whelen in a battery.
that could be enough to cause some a nervous breakdown.
a bit like life really, and marriage too.
you just have to take the good with the bad and get on with it.
bruce.

 

[Pondoro]

I bought this yesterday..it is a used french Gaucher double rifle in 9,3x74R, Zeiss 1,5-6x42 scope in a swing mount. Weight with scope is 4,1kg. It produces 60mm groups at 100 metres..with this RWS ammo.

For moose, driven hunts and the african antelope..

 

[Sarg]

Beautiful rifle... is this a Dutch M1895 Hembrug action?


HWL

Thank you.

It is a Model 1892 - made by Steyr 1893 on the action .

I have had a Steyr Dutch 95 rifle & Hamburg 95, I don't think the Hamburg was as well finished from memory ?

 

[Cervus elaphus]

well, 243 and whelen in a battery.
that could be enough to cause some a nervous breakdown.
a bit like life really, and marriage too.
you just have to take the good with the bad and get on with it.
bruce.

Brilliant ! they'll be sorting out the good and bad for me very shortly no doubt. If truth be known, I would probably take a 404J with 257gr - 450gr pills. One gun to rule them all !

 

[MS 9x56]

well, 243 and whelen in a battery.
that could be enough to cause some a nervous breakdown.
a bit like life really, and marriage too.
you just have to take the good with the bad and get on with it.
bruce.

That will throw Bob into a torn frenzy. Talk about a love hate relationship.

 

[Jack Stevens]

Regarding the ongoing safari between opposing groups i,e, .243 (actually I would have preferred the 6mm but it suffered the same fate as .404J v .416 Rigby) and the 35 Whelen - well I won't be sucked into that argument (discussion?) as I like both very much and just to throw a spanner in the works, on my next safari I'm looking at taking a .243 and a 35 Whelen both for PG. Any suggestions on the Whelen? waziwazi ndio? I probably would be looking at a rifle than can take a battle scar or three, an oldie but a goodie, rather than a wallflower. Suggest away pilgrims .....
(nope it wouldn't fit although many have tried).

Well, the nice thing about the .35 Whelen ...

... is that you can have it on any of three M1 Garand platforms: full-size, 18.5" 'Tanker,' or the 16.1" Mini-G carbine (by Shuff's Parkerizing).

Interestingly, on the 18.5" Tanker platform, the .35 Whelen chambering gives you the same terminal ballistics as the .350 Remington Magnum cartridge from the old 18.5"/19" Remmy Model 600 magnum carbine, but with less felt-recoil than the M600 due the M1's semi-auto action which absorbs a lot of the Whelen's energy.

Plus, instead of the 3+1 capacity of the M600, a .35W M1 can be loaded up with 8-rd G1 clips or 5-rd 'hunting' clips.

This gent's M1 (full-size) in .35W took an elk.

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, for certain post those! I have quite a number of examples of both Mexican War and Civil War arms. I shoot them for historical perspective and now have a pretty fair idea of what it was like being so armed.

The Mississippi Rifle was produced by the US Armory at Harper's Ferry and by a few US contractors including the southern armory at Palmetto SC. The one I have and pictured was made by Whitney under US contract. I also have a couple of Peace Flasks appropriate for the era as issued with and used to charge the Mississippi. I shoot blackpowder in it and cast and load the Lyman #533476 410 gr pure lead 54 cal Minie'. Of course the history of the Mississippi Rifle is interesting in that many, including Davis whose men used it in the Mexican War, lobbied hard to have it adopted as a standard arm of the US leading up to the Civil War. Of course forces were already in motion to standardize around the 58 cal rifle musket and not the 54 caliber.

In my opinion, a few things are very attractive about this rifle in the context as a mid-1800s military small arm. It is much more compact than both the longer M1842 smoothbore and the M1861 rifle musket. The 54 Minie' is perfectly adequate for tactical battlefield use as would be a patched roundball if conditions necessitated. The rifle is simple with the non-adjustable rear sight. It requires less lead and powder to propel the 54 cal Minie' than the comparable 58 caliber Minie' or the buck and ball loads of the 69 caliber M1942 smoothbore. A logistics advantage on the battlefield.

I was pleasantly surprised by the uncanny accuracy of my example shooting a 54 Minie' loaded over about 54 gr of FF black powder. This rifle, a Whitney US contract, is somewhat unusual in that all my reference sources fail to accurately describe the bore of this rifle. Some sources do list the correct 7 land/groove configuration and do describe the correct ratio of land to groove width but I have yet to find a source that lists the correct twist rate. All sources either don't mention the twist rate or list it as a standard 58 caliber type slow Minie" twist of about 72". This rifle has a twist rate of 48" which, IMO, probably accounts for the excellent accuracy with the Minie'. It could be a simple omission or oversight within the records where some of the Whitney bores were produced with the faster twist but not recorded as such. Between the accuracy and simplicity and condition and overall appearance of mine with the brass furniture and the rich browned iron finish... yes it is one of my rifles that gives me the Fizzzzz!

OK I'll try this again. For some reason the photos that were attached to the original post disappeared or were removed??
The prop used with some of the pics was a research book- Vol III, American Military Shoulder Arms by Moller. I wouldn't think that violated any site rules but just in case I removed those images...

Pics top to bottom:

US M1841 Mississippi rifle
Left side, rear sight
Muzzle, front sight
Rifle with Peace Flask, would have been correct issue with the M1841
50 yard, 5 shot target shot with rifle- 54 cal Minie' and blackpowder

 

[Cervus elaphus]

Well, the nice thing about the .35 Whelen ...

... is that you can have it on any of three M1 Garand platforms: full-size, 18.5" 'Tanker,' or the 16.1" Mini-G carbine (by Shuff's Parkerizing).

Interestingly, on the 18.5" Tanker platform, the .35 Whelen chambering gives you the same terminal ballistics as the .350 Remington Magnum cartridge from the old 18.5"/19" Remmy Model 600 magnum carbine, but with less felt-recoil than the M600 due the M1's semi-auto action which absorbs a lot of the Whelen's energy.

Plus, instead of the 3+1 capacity of the M600, a .35W M1 can be loaded up with 8-rd G1 clips or 5-rd 'hunting' clips.

This gent's M1 (full-size) in .35W took an elk.

View attachment 392760

Thanks for the info Jack, the M1 conversion looks very much like the Scout rifle. There was once an Australian wildcat called the 35-303 Territorian a .303 British opened out to 358. I don't know of a cartridge of that cal here and perhaps someone on the forum (Bob?) may do and whether it's still being reloaded. As the Whelen is a 30-06 case wildcat, a reasonably weighty 30-06 rifle would appear to be the easiest conversion to .358. Thanks again.