Gentlemen: I keep seeing references to Selous and his .461 Gibbs Farquharson, while others suggest his favorite gun in the late 1800s was a .450 BPE single-shot. Is the .461 Gibbs similar to the .450 BPE? I can't find a word about the Gibbs cartridge in "Cartridges of the World," but judging by the photo on Page 129 of Corcoran's "Target Rifle in Australia," the Gibbs was a bottlenecked affair and not interchangeable with the .450 BPE. While on this subject, I would appreciated any suggestions of books on the late 19th- and early 20th-century British sporting cartridges. I have Taylor, Boddington, the A-Square manual, and am thinking Graeme Wright's double-rifle book would be an excellent addition on the subject.

I've never seen a drawing of this cartridge but judging by the quoted ballistics that I have read it would closely resemble the .45-3.25 inch Sharps or .450 BPE in case capacity (or even larger), since it drove a 570 grain bullet at 1600 - 1650 fps. A hot loaded .45-70 in a Ruger No. 1 will barely match that level of power.