The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Big Bores John Riley Buhmiller, Pioneer RiflecrankGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I have been interested in "collecting" John Buhmiller biographia for a while. I want to get after that in earnest. "Sumbuddy who know" any stories about "Uncle John," please post here. Any rifle, ammo, or hunting lore, pictures, techniciana, anecdote, legend or just BS about Uncle John would be greatly appreciated by many, I am sure. It seems member buckstix might have the .416 Rigby Brevex Mauser that "Oom Janie" wrote about to P. O. Ackley:
See P. O. Ackley, Handbook for Shooters & Reloaders, Vol. 1, 1962, pp. 27-44. On page 37 Uncle John says: "The .45's performed so well on the Big Stuff, that my .416 was completely neglected except for the smaller game, which was shot at the longer ranges. It was great for baboons, which were usually about 300 yards distant. If it could have been 3 pounds lighter -- it weighed about 11 pounds with scope -- it would have been very popular. Before leaving for home, I felt compelled to give this gun a try, and it took one elephant, one rhino, each at about 125 yards, almost unheard of in Africa, and one buffalo. Very nice work. I cannot say that it was in any way inferior to a .450. Load used, 105 grains 4831, 400 gr Barnes bullet, velocity on my chronograph, 2400 fps." This confirms where Jack O'Connor got his .416 Rigby handloading advice! Bob Bell and Jack Lott both wrote nice pieces on John Buhmiller. "Buhmiller's Big Boomers" by Bob Bell, GUN DIGEST 54th EDITION, 2000, pp. 82-90. "John Buhmiller -- In the Footsteps of Selous" by Jack Lott, HANDLOADER'S DIGEST, 13th EDITION, 1994, pp. 100-105. Maybe some of Jack Lott's last writing? Jack's article said Uncle John was born circa 1893 in Indiana, USA, and other sources pin it down to Sep. 11, 1892.  He passed away Jul. 13, 1975, in Montana, just shy of 83 years of age. His family moved to California, where young John "worked in timber," so I will call him a lumberjack too. Subsequently he moved to Montana and became a cowboy-outdoorsman-naturalist-hunter and read a lot of books by the natural history and exploration icons: "Selous, Baldwin, Stigand, Theodore Roosevelt, and others of their rank." So said Jack Lott. But John Buhmiller then moved back to Indiana and became a railroad telegrapher, a trade that subsequently took him back to Montana. 1914: Buhmiller joined the Whitefish Rifle Club and made the Montana state rifle team. 1931: Buhmiller shot in the 1000-yard Wimbledon Match at Camp Perry. 1932: Buhmiller "joined forces with Harvey Lovell, the wildcatter-shooting competitor who designed the 22 Lovell." This lead Buhmiller to begin making barrels. 1948: Buhmiller barrels are the best available and he is making 3500 to 4000 barrels per year. Somewhere along the way Buhmiller was creditied with being the originator of the bullpup rifle design  or at least he was one of the earliest proponents for its use in 1000-yard Wimbledon rifles. Somewhere along the way Buhmiller developed a bunch of wildcat cartridges. Somewhere along the way Buhmiller "pioneered" some "nonconventional" bullet designs: Cavity-point solids (aka Cup Point Solids lately), Monometal Solids (machine-turned with multiple grooves/bands), Flat Nose Solids with meplats so broad that they would not feed, so he would load one into the chamber and fill the magazine box with softs or better feeding solids. Lots of stuff this John Buhmiller did, and he was still going on safari after age 70 ...  | ||
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 Seems I should use the search function here first! Thanks to buckstix!
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Hello RIP, Here's a neat rifle with a Buhmiller barrel and muzzle brake. After posting about my Buhmiller 416 Brevex Mauser with its Buhmiller Muzzle Brake, xausa told me about a 500 cal. rifle that he had built back in the early 70s that also had a Buhmiller Barrel with a Buhmiller Muzzle Brake. He designed a wildcat 500 cal cartridge in about 1971 and called it the 500 SRE. (Short Range Express) It is also known as the 500 A-Square Short, which came about much later. Although he had sold the rifle long ago, he indicated that the rifle may be available for purchase - and it turns out it was. And, although it took over a month to put the purchase together, the rifle now resides in Wisconsin along side several other rifles with Buhmiller barrels. The 500 SRE is a 460 Weatherby Mag case shortened to 2-1/2" and opened up for the 500 Nitro Express bullet. (.510 dia) It has the same ballistics as the 500 NE which was loaded with a 570g bullet at 2150 ft/sec. But this cartridge was designed for use in a more affordable "standard length" bolt action rifle instead of a Magnum Length, or a Double Rifle. The rifle was built by "Harry W. Creighton" (Master Gunsmith, Nashville, Tennessee ) in 1971 on a customized Winchester P-14 Enfield action - Built especially for xausa. Brithish Inspction stamps and Proof Marks show that this rifle's action originally went to England, and came back. The rifle specs are as follows: 24" Buhmiller Barrel with Buhmiller Muzzle Brake - Sourdough Front Site - Forward Under-Barrel Secondary Recoil Lug - DT Cock on Opening Upgrade - Timney Trigger - Lyman 48 Receiver Sight - weight= 9 lbs 14.7 oz - 13-3/4" L.O.P. And it fits me like a glove. Its so very nice to have a rifle where all its History in known. I've found that the Buhmiller Muzzle Brake works as well on this rifle as it does on my 416 Buhmiller Brevex. Interestingly, xausa kept all the back-and-forth letters between him and John Buhmiller about building this rifle, and other discussions. I have copies of all the letters in my History file about this unique 500.          Here are a couple of targets from load development.   " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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buckstix, Thanks for the update. I was familiar with the 500 SRE and xusa's exploits with it, from his previous posts here, very cool cartridge AND rifle, for sure. I was oblivious to the Buhmiller involvement, however. Just like I missed the previous posts of yours about Buhmiller. Must start doing a daily "Buhmiller Patrol" so I don't miss anything. | |||
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A very early Handloader Magazine has John on the cover and a comprehensive article on his rifles. He actually built two different 458 caliber rifles in the 1950's. The first one provided Lott with the impetus to build his 458 Lott. it was the 450 Buhmiller. The second one was based on the 416 Rigby case, the 460 Buhmiller. | |||
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Hello Idaho Sharpshooter, You have a good memory. I'm not sure how well this book review will reproduce. This is from the 1967, January - February issue of Handloader. Its a little fuzzy. Unfortunately I don't have the Cover Photo.  " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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Buckstix and Alf, Your posts were the first two gifts I have opened this Christmas Eve, thanks. Alf, what is the source material of your Buhmiller bullet pics and descriptions, please. I'm still digging.  Have re-encountered the .510 Buhmiller and had some fun with the idea:  Only .003" of case body taper from top of belt to case mouth! One could add a generous extra 10 thou of case body taper by using a .500-caliber-nose instead of .510-caliber. Maybe fancy it up with a "ghost shoulder" too. Then shorten the case to 2.5" instead of 2.85" and call it the ".500 Buhmiller Short" aka "500 BS." Has boom stick already done this one?  Dart stabilization from moving the CG forward might make this a super-penetrator as an FN solid, already shoulder-stabilized by the nose shape. Long range accuracy might be surprisingly good with a hollow point + plastic ballistic tip added. Who cares about throat erosion from a rebated base ...  If one must get custom bullets made or a custom mould to cast with, .500 is no more trouble than .510.  | |||
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RIP: Early American Rifleman Ill hunt down the article in my collection and will copy the whole one. Buhmiller did experiment and made observations as to bullet behaviour. His observations were more than often spot. What is profound is that he observed tumbling of RN bullets and that this tumbling effect often lead to a quicker incapacitation of the animal. Wether he understood why this would be is not clear from the articles written. | |||
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Thanks, Alf. Merry Christmas!  Maybe a hollow base stuffed with powder column and it will fly straight as a shuttlecock at warp speed, or at least enough speed to Texas a buffalo, even with a round nose. Monometal copper or steel-jacketed and tungsten-nose-cored? Driving bands on the full diameter shank of the bullet? Back to basic reverse-engineering of a Buhmiller Bullet: The article by Col. Askins (thanks to buckstix) is helpful in stating that the rebated base diameter for the .510-caliber bullet was 0.487", and the length of that rebated heel of the bullet was "about a quarter-inch." He also stated that it prevented bullet setback into the case fromm magazine battering in recoil.  | |||
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In U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) John Buhmiller Birth: Sep 11 1892 Death: July 1975 Last residence: Kalispell, Montana 59901, USA SSN issuing state: RR Retirement Board - All States   http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-...45446&PIpi=135616468  John R. Buhmiller's 1940 patent for a single-shot rifle: https://www.google.com/patents/US2289098  The JULY 1957 GUNS magazine article by J.R. Buhmiller discusses the .244 H&H Magnum and other 6mm and 6.5mm wildcats he played with. The gunnutt King of Iraq is on the cover, Buhmiller's piece starts on page 36. See 6mm and 6.5mm Buhmiller cartridges on the full-length 300 H&H case, blown out with 30-degree shoulder. It was re-invented by Weatherby AGAIN this year (2016) as the "new" 6.5/300WbyMag! http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1957issues/G0757.pdf    [IMG:right] [/IMG]PIONEERING COARSE POWDER HANDLOADS!!! | |||
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Why does this not surprise me. Guys like Buhmiller and the like have pretty much laid the groundwork for many of the fast cartridges of today. I wonder if some of the people behind the latest developments like the 6.5-300 weatherby for example even are aware that that bridge had been crossed long before. Imagine what would have happened if Buhmiller and company had the powders we do today. Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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Cougarz, Yep, he was definitely a pioneer of many things, including the battle with PETA-brains. Before PETA, I bet, there was a PETA-brain named Ann Landers. The search function here is my new hobby. A member here wrote: "Buhmiller was in a constant battle with Ann Landers as she wrote many articles about him murdering the wildlife of Africa. Friends of Buhmiller have told me that he wrote journals of all of his hunts and maintained them until his death. At the time of his death his wife and step son destroyed all of his journals and writings regarding his exploits and work with various calibers. They also disposed of all of his guns. Most of the people that knew Buhmiller well are now dead, however, when they were alive the stories were endless." That stepson was named what? William? Lying beside John at the cemetery? Alas, the oral tradition is going to be the historian tool here. I am afraid we may be limited somewhat by having to get the story from an old man who new another old man who knew John R. Buhmiller. That is called the two-degrees-removed method aka the "two-coots-removed" method to arrive at third-hand history. Hopefully we won't get it too badly mangled. Another interesting Buhmiller topic for research might be his turning to smaller calibers for the latter safaris, like the .423: A member here also wrote: "On his last safari,Buhmiller used what he called a 423 Buhmiller,and claimed it was more effective on elephant than any other cartridge he'd ever used. This is not suprising,since in 1989 Ed Weatherby took the 423 Buhmiller,necked it down to .416 and called it the 416 Weatherby Magnum.Most people who have used that say it's pretty effective too." If anyone recognizes themselves here, please chime in and reduce the degrees of separation involved. I am the third-coot removed historian. Here is the cover and table of contents for the book review that buckstix did above, Handloader No. 5:   Another hobby is searching the free samples here: https://www.riflemagazine.com/...ues/index.cfm?type=0 | |||
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Hello, I have a file that contains just about every thing written by / about John buhmiller. I'll upload them as I find time. Here is another book review - from GUNS, September 1962.  " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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Hello buckstix, Good man! Thanks for that! More please! I have found a link to the "Classic" issues of Guns Magazine: http://gunsmagazine.com/classi...s-magazine-editions/ Sep 1962 issue cover, where your latest article is found:  Sep 1962 PDF: http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1962issues/G0962.pdf Comments on the latest "book review": Buhmiller's ".475 on straight Norma brass" (H&H basic cylindrical) is mentioned with no reference to the .475 OKH of circa 1937-1947 decade. But Buhmiller mentions the ".450 Watts" and his own .475 on the H&H case as being superior to the bigger-cased cartridges due to greater magazine capacity. Buhmiller also mentioned the tendency to tumble of .475 and .510-caliber bullets of his design, or other makers, thus making them more lethal. I assume this to be on shoulder or body shots on elephant, etc. I also assume this was with round-nosed bullets and slow twists, as John Buhmiller tried them all. The .510 Buhmiller "Long Rifle Nonrimfire" was mentioned in this 1962 article and attributed to 1961 origin "Last year ..." by author Askins report. Same details as in the Handloader No. 5 (Jan-Feb 1967) were repeated, but by golly, he also mentioned here that Buhmiller shortened the case to 2.50"! And, "Buhmiller likes the 2.50-inch case length best in the .500 caliber." I assume this was still referring to the .510-caliber-bullet/.500-bored-barrel, but Askins is pretty sloppy with the numbers. Could John Buhmiller have actually used a .500-caliber in a 2.500" H&H case like my drawing above for the .500 Buhmiller Short? If we take Askins literally we must say yes. But Askins is sloppy with other numbers too. He said of the Buhmiller .404 wildcats: "The bullet diameter is .432" ... Typo of .423"? Then Askins got really confused when he claimed Buhmiller could "fire the standard .404 British cartridge" in the Buhmiller .423/.378 Wby wildcat. That would not work in the Buhmiller .423/.375 H&H either! Askins did get it right on firing .458 WinMag in the .450 Watts, Buhmiller, and Ackley variants, in a pinch. Buhmiller creditied the James Watts name again. Finally, the 45 Buhmiller (.458/.378 Wby forerunner of the 460 Wby) was rethroated in 1962 to use reversed bullets "firing 'em base-end first." And he had to revert to his bigger-cased .458 in order to get the cylinder-nosed solids to feed from the magazine? He gave up the magazine capacity to feed flat-nosed, really flat-nosed solids. He actually got it to feed? That was some real pioneering work there! | |||
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I'll try to save buckstix some work by posting other "book reviews" related to John Riley Buhmiller here, if I can beat him to it: Here is another book review. The book is the GUNS & AMMO 1973 ANNUAL. Book Review: Good Book. Jack Lott was the editor of this volume. The excerpt is a John Buhmiller article complete in two pages. Jack chose to add a picture of himself just several weeks after the buffalo thrashing. His corneal injury was better, but I bet those broken ribs still hurt. Hence he was holding the .375 H&H in this picture, while his gunbearer posed with the .458 WinMag M70. Probably hurt Jack's ribs less to shoot the .375 H&H. It seems John Riley Buhmiller (aka Uncle John aka Oom Janie) also had a close encounter with a buffalo in the 1950s. He was carrying his wildcat 450 Magnum. That was a 1950's .458/.375 H&H similar to the Ackley and Barnes Supreme versions, i.e., blown out to have a tiny shoulder and bottle neck. Buhmiller's 450 Magnum was made from Norma basic cylindrical H&H belted brass that was diverted from the factory before being turned into 300 H&H brass. Buhmiller's 450 Magnum was 2.850" max length in brass case. Oom Janie did not fault the cartridge, and indeed he opined by the end of his wildcatting career that nothing larger was needed. 500-grainers at 2350 fps was his prescription for dangerous game. And, he claimed that he could get 6 or 7 cartridges in the rifle by widening the magazine box at the front, on a Magnum Mauser. It appears he needed to do a bit more feed work on the 450 Magnum he used in this adventure: Jack Lott seems to have chosen 2.800" for the .458 Lott brass case max length for a very good reason. All you have to do is fire a .375 H&H load in the chamber of a .458 Lott and you end up with a case really close to 2.800", trim to 2.790". Of course, using a .458-caliber bullet with a base rebated to .375 caliber, and some pistol powder and Cream-O-Wheat would be less wear and tear on the rifle's chamber throat. Apparently that is what Jack did.   | |||
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Here is another book review - from GUNS, October 1963.  " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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Hello buckstix, Thanks for the latest book review. This must be an earlier retelling of the "Buffalo in the Bamboo" incident that Jack Lott recounted for the 1994 G&A Annual. It seems John was swapping between .475 No.2 DR and his 450 Buhmiller 6 + 1 shooter on a Brevex Magnum? I think Mr. Steindler did not get all the details sorted, but it's close enough for gunrag work. A bit too much emphasis on the DR failures, seems to say as much about Mr. Steindler as Uncle John. I think it was the 450 Magnum Brevex that got its grip wood marred by the horns of the buffalo between John's legs ... or something like that, close enough for internet work. That is a nice portrait-like photograph of John Buhmiller sitting in R. A. Steindler's gun room. He looks wise and kind. Like he would put a good medical doctor to shame, as all that is required for the M.D. is grey hair for the look of wisdom, and hemorrhoids for the pained expression of concern. Dr. Buhmiller making a house call for Mr. Steindler. And I bet he brought his black bag full of bullets to show the latest medicine to the patient. "Mouse-hole bullet effect." That is new Buhmillerism for me to remember. Here is the Tradewinds of Tacoma ad for those Brevex actions, and more, from the January 1956 GUNS magazine. I assume the Brevex had machined steel magazine box, since Oom Janie did so much grinding inside their boxes to make them hold 6 or 7 cartridges:  A Huskie Mauser for $60, and for only $30 extra you could get a .30-06, .308, or 270WCF barrel with a hooded front sight ramp. Pre-inflation. | |||
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I sure wish Dr. Buhmiller's journals had not been lost to posterity. So let us continue the two-coots removed research. If only a couple of coots could have been removed before they burned those journals ... A book review: The GUN DIGEST 2000, 54th Edition It is a good book. Excerpted is Bob Bell's "Buhmiller's Big Boomers."           Yep, "Ol'Jawn" deserves a posthumous PhD in Ballistic Science: PhD-BS. He merits that on the basis of his "Mouse-Hole Bullet Effect" work alone. And there was so much more he did to further Ballistic Science and Technology. Make that a PhD-BS&T for Dr. Buhmiller. | |||
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What do we reckon the twist rate was on Dr. Buhmiller's .510 Buhmiller rifle that fired the "heeled" 560gr Semi-roundnose solid below?  That must have been a tumbler that wreaked havoc enough to kill the elephant it was recovered from, eh? The .510 Buhmiller Short (2.500" case) would have a wee bit more case-body taper than the .510 Buhmiller Long. A very wee bit more taper! I am trying hard to resist the urge. | |||
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Fascinating stuff. Thanks to both of you for posting all this! Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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Cougarz, Welcome, my pleasure. Hope buckstix can add some more, I only have a couple more up my sleeve, to save him the time of posting. That Bob Bell article is about the most comprehensive listing of Buhmiller wildcats with pictures that I have seen. Bell did admit it was not comprehensive, gleaned from his correspondence with Buhmiller sporadically over the years before his death in 1975. Also, the pictures used include some from the Handloader's Digest, 13th Edition, 1994 article by Jack Lott. Bob Bell was the editor of that good book which might be reviewed shortly for completeness. So far the best description (with no pictures) of Dr. Buhmiller's .423-caliber cartridges that I have found is in P. O. Ackley's Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders, Vol. 1, pp. 27-44. Published in 1962, that chapter, "Africa Safari," consists of two long letters from Dr. Buhmiller. The first one goes from page 27 to page 40, dated July 24, 1958. The second one, pp. 40-44, was signed April 1962. On pp. 37-38:   The above excerpt is for a review of this book. Book Review: Good book. Those are some wild claims by Dr. Buhmiller. He claimed to get 2600 to 2700 fps with .423/400-grain bullets from the Norma H&H case. At what pressures? That is Ray Atkinson territory! Also, I do not quite believe he could get 2700 fps with a .423-cal/500-grain bullet from a .378 Weatherby case with the belt turned off and shoulder blown out and necked up to .423 caliber.  Maybe something magic about a 500-grainer in .423-caliber? I am going to have to find some 500-grainers for my 404 RIP (.423/.416 Rigby Improved Plus):  Maybe H4831 and 500-grainers will be faster than my H4350 and 400-grainers? I thought 2600 fps was about max for the latter. | |||
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Here is another book review - a rather rare on from a 1959 local Montana publication.      " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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buckstix, A '59 Montana SPORTS OUTDOORS is better than a '44 Bordeaux! I am going to enjoy this one, thanks.  "For this gun-crank, at least, Utopia has been reached."  | |||
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Hello RIP I have a series of newspaper articles that appeared from 1955 - 1975. They are pretty rough - copies of copies of copies - but with a little effort thry are still readable. I will post them "in time-line order" - they will give some insite into Johns Travels. Here's a few to get started: JAN 55  OCT 55  MAR 56  MAR 57  As a side note, while a member of the Black Wolf Schuetzen Verein in Black Wolf, Wisconsin, I learned that one of the member's father and his uncle built a number of custom Schuetzen rifles for other club members back in the 50's. They exclusively used Buhmiller barrels on all their custom rifles. Here are 2 examples that became part of the Buck Stix collection upon their owners passing. It was when I acquired these rifles that I started researching John Buhmiller and created a data-base of Life. The 32-40 is a remarkable shooter.   " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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Hello buckstix, You have a museum quality treasure trove!  Any of this newspaper "timeline" is like manna from heaven, or riflecrank utopia, thanks! That Sunday 9 Oct 1955 INTER LAKE NEWS artcle tells us that Uncle John returned to Kalispell, MT on October 7, 1955, from his first safari. It also home cooks the story just a little for the locals, says Buhmiller had planned his first trip as primarily a "picture-taking expedition." And he hid behind bushes whenever a white rhino forgot his good manners, bless his heart. And they say he took a ".50 caliber rifle" to shoot buffalo with, the "feared beasts," bless his heart. Very rich. I will make sense of all this someday. So far I surmise that Buhmiller made at least six trips to Africa, starting in 1955, 1957, 1959 ... Please keep it coming. Thanks again. I have another "book review" to save your time in posting, as long as I can still get into photobucket. | |||
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From HANDLOADER'S DIGEST/1994, 13TH EDITION, edited by Bob Bell, the excerpt is by Jack Lott, maybe one of his last pieces before his death in 1993: "John Buhmiller -- In the Footsteps of Selous" Book Review: It is a good book.        | |||
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Buhmillerophiles, Buckstix's newspaper article about "Kalispel Man Authors Story" pointed me to this John Buhmiller article: "Muzzling the Wildcats" in the May 1957 GUNS magazine. It is classic Buhmilleriana. Maybe this was his first published work in a gunrag? What about American Rifleman where Alf was digging up the bullet research of Dr. Buhmiller, PhD-BS&T? What year was that, do tell, please. They sure made a big deal out of the GUNS article in the hometown newspaper. Like, "Local Hero Goes Big Time." You can read it starting on page 32 of the PDF here: http://www.gunsmagazine.com/1957issues/G0557.pdf See a picture of Dr. Buhmiller firing his braked .505 Gibbs from the bench, with one hand, like a benchrested 22RF. Double-flash exposure shows muzzle level then risen. Head forward then head back, and no scope buried in forehead. | |||
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I absolutely love that photo from the 2000 Gun Digest (thanks, Bob Bell) of John Buhmiller with those enormous Nile perch. I am sure that at least one or two of them weighed more than he did! This is a great archive for a man almost (and unfairly) lost to history. Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Mike, Thanks for looking and the good words about John Riley Buhmiller. Jack Lott used the same picture in 1994 that Bob Bell used in 2000. Maybe Lott got the picture from his editor, Bob Bell, John corresponded with many of his buddies. The Lott article is a great memorial to John Buhmiller, as is the Bell article. They both cover some common ground and each has information that the other doesn't. They complement each other in telling some of John Riley Buhmiller's story. We can only hope more of John's correspondence can be found. What about the feud with Ann Landers over the killing of animals in African problem animal control work? I can only hope John also said of her, as he did of a jealous, wealthy trophy hunter: "He (She) is merely a mentally disturbed dilettante and having his (her) own troubles. Whenever a letter comes from him (her) I'll mark it 'Return to sender. Suspected pornographic material.'" That is a "Buhmillerism." If I find anymore good ones, or fair-to-middlin' ones, I will report back. | |||
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Here are another 5 for those interested. As I said, not the best quality, but still a good read. APR 57  AUG 57  JAN 58  MAY 59  AUG 59  " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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Hallo buckstix, Thanks for that! The added details of Buhmiller's travel itineraries for the 1957 and 1959 safaris are very interesting. Ditto the hometown newspaper's rooting for their local hero again: Winchester had the gall to name their new-for-1958 cartridge wrongly! Afterall, everybody and his brother in the Flathead region of Montana knew what the .264 Winchester Magnum should have been named: "The new caliber will likely be called the .256 Winchester, but in deference to our Flathead genius, we think it should be named the .256 Buhmiller." "Flathead genius" just does not have a flattering ring to it outside of Montana.  | |||
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Here is a book review of this 406-page book by Elmer Keith in 1946:  Book Review: It is a good book. Supporting excerpts below: In this 1946 book and before, Elmer Keith was singing praise for John Buhmiller's work, both his barrels and his special single-shot rifle design. See Buhmiller patent linked above, 1940. Buhmiller references in this good book: Pg. 246: "Even a very fine single-shot action made by John Buhmiller ... that, I honestly believe, was the finest single-shot action I have ever seen or used." (What? Gunwriters have to tell you when they are being honest? Elmer had excellent grammar and punctuation. Good ghost writer or good editor?) Pg. 263, regarding the 300 Hoffman Magnum as opposed to the 300 H&H Magnum, and fireforming H&H brass in the Hoffman: "There is no loss of accuracy and very few cases will crack on the shoulder when they expand to fill the old abrupt shoulder chamber. In recent years many match shooters, including John Buhmiller, have returned to the abrupt shoulder case with its larger capacity." (Shades of P. O. Ackley!) Pg. 311, regarding the strength of the "high-side-wall Winchester single shot action" (Winchester 1885 High Wall): "(John Buhmiller of Eureka, Montana, once blew up a high-side-wall Winchester action, but found he had to employ about 120,000 pounds of pressure to do so, and this pressure could not be obtained with a casefull of any modern military powder.)" pp. 311-312: "John Buhmiller made by hand the finest and most accurate single shot action I have ever seen or used. It allowed perfect placement of the firing hand, had an adjustable trigger pull, and firing pin travel was very short. The action was large and heavy enough to stand the pressure of any shoulder rifle load now in existence, and gas from a punctured primer had no chance to come back into the shooter's eye. If that action should be made up commercially it would enjoy a large sale. Less heavy versions of it would be ideal for small game and vermin rifles." Pg. 331: "John Buhmiller has cut an exceptional six-groove barrel for my .300 Magnum bull gun. With perfect ammunition and under perfect weather conditions, I have, on a bet, repeatedly hit the spotting disc at 1,000 yards." Pg. 332, a picture of the Buhmiller single-shot rifle:  | |||
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I am estimating the twist rate of the .510 Buhmiller rifle that fired the "heeled" bullet below. Based on the rifling engraving appearance, I estimate: 1:18" I've been doodling again. If I have a relapse of wildcatomania, I'll use a 1:12" twist, whether it is on a .510-caliber or a .500-caliber barrel. I just like knowing that the number of revolutions per second of the bullet is the same number as the muzzle velocity in FPS. A ".500 Buhmiller-Berry Long" would be almost identical to a 470 Capstick with a .500-caliber rebated-base bullet stuck into it. The only difference is .001" greater (.500" instead of .499") outside diameter at the case mouth (neck-2). Same diameter at the ghost shoulder (neck-1) as at neck-2 defines the ghost-shouldered, straight case: Neck-1 diameter = Neck-2 diameter. The ".500 Buhmiller-Berry Short" is same except for case length shortened from 2.85" to 2.5". The brass is easy, but the bullets will be tough:  | |||
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Hello RIP. Looks we're going to have a comprehensive History of John Buhmiller. Here are another 5 for those interested. As I said, not the best quality, but still a good read. JUN 60  APR 63  SEP 65  AUG 70  OCT 70  " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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Wow those were the days when hunting and hunting was still viewed is a virtue. Imagine today that a newspaper would run the same articles...... the newspaper and the hunters in question would be run out of town, not before a public lynching I may add ! and to think this was not that long ago ! | |||
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Hello ALF, Thanks for the reply. Yes, things are sure different now, society has sure changed its views on guns and hunting - and in our recent lifetime. Finally, here are the last of my documents about John Buhmiller. I sure wish I could have met this man. JUJ 75  JUL 75  SEP 75  . And, here's a real early ad that ran in the American Rifleman in 1947. It gives you some insight into John's sense of humor. APR 47  . And finally, "The Last Post" from 2011. FEB 2011         " .... you never pay too much for something, you only buy it too early .... " How to Hunt Wisconsin Whitetail Deer with a Cannon How to Hunt Feral Cats with a Mortar | |||
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I love the quote: "He wasn't a big man - weighed only 127 pounds when he got back from one hunt - but he was all rawhide and spring steel, with enough guts for a platoon of marines." That indeed must have been the truth. In this day and age where some folks complain that their rifle weighs too much (anything over 6 or 7 pounds) and kicks too much (I not long ago saw a kid at the range with a muzzle brake on a 270!) they sure don't make 'em like that anymore. Once again thank you guys for posting all of this! Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along. *we band of 45-70ers* | |||
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For sure, my hero, Uncle John! And he even shot a spitting cobra in his bunk shack, using his elephant rifle. No wonder his ears were callused! Thanks again to buckstix, I am taking it all in, getting the big picture of this giant. So by 1965 he had done 9 African safaris, ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months in safari-ing time. And he was still wanting to return for more, even after suffering the dwindles from minor strokes. A little while before his death in 1975 he was telling Jack Lott that he was going back, if he could sell a 600 NE. I think that was one he built himself on his own, handmade, single-shot action.   Final bag: 183 elephant, 71 cape buffalo, 15 rhino, and about double that subtotal for the total bag if you include plains game meat and smaller varmints, not including snakes by elephant rifle. But not a single lion, Uncle John would have felt like a heel to shoot a lion. Lions were like family pets, not pests, to Uncle John, so polite and friendly, just hanging around to eat his elephant trunks. Anybody found any correspondence between Uncle John and Ann Landers? I'll keep looking. Very interesting, new-to-me tidbits from Bob Bell's "The Last Post": 1. Uncle John made up three differrent lengths of cartridge for his .510 Buhmiller with the H&H head. 2. John had a .475/.378 Weatherby that would fit in an '03-length (therefore < 3.4" C.O.L.). 3. John told Bell about plans to make a .500-grooved barrel for true .500-caliber bullets for ease and less waste with turning them from 1/2" stock. | |||
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The Lion of Kalispell is gone but not forgotten. His kittens showed up in the GUN DIGEST 2014 68th Edition edited by Jerry Lee, article by Larry Sterett, pp. 209-216, "The Care and Feeding of Wildcats":  Book Review: This is a good book. Pictures excerpted below show a couple of the Kalispel Lion's cubs: .423 Buhmiller (.423/.378 Wby) on far left, .500 Buhmiller (.510/.378 Wby) third from right:  .423 Buhmiller third from left:  Find the ".500 Buhmiller" below:    http://www.discoverkalispell.com/ | |||
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