Just learned a cool bit of trivia about the 450 NE.

I had no idea that double rifles were a weapon of war. Also of Interest is the Holland and Holland smooth 12 bore double designed to shoot Zeppelins known as the Aero gun or Zeppelin gun that shot chain and balls to tear up as much as possible.


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.450_Nitro_Express


In 1914 and early 1915, German snipers were engaging British Army positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to .303 British ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British War Office purchased 62 large bore sporting rifles from British rifle makers, including 47 .450 caliber rifles, which were issued to Regiments, some British officers also supplied their own.[3]

On one notable occasion, Richard "Dickie" Cooper brought down three Albatros D.III fighters from Ernst Udet's squadron, Jagdstaffel 15, with his Holland & Holland .450 Nitro Express big-game double rifle. Cooper is recorded as saying: "I aimed well ahead of the leader. He came down like a pheasant, as did the one that followed, and I had time to reload and fire again at the third before he passed over - he also crashed."[3]

All interesting stuff. Here is one more.
A close friend in the Lower 48 has a .600 single shot rifle built on a 4-bore frame with a 32-inch barrel, smooth bore. It shot the standard .600 nitro express cartridge with a 900-grain bullet but with spirals cut on the bullet's exterior to induce spin. It was used to detonate sea mines in WWI. I have one of the cartridges in my collection and pics of the rifle in my book on the .600s.
Cal

Damn! Like playing golf!

there's a similar story about Marines in WWII headed to the South pacific on a transport ship.

They sighted a mine floating, that the waves were pushing towards their ship.

Young Marines were shooting all around it with their Garands, with zero luck.

A Gunnery Sgt came out on deck with a Springfield and took the sitting position. Shot a round, and missed. Took a sight correction, and missed a second time, but verrrrrrrrry close. Took a third shot, and the mine blew up.

He was probably unhappy with needing that third shot. An Uncle of mine packed a BAR across the islands. He said he had a couple of very "interesting" encounters during the two years he spent.

Quite a chap, that Dickie Cooper, eh?

Boom Stick ..
Had one of those Hollands in my hands, A very plain box lock with an interesting trigger bow that would let the pilot hook it to the inside of the cockpit, the barrels had the choke patent written on them. The owner's parents had picked it up in China when they were doing missionary work early 20th century. It was at a gunsmith I use to frequent, the son wanted the chokes removed so he could use it for bird hunting. I pointed out the provenance to the smith who refused to work on the gun. Tried to follow up on the shotgun but never found out what happened to it..

Wow Zephyr! Might want to follow up on those guns. There would be some collectors who might give a pretty penny for those, not to mention the historical value. Thanks for sharing and please do see where it might lead.