Thanks be to CHIPB.
There is a "Ryan Breeding-Riflemaker" telephone and street address listed in the Yellowpages there.

RIP: I keep loose track of Ryan because I have had one of his rifles on order for the last year and a half. ETA is in a little over 6 months. I have REALLY enjoyed this thread. Thanks.

Thanks CHIPB.
I called the number and left a message. Female voice recording on the answering machine.
Do I have to order an RB Rifle to ask a question about Gil's whereabouts?
I do like the RB monogram, same as mine.

That would be his lovely wife toni

Toni, yes,
Idaho not Iowa, yes?
Close on the latter! Any assistance appreciated.

Its one of the I's havent really spoekn to them in acouple of years .was suppose to visit with my wife their ranch home up there but time did not premit I will look through my files and see If i cannot track down the adress for you

Got it, have talked to Toni.
Lovely lady, very kind, helpful, and runs good interference (business acumen) as RB's helpmate.

Gil is about 82 years old.
He is still in the area east of Palmdale, CA.
He walks about 7.5 miles per day, Toni said, but messes around with cameras more than gunsmithing lately.

Great fondness still between Van Horn and Breeding.

An "entry-level" RB rifle is about 20K to start and is just now starting to approach a 3 year wait, from previous 2-year wait.
He has a 3-year backlog of work right now.

Hopefully CHIPB's rifle is still on the 2-year schedule.

quote:

Hopefully CHIPB's rifle is still on the 2-year schedule.

My father's parents had a cook when he was young, (my father was born in 1905). As an impatient youngster, he used to ask the cook when dinner would be ready. Her standard response was. "Do you want it now, or when it's ready?" Obviously, waiting always made sense....even though you might be pretty hungry. I feel a little bit like my father here; but, like him, I'll be happy to wait until it's ready. I'm fairly certain that I won't be disappointed. Thanks for the concern, though, RIP.

CHIPB,
So you could be older than Gil (82?)
or younger than Ryan (52?)
depending on how late in life the Old Block was virile and vigorous.
Are you a Chip off the Old Block?
Sorry, could not resist that.

I get the drift that very few of RB's customers can stand to own only one of his RB Big Bores.
If they can afford that first "bespoke" rifle, they want another one.
Afterall, even at 20-25K,
you can get two RBs for the price of one H&H.

CHIPB,
So you could be older than Gil (82?)
or younger than Ryan (52?)
RIP: I'm inbetween, 61. Chip off the Old Block?....yes. Buffalo Chip?....no. This will be my first Breeding Rifle, but maybe not my last.

Chip,
You can call me Rip.
Now I am putting on my Psychic Turban ...
The identification of the caliber or chambering of your Ryan Breeding Big Bore is coming to me ...
Wait for it ... (drumroll sound effect here)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.416 Rigby? (cymbals-crash sound effect here)

Chip, you are pretty close to Palmdale, CA,
and maybe there is a place east of that, called Llano, CA, or something like that, even closer to you, eh?

.416 Rigby? (cymbals-crash sound effect here)

Rip: Actually, the rifle is set to be a .505 Gibbs. It is a little bit redundant in my battery, since I already have a .600 Overkill.....but a long time ago, I realized that there's a difference between "want" and "need". When I saw Ryan's booth at SCI a year ago last January, it was all over but the crying.

Llano is a few miles east of Palmdale on the 138 Hwy. I have driven right through there before to visit my brother, who lives in N. California. Is that where Gil Van Horn now lives?

Chip,
About your Ryan Breeding Big Bore Rifle (RBBBR):
OK, so I am not psychic.
Turban off.
.505 Gibbs would have been my second guess.
Toni said they make more .416 Rigby RBBBRs than anything else, lately,
and I am sure .505 Gibbs has got to be running a close second, or the past leader.

Toni said something that sounded like "Yanno" (in my cell phone with road noise interference, and my gunshot ears) and "east of Palmdale."

I looked at a map. There was Llano.
Gil Van Horn is supposed to be hiking 7.5 miles a day and taking pictures of everything in sight around there.
At 82, or thereabouts, he is made of stout stuff.

You are definitely going to have to get Gil to bless your new .505 Gibbs from RB.
I am sure he will look at it and hold it as fondly as he would a grandchild.

Gilbert Vanhorn BOX 207
LLANO, CA 93544

Rip: After the gun is delivered, I'll ask Ryan for an introduction, and will do as you suggest. His mailing address is above, for anyone who is interested. Thanks. Chip.

Chip,
Much appreciated.
I'll send Gil a funny birthday card. Hope he has a sense of humor. Who knows, we might find out when his birthday is.


www.shadetreegreetings.com

Here we have an attempt to do the impossible, to improve the 404 Jeffery.
Only The Master would dare to try:





From Wolfe Pubs, Rifle, the Bob Hagel article on the .423 Van Horn says this:

"Gil Van Horn, who was at one time associated with the late Walter Abe and who puts his guns together in Llano, California, has been one of the more prolific wildcatters over the past several years."

RIP

Fly into any SoCal Aeropuerto - I'll fetch ya and make the jaunt up there. It's a short trip.

Got a bottle of U-Boat hull cleaner here too.

Jay,
We'll do it as soon as I get permission from The Master.

My .505 Gibbs Rifle has arrived. It is very nice, indeed. Haven't shot it yet, but will soon.

[img]http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad329/CHIP1948/DSC_0021.jpg[img]

I am not sophisticated about photo posting....so I hope this goes through.

Opps....it didn't work.....back to the drawing board.

Let's try this:



If this doesn't work, I'll need some help.

quote:

Originally posted by CHIPB:
My .505 Gibbs Rifle has arrived. It is very nice, indeed. Haven't shot it yet, but will soon.

Yeh man, you just forgot the terminal slash on that first attempt. [/IMG]: I inserted the / in the [IMG]


Beautiful!

Push-button QD mounts? Custom scope mounts of Breeding design?

Granite Mountain .75" bolt?
How many rounds in the box of that .505 Gibbs,
and how much does the bare-naked-unloaded rifle weigh, PLEASE!?

Thanks for the helping hand, Rip.

Rip: the mounts are push button, but are from Joe Smithson. They are slick, but installing and removing the scope is a two hand operation.

Rip: The empty Rifle without the scope weighs 11 lbs. 14.5 ozs. It has the.75" boltface, and the action is from Granite Mountain Arms. It holds 4 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. It has a 23" stainless steel barrel.

A masterful understatement "very noce indeed". How about drop dead gorgeous.
Count on it putting all its shots together too.

WOW

SSR

I really did send this birthday card to Gil Van Horn:



I doubt that he will be trying to find out my birthday so as to get a card to me,
but hope he at least got a chuckle out of it.

Is Ryan the Jedi master still tig welding his barrel mounted recoil lugs in place? Seems to me some of his .585 Nyatis had some "issues" too. I've heard he makes real lifelong friends of his clients too. fWIW-Rob

Rob,
Gil Van Horn is the "Jedi Master."
Ryan Breeding's title is "Jedi Knight."
May "The Force" be with you.

So did anyone ever get into contact with Mr. Van Horn?

A few more photos of the .505 Gibbs Rifle. I had it out to the range this last Sunday, and found it to be extremely accurate, (I only went out to 50 yards). The recoil was stiff, but not unmanageable. It was in the same ball park as my 13.5 lb. AHR .600 OK Rifle with the brake. I didn't dare complain about the recoil since my buddy's 14 year old son shot it twice without a whimper .

quote:

Originally posted by Ongwe:
So did anyone ever get into contact with Mr. Van Horn?

Gil is a confirmed hermit and does not want to talk. I give up.

CHIPB,
What is the inside width of that .505 Gibbs magazine box at the rear?

RIP,
It is 1.09".

quote:

Originally posted by CHIPB:
RIP,
It is 1.09".

CHIPB,
Thanks for the unflinching honesty, both at the range on the trigger pulling with the 14 year-old watching,
and with the calipers inside the magazine box.
So even Jedi Knights,
such as Ryan Breeding with .505 Gibbs,
use boxes that are too skinny, and make them work anyway.

Ideal:
.505 Gibbs rim diameter of .6401574" maximum: box width at rear = 1.1945529"

RIP:
You're making me feel like a C- student who's been called into the Professor's office for a tutoring session.I'm eager to learn, though .

tfrancey:

Ryan Breeding's shop is now in Nampa, Idaho. His website address is: www.rbbigbores.com .

Yes Gil likes his privet life. He is retired but is still building a few rifles for some client. I would like to add he is no Gun Smith, He is a Master Rifle-Maker... Gun smiths I believe is someone who works on others work... Not building all his own parts and building a complete Custom Rifle...Many Gunsmiths can build a part of a Rifle or gun! but can take 2 to 4 gunsmith to build a complete Rifles.
The Issue of the incorrect size Box "Well" Ryan's Box is custom made doesn't start with a factory box it functions and feeds perfectly. Some people just love formulas and Would not no where to start with out them? Some just need a starting point, Some people are just better at thinking outside the box! I'M not one of them? To Custom Design your own parts take year of making your own formulas and test to get it perfect... Thanks for all the chatting its fun to hear what's going on out there... We are in a smaller area of Boise Id. called Kuna mailing address is Nampa my phone is 208-230-3081
There are servral new articles that have been published this last year on Ryan. the Texas Sporting Journal July-Aug by Jamieson Parker, Safari Big Game Hunting By Craig Boddington March-April, Field & Stream By David Petzel 30 Great guns July, and David Petzel on line Gun Nut Perfectly done Article I think Feb was the month if anyone can not find them they can contact me by phone or E-mail Toni@rbbigbores.com. or RBBIGBORES.com

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:

quote:

Originally posted by Ongwe:
So did anyone ever get into contact with Mr. Van Horn?

Gil is a confirmed hermit and does not want to talk. I give up.

It is no accident that the stock shapes of the Walter Abe/Gil Van Horne rifles look so appropriate for African-use rifles. In 1973/74 Walter asked me to trace my English sporter rifles' stock outlines for him, so he could get a good perspective of them.

I did a lousy job of it, but I did it and he seemed to value the results though he could have just been being polite. I was only one of several folks he contacted with the same request.

He used all our tracings to refine his own stock ideas. The tracings I sent him were of Frasers, Hollands, Jefferys, Rigbys, WRs, and C&Hs, IIRC. There may have been others, but that was a long time ago for me to recall completely.

BTW, the .460 Van Horne existed at that time ('73). I would have tried one out, but at that time it was much less expensive for me to buy double rifles in England than to have American custom smiths build bolt action things for me. So just then I concentrated on getting all kinds of English and Continental stuff, both doubles and magazine rifles, as the European bolt guns were even less costly.

I never wanted one of his really big bore bolt guns, but I felt the .460 Van Horne was a great cartridge idea. He simply shortened the .460 Wby and pushed the shoulder back so it would function in standard length actions. (The hard part was opening actions & magazines to where they would still be staggered double columns (3 rounds down) and still feed reliably. But he pulled it off, which made the .460 Van Horne a 4-shot rifle rather than a 3-shot rig like the original Weatherby .460 Mags which had single column 2 round magazines.)

Result was ballistics about half way between advertised .458 Win figures and the .460 Wby. With good steel Kynoch solids just about perfect for Elephant, and with either SPs or solids pretty efficient on Buffalo and so on. At least that was his intent, which seemed borne out by folks who reported using them.

And yes, John Buhmiller was pushing 600 grain bullets out of his wildcatted .50 Buhmillers (necked up .378 Wbys) at least 11-12 years earlier than that. Some of those fellas were great people too...and deserve a lot more credit for what they actually DID than they will ever get (while most others weren't even thinking like that) .