Well I finally finished it over the Thanksgiving Holiday. IT's a BRUTE! Weighs 28lbs and Kicks like Hell! The action is a Borchard falling block and the barrel is a special order by Pac-Nor. It took them 8 tries before they could successfully rifle it for me. The Gun will fire everything from a std 2 3/4 inch shotgun shell to the Rimmed 50BMG high pressure case shown. The bullet is a 2000gr Bore rider and so far it has gone 1545 fps with Rl-25. If I could take the recoil, I have no doubt 1800-2000 fps is possible. With a 12Ga Sabot in the .50BMG case it can probably hit about 3500 fps!!!! I did all the stock work which includes a rollover left hand cheekpiece( no pattern to start with, just some photos of old Borchard Sharps), hot caustic/nitrate blueing and machined the quarter Rib with weaver rail. As you can see, I still have some small parts (action screws)to blue before I consider it finished. While this thing isn't very practical it sure gets lots of attention at the range. Finally, Yes, you can fire it from the shoulder. It actually holds pretty steady, but I sure would not want to carry it very far. Gunbearer anyone?-Rob

Why does it have double triggers?

Looks like a "Bubba Big Bore" to me!
My that's a big one!

You do fine work Rob.

28lbs. you say? Can you describe the weight distribution?

Thats awesome I really like it.

Rob,
awesome.. and, ah, I give... 28#? and still kicks? OMG!!!

we'll see next year!

jeffe

Rob
outstanding your talent makes me green with envy. I bet it is a trip to shoot! Did you build the action? The barrel is basicaly a rifled 12g? 28lbs dam id have to work out and loose that much weight before I could carry that beast.
Great work wish you had posted more photos during the build.
Have you ever checked out the homegunsmithing forum. A couple of guys have put to gather scratch built falling blocks with photos from start to finish. No where near you work but interesting just the same.
Dean

Double set triggers? Interesting.

I bet it would be hell to shot a round of skeet (singles not doubles) with that one.

Thanks for posting the pictures -- it is a very cool project.

Rob,

That is one impressive rifle! Please make a video of someone firing that behemoth; I'd love to see the concussive effect on both the shooter and the desert.

George

Al Story at Borchard Rifle Co. Made the action and the pictures hardly do it justice. Mechanically, the gun is really very simple, but hell for stout! The action was machined out of a solid block of 4130 as was the falling block itself.It is one massive piece of steel. The gun has some very trick features like a mechanical extractor and a separate ejector, double set triggers for those of you who have never seen them before(1.5lb set). and most importantly it easily fits the the 12 Ga FH round. This is the .50BMG case which is threaded and a screw on Rim added. John Mcmorrow, Ed Hubel and I have all made these cases. The .50BMG round is then fireformed to 12 Ga after annealing. I have machined a set of reloading dies for it myself. The barrel is a Rifled 12GA ( 1:20twist) that starts at 2" diameter at the breech( no contour till 1 inch beyond the chamber) and tapers twice to 1.15 inches at the Muzzel. The weight distribution is pretty good as the action weighs just about as much as the barrel. It balances just over the chamber.
Remember, this gun weighs about the same as a light class.50BMG but has no Muzzel brake or other recoil reducers. I didn't install them as I was going for a pure African look. Its also pushing a 2000gr bullet at 1545-2000fps vs a 800gr bullet in a .50BMG at 2500fps. That translates into Mucho Recoil. Jeffe won't be disappointed!
I wanted the gun to look kinda like a Classic African single shot falling block with that Brutal" Let's SORT THINGS OUT LOOK". If I ever had to sort out a pissed off, wounded 100 pound Ele in the bush, I'd not feel undergunned with this monster in my hands!
I'm pleased with the results so far.-Rob

Rob,

SIZE really does matter!!!

Very nice! At twenty eight pounds that would make it an over the log gun.

Move over Samuel Baker, Selous, Gordon-Cumming, etc., got nothing on Rob!

Truly awesome!

.729 caliber bullets weighing 2000 grains at 1500-2000 fps for up close and personal work.

.510 caliber saboted bullets weighing 800 grains at 3,500 fps for long range work.

Rob, you have THE all-around big-bore rifle!

better send it over to saeed so he can video some shooters just like the Trex

There is just only one thing I can say.

Damm

Rob,

Very, very impressive. If convenient, could you post some pics that show the iron sights more clearly? I am wondering what you used to withstand the recoil.

Also, is the rifle available to rent for a hunt?

Awesome!!!!

Dan- I would let you borrow it, but it would have to be picked-up and returned in person. I would not trust the mail carriers, UPS etc with it. The sights are D&T'd with 8X32 screws about .150 deep. There are three holding the Rib and one on the front sight. There is a layer of accra-glass under both the Rib and front sight. I used this set-up before on the .700 RLG and the sights never came loose.-Rob

Rob, very nicely done. I will bring a box of 12ga 2 3/4" slugs at 1500 fps.


Well, here are the numbers for recoil.

28 lb rifle
2000gr bullet
1545fps velocity
225gr powder ch? (guessing here)
recoil
154 ft lbs
18 vel. fps

Hog Killer

Rob,

what is the cost for a Borchard action ??

I love the look of that, I would like one in .700 nitro.

Nice gun. I wonder if I could use that in Shotgun Only deer hunt areas? Dont want to feel undergunned when i find that trophy buck .

Get the partition gold slugs, 385gr @ 2100fps

Great job Rob--Beautiful gun work
you have done there.....Actions
are above two grand I think..Hopefully will have mine ready to test in couple months on
Savage 210 bolt action.I have same Pacnor barrel
and gun now weighs 25 lbs..I will be testing
730 gr hard lead Dixie bullets, and 750 gr
Bridger hollow based and will add lead to base
to get up to 1150 gr.Thus use same bullet to
test different wts.Will test up to about
25,000 psi loads..Ed.

That looks amazing Robgunbuilder. You bringing that on the next Band of Bubbas hunt?

Rob and Ed, you guys deserve the Medal of Fredoom for keeping the dream alive!

Keep up the good work.

Okay,
frankly, even I am a little concerned about shooting it... i guess i'll have to find me two little redheads to pack it around for me nexst STC hunt

jeffe

I was wrong! I just re-weighed it with scope and it's a svelt 25lbs! Can't read the scale properly due to retinal detachment! Heck we can shoot it out the truck window at Hogs at night no problem. Probably just duck tape the flashlight onto the barrel like usual! Neal can call fire for me and Jeffe like no one else! Nothing brings a smile to a true Bubbas face than a honking huge 12 GA!
Ed- Thanks, This project sure took longer than I thought it would. Damn fine idea if there ever was one. In a way I'm glad I didn't go the paradox route. 25Kpsi? Heck you can do that on an Encore 12 Ga! You gotta get up to 50-60. Otherwise it's like having a Viper and running at 3000rpm. -Rob

Push comes to shove we can slap the Caldwell on a truck hood and set a DieHard on each side. Opps, make that an 8D on each side!

tiggertate- Now your talking! I think a DieHard will be just fine. Don't even need to pour the acid out! The STC event will take on a new stench! Yeeha!-Rob

Beautiful gun. Yes, please post a video of it being shot. It would be a fine addition to the other videos here.

Thanks and best wishes!

Rob, that is a fine looking rifle. You told me about but i had no idea. Beautiful and I will drive Jeffe out to film HIM shooting it. I am small and a redneck but i ain't toteing it fer him.
gene

Rob-yes they do take a lot of time..I might
have gotten done earlier but wife's been very
sick,plus caring for mom in law who passed away last month.
I calculated the stess that the Sav 210 will take and reciever will safely work with 25k
loads giving the 2.5 to 1 stress margin.
The boltas a 3 lug bolt head will take twice as
much stress.. I want to find someone to make a
thicker heavier reciever to put the Sav 210
bolt, bolt carrier, and trigger setup on.Then it would work at pressures like that beautiful rifle of yours.For an inexpensive setup
that Savage 210 is the smoothest bolt action
ever built..Question.How deep in the case are
the 2000gr bore rider bullets seated..Ed.

What a great project. You won't ever have to leave the living room to kill anything in America and probably South America as well. The video on this should be something to see.
Frank

Rob,
You one sick puppy! An artist, admittedly, but sick.

It's a sick world and I'm perfectly at home in it.-Rob

Nice work Rob, very nice.
So when are you building something based on a 20mm case that will be a real stopper

PC
Yes I think you should get one

Rob,
Nice rifle/shotgun/artilery piece. You finally have done it, come up with the perfect rifle for a one gun safari, 12 gauge shot for birds, 12 gauge sabot for plains game at close range and an elephant stopper with the 2000 gr bullet at 1850 fps.

The problem is you will probably get a hernia before the safari close out .

Actually, a great looking rifle, nice job, but a 600 is my limit.

Dak

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Looks like a "Bubba Big Bore" to me!
My that's a big one!

Rusty's post struck me as quite funny. Sarge, yours too, but true, truely true.

Rob,
Does the set trigger aid in shots at running game? Can you even get that thing swinging fast enough to get ahead of the game
before touching off, or should one just wait a while longer and go for the Portuguese Heart Shot?

Seriously, it is a beauty in a wickedly sick way.