Just thought I would share some pictures of an old war horse. This is a Charles Boswell .500 3 1/4". The rifle was sold on July 23, 1907. It was sold to Mr. H. Turner Esq. I.C.S. (India Civil Service). It was shipped to Mr. Turner c/o P. Over & Sons, Madras, India. I wonder what stories this rifle could tell. It is a little worn, a little tired, but deservedly so after 106 years. That said, I had it out yesterday and it is still getting it done. We should all hope to do as well at 106 years of age!

outstanding shooting for her age. Bet that thing schwacked a tiger or two!

Outstanding rifle sir. Loved the Indian Elephant engraving. Is that a 50 yard target? Thank you very much for the show!

Awesome. Thanks for showing.

BTW - Your gun has a brother over here in Aus,
same maker, same calibre, from memory the same style. Not sure who owns it now though.

I wish I could shoot like that with any rifle !!!

Thanks

Very nice rifle, and shooting Mike!

Fantastic group and great old rifle.

Very nice, Mike. It's great to know the history of such a gun.

That is a great rifle and a good shooting one to boot. I think the odds are against most of us making 106 years of age...much less still functioning at that level of accuracy.

Matt

Like Jorge I have always enjoyed the anthropomorphic styles of the turn of the century engravers..
Hey Alaskaman11 I like your descriptive adjective do you think a brand new VC will "Schwack" a tiger with the same aplomb?

I am nothing but jealous... dude you need to get a job!

Very Cool!

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:
I am nothing but jealous... dude you need to get a job!

You hiring?

Mike,
great shooting,check your pm's.

quote:

You hiring?

Sure... application fee just happens to be a Boswell double rifle!

Very nice rifle btw, just where did you dig up that diamond?

I am going to sit tight for a little while longer and see what they decide to do on my application at Subway. Then there is always the Walmart greeter position. I will keep the Boswell offer in mind though.

I have had the Boswell for probably three or four years. I kept trying to load 3 1/4" rounds for it and it was a pain due to chamber dimensions and die sizes. I have just started shooting 3" rounds in it and it does not seem to mind. Sort of like shooting .38 Spcl in a .357 or .458 Win Mag in a Lott. Boswell built a stout rifle. This one is very wide through the receiver. Probably one reason it has held up for 100+ years.

Mike

I had a 3 1/4" 500 BP / Nitro for Black
and the chambers had been cut from someone
firing 3" shells in it.

If you can work out how to fire 3 1/4" in it,
I would do so as eventually it will erode the chamber and it will have to be a permanent 3".

I hear you. My guess is that I shoot the rifle 40-50 rounds a year max. Gonna take me a long time to cause any serious issues at that pace. Same would be true for other calibers that will fire smaller rounds I would think, e.g., .38 Spc/.357 Mag, .44 Spc/.44 Mag, .458 Win/.458 Lott.

There is a picture of a Boswell in Graeme Wright's book. Is that the rifle in Aussie you were referring to in your earlier post?

It might well be.

In fact, thinking about it, I think it is.

Outstanding, gorgeous, beautiful. Nice rifle Mike. Very Nice.

Mike,

Where did you find the information about the original owner? My 450-400 3 1/4" Boswell is about the same age and I would like to know more about it.

Wal Mart greeter? They said I was not old enough.

Mike,

I just slipped on a pair of my Velcro sneakers, dabbed on a little essence of mothballs and I was a shoe in at Wally World.

I found a post on the internet several years ago indicating that a fellow by the name of Chris Batha had ended up with the Boswell manufacturing records. I emailed Chris (chrisbatha@aol.com) and he was kind enough to email me the information he had on the rifle. He had who the rifle was sold to, shipped to, when it was sold, original weight, LOP and drop and price. My rifle sold for 30 guineas.

The email correspondence with Chris was in late 2010, so he may or may still have the same email address.

Thanks for the information on the records and interview advice. Essence of mothballs

By golly that's nice

Not enough Es in SWEEEEEEEEET to describe that rifle!

Mr Turner knew what nice rifles are all about!

There is just something to the looks of a British double that makers from other countries can't duplicate.

465H&H

quote:

Wal Mart greeter? They said I was not old enough.

You guys are killin' me!

quote:

Originally posted by bwanamrm:

quote:

Wal Mart greeter? They said I was not old enough.

You guys are killin' me!

Had you not spent all of your money on trophy fees in Mozambique you could also be gainfully unemployed.

At least I have not resorted to trapping nutria, or even worse, serving in the President's cabinet. There is a limit to just how low one should be willing to go regardless of their job situation.

quote:

Had you not spent all of your money on trophy fees in Mozambique you could also be gainfully unemployed.

Touche....

gorgeous rifle, Mike

That's a wonderful old war horse!

Nice rifle!

BTW the retailer is P.Orr & sons in Madras (now called Chennai). The most famous gun shop in South India until the 1960s.

As a young man I used to visit them regularly to look at a few guns in the cabinet and to buy air rifle pellets. They were primaril a clock maker & repairer who had a gunsmith working there until the early 70s. They no longer deal in guns.

Super nice rifle, doesn't look very worn to me.

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
There is just something to the looks of a British double that makers from other countries can't duplicate.

465H&H

Very true! Or at least they won't duplicate it. But I agree, the British double rifle lines are superb!

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
Super nice rifle, doesn't look very worn to me.

Maybe in today's politically correct climate I should refer to it as being "well seasoned" as opposed to be a little tired . . .

[Forrest, I was in F-Burg with Russell a couple of weeks ago and we swung by your house. Very nicely done. I know you must be enjoying it.]

Mike, next time knock on the door, we're usually here, or call.

I will. I was just helping Russell get a bunch of business-related things done, so I was on his time clock. I would love to have a tour, particularly of that building that looks like a workshop or garage with the big "A" on it.

On a related topic. Have you ever been in that shop on Main Street, sort of down towards the K-Bob's end of Main that has a sign that says something like, Purveyors of Fine Sporting Arms? If not, wander in there. Go down in the basement. Sheesh, they have a bunch of Dakotas and a number of high end shotguns. Also had Serial No. 1 of the series of Holland & Holland bolt rifles in .375H&H done for the 100th anniversary of the cartridge. They were only asking $100K for the rifle.

That would be:

J.E. Cauthen & Sons Ltd.
414 E Main St
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
830-992-3306
www.jecauthen.com

Beautiful shop, like the gun rooms in London (well, maybe a hill country winery!). Great guns, art, antiques, books, Scotch whisky.
Friendliest people in town too, they are from Lubbock, have a ranch on the edge of town.

Congrats to Russell on winning his lawsuit, we were in the room. We'll all go to dinner next time you are here, on me.

That's the place. Some of the artwork is outstanding too.

Sounds good. Maybe you will take me to a nicer place than Catfish Haven like Russell. He pays we go to Catfish Haven, I pay we go to Navajo Grill. What are friends for.