What is the biggest big bore semi hunting rifle that you have heard of besides a 50 caliber. I heard a couple of times that the Browing Bar has been rechambered for a 458 Winchester.

Seems like the 338 Winchester in a browning is the largest production one made

Would it be possible to make the 375 Ruger into a semi. 50 beawolf.Just curious

Looks a little big to pack in the field but....

.505 Gibbs Semi-Auto.

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Andrews1958,
In the latest issue of Sports Afield, Boddington has an article on guns for Dangerous Game and he mentions very briefly that Jack Lott, of 458 Lott fame, once chambered a BAR in 458 Win.Mag (IIRC) and that it worked well. That's about all he said and I've never seen anything else mentioned previously about a big-bore semi-auto. Not much help I know, but at least it seems feasible.
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Some 20 years ago I also converted a .338 browning BAR to fire the .458 mag......it really didn't require that much modification and worked extremely well.

The article I remember showed a pic of Lott shooting the BAR chambered in .458 Win...the caption said he chambered it and GOT IT TO WORK....did not mention how well it worked, and even with that, it went on to say that it did not tame the recoil much....

A while back, Phil Shoemaker had an article on the .50 Beowulf in either Rifle or Successful Hunter--I forget which. His son had one made up on the AR platform. It was his survival rifle that he carried in his plane while he was student at the University of Alaska. Phil and his son apparently played around with quite a few different loads, and Phil carried it as his backup while guiding bear hunters one season.

On another note, if the .338 Win Mag works in a BAR, I don't see why a .458 wouldn't. The cases are virtually identical, the only variance being that the .458 is a straight taper to the case mouth which measures .481 inch, while the .338 case tapers to .491 inch at the shoulder...

Another big bore auto.

http://www.gokart.net/shop-utopia/mccann/rifles/458garand/458garand.html

I have always had a desire for an M1 Garand in 35 Whelen.
It just might make a good bear rifle.

Before the semi-auto ban ... there were a few BAR 458WinMags built in Australia, plus 35Whelen and 9.3x62s. The BLR has been made into 338WinMag and there's no reason a 416Taylor couldn't be done as well. The Soviets have a semi 9.3x64Brenneke.
Cheers...
Con

you guys are sick

woofer

Here you go.... .505 Gibbs

Vigilance Rifles

Just saw these guys advertisement in the SCI Hunting Report newspaper.

Test

There should be a market for a .375 Ruger and .458 Win. on the BAR, Browning could easily add these calibers. It solves or helps with several problems associated with long action DGR
-operator error- short stroking the action
-quick second + more shots
-lowers recoil
-low scope mounting- do not have to clear a bolt ooperating
-shooting hand stays on the trigger
-against this are a lot of tradition which keeps people in bolt actions or double barrels but someone has to market a working model to be an issue

9.3x62 in a Garand or a BAR..... hmmmmmmmmm........

A friend of mine uses a Rem. 750 in 35 Whelen. He darn near put all five rounds into a running pig with it, he likes it; I have no time for contraptions.

The 375 Ruger LOOKS like a semi-auto cartridge, to me more than a bolt-action round.

Now if you can figure out how to chamber a round quietly, you might be on to something for a DGR.

I have a remington 750 carbine in 35 whelen and its biggest downfall is no quiet way to chamber a round. I recently picked it up in trade mainly for curiosity sake and really kind of like it. Shoulders and points like a 20a shotgun, and is nice and compact, easily fits across the handlbars of my 4 wheeler. The best way to chamber semi quietly is to close the bolt manually and then push it closed. This works its still a little louder than a bolt action but not teribbly so. I have found it to be very accurate and reliable. You could very easily have one bored out to 9.3x62 but overall length might be an issue.

For reliability, most semi-autos should be allowed to slam shut. It's how they are designed.

I agree that slamming it home is probably best, but the above mentioned works for me when I don't want to make a ton of noise. I never carry with one in the chamber so that is an importatn consideration for me.

They really should be allowed to slam shut... to insure they are in battery. I would think that would be extra important in a DG hunting situation?

My solution would be to carry chambered and practice good gun handling, but that's just me.

Dtech, over on the AR forum, has been messing with an upper that duplicates .358 Win performance. It's a .25 WSSM case necked way up, IIRC. He's getting better than 2600 fps with 200-gn bullets.

Best of all this is on an AR15 platform, NOT an AR10 platform, so the weapon can be light and handy.

(And ugly.)

I have an M1a Bush rifle in .308, the one with the camo stock and 18" barrel, and I've had a boner for one of those in .358 Win for years now... IF it was as reliable as a regular M14/M1a, then you'd really have something there.

-jeff

"My solution would be to carry chambered and practice good gun handling, but that's just me. "


Well you know what they say about opinions. One of the biggest rules we adhere to is an empty pipe until ready to fire. I would MUCH rather risk the rifle not going into battery over carrying chambered, the chambered rifle is far more dangerous than a bear! Its hard to maintain "good gun handling" while rideing, or climbing, not to mention the occasion slip and tumble down a hillside, and thats what 90% of our hunting time intails.

The ability to carry empty and still quickly and fairly quietly chamber a round is one of the biggest reasons I perfer bolt actions. slow closing the bolt on the 750 has proven to work, the rifle won't fire if it isn't in battery, so this was the safest option I have had.

Understood, Josh.

Anyway, with semi's it's best to let them slam into battery; that's how they were designed. At least every one I've ever used.

I'm not arguing that fact that the "should" be slammed jeff, I agree that that is best, but I needed to figure a way to load fairly quietly if the case arose.

I'm not arguing that fact that they "should" be slammed jeff, I agree that that is best, but I needed to figure a way to load fairly quietly if the need arose.

Well... if it works, then there ya go, right? Just do it about a thousand times to make SURE it works, keep that chamber clean, use new or FL-sized brass... etc. Just don't try it that way with an M1a or AR-type rifle... bad juju, that.

Not my way; I'd carry a rifle I knew and trusted and control the muzzle... but there's no use arguing hot vs. cold carry; it's a religious issue as far as I can tell! :-)

I don't think one would sell. I don't see a market for it. It's been made pretty clear that you are lucky to get one or two shots off in a charge.

Too much information, man. Come on.......

They make BLR's in big bores. With as much muzzle flip as a big rifle will have, I would *think* that a guy could shoot as fast, if accuracy matters at least, with a lever as with a semi-auto anyway. If shooting fast is the goal here.

BLR's also have a safety that makes it patently obvious to see that they can be safely carried hot, if that a concern (Josh). Mountain climbing, ATV'ing, horseback riding, or other activities capable of literally destroying the rifle excluded. But only a fool would carry hot climbing a cliff or riding a horse anyway, and besides... you aren't talking about that, you are worried about the noise of chambering at the moment of truth, right?

On a practical level, the act of cycling a lever is a good "reset" for my personal targeting computer <g>. I know, from doing, that THIS lug nut can shoot a BLR or Marlin as fast as I can accuratly shoot a heavier-recoiling semi-auto.

Something to consider anyways.

-jeff

This is an example of what can happen to a rifle that saw the same use as the Reminton 750 will.

I have a 50 beowulf, its no 458, but its reliable as all get out and wouldn't bother me one bit to use it to stop a bear. It would be at least as good as a similar bolt gun and appx 45/70 in power....

As to guns firing out of battery, they actually can, there has to be enough slop in them to be reliable and the release will allow them to fire slightly out of battery.

IMHO, if its dangerous game issues, I'd be chambered in really iffy areas/situations, and if I stumbled into one that needed to be resolved instantly, I"d just rack the charging handle, knowing it will attract attenion, but would rather do it that way then slowly chamber... though a slow cahmber and hard rap on the forward assist on an AR will do the job, too much time and still makes racket...

Jeff

There's good reasons double rifles make good DGRs, when you think about it.

Two-shot semi auto!

Gotta carry them "hot", though, it would seem... at least towards the end.

Several years ago HK announced a new auto, the SLR2000 I think, it was chambered in all the usual suspects AND 9.3X62 Mauser. It had a strange looking wooden buttstock with a near verticle pistol grip and a 19" barrel. Decide to buy the first one I saw . . . still waiting, it must have died at birth.

My military training indicated you either carried "Hot" or you got carried "Cold".

Luckily most of us don't have to worry about armed combatants while hunting.

I think a BAR in 458 Win Mag magnaported would be a hot ticket. The semi-auto absorbs some recoil in addition to the magnaporting so the 2nd and 3rd shot (if needed) should be pretty fast. You just have to really really convince yourself it was going to be reliable and never jam. Hard to find a better semi-auto action than a BAR to base one on, in my opinion.

Chuck

Old habits die hard - or - you do. We are discussing DGR calibers here and the critters implied are "armed combatants" in a differant form.

O