Who would buy one?

D

Dr.Rob

Staff Alumnus
Ok I was thinking ( a dangerous endevour to be sure)..

Given that we can't have a centerfire pistol over .50 cal, what would make the best "howdah" style double barrel pistol?

I bet Pedersoli could Make a dandy 45 caliber one from a cut down 45-70 case. Sort of a "2.5 inch .45" Or would you upgun it to a monster linebaugh load? Or can you still make a .577 (since its a black powder cartridge?) that would be historicaly appropriate at least.

Not that I plan on stopping a charging tiger from the back of an elephant, but the Howdah has always been a source of fascination for me.
 
C

croyance

New member
We can't have centerfire pistols over .50 cal? :confused: Why would anybody even take the time for such a law?
Isn't there a company that makes a (very large) pistol sized contraption that shoots 12 gauge shells? And I thought there was a reproduction of the old Ithaca 20 gauge "car guns". Admittedly the Ithaca is underpowered for Howdah duties.
Why not a down loaded .50 BMG? Flat-nosed rounds. That would seem to level that monster under the bed. We could sell it with a matching forearm brace and a listing of good orthopedic surgeons.
 
C

C.R.Sam

New member
How bout McMillan's 20mm necked down to .50 cal. Legal without gettin special tax stamp, 18,000 ft lbs energy.

Don't think anybody has tried it in a handgun yet.

Time ?

Sam
 
A

AC

New member
A .50 AE would work but a rimmed case would be better in a break action. As I understand it .510 needs a special license but .500 is OK. So you could take something like a .50-70 case, shorten it a bit and then do a very slight bottle neck to get the bullet diameter to .500 or under.

There is a lot to be said for a revolver for this type of gun. Maybe a .475 Linebaugh makes the most sense. Over the counter components and guns.

Its too bad we have the silly laws or the simplest way to go about this would be a shortened 20 gauge shotgun. Load some real brass cases with slugs, probably downloaded for the wrist. A big hunk of lead at low velocity. I guess you could still have this but you would need to jump through hoops for the BATF. But if you want it badly enough you can own it.
 
H

Hal

New member
the best "howdah" style double barrel pistol?
Click to expand...
.480 Ruger would get my attention. The .480 Ruger bore looks huge on the Super Red Hawks I've seen. That's a lot of pressure though for a break action to contain.
 
K

Kalindras

New member
Dr. Rob...

The Howdah pistols are a favourite of mine, too! I had a thread, a ways back, about trying to find out if anyone was making anything comparable, today.

While I think what we wound up with there (Hand_Rifle_Guy, have you made that one, yet?) was buying one of Cabela's big Kodiak BP rifles in .75, and cutting it down...not a cartridge, but sure to wake you up!!!

As far as centerfires go...it would be a bona fide sin, but I'd pay a dollar to see an old H&H .600 Nitro cut down into a Howdah!!! It probably wouldn't hit a barn from the inside (WITH the doors closed!) beyond, say, fifty feet--but, then, they wouldn't've been made to, would they? And at the in-your-face-and-full-of-teeth ranges they were MEANT for, I can't imagine a naturally occuring hide that could've stood up. And how many game cats have taken to wearing two-inch plate armour, neh?

A (relatively) cheaper option might be to saw off a 10-gauge until it looks like a .38 special with a case of the mumps, and then shoot slugs out of it. Not for the faint of heart, or the weak of wrist, but if you want a BIG bang, that's where my money'd be.

Kal

:D ;) :D
 
J

jmlv

New member
the easiest (and probably cheapest way is to

do the paperwork and buy a 20 gage auto burgler. shoot slugs out of the thing and you have a good idea of how the howdoh pistols worked. Like the cabelas doeble rifle idea but at $700 a pop without custom work its a bit expensive perhaps more than the fed paperwork & price of autoburgler 20.;)
 
H

Hand_Rifle_Guy

New member
Nope. Not rich enough YET. :(

Gotta get two of those twelve guage rifled front-stuffers, as you can never have just ONE Howdah. Tigers can be SO disagreeable.

That'd be be, uh...$1500-ish, plus elbow grease to hacksaw the barrels down to 12"-14", and reshape the stocks into a viable plowhandle grip. Hmmm... I suppose I could sell something.

Then it's 1 1/4-ounce roundballs at about 800-900 fps. That's about 550 grains/ball. I wonder how much half of a twelve bore weighs? Four pounds?

Yup. Definitely a matched pair. Spin those tigers till they turn into butter.

Now, if I was REALLY rich, I'd get me a set of Lancaster O/U pistols in .577 Revolver. They're antiques, and therefore un-regulated. Nominal bullet diameter is .614, weighs in at 350 grains, I think, and it runs on forty grains of black. You have to make cases out of Nitro Express brass cut down to an inch and something, but that's an inconsequential cost if you can afford Lancasters at something like $4000 each.

;):D;)
 
K

Kalindras

New member
Ah, don't be such a baby...!

Nope. Not rich enough YET. :(
Click to expand...

Ahhh, c'mon, H_R_G...you don't NEED two kidneys!!! The only thing they help with is the drinkin'!

And just think how many guns you could afford if you quit drinkin' AND hocked a kidney!!!!

I should get a 5% finder's fee!!! Wait, what are you doing with that derrin-- NOO!!! AAAAIIIGGHHHH!!!! *BLAM* --THUD--

Er...anyway. I just had an ugly vision of firing any of these big-bore doubles offhand, both barrels. Now my whole arm hurts...!!

Kal
 
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