Thread: Rifle Obsolesence

Greetings everyone,
Thanks for all your likes and replies. The closest to control by the manufacturer were the proprietary cartridges of the English gun makers. The cartridges for your rifle were only available from the maker. Today a handloader can easily bypass this for most cartridges and cases are available for more cartridges now than any time in recent history. Or would be without the mindless panic buying of the last year or so. Double rifles were regulated for one specific cartridge and load bu even here the handloader can often produce a usable result. The only double rifle I remember seeing in the flesh was a side by side .303 regulated for 215 grain projectiles. Even these are still manufactured in Oz.
Regards Grandpamac.

Guns never become truly obosolete. They just need new friends to play with. @grandpamac a 303 double rifle would be mint.
I do have to say I have joined the Africa hunting forum and see a couple of people from here on there so they will deffo know what i am talking about.
some of the older (including double rifles) firearms on there are just exquisite. I have almost found a hankering for a 318 Westly Richards.
Just because. No one really needs another one (especially me with all my little unfinished projects) but by crikey it is sometimes nice to have something different.

Originally Posted by csmiffy

Guns never become truly obosolete. They just need new friends to play with. @grandpamac a 303 double rifle would be mint.
I do have to say I have joined the Africa hunting forum and see a couple of people from here on there so they will deffo know what i am talking about.
some of the older (including double rifles) firearms on there are just exquisite. I have almost found a hankering for a 318 Westly Richards.
Just because. No one really needs another one (especially me with all my little unfinished projects) but by crikey it is sometimes nice to have something different.

Greetings @csmiffy,
The .318 Westley Richards is a fascinating rifle with a distinguished history, just obscure enough but with components easily made or purhased. I believe that Eddie Herrick used one to shoot the first two moose shot in New Zealand. The odd groove size makes having one built very very difficult. We can still dream though.
Regards Grandpamac.

What about the fad rifles which blazed onto the scene and then disappeared eg 204.Sorta makes a 223wssm sound a true oddity. Recent years everyone has slagged off the 270 because it does not have long range projectiles but boy can it kill if you like the recoil. 7mm STW? and all the various 7mm hybrids.

Dear @grandpamac you forgot to mention the age of the said person firing the said rifle with scope......come on we need a total age of the complete set up to fully understand the op post

Originally Posted by Sideshow

Dear @grandpamac you forgot to mention the age of the said person firing the said rifle with scope......come on we need a total age of the complete set up to fully understand the op post

Greetings @Sideshow,
Thankyou for pointing that out. Total age of rifle and rifleman is currently 152 years increasing to 153 years in April. This is just a pup compared to my Martini Krag which shoots almost as well. Combined age here is 213 years increasing as before. I have been thinking of using some of my old soldiers in some of the shoots this year. I have mentioned before that I no longer compete in shoots, rather I participate. I am of to a shoot tomorrow and am using my old .308, aggregate age 117 years but will use the Martini and Krag in later events. If nothing else it will give me some more handloading to do.
Regards Grandpamac.

Well there’s your problem right from the get go! @grandpamac 1 which I also well understand as I also suffer from the same affection.

Your an Aries there’s your trouble

Look no further problem solved only took 152 years to solve

First, you have to say “obsolete for what purpose ?”

For collectors nothing is obsolete - the older the better !
Same goes for sentimental value of a special rifle to you.

For practical use, tikka T3 has more or less made many pre 2000 hunting rifles obsolete. They are more reliable, more accurate have better triggrs, easier to maintain and more durable than most wood blue rifles like the SMLE, Mauser based BSA, Ruger M77, even Weatherby and Brno for instance.

Of course, rifles can be durable and fully functional for over a hundred years if properly looked after and there are very few devices that can do that.

it could be well argued/debated the 4 to the pound black powder muzzle loaders are now,past usefulness date...the days of creaping up on elephants and unleashing big soft round balls of lead from close range then reaching back for 2nd gun from bearer are all but over...the likes of the 375 are much more effective and arguably safer to use,more humaine at both ends.....but having a 4 to the pound rifle either single or double would still be nice. and being thick as two short planks I would just have to go shoot something with it just to say I had....

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

it could be well argued/debated the 4 to the pound black powder muzzle loaders are now,past usefulness date...the days of creaping up on elephants and unleashing big soft round balls of lead from close range then reaching back for 2nd gun from bearer are all but over...the likes of the 375 are much more effective and arguably safer to use,more humaine at both ends.....but having a 4 to the pound rifle either single or double would still be nice. and being thick as two short planks I would just have to go shoot something with it just to say I had....

Having a recoil fetish does not make you thick as two planks. Knowing what is coming and doing it anyway is more courage than thick....

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

it could be well argued/debated the 4 to the pound black powder muzzle loaders are now,past usefulness date...the days of creaping up on elephants and unleashing big soft round balls of lead from close range then reaching back for 2nd gun from bearer are all but over...the likes of the 375 are much more effective and arguably safer to use,more humaine at both ends.....but having a 4 to the pound rifle either single or double would still be nice. and being thick as two short planks I would just have to go shoot something with it just to say I had....

Reaching back for the second gun only to find the bearer has scarpered......