October Country Sporting Rifle

[James Stella]

Has anyone had any experience with the October Country Sporting Rifle?

Their web sight says it is designed after an English sporting rifle. It looks like a Rigby design. Their web sight list the following load for the .69 caliber: "Using 225 grains of ffg the 69. caliber is 2000 fps, 4300 foot pounds of energy, with a TKO of 94." They are designed to shoot PRB.

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with these rifle or any thoughts on them at all. I know some of the people on this sight use 60-72 cal. smooth bores for hunting but I do not thing they hold quite as much powder. They look like nice rifles.
http://www.octobercountry.com/oc-sporting-rifles-62-66-69-72-and-75-cal/

 

[azmntman]

I wouldnt shoot that load :shocked2:

 

[James Stella]

LOL I just think that would hurt. I am not sure of a need for it on this continent.

 

[hanshi]

While there is no such thing as too much gun for game, there is certainly cases of too much gun for a hunter; this is one of those. One does not need a formula one race car to take the kids to a soccer game; and I doubt you'll ever find elephants in local woodlots.

 

[excess650]

I have no experience with their rifle, but a friend had built a .69 rifle in the style of the Edward Marshall. With 140gr it wasn't exactly pleasant to shoot despite a 2"+ buttplate.

I've shot my own .62 (7-1/2# 2"+ buttplate) with the same stock configuration and at 100gr fffg its pleasant, 120gr tolerable, but at 140gr it gets a might rambunctious.

Mine shoots a 3/4oz PRB, and the .69 a full 1oz. Short of something with an evil temperment, claws and teeth, I can't imagine the need.

Ross Seyfried wrote that his pet .66 Purdy hit elk as hard as anything he had ever shot them with including his .340 Wby, and with (just) 140gr ffg.

 

[Skychief]

The older (and hopefully wiser) I get, the less the really big boomers appeal to me. Sure, they may raise a bruise, perhaps not, but now, I appreciate that I have two retinas (as do most of us) that don't cotton to big blows.

Something to consider.

Best regards, Skychief

 

[Britsmoothy]

Yeah :hatsoff:
Seems " bigger is better" started a couple hundred years ago then! And I thought it was a modern thing!!

B :hatsoff:

 

[rushlake1]

My comfort level starts to fade away shooting more than 120 gr. 2FF Goex in 58 cal...

Good Luck!

 

[azmntman]

:metoo: I stick with 85 max for elk, 70 does great dor deer (and is accurate) :grin:

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Not shot anything over .58 but have killed several large animals with that and never needed more than 65 grains of FFg to get the job done . That big heavy slow moving soft lead slug usually takes them off their feet rather quickly . Can't imagine shooting 200 + grains for anything hunted in North America .

Eddie

 

[James Stella]

No me neither. That is more than double the charge I am shooting. They look like a nice rifle, but too much for me.

 

[Spikebuck]

A person wouldn't have to shoot 225 grs. I think they are just quoting that and stating they got 2000 fps with it.

 

[James Stella]

I agree with you. I was kind of hoping someone would come to on the design of the rifle too.

 

[BillinOregon]

That load would be authoritative, but probably very shootable from a 12-pound rifle. No reason you couldn't back down to 150 grains or so for most uses. Nice to have the extra power margin if you ever wanted to hunt in Africa with a round-ball gun.
Pretty sure it was John Shorb who worked out that rifle design when he owned October Country some years ago. There is an article on John hunting buffalo with it in one of the old Dixie Gun Works Black Powder Annuals.

 

[BillinOregon]

Jay, just checked my stash of those Dixie annuals, and the article on John taking a bison with that rifle in .72 is in the 2003 issue. PM me your e-mail if you would like a scan.
I went part way down this path about eight years ago, sending stock wood, parts, a Chambers lock and an Oregon Barrel Works slow-twist .72 round ball barrel to a builder in South Africa. Never got built and I lost the whole investment -- but I have never lost interest in the English sporting "bore" rifles. An excellent resource to further whet your appetite is to grab a copy of "Wild Beasts and Their Ways," written in 1890 by Sir Samuel Baker. Wolfe Publishing did a very nice reprint a few years ago. I have read mine at least twice.

 

[Spikebuck]

One thing I found "curious" in the specs was the shallow grooves for a round-ball rifle. With a huge powder charge, I would think the projectile would strip the rifling and not be very accurate.

Bill...what were the specs of the barrel you chose that, unfortunately, never got built into the gun you wanted?

 

[BillinOregon]

Spikebuck, my memory is 1:100 twist, but I don't recall the land and groove particulars. I used to have a copy of Forsythe's treatise and remember trying to duplicate his approach. At that time, life was being kinder to me and I thought I would get to go back to Africa and hunt eland with the "English sporting rifle."