Customer Reviews

The big-bore rifle: The book of fine magazine & double rifles, .375-.700 calibers

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This is an excellent book about the larger calibered hunting rifles and should especially be of interest to collectors of double rifles and those considering hunting Africa. As stated in the title of the book, only those calibers of .375 H&H and larger are written about. The book is filled with numerous color and B&W photos of fine rifles and many drawings of guns and cartridges. There are 19 chapters which covers the history of these guns, including the early black powder big bores and double rifles prior to the introduction of the Nitro Express guns. Paradox guns and custom rifles are also covered in detail. There is also a current(circa 1990)list of American and European manufacturers who produce big bore bolt action and double rifles, and a pictured guide of the various current and obsolete cartridges these guns are chambered for including the bore cartridges. Bullet diameter, projectile weight, and muzzle energy with a brief description of the cartridges are included but there are no velocities mentioned. Chapter 19 lists the British riflemakers' addresses by the various years they were in business and their current location if those firms are still around.

This is enjoyable reading for those interested in big bores and especially double rifles, who may also want to check out Dangerous Game Rifles by Terry Wieland, Safari Rifles by Craig Boddington, and African Rifles and Cartridges by John 'Pondoro' Taylor.

This is a tremendous work and belongs in the book collection of any big bore rifle or double rifle enthusiast.
McIntosh does his homework and understands his field. He writes well and I can recommend this book without hesitation.

I found inspiration in the pages of this book when writing my own book, rexGun, which also addresses safari and dangerous game rifles.

For additional reading I also recommend Safari Rifles 2 by Boddington Safari Rifles 2 - Trade Edtion, Dangerous-Game Rifles 2nd edition by Wieland Dangerous-Game Rifles, 2nd Edition and, if you can forgive my slight bias, my own book rexGun by Templar Rexgun. I'll assume you already own a copy of African Rifles and Cartridges by Taylor, but if not: African Rifles & Cartridges