4 bore

of the black powder safari rifles.

pecifications

The name derives out of an old English practice of bore measurements in gunmaking, meaning if "four" perfect round equally weighted balls would be fashioned out of one pound of lead, any which one them would be the measure of the bore diameter (gauge). The system perpetuated and is still mantained in shotguns, and so the 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge still exist as calibers. Projectiles fired measured between 1750 and 1850 grains, had a diameter between 0.96 and 1.00 inches, and were of two types: ball, at 1200 grains, and conical at approximately 1600 grains. The shell case was around 4 inches long, and contained three types of loads: light at 12 drams, 14 drams at regular and 16 drams of powder at heavy load. A rifle that would fire such a caliber would weight around 25 lbs. bare.

Background and history

This caliber was used heavily by the European hunters, notably so British, in tropical climates of Africa and India.Meant to be used with black powder due to its size, it was unpopular due to the problem of thick smoke and a powerful recoil. Notable hunters that used the rifles included Sir Samuel White Baker and Frederick Courteney Selous, who used it consistently in his career as an ivory hunter of African elephants between 1874 and 1876 until the advent of the lighter, more accurate and less cumbersome Nitro Express calibers and cordite propellant.