doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Auction alert - E. M. Reilly 4 bore SxS...

George,
Thanks for sharing. These old girls a few and far between. I would like to note the weight of the gun and the barrels when shes back together.

CBL1, do you have any idea when the last Eley four bore shells were manufactured? Maybe they are still being manufactured, but I don't know. I have a recent gunbroker offer of a beautiful box of Eley fours. They didn't sell in the auction that I recorded, but they have probably sold since. At $65.00 apiece, that would be $1625 plus the price of the empty box.

I may be wrong, but I think Eley stopped production of eight and four bore cartridges in the 1980's and they don't manufacture them anymore. Bonhams sold 49 4 bore cartridges for £750 or $1,200 or thereabouts in July 09 (Forty-nine 4-bore cartridges, including forty-three cartridges by Eley-Kynoch in their original cardboard cartons along with one by Eley Bros and 5 reloaded cartridges). $65 a cartridge therefore does strike me as pricey.

Alan Myers, here in the UK, makes new 4 and 8 bore cartridges to special order, but I have a sense the price is considerable. Again - happy to be proven wrong here - but I thought they were getting on for £25 each new, or £500 per box. I saw a couple of boxes next to a brand new H&H 4 bore recently at their shooting ground here in London.

CBL1,
Is there a source for 4 bore plastic cases in the UK?

PM - not sure, but Markethunter on here may be able to provide further input. The usual solution I have seen in the past is the use of 4 bore brass cases, which I think can still be made to special order.

Also try dropping a line to "Double Four" who is a new member on here from the UK; has posted only on this thread, but is real expert/afficinado on the big bores and uses a double four on the foreshore.

Craig

Postscript - try this; http://www.rockymountaincartridge.com/page7.html

Eley stopped making them in the early 80's for sure, though they do still seem to turn up occasionally but big prices are asked.

The Alan Myers shells are very expensive as CBL says, plus there's no way to get them over here without breaking the shipping laws. I've shot geese with Alan and visited his shop, he's one of the leading experts on big bore shotguns in the UK.

At one time he sold all plastic 4 bore cases for reloading but I've been told that he no longer does. I've not spoken with him in quite awhile so have no idea really, that's just what I heard.


Destry

George,

I have a very close friend who owns and operates a production machine shop with several CNC machines that he uses to make large runs of parts out of aluminum, steel and brass rods of all sizes. Want me to ask him what he would charge a "friend of a friend" to write a program and turn out a batch of all brass 4 bore cases?

I think he would do it, especially if he could do it sometime when one of the machines isn't running. He's a double gun nut, too.

Stan

Stan: That would be great if I can afford them. I have two brass 4 bore cases that I bought from John Farugia, of Cheshire Gun Room, Stockport, in England if he needs one for a model. I do plan to shoot the thing once it's done.

Best Regards, George

Be sure and take a chamber case before you go to much trouble. Four bore chambers aren't usually standard sizes, they vary a lot.

I talked with my friend and he said that those cases are "cold headed". That is, formed cold under great pressure with a die, so that there is no material waste. He said if he were to machine them the material cost alone would be from $2-$3 each. Before any machining was done. He seemed to think it cost prohibitive. If you're still interested I'll talk to him some more about it.

Stan