The ball and shot gun, often also known by the marketing name paradox gun, is a shotgun capable of firing both shot and solid projectiles. First built by Holland and Holland, the term paradox is a proprietary name applied to these guns by Holland and Holland.
Ball and shot guns resemble side by side double-barrelled shotguns, typically with pistol grips and flip up sights. The ball and shot gun has broad, shallow rifling in the chokes of smoothbore shotgun barrels. [1]
Ball and shot retained the ability to fire shotgun shells, whilst being able to fire useful bullets accurately at short ranges, in a gun of manageable weight. A typical 12 bore ball and shot gun weighed 7 to 8 lb (3.2 to 3.6 kg), whilst a fully rifled 12 bore rifle would weigh over more than 10 lb (4.5 kg). Ball and shot guns were available in a variety of calibres, from 8 bore to 28 bore. [2] [3]
The original 12 bore loading from Holland and Holland fired a 750 gr (49 g) pure lead bullet that was accurate to ranges up to 150 yd (140 m), Westley Richards developed a 12 bore loading that fired a 735 gr (47.6 g) LT-capped [note 1] bullet at slightly over 1,300 ft/s (400 m/s) which was accurate to ranges up to 200 yd (180 m). [3] [5]
Westley Richards 20 bore ball and shot guns fired 290 gr (19 g) bullets accurately to 250 yd (230 m), whilst their 28 bore ball and shot guns fired bullets at 1,660 ft/s (510 m/s) at ranges of 300 to 400 yd (270 to 370 m). [5]
The ball and shot gun was invented by COL George Fosbery, VC, who in 1885 took out the English patent (patent number 7565) for a system of very shallow rifling in the chokes of smoothbore shotgun barrels. Fosbery immediately offered the patent to Holland and Holland, who bought it and from 1886 until 1899, when the patent expired, had exclusive rights to build this class of firearm, marketing it as the Paradox gun. [1] [6]
After the expiry of the patent, most of Britain's larger firearm makers offered similar firearms, some retaining the name paradox gun, others opting for new names such as the Jungle gun, Colindian or Cosmos, although the most famous of these was the Westley Richards' Explora (for 12 bore and above) and Faucita (for 20 bore and 28 bore). [1] [3]
The 8 bore and 10 bore guns were considered suitable for dangerous game, whilst the most common 12 bore was suitable for medium game. [3]
In his Thirty-seven years of big game shooting in Cooch Behar, the Duars, and Assam Nripendra Narayan, the Maharajah of Cooch Behar, states the 12 bore Paradox "is an excellent weapon for Tiger, Bear or Leopard at short ranges up to 100 yards." [7]
In his African Rifles and Cartridges, John "Pondoro" Taylor wrote that the 8 bore and particularly the 10 bore ball and shot guns were popular as stand by backups to smaller calibre rifles for lion shooting. He states he used a paradox gun chiefly for shooting leopard, loading one barrel with a 750 gr solid lead bullet and the second with 1.25 oz (35 g) of buckshot. [3]
In his Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Sir Samuel Baker described the 12 bore paradox gun as "a most useful weapon ..... wonderfully accurate within a range of 100 yards" and that "the penetration and shock are most formidable". [8]
Harold G.C. Swayne used an 8 bore paradox gun by Holland & Holland extensively in Africa and India, in his Seventeen trips through Somalialand he states he believed it to be "the best weapon in the market for heavy game such as elephant or rhino." [9]
In the early stages of the First World War, Holland and Holland paradox guns were pressed into service to combat the threat from Zeppelins. Holland and Holland developed a special 12 bore incendiary round, known as the "Holland Buckingham .707 inch Incendiary shell", designed to ignite the airship's hydrogen cells. At least 12 paradox guns were purchased by the Royal Naval Air Service [note 2] for use by UK based patrol aircraft and they remained in use until suitable .303 British incendiary ammunition was developed. [10] [11]
A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constructions, including specialized functions such as hunting, target shooting, training, and combat. Bullets are often tapered, making them more aerodynamic. Bullet size is expressed by weight and diameter in both imperial and metric measurement systems. Bullets do not normally contain explosives but strike or damage the intended target by transferring kinetic energy upon impact and penetration.
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matches that specification. It is measured in inches or in millimeters. In the United States it is expressed in hundredths of an inch; in the United Kingdom in thousandths; and elsewhere in millimeters. For example, a US "45 caliber" firearm has a barrel diameter of roughly 0.45 inches (11 mm). Barrel diameters can also be expressed using metric dimensions. For example, a "9 mm pistol" has a barrel diameter of about 9 millimeters. Since metric and US customary units do not convert evenly at this scale, metric conversions of caliber measured in decimal inches are typically approximations of the precise specifications in non-metric units, and vice versa.
The .50 Browning Machine Gun is a .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber cartridge developed for the M2 Browning heavy machine gun in the late 1910s, entering official service in 1921. Under STANAG 4383, it is a standard service cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. The cartridge itself has been made in many variants: multiple generations of regular ball, tracer, armor-piercing (AP), incendiary, and saboted sub-caliber rounds. The rounds intended for machine guns are made into a continuous belt using metallic links.
A slug barrel is a shotgun barrel that is designed primarily to fire slugs instead of shot, and is usually rifled. A shotgun with such a barrel is often called a slug gun.
The .303 British or 7.7×56mmR, is a .303-inch (7.7 mm) calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows the traditional black powder convention.
Lieutenant Colonel George Vincent Fosbery VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also a designer and inventor of firearms.
The 7×57mm Mauser is a first-generation smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed by Paul Mauser of the Mauser company in 1892 and adopted as a military cartridge by Spain in 1893. It was subsequently adopted by several other countries as the standard military cartridge, and although now obsolete as a military cartridge, it remains in widespread international use as a sporting round. The 7×57 Mauser was a popular stalking cartridge and sporting rifles in this chambering were made by the famous British riflemakers, such as John Rigby, Holland and Holland, Westley Richards and others. British cartridge nomenclature designated caliber in inches, and the cartridge was known as the .275 bore after the measurement of a 7 mm rifle's bore across the lands.
The term express was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid-19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black powder to propel a lightweight, often hollow point bullet, at high velocities to maximize point blank range. Later the express cartridges were loaded with nitrocellulose-based gunpowder, leading to the Nitro Express cartridges, the first of which was the .450 Nitro Express.
The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa and Asia, the double rifle is a sporting weapon with very little military heritage.
The 7.92×57mm Mauser is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. The 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge was adopted by the German Empire in 1903–1905, and was the German service cartridge in both World Wars. In its day, the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge was one of the world's most popular military cartridges. In the 21st century it is still a popular sport and hunting cartridge that is factory-produced in Europe and the United States.
The .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co., were initially made up on the Magnum Mauser 98 action, although in later years, some were made on standard length actions, a perfect example being the rifle used by legendary professional hunter Harry Selby. Other famous users of the cartridge were Commander David Enderby Blunt, John Taylor, and Jack O'Connor.
The .577/450 Martini–Henry is a black powder, centrefire rifle cartridge. It was the standard British service cartridge from the early 1870s that went through two changes from the original brass foil wrapped case to the drawn brass of two parts, the case and the primer. The .577/450 Martini–Henry was introduced with the Martini–Henry, in service it succeeded the .577 Snider cartridge and was used by all arms of the British armed forces as well British colonial forces throughout the British Empire until it was itself succeeded by the .303 British cartridge after an unsuccessful trial of a .402 calibre.
The .577 Nitro Express is a large-bore centerfire rifle cartridge designed for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in single-shot and double express rifles for hunting in the Tropics or hot climates in general and is a cartridge associated with the golden age of African safaris and Indian shikars.
The .375 H&H Magnum also known as .375 Holland & Holland Magnum is a medium-bore rifle cartridge introduced in 1912 by London based gunmaker Holland & Holland. The .375 H&H cartridge featured a belt to ensure the correct headspace, which otherwise might be unreliable, given the narrow shoulder of the cartridge case. The cartridge was designed to use cordite which was made in long strands – hence the tapered shape of the case, which, as a beneficial side effect also helped in smooth chambering and extraction from a rifle's breech.
The 8 bore, also known as the 8 gauge, is an obsolete caliber used commonly in the 19th-century black-powder firearms.
Four bore or 4 bore is a black powder caliber of the 19th century, used for the hunting of large and potentially dangerous game animals. The specifications place this caliber between the larger two bore and the lesser six bore. This caliber was the quintessential elephant gun caliber of the black powder safari rifles. The caliber was also used for the Coffman cartridges used for starting large aero engines such as the Rolls-Royce Griffon as used in the later Marks of Supermarine Spitfire.
The rook rifle, originally called the rook and rabbit rifle, is an obsolete English single-shot small calibre rifle intended for shooting small game, particularly rook shooting.
A multiple-barrel firearm is any type of firearm with more than one gun barrel, usually to increase the rate of fire or hit probability and to reduce barrel erosion/overheating.
The .318 Westley Richards, also known as the .318 Rimless Nitro Express and the .318 Accelerated Express, is a proprietary medium bore centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Westley Richards.
The .300 Sherwood, also known as the .300 Extra Long and the .300 Westley, is an obsolete centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Westley Richards.