Rifle can hit target a mile away.

Going deaf is sort of getting use to the noise. I know what you mean I lost a little hearing my self, and i only did this **** for 3 years.

As I have lost a lot of my hearing I never bothered to wear ear defenders while firing rifles out in the open.

One of the club members had a Boys .55 Anti Rank Rifle (the type with the circular muzzle brake), he invited me to shoot a few rounds through it. I snugged up close behind the rifle, racked a round into the chamber, sighted and fired. The muzzle blast came back and made my ears buzz, it hurt my ears so much I didn't notice the recoil. I put a pair of ear defenders on, put a fresh round in the chamber, sighted and fired again. This time I did notice the recoil, it was horrendous. It made my Lee Enfield feel like a toy. After 3 rounds I had enough, the 4th and final round only added to the pain. I have never fired a Boys again, neither do I want to.
 
It's marvelous what can be done with a Boys some hand turned 500gn projectiles and a few pounds of some of the newer slow burning powders. From the muzzle flash I'd say this one's a bit too slow, but this was taken in about 1977 at a mate's place. That's his prospective son in law on the back end.

Ear defenders??... Sissy sh1t... what did you say?... WHAT?? F'gods sakes stop bloody mumbling man.

boys.jpg


We were trying for 4000fps, got close but ruined the barrel after several hundred shots, the only shortcoming was the sights. The blade foresight completely hid a 20lt drum at 100mtrs.

I just went and got a few odds 'n' ends from the shed, leftovers from the "Good old days" The projectile is unfinished and lacks a driving band (made out of short piece of 1/2" copper tube hydraulically pressed upto the stop with the dies shown alongside. I'll see if I can find a complete projy laying about.

proj.jpg


The lead slugs were mucking around with home made 12G. "Cotton reels" before and after being forced down the .55cal Boys barrel
 
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It's marvelous what can be done with a Boys some hand turned 500gn projectiles and a few pounds of some of the newer slow burning powders. From the muzzle flash I'd say this one's a bit too slow, but this was taken in about 1977 at a mate's place. That's his prospective son in law on the back end.

boys.jpg


We were trying for 4000fps, got close but ruined the barrel after several hundred shots, the only shortcoming was the sights. The blade foresight completely hid a 20lt drum at 100mtrs.

I've heard that a lot of Boys were issued in Oz to civilians during WW2 in case of a Japanese invasion, after the war was over they conveniently disappeared as there was no paper trail.

I also heard that a lot of Boys rifles in Oz were rechambered for 50 cal Browning as Boys ammunition was difficult to get hold of.

The Boys in your picture looks like the Mk2 with the longer muzzle brake.

4000 fps with 500 grainers, thats around 17,700 ft pounds of energy, lol bloody hell.

Ear defenders? lol they didnt help that much either.
 
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Yeah, there were plenty of them laying around but I never saw one in .50 Browning, I wish I did, as brass was as scarce as rocking horse sh!t. Fortunately i had an aquaintance who worked at a local ammo dump who managed to get me 5000 rounds that were due to be destroyed. I sold a lot and gave away as much before realising that there just wasn't any more to be had.

Somewhere in the shed I have one "demo" round I crimped together, with no powder, in a case with a cracked neck. That's the last of the Mohicans, I must have a look for it.
 
Yeah, there were plenty of them laying around but I never saw one in .50 Browning, I wish I did, as brass was as scarce as rocking horse sh!t. Fortunately i had an aquaintance who worked at a local ammo dump who managed to get me 5000 rounds that were due to be destroyed. I sold a lot and gave away as much before realising that there just wasn't any more to be had.

I believe ammunition production for the Boys was stopped sometime in or around 1943.

Those 5,000 rounds you were given would be worth a fortune today. The chap in our club with the Boys was paying in 1986 about US$3 a round.

China apparently had the Boys rechambered for 50 cal Browning for use as sniper rifles.
 
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