![Ken Owen 4-bore rifle](https://www.fieldandstream.com/sites/fieldandstream.com/files/styles/655_1x_/public/images/2017/11/4_bore_profile.jpg?itok=uLCIPg2l&fc=50,50)
The Ken Owen Rewa 4 bore.
Last week we had a .410 from Rock Island Auction’s upcoming Premier Auction on December 1–3, which comprises guns both tiny, like that .410, and gigantic, like today’s gun, a 4-bore double.
That’s not a misprint, it’s a 4 bore. “Four bore,” as a reminder, means four lead balls of that diameter weigh 1 pound, and the diameter of a 4-ounce ball of lead is just over an inch, making this gun a 1.05 caliber.
That’s not a misprint, it’s a 4 bore. “Four bore,” as a reminder, means four lead balls of that diameter weigh 1 pound, and the diameter of a 4-ounce ball of lead is just over an inch, making this gun a 1.05 caliber.
![Ken Owen 4-bore rifle receiver, action](https://www.fieldandstream.com/sites/fieldandstream.com/files/styles/655_1x_/public/images/2017/11/4_bore_receiver.jpg?itok=ejFg3pau&fc=50,50)
The gun was inspired by a Holland & Holland made for an Indian prince.
This rifle, one of a number of big game–stopping rifles to be sold at the December auction, was made in the 1990s by custom gunsmith Ken Owen of Memphis.
It took him a thousand hours to build the gun. His inspiration for this gun, and five more like it, was the Holland & Holland 4-bore made for the Maharaja of Rewa, India, in the ’20s.
Evidently it was good to be the maharaja back then, and I suspect he had someone on payroll to carry it for him. The gun weighs 26 pounds and shoots a 2,000-grain (4.57 ounce) bullet out of a 4-inch case.
It took him a thousand hours to build the gun. His inspiration for this gun, and five more like it, was the Holland & Holland 4-bore made for the Maharaja of Rewa, India, in the ’20s.
Evidently it was good to be the maharaja back then, and I suspect he had someone on payroll to carry it for him. The gun weighs 26 pounds and shoots a 2,000-grain (4.57 ounce) bullet out of a 4-inch case.
You can get an idea of how massive the 4 bore is when you realize the barrels that look short and stubby are actually 26 inches long. You can also see what a beast is if you take time to watch this video of stopping rifles vs. pumpkins: