.577 and completing a quest ...

[CountryGent]

Along time ago, in galaxy far, far away ... well, more like 25 years ago in my travels I became be fascinted by the Bland-Pryse after a piece written by Ross Seyfried. (I later corresponded with the author via post and at least once telephone call.)

Why? It is, more or less, a Webley action and chambered for a gonzo .577 cartridge. I've long wished to acquire one or something hereabouts, but they are quite rare. Video from Gun Jesus for those curious on these:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XBX2dMTebs&ab_channel=ForgottenWeapons


Slightly after that time I exchanged letters with Hamilton Bowen concerning a couple modern specimens he created in a custom .577. Truly works of art. Alas, he indicated he wouldn't likely ever make one ever again, for any price. (His reasons largely were the cost of SOT licensure for something so rarely made.)

Flash forward to now in the future, where everything is weird, and I found that letter from more than two decades last whilst working on tossing crap ahead of coming escape pods launch. That and more recently I found an original, albeit mechanically flawed, rough example on GB.



How do I approach this:

Option One: Get into and win a bidding war on the aforementioned, secure the Victorian-age hand cannon, and have it reworked.



Option Two: Find a gunsmith that has the chops, a SOT, and the desire to produce such a thing, and recreate something like those modern ones shown above.



Either way, 2025 holds wacky promise. Damn the torpedoes, full giggles ahead!

Read More

 

[CountryGent]

(A cloud of expletives fills the air.) Alrighty then ... so about two and half hours before the auction is supposed to end, the seller updates the listing to say it isn't chambered in .577 Bland but .450 Adams. More than kind of a difference. The last one in .577 I saw go for sale at Morphy's, the final bid was $25,200.00. In almost 30 years of buying and selling on gun auctions, for the first time ever, I messaged the seller and GB to retract my bids, because we are talking about two very different offerings here. The seller apologized and GB retracted my bids.

(sigh) So scratch off Option One, for now. Reckon I'll pursue Option Two. If anyone knows who might be able to build me something like that, I'm all ears. Thanks all!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Too bad about option number one...
Always good to bring a neglected gun back to life.

I would have liked to have met or talked with Ross Seyfried...and Finn Agaard for that matter.
Andy

 

[orygun]

Is the SOT required because it's over 50 cal?

 

[CountryGent]

Is the SOT required because it's over 50 cal?

A modern one, yes. BATFE has long given sporting exemptions for greater than .50 bore rifles and shotguns, but they've, at least long as I can remember, not for any handguns. It would be a simple Form 4 and tax stamp (Destructive Device) to transfer to yours-truly after it was made though.

The vintage ones are all pre-1898, so an antiques under GCA68.

P.S. When I was a 01FFL, I wasn't a SOT, though I could handle transfers for NFA items. It, however, took two tax stamps and a longer wait. So, perhaps a gunsmith without a SOT could do the same with Form 1?

 

[orygun]

A modern one, yes. BATFE has long given sporting exemptions for greater than .50 bore rifles and shotguns, but they've, at least long as I can remember, not for any handguns. It would be a simple Form 4 and tax stamp (Destructive Device) to transfer to yours-truly after it was made though.

The vintage ones are all pre-1898, so an antiques under GCA68.

P.S. When I was a 01FFL, I wasn't a SOT, though I could handle transfers for NFA items. It, however, took two tax stamps and a longer wait. So, perhaps a gunsmith without a SOT could do the same with Form 1?

Just have one made in 500 S&W, but cut the case to the length of a Special and don't load it hot. I know it's not a .577, but it's close!

 

[CountryGent]

Just have one made in 500 S&W, but cut the case to the length of a Special and don't load it hot. I know it's not a .577, but it's close!

A Ruger Redhawk in .500 Special (or even moon-clip fed .50Æ) would be quite corking.

 

[orygun]

A Ruger Redhawk in .500 Special (or even moon-clip fed .50Æ) would be quite corking.

Yes, it would!

 

[CountryGent]

Engaging upon a flatulent foray on Gunbroker this evening, I came across a specimen of the big .577. Neat, but there are a few redflags; seller seems to know little about it, it looks in rough condition and, bizarrely, it is said to have smooth bore. I never heard of this type of arm not having rifle barrel. Still, interesting.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Engaging upon a flatulent foray on Gunbroker this evening, I came across a specimen of the big .577. Neat, but there are a few redflags; seller seems to know little about it, it looks in rough condition and, bizarrely, it is said to have smooth bore. I never heard of this type of arm not having rifle barrel. Still, interesting.

View attachment 2113353

I wonder....
If it is some sort of "Khyber Pass " made copy....?
Andy

 

[CountryGent]

Interesting idea on the Khyber Pass. The Bland—Pryse in .577 was a pretty rare variant. However, I've seen some truly wacky creations from that region, so certainly possible.

Considering the age and overall condition, I wonder if the barrel isn't just shot out enough to appear that way.

Likely will pass on this one as probably more project than I want to deal with at the present. But I can't deny the allure.

 

[TTSX]

Interesting idea on the Khyber Pass. The Bland—Pryse in .577 was a pretty rare variant. However, I've seen some truly wacky creations from that region, so certainly possible.

Considering the age and overall condition, I wonder if the barrel isn't just shot out enough to appear that way.

Likely will pass on this one as probably more project than I want to deal with at the present. But I can't deny the allure.

If you think it might be real, depending on price it could be worth picking up anyway. Sometimes "good enough" is exactly that, just like that 625 I bought a while back. Not perfect but good enough.

 

[CountryGent]

If you think it might be real, depending on price it could be worth picking up anyway. Sometimes "good enough" is exactly that, just like that 625 I bought a while back. Not perfect but good enough.

My thought as well. The "buy it now" price is a bit more than I'm willing to go with so many unknowns. However, there is no reserve, and if it could be fetched for a relatively small sum, I'm willing to spin the roulette wheel.

 

[edzz]

Interesting idea on the Khyber Pass. The Bland—Pryse in .577 was a pretty rare variant. However, I've seen some truly wacky creations from that region, so certainly possible.

Considering the age and overall condition, I wonder if the barrel isn't just shot out enough to appear that way.

Likely will pass on this one as probably more project than I want to deal with at the present. But I can't deny the allure.

Both the barrel and cylinder bores seem to me to have had a hone run through them. The other thing that looks like a red flag to me is the recess under the firing pin hole / breach face having a crude appearance. The screw behind the trigger guard also bothers me, just looking at it makes my middle finger sore, however I have founds other photos showing similar screws protruding.
FWIW, I have no real idea how these should look, just looks odd to me.
The Khyber Pass idea is not inconceivable to me.
Non the less, an interesting revolver.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Engaging upon a flatulent foray on Gunbroker this evening, I came across a specimen of the big .577. Neat, but there are a few redflags; seller seems to know little about it, it looks in rough condition and, bizarrely, it is said to have smooth bore. I never heard of this type of arm not having rifle barrel. Still, interesting.

View attachment 2113353

The smoothbore is the first thing I thought of when reading the top posts. Wouldn't that eliminate the need for a sot? Probably won't anything with it though I would guess?

 

[CountryGent]

Thanks all for the thoughts.

In looking at this further, beyond the glaring issues, there are some other somewhat more subtle differences than any other Bland—Pryse than I've seen. Khyber Pass copy or the ministrations of Bubba's distance British cousin? Hard to say, but there is enough off to raise concern.

Regarding legality, this one is listed as an antique, so not a "firearm" as far as the feds are concerned. Ditto originals with rifled barrels as they were all made before 1898. (A modern .577 with rifling would be a DD, while a smooth-bore one would be an AOW.)

All and all, a neat, funky find, but I don't think I'll be bidding on this one. I'll resume the quest some other time and with another option.