I could swear there's a picture of one in my 1968 "Shooter's Bible" by Stoeger, but it's not at my fingertips right now. Additionally, I'm quite sure there a pic of one in my 1971 "Gun Digest" (the big book we all know), so when I saw a Shikari on a used rack in a store in NJ in the late 1980's I knew what it was, - the odd break-open rifle with what seems to be a ramrod underneath it (I thought ?). A telescoping cleaning rod upon inspection, why would there be a ramrod on a cartridge arm ? Immediately occurred to me if one was a mountain man or an Eskimo using this bigbore .45-70 medicine it's a self-contained gun & cleaning kit combined, how novel ! No sling swivels installed though, - that nixed my thought it may have been used as the perfect Guide Gun, but I liked the gun, it had heft and not a ding and a very inexpensive pricetag, so I bought it ! WONDERFUL rifle, and the beginning of my admiration for H&R break-opens. Can punish with factory loads, - nitro loads aren't your grandfather's .45-70, but I got into casting & reloading at that time with this rifle as one of my prime motivating factors "to make it speak" so to say, - tone down the loads and see what a shooter it can become w/o punishing me with factory loads. Mission accomplished with a Lyman 385gr cast bullet & 14.0gr Alliant Unique, this rifle will print 1-1/2" groups at 50 yards all day w/scope. Not stellar by .223 standards, but it's not a 223, it's yer great grandpa's buffalo caliber, and boy it's a sweet rig to take to the range, people gawk "What da heck is that ?" Odd seldom-seen gun, yes. Have no idea how many may be floating around in any kind of condition, but H&R 1871 still makes .45-70 bbls & frames, you should try one as "proof of concept" it's a valid caliber in a break-open, and lots of fun to shoot cheaply with cast bullets if you reload. Hope this was helpful. Pictures on request. Cheers, - hobbyist0783
