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Originally Posted by scottmandue
If you don't mind me asking... who makes that beast?
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Pedersoli in Italy. They have really upped their game in the last decade or so. Guys are actually winning BPCR matches with Pedersoli Sharps and Highwall replicas these days.
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Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte
Beautiful double! Please keep us updated.
It's also really punishing on the gunmaker. My understanding is that one can't regulate a big bore double rifle by shooting it off a rest. The maker has to shoulder it, as the way the gun recoils has an effect on the point of impact.
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I'll definitely have a range report in the near future.
And yes, regulating the big boys is definitely a brutal affair. Standing up actually helps in this regard, as does being a skinny little guy, believe it or not. They give much more readily with the recoil. Us bigger goons kinda soak it all up and get the "full monty".
These things are certainly very critical when it comes to hold and load. They will absolutely shoot differently from a rest, and some will shoot differently with the right barrel if there is no cartridge in the left. Once regulated, they are stuck with one load for life, which kind of killed them of when Kynoch, the British ammo manufacturer, went out of business in the late '50's to early '60's. They were the only ones loading ammo. I hear they are back now, though.
In the meantime, Woodleigh was making bullets and Huntington Die Specialties (along with a few others, like Bertram) were making brass. Ross Seyfreid figured out that Reloder 15 mimicked Cordite, and the old doubles would regulate when loaded properly with it, and it was off to the races. Several guys at my gun club who had some of these old doubles bought dies, brass, bullets, powder, and primers and "commissioned" me to load up some ammo for them (the ones who were not reloaders themselves). What fun...
As a result, I've had the pleasure of shooting several breach loading doubles over the years. None of them mine, of course - they were well above my tax bracket, even 20-30 years ago. I've fired a .470 Nitro Express from a couple of makers, a .450/400 N.E., and a couple of .577 N.E.'s. They actually kick less than my Ruger #1 or my long gone Model 70 in .458 Winchester Magnum. The doubles are scaled to the chambering, with the .470's typically going 11-12 pounds, and the .577's going from 14 or 15 and up. That helps a lot, along with proper stock shape and fitment.
Alas, British doubles went the way of early 911's. Where in the '80's I know several of these guys picked them up for a few thousand dollars (or less), the values subsequently skyrocketed. Everyone I knew who had one sold it for tens of thousands in the '90's. We just don't see them at the range anymore, which is a real shame. My new front stuffer will have to do its best to pick up that torch...