- Joined
- Jun 24, 2022
- Messages
- 440
- Reaction score
- 1,877
- Location
- Hawaii, SC Alaska, South Louisiana
- Media
- 13
- Member of
- AK WSF, AMM, DSC, GOA, GRAA, NRA, PHASA, SCI, WSF
- Hunted
- Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Argentina, Canada, England, Macedonia, Mexico, Serbia, Alaska, USA
Before I purchased this double I purchased all the Bertram brass, Woodleigh bullets, and Kynoch ammo that I could find. Also the last shell holder from RCBS. A die set came with gun along with two boxes of handloads with Woodleigh bullets, one softs the other solids and the load data.
I also purchased three pounds of 3031, but after reading warnings of using that powder in older doubles (which probably is just the sky is falling, the sky is falling) I opted to use H1000.
I was going to shoot the Kynoch ammo as practice but decided to hold off. I also decided I wasn't comfortable putting my life in the hands of the hand loaded ammo by someone else. So I loaded the new Bertram brass and Woodleigh bullets with 133grs of H1000.
You can imagine my trepidation taking that first shot with a 113 year old gun. I dropped a round in the right barrel. On with the eye pro and ear pro and boom. Not knowing what the recoil would be like I purposefully let it rock me back.
Next I opened the action and it was jammed. The left firing pin had come out. Hmmm. I broke the gun down and pushed the pin back in. Had it doubled? Is there something broken? I inverted the action and tapped it on a pillow. Both firing pins came forward. Ok, maybe this is just how it's made.
To be on the safe side I primed just a shell, loaded another round in the right side and the primed shell in the left. Boom. Open the action and there was no strike on the primer on the left side. Moved it over to the right barrel and dropped a round in the left. Pulled the left trigger. Boom. Broke it open again and no primer strike on the right side. Okay I thought, nothing is broken, just need two shells in the gun anytime its fired. (And why wouldn't you).
Time to get serious. I continued to use the primed shell for the remaining shots. 25 yards off-hand. Right barrel. Boom. 2 inches high and 2 inches left. Left barrel. Boom. Again 2 inches high and 2 inches left. Almost touching.
Back to the bench. Let's pull a couple of bullets from the Kynoch rounds and shoot them. Tape the jaws of a pair of vice grips and out they come- just a couple of marks left by the vice grips near the top that won't touch the barrels. Drop the Cordite out and attempt to light it. Burn, fizzle. Again burn, fizzle. Just too old I guess. Sure glad I didn't try and shoot one. Kynoch bullets weigh the same as Woodleigh bullets but are just a bit shorter.
Back out to the range. Again off-hand at 25 yards. Same hold as before. Round with Kynoch bullet loaded in the right barrel, primed shell in the left. Boom. Again 2 inches high and 2 inches left. Almost touching. A nice triangle of .488 holes. Nice.
Let's try a round off shooting sticks. Kynoch bullet again but left barrel this time. Primed shell in the right. On the sticks. Pop. Oops. Muscle memory had me pull the right trigger first even though the loaded round is in the left. Bonus was as all was videoed by my finance on her iPhone I was pleasantly surprised to see no flinch at all when I pulled the right trigger and the primer fired. Nice.
I can use Woodleighs and Kynochs with no changes.
Okay. Left trigger. On the sticks. Boom. 2 inches left but dead on with elevation. Sweet. So unless I learn to control the recoil flip off-hand, I'll need to use a 6 o'clock hold. On the sticks a center of the clock hold. That's okay. Do need a windage adjustment though.
Load 50 rounds with the Woodleigh bullets I have and ask my friend to see if he can find or make a collet so we can pull the bullets out of the 150 Kynoch rounds I have. I leave five Kynoch rounds with him to work with.
Out of time I start the three hour drive home.
Yesterday he tells me he has successfully used a collet and pulled the five bullets cleanly.
Now I need to get back over to his place, pull the 150+ bullets and load my remaining brass. Then make a windage adjustment. Once all that is done I'll step back to 50 yards and see how it and I shoot.
Absolutely love this gun. My favorite double for sure. The one I'll hunt my elephant and buffalo with next year although because of its age I'll take the VC 500 as a backup.
Recoil is similar to the 500 but somehow a little different. Typically after four shots of the 500 I'm ready to call it a day. Not so with the 475 No 2.
I also purchased three pounds of 3031, but after reading warnings of using that powder in older doubles (which probably is just the sky is falling, the sky is falling) I opted to use H1000.
I was going to shoot the Kynoch ammo as practice but decided to hold off. I also decided I wasn't comfortable putting my life in the hands of the hand loaded ammo by someone else. So I loaded the new Bertram brass and Woodleigh bullets with 133grs of H1000.
You can imagine my trepidation taking that first shot with a 113 year old gun. I dropped a round in the right barrel. On with the eye pro and ear pro and boom. Not knowing what the recoil would be like I purposefully let it rock me back.
Next I opened the action and it was jammed. The left firing pin had come out. Hmmm. I broke the gun down and pushed the pin back in. Had it doubled? Is there something broken? I inverted the action and tapped it on a pillow. Both firing pins came forward. Ok, maybe this is just how it's made.
To be on the safe side I primed just a shell, loaded another round in the right side and the primed shell in the left. Boom. Open the action and there was no strike on the primer on the left side. Moved it over to the right barrel and dropped a round in the left. Pulled the left trigger. Boom. Broke it open again and no primer strike on the right side. Okay I thought, nothing is broken, just need two shells in the gun anytime its fired. (And why wouldn't you).
Time to get serious. I continued to use the primed shell for the remaining shots. 25 yards off-hand. Right barrel. Boom. 2 inches high and 2 inches left. Left barrel. Boom. Again 2 inches high and 2 inches left. Almost touching.
Back to the bench. Let's pull a couple of bullets from the Kynoch rounds and shoot them. Tape the jaws of a pair of vice grips and out they come- just a couple of marks left by the vice grips near the top that won't touch the barrels. Drop the Cordite out and attempt to light it. Burn, fizzle. Again burn, fizzle. Just too old I guess. Sure glad I didn't try and shoot one. Kynoch bullets weigh the same as Woodleigh bullets but are just a bit shorter.
Back out to the range. Again off-hand at 25 yards. Same hold as before. Round with Kynoch bullet loaded in the right barrel, primed shell in the left. Boom. Again 2 inches high and 2 inches left. Almost touching. A nice triangle of .488 holes. Nice.
Let's try a round off shooting sticks. Kynoch bullet again but left barrel this time. Primed shell in the right. On the sticks. Pop. Oops. Muscle memory had me pull the right trigger first even though the loaded round is in the left. Bonus was as all was videoed by my finance on her iPhone I was pleasantly surprised to see no flinch at all when I pulled the right trigger and the primer fired. Nice.
I can use Woodleighs and Kynochs with no changes.
Okay. Left trigger. On the sticks. Boom. 2 inches left but dead on with elevation. Sweet. So unless I learn to control the recoil flip off-hand, I'll need to use a 6 o'clock hold. On the sticks a center of the clock hold. That's okay. Do need a windage adjustment though.
Load 50 rounds with the Woodleigh bullets I have and ask my friend to see if he can find or make a collet so we can pull the bullets out of the 150 Kynoch rounds I have. I leave five Kynoch rounds with him to work with.
Out of time I start the three hour drive home.
Yesterday he tells me he has successfully used a collet and pulled the five bullets cleanly.
Now I need to get back over to his place, pull the 150+ bullets and load my remaining brass. Then make a windage adjustment. Once all that is done I'll step back to 50 yards and see how it and I shoot.
Absolutely love this gun. My favorite double for sure. The one I'll hunt my elephant and buffalo with next year although because of its age I'll take the VC 500 as a backup.
Recoil is similar to the 500 but somehow a little different. Typically after four shots of the 500 I'm ready to call it a day. Not so with the 475 No 2.
