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Old 05-26-2012, 10:04 AM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Default Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express

NOTE: This is a post I wrote for another forum on July 4, 2011.


Recently I filled a long-held desire for a nice vintage Farquharson. I bought an Army & Navy Farq. in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express from Steve Barnett. Here are a couple of Steve's photos:







The rifle came a couple weeks ago just before I was scheduled for an out-of-town conference and then a week of vacation. I got only a glance at it before leaving. The glance was enough. The Farq. was to be mine.

Upon returning I was busy catching up with work, etc. Not until this holiday (Independence Day) weekend did I have the time to direct genuine attention to this rifle.

My first range experience with this rifle was two days ago, Saturday July 2, 2011. I decided to load five of the same nitro-for-black loads for the .450/.400 3.25" that I'm using in my Woodward double rifle. The gods smiled.

Things went quite well, and the Farq. seemed to really like the N-for-B load. Not wanting to argue with success, I loaded the other 15 sticks of brass in that box. The brass is unfired Hornady brass, and it seems to be of top quality. I also have a quantity of HDS brass. This chamber is not new to me, as my James Woodward double rifle is of the same chamber.

So today, Monday July 4, 2011, I set out for the range with my Farq. and 15 rounds of my N-for-B ammunition. Like Saturday it was hot as Hades. Nonetheless, I took my camera and snapped a few photos.




I am really fortunate to have the use of a private shooting range on land belonging to a close friend. It would be hard to relax and snap photos at a public range. There's something nice about impromptu photos.



No bright lights or glare, just soft images. It's hard to find enough light at times.

Here I see the standard Birmingham nitro proofing for the .450/.400 3.25" NE - "CORDITE 60 - 400 MAX"

This rifle remains in excellent original condition. It has not suffered the indignity of any refinishing or of gunsmithing "improvements". The bore is absolutely perfect mint condition, and the action shows no wear inside or outside. There is amost no wear to the original rust blue on the barrel and action. The breech block, lever, action bottom, trigger, grip cap, and buttplate are color case hardened, and they remain vivid. The stock retains its original finish but shows numerous handling marks you should expect from a rifle almost 100 years old.



This is not a particularly fancy rifle; medium grade, I would say. And of course, the single shot rifles were supposed to be something of economy models as compared to doubles. Nevertheless, this rifle sports nice timber.



The buttplate is smooth steel with its original color case hardening. It's amazing, but almost all the color is still there. Here's an example of a photo where light was scarce. The photo doesn't do justice.



But remember, I came here to shoot the rifle and not the camera. The camera was an afterthought. Let's get the ammo.




Above are the fifteen I loaded for today along with the five I fired Saturday.



Someone once commented on the graceful elegance of the .450/.400 3.25" round with its "Oh so loooooooooonnnng neck." I tend to agree.

As mentioned in the other thread, my load is:

55.0 grains Varget;
Two - 1/2" diameter by 1" long foam wads;
265 grain cast gas check bullet by Oregon Trail;
Fed. 210 or WLR primer;
All in Hornady or HDS brass.

This is a black powder equivalent load and it closely approximates the original black powder load for this cartridge. As with all reloading you are responsible for your own safety. Don't blindly follow my load, as your rifle might have different requirements.

So how was todays shooting? All shooting today was at 50 yards. I started out with a five shot group just wanting to get acquainted with the rifle and its sights and trigger. The first two rounds were tight together right on top of the bead. The other three rounds were in a very tight cluster a couple of inches above. What? I look down the barrel and see that the 500 yard leaf had popped up from the recoil of the first two rounds. Drat! Two rounds shot with the standing express sight and three jacked up by the 500 yard leaf.

I found some cellophane tape and stuck a little strip over the folding leaves to put a stop to this type of nonsense.

The barrel is now hot in the 90+ degree F air. It will take some time to cool before firing again. Not to worry, I brought my Purdey .303 double to shoot also.

After a go with the Purdey I walk again to change the target and the Farq. is back on the bags. By now I'm uncomfortably hot myself, and seweating like a pig. I wipe off my face and hands and settle onto the rifle.

The second five-shot group was fair. I really didn't feel I was using good trigger control. The shots all clustered inside 2" right above the bead. I knew I could do better and that the rifle could do better also.

Had another shoot with the Purdey while the Farq. cooled. (The Purdey is awesome, BTW!)

Walk in hot sun to change targets. Sweating. Back at the bench I'm still not feeling calm and smooth. You probably know what I'm trying to say. Sometimes it all feels jerky.

To smooth out I decided to fire a few magazines through my Model 41 Smith & Wesson. I really should have started out with the pistol, because it can really smooth out the kinks. It's all hand-to-eye coordination and trigger control. After 50 rounds through the S&W I was ready to do my best with the last 5 rounds in the Farq.

I rearranged the bags for a little more comfortable hold. Chamber a round. Squeeze. The first round jerks a little and lands just to the left. Well that kinda pissed me off. I forced myself to settle down, and the next four rounds were all touching right above the bead. That's what the rifle and load can do when the shooter does what the shooter should do. Here's a scan of the target:



That rifle certainly will shoot, and the load is a good one. They just need a steady hand. A cooler day would help a lot.

It's hard to dislike these 100 year old English rifles.
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Old 05-26-2012, 01:32 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Magnificent!
I haven't had time to read your DR thread, but I will. I hope the Purdey 303 is in there.

Any idea on who built the old Farq for Army & Navy?
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Old 05-26-2012, 02:21 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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This rifle is well documented. It was made for A&N by Charles Osborne and shipped February 14, 1911. It languished in A&N's inventory until 1919, when it was sold. It has it's own full-page writeup in Wal Winfer's Volume 6 of British Single Shot Rifles:



Tom Oppel put the rifle to market in the winter of 2010. I responded to his ad on GunsInternational but was too late. It was sold. Well, it must have bounced around a bit because late spring of 2011 it appeared in Steve Barnett's inventory. I didn't let it escape again.
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Old 05-26-2012, 05:41 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Very interesting...........thanks for posting.
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Old 05-26-2012, 07:46 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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This topic is VERY interesting! Fascinating! And good photos in view of the limited light.

The wood is quite nice, too.

The Major who bought this for 20 pounds shows how much inflation has advanced. I think a pound then was about five dollars in US money, so he got this rifle for about $100 US, if my memory is correct on exchange rates. If not, maybe one of you knows better? In any event, a hundred bucks was a lot of money then, compared to now.

Both the poster and the rifle are to be congratulated on the accuracy seen here.

Any idea of the velocity with that load? With those heavy, flat-pointed lead bullets, I suspect that this is a good killer to some distance on medium-sized game like Nyala or smaller elk. It'd sure fill the pot with smaller plains game to maybe 150 yards or better? Impala, springbok, Grant's gazelle, etc. Wouldn't want to take it after sitatunga, as the canoe might upset and/ or slosh water onto that nice rifle. Forest-dwelling bushbuck and the like would be within easy range; they're often taken with shotguns!

And it'd sure outrange a spear, if a hostile tribesman wanted to contest the issue. But the buyer probaby had a sporting .303 on the Lee action to deal with such matters and the lighter plains antelope, leopard, etc. (Or a .275 on the Mauser action, etc.)

It was a privilege to view this post! Thanks for making it. To be honest, this rifle intrigues me more than your older BP doubles.

BTW, I have handled a number of fine modern doubles from H&H, Purdey, Beretta, Rigby, etc., but never shot one. I'm sure that it's a thrill!

Last edited by Texas Star; 05-26-2012 at 07:49 PM.
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Old 05-26-2012, 09:22 PM
Cooter Brown Cooter Brown is offline
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Yet another fine rifle, Captain. If you have an interest in shotguns of the same quality and vintage as the rifles you've shared with us, just know that if you start posting threads about those my head might explode.

Actually, just keep posting--I for one will not get tired of this kind of stuff. I'll take my chances with the 'ol cranium.

There is a member of this site, SDH, a well known gunsmith/gunmaker of the first water, who builds some very fine rifles along the lines of your Farquharson. You probably know who this fellow is.

I hope he catches these posts.

Last edited by Cooter Brown; 05-26-2012 at 09:38 PM.
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Old 05-26-2012, 09:38 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Texas Star View Post

Any idea of the velocity with that load? With those heavy, flat-pointed lead bullets, I suspect that this is a good killer to some distance on medium-sized game like Nyala or smaller elk. It'd sure fill the pot with smaller plains game to maybe 150 yards or better? Impala, springbok, Grant's gazelle, etc. Wouldn't want to take it after sitatunga, as the canoe might upset and/ or slosh water onto that nice rifle. Forest-dwelling bushbuck and the like would be within easy range; they're often taken with shotguns!


Here's my answer to the same ballistics question on another forum (posted June 9, 2010). The text below the line at the bottom is new for this post.





My nitro-for-black load for the .450/.400 3.25" Magnum Express:

This is the load I'm using in my James Woodward .450/.400 3.25" Magnum Express. Although the rifle was nitro proofed at some point in its life, it was built as a BPE, so I'm shooting it like a BPE.

I am loading a fine 265 grain cast bullet that I buy from Midway. It's just perfect for this round and dirt cheap. Here's the label:








Here's a link to the listing on Midway:

Trueshot Cast Bullets 41 Cal (411 Diameter) 265 Grain Lead Flat Nose Gas Check Box of 100


The load is 55.0 grains of Varget, with two 1/2" diameter x 1" long foam wads (very similar to Kynoch wads), the 265 grain True Shot bullet, over a WLR primer and a light roll crimp. It all looks like this:








My chronograph reports 1936 fps from the 27" barrels of my Woodward, and the load regulates perfectly and shoots to the sights. There is almost no recoil.

I've not had the opportunity to hunt with this load, but I expect it to be a sure killer. This bullet is very hard. You can see it has a wide flat meplat, so it will open a very bloody hole. I would consider this a deer to elk load.

Normal cautions apply. This load is safe in my rifle. Use your own judgment to develop a safe load for your rifle. This is not "monkey see - monkey do."

_______________________________________

New to this post:

The load has proven quite accurate in my A&N Farquharson and shoots to the sights. This, although the Farquharson was originally proofed for and intended for the nitro express round.

Now, as to what the Farquharson is capable of, the full power, nitro express loading of this round launches a 400 grain jacketed soft or solid point bullet at about 2,100 fps. That's plenty of horsepower for anything.

As I stated above, the Woodward wasn't designed for the N.E. load; however, the Farquharson was. But in my mind, for these east coast white tails, the 265 grain Trushot bullet at 1,936 fps is going to be one heck of a killer.

If anyone is confused here, the Brits took their black powder cartridges and converted them directly to smokeless rounds. This is true for the .577, the .500, the .450, the .450/.400 3.25" (this round) and others. When they made these conversions they drastically increased bullet weight and launched them with Cordite. The rifles were beefed up considerably to accommodate the increased pressure and recoil.

For example, a standard load for the .500 3" BPE (like my two Purdeys) was a 340 grain bullet at about 1,950 fps, propelled with black powder. This generated a breech pressure of about 10 long tons.

But the .500 3" Nitro Express, using the same brass case, launches a 570 grain bullet at about 2,150 fps., propelled by smokeless powder and generating something on the order of 15 long tons breech pressure.

Trouble is, the N.E. rounds will chamber in the old black powder rifles.

The cartridge at hand, .450/.400 3.25" was originally a black powder round. (Note: the similar round, .450/.400 3" Jeffery, now being chambered in the Ruger No. 1, was originally a nitro round and never a BP round.)

Ballistics for the .450/.400 3.25" BPE were essentially what I am shooting here - 265 grain bullet at 1,950 fps. I am duplicating those ballistics with modern powder. Note I'm using two foam wads. That must be done because of the enormous capacity of these cases. Loading nitro-for-black is an accepted and safe practice provided you know what you are doing and do it right. In fact, when done right, the N-f-B loads generate significantly less breech pressure than original BP loads.





TX Star, thanks for your enthusiasm. This Farquharson is one fine rifle. It just doesn't have two bores.

Last edited by CptCurl; 05-26-2012 at 09:42 PM.
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Old 05-26-2012, 09:40 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cooter Brown View Post
There is a member of this site, SDH, a well known gunsmith/gunmaker of the first water, who builds some very fine rifles along the lines of your Farquharson. You probably know who this fellow is.

I hope he catches these posts.
SDH has been thoroughly bored by all this over on NE.com!
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Old 05-26-2012, 09:54 PM
Cooter Brown Cooter Brown is offline
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CptCurl View Post
SDH has been thoroughly bored by all this over on NE.com!
Dang...it's gotta be nice to be in a position to be bored by the likes of this stuff...I wonder if he'll ever get bored with that little Fox 20 ga. he did up...
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Old 05-26-2012, 10:10 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Thank you for posting the Farquharson, Curl. What a beautiful rifle! I can certainly understand what Bill Ruger saw in these and why he modeled his No. 1 after them!
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Old 05-27-2012, 02:39 AM
Frank46 Frank46 is offline
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Cap,keep posting the double rifles or any single shot rifles you have. Find them to be very fascinating and just great to look at. Your 450/400 is what the ruger #1 in 45/70 should look like. Nice long slender barrel with not much weight gain over the short carbine barrel as on my #1 in 45/70 Frank
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Old 05-29-2012, 09:53 AM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Fantastic! I am awestruck by your firearms Curl. Thanks so much for you contributions to our forum, so far. I was amused by your comment of being hot while at the range. Rifles like yours were meant to be shot by hot sweaty men. There isn't any winter in equatorial Africa!
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Old 05-29-2012, 10:19 AM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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That is a fine historic rifle. I do like the English engraving.
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Old 05-29-2012, 09:02 PM
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Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express Army & Navy Farquharson in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express  
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Curl, you own some very nice guns. I like double bbl shotguns, single shot rifles and S&W revolvers. The double rifles are only a dream to me. I have a Ruger #1 and love the gun, the closest I'll get to a farquharson. Yours is a beautiful piece of history, cherish it. Glad to see you shoot the guns you own, sorta living the past of whom ever owned it. Thanks for showing all the nice guns you own, can't wait to see some of the others you have. Larry
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