Well said.

Thank you for entertaining my question. You have some very good "gun luck".

I couldn't agree more. Perfectly stated.

It's the only activity I can think of that makes me feel like a much younger version of myself on Christmas morning

Found it.

Explain Your User Name

Yep, that's it!

And there I stand with a nice hammer double rifle!

Captain, one more question--the gun came with spare firing pins in the trap door in the grip cap--did it come with a socket driver to facilitate field replacement of the pins? I see a handle in the case--is that a turnscrew or a, uh, "turnsocket"?

Yes, the rifle is equipped with an ebony handled offset socket driver that reaches around the hammers when cocked and turns the threaded collars that retain the firing pins. Here are a couple of poor photos of it.

Wonderful!

I find the cases and the tools, oil bottles, brushes etc. that come with best guns as interesting and fine as the guns themselves~

With every gun that's displayed on any forum, the question always is, "How does it shoot?"

I had a range session with this rifle yesterday. My old supply of IMR4895 ran out and was replaced with 16 lbs. from another lot. So I did the right thing and did a fine-tune adjustment of my pet load, using the new powder. I tried loads of 37.5 grains, 38.0 grains, and 38.5 grains.

With this new lot of powder I found that my best load is now 38.0 grains with a Fed 210 primer and the Woodleigh 215. My OAL is 3.063", which seats the base of this bullet right at the bottom of the neck.

It's a wonderful load, and my rifle loves it. My average velocity of 8 rounds yesterday clocked 2175 fps.

Here's a look at my target, with the chronograph printout:





Only seven shots are on the target. I am embarrassed to admit that as noted, my first shot out of the right barrel barely grazed one of the screens of my chronograph, causing it to fly wide of the target. It's velocity did register, though. I re-adjusted the chronograph screens!

My group measures approximately 1-5/8", and the two barrel groups indicate the barrels are shooting parallel. It's hard to see on this scan, but the three shots on the right are the right barrel group, and the four shots to the left are the left barrel group.

If you are wondering, the notation at the top of the chronograph tape, beside the load data, 3.270", has to do with my powder measure setting.

I also see, that as for these 8 shots (four from each barrel) the left barrel clocks slightly faster than the right. The right averages 2162, and the left 2189. This would have to be repeated many times to draw any conclusions.

Curl

I am assuming that getting the overall grouping better centered on target would only involve moving the rear sights to the left a touch. Am I right?

I've had 4 or 5 old Winchester rifles chambered for .30 US (aka 30-40 Krag). It was a joy to work up some really good loads and quite accurate in one particular favorite ca.1898 Model-1895. I reckon the .303 is very similar.

BTW, that is truly a beauty! Thanks for sharing.

__________________
Been up since before breakfast

The sight could be drifted a bit, but I see no need. These are open express sights. It is easy to experience some lateral shifting based on nothing more than how the light falls on the sights. I am sighting on a bullseye measuring 3-3/4". At 50 yards my front bead is slightly larger than this bullseye.

For my sight picture I have the front bead all the way down in the "V" notch of the rear sight, with the bullseye on top of the front bead. The bullseye and front sight bead make a pattern like an "8", all snuggled down in the bottom of the rear sight "V".

They built some very beautiful rifles and yours is one to be proud of.

Cpt Curl: Don't feel like the Lone Ranger in clipping the chronograph scren' I've done it several times and I'm sure anyone who has chronograhed more than a little has done it too. My record, however, is that once I shot the REAR screen, leaving the front one untouched. Still don't undrstand how I did that.

Cyrano,

I agree. In fact, this is not my first time grazing a chronograph screen. Fortunately, it was just a slight graze and no damage was done.

There are two types of people who use a chronograph:
* Those who have shot a sky screen; and
* Those who going to.