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I am looking at buying this Holland & Holland Royal ejector rifle, but I would like to draw on the experience and opinions of these boards for advice.
The rifle was built in 1913, originally the length of pull was 15”3/8 which has since been trimmed to a more civilized length, which I have not measured but fits me well.
Original weight was 10lb 10 oz, with 26” barrels in .500/465 3”1/4. One nice detail, the locks are signed by Joseph Brazier Ashes, who was described as "a very excellent best Lock Filer" by Wesley Richards. www.josephbrazier.com . It is tight and on face, the bore and rifling are great, though it is not easy to see in the pictures. There is also a small ivory container in the case that I do not know the purpose of, as well a spare pair of firing pins stowed in the pistol grip.
I must say that the photos I took of the rifle do not really do it justice, they are particularly unflattering and have managed to enhance the tiniest blemishes, making the general tone of the gun look quite a bit duller than it actually is in person. It was a cheap, old digital camera and the lighting was not good. And I am obviously not much of a photographer.
The gun is not flawless, though it is considerably nicer than it appears in the photos.
It appears to be made between 1911-1912, it is a Royal grade H&H not an model de-luxe, strap over the comb was standard on this calibre. Ivory can was for spare firing pins and screws. Weight is good. 15 3/8? hmmm are there any markings on the brass oval? Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh ordered lots of guns around this time frame and thats his LOP. Could it be maybe? Mike have Pat check those records. Has the nice old lever strap forend release, stock being cut is a small but costly issue to some, bores appear excellent but its hard to judge accurately from these photos, barrel pitting on the breech end face is an easy fix, looks to have the original color on the action in spots. I think its a nice one looking from here. I agree with Mike on price about's $45k US would be more than plenty in the open market, but if H&H had it out it would be more. Its an early workhorse H&H in nice shape for a 100 years on the scene.
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Re: Help me evaluate this H&H .500/.465