mckinney,

I just returned to this thread. What people have posted about the wonderfulness of BPE loads is absolutely true and a well-kept secret. This is true whether you are actually loading black powder or whether you are loading nitro-for-black (which I normally do). Now, mind you, this is not for the person who sources ammo at Walmart.

I absolutely adore the black powder double rifles for quite a few reasons. Let me think of a few: they were the best guns made at the time; they were chambered for the best cartridges to be had at the time; they are wonderfully made; they are wonderfully balanced; they shoot quite accurately; they are underappreciated.

Ballistically they are great. No, you aren't going to reach out and touch someone at 500 to 600 yards, but if you are a woods hunter, there is nothing given up. The game don't know you are shooting an antique.

They are easy to load for. That being once you have thoroughly studied the task at hand and have mastered the necessary loading techniques. If you are a novice, not willing to learn before jumping in, you are likely to ruin a fine gun.

Let me give you an example of my devotion to these cartridges. I have a Farquharson single shot rifle chambered for the .450-400 3-1/4" nitro express. This was its original chamber and proof - a full nitro proof rifle. These falling block single shot rifles are strong as pure hell, so the nitro round is nothing to it. However, the rifle is light, about 9 pounds or so. It will be miserable with full nitro rounds, as would be a Ruger No. 1 chambered in the equivalent Jeffery round. I choose to shoot nitro-for-black rounds in my Farquharson. That's still a zippy cartridge, and it is pleasant in that rifle. Super accurate also. Here's a link to a post I did several years ago about that rifle: http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat....9&fpart=all

The truth is, the NE dinosaur killers are not that much fun. Do you get my drift?

Curl