OK all you double rifle gurus, we think collectively we're pretty sharp on troubleshooting these fascinating rifles. Let me report what I experienced with my Josef Winkler .300 Win. Mag. double. First a look at the rifle:

It's a nice Austrian SxS made in 1968 and imported by Paul Jaeger. I acquired this rifle in 1998. Being a fan of the .300 Win. Mag., I was excited to get this caliber in a DR. Now what does it shoot?

Intuition told me it would be regulated for the 180 grain bullets. After all, that weight is practically a standard for the cartridge. Having some on hand, I confidently set out for the shooting range. The 180 grain loads spread several inches at 50 yards.

My reaction, "Wow, this rifle must be regulated for 150 grain bullets." The 180's were spreading, so it either wanted more velocity (not an option) or it wanted less lead. Right?

So back to the range I went with 150's. They spread more! Did you hear that? Carumba! What's going on? Is the world flat? Are the laws of nature upside down? What to do? I thought about everything I knew of regulating DR's. No logic would help.

Desperate, I seized the only logic that came to mind: "If lighter spread more, then try heavier."

I loaded some 190 grain Hornadys. The barrel groups, though stll spread, came together some. They weren't spread as much as the 180's.

Next I tried 200's. More improvement, but still spreading.

Then the 220's. Perfection at last! And by perfection I mean accuracy to rival a bolt gun and perfect regulation.

These facts are the absolute truth. I know it to be real, because I witnessed the events myself. Eight years later I am still at a loss to understand why this rifle acts the opposite of every other double rifle I have known or heard about.

Has anybody had a similar experience? Can anybody explain what was going on with this rifle?

A real head scratcher, but a happy ending nonetheless.

Curl