In May of this year I happened upon this most delightful double rifle and was fortunate to bring it into the fold.

It is a Holland & Holland, completed January 15, 1901 a week before Queen Victoria's death. Although the H&H flagship at that time was the Royal Hammerless Ejector, this rifle was ordered as a toplever, back-action hammer rifle. Let me remind you that there still was suspicion and doubt about the hammerless guns and rifles at the turn of the 20th century. The "old timers" believed hammerless guns to be unsafe. Nobody would walk around carrying a gun or rifle with the hammers back, but that's exactly what is going on with the new hammerless weapons.

So here we see a rifle built as what was then an obsolete design, and chambered for arguably the most modern British cartridge of the day.

This rifle is absolutely superb. It has seen little use and remains in excellent original condition. Its bores are virtually new. It resides in its original case.

Regulated for the original 215 grain .303 load, it still is wonderfully accurate with my present-day load of 38.5 grains of IMR4895, a Woodleigh 215 grain bullet, and a Federal 210 primer.

So here it is.