Here is a link to a video (and a quite nice website, I'll add) of a friend of mine, Cal Pappas, shooting my 16.5lb 4 with a 2000 grain conical and 383 grains (14 drams) of Goex FFg. Cal is a very experienced double and big-bore shooter and African hunter, who shoots regularly with vintage 600N, 7-bore, and 8-bore doubles. He took a nice buff in Zim with his 600N this fall and will issue what will probably be the definitive 600N history book in the next few months. He's not a small guy either, but even he still needs to take a step back and the barrel goes to 45 degrees. Not for the faint of heart!

Cal Pappas

I can attest to the fact that once you get to more than 10 drams@16.5lbs, it leaves a bruise every time, even with a shoulder pad, and my gun has a rubber pad too. My head often slips back out of my earmuffs with full power loads, which is one more reason they are few and far between. 10 drams loads and even more so their smokeless equivilents are fun all day long.

Having said all of that, my favorite rifle is my pedestrian, refinished(not well) Tolley 10-bore blued-damascus(!!!) 5-dram gun. The price was right, it shoots well, and is the most fun-per-shot gun I own. I don't think you'll go wrong with a 10 or 8 double.

Bob