Recently I filled a long-held desire for a nice vintage Farquharson. I bought an Army & Navy Farq. in .450/.400 3.25" Nitro Express from Steve Barnett.

The rifle came a couple weeks ago just before I was scheduled for an out-of-town conference and then a week of vacation. I got only a glance at it before leaving. The glance was enough. The Farq. was to be mine.

Upon returning I was busy catching up with work, etc. Not until this holiday (Independence Day) weekend did I have the time to direct genuine attention to this rifle.

I gave some details of my first try with the rifle on this thread:

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=185045&an=0&page=0#Post185045

The purpose of that discussion was to pass along my experience loading cast bullets in nitro-for-black loads for the .450/.400 3.25". I chronicled my first range visit with the Farq. in which I fired 5 of my loads. That was Saturday afternoon, July 2.

Things went quite well, and the Farq. seemed to really like the N-for-B load. Not wanting to argue with success, I loaded the other 15 sticks of brass in that box. The brass is unfired Hornady brass, and it seems to be of top quality. I also have a quantity of HDS brass. This chamber is not new to me, as my James Woodward double rifle is of the same chamber.

So today, Monday July 4, I set out for the range with my Farq. and 15 rounds of my N-for-B ammunition. Like Saturday it was hot as Hades. Nonetheless, I took my camera and snapped a few photos.

I started to append this to the other thread in the Reloading forum, but then I thought this rifle should have it's own post, so here it is.

I am really fortunate to have the use of a private shooting range on land belonging to a close friend. It would be hard to relax and snap photos at a public range. There's something nice about impromptu photos.

No bright lights or glare, just soft images. It's hard to find enough light at times.

Here I see the standard Birmingham nitro proofing for the .450/.400 3.25" NE - "CORDITE 60 - 400 MAX"

This rifle remains in excellent original condition. It has not suffered the indignity of any refinishing or of gunsmithing "improvements". The bore is absolutely perfect mint condition, and the action shows no wear inside or outside. There is amost no wear to the original rust blue on the barrel and action. The breech block, lever, action bottom, trigger, grip cap, and buttplate are color case hardened, and they remain vivid. The stock retains its original finish but shows numerous handling marks you should expect from a rifle almost 100 years old.

This is not a particularly fancy rifle; medium grade, I would say. And of course, the single shot rifles were supposed to be something of economy models as compared to doubles. Nevertheless, this rifle sports nice timber.

The buttplate is smooth steel with its original color case hardening. It's amazing, but almost all the color is still there. Here's an example of a photo where light was scarce. The photo doesn't do justice.

But remember, I came here to shoot the rifle and not the camera. The camera was an afterthought. Let's get the ammo.

Above are the fifteen I loaded for today along with the five I fired Saturday.

Someone once commented on the graceful elegance of the .450/.400 3.25" round with its "Oh so loooooooooonnnng neck." I tend to agree.

As mentioned in the other thread, my load is:

55.0 grains Varget;
Two - 1/2" diameter by 1" long foam wads;
265 grain cast gas check bullet by Oregon Trail;
Fed. 210 or WLR primer;
All in Hornady or HDS brass.

This is a black powder equivalent load and it closely approximates the original black powder load for this cartridge. As with all reloading you are responsible for your own safety. Don't blindly follow my load, as your rifle might have different requirements.

So how was todays shooting? All shooting today was at 50 yards. I started out with a five shot group just wanting to get acquainted with the rifle and its sights and trigger. The first two rounds were tight together right on top of the bead. The other three rounds were in a very tight cluster a couple of inches above. What? I look down the barrel and see that the 500 yard leaf had popped up from the recoil of the first two rounds. Drat! Two rounds shot with the standing express sight and three jacked up by the 500 yard leaf.

I found some cellophane tape and stuck a little strip over the folding leaves to put a stop to this type of nonsense.

The barrel is now hot in the 90+ degree F air. It will take some time to cool before firing again. Not to worry, I brought my Purdey .303 double to shoot also.

After a go with the Purdey I walk again to change the target and the Farq. is back on the bags. By now I'm uncomfortably hot myself, and sweating like a pig. I wipe off my face and hands and settle onto the rifle.

The second five-shot group was fair. I really didn't feel I was using good trigger control. The shots all clustered inside 2" right above the bead. I knew I could do better and that the rifle could do better also.

Had another shoot with the Purdey while the Farq. cooled. (The Purdey is awesome, BTW!)

Walk in hot sun to change targets. Sweating. Back at the bench I'm still not feeling calm and smooth. You probably know what I'm trying to say. Sometimes it all feels jerky.

To smooth out I decided to fire a few magazines through my Model 41 Smith & Wesson. I really should have started out with the pistol, because it can really smooth out the kinks. It's all hand-to-eye coordination and trigger control. After 50 rounds through the S&W I was ready to do my best with the last 5 rounds in the Farq.

I rearranged the bags for a little more comfortable hold. Chamber a round. Squeeze. The first round jerks a little and lands just to the left. Well that kinda pissed me off. I forced myself to settle down, and the next four rounds were all touching right above the bead. That's what the rifle and load can do when the shooter does what the shooter should do. Here's a scan of the target:

That rifle certainly will shoot, and the load is a good one. They just need a steady hand. A cooler day would help a lot.

I'll be adding comments and photos to this thread as things develop.

It's hard to dislike these 100 year old English rifles.

Curl