Finally got around to taking a few pics of my old WR No2. This thing has no finish left anywhere and I believe the butt is a replacement. It also has a strange smell/ stink to it like no other firearm I've ever handled. This rifle has had a lot of days in the field.
It is noted in Winfer's book and I have a feeling it spent most of its life in India. The bore is not that good ( metford rifling ) but can still keep them together enough for the distances I use it at. I'll admit they don't look that flash but these rifles handle really nicely and have a wonderful trigger. Also the big 500 No2 cartridge looks just lovely.
I've tried all sorts of loads in it and the black powder/ paper patch combo works very well, which doesn't come as any surprise. Even though this is a good load, I don't always have enough time for cleaning shells and rolling pills, so I resort to NFB loads. I have used Woodleigh 440 gr bullets but a box of these don't go far so I looked for something else to keep me going. The pics tell what I ended up doing. These go into my very quickly made die at .500 " and a little squeeze later come out at .510" and with a new nose shape. A friend also uses these in his Stephen Grant double 500 BPE and they work just fine and are easy on the pocket.
I have toyed with the idea of giving the rifle a re furb but I'm glad now that I never have. It is a piece of living history and I get a real joy when its in use.

The new loaded round next the old shell is a Bertram case. In the early days I formed cases from Bell basic 577 brass. This is when I found out that the 500 No2 is not a 577 necked down to 500. It uses a parent case with a smaller head diameter and I'll NEVER make these shells from 577 basic brass again.
Underlever