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Hi Guys, Bought this before Christmas at a good price Usual 3 leaf backsight Put a .360 case in it, dropped down 1/2" Tried other .360s only one that fitted was the 400/360 2 3/4", so I thought it was an early version of that - so cut it down and fitted a bullet from the mould Old mould came with it First Problem, a 4.5mm hole drilled in the bottom so it could not be used!! cut a 4.5mm drill off to plug hole and cast 10 bullets with difficulty Now have 2 cartridges as display Something was not right so I did what I should have done first, took a chamber cast Oh dear !! in the past, someone had drilled/reamed the chambers so they wold not take a cartridge GRRRR Thsi must have been done years ago in the UK when there was no exemption for early cartridge arms which would have had to be put on a Firearms certificate, also the reason for drilling the mould Anyway, I have my first Purdey, in a nice little calibre but the damage/desecration takes the edge off it Bonhams sold it as an antique not to be fired Comments welcome but I am aware of the poor gun legislation in this country but I cannot change that TH |
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YIKES! Nice rifle, but? Could a chambered sleeve be made for the chambers? Almost looks like a .450 Express chamber has been cut (without throat, of course) If this is so, perhaps a .450 case with liner could be used? |
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Hi Daryl If I was in the U.S. I would get an insert chambered for the case I made up 400/360 2 1/4" as the extractors are cut larger so I could not fit the original .360 2 1/4" The new "chambers are parallel and 90 degrees at the front so would fit easily. To save major re-soldering epoxy would probably be ok But it looks like a collectors piece only unfortunately Hope you guys keep the anti-gun crowd at bay to prevent this happening In the UK now it would be legal as original and put on certificate to shoot Tony |
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You are saying it would be legal or illegal, Tony? Shameful to do this to it. |
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It needed a firearm certificate until 1990s as a cartridge rifle Now it would be an "obsolete calibre" and legal to have without restriction (which is what I thought it was) unless you wanted to shoot it then it would need a certificate Nothing is easy and straightforward here! Tony |
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I'd get the chambers sleeved and chambered back to the original 360 and shoot black powder only in it. May become a 360 3" of sorts though since it looks to have been reamed longer than 2-1/2" If you can't find a smith there willing to do that, I bet a buyer could be found in the US whom would be willing to have it done here. |
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Nice wall hanger. If nothing better can be done with it. I hope you didn't pay too much for it. |
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Could a modern rimmed case such as 470NE be sized/trimmed or whatever to fit the chamber, the chamber cast looks quite similar to a 470 case but if not maybe other cases around that could be used to fit the chamber. |
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Quote: My thoughts exactly. He can't "fix it" to shoot it as it no longer can be licensed for shooting. It was purchased as a non-shooting wall hanger. Those laws are stiff. Now, if someone here or in the States had it, it could be salvaged to shooting condition. |
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I believe the chambers can be sleeved by a qualified gunmaker. I would choose the gunmaker very carefully. Curly |
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Thanks for the input guys As Curly and Huvius have said the ideal would be to rechamber to the original .360 I will try to find a good smith who can make an insert (it is 12mm x 54mm parallel [.470 x 2.13"]) so would be relatively straightforward for the .400/360 2 1/2" without re making the extractors but will take advice on that and whether a simple chamber insert would be OK I would only shoot BP in it anyway Tony |
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It would be so nice, if you could make it work, again. |
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Quote: Amen to that, it really is a very pretty little gun indeed. It would be a criminal waste to see it turn into just a wall hanger |
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I see no problem to change the extractors by tig welding a piece of steel on this. |
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A restoration of the extractor should not cost you much money If that rifle was on my bench I'd have a hard time resisting doing whatever it took to get it running again It looks like it will handle like a magic wand I look forward to seeing how you do with it |
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I now find out that it was rechambered for a .410 x 2 1/2" case, to make it legally a shotgun (with no intention of it being used as a shotgun) which in the 1960s/70s was not uncommon in the UK at that time to prevent it being classed as a firearm for which a certificate was required GRRRRR I am chasing a guy who has made cases for me in the past to see if he can make an insert I have also talked to another guy who, as Lancaster says is able to TIG weld the extractors to fit the correct cartridge Many thanks for your input TH |