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Very Cool indeed, buckstix. I am surprised there is the paradox mould with the rifle, instead of a round ball mould, but then the word ball could as easily mean the paradox styled "ball".

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Excellent pick up Buckstix a seriously good rifle. I am sure you will have much pleasure owning and shooting it
The case and accessories a real bonus.......
Good luck shooting it and please keep us informed

TH44

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No one could have put it better!
Well done mate on such a grand purchase - very much looking forward to your results!

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Excellent pick up Buckstix a seriously good rifle. I am sure you will have much pleasure owning and shooting it
The case and accessories a real bonus

The reason for the full length "invisible" rifling is probably that Fosberry's patent of 1885 was still extant (I assume it covered partial rifling) and that full length would not be covered by it

Good luck shooting it and please keep us informed

TH44

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Anxiously awaiting the shooting results, we are.

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Very nice gun. It was my understanding that paradox guns were only rifled the last couple of inches of the barrels not the entire length. Is that incorrect?

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Nice!
I'll stay tuned for the field report.
:-)

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I am thinking that conical mould is for an explosive bullet. Lovely piece. Good allrounder as they were originally designed for. Look forward to the range report. Would have thought it would have had a ball mould as well.

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Wow they look pretty nifty there Buckstix! - how did you make that little gizmo???

Please enclose your 'recipe' as it is an invaluable source of information to us 'novices' when it comes to bore guns - sadly lacking in that field of knowledge for me!
As an after thought - what was the original BP load/wads etc for these?

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Hello 93x66mm,
Thanks for the reply.

The "gizmo" as you call it, was made from a brass 6-point "crimp-starter" insert from an old MEC 12ga shot-shell reloader. You could swap inserts to change from 6-point to 8-point crimps. Today they are made of plastic, but in the old days they were hardened brass. I had one laying around and got creative. Although they are no longer available, I see a few for sale on eBay for around $25.

I cut it off, and to keep everything in-lined, I soldered in into a brass sleeve that is a snug slip fit over the brass case. I then opened up the center to allow clearance for the bullet's nose. I made a another tool that matches the shape of the bullet's nose, that presses the bullet down into the case as the crimp is being formed. It weighs about a quarter pound so all it takes is a couple of thumps with the palm of your hand to do the crimp. The pictures below tell the story.

As far as my loading recipe goes, I'm using UNIQUE powder with Winchester brass cases. ?? grains of powder, covered with a tight fitting 1/8" thick card cut with the punch that came with the rifle, followed by five (5) 1/2" thick 12ga. fiber wads, with another 1/8" thick card under the bullet. Bullet was lightly finger lubed. I'm not going to publish powder weight until I have a chance to test it later today. Also, I'll first test the loads in a "cheap" modern 12ga double barrel shotgun to be on the safe side. When I dive into uncharted waters like this, (something I find myself doing quite often) I always try to be conservative. I don't want to harm this treasure.

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I've had good success with 8-point and 12-point sockets for this type of crimp on brass cases

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Excellent innovations, buckstix, on the loading and crimping. You will have to keep the brass well annealed. With that much movement, maybe after each firing.

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I agree with Daryl, the need to anneal the brass each time. Look forward to your range results. Clever use of the old brass crimp starter, well done.

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Hello Heelerau,
Thanks for the reply.

Here are the first range results. Not too impressive yet. But not a concern beause velocity for these should be 1000 fps to 1050 fps and and I'm at 855 fps. Increasing velocity should bring the shots together.

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Buckstix, Nice work on bringing those groups together! Could you give us some dimensions. What is the bore dia, rifling depth and twist rate? Also OL size and dia of bullet?. Thanks, Ed

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Hello Longknife,
Thanks for the reply.

There is no depth to the rifling. This is an "oval-bore" = .725 x. 735 and the bullet matches at .735 as cast. Twist is 1 turn in 28".

I load brass cases using a special crimping tool I invented. I offer these in the classified section to forum members at $150.

http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=335500&an=0&page=0#Post335500

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Here are the first range results. Not too impressive yet. But not a concern beause velocity for these should be 1000 fps to 1050 fps and and I'm at 855 fps. Increasing velocity should bring the shots together.

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Definitely a great set for reading brass cases, much better then my pva wood glue method.

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Hello 260rem
Thanks for the reply


here's an update ....

I've been busy making paradox crimping tools for my fellow shooters. Here's the latest tools ..

tool number 58 for 12 gauge



tool number 59 for 12 gauge



tool number 60 for 10 gauge



and number 3 roll crimper for 12 gauge paper hulls



thanks to all that had me make them a tool ... I am glad to make more if shooters need them.

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you need a stamp with a trademark, this will make it more easy for collectors in 100 years to identify the antique tools. "here we have a fine set of original "buckstix" 8 gauge crimper, hard to find"
very nice machined tools!

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you need a stamp with a trademark, this will make it more easy for collectors in 100 years to identify the antique tools. "here we have a fine set of original "buckstix" 8 gauge crimper, hard to find"
very nice machined tools!

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Hello,

I had a stamp made with my initials, but decided that "BS" was not an appropriate stamp.

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