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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> Double Rifles

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rigbymauser
.400 member


Reged: 15/05/05
Posts: 1970
Loc: Denmark
.500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace)
      #342578 - 21/06/20 06:15 AM









Edited by NitroX (23/06/20 02:37 AM)


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tinker
.416 member


Reged: 12/03/05
Posts: 4835
Loc: Nevada
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: rigbymauser]
      #342595 - 21/06/20 03:22 PM

Exciting story!

--------------------
--Self-Appointed Colonel, DRSS--



"It IS a dangerous game, and so named for a reason, and you can't play from the keyboard. " --Some Old Texan...


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93x64mm
.416 member


Reged: 07/12/11
Posts: 3954
Loc: Nth QLD Australia
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: tinker]
      #342650 - 22/06/20 06:34 AM

440gn Woodliegh's soft?
I don't think so!


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264
.375 member


Reged: 15/02/11
Posts: 596
Loc: NT Australia
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: 93x64mm]
      #342652 - 22/06/20 07:31 AM

recovered from buff 440 woodleigh




Chris with good bull , projectile above.




another bull , borrowed Chris's thomas blisset 500bpe 23m shot didn't get up. hit a bit high . required a coupe more.


Edited by NitroX (23/06/20 02:40 AM)


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DarylS
.700 member


Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 26413
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: 264]
      #342659 - 22/06/20 09:53 AM

Well done and presented - WOW. Nice mushrooming as well.
Nice light-looking rifle. Looks close to a Henry pistol grip - guess they are all similar.

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V


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fraserdouble
.224 member


Reged: 06/06/06
Posts: 46
Loc: Australia
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: DarylS]
      #342664 - 22/06/20 11:45 AM

Wow, perfect mushroom. What load did you use?
Fraser


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264
.375 member


Reged: 15/02/11
Posts: 596
Loc: NT Australia
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: fraserdouble]
      #342674 - 22/06/20 08:11 PM

Chris, loads 500BPE felt wads x 2 , 440 RNSP, 55 gr -57GR for around 1750fps. straight out of the woodleigh manual.

The Thomas blissett is a nice slim rifle. Very well balanced.

Nice to shoot!

Not as powerful as some of. the bigger 500's but well placed shots its capable of the game we hunt.

Chris with another bull


Edited by NitroX (23/06/20 02:41 AM)


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fraserdouble
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Reged: 06/06/06
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Loc: Australia
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: 264]
      #342683 - 22/06/20 10:19 PM

Thanks, really similar power to the 400 x3” Jeffery.
Fraser


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rigbymauser
.400 member


Reged: 15/05/05
Posts: 1970
Loc: Denmark
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: fraserdouble]
      #342701 - 23/06/20 04:15 AM

Love more and that caliber.

Thanks for sharing pics from planet earth.
Wonderfull to see the ol' guns being used.
Inspiring indeed..


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3DogMike
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Reged: 29/01/15
Posts: 1404
Loc: Western Slope, Colorado USA
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(article by Bill Pace) [Re: fraserdouble]
      #342702 - 23/06/20 04:17 AM

Great story about a vintage rifle doing what it was made to do.
- Mike

EDIT: I should have noted his misspelling of the Jeffery name

--------------------
"Here's to killing people you don't like with people you do"

"Will Rogers never met a fighter pilot"
- Anon

“Always carry a flask of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake."
-- W. C. Fields


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NitroXAdministrator
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Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 39059
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: fraserdouble]
      #342703 - 23/06/20 04:25 AM

"Jeffrey"? He has the rifle and even enquires to its providence and doesn't know how to spell the name.

Who takes three different loads and bullets, maybe four? Woodleigh, Hard cast, two types of Hawk.

I don't know either way if the Woodleighs are soft or not. Certainly Mick's results show they work OK. Shooting behind a shoulder will work better than through the shoulder with a lighter rifle. And lighter or lesser jacketed bullet.

10 shots, with the first making a big hole in the heart???!!! Good "story"! More like the last. Or one of the later ones.

Still "shit" can happen.

Good story to read. And using an old hammer BPE.

Jens, thanks for posting. I increased the size to 1024 pixels, so I could read it better. Damn eyes.

Also just possibly, Bill Pace's experiments with loads and this article, and of course Mick's might prove very useful for me.


***

Mick, great stuff with the old .500 BPE. Shows they still work fine with good loads, bullets and good shooting! Enjoyed the photos.

Something about these old under lever hammer double rifles.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"


Edited by NitroX (23/06/20 04:39 AM)


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NitroXAdministrator
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Reged: 25/12/02
Posts: 39059
Loc: Barossa Valley, South Australi...
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: NitroX]
      #342704 - 23/06/20 04:29 AM

Nice cape buffalo trophy too.

The stomach of the buffalo in the first photo right at the top looks bloated from being in the sun. Maybe.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"


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Huvius
.416 member


Reged: 04/11/07
Posts: 3517
Loc: Colorado
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: NitroX]
      #342710 - 23/06/20 08:44 AM

I was a bit interested in a Jeffery with island locks - something of a Purdey specialty.
His Jeff has standard style Locks of the day, not island locks which are fully encircled in wood and don’t butt up against the action.
Still, a good read and some useful load info there.

--------------------
He who lives in the past is doomed to enjoy it.


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3DogMike
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Reged: 29/01/15
Posts: 1404
Loc: Western Slope, Colorado USA
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: Huvius]
      #342752 - 24/06/20 05:54 AM

Reading the article again it struck me that the author was trying 440 grain bullets with black powder and being unsatisfied with attained velocities.
This does not surprise me because the traditional period loads were typically using 340-380 grain bullets (Westley-Richards even offered 300 grain loads) to achieve express velocities.
Now, Holland & Holland did offer .500 Express 440 grain loads with BP and regulated some rifles for such, but that was Hollands thing.

That the author found success using Nitro for Black loads (H4198) with 440 grain bullets is not unexpected because 440 grain bullets were the accepted NfB Cordite load that would regulate in the older .500 BP Express rifles.

As noted; his is an entertaining story even if sprinkled with inaccuracies and head scratchers.....not a great resource for the uninitiated.
- Mike

--------------------
"Here's to killing people you don't like with people you do"

"Will Rogers never met a fighter pilot"
- Anon

“Always carry a flask of whiskey in case of snakebite, and furthermore always carry a small snake."
-- W. C. Fields


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Marrakai
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Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 3475
Loc: Darwin, Top End of Australia
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: 3DogMike]
      #342754 - 24/06/20 09:48 AM

Quote:

his is an entertaining story even if sprinkled with inaccuracies and head scratchers.....not a great resource for the uninitiated.



What Mike said!

I have difficulty understanding why some handloaders think that using nitro powder in BP doubles is risky:
The BP loads are typically 10 tons pressure with the express bullet,
whereas the regulating Nitro loads are usually around 7 or 8 tons, even with the heavier bullet!

--------------------
Marrakai
When the bull drops, the bullshit stops!
--------------------------------
www.marrakai-adventure.com.au


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85lc
.375 member


Reged: 19/01/18
Posts: 889
Loc: Georgia, USA
Re: .500 express goes to Africa(artical by Bill Pace) [Re: Marrakai]
      #342788 - 25/06/20 02:51 AM

Rigbymauser,

Thanks for posting. I read this when it was published and enjoyed rereading it today.

Has Bill Pace written anything else?

I also noted the misspelling of Jeffery but I probably am guilty of that also along with numerous other misspellings. For me, it is hard to remember whether it is "er" or "re", but then again, spelling is not one of my forte (though some may ask if I have a forte).

--------------------
RB


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