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I’ve been spending far too much time on this and other DR & bigbore forum sites, also doing internet searches, and online gun auctions! Night before last ordered a copy of: “Building DOUBLE RIFLES on Shotgun Actions By W. Ellis Brown”, but guessing it’ll take a couple weeks to get here. Yesterday I bought a copy of “The gun and It’s Development” by W.W.Greener, and have been studying all my old Gun Digests & Shooter’s Bibles, also my gunsmithing books, have done multiple searches on this site (and others!) and still don’t quite completely understand the criteria for what makes a double shotgun a likely candidate for a double rifle conversion. I’ve got to be honest and admit that determining the strength of a break open gun lockup system has been a bit of a mystery for me over the years, and strangely enough, while reading and researching recalled my old gunsmith buddy/mentor Christian Helbig explaining it to me 40 years ago, but I don’t think it really sank in then either!

The old double rifle bug has bitten again after reading and rereading Teddy Roosevelt's "African Game Trails" 50 years ago (at the age of 10), along with Jim Corbetts "Maneaters ...", and anything else our library had on hunting in Africa and IndoChina and So. America (besides Alaska and B.C.) - those guys carried 450s & 475s & 500s ... in Purdy doubles! I'll probably never hunt outside of Maine and certainly don't need a double but I've always bird hunted and occasionally deer hunted with my Rossi hammer double coachguns! They carried and (for me) swung nicely in our heavy cover here on the farm, I'm loading 12,20 & 410 brass cases with o'size CircleFly wads and that should satisfy, but after years of drooling over double rifle ads (more expensive than a new car back then even!) when I saw the first Kodiak 45-70 news ... I was hooked, kind of. There was talk of 2 sets of sights instead of proper regulating, also talk of sometimes mediocre quality, and they were a little pricey even back when - though after seeing the new prices, wish I'd bought one back when! Id love a new SIACE Yukon or Pedersoli Kodiak 45-70 hammer double, either in fitted hard case with spare 20ga tubes, be lucky to find one used for $3,500- (could've done that last year!) - new around $10,000- for the upper end (don't think I could've justified that either!).

Short of selling 4 or 5 (or more) of my rifles to do it, I'll likely never be able to afford a cartridge double rifle (too bad I don't enjoy muzzleloaders more - Pedersoli's frontstuffer doubles are under $1,000-). As I'd explained, I love my Rossi hammer double shotguns and unless somebody convinces me not to for some rational reason, am considering picking up a couple more as I can buy them for around $250-. I'm thinking about a 50-110 or 45-90 on a 20ga frame (though afraid I'd probably have use a 12ga frame), maybe a 38-55 or 25-35, or 32-40 on a 20ga. I've got to believe they're reasonably strong as all were factory chambered for 3" shells, are double lug mono block actions with a Greeley crossbolt on earlier production. The actions are blued - never seen a casehardened, nicely fitted on earlier '70s/early '80s production. I haven't cut one up ... yet, but I can almost see the barrel/block junction under the engraving - looks like they'll come apart okay with some heat and I'm thinking of turning a couple Green Mountain blanks to a 24/25" length w/appropriate contour, maybe a fine thread plus solder in the block. There's still a new extractor to be built and fitted, 2 chambers to cut, unless strictly low pressure black powder loads (and even if so) firing pins look a bit fat and I'm guessing will need to be bushed. I haven't mentioned or forgotten new barrel ribs and wedges, plus soldering plus sights plus playing with loads and reregulating, etc. - not a walk in the park by any means!

I'm not thinking about this for just "cheapskate and practical reasons", but because: 1.) I can buy another 20 and 12 Rossi for around $500- for the pair, not breaking the bank or forcing selling other guns to afford it, 2.) Though no longer in production they're reasonably readily available should I need another down the road, 3.) Later production guns have an undrilled Greener rib extension on the barrels and no top crossbolt on the action - though locks and triggers, etc appear to be identical - plan would be to fit up an undrilled for crossbolt set of shotgun barrels to a crossbolt equipped action to end up with a rifle w/spare shotgun tubes w/fitted forend for each (leftover spare buttstock, action and sidelocks too!), 4.) available in both 20 & 12 (shame no 16 too!), so can build reasonably nicely balanced double rifle, 5.) I could end up with 2 hammer doubles in large lower pressure black powder cartridges which are not widely commercially available in higher pressure smokeless loads and mark for black powder only, with shotgun barrels to boot. I prefer hammer guns w/only 1/2 cock safety, I've hunted with these Rossi guns since I special ordered one 35 years ago, price aside I can't realistically get a new Pedersoli in my favorite rimmed calibers (except for 45-70). I don't know that I'll finish one conversion much less two, but handled properly I'd only hack up 2, not all 4! If you're aware of any logical engineering/gunsmithing reasons that these Rossi guns are not as sensible a candidate for conversion as an older hammer double or other modern European/Chinese hammer double/coachguns, please advise! I haven't loosened up mine, or heard of anyone else doing so - are there better hammergun candidates I'm missing. If I proceed with this I need to close the deal on 1 or 2 gun purchases very shortly, and though I could resell them readily without losing my shirt, hate to do so - between FFL copies and lots of emails and shipping and GunBroker fees, I don't need the aggravation! Just wish I knew for sure they were metallurgically as good as my Rossi leveractions, and that the Brazilian built action was mechanically equal to others out there!

Any help or experience or speculation would be appreciated, Thanks, Joe (hobbyguymaine)