Forums.NitroExpress.com

I think it would be a hoot to have a DR in a .22 cal.
A hornet would be a lot of fun for hunting squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, etc.
There have been two hornets I have noticed in the past
year or two. One was a best quality SLE by Francotte
that Westley Richards had on their website. I lifted the
photos, as I am wont to do:

You might notice that this Francotte has an articulated
front trigger. You sure want that with the awesome recoil
of that caliber! Also the reinforced action. What a nice
piece of work!

The price on that little hornet wasn't small: US$29k. Even
so, it didn't take long to sell. Wish I could have bought it.

The other was a dandy SLE by Luccini that Griffin & Howe had.
For some reason I didn't get the pics. It was priced
about the same, and didn't linger long either. Whew! that's
a lot of $$$ for one of those little cuties!

A .22 Savage HP would be a little more fire and noise.
I've never owned a rifle in that caliber and don't know its strengths.

At Vintagers last September FAMARS had a nice boxlock DR
in .22 LR. It was a beauty and just tiny. Not a tiny
price, though: US$25k.

Galazan offers it's interpretation of the Fox in a .22LR.
I have seen one and would like it too. Big $$$ though.

I'm currently gathering the loading tools to shoot my
.280 Flanged Nitro Express. I think it will be a great
deer gun. I'll report when I make progress on the loads.

As stated before, my .300 Win Mag by Josef Winkler is
quite a shooter and very useful (as seen above). It
is regulated for the 220 grain RN bullets, so it means
business. It shoots 1 1/4" groups (4 shots) at 100 yds.
I have used it to hunt elk, and I have taken deer
and the two bears above.

In the past I have mentioned my Francotte SLE in 9x57R.
It's a wonderful DR. I shot it in the stalking rifle
event at Vintagers several years ago. For some reason
I haven't taken it afield to hunt. I'll have to do that.

Then the 9.3x74R. What a great caliber! I remember the
thread a year or so ago in which many members stated this
is the most versatile DR caliber of all. Really it's a
medium caliber, not a small bore. It's hard not to like a
9.3.

Everybody wants the big dinosaur boomers, but I can say
that once you get hooked on the small calibers you won't
turn back. I confess that I did kill a deer with my .500
Nitro this past fall, but I just wanted to bloody the rifle.
For North American hunting the .500NE is just a novelty.

Yeah, this is a great thread. You didn't have to tacky it
up with those bears!

Off to Las Vegas in 2 days. Maybe return with another small
to medium DR! I'll be looking.

Regards,
Curl

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RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.