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Well I guess I'm a sick puppy. I'm sitting here on a gloomy Sunday afternoon playing with two .577 BPE rifles. My Henry above, and my Watson below.





I can't for the life of me imagine why a man would need more than one.

For those who might be interested, my Henry is displayed at this link: Alexander Henry .577 Double Rifle

Curl

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Now you need a good well trained gun loader, a la a driven grouse shoot, but expert reloading and cocking the .577, for those mass driven elephant shoots.

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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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BTW even different makers, at least different "named" makers, are there any real differences between the two?

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John,

The rifles are quite similar, but there are subtle differences. Both are back action, hammer, Jones UL double rifles, the climax design of the black powder double rifles. So in that sense they are much the same.

Let me catalog some differences.

Chamber:
Watson .577 3" BPE
Henry .577 2-3/4" BPE

This gives the Watson a slight edge on ballistics. Standard ballistics of the day, comparing solid bullets, provided for the 3" round to fire a 610 grain bullet at 1650 fps. The 2-3/4" round fired a 560 grain bullet at 1650 fps. So there is a bit more payload with the longer round.

Weight:
Watson 12 lbs. 3 oz.
Henry 10 lbs. 2 oz.

The Henry is quite noticeably lighter and handier. The Watson is wider across the breech and more massive. For carrying all day, choose the Henry. To soak up recoil, choose the Watson.

Barrels:
Watson 26" fluid steel, Enfield rifled
Henry 28" fine Damascus, Henry rifled

Other dimensions and attributes:
The Henry has a length of pull 14-1/4"; The Watson 14-1/2". I'm tall with long arms, so the longer rifle fits me a little better.

The Henry's butt is checkered and fit with steel heel and toe plates. The Watson has a horn buttplate.

As for styling, the Henry is distinctly a Henry rifle. It has the exaggerated pistol grip so typical of Henry, and it also has steel heel and toe plates of a classic Henry double. The Watson is styled like a London gun. If it had flat sided hammers it would be indistinguishable from a Holland & Holland of the same period. Other London makers used round sided hammers and made essentially the same gun. Earlier H&H rifles are found with round sided hammers. The Henry is a best quality build for a maharajah. The Watson has somewhat less embellishment.

The Henry was completed October 11, 1890. The Watson was completed in 1896.

Both rifles have London BP proofs. The Henry was made in Edinburgh. The Watson was likely made in Birmingham, but it's impossible to know. Watson may have had made it themselves in London.

The Henry is housed in its original case with a full compliment of loading tools. The Watson is without a case.

So you see, they are much the same, with noted differences.

Curl

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RoscoeStephenson.com

YOUR DOUBLE RIFLE IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.



Edited by CptCurl (26/02/18 11:33 PM)

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Well I guess I'm a sick puppy.

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Yeah Rosco you are indeed a sick puppy.
You have the Double Rifle Addiction Virus and there's no certain cure!
You've had it for a long time now and it has a strong hold on you.
But then who'd want a cure anyway!

I am also a sick puppy and have suffered the same disease for a long time too.
Best illness I've ever had!

Jokes aside, man you have some beautiful rifles.
The Watson and the Henry, WOW, condition condition condition!
Stunning rifles both.

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Well I guess I'm a sick puppy. I'm sitting here on a gloomy Sunday afternoon playing with two .577 BPE rifles. My Henry above, and my Watson below.
Curl

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No good sitting in the dark you'll go blind playing with things!
Well done CC, brilliant pieces of kit, to have one is fantastic....but two!
Awesome!

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