Building and Engraving a .375 double barrel rifle

[Idaho Flint]

Looking great, thanks for sharing. This is very interesting to me.

please keep us up to date with your progress.

Mike

 

[highveldt]

Ready for proof firing/testing tomorrow if rain does not keep me from it.

Here are some more progress photos: Photos of results of making the two extractors from O-1 alloy steel--I used this steel as extractors on a double rifle need to be tough; photos of fixture I made to hold the extractors while I mill each one by 1/2 of the shaft diameter; photos of the assembled barrels and action ready for test firing.

 

[Boomhower]

Your doing some awesome work.

 

[highveldt]

The subject double rifle passed proofing testing today using the C.I.P. standard of firing two proof loads in each barrel.

 

[monk]

not sure if sam, the "landlord" approves. i do find this quite interesting. looking over the shoulder of one, such as you, is very interesting even tho not engraving.

 

[Marrinan]

I always thought that barrels on a double were connected at the breech then just wire wrapped and wedged to proof. Fred

 

[highveldt]

not sure if sam, the "landlord" approves. i do find this quite interesting. looking over the shoulder of one, such as you, is very interesting even tho not engraving.

Monk; Thank you very much. I am not sure Sam approves as well; and I am limiting my progress posts. I am now contemplating what kind game scenes of wild boars that I want to try to engrave on the action, as well as a general plan for the engraving. I will take suggestions quite readily.

 

[highveldt]

I always thought that barrels on a double were connected at the breech then just wire wrapped and wedged to proof. Fred

Marrinan; Thank you. I decided to proof this double rifle without muzzle collars, as there is some stress that is placed into the barrels when the "loop" and middle barrel connector/brace are brazed to the barrel set (even though I post heat treated the barrels); and I reckoned that if there was more stress in the barrels than I expected then the muzzle would be much less converged or more converged after the proof testing (I had rather discard the barrel set now than to find later that the barrels will not hold regulation). There was no measurable or visual change afterwards and I was pleased. I gave considerable though to doing this before I finally gave consideration that single barrel rifles are proofed without bracing the muzzle ever day.

 

[Big-Un]

Monk; Thank you very much. I am not sure Sam approves as well; and I am limiting my progress posts. I am now contemplating what kind game scenes of wild boars that I want to try to engrave on the action, as well as a general plan for the engraving. I will take suggestions quite readily.

The first thought that came to me was of a Russian boar coming at me from a low three-quarter view from his left side, mouth open, tusks gleaming and frothing at the mouth, like he's really mad! Maybe with an arrow or spear in his shoulder to set the scene up! Just my opinion. Of course, the spear goes against the double rifle, but the rifle could be the backup.

Bill

 

[highveldt]

Here are a couple of progress photos.

The double rifle is ready for point of impact regulation starting tomorrow.

Steve

 

[silverchip]

Been waiting a while to see how you are getting on with this project as it really shows what patients and great craftsman ship can produce!! Love it!!!!!!!!

 

[Omar Haltam]

looks amazing, thank you very much for sharing and good luck with the Engraving

 

[highveldt]

It has been a long time since April and my update on the double rifle building.

I worked all summer long to develop a .38-55 express load and changing barrel convergence to get the barrels to settle down to group. This 100 yard target was a set of 4 targets all together on a 24"x48" target board I set up to shoot right/left 2 shots per target; and this target was shot first two cartridges, then reload and shoot the second two cartridges. After I shot these two targets I quit and went back to the shop. Although this double rifle has taken me a year to build and regulate, it is the most accurate double rifle at 100 yards that I have ever built.

The cartridge I developed as you can see written on the target uses 3031 propellant and has a muzzle velocity of 22.5" barrels of 1,975 feet per second (fps). The chamber pressure is at maximum for the cartridge.

I have started on engraving the action first, as it is case hardened and I wanted to get the difficult long hours and broken Carbalt graver points work completed first; and then move to the lock plates as I annealed them.

 

[Diacutter]

This is amazing! I can't thank you enough for sharing!

Dave

 

[Crossbolt]

Nice.
Any reason not to engrave before hardening or am I missing something ?
Jeremy

 

[highveldt]

Jeremy;

Unfortunately the action was already hardened when I acquired it for the project. I could have annealed it, however annealing an action and then re-hardening it again will cause the action to shrink in size and some warping of the action as well as leaving the action with conditions that are not known. Some of these conditions that are not known can be cracks in the basic structure of the steel's molecular structure. This action is going to be subjected to pressures many times what it was originally used, and I do not want to risk possible catastrophic failure of the action in service. It should be understood that the steel hardened process subjects the action to temperatures as high as 1,400 to 1,500 degrees F.

Many people anneal and re-hardened actions, but I do not do it as I consider it (along with others in the trade) to be a bad practice from an engineering viewpoint due to the potential unknown steel chemistry conditions and the elements of how the action was originally hardened. The most distinct unknown of this action is that the steel alloy chemistry is unknown from the original steel supplier to the factory 55 years ago. If I had the heat treating equipment in my control where I could anneal and re-hardened in an inert atmosphere and control the temperatures (along with quenching temperatures) +/- 1 percent, then I might consider it.

The lock plates and the fore-end iron can be annealed, engraved and re-hardened without concern except for shrinking and warping the lock plates.

 

[Dave London]

Good info thanks, and beautiful work

 

[silverchip]

Very nice, Not a bad load for that cartridge. Can't wait to see it with the wood on!!!!

 

[Roger Bleile]

Two bullets in one hole, left and right, at 100 yards, is the most accurate double rifle I have ever heard of. Well done!

 

[highveldt]

Two bullets in one hole, left and right, at 100 yards, is the most accurate double rifle I have ever heard of. Well done!

Roger;

Thank you very much. It took nearly 3 months of work and more than 300 hand loaded cartridges.

Steve