Well, I finally arrived at a light practice load that works in my double rifle. 75 grains of IMR 3031, Fed 215 primers (probably not critical), Bell cases (ditto), some dacron fibers on top, and a Hawk 350 grain .035 bullet, diameter .474 (NOT .475).

I've had problems getting the breech to close without forcing it. Between chamfering the case mouth and the slightly smaller bullets (custom order from Hawk - nice folks!), this cartridge loads easily and shoots to the regulated point of aim at 50 yards. More or less, anyway.

Shot a box of them today, and was absolutely having a wonderful time. Thought I would share. I got the loading data from this forum, and my only improvement was the chamfering and the slightly smaller bullets, apparently needed for my Chapuis.

Hope this helps some other folks. As for me, practice is looming ever larger as both enjoyable and necessary. I leave August 28th to go use the 470 for real. :>

HT

Glad to see that load worked out. It also shot good in a friends 470 Chapuis.

That should be a great load for deer and wild pigs. I would estimate the velocity around 2330 fps based on my loads with my 450/400 and my 450 No2.

Once again the 75% rule has proven to work.

Thanks, 450. Talk about contrast - I also fired 5 full loads today. First shot, I hit my cheekbone with my thumb. Second shot was better, but my cheek felt like I'd been uppity with someone in a bar. Third shot, and I had a slight headache. Yup, the plinking loads are better for practice, and you never feel the recoil of the full loads in the field.

Appreciate your load info !!

HT if your thumb hit your cheekbone you had "shoulder collapse". The technique for shooting a hard kicker is different than for a lesser rifle. To prevent that try the following, pull the rifle into your shoulder HARD with your "trigger" hand and your "off" hand. Make sure your off hand elbow is pointing straight down to the ground. Place your face on the stock HARD. Lean into the recoil. What you are trying to achieve is that your upper body, including your face recoil as one with the rifle, thus bending at the waist. Your shoulder should not collaspe and your face should not slide foward on the stock. In other words your upper body and the rifle are one unit.
Shoulder collasping is what causes a shooters hand to slide backwards and hit the back trigger on the double causing a double fire.
Practice this with the 350 grain loads and then shoot a few 500 grainers.

If your going to Africa and intend on shooting something big and mean, you better dump those lady loads and learn to shoot it at full tilt, or you'll be in trouble from the start....If thats not feasible then take a lighter gun is my suggestion....

Shooting light loads in a DG rifle is folley..better to shoot a bigger gun then the lesser gun seems mild...Lots of folks shoot a 30-06 all the time and it never helped them shoot a 458 IMO.....

Sorry to disappoint, but the thumb hitting the cheek came from the muzzle rise on this thing, not a shoulder collapse. Short overall length of barrel and action being the major contributor. Good advice though to use all of your body possible to absorb the recoil on the big ones.

By way of explanation, I've fired plenty of rounds through a 458 win mag, a 378 wby., and 375 wby (that kicked a lot at 6.5 lbs.). I've also fired a couple of hundred through the 470, gotten 4 animals in Africa with 14 shots (no misses - yet). Also, no double firing by hitting both triggers accidentally.

So I'm not unaccustomed to needing to get the stock firmly into the shoulder. And I'm not afraid of firing the dang things. It's just that for practice, I'd rather not abuse either myself or the gun if I can find a suitable alternative. To each his own, I guess.

HT
Increase the back and downward pressure with the hand and arm that is grippiing the forearm.
I never notice the recoil when shooting at game, the same is true of anyone who does not have a flinch. However like you I like to shoot my doubles quite a bit in practice and to hunt lighter game to become familar with them. By using a 350 grain bullet you cut down on the recoil, lessen the stress on the rifle and you are using a bullte more suitable to the game being hunted. I think it is an excellent way to get used to your double.
It is a shame to pay big bucks for a double and only use it in Africa. I have a tremendous amount of fun hunting with my doubles in North America. I have hunted with them in Texas, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska for the past seven years. When I went to Africa this June I was completly familar with the doubles.

HT,

The human neck, shoulder and nervous system is only certified for a finite number of heavy recoil cycles. That number is different for different people, but it is indeed finite.

There is an article by Ronald Yerian titled "Fun With A .470 N.E. Double" in the January 2004 issue of The Accurate Rifle. He developed some plinking loads that might serve your interests.

On practice bombing missions in our squadron we dropped a little blue practice bomb called the BDU 33. It simulated the ballistics of the MK 82 500# GP bomb at short to medium ranges. It was not the same as dropping six full sized live bombs to be sure, but there was less wear and tear on the planes and range. The money and maintenance savings allowed us to fly many more practice missions, so we were a lot sharper when it was showtime.

JCN

Send a PM and I'll mail you a copy of the article.