Anybody have experience with the Pedersoli Kodiak in any caliber, quality, accuracy etc. Are they worth buying?

I own a kodiak double in 45/70. The fit and finish is very nice. When they let me I use mine in the long range rounds of cowboy action shooting. Off hand with cowboy loads I havent missed yet. For the money I thinks its a fine gun.
Dean

I also have one in .45/70. It is a well made gun. I have been toying with the idea of converting it to .450 No. 2 Nitro Express for two years now. Several members here have done this with good results.

Mine is a 9.3x74R. Whether they are worth buying is a matter of price. New they can be pretty expensive, potentially competing with hammerless doubles like used Chapuis or Merkel.

I am pleased with mine, although I still have a lot to learn about it.

I've got a 45/70. I've also thought of having it chambered to 450NE #2. It shoots pretty well. With iron sights, it'll shoot factory 300gr Winchesters into 2" at 50 yds. It shoots the winchesters and the 405gr Remington's all into an index card at 50 and 100yds. Groups are 2 shots each barrel.

Steve

Thanks Gentlemen i have just discovered them and know nothing about them. Just wanted to make sure that they were of good quality before I start a search for one.

One of our DRSS members PWN375 had a Pedersoli 45/70. He converted it to 450#2 NE.

He did not even have to have it re-regulated.

The rifle was a bit lite for that round. I believe that he discribed the recoil as "brisk".

He used it in Africa and he said it did a great job.

hammer gun...
not to my tastes...

dave pedersolli claims do not exceed 28,psi

remington/russo-double

not a hammer gun

claims 33,k psi

WAY light!!

going in my gunsafe

jeffe

quote:

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Originally posted by jeffeosso:
dave pedersolli claims do not exceed 28,psi

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In the 9.3x74R the pressure is higher. Pedersoli advised me that they regulate to a load at 3000 bars or 45,000 psi. I haven't checked the conversion from bar to psi. Of course, I suspect there is a lot more metal in the samller bores because they are built on the 45-70 frame and barrel blanks. I have not verified this.

For fun shooting with the factory express sights the 45-70 should be fairly cheap to shoot and powerful enough for North American hunting at express-sight ranges (I know some people can hit at long distances with express sights, but I am not in that club).

To amplify my earlier price comments, the dollar/Euro exchange rate has pushed up the price of the new Pedersolis to the point where a used hammerless gun might be competitive. Some of those guns may be trimmer and point better than the Pedersoli.

I'm still very happy with mine and got into it for a lot less than any of my other options (actually my wife gave it to me, but she got a decent deal). It has already taught me that doubles are a lot of fun and that I have a lot more to learn about using them effectively.

You may hear back from MacD37/Dugaboy either here or at NitroExpress.Com where I think you asked the question as well. He has seen and used the Pedersoli, the Merkel, and the Chapuis (and probably most other doubles available now or in the past) and can give you a much better critique.

Bar to PSI conversions seem to be not so straightforward as a simple mathematical formula when the difference between measuring systems is added in as a variable. French reloading manuals state whether the measurement in BAR was C.U.P. or Piezo and leave conversions to PSI to the reader.

I have on that is now has been re-chambered to 458 RCBS. It shoots like a dream. Last year I took a nice kudu with it at 95 yds., and a very good impala at around 125 yds.

The 9.3 is built on a smaller frame than the .45-70. There's lots of barrel around the .45-70 chamber and bore.

JJ at Champlins and McKools both indicated that the rifle was plenty strong enough for the .450 NE #1 or #2 conversion. JJ recommended against it, though. He said that if the barrels didn't regulate with reloading in the new chambering, regulation would be difficult (and expensive) due to the way the rib was soldered to the barrels.

Steve

quote:

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Originally posted by skl1:
The 9.3 is built on a smaller frame than the .45-70. There's lots of barrel around the .45-70 chamber and bore.

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Thanks for the information. Have you been able to compare and handle them side-by-side? If so, did one version seem to balance or handle better than the other? My 9.3 seemed a bit barrel heavy when I first got it (and they have shorter barrels than the 45-70) but with more use it seems more natural.

quote:

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JJ at Champlins and McKools both indicated that the rifle was plenty strong enough for the .450 NE #1 or #2 conversion. JJ recommended against it, though. He said that if the barrels didn't regulate with reloading in the new chambering, regulation would be difficult (and expensive) due to the way the rib was soldered to the barrels.

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Champlins expressed concerns to me as well, although it was George Caswell and not J.J. Perodeau. He indicated concerns about the rate of twist properly stabilizing the heavier bullets and with the frame size. I was also worried about spending the money for the conversion and then being only half done -- possibly needing an expensive re-regulation with silver-soldered barrels.

I was afraid if I bought the 45-70 I would feel that I needed to do a conversion, whereas with the 9.3 I don't have that issue. However, the 45-70 will do anything in the U.S. that I am likely to do with the 9.3 and the ammunition is cheaper.

quote:

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Originally posted by jeffeosso:
hammer gun...
not to my tastes...

dave pedersolli claims do not exceed 28,psi

remington/russo-double

not a hammer gun

claims 33,k psi

WAY light!!

going in my gunsafe

jeffe

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Is the Remington/Russo the same gun as the EAA double?

Thanks,
Terry

quote:

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Originally posted by TC1:
Is the Remington/Russo the same gun as the EAA double?

Thanks,
Terry

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Yes, although some have indicated it might get some cosmetic changes (or did I just imagine that I read that?).

I bought a used one in 45-70 that had a custom aperture sight like an Ashley or A/O express sight. Very good system! I shot it a bit as a 45-70 and killed a few deer, hogs and one coyote at about 75 yards. It was certainly accurate enough to make kill shots on big game to 100 yards. I had McCools in Tulsa, OK rechamber it to 450 NE #2. The only change with 480 grain loads at 2150 fps was it shot 3 inches lower at 50 yards. A simple adjustment of the rear sight brought the POI up. Recoil was a religious experience with the factory pad, but you don't expect a maiden's kiss when you shoot an elephant rifle.

I used this rifle to take a giraffe, eland and make the finest running shot of my life on a wildebeest running flat out right to left in front of me at about 50 yards. I hit him with a soft through the lungs and a solid high in the shoulders for a spine shot before he made it into the bush. The bullets all appeared to stablize and I got full penetration with solids on the giraffe, eland and wildebeest. The giraffe was shot at a distance of 50 yards for the first shot and about 125 for the second. They can take punishment and cover distance very quick even with a heart shot.

My PH fell in love with the gun and eventually he managed to buy it and secure the proper permits and license. Ivan is still shooting the rifle and reports it has about 600 rounds through it without any trouble. So I needed another Pedersoli and found one with a factory case, sling and 20 gauge barrels for a good price.It is every bit as accurate as my first and I have taken hogs, deer and a bear with it. I was going to rechamber it to 450 NE, but have decided to keep it as a 45-70 as I enjoy shooting it in that caliber and I have a Kreighoff 500/416 for the heavy work. Old Sarge is going to purchase it one of these days when he scratches up the price. Until then I will shoot it when I want to hunt with a double at less than $10.00/round and don't want the recoil abuse of the 500/416.

They are great guns for the money, build like tanks, have a very traditional appearance and a bunch of fun to mess with. A guy can get into the NE game for less than $3,500.00 if he buys at the right price.

Perry

Charles,

Yes, I had a chance to try both dbl rifles side-by-side (pardon the pun) at the Hamburg Cabelas. The 9.3 was a lot lighter. The fit on that particular rifle was not as nice as on either of the two .45-70's they had. Both rifle models balanced about 1.5" ahead of the hinge pin (i.e. barrel heavy).

That's about where I like the balance point for my rifles and shotguns, though, as they seem to swing better for me without being so unbalanced that they are difficult to carry.

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully I will be successful in convincing myself that one double will do for now.

Jack Huntington says that the difference in the rim thickness can be easily fixed by brazing a steel washer of correct thickness into the rim recess for the 45/70, then rechambering for .450 NE with its thinner rim. Apparently he has done this at least once and absolutely loves the conversion. These things seem to go for $16-1700 used at the various online auctions. The conversion itself costs around $250, more or less, and then there are your reloading expences. As Perry said, well under $3500 for a genuine double rifle elephant gun. Since I'll never be able to afford a Searcy, I'm still trying to sell off enough other things to buy Perry's. Anyone want a .450 Rigby?

Gentlemen

I would like one of these in 303 A 450NE would very sweet

Cheers
/ JOHAN

JOHAN,

Your post brings back some memories. I have seen and shot a few 303 double rifles but never an outside hammer one. I wonder whether anyone makes a 303 double these days. It would be a lovely gun instead of some of the double 444 Marlins and similar rounds that seem to come out of some European shops these days.

Good hunting!

According to the Pedersoli site the twist is 1:18