Gentlemen:
It's mid winter at my humble home in Alaska. It's dark most of the day so here are a few things to take away the solitude of the dark and cold winter.

First: high noon sun today.



First toy: A Hollis .577 3" bpe. 28" barrels, weight 11 3/4 pounds. A 6-dram, 650-grain rifle. I will begin to shoot it soon and play with powder coated bullets in this and my other doubles.





Second toy is a Baker 12-bore double rifle. 28 inch barrels, 2 1/2" chambers. Shoots 4 drams of FFFg 5 drams of FFg with equal accuracy. Rifled for a spherical ball.






Third toy is this Lang 10-bore ball and shot gun. Made about 1870 with 28" barrels and 2 7/8" chambers, she shoots shot out of the smooth bores and the rifle sights will place a 700-grain ball on target at 50 yards. Original case.



Last toy has an interesting story. In 2010 James Julia sold a Rodda 4-bore double, cased with reproduction accessories. A few weeks ago I bought this 4-bore mould from a collection in the UK, with the Rodda name and stamped with the rifle's serial number. A .970" diameter with the original hollow point pin. Weight is 4 1/4 ounces or just under 1900 grains. It now sits with several 4 and 8 bore accessories in my meger collection. Now, I want the rifle to go with it!





That's all for now, folks. Thanks for looking and enjoying my new treasures. The .577 will see a grizzly and caribou hunt in August.
Cal

cal, exquisite. Too nice to elaborate beyond that.

Love the look of hammers, under lever too. I picked up the Baikal 45-70 in classifieds a couple days ago. Lots of fun to shoot but I miss that sound of a gun cocking. Cal, Grizz with double hammers? Would make a great story and video.

Run em to me

I see that your Baker rifle has a Dolls Head like my Parker guns.

Cal

Stay warm, nice toys to break up the long dark days.

Nitro

Cal,

I think you are going to like it a lot if you move down to the South.

Wonderful and thanks for sharing. High noon takes on a whole new meaning!

I noticed a slight scratch on the Hollis' stock, clearly/obviously rendering it useless and valueless. I'll take it.

Nice to cuddle up to and keep warm!

Merry Christmas cal!

Thanks for sharing Cal. The 12bore double rifle was the `30-06` of the 1870s.
BTW just watch Sullivans ´use enough death`...all my Craig Boddington books is about to be dumpsterdumped....:LOL

Merry Christmas.

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
Thanks for sharing Cal. The 12bore double rifle was the `30-06` of the 1870s.
BTW just watch Sullivans ´use enough death`...all my Craig Boddington books is about to be dumpsterdumped....:LOL

Merry Christmas.

Sullivan is amazing. I hope my review of his videos three years ago and my articles in the African Hunter set the record straight of who he is.

I agree with your books of CB. I loved his older writings and have kept his early books. His later work, where he is selling himself and items for those that pay him a fee, I don't pay any attention to.

The 12-bore is fun to shoot and not get kicked into the next time zone. I have two 12s now so will sell one.

Cheers,
Cal

My favorite is the Hollis 577. Thank you

quote:

The 12-bore is fun to shoot and not get kicked into the next time zone. I have two 12s now so will sell one

Cal,

Does that mean because I have two 577's I need to sell one?

Regards,

Elk Hunter

quote:

Originally posted by elk hunter:

quote:

The 12-bore is fun to shoot and not get kicked into the next time zone. I have two 12s now so will sell one

Cal,

Does that mean because I have two 577's I need to sell one?

Regards,

Elk Hunter

Elk:
Of course not!!
In my collecting philosophy I like to have one example of each bore size: bpe, bore rifles, and nitro rifles. Right now I'm eyeing a small caliber Holland Royal and a Howdah pistol. Only have room for so many…
Come on up and join our double shoot May 6. Bring one or both of your .577s.
Cheers, mate.
Cal

Elk hunter, since I don't have a 577 you could share and I wouldn't complain:-) I worked up a good Hawk a 300gr soft and Northfolk 300gr CPS in my 405 double that keeps whispering lion in my ear.

Right now I have 2 feet of snow and some 4 to 6 ft. drifts and tomarrow is destined to be 15 below zero in Filer, Idaho, and my place is usually 5 degrees colder than Filer!! Maybe I'll come visit you CAl, at least for a few days!! oh yeah and there is a 25 MPH wind drifting all over Twin Falls and Filer..At times I wonder why the hell I left Texas!! Maybe it was that damn posse, and all the shoot'en.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Right now I have 2 feet of snow and some 4 to 6 ft. drifts and tomarrow is destined to be 15 below zero in Filer, Idaho, and my place is usually 5 degrees colder than Filer!! Maybe I'll come visit you CAl, at least for a few days!! oh yeah and there is a 25 MPH wind drifting all over Twin Falls and Filer..At times I wonder why the hell I left Texas!! Maybe it was that damn posse, and all the shoot'en.

You are welcome anytime. We are having a very mild winter here thanks to all those in the Lower 48 driving SUVs and using riding lawn mowers. I'm reloading nearly every day and my shooting shed is 70 degrees after the stove has been burning for one hour. I slide the window a bit and sight my rifle(s) to the 50-yard target. An adjustable rest for both the front hand/barrel and the right elbow gives a very stable standing position. Here are a few pics for you. From the top:

My standing rest was great, but a pain to use in the rain, snow, cold, and mosquitos (Which totaled is about 360 days of the year).

Inside of the shed showing the wood stove, sliding window, rifle rest and elbow rest.

12-bore Whistler sighting on a 25 yard target with the 50 yard stand beyond.

A good shooting day. 12-bore Whistler and a .500 Watson Brothers.

Close up the the 12-bore (this rifle is for sale).

.450 no2 target at 50 yards, ten shots (for those who say I can't shoot a double). Every double I've owned has shot to 50 yards as small as 1 inch or a large as 3 inches and in between.

No offense intended Cal, but after seeing those pictures I have to say, "Another great day to live in Texas!"

Stay warm!

Thank you CP for sharing that. It was a lovely thing to see.

Wicked Nice winter Shootin Shack... especially the elbow rest...
Only one question.... do left handed shooters turn around and shoot the other way?

quote:

Originally posted by Zephyr:
Wicked Nice winter Shootin Shack... especially the elbow rest...
Only one question.... do left handed shooters turn around and shoot the other way?

No sir. Lefties can use an elbow rest on a tripod.
It is amazing how much stability an elbow rest adds. And, I used to shoot in the winter in the cold and this is so damn nice and warm. The sliding window only needs to open 6 inches to shoot and not much cold comes in and the window is shut went not shooting. In the summer, I keep a coil burning so no bugs and mosquitos. I use it when raining. I guess I'm becoming soft in my old days. I remember shooting my .600 and 4 bores in the driveway at -30. No more!
Cheers all.
Cal

Hi Cal,

I would like to contract you to build me one of those down here in Arizona. However, we will need to exchange the stove for a 4 ton A/C unit.

Doable?

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Ahrenberg:
Hi Cal,

I would like to contract you to build me one of those down here in Arizona. However, we will need to exchange the stove for a 4 ton A/C unit.

Doable?

That can be done, no problem. You will save energy bills on cooking as you can boil potatoes and lobster in your pool and grill on the sidewalk or driveway.

When you mentioned the temp falling to 86, I was worried about your ability to cope in cold weather. Are you doing OK, my friend?
Cal

Cal,

I greatly appreciate your concern. Today we had a cold snap. It fell all the way down to 76. I broke down and had to wear a windbreaker for my bike ride today. It was so cold, I cut back from the usual 70 miles, down to just 40.

Please don't worry though, I'll be fine till at least spring (which begins tomorrow)