Not looking to buy this rifle, but I am curious about the potency of the charge for this gun.
It is stamped 20gr NC, which I take to mean Nitro Cellulose, and a 405gr bullet.

What is this comparable to?
Seems like a very light load with any powders available today.

http://www.gunsinternational.c...cfm?gun_id=100732461

First, nitrocellulose in pure form is only slightly more stable than nitroglycerin. The closest propellant to pure nitrocellulose that I know of is cordite. IIRC, 65% nitrocellulose, 30% petroleum jelly and 5%???.

Anyway, the old British .303 military rounds with cordite had about 38 grains by weight. Again, this is all if my memory is anywhere close.

Nitrocellulose is the base component even in modern single and double base powders.


Please, if I have mucked up this explanation, somebody jump in.
Hope this helps some.

A lot of money for a dbl rifle that the barrels are not made by the OEM.

As a minimum it's an H&H Royal double rifle re-barreled to a 28 gauge shotgun by the original maker, H&H. Not bad, I would say.

On the .45-70 barrels, the LP over 75 is part of the proof marking and indicates they were London proofed in 1975.

As to the powder used in the maximum service load I think it is explained in the Rules of proof:

quote:

47. Barrels proved according to No. 11 of these Rules, shall be marked E.C. for powder known as "E.C." and SCH. for powder known as "Schultze", and for any other Nitro Powder, a suitable abbreviation indicating the same together with numbers showing the maximum service charge of powder in grains, and shot in ounces, that may be used...

I have no idea what powder N.C. stands for but it does not stand for Nitrocellulose.

Nitrocellulose is the primary ingredient in modern rifle powders. The second greatest ingredient is, interestingly, nitroglycerin. Norma provides a nice breakdown of the composition of their powders.

I have two doubles in 45/70, since the barrels were proofed in 1975. Most all of the ammo manufactures in that time period loaded at Trapdoor pressure levels. If I was lucky enough to own the H&H I wouold look to the standard 405 gr from Remington, Federal etc. Most of those are in the 1200-1300 fps range. For land loads start there and work your way up till you find where the regulation comes together.