If any of you gentlemen may be interested Simpson LTD has one under $700.00

Fred

I can't believe no one is jumping on this rifle. They usually sell for $1200 - $1600.

Dixie currently has one for sale for $1550.
Cherry's lists them as special order for $1470.
Safari Outfitters had one for $1295.

$695 is a super bargain.

Maybe this forum is not frequented by black powder shooters looking for a new rifle??

It's sold already.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
It's sold already.

OK BIEBS, YOU TALKED ME INTO IT.

I even got a $20 "good guy" discount for being a repeat customer.

I designed a special conical bullet for it. The mold is on order.

You're a wildman! From conicals to cannons :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
You're a wildman! From conicals to cannons :-)

Hello Biebs,

I had one of these double rifles in 58 cal about 30 years ago. I didn't know much about ballistics back then, and the 900g Hoch bullet that I designed, didn't stabilize and the rifle shot erratically all over the place. Since then, I have acquired specialized software to design bullets, and analyze twist rates required to make sure the bullet will stabilize. I bought this rifle as more of a "good deal" and "fun project" rather than as a practical addition to the arsenal.

I owned one of these in .58 caliber. I didn’t like having to use two sights for each barrel. These would be a real treat if regulated for only one sight for both barrels. Nice rifles for the money.

Buckstix, isn't 9000 grains a bit heavy for a .58 calibre?

Whoops, my mistake, I read the weight as 9000 grains.
But even 900 seems a mite heavy.

Rik, Buckstix shoots 16 pounders out of his cannons, so 900gr is a pipsqueak to him :-)

quote:

Originally posted by mdstewart:
I owned one of these in .58 caliber. I didn’t like having to use two sights for each barrel. These would be a real treat if regulated for only one sight for both barrels. Nice rifles for the money.

Hello mdstewart,

Back "in the day", my .58 cal actually shot acceptably to point of aim with one sight out to 25 yards with both barrels when using patched round balls. And, by varying the load in each barrel, I was able to get acceptable point of aim out to 50 yards. (80g FFg in the right barrel, and 90g FFg in the left barrel)

Back then, I was primarily using it for deer hunting here in Wisconsin during our muzzle-loader season, and not likely to need fast reloading if both shots missed. (the deer would be long gone) Unlike pre-loaded cartridges for breech loaders, where the cartridges might get mixed-up when using different loads for right and left barrels, it was easy to keep track of right and left barrel loading before the hunt.

However, I think regulation is strictly "random" with these doubles and hence the two sets of sights.

It will interesting to see how this one does when I get it in hand.

quote:

Originally posted by rikkochet:
Whoops, my mistake, I read the weight as 9000 grains.
But even 900 seems a mite heavy.

Hello rikkochet,

That was a typo that I later corrected.

Like I said, I didn't know much about ballistics back then .... and a 900g bullet was a heck of an "az-kicker" .... that 900g bullet flattened out to over 2-1/2" in dia when fired into soft sand ... but it didn't stabilize.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Rik, Buckstix shoots 16 pounders out of his cannons, so 900gr is a pipsqueak to him :-)

Hello Biebs,

Actually, its only 12 pounds out of my cannon.

Wouldn't it be great to be buckstix's neighbor? Listening to those big guns firing would be like the song of the sirens!

Andy#3

quote:

Originally posted by Andy#3:
Wouldn't it be great to be buckstix's neighbor? Listening to those big guns firing would be like the song of the sirens!

Andy#3

Hello Andy#3

I live in the city ......

I have had one of these rifles but .58 cal that I have had for about five years and have yet to even load it much less fire it. I also have a 50 cal TC Hawken that I won in a football pool 20 years ago that hasn't been fired either.

I have several muzzleloaders both pistols, and rifles that I used to hunt with many years ago but now are only decorations in my trophy room. Just can't seem to get excited over black powder anymore!


………………………………………………………..

quote:

Originally posted by buckstix:
It will interesting to see how this one does when I get it in hand.

Well, its been a while, but the weather has cleared and I finally got out to the range to test my Pedersoli 72 cal Black Powder Double Rifle. Recoil was stout, but totally acceptable.

So far I've only tested the 535g Hollow Base bullets from my custom mold. I'm very pleased with the results. (see below)

This target was shot using only one of the folding sights. I'm starting to think that the 2 sights are for zeroing for 2 different ranges, much like the folding leafs on a conventional double rifle.

Later today, I'll try testing the 695g Solid base bullets to see how they compare.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it looks like this rifle likes the 695g bullets a little bit better than the 535g ones.

Slightly lower velocity, with less powder, equals only about 4 more ft/lbs recoil - 66 ft/lbs vs 62 ft/lbs. I'm very pleased with how this turned out and intend to get rid of those ugly "adjustable" factory sights and replace them with a set of conventional 2-leaf sights.

With either bullet, I'm ready for Wisconsin's 2019 Muzzle-Loader season this Fall.