I keep seeing requests here for information on how doubles are regulated. While I was in Germany last week, I spent an entire day with the head regulator going over each step.

What I ended up with was more video that anyone would ever want to watch on the subject... so I've cut it into smaller pieces that will demonstrate the process of regulating a double rifle.

Ulitmately, this will be produced into a real video with audio, etc... but you are getting the "raw" cuts here first.

Bear with me as the pieces come together and realize that you are seeing just a cross-section of a much longer process...

I. In the first clip below, you will find two shots at 50-meters.
Notice that the left barrel (second shot) is shooting low and a bit too close to the center-line of the target (near crossing.)



After the pair above is fired, the rifle then goes to rest for a couple of hours to allow the barrels to cool.



II. These second two shots in the clip below are simply to confirm the initial results above. Remember the old saying "measure twice and cut once?"

Now this may not be as impressive to some as it is to me, but notice that the consistency of the second two shots as compared to the first.

The camera angle is a bit different, but the second shot from the right barrel goes in the same hole as the first shot a couple of hours before. The left barrel is less than 3/8" off from the left barrel in the first pair. The caliber is a 500 NE, open sights only... and that my friends is a man that can shoot a double rifle!

That is a great idea Chris. I've been wanting to do just that for some time myself!

I've been toying with the idea of buying animation software so it can be completely explained in detail how the double rifle works, along with real actual regulation work at the bench all in a tutorial feature film.

That is something that has been needed for a long time, and it's time has come!

Most folks would be surprised how many people who have been shooting, and hunting with double rifles for years and still do not understand how they work!

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Just outside of the regulation room, there is a sink where the barrels are cleaned after firing.

III. If you've ever cleaned a blackpowder muzzle-loader, the idea here is similar. Pull water into the bores with a brush and flush out all powder residue, oil, etc, before the barrels are heated for regulation adjustment.



Of course the barrels are blown out with compressed air after cleaning with water, and the heat you're about to see will get rid of any remaining water that's left behind.

IV. Next step is to remove the sights.

Note the weep hole under the rear sight we are discussing... most of the time you see them on the bottom rib. This hole allows for two things 1) gas to escape while the barrels are being heated 2) it allows water to flow the length of the barrels when they are boiled.

Also, by placing it under the rear sight, it makes for a cleaner appearance on the barrel ribs.

Nice video Chris.It would be good to see a video with the rifle and target both in the video frame.Also a "toughness" test with six shots fired one after the other,using the same rifle to prove how good the rifles are at keeping their POI at 50yds with some copper fouling in the bore.
It would be good to see such a video that I descibed from any of the gunmakers.

That would be a good video indeed-a real life video showing the truth.AR members however dont need to see such a video because everyone of the shots they fired from a double shot in the bullseye
perfectly even at 50yds!
One thing is for sure,if a double can pop six 500NE rds in the bullsyes my eyes will pop out and I would certainly would be attracted to that double.

Step V.

Sealing the barrels before they are heated.



Shootaway - I understand your questions... give me a bit to get back to you with a reply. Thanks, Chris.

quote:

Shootaway - I understand your questions... give me a bit to get back to you with a reply. Thanks, Chris.

Chris, You're a saint...

Shootaway - The short answer to your question is that you have two primary factors impacting a double that aren't so impactful on a bolt gun's accuracy.

1) The coarse sights make it difficult to hold a consistent sight picture from shot to shot. They simply cover too much of the target to allow really "precise" shooting.

2) Barrel heat impacts doubles x2, and given that the two barrels are connected by a conduit for heat transfer, they tend to move POI more than a bolt gun.

Finally, the double (by design) is not intended to shoot tiny targets at long distances like a heavy-barreled 22-250. By the same token, a 22-250 that shoots "in the 2s" would make a pretty poor elephant gun.

We all like accurate and consistent rifles, but with a double, the intended target - and circumstances like distance, energy, bullet size, etc... must be taken into consideration.

Step VI

Nailing the ribs.

Step VII

Here are the barrels going into the jig.

What about the incense, Tarot cards, and incantations :-)

I think incense and Tarot cards, not so much. But I'm almost certain incantations are absolutely needed before the job is done. If one is trying to give up bad language, the vocabulary would have to be innovative and thought provoking.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
...Also a "toughness" test with six shots fired one after the other,using the same rifle to prove how good the rifles are at keeping their POI at 50yds with some copper fouling in the bore...

I did not have a video camera handy, but I did some load development recently, and I thought of your request above.

Here are 4 shots (two pair fired in sucession) with a 450/400 at 50-yards. These are 400gr Swift A-frames.



These are 400gr North Fork Cup Points from the same rifle (same shooting scenario as above.)



As a point of refrence, the orange dot is basically the same size as the front bead, and the top of the orange dot represents the top of the front bead of the sights.

Great result.

Cheers, Chris

Stupendous regulation!

quote:

Originally posted by new_guy:

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
...Also a "toughness" test with six shots fired one after the other,using the same rifle to prove how good the rifles are at keeping their POI at 50yds with some copper fouling in the bore...

I did not have a video camera handy, but I did some load development recently, and I thought of your request above.

Here are 4 shots (two pair fired in sucession) with a 450/400 at 50-yards. These are 400gr Swift A-frames.



These are 400gr North Fork Cup Points from the same rifle (same shooting scenario as above.)



As a point of refrence, the orange dot is basically the same size as the front bead, and the top of the orange dot represents the top of the front bead of the sights.

Almost as good as the regulation of my .577

Hopefully this is the 450/400 heading to Australia with us. I may need to borrow the rifle for a buff or two if I run low on 577 ammo

Something that groups that well,especially a double at 50yds for 4 shots, needs to be in a video showing both the shooter and rifle.I would add another 2 shots and make it six and video.
There have been many super accurate double rifle targets posted over time and they all meaning nothing to me without video.At least the video will show that the double is capable of shooting well.
If I was making doubles and they were good I would most certainly video the shooting.If they did not shoot well then I would do like everyone is doing and not video it.

Someone asked if this was complete. No, and sorry for the delay on the regulation video clips.

I will get these posted.