I been watching this thread about LRH270 and his difficulty in getting his new Chapuis to shoot properly and to be honest I am concerned since I am in the current group buy. My question is:

Who of you here own a Chapuis 9.3x74R and how does it shoot? It would be nice if you posted the ammo you used with your results as well. Let's try to stay on post and keep the subject to the Chapuis owners.

Snowwolfe, I don't own a Chapuis rifle but I've shot several, and seen even more shot, and I've never seen one that wasn't accurate as all get out! I watch Tony shoot a coyote with his at 270 yds, hitting it with one shot from each barrel. He's also taken Kudu, an othe african game in the 200 to 300 yds range!

I think LRH270 is just useing the wrong load, and so the rifle will not regulate. Of course the rifle could have been damaged in shipment, or he may have shot ammo with monolithic solids in the rifle and damaged the joint between the barrels. This has happened with Chapuis rifles before, and the damage is not limited to Chapuis, many others have been damaged the same way! I wouldn't worry about your rifle, just get with Tony,(NE 450 No2) and and get some of his load data, to try in your rifle right off the bat, and go hunting! Don't worry!

SNOWWOLFE :

DON'T START WITH HAND LOADS.

buy factory ammo - the same as they say it was regulated with. if that works, then chrono it , use the same bullet and work to find the powder that duplicates the velocity.

as i told the unlucky chap - he has a defective rifle. there is no question about it. or he just cannot shoot worth a shit.

in any event instead of playing around on the range and the forum seeking some holy grail load he only needs to ask what the supplier is going to do to make this right.

if he doesn't do that by tomorrow evening he is definitely non compus mentus and beyond help.
SAD, VERY SAD.

just to add my two cents to this very depressing situation,I am not very experienced at doubles or most guns for that matter,the Chapuis was my first double,I did try to duplicate the velocity that I got with Norma 286gr ammo,I was told that was what it was regulated for!
I had no problems & the Chapuis was an easy,did I say easy gun to shoot very accurately,If you are in the market for one,I would whole heartedly recommend one!
You must however have some basis for your reloading expertise,know how to shoot & know how to use fillers as well & please do not panic if it does'nt go right at first! there is a learning curve,before you call the gun defective,make sure you have given it a fair chance!

It might help if folks add when their rifles were built or when they acquired them.

The issues being discussed are new to most current Chapuis owners, and it is possible that the issue is limited to newer rifles.

The ones I have handled and shot over the last two years were very nice and quite accurate.

quote:

he may have shot ammo with monolithic solids in the rifle and damaged the joint between the barrels.

Nope

To maintain the interigty and accuracy of this thread I would like to hear from others who own or who have personally observed friends shooting their Chapuis doubles in 9.3x74R.
Feedback such as provided by MacD37 and Bill74 is very valuable. Not only does it help individuals such as myself learn as much as we can before our rifles arrive but it serves others who are considering purchasing their first double.
Surely some of you have chroned factory loads and can offer some handloading data to help us save time and get us on target as soon as possible.
Thank you

Also, buy Graeme wright's book. I bought a Brno 375U/O in 1983, tried some loads I thought were appropriate for Australian game (270gn factory), decided it didn't shoot and left it in the safe for 13 years.

Bought Graeme Wright's book in 1996, had it shooting in one range trip and now it is my favourite general purpose rifle (groups 2MOA with and without scope and with a mix of 250gn and 300gn projectiles).

regards,

mike

BTW I now had six doubles and shoot little else.

I have Graeme's book and sleep with it under my pillow between trips to the range............

I no longer own a Chapuis but did own a UGEX in 9.3x74r and shot it extensively. Mounted a Leupold VariXIII 1.5x5 in Ruger rings and it was a fine shooter with almost anything I put thru it from Norma,RWS factory to my handloads. I am a big fan of this rifle and most days wish I hadn't sold it. I DON'T have Graeme Wrights book and in fact I don't even know who he is or was so I can't really comment on that aspect of double rifles. I have been shooting and loading for doubles since 1952 and really don't have much trouble trying to duplicate the load the rifle was regulated with. However I don't play around with bullet weights and powders. Just try to stay as close as possible to the load it was built for. I have a new Merkel 8x57JRS and will load for it. It presents a problem in as much as I don't know WHAT it was regulated for. No test targets came with it as is normal. All I can do in this case is try and start with the available factory loads and go from there. If it will shoot as good as my Chapuis did I will be happy.

Zim,
How about posting some of your loads that shot so well?
I would certaintly appreciate it.

Snowwolfe,
The load that I used in my Chapuis and in both my Valmets was 55gr of IMR4064 with 286gr Woodleigh Soft, Norma case, Federal 215 primer. It would consistently shoot 2 rounds into 1 1/2" at 100yds with scope. By that I mean 1 left and 1 right into 1 1/2" perfectly centered with left barrel always about 1/8'-1/4" high. I have actually fired single barrel groups with both barrels that were consistently within 1" for 3 shots. I have always been most concerned with what 1 right,1 left fired close together in time would do as that's what the rifle was designed to do as I see it. I tried some 193gr RWS T-mantel soft point flatnose bullets but they were .364 and would not shoot in the Chapuis at all. They did pretty good in one of the Valmets though not under 2". The 286gr Nosler Partitions would not group as well as the Woodleighs with groups opening up to about 2". I never played with any other powders at that time as I had no complaints with IMR4064. As I have said I'm not much of an experimenter with loading and stay strictly within the book. I don't have a chronograph so can't go by anything but the book values. I really liked the 9.3x74r except for the case life of Norma cases which was all I could get at the time. I have split both Norma and RWS of that period and found the Norma to be really thin at the base. I also had an Otto Geyger in 8x60rs that I really liked and it shot like a benchrest rifle. I mounted a Swarovski in Leupold Double Dovetail rings (I might add since I have taken a lot of flak on a forum here from people who have no tolerance for modifying a classic that It could be returned to original when I finished) The only problem was I was never able to buy ANY factory ammo and had to make cases from 9.3x74r brass. RCBS makes the dies but it entails forming,trimming and neck reaming . Could only get 2 loads from the Norma brass as opposed to 4-6 out of RWS and Sellier & Bellot. I never cast the Geyger chambers but they must have been cut to absolute max dimensions. After firing the first reload the ring would appear on the base and if you split the case you could SEE the incipient seperation. I have a new Ruger No1 in 9.3x74r and am eager to get back to loading and shooting it, but already have had a problem finding brass other than Norma. Have some of it on order so will know if it has been improved in the ensuing years. Incidentally this all was almost 10 years ago with the 9.3 and about 4 or5 with the Geyger so I have no idea what the current state of improvement is.

Zimbabwe,
the new Norma brass will give you no problems,it is improved,it weighs in heavier than the old brass,I have at least 5 reloads out of my brass so far with no problems,I have also tried IMR 4064,with both the Lapua mega & the speer 270 & it works very well!

I have a 9.3 but have not finished regulating. I just shot some reloads to get the feel of the recoil and trigger characteristics. I have some factory ammo to shoot this weekend. Good luck with the 9.3s and God Bless. Packy

PACKY

we will all wait with baited breath to see how the factory loads shoot in your rifle !

two years ago i had a chapuis 9,3 and a merkel 9,3 also.

they both shot extremely well with factory ammo - norma and rws.

unusual ?

no, just doing what they were made to do with the ammo they were made for.