Beretta Double rifle regulation miracle!


This Beretta .45-70 DR with 26 inch barrels was hunted for 10 years by a friend who used only the right barrel to kill deer with his 300 grain handloads at 1600 fps. He killed a lot of deer and some really big ones. After he passed away, I purchased it from his estate and acquired all the historical and technical details. along with 100 rounds of 300 grain handloads and 100 resized and primed brass.
I took it out and killed boar at close range and all seemed well.

Then I shot targets at 50 yards see what it was capable of and learned why the scope was set up for the right barrel; each barrel is sub minute of angle accurate BUT the two barrels were not regulated to suit me. Next step was go through two metal ammo cans of 20 round boxes of commercial 45-70 ammo and select some to test fire to see if there was a happy usable near regulation there.
Today my son and I went to the range and tried two promising commercial loads; Hornady Leverevolution 325 grain ammo and Remington 405 grain JSP ammo. The Hornady is rated at 2000 fps and was brisk to shoot, but it did not settle in to a neat group.

The Remington 405 grain at 1330 fps produced a 4 shot 2 inch diameter group level with the bullseye and centered 4 inches to the right! Amazed that it could be so easy, I decided to do more work with the Remington 405 bullet since I have a box of 100 ready to load. I also have other .458 bullets to play with (450 grain Kodiak, 400 grain Punch, 450 grain NF, etc).
We stopped right there, made notes on the target and put it away.
Great way to end a day because if this evolves properly, I can cancel the re-regulation project with Aaron and just go hunt the thing!

In addition to the promise of being a great big game rifle, it has nice metal and wood:

Charles,
The Remington 405 ammo is very effective on game & the recoil is hardly there,lots of positive reviews on Midway.

You might even think that it was factory regulated with US commercial old school (405 grain) (or equivalent) ammo.
Which is what I would have expected.
Nice rifle.

Thanks Bill,
My son shot and I watched and the muzzle blast and recoil difference was quite obvious.
I will use my N133 for loading my 405 grainers.

The regulation and velocity for the Rem 405 bullets are OK now for deer or hogs. Woo Hoo !

Colin and I will tinker with some loads though to see how it goes as the 405 velocity increases. Also take a few shots at 100 yards.

DPCD,
Thanks and it handles as well as it looks. Unloaded, it weighs 9 pounds and balances well.
You can rest assured that when the 400 grain load is finalized (my son is very picky on details), I will enter it into the Provenance Document. Cal got me started on that back when I acquired my first DR and now I have a PD for all my rifles and shotguns.

A 45-70 in Beretta has to be rare.

Dave

That's great. Sure beats breaking the barrels apart and all that entails. A 45-70 is a very useful caliber in a double, state-side.

Picky is ok I guess, but realize that merely using the correct bullet weight and velocity is only 2/3rds (or less; it's how you hold it that matters too), of the regulation equation.
It is the powder that you use that matters just as much as the velocity. For example, and I have done this many times, you can use a fast burning powder to get the same velocity as the regulation load (in your case I thought I read 1300 fps), but it will cross. Why? Because a factory load was loaded with a larger charge of a slower powder which alters the recoil/muzzle flip and jump dynamics.
It matters.
So you can't just pick a powder and get a velocity; it must fit the package. DRs are not bolt actions.

Nopride2 said "A 45-70 in Beretta has to be rare."
Could be- I would not know as this is the first Beretta gun of any type for me. I know nothing of Beretta rifles.
A bird hunting buddy shoots Beretta shotguns and they are nice, good guns, so I took a chance.
So far, the rifle seems good and now that I accidentally found a factory load that regulates, the future for the rifle looks better. Hogs Beware!

quote:

So you can't just pick a powder and get a velocity; it must fit the package. DRs are not bolt actions.

said DPCD.

I understand.

I have been lucky getting my Simson Suhl .405 WCF which is regulated for Hornady factory 300 grain ammo at 2225 fps to shoot my hand loaded 400 grain Woodleigh bullets into small groups. Now I need a reason/place to go shoot something big with the rifle. The problem there is that there is very little game that the 300 grain bullets (NF, Woodleigh, Barnes, etc) will not kill! OH well, maybe I will get/stay lucky with the 400 grain bullets in the Beretta. Worst case, I can just shoot the slow factory 400 grain JSP that does regulate. Then get close and whack them.

I guarantee that you will be able to get the Beretta to regulate; it will be easier to make work than the hard kickers.

Biebs said "A 45-70 is a very useful caliber in a double, state-side."

Agreed. And I have a lot of good 45-70 ammo to shoot plus some +P by Grizzly Cartridge and others that was bought for use in 1886 rifles. I will be sure pressures are OK with the +P.

Bill73 - I checked the Midway USA reviews that you suggested and saw many positive ones. These go hand in hand with the practices of many Lever guns 45-70 hunters - heavier bullets at low speeds = get close and whack them, usually good on up through black bear, elk, moose, etc.

And take it to Africa as a PG rifle. Apart from deer I ve used my .45-70 SIACE double with 405 gr Grizzly from impala to wildebeest. And with 405 Punch solids the bullets go through and through a buffalo from the side or from the rear on a wildebeest to under the skin of the neck.