I've just bought at auction a Simson double in .405 Winchester. It's nitro proofed.
Anyone shoot the .405?
Mike,
That's one of Teddy Roosevelt's African calibers, but he did not use a double!
Would like to see more pix once it arrives, including proof marks etc., and hear how it shoots, too.
Congratulations,
Tim
Doubles in 405 Winchester are not unheard of. Jack O'Connor in the Shot Gun Book says that Winchester made two or three Model 21 double rifles in 405 Winchester in the early 1930s. I think that I remember seeing a double rifle of some kind in 405 Winchester in a gun store in Bruges, Belgium around 1990.
It sounds like an interesting idea. A report on how it shoots would be worthwhile.
Way Cool Mike! Is it as nice as it looks? Whens it get here???
.405 was, and for all I know may still be, a popular calibre on the Continent for double rifles. Belgians show up regularly at the British gun auctions. Kynoch made ammo.
The paperwork for my shipment and shipping will take 4 - 8 weeks. I did shoot my 450-400 BPE yesterday for the first time. Shot extremely well for the first try. 8 shot group at 50 yds went into 3 1/2". I believe most of that is my eyes and iron sights.
Yeah, seems the .405 was fairly popular in doubles with the Continental makers for a time. I've seen a number from Belgium and Germany. Manton's of Calcutta advertised a Manton .405 double rifle in their catalogs, but these were sourced from Germany rather than Britain.
I owned a Belgian .405 DR,, a Rasch, if I recall correctly, for a while. It weighed about 7-1/2 pounds and was punishing to shoot, even with a thick recoil pad. I never did get it regulated - neither old Winchester factory ammo nor modern handloads would group closer than 6 inches for four shots at 100 yards, and I finally sold it to Pete Harvey. At last report it was going fishing in Alaska on a regular basis, as some of the larger, hairier fisherman up there apparently object to sharing.
G.Rasch? He was German well known gunmaker, especially well known for his Bolt and DR of large caliber. Probably he finished and sold Belgian DR under his name.
My .405 will most likely be used for brown bear, black bear, and moose up here. I don't see a trip to Africa in my future.