doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Reilly .500 BPE Hammer gun for sale

This is the third time I've seen this Reilly SN 24398 for sale. it is an impressive looking BPE, very classic. My chart would have it numbered in 1882. Address on the rib is still 315 Oxford St. and Rue Scribe, Paris. The engraving is worn and it's been used a lot but does it ever look cool. Current bid is $2,800 with two days to go. Plenty of drop in the stock but it is a beautiful gun.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/810635318

Ah yes, Commonwealth Arsenal again.

Ah, didn't notice the seller...was just looking at the gun. There may be a reason I've seen it three times. Last time it was advertised between $5000-$1000. The previous estimate was $3,500-4,500. Here are the two previous adverts:

https://issuu.com/morphyauctions/docs/flipdoc_apr_firearms?e=35073258/68410743

http://www.icollector.com/SxS-black-powd...ist-b_i27920998

a thang o beauty...

Is there a British chart for the 38 bore where it equates to say 12,62mm?

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Ah, yes there is & I forgot 'bout it. The chart is in Greener's >>Modern Breechloaders, Sporting & Military<< where 38 bore is 0.497"

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Per my little Casio pocket calculator 38 gauge = 0.497" = 12.62 mm.

There have been a couple of systems in the past which had different numbers, but this one has been in effect for a long number of years.

Approach Commonwealth Arsenal as carefully as a rattlesnake in brush. Here�s his latest return policy:

�Returns/Refunds:Items are sold with no warranty or guarantee of function, either stated or implied and buyers should consult a qualified gunsmith prior to use to ensure that firearms may be safely fired. All refunds are solely at the seller's discretion and returns will not be accepted if they were not approved by the seller. To qualify, the buyer must receive emailed approval for the return and a tracking number must be received within three days of original delivery. Returns for any reason are subject to a 10% restocking fee(exceptions made for repeat buyers).�

In essence he is saying it is up to him to decide if the gun can be returned and if so he is going to charge you a convenience fee of 10%. And you�ve got to jump through hoops and dot your �i�s� to have any chance of a refund even if the gun was misrepresented. Good luck!

Yeah, I was pulling data from the German proof rules & that from Greener. You know, I never was that efficient w/ a Casio. From the get-go, I had a HP(41C I believe) that was RPN and I have held with that notation ever since.

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Raimey;
Working as a machinist Casio was the first maker of calculators I was aware of ( at least affordable ones) with a function on which you could write in angles in degrees, minutes & seconds directly & then convert them to decimal degrees. I thus began using Casios & never felt the need to change.

Gauge diameters are proportional to the cubes of their diameters, so I found by using 1.669285" as the diameter for a 1 gauge I can find the diameter of any gauge with my little Casio before I can get the book out to look it up.

A 0.300" bore diameter calculates to a 172.28 gauge while a 0.218" bore diameter would be a 448.97 gauge. The .410 converts to a 67.49 gauge

Miller, can you go through the math steps, slowly please, to say convert a .729" bore to gauge using your 1.669285 factor. Thanks

Daryl;
No problem. I will write it out in formula form with;
1 = diameter of a 1 gauge @ 1.669258".
D = diameter.
G = gauge.
� = cubed.
3&#8730; = cube root.
/ = over or divide by

The formula for finding the gauge for a given diameter is then;
G = 1� / D�
Thus to substitute numbers;
Gauge = 1.669285 cubed / .729 cubed = 12

To find the diameter of a given gauge the formula becomes;
D = 3� (1� / G).

The 1.669285 is a critical dimension for this to fit the entire range of sizes given in the English proof tables. It can vary only on the 6th decimal place & only by a couple of numbers, but the 5 is close to the middle. I worked this number out using a programmable calculator so could just put in one figure & hit run, made it a lot easier.

I went canoeing one afternoon after work & had the calculator in my pocket. Capsized the canoe & drowned it & never replaced it. It is very simple to do on an ordinary calculator though & I virtually always have one handy. Old habits die hard, even though I have been retired now for going on 20 years I am seldom found without a calculator, 6" flexible machinist scale & a steel tape measure (YoYo) at hand.

If you have any further questions on this please ask.

The double rifle sold for about $3,800, not a bad price for a .500 BPE. It looks good in the ad but Caveat Emptor.

Re-reading the ad though, it shows that the seller at least read the Reilly line on this board before writing it...simply because, unlike every previous ad I've ever read, including the two previous efforts to sell this gun, this seller got the dates of the Reilly shop at rue Scribe, Paris right (1868-85). He also mentioned both Reilly proclivity for excellent walnut in his stocks and the tight rose engraving. The seller, Commonwealth Arms, still called the firm "enigmatic" though... Maybe with a bit more research, they can stop using that word.

That was not a bad price for this .500 BPE Double Rifle. I think it probably would have sold for a higher price if the seller didn't have the reputation they have acquired. The questionable return policy and 10% restocking fee... if a return was even approved... certainly got my attention.

I want to thank Miller for providing that formula for converting Gauge to Caliber, and vice versa. I've saved it and bookmarked it for future reference.

Miller, many thanks. Daryl

Let me make one thing clear. This is all based on the geometrical fact that spheres are proportional to the cube of their diameters. Obviously, when the British made their proof charts giving the diameters of the various gauges they used this formula. The 1 gauge diameter was rounded off to three places, so listed as 1.699" on the charts. If one simply uses 1.669" as the base it will result in some very slight errors while going through the entire chart. The only part I played in this was to just set down & calculate the exact number was needed for the 1 gauge to make all gauges fit the existing chart. As I said you Must go with 1.66928x, & I now do not recall exactly how much that X can vary, but 5 works out & is convenient to remember. When working with either a calculator or a Keypad on a computer after putting in the 1.669 & moving to the center 285 is bottom, top &, middle numbers.