Hi Brian, real good to hear from you again. I got the bug, about 10 years ago, to build myself a double rifle, since, unless I win a lottery, I'll never be able to afford to buy one. I came across a pretty high-grade Belgian gun, which had been fired with a barrel obstruction and badly bulged the tube. The owner cut the barrels off at about 14", then, realizing that he had created a no-no, he hid it away in a closet for 40 years. I bought the gun for a song. It has double under bites, a Greener cross-bolt, side clips, Prince of Wales grip, double triggers, Deeley & Edge forearm release, etc. Because this was my first attempt, and because I had concerns about pressures, I decided to build a 12 gauge rifle. I was able to purchase two Hastings, 1 1/2" blanks (you could still get them at that time), turned them to profile, and sleeved them into the monoblock that I created from the original barrel assembly.Then filed up spacer blocks to fit between the barrels, and soldered them and the ribs on. It took me almost a year, and a couple of hundred dollars worth of Lightfield slugs, and god knows how many trips back and forth to the range, and umpteen solder/unsolder jobs, untill I got it regulated. Now, off the bench, with the shallow "V" express rear, and the folding night sight front, it will put 2 lefts, and 2 rights, into 2 inches at 65 yards. The very first shot that I fired with this gun at game, was at a small buck in a hayfield at 87 paces. I was prone, and the shot took him through the lungs and dropped him in his teacks. I dressed him, tagged him, and went on to my stand. 20 minutes later, another walked out into the same field and I dropped him at about 45 yards. Needless to say. I like the gun a whole bunch and have killed 4 more deer with it since.
I'll see if I can get my son-in-law, the computer whizard, over here on the weekend with his digital camera, to post some pics of the gun.
In the meantime, keep your head down, and if you're a shooter, shoot straight. Not a day goes by that I don't think about you folks! Damned dangerous place you folks are in and many of the natives are such barbarians, I sometimes wonder if any of them are worth the effort.
