33343

*Cased Rare .475 No. 2 Nitro Express Holland & Holland Royal Double Rifle.... (Total: 1 Items)

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:65,000.00 - 80,000.00 USD
*Cased Rare .475 No. 2 Nitro Express Holland & Holland Royal Double Rifle.... (Total: 1 Items)
*Cased Rare .475 No. 2 Nitro Express Holland & Holland Royal Double Rifle. Serial no. 35147. .475 No. 2 Nitro Express. 26-inch chopper lump barrels marked: Holland & Holland, 98 New Bond Street, London. Smooth concave rib marked: .475 No. 2 Bore - 3 1/2 inch case. Spear fronted quarter rib with express sights with standing leaf marked 100 and folding leaf marked 200. Spear front sight on a raised spear pointed base with a folding night sight. Casehardened reinforced action with back action locks engraved with Holland & Holland bold foliate scroll. Hidden third fastener. Hand detachable locks. Cocking indicators. Ejectors. Automatic safety. Hinged front trigger. Extended top tang. Rolled triggerguard. This gun is number 2 of a pair and the barrels, action and fore-end are marked with a gold number 2. Finely checkered pistolgrip stock of highly figured walnut. Drop points. Cheekpiece. Reblued sculpted grip cap with trap containing replacement front sight. Silver's type recoil pad. Gold oval with initials. Sling swivels. Checkered splinter fore-end with Anson-style release. Slightly later period brown leather trunk case with brass corners. with Maker's leather label and charge card numbered to the gun. Striker disc spanner with horn handle. Unmarked cylindrical oil bottle. Snap caps. Cleaning patches, oil and grease. Data: Proof: London Nitro, 475 3 1/2", Cor:Mk1 85-480. Pull: 14 3/4 inches.Condition: Excellent, as partially redone. Barrels show 99% reblued finish with a few light marks. Some small areas of very light pitting on barrel flats. A light scratch in the bluing on the left barrel near the muzzle. Right bore shows well defined rifling with some light frosting. Left bore is excellent. Action shows a gray patina on fences, side and top strap. Locks show 80-90% dark muted case colors. Underside and triggerplate show 90-95% stronger case colors. Triggerguard, grip cap, triggers, top lever, cocking lever pins, safety and lock release lever show 99% dark reblue. Locks show 5 new pins. Stock shows a refreshed finish with a few small nicks. Fore-end shows reblued iron, tip and release and wood shows light marks. Case in very good condition with a number of marks on the exterior and some losses to the finish due to tape being removed. Excellent interior. Note: According to Holland & Holland, only eight rifles were chambered for the .475 No. 2 cartridge. The rifles were built during the period of 1942 to 1964. This gun is the number 2 gun of a pair built in 1949 for the noted French hunter, H. Chamaulte, Society African Forest Agricale, French Cameroons. It was exported by Holt and Company. He died in the early 1950's. When the set was broken up the gun was recased and the data card was moved to the new case. The post-1936 label was used until 1960. The .475 No.2 cartridge evolved from the black powder 500-450 3 1/4 inch straight case. When the 500/450 was loaded with nitro powder, the case was found to be too thin which resulted in some extraction problems. The solution was to lengthen the case to 3 1/2 inches which reduced the pressure. In addition the case was thickened and the extraction problem was resolved. This became the .450 No. 2. Around 1907 the importation of .450 caliber ammunition was banned in India and the Sudan, as a consequence the cartridge case neck diameter was increased to accept a .487-inch diameter 480 grain bullet. The cartridge now became the .475 No.2. The cartridge was loaded with 85 grains of Mark 1 cordite. The muzzle velocity was 2200 fps with a muzzle energy of 5170 ft-lbs.