New Westley Richards 470NE on order, who wants to hear about it?

[towserthemouser]

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Those rifles are superb. Thank you for sharing!

 

[From Sweden]

Thank you all!
I'm pretty curious about the specifications you've chosen for the 404, as that is something I've probably had ordered today if I had the opportunity to buy another one.
When I ordered my rifle I've allways wanted a big bore bolt action rifle in a classic caliber, but soon after receiving it something else started to happen and that was that I was getting older so the ones good eyesight, isn't so great anymore as I needs glasses this days.
I know that you will be blown away by the sheer quality of your guns as Westley has since I got mine taken a step even further to being the absolute top maker.
Best regards Peter

 

[spike.t]

Mmm....470...404...now you just need to find them making a 318 next time you are there....really sorted then..

 

[OneGearhead]

Towser, I know I’m new here, but man, this thread is remarkable. First the DR, it’s going to be beautiful. The wood you picked for it, superb in every way. Then, going to do your stock fitting, and grabbing the .404 as well. Unreal. Congratulations!! Can’t wait to see finished pictures of them, both separately in their own right, and together as a pair. Also, the thread, reply by reply, was like reading a book and needing to flip the page to read the next one. Well done, Sir! Any newly recent updates on the .470? Also, was your published story available online anywhere to read?

 

[towserthemouser]

Towser, I know I’m new here, but man, this thread is remarkable. First the DR, it’s going to be beautiful. The wood you picked for it, superb in every way. Then, going to do your stock fitting, and grabbing the .404 as well. Unreal. Congratulations!! Can’t wait to see finished pictures of them, both separately in their own right, and together as a pair. Also, the thread, reply by reply, was like reading a book and needing to flip the page to read the next one. Well done, Sir! Any newly recent updates on the .470? Also, was your published story available online anywhere to read?

@OneGearhead welcome aboard to the greatest internet resource for learning and sharing information about this passion we all share!

Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate them. Both the 470 NE and the 404J are in the late stages of development (engraving, regulation, and wood finishing) and I expect them both to be ready within the year. I will post a final report when that happens, with photos. I also have plans to put both to work doing what they were made to do.....

As for my story about the 9/11 Buffalo, thank you very much for your interest. The story was published in the print edition of Field Ethos magazine in their fall 2024 edition and you can read it there. My understanding is that FE will often make their print edition stories available in digital format online after a couple of years. If that does happen I'll be able to post a link here on this forum for those who would like to go to the FE website and read it.

Since they actually paid me for the story (!), they own the rights to it and I do not have the legal right to publish it here or elsewhere. I really like FE and support their mission, and would encourage all who are interested to consider a subscription to their excellent journal.

 

[gcbailey]

What a fantastic story! That is sure to be a rifle you will treasure. Enjoy it in good health and happy hunting with it!

 

[towserthemouser]

What a fantastic story! That is sure to be a rifle you will treasure. Enjoy it in good health and happy hunting with it!

Thank you my friend!

 

[AZDAVE]

It has been a bit since I looked at this thread. First thank your for the pictures and description of your visit for your fitting. Second I salute you for the acquisition of the 404, What a pair of rifles.

 

[towserthemouser]

It has been a bit since I looked at this thread. First thank your for the pictures and description of your visit for your fitting. Second I salute you for the acquisition of the 404, What a pair of rifles.

Thanks! Now if I can just find brass and ammo for the 404......

 

[AZDAVE]

@From Sweden Sir you have a very nice pair of bolt guns. To say they are exquisite is an understatement.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

Thanks! Now if I can just find brass and ammo for the 404......

I’ve seen a good bit of Hornady DGS and DGX out there. You should be able to snag some to at least shoot the gun and get brass from.

 

[towserthemouser]

I’ve seen a good bit of Hornady DGS and DGX out there. You should be able to snag some to at least shoot the gun and get brass from.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

[From Sweden]

@From Sweden Sir you have a very nice pair of bolt guns. To say they are exquisite is an understatement.

@AZDAVE thank you sir,much appreciated.

 

[steve white]

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Tons of mounting latitude on those Zeiss 1" tube scopes. Too bad they discontinued them.

Not sure I can tell which one was "restored" as they both look new!

 

[steve white]

That’s something I never really considered…
I thought better fit —> better technique —> better shooting. If the technique changes and they fit needs to follow, it sounds like chasing around in circles?

For information, I have (almost) zero formal training in shotgun or double rifle training. So I likely have shit technique. I was hoping that a better fit alone would translate into a better technique and then better off hand shooting

Just as you are, a good fitting gun will improve you out of all proportions--all by itself. It really is as was previously mentioned, a way to almost let the shotgun take over...you will love it, and you will know it when you swing it. The best shotguns I have owned were originally fitted for someone else. Also, the old makers, between the wars, seemed to have it down pat.

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

I have an addiction. It is new. I haven't been on "the juice" long but it is overwhelming me. I finally book my first safari for this August and then i am reading everything i can get my hands on. Then i up the dosage and i read this forum every day. The amount i have learned is staggering. The addiction is real.

Then, THEN i find this story and blow an entire evening reading and studying pictures in complete rapture as to how all this goes down. Honestly trying to explain your story to my wife is like trying to describe solving pi. Simply amazing. I can't wait to see the engraving, the case, the whole damn fish!

Congratulations on the marriage most of all. Then your financial success in life. Your God-given talent to write is clear.

I bow to you sir. Namaste.

I. Am. An. Addict.

P.S. Tell us about the hunt you have booked...where and who are you going with (and any other great details of the interview process, how you narrowed down where to go, outfitter, etc.).

P.P.S. As a complete novice/newby to all of this, I can not tell you what a blessing this site is for honest information from helpful folks. No backstabbing. No one-up-manship. The willingness to share, to educate, to celebrate each other, etc. Hell it makes me think this whole experiment in humanity just might be going along better than the every day drivel we all deal with. Thank you all for sharing stories like this and being patient with those of us that know jack-diddly but are hungry to learn.

 

[towserthemouser]

I have an addiction. It is new. I haven't been on "the juice" long but it is overwhelming me. I finally book my first safari for this August and then i am reading everything i can get my hands on. Then i up the dosage and i read this forum every day. The amount i have learned is staggering. The addiction is real.

Then, THEN i find this story and blow an entire evening reading and studying pictures in complete rapture as to how all this goes down. Honestly trying to explain your story to my wife is like trying to describe solving pi. Simply amazing. I can't wait to see the engraving, the case, the whole damn fish!

Congratulations on the marriage most of all. Then your financial success in life. Your God-given talent to write is clear.

I bow to you sir. Namaste.

I. Am. An. Addict.

P.S. Tell us about the hunt you have booked...where and who are you going with (and any other great details of the interview process, how you narrowed down where to go, outfitter, etc.).

P.P.S. As a complete novice/newby to all of this, I can not tell you what a blessing this site is for honest information from helpful folks. No backstabbing. No one-up-manship. The willingness to share, to educate, to celebrate each other, etc. Hell it makes me think this whole experiment in humanity just might be going along better than the every day drivel we all deal with. Thank you all for sharing stories like this and being patient with those of us that know jack-diddly but are hungry to learn.

@Hornedfrogbbq you are among friends, LOL. "Hello, my name is Bob and I am an addict."

To answer your question, my journey was in many ways similar to yours, with a bit of a twist. I read Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa while in college (pre internet, pre GPS, pre iPhone, etc.) and knew right then that I must also go to Africa. I went three times in a much earlier phase of my life and had marvelous experiences, ones that are burned indelibly into memory.

Then life intervened and I did not safari for many long years.

More recently after passing a certain "significant" birthday, I reflected on the future and realized that...... I must go to Africa. Again.

So I found this site and like you, learned and consumed information and found like-minded individuals who were very generous with knowledge and encouragement.

I have just returned from my first trip "back" (a buffalo hunt in Zimbabwe, hunt report to follow within a month or so.....) to get myself back in the saddle. And man, what an experience! I do feel back, and very much alive.

The big target out front, though, is an elephant hunt. Hence the double rifle. Hence all the walking and the focus on fitness. Hence the hoarding of big bore brass. Hence the bird books and the texts on African mammals and their behavior. Hence the whole obsession, which my wife supports, without fully understanding (I suspect).

I spoke with people on this site, visited the SCI convention in Nashville, and booked a hunt.

I'm scheduled to hunt an elephant bull with Buzz Charlton of CMS Safaris in the fall of 2026 in the Maitengwe region of Zimbabwe. The 470 will be ready, my legs and lungs will be ready, and hopefully the big bulls will be walking. I will have read everything I can get my hands on, and studied the shot placement charts and videos.

I feel a little unworthy of it, and a bit apprehensive, wanting to do it well. But also wanting to be tested. For me, having the opportunity to do it with Buzz feels a bit like having a round scheduled with Jack or Arnold at Pebble Beach. I'd better go hit another bucket of balls!

I salute your interest in the greatest adventure, and encourage you to soak it all in. You are among friends.

 

[Riflecrank]

towserthemouser,
You are double-blessed, pun intended.
Firstly with your Wife, and secondly with your double rifle.
Me too.
I married an 18 y.o. Girl when I was a 20 y.o. boy and it stuck.
Stuck for going on fifty years this coming August.
I got you beat on anniversaries, but not double rifles, Merkel 470 NE here.

I bet you told your Wife about how a Westley Richards DR of any sort is a great investment,
especially in a 470 NE chambering, a most fungible and appreciating asset for a someday widow to take to the auction house to fatten the nest egg.

Wise man, double-blessed.

I have read the thread but do not recall the length of barrels and expected weight,
though I think WR usually aims for 10.5 pounds ?

Excellent request for regulation with North Fork .474"/500-grain bullets,
you will need no other.
I am switching my Merkel over to North Fork bullets
instead of the Federal TBSS factory ammo regulation load.
FPS, CPS, SSP and I need to check to see if they make a .474/500-gr Percussion Point soft for leopard and lion, heh-heh-heh.

I am curious as to the WR loading method for the regulation ammo.

Faster powder like RL-15/Varget with a foam wad filler ?
Or slower powder with or without foam wad filler, like H4350 or H4831/H4831 SC ?

Brass case make they are using ?

Primer they are using ?

The exact final specifications of your load will be important, of course, for your convenience in handloading. Less experimentation handloading a double rifle will preserve your obvious sanity.
Congratulations.

 

[towserthemouser]

towserthemouser,
You are double-blessed, pun intended.
Firstly with your Wife, and secondly with your double rifle.
Me too.
I married an 18 y.o. Girl when I was a 20 y.o. boy and it stuck.
Stuck for going on fifty years this coming August.
I got you beat on anniversaries, but not double rifles, Merkel 470 NE here.

I bet you told your Wife about how a Westley Richards DR of any sort is a great investment,
especially in a 470 NE chambering, a most fungible and appreciating asset for a someday widow to take to the auction house to fatten the nest egg.

Wise man, double-blessed.

I have read the thread but do not recall the length of barrels and expected weight,
though I think WR usually aims for 10.5 pounds ?

Excellent request for regulation with North Fork .474"/500-grain bullets,
you will need no other.
I am switching my Merkel over to North Fork bullets
instead of the Federal TBSS factory ammo regulation load.
FPS, CPS, SSP and I need to check to see if they make a .474/500-gr Percussion Point soft for leopard and lion, heh-heh-heh.

I am curious as to the WR loading method for the regulation ammo.

Faster powder like RL-15/Varget with a foam wad filler ?
Or slower powder with or without foam wad filler, like H4350 or H4831/H4831 SC ?

Brass case make they are using ?

Primer they are using ?

The exact final specifications of your load will be important, of course, for your convenience in handloading. Less experimentation handloading a double rifle will preserve your obvious sanity.
Congratulations.

Thank you, I do feel blessed for sure. I salute you on 50 years; in my opinion that's one of the greatest accomplishments we can have in this life......

You are right, it's a 10.5 pound rifle, the barrels are 24".

Brass is Norma, bullets NF. Primer and powder not chosen yet because we're waiting on the Swedish security forces to clear the export of the NF bullets to the UK....... apparently the bullets are much easier to obtain in the USA than in the UK. I guess they're still ticked off about them leaving the EU.

Once we get it regulated I think it will be easy to reload or buy custom loads going forward.

We did discuss the use of a faster powder with a foam filler to reduce recoil, but the pressure spike will have to be measured and fall within acceptable ranges before Trigger will sign off on it.