Indians For Guns

Friends/Gurus,

I am being offerred a pretty good conditioned .360 Double Rifle Side by Side made by Watson London, I have the following queries:

1. Ammunition availability (the person does not have any ammo for it)
2. How would you rate it against .315/30-06

Regards
Gopal

well it would be fun to use but if no ammo, then its like having a car but unable to go anywhere.

for the ammo check out the yellow page on the forum for dealers in delhi etc and ask them.

3006 is more practical and ammo is easy to get, that is a good start with rating it.

as not seen or fired the 360 unable to say more.

This double rifle also known as 360 No.2 was very apt Tiger medicine during the British Raj, especially after they banned the 450s for the civilians. It's popularity waned when the 375 H&H magnum appeared on the scene(1912). I doubt if anybody will have ammo for it. Your only bet would be to get it on order when you visit UK. And then look for a Ratzilla to shoot at if you intend using it in India. In velocity, I'd compare it with the parabolic trajectory of a .315 IOF with bigger punch of course. It can always be a fine heirloom though. It was made by better known rifle builders of London as well.
Marksman

Georgian

DO post the pictures if possible...

best

Georgian,
buy yourself a 30-06 or 315
The 'bargain' factor is zero, because ammo is not available and you cant reload.As a gun lover I'd love to own a fine double, but...

Georgian: There are a number of different .360 cartridges. Which one it is probably won't make much difference as to availability in India. But it does make a difference when comparison with other cartridges is made...

Having been made by Watson brothers and being a SXS, it does sound like the .360 No2 Nitroexpress.

From Kynoch website: http://www.new-kynoch.apt-sites.com/360%20No2.htm

''This was an original Eley Brothers cartridge of approximately 1905 designed for use in single shot and double rifles. It has a large, rimmed, bottle necked case and has proved a good all round cartridge for use on the thin skinned game of both Africa and India.''

A 320grn bullet speeding at 1926 FPS with 2551F/Lb @100 yards.

What will you do with it in a double rifle? You can only get the ammunition from UK/imported.

A .315 or .30/06 is a better option in terms of practicality.JMHO.

Best-
Vikram

Thanks Guys,

Was just wondering if the ammo will be available in US as I can get some from there on my next onsite assignment (being in IT).

I will try to get the pictures in few days as the person having the .360 is out on vacations and few others too (I remember he said something about an under lever rifle or gun too)

You might indeed be able to get some ammunition for it from custom ammo makers in the US, or even some Kynoch ammo. But be prepared to shell out big.

Doubt very much that you can find it in the US. There is no other case available that it can be formed from; not until .450/400 3" cases by Hornady become available. Don't think that Bertram has the case. Or that it is being loaded again in the UK. Muzzle velocity was 2200 fps, it was the most powerful of the various .360s, but never that widely distributed. Nitro Express Forum members may be able to help, once you know for sure what cartridge you are dealing with. In any case, ammo won't come cheap. Cheers
Bertram does list the .360 No.2 NE, if that is indeed the cartridge the rifle is chambered for, though price is high. So it would not be impossible to find someone who custom loads for it in the US. But finding that person would be the proverbial search for the needle in a haystack.

Geeorgian21,

Kynoch sells its ammo in USA also however the prices are going to make your eyes water

http://www.kynochusa.com/Cartridges.html

Also,you should keep in mind that every double rifle is regulated for a specific cartridge.You can not just get any cartridge in that caliber and expect the rifle to shoot.In the absence of the cartridge the rifle is regulated for,it is a hand loading proposition only.In India that is not an option.
Buy the IOF 30-06 instead.Get a scope something in the range of 3x9-40,mounts,a good leather sling(might I suggest one along the lines of the one used for the M1 Garand),gun stock refinishing kit,limbsaver/kickeeze or Pachmayr grind to fit recoil pad, a bluing kit to blue steel and blacken aluminium, a QD swivel set with wood screws (Grovtec /Outdoor connections Talon swivels/pachmayr flush mount swivels/Uncle Mikes button release swivels),Brownells Acra glass bedding kit,bipod if you want one ( Harris HBLMS 9-13 with notched legs and get the pod lock as well or the Versa POd all steel 9-12 with cant and swivel locks) and you will have a rifle that you can shoot instead of just hold and admire. Have a look at the one Zubin has worked on.

winnie_the_pooh wrote:Geeorgian21,

Kynoch sells its ammo in USA also however the prices are going to make your eyes water

http://www.kynochusa.com/Cartridges.html

Also,you should keep in mind that every double rifle is regulated for a specific cartridge.You can not just get any cartridge in that caliber and expect the rifle to shoot.In the absence of the cartridge the rifle is regulated for,it is a hand loading proposition only.In India that is not an option.
Buy the IOF 30-06 instead.Get a scope something in the range of 3x9-40,mounts,a good leather sling(might I suggest one along the lines of the one used for the M1 Garand),gun stock refinishing kit,limbsaver/kickeeze or Pachmayr grind to fit recoil pad, a bluing kit to blue steel and blacken aluminium, a QD swivel set with wood screws (Grovtec /Outdoor connections Talon swivels/pachmayr flush mount swivels/Uncle Mikes button release swivels),Brownells Acra glass bedding kit,bipod if you want one ( Harris HBLMS 9-13 with notched legs and get the pod lock as well or the Versa POd all steel 9-12 with cant and swivel locks) and you will have a rifle that you can shoot instead of just hold and admire. Have a look at the one Zubin has worked on.

VERY +1

Guys here are the photos of the Double Rifle:
http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac25 ... C00996.jpg&

http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac25 ... C00997.jpg&

http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac25 ... C01000.jpg&

http://s905.photobucket.com/albums/ac25 ... C01004.jpg&

The photos are real heavy.. will work on them to make them light weight soon.

Georgian21,

The rifle would clean up very nicely. The wood and metal look in good shape. I can see it will have a very nice balance and will be nice shooter.

It is a well made Boxlock hard to tell if its a Webley A&W or PHV1 action they both have dolls head rib extension looks like this one has concealed top sliding bolt( Just a guess hard to tell without looking at break opened picture of the rifle) with a very meticulously made stock and forend latch is a rotating lever is another very nice feature. The checkering is intact and the engraving can be restored. The best part is that no one has tried to mess up the rifle. However, .360 is not a very powerful or a desirable caliber and ammo will always be a problem.

If you want a practical rifle, this is not an option. If you want something unique to play with once in a while, it’s fine ,If it was me I would pay around 1.5 to 2 lakhs for the rifle.

It is a nice wall hanger. Ammunition for this is almost non-existant. While Eley does make ammo for it, it is on request only and incredibly expensive.