Prince Bijey Singhji

[gatsby]

cyrixoutside,
Don't be too sure your gun was not handled by the Maharaja.
The Maharaja wrote to Holland in 1905
" The pair of Paradox guns you made for H.H. The Maharaja have given entire satisfaction, and for shots at tiger and other big game, H.H. invariable uses them alone. They are very hard hitting, accurate and comfortable to handle and in April 1904, when 3 tigers happened to come together past H.H. in a beat, he, with the pair of paradox guns shot all three in three consecutive shots- right -left-right."
Probably with your gun!
Do you have photos and do you shoot it?
As far as your gun not being as nice as Prince Bijery's gun, a Holland paradox is a very special thing! There were only about 1500 made and there are probably less than 1000 survivers, if you have one your fortunate. If the internal dimensions and choke rifling are such that it still shoots you are truely blessed.

[cyrixoutside]

wow, i dont think that in that in 1904-5 too many h&h paraodx pairs could have been around in bikaner. the trend for maharajas to own 30 - 50 best guns/rifles came much later in 1930-40.

so yes it could be very much possible that the gun i have is one of the pair that the letter refers to.

where did you find this letter ? could i have a copy ?

i do shoot my gun once in a blue moon, i cant really tell how good the choke rifling is, but i used it with clever mirage palla solengo slugs, and it had no problem hitting 6 inchs circles at 50 yards. i have not yet tried it at 100 yards, it does shoot a rather tight pattern with shot, making it not very useful for close range work.



rajat

[Mack The Knife]

Rajat,

A bit OT but how much do those Clever Mirage slugs cost in Jaipur?

Thanks.

Mack The Knife

[cyrixoutside]

i got them for 85/-



rajat

[Mack The Knife]

Thanks.

[gatsby]

cyrix
I not familiar with the slugs you speak of but many modern slugs are to hard to be ran down the barrel of a paradox. 16 to 1 and no harder 20 to 1 works well and provides more margin for safety. Some modern slugs are 10 to1. Can you cast bullets or is it prohibited?

The excerpt from the letter is from Holland advertising and I will try and post it tomorrow. What is the serial # of your gun and I will try and find out further info for you. You can PM me if you want.

[cyrixoutside]

these are slugs made by the italian company mirage.

casting bullets is a grey area of law to say the least, plus i do not have the necessary mould etc. orignal paradox cartrigdes (brass one) are available in india, but these are very old and will not fire, they are just for collection.



rajat

pm the serial no to you

[gatsby]

Rajat
Can you import cast bullets, can you reload and buy powders?
Hey, how about those collectable Holland cartridges are they exportable?

Here is the trade catalogue

[mehulkamdar]

Gatsby,

I talked to Sat and he should have some very interesting information for you very shortly. A twin to your beauty is still with the Bikaner royals and is as lovely an old girl as your gun. In any case, please wait for a day or two for all the relevant information to be sent to you. SOme of it might bore others here, so if you would like it to be e-mailed to you, just let Sat know.

BTW,

Reloading for personal use is permitted in India AFAIK. The import of upto 2 Kg of ammunition for a gun for which an Indian citizen has a license is also permitted.

Rajat,

Check www.dixieslugs.com for their offerings. They also offer a Paradox style slug on sale in the US. Gatsby could offer his expert suggestions on what could be used and what he recommends.

Cheers!

[mehulkamdar]

PS My friend Ernie Stallman of Badger Barrels makes Paradox style barrels and Holland and Holland consulted with him before offering their new Paradox guns. They sent him a beautiful memento which he has at his office. I hope to meet him and Gerri this Sunday at Lodi at the BGRC of NA shoot.

Cheers!

[gatsby]

Mehul,
The Dixie slugs are too small in diameter and too hard to be used in these old paradox guns.
If allowable I would be willing to mail rajat some Holland castings and 21/2" non primed cases in exchange for a few photos of the old girl.
I stll shoot this old gal one of a few surviving paradoxes with damascus barrels.

[cyrixoutside]

hi,

yes reloading for personal use is allowed, but where are the cases, powders, primers. all this stuff is not available in india like the way it is in the US.

i did cast some 16 gauge round balls some time ago, i bought used wheel balancing lead weigths, but that was for a muzzle loader.

to reload i would have to canbalise new shotgun cartridges, but whats the use of that coz after doing all this i would only be able to punch paper, as hunting is banned in india.

i think it would too much, to trouble gatsby about how to best punch paper with a h&h paradox.

for that purpose a target 22 would serve much better.

also while airlines will allow 2 kg of ammo, indian customs will only allow 50 cartrigdes in total.



rajat

p.s gatsby the paradox rounds are exportable, but nowdays airlines dont except ammunition as cargo (i.e as courier/postage) so ammo has to be sent by ship, so unless one is sending several thousand rounds, its not very pracitcal.

[gatsby]

Rajat,
Ah, what a world, huh? Well if you change your mind let me know. The powders need to be pretty specific also, you just can't cannibalize a case and your gun should use 2 1/2" cases.

Re: the old paradox bullets.
I am looking for something pretty specific. Holland had a brass case for use in the paradox in later years that was dual chambered. They probably used a capped bullet part lead part aluminum or brass with this case. The purpose of the interior chamber was to hold a small amount of accelerant in front of the primer charge. This system increased velocity but kept pressures down. If I had one or two of these cases I could remake or have them remade. I would like to see a Holland capped projectile. The powder and primer could be discarded.

[cyrixoutside]

hi,

i have not seen this type of paradox cartridge.



rajat

[gatsby]

Mehul,
I did not know about the other gun so I did some checking if it is the gun with a serial # ending in 5 it is very similar but..... there is a difference I can tell sat when he contacts me. In any event some of the last (untill recently) paradox guns made by Holland.