Kodiak Double Fifty In Action

[Cosmoline]

After much trial and error I finally found my rifle's regulation point. It's a 1980's vintage Pedersoli Kodiak double rifle in .50 cal. The new ones are 1:24 and are basically heavy slug rifles. This one, I discovered, is a 1:48. But I could find no info on what it likes to shoot. That twist can cover various bullets and slugs. I had to laboriously track various projectiles and charges between 25 and 75 yards. Stuff that worked OK at 50 went haywire at 75 more than I would have expected. For example PRB's with 110 grains FFG were great at 50 but way high and frayed at 75 and off paper at 100. Slugs that were OK at 25 were off beyond that.

Anyway I finally discovered the beast really really likes old school PRB's with 90 grains FFG and no more. With that load I got solid regulation at 75 yards:



Here's the big boy in action with the extra big Great Plains slugs. The right barrel is actually OK with these but lefty goes WAY left after 25 yards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MXBvy2k2T8

As you can see recoil is minimal even with a max charge and huge slugs. The weight of the rifle makes a big difference. Sure is fun to shoot! It always makes a splash at the range.

 

[Pancho]

Looks like you solved the mystery of the double Kodiak.
I checked out your Youtube site and it was great. It also lead me to some additional sites showing different guys shooting 4 bore rifles. That was awesome!

 

[Cosmoline]

The four bores are awesome. Hard on your shoulder and harder on your wallet! A few volleys from one of those costs as much in ammo as I paid for my entire rifle!

If I upgrade it will likely be to the .58 or .54 double.

 

[Omnivore]

Cosmo: those are great 75 yard pairs.

If the lefty's going way left, maybe try a bit hotter charge on that side. But, don't some of the Kodiaks have separate sights for the two barrels?

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah this one has separate sights I'm just trying to regulate it to one. Otherwise you have to flip the sights and readjust your picture between shots, which completely defeats the purpose of a double rifle.

 

[Wildfire]

Not Bad.

Hey There;
nothing wrong with a double tossing that.
Wow , Those guys in Africa really like there recoil.

 

[Omnivore]

Those guys in Africa really like there recoil.

Better to have a bruised shoulder than end up as food, or as a greasy spot on the Savannah.

Anyway, Cosmo's .50 PRB over 90 grains is going to shoot like a pussycat. The 4-bore; yeah. Ow. But a lot of fun I am sure.

 

[Play Hard]

I have a .54 Pedersoli Kodiak and have not figured it out yet. Would like to get a regulated load so I can rely on just one sight. Has anybody developed a regulated load for the .54? Mine shoots round balls and sabots way crosseyed (right hits left, left hits right). I have not tried the conicals yet.

 

[ArmedBear]

Cosmo-

I built a T/C Hawken .50 in the '80s. Still have it. It's also 1:48, and it's supposed to work with patched round balls and T/C Maxi Balls. The Maxi's were some of the first bullets intended for BP hunting that weren't repro's of Civil War Minies.

It's a safe guess that the Kodiak .50 with 1:48 twist was intended for the Maxi and patched round balls, since that's what was around at the time.

Now, I don't see why GP slugs wouldn't work about the same, but it might be worth grabbing a package of Maxi's to find out.

Looks fun, BTW. I'd love to have one of those rifles!

 

[Cosmoline]

IIRC maxis have a different design so maybe I'll try some.

Has anybody developed a regulated load for the .54? Mine shoots round balls and sabots way crosseyed (right hits left, left hits right). I have not tried the conicals yet.

I've seen multiple posts about the larger Kodiaks but not much re the .54. But let me know if you're hankering to trade or sell that one! The only real issue I have with my fifty is it's just not quite up to spec for Alaska BP hunting. Esp. since it can't regulate the big conicals. A .54 PRB would be much better moose medicine.

 

[ArmedBear]

Note that Lyman makes its GP rifles in 1:60 for PRB and a 1:32 for slugs. It may be that their GP slugs are meant for 1:32.

 

[Pancho]

Playhard, There is no easy way to sight in a double rifle. It takes time and patience. You have all the variables that you have with a single times two. My advice is to choose one type of round per shooting session and exhaust all variables before discounting it. I also encourage you to take notes. The only round I would rule out completely is the powerbelt, they load too easily and I'm afraid they would be prone to being being jarred off the powder of the second barrel by the recoil of the first.

 

[Rampant_Colt]

Thanks for sharing!

THIS old thread may be of interest to you.

 

[Cosmoline]

OK, more results from today's shoot. I switched to thicker pillow ticking but saw no difference with my own bore butter lubed patches other than they were harder to start and messier.

I tweaked the load from 90 to 85 and saw a marked improvement esp. in the left barrel. Unfortunately my current irons are literally cobbled from the parts box. I'm going to get a safari style rear with a sourdough front which should aid greatly in zeroing in. This is as good as I can do with the existing sights, shooting to the same POA.



After that I tried to work up a small game load with about 20-40 grains FFG but it wouldn't regulate at 25. I may switch to FFFG and see how that works.

I also did quite a bit off hand, which is a real workout after awhile!

 

[Pancho]

Cosmoline, If you're interested in selling the double rear sights after you are done, let me know.

 

[Pancho]

BTW, that is a fine target for a double and at 75 yards.

 

[RoaringBull]

I really, really need one of those doubles!!!

 

[alemonkey]

Me too. The Kodiak is a sweet looking gun.

 

[Pancho]

They are sweet guns and they sure raise a ruckus when you show up in deer camp with one.

 

[Rachen]

On the Cabelas's site, they also say that the Kodiaks are regulated to converge at 75 or so. But it's up to you to choose the right load.

Nice video too.

 

[Cosmoline]

FYI If you want this one...

act fast. I don't think it's going to last. I have it listed here and on the traditional ML forum classifieds. Asking just $450 for it. My revelation came over the weekend when I went for a backpacking trip and realized this is NOT the rifle for rough country hunting in Alaska. At least not for my poor old back. Younger backs or people with ATV's would fare better than I did. Lots of fun to be had with it at the range, too.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=4576461#post4576461

 

[alemonkey]

Wow, if I had the dough right now...........

 

[scrat]

good stuf that would be so fun to have.

 

[Play Hard]

At long last I have finally found a load that will regulate with my .54 Kodiak. As somebody suggested, I pursued what Pedersoli recommends (100 gr BP with 420gr maxi). I loaded a 425 gr Hornady Great Plains on top of 70 gr triple 7 and voila! I have both barrels hitting a pie plate at 75 yards. And with some tweaking I'm sure that will improve. But for now it's good enuf for deer hunting in the snow next weekend.

I had used round balls and sabots and could never get the second barrel to hit within four feet of the first shot with the same sight. Now I get it. When in doubt, start with the manufacturer's suggested load...

 

[Broccoli Iglesias]

a lot of people seem to have problems shooting this gun.

are they using both rear sights? or the reason why they have problems is because they want to use just one sight for both barrels?