History od my rifle

[Andy88]

Hi i am from Poland i bought a muzzleloading rifle called kodiak express .58 with the longer 700 mm version of barrel. Problem is that when i started to look for history of this double barreled rifle i could not find much on the internet.
I found information that It was created by James Purdey company between 1850 and 1860.That is all i was able to find ,so i decided to ask you do you know something about history of this rifle?

 

[necchi]

To my knowledge;
You have already found it's history, the side by side double rifle didn't exist before that.
There where swivel breech, but that's a different gun.

 

[Nav]

They're still making them. James Purdey & Sons Ltd | Guns & Rifles | Clothing & Accessories

Not for us poors...

My buddy's dad was friends with a wealthy bank owner, and when Bill died he willed him his Purdy, side by side, 12 gage (2 3/4 only) with a note that it was his as long as he would hunt with it. He still does, and not just upland. He carries that $30K sidelock into the duck blind... I feel like there's a soap bubble in the blind. I don't even want to breath on it wrong.

 

[Andy88]

But that's generalny written about rifles and i want exactly year of production of this rifle model(honestly still not sure which model is it?) and history about it.

Apart from that It was not that expensive its version from 1995 and i payed only about 1500 $ for IT.

 

[SOLANCO]

They're still making them. James Purdey & Sons Ltd | Guns & Rifles | Clothing & Accessories

Not for us poors...

My buddy's dad was friends with a wealthy bank owner, and when Bill died he willed him his Purdy, side by side, 12 gage (2 3/4 only) with a note that it was his as long as he would hunt with it. He still does, and not just upland. He carries that $30K sidelock into the duck blind... I feel like there's a soap bubble in the blind. I don't even want to breath on it wrong.

People did not pay Purdy's prices for fragile guns.

 

[Nav]

True, but duck hunting is just really hard on your gun even if you're careful. If it were me I'd feel more comfortable carrying that thing upland than in boats, blinds, water, and mud. I've seen horror on faces as I break ice with the stock of my old, Citori, beater, and that's not an antique.

He left it to a guy who he knew would keep shooting it, unlike me who would probably put it under glass...

Send them an email asking after the original. I'll bet someone there will respond.

https://www.purdey.com/pages/our-historyhttps://www.purdey.com/pages/contact

 

[Sam squanch]

There was an old farmer down the road that kept a very rare unmentionable Winchester 410 in his barn. He was offered a bunch of $$ for it, but he never would sell it.

 

[Notchy Bob]

@Andy88

I am not certain whether you need the history of double rifles in general or of the Pedersoli Kodiak Express rifle specifically. I don't know when the Kodiak Express was introduced. One of my books says this rifle was "New in 1989," but a forum member recently posted about one he has that was made in 1976.

Pedersoli still makes these. They may be able to give you some information. Here is a link to the Pedersoli website: Pedersoli Kodiak Express Mk III

Italian guns are almost always marked with a "date code." This is a little mark on the barrel in the form of a small box with two letters in it. Here is a chart of Italian date codes:



You can use this to find the date your rifle was made.

Double rifles were very popular with British adventurers in the mid-19th century. Probably the most famous of these was Sir Samuel Baker. He would have considered the .58 caliber a "lightweight"!

Notchy Bob

 

[Andy88]

@Andy88

I am not certain whether you need the history of double rifles in general or of the Pedersoli Kodiak Express rifle specifically. I don't know when the Kodiak Express was introduced. One of my books says this rifle was "New in 1989," but a forum member recently posted about one he has that was made in 1976.

Pedersoli still makes these. They may be able to give you some information. Here is a link to the Pedersoli website: Pedersoli Kodiak Express Mk III

Italian guns are almost always marked with a "date code." This is a little mark on the barrel in the form of a small box with two letters in it. Here is a chart of Italian date codes:

View attachment 241478

You can use this to find the date your rifle was made.

Double rifles were very popular with British adventurers in the mid-19th century. Probably the most famous of these was Sir Samuel Baker. He would have considered the .58 caliber a "lightweight"!

Notchy Bob

Thanks i have checked It was BF and it means 2008 according to your table.
I was thinking maybe in year 1851 when Purdeys started production of express rifles they did not give It name kodiak just express rifles with different parameters and kodiak name was added by Pedersoli.

 

[kelvinator]

The chart can be confusing, BF would be 1995.

 

[Dale Lilly]

The chart can be confusing, BF would be 1995.

Yes, in that chart, the year is left of the boxed numbers. Dale

 

[#blackpowderbill]

But that's generalny written about rifles and i want exactly year of production of this rifle model(honestly still not sure which model is it?) and history about it.

Apart from that It was not that expensive its version from 1995 and i payed only about 1500 $ for IT.

Looks like a modern reproduction.
What are the proof marks on it?
Need some more,lots more details!
SMH

 

[Andy88]

Ok i made more precise pictures of those marks what can you tell me about it?

 

[Notchy Bob]

@Andy88

Thank you for the excellent photograph. The BF inside the square does correspond with 1995 as the year of manufacture. The star in the wreath over PN (polvera negra = Italian for "black powder") means the rifle was proofed for black powder. That particular mark has been used since 1951 and is associated with Gardone and Brescia in Italy. The star over the square with the crossed sabers (?) is a provisional proof mark from Gardone.

The American National Rifle Association (NRA) has a dandy listing of international proofmarks in PDF format. That is where I found the information I posted. Here is a link to that document. Please note that this link will open up a PDF file, but as far as I know it is safe: Proofmarks

Pedersoli still makes the Kodiak Express double rifle in four versions. Here is a link to the Pedersoli website: Pedersoli Kodiak Express

In looking at the images, I would say your rifle looks like the Kodiak Express Mark III, with its bright finished percussion locks and .58 caliber barrels. Again, I do not know when Pedersoli first started making these. I have vague memories of reading about the Kodiak Express many years ago, and if I remember correctly, some other manufacture produced them first, and Pedersoli took over production at a later date. However, I am confident that your rifle is a Pedersoli, made in 1995.

Notchy Bob

 

[EC121]

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