Bert H. said

Maverick said
Wouldn't this also be no different than having to hot of a load?
You send the bullet so fast that you start to melt it in flight and the bullet starts to smoke in flight. Once you start melting it, doesn't it literally become unstable? As you are literally disintegrating the bullet? Also known as a bullet "blow-up" or "vaporization".
Sincerely,
Maverick
  

Possibly, but I do not believe my loads were going fast enough to blow-up the bullets.  I did not chronograph them as I was merely ladder testing for accuracy.  I had no signs of excess pressure, just poor accuracy.  The same bullet with 55.5 grains was shooting 1.5" @100 yards.  I will need to see what the chronograph has to say on my next trip to the range.
Bert
  

I suppose it's possible to spin it fast enough to distort the jacket even if the bullet doesn't fly apart or vaporize like smaller caliber bullets sometimes do. I suspect a 110gr 30 caliber bullet would have a rather thin jacket as it was intended for varmints rather than big game. OTOH maybe you were just pushing that bullet faster than it wanted to go! 

Mike

Maverick said
Wouldn't this also be no different than having to hot of a load?
You send the bullet so fast that you start to melt it in flight and the bullet starts to smoke in flight. Once you start melting it, doesn't it literally become unstable? As you are literally disintegrating the bullet? Also known as a bullet "blow-up" or "vaporization".
Sincerely,
Maverick
  

Possibly, but I do not believe my loads were going fast enough to blow-up the bullets.  I did not chronograph them as I was merely ladder testing for accuracy.  I had no signs of excess pressure, just poor accuracy.  The same bullet with 55.5 grains was shooting 1.5" @100 yards.  I will need to see what the chronograph has to say on my next trip to the range.

Bert

You send the bullet so fast that you start to melt it in flight and the bullet starts to smoke in flight. Once you start melting it, doesn't it literally become unstable? As you are literally disintegrating the bullet? Also known as a bullet "blow-up" or "vaporization".

Sincerely,

Maverick

Zebulon said
Very interesting. I assume your barrel was cut 1:10? Gas checked? Jacketed?
  

Yes... I was shooting my 1927 production Model 54.  The bullets are Polymer tipped copper jacketed.

Bert

Zebulon said
Pete settles the argument with a controlled experiment:  bullets can be understabilized but not overstabillized.
See there?
  

I partially disagree... they can be pushed too fast while being overspun.  I recently ran into that issue with some 110 grain bullet loads in 30-06.  As I approached the max load of 58 grains of IMR 4064, the accuracy very grossly fell off (16" group @100 yards).

Bert

See there?

Brodg88 said
Hello all, Not sure if anyone is still curious here, but I'd like an opinion or two on a next step for this rifle. 
Rock Island Auction has been calling me about this gun, and wants to include it in their next premier auction. 
Is it worth listing here first and seeing if it can go direct to a collector? Or does that seem like the better medium for something like this that is a bit obscure?
  

I have experience with marketing an obscure item, the large auction houses are capable of reaching an incredible number of willing and able buyers. That marketing effort isn't cheap and someone must pay for it. In my case I realized an incredible net amount over my best offer to date. As Chuck points out the terms are the key. 

Mike

After returning home I picked it up and didn't get to bed until after midnight!

Another GREAT ISSUE!  Tuesday and today it keeps getting revisited.

Thanks!

RDB

Al

Just got mine as I'll dig in later! It couldn't have come at a better time!

Tony

1870 – Rifle marked "LEOPOLD BERNARD CANNONIER A PARIS" and dated 1870.

By 1962 – In the collection of Robert F. Wolfskill; featured in Shooting Times, March 1962, "A French Henry Rifle."

1992 – Featured by C.W. Slagle in The Winchester Repeater (Fall 1992).

1992 – Illustrated in R.L. Wilson's Winchester: An American Legend, pp. 16–17.

May 20, 1998 – Sold in Little John's Firearms Auction, Lot 776.

March 2003 – Sold in James D. Julia Auction, Lot 884.

February 2026- Gifted to me from the Ladd Hellenbrand estate

I'm particularly interested in learning more about Robert F. Wolfskill, who owned the rifle by 1962 and wrote the Shooting Times article. If anyone knew Mr. Wolfskill, has information about his collection, remembers this rifle from the Slagle era, or has encountered additional references to it in collector literature, I would be very grateful to hear from you.

I'm also curious whether anyone has ever seen another example of a Bernard-marked repeating rifle, or has any insight into how this rifle may have made its way from France to the United States.