OK guys. A lot of good and correct info here. You've been doing your homework. First comment.....Who in their right mind, or maybe not, suggested a load of 40grs of Unique behind a 500 grain bullet. That's not a load, thats a bomb. I have a Unique load I use for a 300gr bullet that is very accurate, and has a medium impact on your shoulder. 13 GRAINS. More than that gets uncomfortable. For a 405, 12 gets the same results. Unique is WAY too fast burning to put behind a 500, in any thing. John Phillip Gemmer. Info on history shared here is basically correct . Gemmer made rifles on about any military arms he could get. Sharps, RB's Spencer's, TD,s Snyders and a version of lifting breech of his own design. All that I have seen use the barrels they came with ie: stock military or commercial. I'm sure he made some customs, but it was not practical to rebarrel every one. There are only two known TD's out there. One is in the Missouri Historical Society in St. Loius. The museum rifle, contrary to Mr. Bairds drawing and description in his second book, was built on an 1876 Cadet action. It has a conventional Hawken lock, vice Springfield, the stock barrel, vice octagon, furniture blue, not brown. I have examined and photographed this rifle. The museum curator says this is the only TD Gemmer they have ever had. After building a couple basrd on Mr. Bairds information, you can imagine what I felt when I first saw this rifle. I have been told that the one in private collection mimics this one, but I have not personally seen it to confirm. I'm running out of space for my ratchet jawing here, but a Gemmer is, as far as I'm concerned, for the sake of description is a "Gemmer/whatever action is used." The multiple barrel test description is accurate, I do have a copy of the original write-up, and the Shooting Times article too. Will share these later if you want. Dick
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