I received my Kodiak Express in 54 caliber directly from the Italian Firearms Group in Texas. It came wrapped in a heavy cardboard box via UPS. The inner box contained the rifle wrapped in bubble wrap and inside a styrofoam form that contained the rifle, and bit parts, books and a CD. The rifle had a good coating of a medium to heavy oil to protect it.
Fit and finish were excellent. I would say that it is on par with a Henry Rifle or better. The seems between the rifle action and the wood were tight and accurately cut, and appeared to have had hand finishing. The walnut stock was well fit, and finished. Upon disassembly for cleaning i noted the finish was carried through under all the action and barrel to prevent wood moving with seasonal changes. Under barrel and action finish was good, and smoothly sanded. The recoil pad also fit well, and had no seam between the rifle butt and was sanded smooth to fit.
The case hardening had beautiful colors, and no scratches, or signs of assembly. ALL screws were aligned for and aft with the barrel! The peep site was loose, but held firm enough to not fall out. The barrel blueing is deep, with a nice shine, but not a high gloss finish. Both barres have smooth flat crowns with no burrs or marks from manufacturing. You can see a well defined rib solder and it is very well finished with no burs of solder from when the barrels are joined, or when the ribs on top and bottom were installed. Very fine craftsmanship!
I fired the rifle approximately 15 times (total of 30 shots) at 50 yards from a bag. Left and right barrels were regulated at 1-1.5 inches apart and I several overlapping balls on the target. at 100 yards the spread was still on paper, but I only shot off hand at that range. I will need more time at the range to just the peep-site for better accuracy. I was shooting 90 grains by volume of Triple seven FFFg. Recoil was very little and more of a push than a jolt. As it is my first muzzle loader in over 30 years I would describe it as pleasant due to it's heavy weight.
I can't say enough about the quality fit and finish of this double rifle, it is not expensive for the quality and craftsmanship needed to produce a well regulated double barrel rifle. If you are interested in something a little different, and want a beautiful quality rifle I would recommend this gun. Now I want the Kodiak express in 45-70.
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