This express produced by Davide Pedersoli, a well-known company for the production of replicas, offers a return to the past to the hunter who wishes to savor the emotions that were felt with the Colt at the end of the 1800s. An amarcord intended for wild boar hunting.
The hunter who wants to hunt European prey with more than adequate calibers, without spending too much money, and savor the taste of late nineteenth-century express, has the solution at hand called Davide Pedersoli.
It is a company famous for the production of black powder replicas.
One of the guns that meets the needs described above is the Kodiak Mark IV, an express with which the basic lines of the rifled barrel shotgun produced by Colt at the end of the 1800s are re-proposed. This gun is available in three calibers, two European and an American one, the latter more responsive to the structure of the old express.
The European calibers are 8x57Jrs and 9,3x74R, while the “American” caliber is the .45-70 Government, not very similar to the concept of express but which gives the Kodiak the charm of the big English calibers, thanks to its size.
The Pedersoli Kodiak is not a "normal" shotgun with rifled barrels, but a true classic express, with thick and compact tubes, the walls of the barrels of considerable thickness and a weight twice that of a juxtaposed rifled chambered in a modern rifle caliber.
The muzzle with the two .45 holes makes a certain impression and once mounted transports the hunter back in time, precisely to the days of colonial hunts, thanks to the classic line conferred by the elegant external dogs and the tortoiseshell finish of the receiver.
The monobloc mounted barrels and the fasteners are very classic, with two turns of the compass, while the dowels, guided by the opening key, fit into two seats in the crampons. We are faced with a double Purdey, until now considered inadequate for large rifled guns, but which with today's materials and processes has achieved considerable success.
The external dogs are sculptural and elegant and beat the heads of the strikers wrapped in a screw cap, very complex from an aesthetic point of view. Very precise locks have been installed on the Kodiak, through an original design, based on leaf springs. The two side plates are fitted to the receiver by means of a front tooth and two screws, one of which is through.
There are no manual safeties, since the hammer system is rebound and, in the rest position, the latter are stopped by the same sear and can only move forward by pressing the trigger.
The shots of excellent quality denote an absence of tearing when fired. The only "drawback" is the fixed and non-articulated front trigger: with normal / commercial charges there is no problem, but with heavier ones, the knuckle of the finger that fires the second barrel could be affected by some discomfort.
Remaining in the express field, the rear sight is of the leaf type with a very open “V”, which can be combined with a point-shaped front sight. This is a system widely tested in safari weapons and on the Kodiak, in particular, it allows a greater exploitation of the power of the ammunition over medium-short distances, the latter typical of thrust shots. The leaves are three, increasing in height, all collapsible and allow you to adjust the aiming point according to the distance and the cartridge.
For any lateral displacements there is the possibility of acting on the front sight, the latter dovetailed and provided with the classic brass grain. The rib, installed at the top between the two barrels, is flat and has a conical course towards the muzzle, since the barrels converge. In fact, as on all two-barreled guns side by side, the tubes are not parallel since the two shots tend to converge in a single point, beyond which, on the contrary, they diverge. This is where the elasticity and vibrations of the barrels come into play: when firing with a barrel, considering that this is tied to the neighbor and is not able to vibrate freely, the shot can follow a different path from that of the straight line that follows the axis of the barrel.
Pedersoli, however, guarantees perfect collimation of the tubes for shots at fifty meters. The shotgun test showed that this happens with the 300 grain cartridges, while the grouping of the two shots is widened with the 405 grains, heavier and slower.
From an aesthetic point of view, the external finishes stand out a lot, especially in the Standard model with burnished barrels and the receiver surfaces with a rich tortoiseshell.
For those who want more precious models, there is the Deluxe version for all calibers, the latter enriched by engravings on the action frame and parts in old silver-colored steel. Furthermore, upon request, all models are available with interchangeable barrels in 20 gauge. Even in the standard version the woods are of high quality. The grip areas have manually knurled panels that ensure excellent grip of the weapon. The stock has a small cheek pad on the left side, designed to improve the set-up in the aimed shot and which is not annoying even in the shot from braced. Surely this aspect classifies the Kodiak as a weapon suitable for right-handed shooters.
Grabbing the gun does not remain indifferent to its weight, also because the Kodiak has the center of gravity rather shifted forward. Despite this, the behavior of the rifle is very different from expectations given these premises. The weapon is handled naturally, comes up to the shoulder fairly quickly and is able to aim instinctively, even with the target in motion.
The rather mild recoil and the well controllable wheelie give the hunter the possibility, starting with both dogs armed, to fire a searing second shot while remaining aimed at the target.
Remington cartridges in Kodiak barrels reach speeds of 380-385 meters per second, which corresponds to about 200 kgm. This short-range cartridge ensures no modest lethality, caused by the deep penetration of its large and heavy .45 caliber bullet. Winchester Super X cartridges with 300-grain Jhp projectile reached 535-555 meters per second, with kinetic energies of around 300 kgm, constituting an appreciable improvement over the quieter cartridges with 405-grain projectile.
The Kodiak Mark IV in our country is intended for wild boar hunting, given its power and predisposition towards the most leathery prey.
What we have described can be considered a sort of return to the past, to try to experience the same emotions that were felt once, when the technology was much simpler than the current one, but which still guaranteed terrific performance.
Davide Pedersoli proposes itself as the company that satisfies the needs of connoisseurs, nostalgics, and fans of the history of weapons. The productive autonomy of Pedersoli on all the components necessary for the assembly of the weapons is another guarantee of the success of this company. Davide Pedersoli's philosophy is to retrace the history of weapons with superior quality products even in reproductions.
On the other hand, history is the teacher of life.
Data Sheet
Type: express juxtaposed
Caliber: .45-70) also available in 8 × 57 Jrs and 9,3x74R)
Operation: spring-loaded battery forward, external rebound dogs
Extractors: manuals
Shooting: double trigger
closure: dual Purdey
Rods: 610 mm long (560 mm in 8 × 57 Jrs and 9,3x74R), assembled as a monobloc, 6-start right-handed rifling with 460 mm pitch
Aims: front sight with brass grain grafted onto anti-reflective ramp, rear sight with three foldable sheets
Total length: 1.035 mm
Weight: 4.570 grams (4.400 grams in the other calibers); rod group 2.600 grams
Calcium: Prince of Wales in selected walnut oil finished with full rubber cheek pad and butt pad; manual knurling at medium pitch
Materials: carbon steel, wooden stock
Made in the following materials: burnished barrels, tortoiseshell action frame
National Catalog Number: 5.494 (hunting weapon)
Other versions: Extra luxury with engravings on the receiver and parts in old silver steel; 20 gauge interchangeable smooth barrels available