when i was a member of the vintage arms asso , a gent turned up at the range with a double barreled origional 577 black powder howdah hammer gun . it was inspected by all and declared fearsom . we all watched him load both barrels carefully . capped and ready to go . cocked only one hammer . and with a two handed stance he took aim at the target on the bank twenty five yards away and squeezed the trigger . the biggest blo-ody bang and flash i have ever seen went off . he staggered back a good three yards into the back wall with a very shocked look on his face . two big greyish circles of smoke folowed the lead down the range . the gun had still been loaded from the last time used . so he had fired double the charge and shot . the detonation had set the other barrel off as well . but when the pistol was inspected it was fine . i woud not like to be a tiger trying to get on the elephant that pistol was on ??? scimitar .