It all boils down to preference of the operator ,
@Aussie_Hunter . Allow me to elaborate. My explanation is long , so you will forgive me .
During my career as a professional shikaree in Nagpur, India from 1961 to 1970 , l saw countless bolt rifles , some of which were excellent and some which left a great deal to be desired . I also saw countless double barreled rifles , some of which were excellent and some of which left a great deal to be desired.
The obvious advantages of a bolt rifle ( l am going to use the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre pre 64 Winchester Model 70 as an example , to simplify things ) , is as follows :
1) Generally speaking , a bolt rifle is accurate out to greater distances than a double barreled rifle and lends itself to easier shooting with a telescopic sight .
2) A bolt rifle will provide you with decent results with a wide array of ammunition . For example , The Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle will provide decent results with Winchester Silvertip 300 grain soft point bullets AND Hornady solid metal covered 300 grain bullets. This is an extremely useful feature in scenarios , where the hunter may exhaust or lose his original supply of ammunition . In such a case , the hunter may need to make do with whatever brand of ammunition he is able to source locally .
3) The ability to hold anywhere from 3 to 6 cartridges in the shooter's magazine may very well save your life . Yes , l know that it is always the 1st shot which needs to always be placed accurately . However , we are not Gods . If God forbid , anything goes wrong ... more ammunition without needing to re load , is always a + point . 3 to 6 cartridges rather than 2 cartridges starts to look very attractive here. When we talk about culling large numbers of animals ( like elephant and cape buffalo culls in South Africa or wild boar culls in India ) , the bolt rifle with it's larger magazine capacity wins the day for obvious reasons ( of course , you are probably not a professional culler , but l was merely trying to illustrate another scenario where a bolt rifle is useful. )
Some disadvantages of a bolt rifle are :
1) The operator does lose a second or 2 in working the bolt . This vital second can determine a question of life or death if you are dealing with wounded dangerous game in thick shrub which may charge you . For most dangerous game , a skilled bolt rifle operator will probably be able to chamber a 2nd cartridge in time to get off a 2nd shot . However , in the case of having to follow up a wounded panther into the thickets , a bolt rifle is literally as good as a single shot rifle . This is due to the sheer speed of a panther ( and the fact that it always charges the hunter at very close range. ) , which makes it impossible for the operator to work the bolt of a bolt rifle in time .
2) Back during the time of my career ( 1960s ) many bolt rifles were prone to the occasional malfunction. Some common problems which l observed on many of the bolt rifles brought to India by my clients were as follows :
> Magazine follower springs were prone to breaking due to metal fatigue.
This was an extremely common problem on many custom rifles which were built on salvaged pre World War 2 Mauser 98 actions . I have even seen custom Holland & Holland rifles exhibit this problem , on 2 occasions .
> Magazine floor plates popping open due to the recoil from the 1st shot , dumping out all the remaining cartridges at the shooter's feet . This was usually caused by the coil spring being not heavy enough , or there not being sufficient overlap in the magazine catch. This used to be an extremely common issue on all the FN Mauser bolt rifles / Browning Hi Power bolt rifles , chambered in .458 Winchester magnum calibre.
This can also occur if the magazine catch is on the inside of the trigger guard and the recoil causes the shooter's knuckle to strike the magazine catch. I have even seen phenomenon occur on high end Westley Richards bolt rifles on 1 occasion.
> Extraction problems caused in push feed rifles , notably the post 64 Winchester Model 70 push feed rifles ( unless kept very clean . )
During my career , l have only seen 3 bolt rifle actions which NEVER exhibited any of these problems :
A) Pre 64 Winchester Model 70
B ) Brevex magnum Mauser
C ) Enfield 1917
Of course , in modern times , l fully recognize that MOST bolt rifles will never exhibit these problems at all. They have become extremely reliable thanks to modern manufacturing techniques ,
even push feed rifles like the Blaser Model R 8 .
Let us now talk about double barreled rifles . Some advantages of double barrelled rifles are :
1) With double trigger models , you have the option of getting off an instant 2nd shot. When dealing with dangerous game in the thickets which charges you at close range , you could really benefit from this feature. In particular , when the hunter is following up wounded panthers into the thickets ... a double barrelled double trigger rifle is indispensable and the only way to go .
2) A double trigger double barreled rifle guarantees you a 2nd shot without needing to depend upon any mechanical properties of the rifle . The separate trigger is like a separate rifle .
( This is the conventional view. I do not agree with it and l will relate why , below . )
3) The option to have a soft point cartridge in 1 barrel and a solid metal covered cartridge in the other barrel can be indispensable for dealing with gaur / cape buffalo .
3) Traditionally speaking , double barreled rifles could handle larger calibres than bolt rifles . Of course , today this is no longer the case , with calibres such as .500 Jeffery and .505 Gibbs being widely available .
The disadvantages of a double barreled rifle , are as follows :
1) Double barrelled rifles are extremely picky in the load which can be used in them , on account of the 2 barrels . Their manufacturers regulate them from the factory to produce accurate results in the rifle , when using 1 brand of ammunition . They will usually not ( unless you happen to be extremely lucky ) produce accurate results with other brands of ammunition. An an example , the head shikaree of my outfitters ( Allwyn Cooper Limited ) was a Hyderabaddi gentleman named Rao Naidu . He would use a double barreled .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre side by side rifle , built by Westley Richards in 1946. The rifle would only produce accurate results with old stock ICI Kynoch cartridges . When used with Winchester Silvertip cartridges , you could not use that rifle to hit the broad side of a barn . It just just too inaccurate.
Some times , even multiple batches of the same brand of ammunition will not produce consistent results in a double barreled rifle . I had a client who owned a German over under double barreled rifle , chambered in .458 Winchester magnum calibre . It was regulated for the old pattern Winchester ammunition ( which produced a velocity of 2150 feet per second with 500 grain bullets , when fresh . ) When he used some new pattern Winchester ammunition ( which had a reduced powder charge to produce a velocity of 2040 feet per second . ) in the rifle , the gun became monstrously inaccurate . Needless to say , if you are going to a far off place and you lose or expend your original stock of ammunition , you have little better on your hands than a big , expensive looking bludgeon. If you hand load your own cartridges , you will certainly need to be much more vigorous in your choice of loading components , than you would with a bolt rifle .
2) Generally speaking , double barreled rifles are not as accurate as bolt rifles for long range work . During my career , l have seen most double barreled rifles regulated for not more than 60 yards .
A novice can also learn to shoot a bolt rifle a little quicker than a double barreled rifle.
3) I have seen double barreled rifles chambered for rimless cartridges exhibit all sorts of problems , even the high end 1s from Holland & Holland , Auguste Francotte and Westley Richards. During the time of my career , the sad reality was that the only 2 large calibre cartridges being manufactured were the :
A ) .375 Holland & Holland magnum
B ) .458 Winchester magnum
Being that both these cases are rimless , the double barrelled rifles chambered for these cartridges used to have a plunger type extractor ( similar to those found in the post 64 Winchester Model 70 rifles ) to secure these rimless cartridges. I have seen even a high end Holland & Holland double barreled rifle , chambered in .458 Winchester magnum , which had a cartridge get past the extractor , which took a great deal of effort to pull out .
On another occasion , l saw another double barreled side by side rifle , built by a German gun maker named Franz Sodia , chambered in .458 Winchester magnum , which was regulated for Remington ammunition . When used with Winchester cartridges , the rifle flat out refused to open anymore . It was as if the action had jammed. These rimless high pressure cartridges also frequently caused many problems in the double barrelled rifles in the long run , such as barrels separating near the muzzles after several firings , or the rifles developing a tendency to discharge both barrels , even if only 1 trigger was pulled.
4) Contrary to common beliefs , a double barrelled rifle CAN fail and it has happened in the Shikar field . I have seen a Holland & Holland Royal double barreled side by side rifle , chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum fail miserably in the field , during a royal Bengal tiger shikar . A piece of the left barrel's lock had broken and lodged under the gun's cocking lever , preventing my client from opening the gun . When the wounded royal Bengal tiger charged us , l had to finish it off .
5) The vintage double barreled rifles have softer barrels than their modern counterparts and thus are probably unsuited for use with monolithic modern bullets .
That said , modern double barreled rifles chambered in traditional rimmed cartridges are a thing of beauty . Use whichever you feel comfortable with , because your dream safari should be enjoyed with your dream rifle. If this is your 1st African safari and you have more planned in the future , then my advice would be this :
Take a good bolt rifle with a telescopic sight for your 1st safari . Enjoy your 1st safari and get accustomed to shooting African game with a bolt rifle. After that ( if you wish ) , you may " graduate " to a double barreled rifle .
I hope that l was of assistance. If you would like a more indepth analysis of which configuration may suit you , perhaps you will find this article which l had written helpful .
https://www.africahunting.com/threads/the-double-barrelled-rifle-function-versus-form.54527/
All the best.