Double Rifle: dimensions of action for bigger bores?

[rookhawk]

Nice cynicism.
Not sure why you feel this sort of grim is contributing to clarify on my question, though.
Why not sharing your knowledgeability by means of providing the info I was asking for?
I didn’t ask about hunting in Africa. I asked about a simple technical detail on double rifle design that doesn’t seem obvious to me.

@SHGYJ If your question was for understanding, rather than for "how to make a double rifle out of a shotgun" let me give you a bit of advice.

Of the gun makers you rattled off, the one that fits closest to the "British Standard" of proper geometry, balance, weight, and action widths is going to be Heym. They have a smallbore double that can handle tiny stuff up to 375HH (maybe 450-400 as well), a "standard" that can handle your 375HH up to 500NE, and the "Gross Box" that is in 500NE and 577NE. They are not making shotguns on these actions, they are "Real" double rifle actions. However, you can pay another $6000ish on a custom order to add a pair of 20 gauge barrels to your double rifle. It's a miserable shotgun, poorly balanced and overweight, but very handy for practice at home and even better for hunting birds on a safari. Nonetheless, its a double rifle with shotgun barrels added, not the other way around.

Heym is sort of the "ground floor" in purpose built, incredibly reliable double rifles. They hold their values better than any other maker outside of the UK as well. They are so well built they can handle heavy loads and unfriendly monometal solids.

While my heart leans British in fine guns, my head knows that the Heym is the epitome of the price-to-quality ratio.

 

[SHGYJ]

@SHGYJ If your question was for understanding, rather than for "how to make a double rifle out of a shotgun" let me give you a bit of advice.

Of the gun makers you rattled off, the one that fits closest to the "British Standard" of proper geometry, balance, weight, and action widths is going to be Heym. They have a smallbore double that can handle tiny stuff up to 375HH (maybe 450-400 as well), a "standard" that can handle your 375HH up to 500NE, and the "Gross Box" that is in 500NE and 577NE. They are not making shotguns on these actions, they are "Real" double rifle actions. However, you can pay another $6000ish on a custom order to add a pair of 20 gauge barrels to your double rifle. It's a miserable shotgun, poorly balanced and overweight, but very handy for practice at home and even better for hunting birds on a safari. Nonetheless, its a double rifle with shotgun barrels added, not the other way around.

Heym is sort of the "ground floor" in purpose built, incredibly reliable double rifles. They hold their values better than any other maker outside of the UK as well. They are so well built they can handle heavy loads and unfriendly monometal solids.

While my heart leans British in fine guns, my head knows that the Heym is the epitome of the price-to-quality ratio.

Thank you for this, rookhawk.
I really don’t know where the idea is coming from that I would plan to have a DR built out of a shot gun…! Did I somehow unintentionally indicate for this?
What drove my question is that I was wondering about the sizes of the actions without obvious correlation with caliber. I kind of suspected shot gun actions to be used when I saw the two Merkel…
BTW: had reached out to Krieghoff and Heym with my question, too. Heym yet has to respond but Krieghoff said their „Classic“ is modular built with the same size action for 7x57R to .500NE… -only the steel would be another one.
Not a really assuring statement… at least for me but I am not an expert on DR. It just doesn’t seem right.
Anyway.
Thank you for sharing your acknowledgment of the Heym design and values.
If you are interested in continental, ie German gun smith technology, I guess you will know this webpage:
https://www.germanhuntingguns.com/archives/

You also may want check out:
https://www.germanhuntingguns.com/archives/archive-thieme-schlegelmich/

and:
https://www.germanhuntingguns.com/archives/retz-gunter-torsten/

who built my Nimrod Double Rifle Drilling.

 

[IvW]

Ask Heym....

 

[Caveman]

@SHGYJ,

I pulled the measurements you are requesting from my Krieghoff Big 5 in 500-416. They are below (in inches), hope this helps.

A=1.83
B=1.56
C=1.36

 

[rookhawk]

Thank you for this, rookhawk.
I really don’t know where the idea is coming from that I would plan to have a DR built out of a shot gun…! Did I somehow unintentionally indicate for this?

The sophistication of your question creates an inference of a potential desire to build a double rifle. 99% of people buying them from other makers never consider the things you are considering.

All the above is a compliment. You're clearly an engineer at heart.

Go buy a Heym.

 

[SHGYJ]

Thank you, rookhawk.
Whenever considering hunting in Africa and/ or getting a DR, I will take your advice.