When showing off your new Elephant rifle goes wrong

[Backyardsniper]

So...what had happened was, the local deer camp that I attend had a skeet shoot/Texas Holdem' gathering yesterday. This is a fairly standard issue event around here in the greater West KY area. Probably 12 or 15 of us invited to hang out at the local deer camp, cook, shoot a few clays, drink a bunch of beer, and lose money a good bit of money at the poker table. I wanting to show off my new double rifle, as you might imagine, there is a terrible shortage of 470 N.E. double rifles in the rural KY area, brought the rifle with me.
We had a rifle target set up and the kiddo's were shooting BB guns and 22's. So we decided to get out the double and give her a try. I put the rifle together and dropped 2 of the shiny nickel plated federal cases topped off with CEB solids into the barrel with a very satisfying "Plunk!" which drew some ooh's and ahh's and snapped it shut then I proceeded to draw down on the target with a relaxed manner that only 12-15 coor's banquet beers can produce and squeezed very gently on the front trigger. I was rewarded with what would have been possible the most impressive double tap that had ever been witnessed, and would have made the finest of tier one operators tip a hat in my direction, if those two bullets had landed in any reasonable proximity to each other . I'm my most relaxed state I had not applied quite enough grip on the rifle and doubled it. I would have readily blamed it on a rifle malfunction but it was not. I clearly felt my finger slip from one trigger to the other under recoil, which was solidified by the fact that my finger was indeed resting on the rear trigger when I returned the barrels to a horizontal position from thier then skywards orientation.
It was not as bad as one would imagine, I would not wish to repeat it regularly, but it was survivable ha ha. There was much confusion among the spectators as to whether this had been done intentionally and that was just how you operated one of these strange rifles. I explained to them that it was indeed not the normal method of operation. I then reloaded and did manage to fire a very pretty offhand pair at 25 yards that landed right at 1" apart squarely at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock of a 1" bullseye at 25 yards. A few of the other guys shot it and a good time was had by all, and I won a few dollars playing bluebird, I then skipped partaking in the Texas Holdem' so as to maintain my winnings from the bluebird and a smidgen of my pride.

 

[Travis2282]

Sorry to sound rude, but drinking and shooting guns especially around children don’t mix!

 

[RTG]

So...what had happened was, the local deer camp that I attend had a skeet shoot/Texas Holdem' gathering yesterday. This is a fairly standard issue event around here in the greater West KY area. Probably 12 or 15 of us invited to hang out at the local deer camp, cook, shoot a few clays, drink a bunch of beer, and lose money a good bit of money at the poker table. I wanting to show off my new double rifle, as you might imagine, there is a terrible shortage of 470 N.E. double rifles in the rural KY area, brought the rifle with me.
We had a rifle target set up and the kiddo's were shooting BB guns and 22's. So we decided to get out the double and give her a try. I put the rifle together and dropped 2 of the shiny nickel plated federal cases topped off with CEB solids into the barrel with a very satisfying "Plunk!" which drew some ooh's and ahh's and snapped it shut then I proceeded to draw down on the target with a relaxed manner that only 12-15 coor's banquet beers can produce and squeezed very gently on the front trigger. I was rewarded with what would have been possible the most impressive double tap that had ever been witnessed, and would have made the finest of tier one operators tip a hat in my direction, if those two bullets had landed in any reasonable proximity to each other . I'm my most relaxed state I had not applied quite enough grip on the rifle and doubled it. I would have readily blamed it on a rifle malfunction but it was not. I clearly felt my finger slip from one trigger to the other under recoil, which was solidified by the fact that my finger was indeed resting on the rear trigger when I returned the barrels to a horizontal position from thier then skywards orientation.
It was not as bad as one would imagine, I would not wish to repeat it regularly, but it was survivable ha ha. There was much confusion among the spectators as to whether this had been done intentionally and that was just how you operated one of these strange rifles. I explained to them that it was indeed not the normal method of operation. I then reloaded and did manage to fire a very pretty offhand pair at 25 yards that landed right at 1" apart squarely at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock of a 1" bullseye at 25 yards. A few of the other guys shot it and a good time was had by all, and I won a few dollars playing bluebird, I then skipped partaking in the Texas Holdem' so as to maintain my winnings from the bluebird and a smidgen of my pride.

Was the recoil with two 470, as bad as your 460wby with no comp?

 

[Backyardsniper]

Was the recoil with two 470, as bad as your 460wby with no comp?

There was just a tiny delay between the two shots so the velocity of the recoil was definitely not as violent as the 460, however the "push" was impressive to say the least. It was two different animals for sure. The problem with the 460 is the recoil with the factory ammo which I really never used. The 460 weighed about 8.75lb the 470 is 10.3lb so it slows the recoil. Had i sent both rounds at exactly the same time I suspect it would have been considerably more unpleasant. With the split second between the barrel going off it made it more tolerable. It was not as bad as I would have guessed it to be, also the fact that I waa shooting offhand standing up probably really helped. Had it truly doubled while shooting off a bench or a rest I suspect it would have been much worse.

 

[RTG]

8.75 pounds. Holy cow.

I once gave my 500S&W to a 16 year old, under recoil the barrel damn near hit him in the forehead. Big kid who shot often, I was shocked. Opened the cylinder and two rounds were fired. Nobody heard the second, they were fired that close together. Turns out the kid fired and then squeezed the grip, and trigger, for dear life. In doing he so he fired two rounds, almost at the same time.

Turns out the last bigbore he had fired was a single action 454. He got accustomed to dealing with the recoil by holding on for dear life with both hands, including his trigger finger.

 

[Backyardsniper]

8.75 pounds. Holy cow.

I once gave my 500S&W to a 16 year old, under recoil the barrel damn near hit him in the forehead. Big kid who shot often, I was shocked. Opened the cylinder and two rounds were fired. Nobody heard the second, they were fired that close together. Turns out the kid fired and then squeezed the grip, and trigger, for dear life. In doing he so he fired two rounds, almost at the same time.

Turns out the last bigbore he had fired was a single action 454. He got accustomed to dealing with the recoil by holding on for dear life with both hands, including his trigger finger.

I have actually seen some videos of those big bore revolvers doubling like that. It is crazy. It seems to discharge the second round at the top of the recoil of the first round. My guess is that is when the brain catches up with the amount of recoil and tightens the whole grip to try to pull the pistol away from the face, resulting in an accidentally pulling the trigger a second time because the pistol is tipped backwards and the leverage to pull it back down ends up applying pressure to the trigger.

 

[C.W. Richter]

I've yet to have that happen in a bolt. And, 2-4 more shots still available. Beer back at camp for celebrating. Sans the beer, if you were aiming when that happened, the result on an elephant, buff, hippo or rhino would be impressive!!

 

[Backyardsniper]

I've yet to have that happen in a bolt. And, 2-4 more shots still available. Beer back at camp for celebrating. Sans the beer, if you were aiming when that happened, the result on an elephant, buff, hippo or rhino would be impressive!!

Man if you could harness that and pull off a well controlled pair at that distance ans place them within a couple of inches of each other, the impact on target would be truly impressive.

 

[Happy Myles]

Why not use rear trigger first? Unlike a double shotgun where each barrel may have a different choke.

 

[Backyardsniper]

Why not use rear trigger first? Unlike a double shotgun where each barrel may have a different choke.

Apparently the propper way to shoot a double is to fire the front trigger first. I don't disagree though that simply using the rear trigger first would avoid that issue entirely.

 

[Backyardsniper]

Sorry to sound rude, but drinking and shooting guns especially around children don’t mix!

May have to put your purse down for some of my posts.

 

[Royal27]

Sorry to sound rude, but drinking and shooting guns especially around children don’t mix!

Stating a fact like that is never rude. OP definitely not one I would ever be close to with guns or liquor involved. Anyone who thinks poor and dangerous choices are something funny to share....

 

[Backyardsniper]

Stating a fact like that is never rude. OP definitely not one I would ever be close to with guns or liquor involved. Anyone who thinks poor and dangerous choices are something funny to share....

I mean to each his own. I don't disagree that you don't want to get piss drunk and play with guns, but sometimes you just have to take a funny story for what it is. With the things I have done I would classify this as a very mild story.

 

[Backyardsniper]

There is no need to use the rear trigger first. I have nearly 800 rounds through two doubles and have never had a double. Grip it tight, don’t strum the back trigger.

I agree. This double was 100% the result of holding the rifle way too lightly. It was definitely a good learning experience, and also a good laugh for all my buddies in attendance.

 

[Royal27]

I mean to each his own. I don't disagree that you don't want to get piss drunk and play with guns, but sometimes you just have to take a funny story for what it is. With the things I have done I would classify this as a very mild story.

Not much to brag about, but like you said, to each his own.

I'll stay on the other side with the people who learned how to handle guns responsibly.

 

[Backyardsniper]

Not much to brag about, but like you said, to each his own.

I'll stay on the other side with the people who learned how to handle guns responsibly.

I'm pretty sure I have a great deal of "safe gun handling experience" I get what you are saying, but some of us grew up with the ability to drink a few beers and still have a little sense about us. I mean do you think we had kids out there running figure 8's around the target while we were shooting?

 

[ActionBob]

So...what had happened was, the local deer camp that I attend had a skeet shoot/Texas Holdem' gathering yesterday. This is a fairly standard issue event around here in the greater West KY area. Probably 12 or 15 of us invited to hang out at the local deer camp, cook, shoot a few clays, drink a bunch of beer, and lose money a good bit of money at the poker table. I wanting to show off my new double rifle, as you might imagine, there is a terrible shortage of 470 N.E. double rifles in the rural KY area, brought the rifle with me.
We had a rifle target set up and the kiddo's were shooting BB guns and 22's. So we decided to get out the double and give her a try. I put the rifle together and dropped 2 of the shiny nickel plated federal cases topped off with CEB solids into the barrel with a very satisfying "Plunk!" which drew some ooh's and ahh's and snapped it shut then I proceeded to draw down on the target with a relaxed manner that only 12-15 coor's banquet beers can produce and squeezed very gently on the front trigger. I was rewarded with what would have been possible the most impressive double tap that had ever been witnessed, and would have made the finest of tier one operators tip a hat in my direction, if those two bullets had landed in any reasonable proximity to each other . I'm my most relaxed state I had not applied quite enough grip on the rifle and doubled it. I would have readily blamed it on a rifle malfunction but it was not. I clearly felt my finger slip from one trigger to the other under recoil, which was solidified by the fact that my finger was indeed resting on the rear trigger when I returned the barrels to a horizontal position from thier then skywards orientation.
It was not as bad as one would imagine, I would not wish to repeat it regularly, but it was survivable ha ha. There was much confusion among the spectators as to whether this had been done intentionally and that was just how you operated one of these strange rifles. I explained to them that it was indeed not the normal method of operation. I then reloaded and did manage to fire a very pretty offhand pair at 25 yards that landed right at 1" apart squarely at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock of a 1" bullseye at 25 yards. A few of the other guys shot it and a good time was had by all, and I won a few dollars playing bluebird, I then skipped partaking in the Texas Holdem' so as to maintain my winnings from the bluebird and a smidgen of my pride.

Damn, you just really blew up any respect that was left....

I have had problems blow up when I drink and post on-line. But drinking and shooting or even handling guns... and with kiddos around, perhaps they were perfectly safe but is this really the type of example you want to set for them? Just please give that some sincere thought. With all the crap going on and the constant barrage of liberal garbage fed kids these days. The adults around them need to be, well adults.

 

[Royal27]

I'm pretty sure I have a great deal of "safe gun handling experience" I get what you are saying, but some of us grew up with the ability to drink a few beers and still have a little sense about us. I mean do you think we had kids out there running figure 8's around the target while we were shooting?

You doubled an elephant gun, while drinking, and "relaxed" as you put it. And did all this with kids around. If you didn't have enough wits to properly hold the rifle who the heck knows what else you didn't have the wits for.

I've heard plenty of drunks say they could drive just fine after a "few beers." They were wrong and you are too. Your goal shouldn't be to have a "little sense" left. It should be to have ALL your sense !!!

I'm done posting here. Someone like you will never learn.

 

[xausa]

Soon after I took delivery of my Krieghoff Teck O/U DR in .458 WM, I had it out on the farm wandering around looking for targets of opportunity. I decided to shoot at a knob on a tree roughly 50 feet away and proceeded to line up the sights of the 2 1/2X scope and squeeze a shot off. What followed was an enormous boom and I found myself relentlessly propelled rearward, I took two steps backwards and got my feet tangled up and sat down. The event was a genuine double, since the two bullets impacted only inches away from each other, and I took the rifle in to my gunsmith to have whatever was wrong corrected. Whatever he did, did the job, since that was in 1971 and the rifle has accompanied me on three African hunts, with a total of eleven weeks in the field, with no further difficulties.
For those technically inclined, the recoil of such a "double" is four times that of a single shot, since the recoil varies with the square of the bullet weight and since the bullet weight is doubled, the recoil is quadrupled. Nonetheless, I suffered no injury, except perhaps to my pride, no broken bones or even bruises. I didn't have a similar experience again until I tried out my .577 bolt gun, but I managed not to get my feet tangled up and remained standing after retreating two paces after firing it.

 

[Backyardsniper]

Soon after I took delivery of my Krieghoff Teck O/U DR in .458 WM, I had it out on the farm wandering around looking for targets of opportunity. I decided to shoot at a knob on a tree roughly 50 feet away and proceeded to line up the sights of the 2 1/2X scope and squeeze a shot off. What followed was an enormous boom and I found myself relentlessly propelled rearward, I took two steps backwards and got my feet tangled up and sat down. The event was a genuine double, since the two bullets impacted only inches away from each other, and I took the rifle in to my gunsmith to have whatever was wrong corrected. Whatever he did, did the job, since that was in 1971 and the rifle has accompanied me on three African hunts, with a total of eleven weeks in the field, with no further difficulties.
For those technically inclined, the recoil of such a "double" is four times that of a single shot, since the recoil varies with the square of the bullet weight and since the bullet weight is doubled, the recoil is quadrupled. Nonetheless, I suffered no injury, except perhaps to my pride, no broken bones or even bruises. I didn't have a similar experience again until I tried out my .577 bolt gun, but I managed not to get my feet tangled up and remained standing after retreating two paces after firing it.

Man! I am glad that mine did not genuinely double. That is a helluva wallop. I definitely learned the value of getting it snugged in tight, luckily without too much extra punishment.