Why Not A Double Rifle?

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

I like it Ibgsafaris, very good idea.
Witold

 

[thriller]

@lbgsafaris What kind of 410 s/s did you get im actually in the market for one of those for quail hunting and im being very indecisive.

 

[slad68]

Hi @thriller DJ has a Zabala 410 S/S. Not knowing what I was buying I got for a very good deal, at that days Usd vs Zar rate I paid about $175.00 for it. It's a sweet little gun for sure.
Although a hassle to find, I like shooting the 3" shells. They have so much more power. The 3" shells work very well on Jackal, Genets and small cats.

A friend of mine was very fortunate to find me 3 boxes of 3" shells in SA yesterday and I bougt all 3 of them.

You will never regret buying one for yourself.

Blessings to all

 

[slad68]

• http://www.lbgsafaris.com/Jackal.html
• http://www.lbgsafaris.com/Birdhunting.html a Few pictures of the 410

 

[thriller]

that is a sweet little gun, especially for the money. Too bad I cant ship you 410 ga shells I can get 10 boxes of 3 in for $125.00 at my store here in Birmingham, AL.

 

[slad68]

Wow that would have been fantastic.

 

[markferrigno]

I think most folks read the question as only DG doubles and calibers. I currently live in Germany and own several Heym doubles and drillings. I have two Heym model 26B O/U in 7x57 and 756R and they are very accurate (both barrels POI within3-4CM) at 100M. I have shot past 100M but only with 1 barrel (I reload the same barrel) The regulation is done at 100M and I have a Leupold 3-9 on both; granted they are not dangerous game rifles or calibers. Two advantages is they are relatively light and very compact, very easy to wield if you are in thick stuff of going in and out of stands/blinds. Over here (as a US DOD member under SOFA) I am eligible to buy them tax-free so they are relatively inexpensive and you can call/email the factory and order exactly what you want, pick the ammo for regulation and if bu or provide the scope and mounts they will zero it for you, no charge.

I also have two O/U .222rem 20GA combination guns. One was built in 1964 and the .222 shoots 1/4 inch groups at 100M My wife shot a 4 shot group at 50M that I was able to cover with a 2 euro cent coin (smaller than a US Penny) Yes it is a single shot but damn it shots great.

I also own two Heym drillings, one a Bock Drilling (two rifle barrels,1 shotgun) and again they shoot very, very well.

It is a shame that these weapons (and esp. Heym) are not more popular in the US. I understand why, they are expensive
and generally not suited for US hunting. The Euros like the Drillings and combinations weapons for drive hunts and high seat hunting. Most hunters in the US would not see the utility in a $2000+ O/U double rifle.

My 2 cents anyway.

 

[Velo Dog]

CTDolan you jolted my memory with your mention of the 450/400. When I first started studying double rifles over ten years ago it was like trying to learn a foreign language. Much of the terminology was similar to what I knew when it came to firearms, but it was also so very different. On face, action bar, barrel lumps, rib extension, Greener crossbolt, rising bite, regulated, boxlock, sidelock, round action and so on and so forth. I was raised on lever action rifles, semi-autos pistols and rifles, revolvers and slide action shotguns. The world of the double seemed very arcane, but was also fascinating.However I've learned. I've never fired a double rifle, but I've still studied them. If I could afford one I wouldn't hesitate. Incidentally I read a rather interesting article a few years ago about an experienced African hunter from....I believe it was Spain....who finally satisfied a lifelong dream to take an Alaskan Kodiak Grizzly Bear. His weapon of choice was a fine English double rifle (I forget the maker - sorry) in 450/400. He got his bear and nobody thought he was being unrealistic in bringing such a firearm. It worked like a champ. I remember thinking how odd that a guy who had hunted Africa would have always wanted to go to Alaska, but then I realize it's all relative. For him Alaska would have seemed exotic. Africa us just across the Strait of Gibralter. Anyway doubles are amazing in my opinion.

Hello Jcordell,

Don't ever fire a properly made double rifle.
Look at them on the internet, discuss them, admire them from afar but, never fire or even handle one.
I'm not referring to poorly made ones like Sabatti, or some mess that Billy-Bob Corncob welded up on a Sears shotgun action.

I'm referring to double rifles beginning at the level of basic plain grade Merkel, Verney Carron and Chapuis, and then moving upward in general quality, fit and finish, all the way through and including any best grade English double.
If you ever do fire one, I am confident that you will become an instant and hopeless junkie.

Double rifles from the beginning level makers I mentioned, much less bespoke double rifles, really are quite worse than heroin.
It happened to me and it will happen to you.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[Bruce]

I have showed my doubles to several guys here and Florida and all say that it is much too expensive to own a nice double. These same guys go through a new quad runner every couple years along with swamp buggies, air boats and big trucks. They could easily purchase a really nice double gun. They also buy every hunting gadget known to have been advertised on the outdoor channel. Give me a double rifle, sharp knife, a good set of waterproof boots and some bug spray and I am set to go. Very low tech.

EXACTLY, my friend!! The only addition to your low tech list for me is BINOS... my eyes are nor what they used to be and I need binos to scour the bush for the animals.. other than that.. SPOT ON!!

 

[8 x 60]

EXACTLY, my friend!! The only addition to your low tech list for me is BINOS... my eyes are nor what they used to be and I need binos to scour the bush for the animals.. other than that.. SPOT ON!!

Yes Bruce agree but it might be sensible to add ammo to the list!!!

 

[Bruce]

Yes Bruce agree but it might be sensible to add ammo to the list!!!

That would be a HUGE advantage in our favour!!!

 

[8 x 60]

 

[Slugs Away]

< 100 yards double rifle, > 100 yards mauser rifle.

In my eyes a mauser is more handsome than a rifle that looks like a SXS shotgun.

YMMV

 

[thriller]

@Slugs Away you got this wrong a sxs shotgun looks like a double rifle not the other way around.

 

[Slugs Away]

@Slugs Away you got this wrong a sxs shotgun looks like a double rifle not the other way around.

Thanks for that ....

 

[duckman90]

< 100 yards double rifle, > 100 yards mauser rifle.

In my eyes a mauser is more handsome than a rifle that looks like a SXS shotgun.

YMMV

I would have to agree with you...so why not have Both Nice mauser/rigby for plains game and a double for some of the bruisers

 

[Tam Dl]

The cost thing is interesting. What i noticed in retail is that a very common thing is for people to buy essentially the same thing over and over. People are interested, in at least NA, in checking out all the options. The media pushes story after story about rifles that have a very similar nature, and in many ways have not improved all that much, if at all, in over 100 years. So people buy a Remington, then a Ruger, etc... Same thing with different nearly identical cartridges. Three things drive this:

1) More money than hunting (in most cases);
2) No limit on the number of guns;
3) The commercial set point is low because of 2). So there are a lot of 500 dollar rifles because there are millions of owners.


But for that cash, at the end of 20 years, you have easily paid out double money, at least at the reasonable end. And then there is the question of resale, hard to predict at the best of times, but sometime the expensive guns hold a little more value.

 

[DG Gunsmith]

I honestly can't think o' a single reason not to Hunt with a Double Rifle, in North America...

 

[DG Gunsmith]

I did not vote because all the choices were negative.
No one needs a double rifle "I read that somewhere". But man they are a hoot to use and get to no. Doubles go to priorities, just about any one can find one that fits their budget eventually if they want to. I looked for years partly because I am left handed but the price was a big thing. I had lots of experience with a .375 and really never found it lacking. I had shot one buffalo with a borrowed .458 and noticed that there was quite a difference in the result. Then I had a experience with a buffalo that didn't want to die and that is when I got serious about something bigger. I looked long and hard for a .470 but never found one so I ended up with a .500, the price was rite and it was left handed. The recoil was stiff but like anything you get used to it. If I do my part I can lay 4 shots side by side (2 and 2) into about 4" consistently at 50 yards. Lately I have stopped shooting at paper and started shooting clay pigeons turned on the side @ 50 yards, it is a lot of fun. I seldom miss. At first I padded way up but eventually got to the point I just use a light pad and sometimes no pad at all. I have noticed that the point of impact goes up and down depending on how much padding you use "that may just be me". People talk about packing the extra weight of a double but you don't notice it that much, and I have packed mine enough to take off lots of the bluing. So for my two cents worth I have to say any one thinking about it should find the way to buy one.

Fellow South-Paw, eh?