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Thread: Double rifles.. Whaddya got?

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    Double rifles.. Whaddya got?

    I got an itch that I may be able to scratch next year if I can get to Africa. Does anyone have experience/ recommendations regarding double rifles and/or African hunting? .375 or .416 should do it, but I've shot .50 BMG so I won't rule out a .458 or .460.
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master

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    I do not have a double rifle but think a 35 Whelan would make a nice double. I saw a video of a boar hunt in Europe, and two gentlement from England were hunting with doubles. One was chambered in 30-06, I forget the other. Sure there are so many great rifle calibers for a double. I have just always had a curiosity about loading and shooting the 35 Whelan
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    Anywhere else I'm sure I'd be happy with a .35 Whelan and it probably would make for a pretty nice package but some areas in Africa (last I heard) .375 was the legal minimum.
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  4. #4
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    How much money are you wanting to spend?

    https://www.krieghoff.com/hunting-gu...-double-rifle/

    https://www.gunbroker.com/Other-Rifl...13&PageSize=24

    My personal double is a 30-06 and that is plenty for this old man

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  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    I don't think I will ever hunt Africa, but there are some pretty big critters in North America. Africa sounds fun, I will spend my money in America first, particularly in areas where hunting really helps the local economy. Kill a wolf in Idaho, and someone will likely buy you a beer. I have a buddy that hunted Elk in Idaho for decades. Of late, he has said the Elk and Deer have been reduced %85 since the wolf was reintroduced. He bagged a wolf and went into a little town near their base camp. Town of 1400 or so, said everyone in town came to thank him. Game warden said if you want the hide, go ahead and tag. If not, shoot the wolf, leave it, and don't worry about a tag. The wolf is killing their economy.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    The Krieghoff is not likely to appear in my safe but GoneBroker has a handful that are more realistic.
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  7. #7
    Boolit Buddy StolzerandSons's Avatar
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    I own several double rifles both muzzleloading and cartridge guns but for a one gun for Africa caliber it would definitely be the 450/400-3". Big enough to use for DG with the right bullet but also very usable for plains, recoil is very manageable.
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  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Thanks.
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  9. #9
    In Remembrance Reverend Al's Avatar
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    Well, another one of my "project guns" that is on the back burner is a Thomas Clayton percussion SxS double rifle built on the Jacobs pattern in about .52 calibre. The patchbox is engraved in old Latin and roughly translates to "Presented to Lt. E. Rogers by the grateful men of his African Legion 1858". Lt. Eberneezer Rogers was active in Africa and was mentioned in dispatches at least twice. He eventually returned to Britain and retired as a military recruiter in Ireland. He published several military journals and was a huge proponent of the Gatling gun for the defence of military fortifications. (So much in fact that his two houses were named "Gatling House" and "Gatling Lodge".)

    It shows signs of honest use, but good care and maintenance considering it's use in tropical Africa and the bores are good. If only it could talk ...

    I need to do a couple of cerrosafe castings of both muzzles to get the correct dimensions so that Red River Rick can make me a mould for it. It is based on the Jacobs pattern and uses a cast bullet of about .52 calibre with integral bands to fit the grooves of the rifling.



















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  10. #10
    In Remembrance Reverend Al's Avatar
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    As a side note you can see that both of the sliding safeties are missing which makes me think that they might have been deliberately removed to ensure that they weren't "knocked on" in error preventing the use of the second barrel when hunting dangerous game. Just my guess, but it makes sense to me ...
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  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    That is amazing. I don't know if I'd want double triggers but it seems they were pretty common back then.
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    JSnover,

    IF you're interested in an "old school" double-rifle, I may know of a gentleman here in San Antonio who has (or at least had recently) for sale a hammer SxS DR in a great hard-case in .43 Spanish Mauser. - His price at the last gunshow here was 1,000.oo cash.

    Shall I see if it's still for sale??

    NOTE: My particular "addiction" is Drillings & Cape-Guns but I was still tempted to buy it.
    (I'm saving my nickles & dimes to buy an 1890s Cape Gun in 16-gauge by 11.15x60 Rimmed, that a fellow in Bandera has, that is more ornate than I can adequately describe in words.)

    yours, tex
    Last edited by texasnative46; 01-13-2018 at 11:42 PM. Reason: add

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by texasnative46 View Post
    JSnover,

    IF you're interested in an "old school" double-rifle, I may know of a gentleman here in San Antonio who has (or at least had recently) for sale a hammer SxS DR in a great hard-case in .43 Spanish Mauser. - His price at the last gunshow here was 1,000.oo cash.

    Shall I see if it's still for sale??

    NOTE: My particular "addiction" is Drillings & Cape-Guns but I was still tempted to buy it.
    (I'm saving my nickles & dimes to buy an 1890s Cape Gun in 16-gauge by 11.15x60 Rimmed, that a fellow in Bandera has, that is more ornate than I can adequately describe in words.)

    yours, tex
    I would be interested, thank you Tex!
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  14. #14
    In Remembrance Reverend Al's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JSnover View Post
    That is amazing. I don't know if I'd want double triggers but it seems they were pretty common back then.
    Double triggers were the norm back then, especially when you were working with two separate sidelocks, one for each barrel. The accepted shooting method for a fast follow up shot on dangerous game was not to move your trigger finger back to the second trigger by itself, but to slide your entire hand back on the grip to bring your trigger finger to the back trigger for the live barrel, and then squeeze the back trigger. Once you get accustomed to the English method of using double triggers it is VERY fast ...
    I may have passed my "Best Before" date, but I haven't reached my "Expiry" date!

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master



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    Double triggers were considered to be more reliable.

    On hard recoiling rifles some prefer to use the rear trigger first to prevent doubling.

    Good discussion here. https://www.africahunting.com/thread...riggers.23060/

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master
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    As said, the 375 cal. is min., I believe, for Africa. the 450/400 would be a good cartridge, or possibly the 450 NE (which is what I was looking for at one time).

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    JSnover,

    Presuming that he comes to the 03-04FEB18 gun-show, I'll ask him if it's still available.

    yours, tex

  18. #18
    Boolit Master NoAngel's Avatar
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    Szecsei & Fuchs is probably the coolest double rifle ever made.

    Met a rather wealthy man at Knob Creek many years ago that had one in some Gibbs cartridge, I forget which.
    Not sure if he was a really cool guy or insane but he let me hold it. Hard the fathom I was holding something worth more than the house and property I was living in at the time. Lol!
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  19. #19
    Boolit Master

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    To do this PROPERLY. . .you'd definitely want two triggers. Part of the appeal is that you essentially have two completely funntioning firearms should one half of the gun fail.

    You'd also want to do it in a rimmed cartridge, rather than a rimless magazine rifle cartridge pressed into the task. Makes for a less complex ejector system. Depending on what you're planning to hunt, and how much kick you're willing to absorb, there's a lot of options - just don't count on finding the dies for most of them on the shelf at Bass Pro.

    Which brings us to the next point - these things are regulated to shoot one or two specific loads with both barrels to the same point of aim. You aren't necessarily going to be able to "dial it down" for comfort and cope with a simple readjustment of sights. Soooo. . .if you plan to play a lot with cast loads for economy, expect to be playing with something that rocks your world to about the same degree as your "fightin' ammo". Might want to factor that into your cartridge selection.

    I've dabbled with the inexpensive Baikal .45-70 with the jack screw between the barrels for adjustment, and it's possible - if a bit mind bending - to use that and load technique to get things dialed in pretty nicely, but I think the more costly, build-the-gun-for-a-specific-load approach would hurt the cerebrum less in the long run.

    Not sure I clearly grasp Reverend Al's technique, but my inclination would be to start with the back trigger then move to the front - simply as a measure of avoiding an unintended, rapid second discharge when dealing with hard kicking rounds under the stress of thumping a large, angry critter.

    Last thing to consider - other than the cool factor - is a double REALLY what you want for hunting stuff that can kill you back? Having been programmed to run a bolt action since basically birth, there is NO WAY IN HELL I would consider taking a double into harm's way. If, on the other hand, the primary occupation of your youth was busting upland birds with the ancestral twin-trigger side-by-side, a double rifle may be just the thing for you.
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  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by texasnative46 View Post
    JSnover,

    Presuming that he comes to the 03-04FEB18 gun-show, I'll ask him if it's still available.

    yours, tex
    Thanks Tex. If I get hooked up before then I'll let you know.
    Warning: I know Judo. If you force me to prove it I'll shoot you.

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