Cocking them gives away your location potentially. They are slow to reload. Most have non-functional or missing stalking safeties that make them unsafe. Fidgeting for a stalking safety is distracting and cannot be done without putting your eyes on the gun rather than the animal. Lastly, on many hammer guns you cannot reload them without half-cocking the hammers to retract the firing pins so you can open the top lever, or get the bottom lever open without potentially breaking the strikers.
I certainly wouldn’t want to be in the bush with someone using a hammer gun on DG. Sort of similar to, I would never do a walk-up (rough) upland hunt with someone carrying a hammer gun. Hammer guns are fine for skeet and fine for continental driven hunts at a peg, but not really useful for anything else.
For the range, enjoying a hammer rifle recreationally, I’d get a high grade 450 BPE. Not worth much, very attractive, fun to shoot, use cast lead bullets so you control the supply chain, etc.
I agree, it is not a common, nor a contemporary sight on any shoot or safari.
However:
- Having a loaded firearm, with only a small sliding safety between peace and chaos, walking for many miles, is not ideal. Blaser and Krieghoff recognized this, and made their sliding safety have a cocking and de-cocking function. Unfortunately, together with all the other "built for safety, modernity" stuff, (at least the Krieghoff double rifle, as I have not held a S2 in my hands) they are pretty much feeling like a lead bar in your hands.
- Having a double rifle with external hammers in a common NE cartridge, with ejectors. Only two positions, cocked or not. Rebounding hammers. Automatic cocking of the hammers upon opening. Top lever with a non-automatic sliding safety. Double triggers obviously. All of this together with the original British styling get's you the same functionality as the Krieghoff or the Blaser S2, in a much more attractive package.
- Upon leaving the vehicle, you load up, then gently let the hammers back down. You are now ready to take up the tracks. There is no possible way for the gun to fire. Everyone can relax.
- Game is spotted, the final stalk is about to commence, rifle goes in the hands, hammers are cocked, sliding safety is on, with the thumb resting on it.
- Ready for the shot, in one movement rifle is brought to shoulder, sliding safety is pushed off and gun is fired. Not moving the hands whatsoever, the top lever is operated, the double rifle is "broken open" with both hands, simultaneously cocking the two hammers again. Reload with the off-hand as usual, rifle is closed and you are ready to fire again.
I can only see benefits, both in style, form and safety. The hammers could be broken off, and you could still cock by opening and closing. For everyone around you to see, when hammers are down, rifle is safe.
I cannot get this concept out of my head.
