Bolt Guns are Better than Doubles?

[grand veneur]

Ultimately it's hard to decide what is better and what is not. I would like to hunt like in the past as when there was gun bearers and then I would take everything that would be needed given the circumstances.

 

[Luvthunt]

Based on many years of upland bird hunting with a double shotgun there is no way a bolt gun is as fast for the second shot as a double rifle/ shotgun.

Not based on one + opportunity a year but many many opportunities each year to use the second barrel.

 

[grand veneur]

Absolutely sure, but how often does a client in Africa need such a quick second shot ?

If you make a backup it may look different, but that is mainly reserved for the PH, rarely for other hunters.

 

[375er]

No bolt action can replace the quick second shot of a double. It is probably a rare occasion for a client hunter to need that quick second shot. But I can attest to the fact it can happen. The picture below was taken immediately after I was mauled by a buffalo. My rifle is under the buffalo with the bolt back. He hit me as as I was frantically trying to cycle the action for a second shot.

View attachment 633953

Holy crap!! Love to hear more of the story.

 

[Pondoro]

Absolutely sure, but how often does a client in Africa need such a quick second shot ?

If you make a backup it may look different, but that is mainly reserved for the PH, rarely for other hunters.

Well..I can think of elephant hunting..wich is usually done at very close distance.. The same apply to any dangerous game that are prone to attack..

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

Would I love to own a double for my first Tuskless hunt I have planned. Yes who wouldn't. But I, like others, just can't justify it. I have a wonderful CZ AHR 458 Lott that has taken 4 buff bulls and 3 cows plus plains game. I will use it loaded with Swift Breakaway Solids. I have both a 1-6 Leupold and Trijicon SRO in QD mounts. Instead of a double purchase I will be able to add maybe a second tuskless if there is still quota available.

I do agree tho, a double is faster for a second shot if needed fast.

 

[Scanos]

Holy crap!! Love to hear more of the story.

You can read about it on here in the thread titled "Pain and Redemption in Niassa". If you read the comments after the story the PH weighs in as well.

 

[grand veneur]

Well..I can think of elephant hunting..wich is usually done at very close distance.. The same apply to any dangerous game that are prone to attack..

I can only say that after more than 30 years of regular hunting in Africa, unfortunately things don't always turn out as they should in theory. Sometimes you can shoot at short distances without any problems, but at times the game is not standing as good visible as you would like it to be or when it finally stands calm on a place it is in a wide open field and the distances are not exactly what you would like for shooting a big game... and so on.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Have taken the giants with both. The double is a more challenging hunt with more limitations(distance & accuracy).
The bolt action has more versatility.
You as a double rifle hunter need to decide if you’re ok going home without a trophy if the shot did not present itself.
Most of the time that a quick second shot is needed a third and fourth shot comes along for the ride…

HH

 

[grand veneur]

You must often hunt yourself buffaloes but also with others hunters in order to gain experience in many different situations. You then look at some things with a more objective point of view and does not refer too much to theory.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Based on my lack of any PH experience and having read a ton of these threads, I'm not inclined to say one is better than the other except for one circumstance.

Bolts have the advantage of a deeper magazine if that is indeed necessary, albeit they take longer to fill than dropping two rounds into the empty chambers of a double. I believe most folks can pull that 2nd shot faster with the double than with a bolt. The time between my first and second shot on my buffalo was very short. It really wasn't out of necessity due to a charge, it was that the second shot was offered as the bull came to a stop after initially trying to flee. Could I have made that second shot just as quickly with my M70.....maybe/maybe not. PH told me it was about 2 seconds between shots, but it was all a blur to me, one of those moments that time slows when you're super focused.

So I won't make a call on which is better from a functional point of view. As for the classic experience, well I do think there's something just special about a double that makes things different. But that's a subjective opinion and it may not matter to others, nor does it have to.

If there is any area that I think the double excels at over the bolt, it's using the available truly big bore cartridges. The .470NE is enough for me, albeit much better in my current rifle with its mercury recoil reducer installed, but it's still pretty much the top end for me in handling recoil. I'm fairly certain I would not want to use a single barreled bolt in the same caliber.