Double Rifle for Your First Safari?

[Backyardsniper]

I had a lot of people tell me that I shouldn't take a double rifle on my first safari. "Save it for your fourth or fifth safari," they said. Fourth and fifth safaris simply may not be a reality for some of us. Trips to Africa for most of us are based around the romance of hunting Africa, and for some, a big part of that romance is hunting Africa with a double. I mean lets face it, there is nothing that compares to the feeling of breaking open a double and dunking two of those big rounds into the chamber and snapping her shut before you stroll off into the bush. When I originally booked with Phillip Smythe before his incident, he said something that really stuck with me while we were discussing what rifle I should bring. "What do you see yourself shooting your buffalo with? That is what you should bring." While there is some sound reasoning behind not bringing a double on your first trip, I decided I would take a double, and what I learned is there are two very important questions you need to ask yourself before you take a double to Africa on your first or tenth trip.

One of those questions is, how important is actually killing your target animals on this trip? Would you be willing to walk away from this trip with nothing but the experience of hunting these animals and possibly not getting a shot? There is a real possibility that you might not find yourself in position to take a shot with a double, where you may have easily been able to take that animal with a scoped rifle. The second question, in my opinion, is how much time are you willing and or able to commit to training with a double rifle. Double rifles are fickle mistresses; they are difficult to shoot well, and they take a ton of practice to get truly proficient with. I purchased mine about a year before my hunt, and I shot roughly 250 rounds through it prior to the hunt. I still don't shoot it as well as I feel that I should be able to. As a client on a safari you have a serious responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders. If you make a bad shot and wound an animal, that PH and his trackers are obligated to go in and clean up the mess you have made. You have now put lives in danger, and if that situation has arisen due to your negligence in training then you are gonna have to live with that if you get somebody hurt. Bad shots happen, that is just part of hunting, but if you are going to voluntarily handicap yourself by taking a double, then you owe it to the PH and the entire crew to do your due diligence and practice with that rifle and attain the highest level of proficiency that you can.

I absolutely loved hunting with a double. If I had it to do over, I would definitely take the double on my first trip again, and I would say that most of my future hunts will be with my double. Adding the challenge of having to close the distance on some of the smaller plains game to get within double gun range brought a whole new level of fun to the hunt. I say if you want to hunt with a double on your first safari then go for it! Understand the risks you are taking, commit to the training necessary, then go to Africa and live your dream.

 

[Tanks]

…

I absolutely loved hunting with a double. If I had it to do over, I would definitely take the double on my first trip again, and I would say that most of my future hunts will be with my double. Adding the challenge of having to close the distance on some of the smaller plains game to get within double gun range brought a whole new level of fun to the hunt. I say if you want to hunt with a double on your first safari then go for it! Understand the risks you are taking, commit to the training necessary, then go to Africa and live your dream.

Yep. It is a lot of fun. I’ll be hunting my third elephant and maybe third buffalo with a double this October. It is an expensive trophy elephant hunt and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get close and take the shot.

Contemplating a double tuskless and a buffalo in 2024 with my .500 as well.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

I think you hit on the two biggest things: personal satisfaction and realistic expectations. If just killing animals is the goal, well that's fine, but maybe there are better options. But if the gun choice itself is a part of the overall experience then go with it! And do so understanding that it may come with limitations, and be OK with those.

I heard from some along the same lines about my choices in lever action rifles, which is my preference. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Kudos to you sir for deciding what was important to you, implementing a plan, and being happy with the results.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

I had a lot of people tell me that I shouldn't take a double rifle on my first safari. "Save it for your fourth or fifth safari," they said. Fourth and fifth safaris simply may not be a reality for some of us. Trips to Africa for most of us are based around the romance of hunting Africa, and for some, a big part of that romance is hunting Africa with a double. I mean lets face it, there is nothing that compares to the feeling of breaking open a double and dunking two of those big rounds into the chamber and snapping her shut before you stroll off into the bush. When I originally booked with Phillip Smythe before his incident, he said something that really stuck with me while we were discussing what rifle I should bring. "What do you see yourself shooting your buffalo with? That is what you should bring." While there is some sound reasoning behind not bringing a double on your first trip, I decided I would take a double, and what I learned is there are two very important questions you need to ask yourself before you take a double to Africa on your first or tenth trip.

One of those questions is, how important is actually killing your target animals on this trip? Would you be willing to walk away from this trip with nothing but the experience of hunting these animals and possibly not getting a shot? There is a real possibility that you might not find yourself in position to take a shot with a double, where you may have easily been able to take that animal with a scoped rifle. The second question, in my opinion, is how much time are you willing and or able to commit to training with a double rifle. Double rifles are fickle mistresses; they are difficult to shoot well, and they take a ton of practice to get truly proficient with. I purchased mine about a year before my hunt, and I shot roughly 250 rounds through it prior to the hunt. I still don't shoot it as well as I feel that I should be able to. As a client on a safari you have a serious responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders. If you make a bad shot and wound an animal, that PH and his trackers are obligated to go in and clean up the mess you have made. You have now put lives in danger, and if that situation has arisen due to your negligence in training then you are gonna have to live with that if you get somebody hurt. Bad shots happen, that is just part of hunting, but if you are going to voluntarily handicap yourself by taking a double, then you owe it to the PH and the entire crew to do your due diligence and practice with that rifle and attain the highest level of proficiency that you can.

I absolutely loved hunting with a double. If I had it to do over, I would definitely take the double on my first trip again, and I would say that most of my future hunts will be with my double. Adding the challenge of having to close the distance on some of the smaller plains game to get within double gun range brought a whole new level of fun to the hunt. I say if you want to hunt with a double on your first safari then go for it! Understand the risks you are taking, commit to the training necessary, then go to Africa and live your dream.

Hunting with a Double is incredibly addictive! I love the additional difficulty it poses but that has not stopped me from taking other rifle combinations to Africa. On my next adventure in almost a weeks time, I will be taking a couple of Blaser R8’s in 458 Lott, 375 H&H, and 300 Win Mag.

HH

 

[375Fox]

This is a really well written post. I still think the advice you were given was generally good advice. You also went on a first safari that will be difficult to top and that many wouldn’t consider before their 4th or 5th hunt. It’s difficult for me to understand but the more I read on AH the more I realize there are hunters who value the romance of the hunt more than the hunting. I don’t care what clothes I wear while I’m hunting or the rifle I use as long as it’s fully functional. The area I hunt and PH I hunt with is top consideration for me. I’d rather put the money for a double toward a better or more hunts. I see it often here where a double is used on a hunt I think is below the rifle but cost was the major consideration in the hunt choice. On your hunt though I’d say all factors came together, a top area, great PH, and the rifle that fit your vision so I think you made right choice for yourself.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

"It’s difficult for me to understand but the more I read on AH the more I realize there are hunters who value the romance of the hunt more than the hunting."

Bingo @375Fox ... Well stated sir. We all march to our own drummers. Mine whisper in my ear "Psst... Use... a... lever... action..."

 

[Red Leg]

I had a lot of people tell me that I shouldn't take a double rifle on my first safari. "Save it for your fourth or fifth safari," they said. Fourth and fifth safaris simply may not be a reality for some of us. Trips to Africa for most of us are based around the romance of hunting Africa, and for some, a big part of that romance is hunting Africa with a double. I mean lets face it, there is nothing that compares to the feeling of breaking open a double and dunking two of those big rounds into the chamber and snapping her shut before you stroll off into the bush. When I originally booked with Phillip Smythe before his incident, he said something that really stuck with me while we were discussing what rifle I should bring. "What do you see yourself shooting your buffalo with? That is what you should bring." While there is some sound reasoning behind not bringing a double on your first trip, I decided I would take a double, and what I learned is there are two very important questions you need to ask yourself before you take a double to Africa on your first or tenth trip.

One of those questions is, how important is actually killing your target animals on this trip? Would you be willing to walk away from this trip with nothing but the experience of hunting these animals and possibly not getting a shot? There is a real possibility that you might not find yourself in position to take a shot with a double, where you may have easily been able to take that animal with a scoped rifle. The second question, in my opinion, is how much time are you willing and or able to commit to training with a double rifle. Double rifles are fickle mistresses; they are difficult to shoot well, and they take a ton of practice to get truly proficient with. I purchased mine about a year before my hunt, and I shot roughly 250 rounds through it prior to the hunt. I still don't shoot it as well as I feel that I should be able to. As a client on a safari you have a serious responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders. If you make a bad shot and wound an animal, that PH and his trackers are obligated to go in and clean up the mess you have made. You have now put lives in danger, and if that situation has arisen due to your negligence in training then you are gonna have to live with that if you get somebody hurt. Bad shots happen, that is just part of hunting, but if you are going to voluntarily handicap yourself by taking a double, then you owe it to the PH and the entire crew to do your due diligence and practice with that rifle and attain the highest level of proficiency that you can.

I absolutely loved hunting with a double. If I had it to do over, I would definitely take the double on my first trip again, and I would say that most of my future hunts will be with my double. Adding the challenge of having to close the distance on some of the smaller plains game to get within double gun range brought a whole new level of fun to the hunt. I say if you want to hunt with a double on your first safari then go for it! Understand the risks you are taking, commit to the training necessary, then go to Africa and live your dream.

I know I have voiced similar considerations here many times, but never so well.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I often wonder if those who just see the utilitarian side of things are not missing out? It is an imponderable, you will never know because we are all who we are. I for one like fine things because of the amount of effort that went into them, for no other reason than they would bring the appreciating ones pleasure. By sheer definition, therefore, those who don’t appreciate them miss that pleasure.

So a first safari is very special indeed, it is planned for, saved for, looked forward to, imagined and dreamt about. Why indeed not add to the experience if you can with a double rifle, or any other for that matter that is equally special to you? Add the spice, why not?

 

[Backyardsniper]

This is a really well written post. I still think the advice you were given was generally good advice. You also went on a first safari that will be difficult to top and that many wouldn’t consider before their 4th or 5th hunt. It’s difficult for me to understand but the more I read on AH the more I realize there are hunters who value the romance of the hunt more than the hunting. I don’t care what clothes I wear while I’m hunting or the rifle I use as long as it’s fully functional. The area I hunt and PH I hunt with is top consideration for me. I’d rather put the money for a double toward a better or more hunts. I see it often here where a double is used on a hunt I think is below the rifle but cost was the major consideration in the hunt choice. On your hunt though I’d say all factors came together, a top area, great PH, and the rifle that fit your vision so I think you made right choice for yourself.

You are correct on that. I agree that it is pretty much solid advice. There are a lot of things that could have vastly changed the outcome of my hunt. The buffalo being a good example, we were very close.to taking a 60-70 yard shot when we were mixed up in that herd. That could have had a different outcome, especially if a person had not practiced for that particular scenario. I also think you are right about the degree of my first safari, I think for some reason I had assumed this was what you were supposed to do on your first safari. Buffalo, elephant, hippo, now that coupled with the fact that I absolutely hit the lottery as far as the area we hunted and the opportunities I was afforded on that hunt, just being lucky enough to happen upon the animals that I did shoot and the situations that I shot them in was pure luck. I do still stand by the romance aspect of it. I have a weird relationship with killing, while I definitely want to kill the game I came to hunt, it is not the end of the world for me if I don't kill that particular animal, provided that the hunt resulted in some really enjoyable interaction with the local wildlife, for example getting to stalk in close to some herds of elephant or buffalo and be in amongst them without their knowledge of my presence. I completely understand that I am in the minority on that and probably a little bit of a weirdo

 

[chashardy]

The history, mystique, and romance of hunting in Africa with a double rifle is addictive. I first hunted plains game in Namibia in 1987 (it was still Southwest Africa back then) and I carried my father's pre-64 Model 70 30.06. Thought I had Africa out of my system after that hunt. Then I retired in 2013 and kept going to Dallas Safari Club's annual convention and show in Dallas. Booked a hunt for 2018 with buffalo and sable on the menu. I had purchased a Model 70 Safari Express 375H&H for that hunt. Then I joined AfricaHunting.com and started more reading and research on double rifles. I always thought they were only for British aristocrats who had the money for bespoke safari doubles from Holland & Holland, Rigby, Westley Richards or Purdey.
I found out there were other companies making great double rifles for a fraction of the cost of one of the famous London houses. Heym, Kreigoff, and Chapuis. I found a second hand Chapuis 375 H&H double and bought it for my 2018 hunt. The Model 70 Safari Express stayed home and I took another Model 70 300 winmag for the plains game I hunted. I took my first buffalo with the Chapuis double and have used it on three other trips to Africa on a variety of game. It is so much fun to hunt African game with. Close quarters in thick bush, it's the rifle to use, whether it's your first safari or your tenth.
If I can scrape together the money for an elephant hunt in Botswana, I will buy another double in 470NE. I was just in the Beretta Gallery here in Dallas a few days ago buying a pistol. They had two 470NE doubles in the store: one Chapuis priced at about $15,000 for us mere mortals, and one custom, hand engraved Beretta 470NE double priced at $159,000 for the silly money demographic.

 

[Backyardsniper]

I often wonder if those who just see the utilitarian side of things are not missing out? It is an imponderable, you will never know because we are all who we are. I for one like fine things because of the amount of effort that went into them, for no other reason than they would bring the appreciating ones pleasure. By sheer definition, therefore, those who don’t appreciate them miss that pleasure.

So a first safari is very special indeed, it is planned for, saved for, looked forward to, imagined and dreamt about. Why indeed not add to the experience if you can with a double rifle, or any other for that matter that is equally special to you? Add the spice, why not?

I agree 100% the wife and I sacrificed and saved, the sleepless nights that we spent worrying about the covid test(that it turns out we didn't need, but we hit a damn semi on the way back to the hotel after spending $300 that we didn't have to spend on a test we didn't even need) worrying about where we would actually end up hunting because of the deal ongoing with the Omay, all the things that could go wrong. The daydreaming and planning, the speculating about how everything would happen. The days spent on the range, the days spent doing 10 and 12 mile walks to be ready for whatever level of difficulty we might encounter. This trip was my white whale! When you are gambling a large part of all you have to go on a once in a lifetime adventure, which we are now saving up to do again, there is a tremendous amount of stress involved. You will only go on your first safari one time, so do it the way you want to do it. You will only make those memories once! Everyone makes this trip for different reasons. For some as @Kevin Peacocke said it is utilitarian, they want to kill x,y, and z. There is nothing wrong with that, for me there were other things that made the trip a "success" I wanted to see the Africa that I had read about and I did!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I understand the romance thing ... up to a point. In my younger days I owned pack horses and hunted solo out of a wall tent camp 26 miles from the trailhead. I drove to that trailhead in a one ton 1953 5-window Chevy stock truck with a short bed off a Model-A Ford. I built that stock truck literally from the ground up. Only two of the body parts were the same color. I hunted elk with the same rifle I now use to hunt kudu: a WWII Springfield, NOT a Winchester "saddle gun." Yes, today it's easy to think of that way of hunting as "romantic" but I didn't look at it that way. It's the way it was done back then. In those days guys who backpacked "gutless method" sacks of loose meat out of godforsaken places were looked on as wasteful slob hunters. Anyway, there was nothing romantic about the hardest work I've ever done.

For me it's more important to take the gun to Africa that Dad built in the fab shop of Hungry Horse Dam back in 1962. I guess that's a "romantic" notion of sorts. I'm taking him along. He would love that. Now I'll be taking along a 404 Jeffery Mauser 98 that I'm building. Seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree. I guess in the unlikely event I feel an urge to attach myself to Africa "white hunter" romance, I can always pretend to be Harry Selby or Wally Johnson. They worked most of their profession hunter careers shooting standard Mauser bolt action rifles. Double rifles didn't cut the mustard for them so why should I think one would work for me?

I have handled enough double shotguns to know a double rifle is not for me. Two barrels just don't point right. And double rifles have to be about the most finicky of firearms to keep operating properly. I'm not a stainless/black plastic no-maintenance junkie but I'm also not into spending a huge pile of money on something that can easily become a headache at the worst possible time. No, the world of make-believe doesn't mean that much to me. But that's just me.

 

[Altitude sickness]

My first time to Africa 1980 was Mombasa Kenya with the Navy. I Had a camera.

Second trip, the Eastern Cape with my wife and daughter we used bolt action .270 and 7 Rem mag
Third trip was compound bows
Forth trip compound bows
Fifth trip a Recurve bow. Wife used a crossbow

Next trip my wife will carry a double rifle for Buffalo and ???

 

[Hunter-Habib]

You’ve touched on all the points very eloquently. If your main priority is securing the game animals with minimal difficulty, then (for a first timer) a telescopic sighted bolt action rifle is ideal (because this is what the vast majority of hunters back home are using and thus, proficient with). If your first African safari is more about taking a dream double rifle to Africa and evoking the “Golden Age” by bagging a few game animals (while being perfectly willing to forfeit certain shots which would have been guaranteed successes with a telescopic sighted magazine rifle)… then, by all means go for it. Safari means different things to different hunters and since you’re spending a hefty sum in order to be going on Safari… It should be done as you see fit (within reason, of course). For those who have a great deal of experience hunting their native game with double rifles, the point is moot since they are invariably proficient with the weapon.

It’s a very narrow minded and stereotypical observation for me to make, but I’ve observed over the years that Continental European client hunters tend to (on average) shoot better with double rifles on their first safaris than American hunters (forgive me, you American gents). The reasoning is because small bore double rifles and combination guns are immensely popular for hunting deer and boar in Continental Europe.

When Tanzania reopened up for hunting in 1978, I was on Safari and was fortunate enough to share a camp with a Belgian gentleman. A very mild mannered psychiatrist by trade who had saved up for his life’s first safari. He was armed with a Lebeau Courally sidelock ejector in 9.3x74mmR. Good Lord ! The good man was more skilled with that double rifle than most of us are skilled with bolt action rifles. He accounted for 15 animals on Safari, 11 of which were one shot kills (including a very large eland bull). Our white hunter was so impressed with his shooting skills, that he permitted him to even use the rifle for hunting a large male leopard (which he secured with a single behind-the-shoulder heart shot).

I personally always dreamt of hunting with double rifles as a young man, thanks to watching Stewart Granger films at the cinema. But when I went on my life’s first African safari to Kenya in 1974, circumstances led to me having to use a BRNO ZKK602 in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum. And I realized that (for me, anyway) bolt action rifles were far more practical for a novice hunter in Africa.

Nevertheless, I persisted and eventually (on my third Safari) did manage to secure a large Cape buffalo bull with a double rifle (a Belgium made .458 Winchester Magnum boxlock ejector guild gun).

 

[Flewis]

Backyardsniper, you did YOUR hunt just the way you dreamed it should be done. Good on you for that. Advice is one thing but telling you wrong or worse by someone with no dog in the fight or couldn’t pick you out of a lineup is beyond me. Again good on you. Everyone should follow your lead. Frank

 

[Tanks]

...

I have handled enough double shotguns to know a double rifle is not for me. Two barrels just don't point right. And double rifles have to be about the most finicky of firearms to keep operating properly...

When regulated properly they point pretty well. I am puzzled about the fact that you think they are finicky without ever owning one. In reality a double rifle is more reliable than a bolt action. Two barrels, two triggers, two firing pins. On a bolt if one has an issue one is done. Not so for a double.

...I’d rather put the money for a double toward a better or more hunts.

The two are not mutually exclusive, also a double is a one time cost unless you go nuts like I did as I am working on my 4th double order with Rigby.

 

[375Fox]

I often wonder if those who just see the utilitarian side of things are not missing out? It is an imponderable, you will never know because we are all who we are. I for one like fine things because of the amount of effort that went into them, for no other reason than they would bring the appreciating ones pleasure. By sheer definition, therefore, those who don’t appreciate them miss that pleasure.

So a first safari is very special indeed, it is planned for, saved for, looked forward to, imagined and dreamt about. Why indeed not add to the experience if you can with a double rifle, or any other for that matter that is equally special to you? Add the spice, why not?

I think it depends what your goals are. My goals are to see and hunt as many places as possible. The more remote and wild the area better even if that comes at a premium. I remember the animals, landscape, the PH and trackers, the stalks from all my hunts. The vehicle, the rifles, the clothes, any material items are insignificant to me once the hunt ends. I’d like to think the experience is the primary driver in most individuals. As long as you’re taking in the full experience of the area you are hunting I don’t think your missing out at all regardless what rifle you use.

 

[WAB]

I had a lot of people tell me that I shouldn't take a double rifle on my first safari. "Save it for your fourth or fifth safari," they said. Fourth and fifth safaris simply may not be a reality for some of us. Trips to Africa for most of us are based around the romance of hunting Africa, and for some, a big part of that romance is hunting Africa with a double. I mean lets face it, there is nothing that compares to the feeling of breaking open a double and dunking two of those big rounds into the chamber and snapping her shut before you stroll off into the bush. When I originally booked with Phillip Smythe before his incident, he said something that really stuck with me while we were discussing what rifle I should bring. "What do you see yourself shooting your buffalo with? That is what you should bring." While there is some sound reasoning behind not bringing a double on your first trip, I decided I would take a double, and what I learned is there are two very important questions you need to ask yourself before you take a double to Africa on your first or tenth trip.

One of those questions is, how important is actually killing your target animals on this trip? Would you be willing to walk away from this trip with nothing but the experience of hunting these animals and possibly not getting a shot? There is a real possibility that you might not find yourself in position to take a shot with a double, where you may have easily been able to take that animal with a scoped rifle. The second question, in my opinion, is how much time are you willing and or able to commit to training with a double rifle. Double rifles are fickle mistresses; they are difficult to shoot well, and they take a ton of practice to get truly proficient with. I purchased mine about a year before my hunt, and I shot roughly 250 rounds through it prior to the hunt. I still don't shoot it as well as I feel that I should be able to. As a client on a safari you have a serious responsibility resting squarely on your shoulders. If you make a bad shot and wound an animal, that PH and his trackers are obligated to go in and clean up the mess you have made. You have now put lives in danger, and if that situation has arisen due to your negligence in training then you are gonna have to live with that if you get somebody hurt. Bad shots happen, that is just part of hunting, but if you are going to voluntarily handicap yourself by taking a double, then you owe it to the PH and the entire crew to do your due diligence and practice with that rifle and attain the highest level of proficiency that you can.

I absolutely loved hunting with a double. If I had it to do over, I would definitely take the double on my first trip again, and I would say that most of my future hunts will be with my double. Adding the challenge of having to close the distance on some of the smaller plains game to get within double gun range brought a whole new level of fun to the hunt. I say if you want to hunt with a double on your first safari then go for it! Understand the risks you are taking, commit to the training necessary, then go to Africa and live your dream.

I had people tell me to hunt PG on my first Safari to get my feet wet, so to speak. However, I have always dreamed of hunting Cape buffalo, so why in the world would I go on a PG hunt and delay my dream hunt??? I went on a hunt for Cape buffalo in the Upper Luangwa valley, the first of many.

Although I have never had a desire to hunt with a double rifle, if I did, the same would apply. Pursue your dreams directly and let the cautious folks circle around theirs.

 

[Backyardsniper]

I had people tell me to hunt PG on my first Safari to get my feet wet, so to speak. However, I have always dreamed of hunting Cape buffalo, so why in the world would I go on a PG hunt and delay my dream hunt??? I went on a hunt for Cape buffalo in the Upper Luangwa valley, the first of many.

Although I have never had a desire to hunt with a double rifle, if I did, the same would apply. Pursue your dreams directly and let the cautious folks circle around theirs.

Well put indeed!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

When regulated properly they point pretty well. I am puzzled about the fact that you think they are finicky without ever owning one. In reality a double rifle is more reliable than a bolt action. Two barrels, two triggers, two firing pins. On a bolt if one has an issue one is done. Not so for a double.

The two are not mutually exclusive, also a double is a one time cost unless you go nuts like I did as I am working on my 4th double order with Rigby.

And when it stops being "regulated properly"? Then what? Take out an insurance policy to send it off to someone to be fixed? If my Springfield doesn't shoot straight, I fix it. Me. I take it to the range and "regulate" my scope or check the bedding or change the load. It's not rocket science. Regulating a double is rocket science. I've only got one barrel to straighten out, not two. From what I'm reading here, a three inch group at a hundred yards is acceptable for a double rifle. A Mauser that shoots a three inch group goes to the pawn shop.