Let's talk doubles

[geoff rath]

I suspect this thread will persist for months to come; there must be much love, thought, and dedication among our fellow-members still to come. The Big "if only" for me would be a D/g caliber double with attendant shotgun barrels, either 12, or 20. Hello, Africa ...

 

[Pondoro]

 

[degoins]

Nostalgia initially, but also doubles represent the high water mark of gun making skills in every way. To me NOTHING beats hunting with a fine double for the game and country they were intended for. I enjoy the heck out hunting deer and pigs with here at home too.

 

[Rubberhead]

I enjoy the heck out hunting deer and pigs with here at home too.

What caliber and configuration did you choose?

 

[degoins]

I've had a 450-400, still have a .450 NE and a .450 BPE.

 

[Daniel Cary]

The wait is the worst part and it’s not getting any better. Current lead time on the 89 is 12-18 months

This was the biggest concern .. everything's getting worse by the day.

 

[Jfet]

A double rifle makes one smile!

 

[degoins]

Magnificent old bull and beautiful double!!! That's the kind of bull I'd love to take with mine.

 

[Dewald]

My Gibbs 450-400 3&1/4”

Lovely rifle. If all goes well I’ll add a Vintage .450 NE or .470 to the collection

 

[degoins]

What fine treasures and trophy!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Double rifles are a special thing. I would love a vintage Jeffrey like Corbet and Pretorius. Preferably chambered in 450 No.2

 

[Rare Breed]

Nostalgia initially, but also doubles represent the high water mark of gun making skills in every way. To me NOTHING beats hunting with a fine double for the game and country they were intended for. I enjoy the heck out hunting deer and pigs with here at home too.

After my first safari and readings of all our great writers I realized the gun and hunt experience together mattered most. Which is why I would never pursue DG without my classic DR and plains game without my classic Rigby in 275

 

[Rare Breed]

After my first safari and readings of all our great writers I realized the gun and hunt experience together mattered most. Which is why I would never pursue DG without my classic DR and plains game without my classic Rigby in 275

Yes Jevin in 2023 will be using my classic Champuis 450-400 DR for elephant and Buffalo

 

[AZDAVE]

Doubles are special, I like the challenge of hunting with one and the practice of getting ready for a hunt. They just make me happy and love the romance of a different age.

 

[Daniel Cary]

I admit it, I am a bit besotted with doubles at the moment. Every time I open AH the eyes go straight to the latest posts to see if there is something related to double rifles, and when there is the heart races a bit. You see, I am a romantic, not a lady romantic, but a hunting romantic. That grand age when you got to where you needed to by ship and rail, you dressed for dinner and paid attention to etiquette. That age when one thought, dreamt and imagined in the time one had to do so.
So why, I ask, should we not still fulfill all the senses when we engage in this noble pursuit of hunting? And the answer, to me at least and I hope all of you will be - why not indeed!
To me there is no more profound an epitome of that pursuit than a double rifle, open sights, getting in really close as was meant to be where a duff shot could result in a ride on horns. Highly unlikely to happen given the two barrels as the insurance intended, but should it happen we would remember you well.
So what is it that prompts you to spend the asking price on a double and wait the age for it's delivery? What is the driver for you?

You're certainly a good writer. That's a tough act to follow...

 

[Rem700stw]

I own double rifles because I want to and am at a point in my life where I can. I will never see the Africa of Selous, Pondoro, Roosevelt, or even that of Hemingway and Ruark. I can however relive their adventures in my dreams. Canvas, leather, and wool, walnut and blued steel. These are all part of the experience I live for when I hunt. I own camo and stainless/synthetic but what they gain in modern practicality they give up in soul.

In today's Africa I can still use similar tools to those the old times employed. The two vintage British doubles I have acquired come up to my shoulder with sights aligned as if by their own force of will. The wood on my face feels like the touch of an old friend. The stories they could tell are legend I am sure.

The forceful push from their recoil is strangely comforting and familiar. The grace and balance they possess has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. The skill of the gun maker to make two barrels shoot almost as one is the highest form of art and skill in the medium of walnut and steel.

They are .400 Jeffery and .470 Nitro Express thunderbolts launched at my command as if by Zeus himself. My pantheon consists not of Greek gods but of classic cartridges of Africa of old. My CZ 550 rifles in 9.3x62, 416 Rigby, and 404 Jeffery feel right at home in the company of my 9.3x74, 450-400, and 470.

 

[crs]

After all the poetic rhetoric about owning and shooting doubles, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that my love for double guns and double rifles can be blamed/credited to my upbringing.
While I was in junior high, my dad brought home a Parker 20 gauge to be shared by his three sons. Since it fit only me, I ended up owning the gun and learned all my game bird shooting and small game experience with it. I still take it out once every year to shoot doves to bring back those childhood memories.

Naturally with age and $$, I bought more Parker guns as needed.

Again naturally, as my center fire rifle experience (which began with a 1953 Model 70 FWT) evolved, it became obvious which double rifle cartridges I needed in a DR rifle and I bought or had made the two that I now have and shoot.
Naturally, the rifles are 100 years old designs, proven on multi continents, and capable of taking any game on the planet. Both have proven them selves in Africa and America, but have a few more trophies to go. I am still working on that.

 

[Daniel Cary]

SxS's Always a childhood Interest, without influence.
Never were very popular, in my generation, which made them more appealing.
Limited Segment of people that shared the same Interest.

Simply, A Work of Art! "I believe, like Everything, they'll be harder to come by in the Future".
Thank You AH!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I own double rifles because I want to and am at a point in my life where I can. I will never see the Africa of Selous, Pondoro, Roosevelt, or even that of Hemingway and Ruark. I can however relive their adventures in my dreams. Canvas, leather, and wool, walnut and blued steel. These are all part of the experience I live for when I hunt. I own camo and stainless/synthetic but what they gain in modern practicality they give up in soul.

In today's Africa I can still use similar tools to those the old times employed. The two vintage British doubles I have acquired come up to my shoulder with sights aligned as if by their own force of will. The wood on my face feels like the touch of an old friend. The stories they could tell are legend I am sure.

The forceful push from their recoil is strangely comforting and familiar. The grace and balance they possess has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. The skill of the gun maker to make two barrels shoot almost as one is the highest form of art and skill in the medium of walnut and steel.

They are .400 Jeffery and .470 Nitro Express thunderbolts launched at my command as if by Zeus himself. My pantheon consists not of Greek gods but of classic cartridges of Africa of old. My CZ 550 rifles in 9.3x62, 416 Rigby, and 404 Jeffery feel right at home in the company of my 9.3x74, 450-400, and 470.

@Rem700stw, what is the make of your 450/400?

 

[Rem700stw]

W.J. Jeffery