Elkeater
AH veteran
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2023
- Messages
- 202
- Reaction score
- 654
- Location
- Arizona, USA
- Media
- 29
- Articles
- 1
- Hunted
- USA and RSA
I’m sitting here this morning waiting for the kids to wake up so I can cook breakfast and they can open presents. They are getting rock climbing gear mostly this year.
Anyway the wife and I have been joking a lot about having our mid life crisis lately. We aren’t there yet being only in our mid thirties and we aren’t the kind of people to have some sort of breakdown and go buy a sports car or something anyway. But still it’s kinda got me thinking that hey maybe it’s a good excuse to do something fun in a few years when I turn 40. So after contemplating for a bit I realize ever since I was a little kid I’ve had images of chasing buffalo with a double rifle. Now I haven’t been to Africa yet (counting down the months to our first trip in June of ‘24) but I think it’s time to plan for that mid life crisis.
Now the question becomes what rifle to buy in the next few years? I’m not very familiar with double rifles or the cartridges used in them. I am very familiar rifles in the sense that I own many bolt guns and various other firearms and do a lot of handloading. I’m not rich! I do ok and can save up money for a purchase without much problem but something from the high end London gun makers is probably not gonna happen. I realistically think my rifle budget would be max $10,000 though less would be better. Can I get into a reliable, clean double rifle for that budget? And if so what makers and cartridges should I be looking at?
And if that’s not realistic that’s ok and I’ll probably still go buffalo hunting but I’ll find a bolt gun instead.
Thanks all
Anyway the wife and I have been joking a lot about having our mid life crisis lately. We aren’t there yet being only in our mid thirties and we aren’t the kind of people to have some sort of breakdown and go buy a sports car or something anyway. But still it’s kinda got me thinking that hey maybe it’s a good excuse to do something fun in a few years when I turn 40. So after contemplating for a bit I realize ever since I was a little kid I’ve had images of chasing buffalo with a double rifle. Now I haven’t been to Africa yet (counting down the months to our first trip in June of ‘24) but I think it’s time to plan for that mid life crisis.
Now the question becomes what rifle to buy in the next few years? I’m not very familiar with double rifles or the cartridges used in them. I am very familiar rifles in the sense that I own many bolt guns and various other firearms and do a lot of handloading. I’m not rich! I do ok and can save up money for a purchase without much problem but something from the high end London gun makers is probably not gonna happen. I realistically think my rifle budget would be max $10,000 though less would be better. Can I get into a reliable, clean double rifle for that budget? And if so what makers and cartridges should I be looking at?
And if that’s not realistic that’s ok and I’ll probably still go buffalo hunting but I’ll find a bolt gun instead.
Thanks all