Preparing to order or buy a Double Rifle: help me choose the caliber

[ftrovato]

I just ordered my new and only double nearly a couple of months ago now. I considered the 450, 470 and 500/416 chamberings. The 458 calibres are my favourite due to the availability of projectiles and the SD the 480 grain and above projectiles offer but decided to pass on the 450 seeing I already have a 458 Lott in a bolt gun. I've really been interested in the 500/416 cartridge for a long time, the idea of the 416 Rigby ballistics being replicated in a double rifle is a great concept IMHO. However I passed on the 500/416 as well mostly because of brass availability and because I think the 470 could probably be considered a slightly better stopping rifle (my words) than the 500/416 though it's probably really splitting hairs as both produce similar energy at the muzzle but the 470 having the advantage of greater frontal area.

So I landed on the 470, readily available reloading components (at least where I live that is the case), good stopping power, I feel the 470 provides a good balance of power at the muzzle vs felt recoil, probably the most common factory ammo anywhere in the world (if I ever needed it), the rifle doesn't need to be overly heavy to tame the recoil of the 470 cartridge even though heavy rifles don't really bother me it is still an advantage and most of all it offers all the right attributes for me personally as a hunter. I do hunt DG on my own at times so it gives me that stopping power if needed, the DG I hunt 99% of the time is buffalo and scrub bulls and I feel the 470 is almost the perfect double cartridge for these animals and it still gives me everything I need if I was to end up on an elephant hunt one day.

What rifle are you getting and what is the weight?

 

[deewayne2003]

With your criteria @towserthemouser I believe the 450/400 is your best bet and will get the most enjoyment out of; having said that I’ve owned my .470ne for a few years now and love it especially since I shot my first elephant with it two weeks ago.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I am very much a novice in the world of double rifles. I've owned two, both in .470NE. So I voted for this caliber simply because the reloading components have been available. I've managed to secure enough Swift A-Frames, North Fork bonded cores and solids to last me for a long time. And of course the brass and primers (which I've had for quite awhile) to build plenty of rounds.

It is without question a step up in recoil from the 450-400 which is a breeze to shoot in comparison But I added a mercury recoil reducer to the Chapuis I now have and that makes a big difference. Still plenty of recoil, but it's far less sharper in comparison to my previous rifle that was of similar weight.

 

[towserthemouser]

With your criteria @towserthemouser I believe the 450/400 is your best bet and will get the most enjoyment out of; having said that I’ve owned my .470ne for a few years now and love it especially since I shot my first elephant with it two weeks ago.

Pic foul! We need to see a photo of that elephant.

 

[VertigoBE]

With your criteria @towserthemouser I believe the 450/400 is your best bet and will get the most enjoyment out of; having said that I’ve owned my .470ne for a few years now and love it especially since I shot my first elephant with it two weeks ago.

where is that hunting report????

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

What rifle are you getting and what is the weight?

Verney Carron, I believe the round body action in 470 is around 10.5lbs

 

[sgt_zim]

My vote is 470, but that's colored by a caliber I already own - a 404 Jeffery.

And it's the same reason I stepped up from 9.3x62 to 404J - a 375 didn't offer any substantive improvement over what I already have, so it was either a 416 or a 404. I've a huge romantic streak, and no way could I afford a LH 416 Rigby. For me, I might just as well have gone to a 450 NE double, which is also out of my budget.

It sorta depends on what you already have. If you've already got a 416/404/458 in the safe, I don't think a 450/400 or 450 NE makes a lot of sense unless you just want to have a double and don't mind if it more or less duplicates the performance of something you already have.

A caliber .410 or .458 wouldn't be a vast improvement over what I already have in my 404J

 

[Slider]

(Are you recommending a straight-walled cartridge for ease of loading, or for the romance, or both?) Strait Wall Cartridges so there is no ejection failures.

 

[towserthemouser]

My vote is 470, but that's colored by a caliber I already own - a 404 Jeffery.

And it's the same reason I stepped up from 9.3x62 to 404J - a 375 didn't offer any substantive improvement over what I already have, so it was either a 416 or a 404. I've a huge romantic streak, and no way could I afford a LH 416 Rigby. For me, I might just as well have gone to a 450 NE double, which is also out of my budget.

It sorta depends on what you already have. If you've already got a 416/404/458 in the safe, I don't think a 450/400 or 450 NE makes a lot of sense unless you just want to have a double and don't mind if it more or less duplicates the performance of something you already have.

A caliber .410 or .458 wouldn't be a vast improvement over what I already have in my 404J

I'm looking for a double for speed of second shot for buffalo and elephant hunting. And like you, I have a strong romantic streak, so there's that. And also because I think they encourage/force you to stalk closer and choose your shots carefully. And I like that idea. I think it will make me a better hunter, and I think I'll enjoy the hunt.

I have a Rigby 375 H&H, and a Blaser with 257 WM, 375 H&H, and 416 RM barrels.

The Rigby is blooded and proven on many plains game species up to Zebra, Gemsbok, Kudu, Eland and Giraffe, and on Leopard and Buffalo. I love the rifle and she even has a name.....

The Blaser is new and I'm planning to use the 416 for a 2025 buffalo hunt. I bought the 416 barrel not because I'm unhappy in any way with my 375, but simply to gain some experience with a heavier caliber while waiting for a double rifle to be built. So based on your suggestion, if I get comfortable with the 416 RM in a bolt rifle, the 450/400 NE in a double would be a step down in recoil and power. Maybe an argument in favor of one of the three heavier calibers on my list.

 

[Ericedwinbates]

450-400! Cousin has one and it is a pleasure to shoot. I own a 500 NE, your shoulder will thank you!

 

[sgt_zim]

Go big or go home. Given what's in your safe already, 470, 500, and 577 are all good choices.

In for a penny, in for a pound. 470 and 500 recoil are already attention-getting. Might just as well throw 577 NE into the mix.

Never shot anything bigger than a 458 WM, but seems to me you reach a certain point with the recoil, and it just doesn't much matter if you're 1 ft lb over "tolerable" or 40.

 

[Quaticman]

I'd go with a Merkel 140 AE chambered in .500 Nitro Express.
It's an affordable double rifle in an effective, proven dangerous game cartridge.

 

[degoins]

I'd say 450/400, unless you just have to have a stopping gun, then it'd be, as is for me, the .450. BTW, I have both and have been able to get both to regulate with lighter bullets.

 

[deewayne2003]

Pic foul! We need to see a photo of that elephant.

where is that hunting report????

Well I didn't want to highjack the OP thread but hear you go....

Recovered .470 Hydro- 494gr because it was found with an axe that cut a part of the tip off

The report....

ZIMBABWE: 2024 - My First Trip To Africa, Dalton & York

This trip was more than a year and a half in the making and for the sake of brevity I will be splitting it up into two posts; one for the hunting and another later post for the lessons I learned along the way in planning and executing my first African hunt. This being the hunting write up I'll...

www.africahunting.com

 

[AN.87]

I chose 450/400. Plenty enough as a visiting hunter.

Regarding the question about which stores in london:

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/questions-on-london-gun-shops.76437/

Should I be in the market for something between the shikari and heym price, I would stop in birmingham effectively at WR, but then the pre-owned rack. But that's mainly because I want to go there anyway regardless of wanting to buy something ( and regardless of budget )

 

[Lone Star Bluegrass]

I chose 450/400. Plenty enough as a visiting hunter.

Regarding the question about which stores in london:

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/questions-on-london-gun-shops.76437/

Should I be in the market for something between the shikari and heym price, I would stop in birmingham effectively at WR, but then the pre-owned rack. But that's mainly because I want to go there anyway regardless of wanting to buy something ( and regardless of budget )

…droplock!!!

 

[Slider]

The Difference between a 470 and 500 Nitro is The 500 has a higher resale value.

 

[Puddle]

My vote is 470, but that's colored by a caliber I already own - a 404 Jeffery.

And it's the same reason I stepped up from 9.3x62 to 404J - a 375 didn't offer any substantive improvement over what I already have, so it was either a 416 or a 404. I've a huge romantic streak, and no way could I afford a LH 416 Rigby. For me, I might just as well have gone to a 450 NE double, which is also out of my budget.

It sorta depends on what you already have. If you've already got a 416/404/458 in the safe, I don't think a 450/400 or 450 NE makes a lot of sense unless you just want to have a double and don't mind if it more or less duplicates the performance of something you already have.

A caliber .410 or .458 wouldn't be a vast improvement over what I already have in my 404J

@sgt_zim - I know what you mean about the difference between 9.3x62 and .375 H&H.
I finally had to separate the two in the safe because I got tired of the constant bickering...

 

[sgt_zim]

@sgt_zim - I know what you mean about the difference between 9.3x62 and .375 H&H.
I finally had to separate the two in the safe because I got tired of the constant bickering...

Finally got around to doing some LD with A Frames for my 9.3x62 in prep for my trip to Limpopo next month, and finally followed the sage advice of @CBH Australia and Steve Davis over at Hammer bullets. I ended up with a really good load for those 286 gr pills at 2475 fps, and as far as I can tell, nowhere near being overpressure. I didn't set out to duplicate 375H&H, but I sure did.

Much as I'd like to have a bunch of different calibers in my safe where there is a boatload of overlap in performance, I'm just too much of a skinflint and have too many other priorities.

I only have 5 hunting rifles, and each of them fills a particular niche
6.5x55
280AI
9.3x62
404 Jeff
45-70

I'm covered for everything I will ever want to hunt. And being a lefty, I don't have many choices anyway. At this point, I'm spending money on hunting and reloading.

 

[ftrovato]

Go big or go home. Given what's in your safe already, 470, 500, and 577 are all good choices.

In for a penny, in for a pound. 470 and 500 recoil are already attention-getting. Might just as well throw 577 NE into the mix.

Never shot anything bigger than a 458 WM, but seems to me you reach a certain point with the recoil, and it just doesn't much matter if you're 1 ft lb over "tolerable" or 40.

I never shot anything bigger than my 416 Rigby until I purchased a Heym 500 NE about a year and a half ago. Now I'm 60 years old and find after putting around 200 rounds through the 500 that its very handy, fast, balanced and with a red dot I hope will get me on my first buffalo in about 5 weeks. I'm not recoil shy, but I am getting old! I don't find the 500 difficult to shoot and think the reward of said caliber complements what I'll be doing in Mozambique perfectly... Time will tell.