What about a double appeals to you most?

[Red Leg]

@Kevin Peacocke

I definitely am . But mine are no where as sophisticated as @Red Leg Sir’s .
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Wonderful! What are the pair above the mantel flanking the painting?

 

[Gemsbok45]

Bam,Bam!

 

[npm352]

They seem so classic. And the couple I have held or shot just felt awesome. One day I may budge, but I look at a double vs a hunt and decide on the hunt every time.

 

[Philip Glass]

Good looks is certainly a thing but I was after function first. Therefore I chose a Kreighoff Big 5. This is due to the safety that decocks the hammers so it is certainly safe. Then the anti doubling feature appealed to me. It’s hard enough for me to get my teeth rattled from the .470 much less both barrels going off at the same time! I always hear guys talking bout rifles, often Heyms, doubling at the big bore shoots. No offense just what I’ve been told.
That said my K Gun is pretty sexy!
Philip

 

[Professor Mawla]

Wonderful! What are the pair above the mantel flanking the painting?

@Red Leg Sir ,
I am deeply honored that you like it . Those are the skull mounts of Pakistani Markhor goats , which I have taken over the years . I took one with a .30-06 Springfield ( a sporterized Remington Springfield Model 1903A3 ) , employing a 220 grain Remington Core Lokt soft nosed factory load . I took the other with a 9.3x62 mm Mauser ( a BRNO ZKK-600 ) , employing a 286 grain Nosler Partition soft nosed factory load .

 

[Red Leg]

@Red Leg Sir ,
I am deeply honored that you like it . Those are the skull mounts of Pakistani Markhor goats , which I have taken over the years . I took one with a .30-06 Springfield ( a sporterized Remington Springfield Model 1903A3 ) , employing a 220 grain Remington Core Lokt soft nosed factory load . I took the other with a 9.3x62 mm Mauser ( a BRNO ZKK-600 ) , employing a 286 grain Nosler Partition soft nosed factory load .

I thought so. What an incredible species to have the opportunity to hunt. Congratulation!!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

They seem so classic. And the couple I have held or shot just felt awesome. One day I may budge, but I look at a double vs a hunt and decide on the hunt every time.

Take both...

 

[Fabnosh]

Hello KP

As promised, here are some less than perfect pictures of my doubles. The side by side is a Chapuis Brousse in .375H&H and the over and under is a Fabarm Asper in 9.3x74R.

FN

 

[IvW]

For wounded leopard follow up the instant availibility of a second shot.....there is no time to reload....even as I do using my poormans double 12ga with shortened barrels or 12ga/9.3×74R combo affordable and effective with slugs....

Would love to be able to afford a 375 Flanged magnum or 500/516 NE 3 1/4" for the purpose...sxs or o/u functionality and reliability rather than looks is what I need....

 

[fordag]

I have always appreciated the look of a side by side, rifle or shotgun, they just look right and they point so naturally for me. I can't even imagine owning an O/U.

I've also always been a huge fan of safari stories, Roosevelt's African Game Trails, The Lions of Tsavo, Capstick's books, Jim Corbett's books etc etc. While they all used various different guns the epitome of them all to me is the double rifle.

 

[rigbymauser]

For me its the backaction Blackpowder express double that has the appeal. Its the looks and history. They represents the true golden period of dangerous game hunting of the victorian times...particular India and Asia in general. The same goes for books, however that is up to ww1 where the blackpowder express rifle were still in use seen in litteratur. After ww1 the blackpowder doublerifle faded more or less totally. In many books I have from the 1890s the old hunters starting to switch to cordite rifles. Some write directly about this transition.

The philosophy of the victorian biggame hunters with their guns wasn’t to go fast...but to go big. Right up my ally.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I like SXS doubles. I own no double rifles - never had a use for one, but I do have a bunch of SXS shotguns... I like the way they handle.

 

[Red Leg]

I like SXS doubles. I own no double rifles - never had a use for one, but I do have a bunch of SXS shotguns... I like the way they handle.

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That Dickson is a VERY special thing! Nothing quite so elegant as a golden age Scottish round action.

 

[mark-hunter]

What about double appeal to me the most?
True essence, and pure purpose of hunting, combined with ingenious craftsmanship.
(no military, high capacity, tactical, synthetic mambo jumbo)

 

[Nevada Mike]

That Dickson is a VERY special thing! Nothing quite so elegant as a golden age Scottish round action.

Thank you. It's an 1893 gun, rebarreled by the maker. I also like some of the lesser known Scots makers... Jos. Harkom, Alex Martin, McNaughton, etc.

 

[Happy Myles]

What appeals to me about my double rifle? When I grasp my 470 Nitro by the barrels, pointed downward, breech on my shoulder, and squint upward at the sun from under my hat brim, I feel I look like Gregory Peck.

 

[spike.t]

Yes KP. I’m a Brit so I’m continually teased by sharing the same island as Holland and Holland, Purdey, WR, Boss and too many more to mention.....and I own a French and and Italian double. I shoot all over the place though.

No extraction problems at all with the Chapuis. I was a little concerned that it’s a belted and not a flanged .375 but I’ve never had any issues.
FN

Oh dear no hope for you.......and one is o/u...oh shit.......and i congratulate you on such honesty by admitting you shoot all over the place...I hope your aim improves over time....possibly it's the o/u...or that it is poetic justice for not having proper English doubles....

 

[spike.t]

Ive got the double bug quite badly, the whole concept seems so 'correct'. I also admit to being an avid trawler, checking out all the models of the different manufacturers and it is always the photograph that appeals first, only then onto all the specs and features. For me, top of the list is the form, it either appeals or, well, not so much. There is that perfect proportion that comes together perfectly like the Heym 87B. Then the action, dead simple plain steel, or adorned with detailed engraving, like the exquisite Westley Richards Forrest Rifle? Scrolls and patterns do nothing for me, animals are better, but honestly plain steel is equally appealing for it's simple clean line. Finally of course the wood, the natural art of it, no two ever identical. Here the guiding principle is taste and balance. The wood mustn't be too ornate for the double wearing it, or it just looks off. Paging through the Explora you see this exemplified perfectly, horses for courses I guess.
So what about a double makes it shine for you?

Kevin as I have mentioned on here before the first animal I shot in Africa in Tanzania was a 44.5 inch buff using a Rigby 470...which was paul Robert's own rifle he lent me....but something about the double had me hooked before using it...but actually using it cemented my love/addiction....due to reasons this is the first time since I think 1991i haven't had a double or two in my possession....even one of my emails starts with doubleaddict

 

[fourfive8]

@Nevada Mike echoes my feelings. Double rifles may have a connection to a segment of the Africa mystique, but they feel clumsy to me. I don't need double tap shot capability and I don't need to look the part while on safari. However, a SxS shotgun is a different animal, especially in something like a 20 ga. They feel right, swing right and have the right sight picture for me when upland wing shooting.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Kevin as I have mentioned on here before the first animal I shot in Africa in Tanzania was a 44.5 inch buff using a Rigby 470...which was paul Robert's own rifle he lent me....but something about the double had me hooked before using it...but actually using it cemented my love/addiction....due to reasons this is the first time since I think 1991i haven't had a double or two in my possession....even one of my emails starts with doubleaddict

Come now laddie, sell everything and get one, fantasies are to be indulged.