What is the difference between splinter and beaertail?

If it was mine it'd have a full beavertail forearm. Others would disagree......you must call this shot yourself...it's your money.

yeah, but what are the advantages of the different styles?

Pictures of the different styles would be helpful also because I only know of a few.

Look at a photo of a Chapuis, they have a nice semi beavertail forearm. Personally, splinter or semi beavertail make no difference to me. I like the looks of the splinter better. A man with large hands might like the beavertail better to keep his fingers from obstructing the sights.

Dave

Does anyone know the what the fore end on Mark Sulivans rifle in "In The Face Of Death" is called?

The plus for the semi-beavertail is protection from hot barrels. On a hot day, it's hard to hold onto the barrels after a single shot without a glove.

The plus for the splinter is that it's more comfortable to carry. I carried a Chapuis for a couple of weeks last month and I recall wishing that it had a splinter forearm.

The splinter is obviously the more traditional of the two.

There really is no advantage to one over the other. As the Brits say, the forend is there simply to keep the barrels from coming off.

I like the splinter forend, my own self.

I vote for the splinter, my buddy has the Chapuis and wishes it didn't have the Beavertail for two reasons: looks and carry.

If you shoot double rifles much you will quickly see why the beavertail has its advantages over the splinter. I love the classic looks of the splinter, but if I was going for a shooting rifle that is going to be shot more than 2 R&L's, I'd either invest in a good pair of gloves or get a beavertail forend. I myself opted for the gloves as I'm to pure to put a beavertail on an English double, but with a continental or American one, I wouldn't hesitate...

My English shotguns all have splinter foreends on them and, from a aesthetic viewpoint, they are handsome and traditional. That said, when I go dove hunting with them, I use a leather forend guard to protect my fingers from hot barrels. I wonder if they make these guards for rifles, or if a small guage guard would work? One thing for sure, I have never cared for the "clubby" look of the beavertail style.

quote:

Originally posted by lee440:
My English shotguns all have splinter foreends on them and, from a aesthetic viewpoint, they are handsome and traditional. That said, when I go dove hunting with them, I use a leather forend guard to protect my fingers from hot barrels. I wonder if they make these guards for rifles, or if a small guage guard would work? One thing for sure, I have never cared for the "clubby" look of the beavertail style.

I visited Butch last summer and he told me that I hold a double wrong. He says that I should reach around the forearm and hold it by the barrels to keep from loosening up the forearm due to recoil. If your pulling down on the forearm as the recoil pulls up on the barrel you're stressing the attaching points and the wood unnecessarily. The forearms should not be larger than the diameter that you can reach around.
The leather guards work well on shotguns and I shot with a guy in Texas who used one last month on a dove shoot. I don't know how they work on double rifles but I think that 3-4 shots shouldn't burn you too much.

I vote splinter. Supposed to help with fast instinctive shooting as the hand becomes one with the barrels and aids in pointing due to ergonomicosomestheticoproprioceptive enhancement.

Get a single thin leather shooting glove for the barrel gripping hand.

Loosened forends with beavertails makes sense too.

I like the splinter forend. At the range I either wear a glove or let the barrels cool. In the field it hasn't been a problem and I needed six rounds recently in 100* heat and never noticed.

JPK

PS for shotguns I really dislike the barrel gaurds. Instead I wear a pretty thick shooting glove (I think it from Uncle Mikes but can't be sure) on my leading hand. This had worked even in Argentina when you shoot cases of shells a day.

I have been playing with doubles all my life, both rifles, and shotguns,and I prefere the splinter. I prefere the splinter for two reasons! #1 is just as Butch says it is hard on the forend wood, and latch because the rifle is trying hard to escape you hand, during recoil, and when you are only holding wood, the conection between the two is strained over time. #2 A beavertail forend looks like hell,(opinion) and takes away from the slinder lines of a fine double. Besides, I like the feel of the barrel steel under the tips of my fingers, when handeling the rifle, and you can actually feel the bullet pass under your finger tips when a barrel is fired. It is rare that a double rifle, especially one of large chambering, is fired more than four times in quick time, so the barrels will not bother you that much, from heat. A shooting glove on the left hand will solve that anyway, and the leather between the fore, and second finger is a plus to hold the next two rounds for a quick re-load.

On every shotgun, or double rifle, I've ever owned, that was fitted with a B/T forend, I modified the wood to a splinter configuration and re-checkered them.

The leather barrel heat guards work just as well on the double rifle as they do on a shotgun. http://www.connecticutshotgun.com sells them for $45 , and the 28 guage works on my 140.2,Safari 470NE merkel just fine, while the 410 guage model works on my 140E 9.3X74R doubles. The 28 guage model also works on my 500/450 ,458RCBS and a 58 cal Muzzleader double, as well. All are fitted with splinter forends. I have several S/S cape guns as well, and they also work well with the stiff leather heat guard. However, these thing are only needed when on the fireing range, but not in the field, while hunting. I use the glove while hunting.

The choice belongs to the man spending the money for the rifle, but even if one opts for the B/T foreend, he needs to learn to hold forward enough so at least two fingers are anchored on the barrel steel, to avoid undue pressure on the forend wood, and latching componants. ALL JUST ONE MAN'S OPINION!

Congratulations on your new B. Searcy double.

I visited H&H in London a few days ago, and was suprised to see that they had a round action 500NE with a semi-beavertail forend. I asked about it, and was told that semi-beavertails were being produced more and more by them. I didn't ask if they had any problems with them coming loose, but I doubt they would have said so to me even if they did.

PS. all of the sidelocks doubles in the gunroom had splinters, and the round actions were about half the price of their sidelock doubles. They were also very patient, and let me fiddle with any gun I pointed at. Which were quite a few! Needless to say, it took me some time before I was finished "browsing" there!

Thanks everyone for all the info...it has been very helpful. Any pictures?

I like splinter. I like to hold steel. I haven't used the leather guards, and as a result get bluing wear from my fingers.

Well I blew it this time. I assumed Chapuis had a semi beavertail forearm on their current rifles. My Chapuis 45-70, made in the 80's I think, has a small semi beavertail that isn't too bad. I just acquired a Chapuis in 470 NE. It has a humongous full beavertail. It's ugly and ergonomicly wrong. However there is hope, it will soon be turned into a splinter. When I bought this rifle, I signed the death warrant for a cape buffalo.

Dave

The new ones definitely have a very full beavertail.