I'm trying to grasp what double rifles are worth or can be worth...?

a holland&holland in 450 ne 3 1/4 from the 60's?
any idea?
also for some reason I seem to recall the idea of that something like a double may shoot a 450H&H but not be made by H&H? any help?

if it was junk would it still be worth something? ie in poor condition and perhaps I'm not sure but shot out etc...?

what's the going rate for a new rifle in 450ne? ie what can you get one for on the low end/new? also will a new rifle out shoot/out class an older double?

Just trying to get an idea of cost vs function vs. quality etc... something like would an original double that couldn't shoot and well worn be wroth way more than something newer etc...?

sorry for the non-precise questions,

thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to AR's Big Bores 577DR. Your question will likely get greater response if you post it down on the Double Rifle area...

Maybe a moderator will transplant it.

I'm certain there are some double aficionados out there that can give you lots of perspective around the specifics you ask. I can give you some general answers. The Sabatti's sold by Cabela's are the most economical at about $5k/$6k. Name rifles in basic configurations (Heym, Kreighoff, etc) will run about $10k new, but can be had for around $8k used.

Again, others with double expertise can get you some good specifics.

Its a very broad subject which is probably why no one is trying to squeeze an answer into a single post. Being not much a double fan I am happy enough to butcher the subject attemtping to do so

Generally doubles cost a heap due to the fact they take ages to regulate both barrels to shoot together.The level of gunsmithing to do this attracts its own premium, and following on from that most of the gun ends up being higher grade work than what the average guy is used to in order to match the money they already put into getting the barrels to shoot.

The short version of the above is there there are no really 'cheap' double options.

Either when its made or when its being fixed(in the case of the shot out ones you mentioned) someone is going to want thousands and thousands of dollars to touch it.

There are guys who do restorations themselves and here in australia we had quite a bit of that going on, also people building doubles themselves or coverting big shotguns to double rifles etc. But its really a case of uou either need to be a gunsmith doing it yourself, or dedicated tradesperson/hobbyist and develope the knoweldge to get to that level.either that or back to square 1 you will be paying someone big premiums again.


What sort of money we are talking about here.. depends on the grade of gun, the maker and also the calibre as the biggest stuff eg 577/600/700 is usually means higher end prices.

The most factoryish low end options like the Sabatti above, to merkels might be as cheap as 5-8k, to mid range stuff like Kreighoff, heym, searcy 10-20k, through to the highest grade stuff like H&H and westley richards which may cost as much as a small house. Also different makers have different grades and different options and really any of them can hit you as hard as you want if you want custom options and fancy engraving etc.

As to 1960's H&H and those sort of specifics, no idea, you need the double rifle guys onto that question. again my hazarded guess is you will probably be remortgaging your house or at least selling your car to start playing with H&H grade doubles.

Best bet if you are looking to get a good deal is one of the5-10k grade class of doubles above brand new, and they will usually get you anywhere up to a 500 nitro in size. Also get onto prominent spanish and Euro shotgun makers as some of these offer a double rifle as well.

As to calibres and naming, this is another huge subject and if I am not miscontruing your question , the easiest way to explain it is a gun made by one maker may be chambered in a calibre made by another maker. No different from a remnington 700 bolt action made by the arms giant remington bieng chambered in the 270 winchester cartridge which was invented by their rival winchester.


Hope some of that helps and also does not piss off the 5000 or so members here who know more about doubles than I do

G'day mate,

I've still got a lot to learn about doubles, too. It wasn't long ago that I didn't know the front end from the back end - well, slight exaggeration. Anyway, I did lots of reading (good forum here for double rifles, as well as NitroExpress dot com), and was fortunate enough to visit a rifle range where a kind fellow gave me a go with his vintage .475 (forget which version) double. One thing led to another, and now I own my first double, a humble but nice and functional Merkel .500NE. With it I have killed exactly ten buffalo, ten pigs and three wild dogs. Anyway, other than the forums, my best advice is to get ahold of John Taylor's "African Rifles and Cartridges" if you haven't already; Graeme Wright's "Shooting the British Double Rifle"; and Terry Wieland's "Dangerous Game Rifles". There are plenty of other good books, too. You may also be interested in Mark Buchanan's DVD "Death by Double Rifle" and any of Mark Sullivan's controversial DVDs - whatever one may say about him and his films, they feature nice, big doubles.

Good luck in your journey and quest, man!

Cheers,

Ben

450 NE 3 1/4 can be chamber by any one. It'd not called a 450 H&H.

Condition of the rifle will determine the value of the rifle. If it's unshootalbe it'll have wall hanger value. 4-500 maybe. The price of new any brand 450 rifles starts at 5K and the skies are the limit on the upper end ones. 300,000 is possible IMO.