I took delivery of my new Searcy 470 NE tonight. It is BEAUTIFUL! Handles well, points well and the recoil is very managable. Since PaulK lives nearby, I took it over to his home with 20 rounds (500gr Woodleighs over 108gr IMR 4831.) The weather has been crappy around here and there wasn't enough light to get decent chrono readings so we just fired them offhand with no benching and sighting in - just the pure fun of shooting the rifle. At 50 yards we were regularly hitting the 4" bull right out of the box. Being left handed, I finally get to actually use that cheekpiece as all of my bolt guns are right handed actions. The action being left handed, with the left barrel's trigger to the front, you can all ask Paul (who is right handed) what it feels like when you reach over that rear trigger to fire the front trigger first. He handled the doubling well except for having to shake out a few cobwebs! Paul is returning to Africa in two weeks and we can't let him get his shooting arm get too beat up.

All in all a great time with a wonderful rifle.

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RC

I hate you

Congrats on your new rifle...mine will be forthcoming... how long did you have to wait?

I believe I ordered it at the end of last June.

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RC

Congratulations! We all feel envy!

Don't taunt us, we want pictures

Mike

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Congratulations! I want one too! How much does that baby weigh?

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RAB

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rcasto:
Congratulations on the double. I think pictures are in order as well. I've looked at so many of Butch's double in the Safari Magazine and they do look very impressive. I don't think the recoil could knock the smile off.
take care,
470 Mbogo

Its often said if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it. Well, I already can't afford a lot of things, so I'll ask anyway... Cost of this one? ~~~Suluuq

rcasto:
I was quite surprised at how manageable the recoil was on your new Searcy 470, with me being right handed, shooting your wrong handed rifle.Even when the rifle doubled (when I inadvertently caught the the rear trigger under recoil) I found that the recoil was not bad at all,though I would not want to make a habit of it!!! The rifle has beautiful wood and is very well made, alot of rifle for the money.I feel honored that you brought the rifle over to my home and let me help you run it through its paces. Thank you.

Paul K

Congrats guy! I envy you!
Now you have a rifle that will out live you, and will be a nice thing to leave to your kid! Old Butch makes a nice rifle huh?

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..Mac >>>===(x)===>
also DUGABOY1
DUGABOY DESIGNS
Collector/trader of fine double rifles, and African wildlife art

I have not been able to make my Merkel double yet, but I did discover one time that if your grip becomes too relaxed, a non-articulated front trigger can bite your trigger finger when the rear trigger is pulled. I scraped the dorsal surface of my right index finger distal interphalangeal joint with a factory load. No scars.

Please post a velocity if you get a chronograph session. Thanks.

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RAB

Congrats on the new Searcy!

I scraped the dorsal surface of my right index finger distal interphalangeal joint with a factory load.

God, I love it when Dagga talks that tech talk!

I hope the prognosis for your injury is good. Perhaps the prophylactic use of a glove would prevent a reoccurrence?

Rusty
We band of brothers!

How do you say 'factory load' in latin?

Three choices :
"Officina onero" = factory load

"nonmanusonustus apparatus" = non-handloaded ammunition

"Actoryfay oadlay" = Pig Latin

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RAB

Hey, it could have been worse. The front trigger could have rapped his knuckle!

Recono,
I see my humor was not wasted, nor was yours. Touche. My knuckle is good as new.

Rusty,
I have had a bad experience with a glove on my trigger finger, and I am cured of it. But a glove on the left hand ala MS might keep my sweaty hands from rusting the barrels. You gotta be grabbing those barrels or you are wasting your time, says MS. The splinter forearm is just to make the action work, right?

I will be sure to grip firmly and touch off accurately, I hope.

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RAB

DaggaRon,
It's a good thing the axial, abaxial, and palmar surfaces of your dextral digit II were spared (not to mention the medial and lateral colateral ligaments of the distal digital interphalangeal joint)!
FWIW, my Searcy weighs 11 lbs unloaded. Using Fed215M primers, 88 grains of RL15, a 3/8" styrofoam wad, and 500 grain Swift A-Frames, I get 2135 fps and 2"-4" groups at 50 yards off the sticks.
Good Hunting,

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Andy Cooper

DOH!!! WHAT BRASS??? Huh, Andy?

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RAB

DaggaRon,
I seam 2 hav fergottin 2 minchun the brasss--I use BELL and Norma. Have some Federal but shoot only cast 480 grainers from them.
Good Hunting,

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Andy Cooper

[This message has been edited by ACRecurve (edited 05-01-2002).]

Thanks for all the kind posts.

DaggaRon - My bathroom scale measures
11.5 lbs.

RustyGunn - The standard price as per the Searcy web site is $8,000. which includes ejectors. Better deals can be had from specials that have run on Hunt America.

Looks like we might have rain all week. I will post chrono info when I can. I want to experiment a little with the VihtaVuori powders as I have always had very acceptable results using them. Nice thing about living in the country is that when it stops raining I can just open the door and shoot.

I am currently using Woodleigh softs but would like to know if anyone has any experience with the Hawk bullets for practice rounds. They cost substantially less and while I don't believe in going cheap on a hunting bullet, I would like to trim costs on my everyday practice rounds that don't do any more than cut paper or take out the occasional groundhog.

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RC

Just an occasional Ground Hog???

Paul K

I tried some of the Hawk bullets for less expensive practice rounds--pressures seemed to go way up with the same loading as the Woodleighs and Swifts--probably due to the very soft pure copper jackets. You would likely be able to use them and maybe even duplicate velocities between them and the harder jacketed bullets by using less powder. I may give that approach a try since I have a couple of boxes of the Hawks.
Good Hunting,

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Andy Cooper

Thanks for the advice on the Hawks.

PaulK - Hey, I've taken several groundhogs with 375 H&H and 416 Rigby. I get end to end penetration.

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RC

RC
Did you clean that rifle yet? Was there alot of copper fouling?

Paul K

I have used Hawks in bolt guns and got lower pressures than I did with Woodleigh solids. They also open up great on game.

I have used Hawks to cut some paper with my 450/400. I have to drop down 3 grains in my loads to keep the velocity the same as the Woodleighs. They are much softer and seal the barrel better than the Woodleighs. I'd start with a reduced load with the Hawks.

Rusty
We band of brothers!

rcasto,
Congrats on the new rifle. Hopefully one day (a few years from now!)I can post here about my new Searcy 500 NE

John