I was wondering if you need to have a gunsmith make a double rifle ready for dangerous game like you do with bolt actions? When you buy the $30,000 or less guns can you have a gunsmith polish and adjust the gun to be made flawless like they do with CRF rifles? Is it the design of the lower cost double rifles or the fit and finish that make them lower cost? Can they be made to perform flawlessly or do you need to spend the big bucks to have a real dangerous game gun?

The only thing you should need with a new double rifle (Heym, Searcy, Famars, Kreighoff, or Blaser) is lots of practice. The only time you should have a double worked on is to have a thorough cleaning or if something is broke or something added.

IMO, the main component of the price of some doubles is the value of the name of the maker; Purdy, Westley Richards, Jeffry, Rigby, etc.

Functionally, the work of the German/Austrian makers is just as acceptable as that of the British makers.

Almost all double rifles need trigger work to reduc and smooth trigger pulls. Some lower end guns come with butt plates or bad pads designed to be replaced with a good pad which will also bring the rifle to the proper length of pull. Other than that, which are personal preferences, they should be good to go.

JPK

quote:

Originally posted by JPK:
Almost all double rifles need trigger work to reduc and smooth trigger pulls. Some lower end guns come with butt plates or bad pads designed to be replaced with a good pad which will also bring the rifle to the proper length of pull. Other than that, which are personal preferences, they should be good to go.

JPK

All that and maybe a lot more. The horror stories like a new ***** double not firing in an elephant charge and a ***** double not accepting factory ammo.

Not sure any of them are 100% reliable but using them some in a simulated bang-bang hunting situation before the hunt would be a good idea. Better start early too as getting some of the ones where there is not a company-based repair facility is going to take a while.

If I was a betting guy I'd put my money on a $200,000 H&H before a $10,000 ***** double!!

Many doubles do need some work except, of course, for the Blaser S2 which is usually perfect right out of the box

quote:

Originally posted by EDMHUNTER:
I was wondering if you need to have a gunsmith make a double rifle ready for dangerous game like you do with bolt actions? When you buy the $30,000 or less guns can you have a gunsmith polish and adjust the gun to be made flawless like they do with CRF rifles? Is it the design of the lower cost double rifles or the fit and finish that make them lower cost? Can they be made to perform flawlessly or do you need to spend the big bucks to have a real dangerous game gun?

Last time I saw a question like this it was soon followed up with "My new double is a POS" and became a very negative topic. I hope this one will not end up the same way.

Edmhunter, what ever you do don't tell anyone if your double comes up with a serious problem just before an African hunt. It seems to make lots of guys REAL mad. You'll get accused of throwing some voodoo, mysterious curse on the rifle by loading some particular bullet or load.

Current wisdon seems to be that you buy two double rifles and hopefully one will function well. Either that or take a trashy bolt gun to back your shiny new double.

Seriously guys don't get mad, I am really getting like my Heym single shot!

I didn't have any trouble with my Searcy double. We had a little bit of luck and found this guy in the Caprivi. I an really looking forward to going back.

josh

Josh:

Nice tusker! I seem to recall that your Searcy was a two barrel set, .375 and 450/400. Which set of barrels did you use? Can you give us some of the particulars. How close were you able to get? Was is a brain shot or a body shot? Were you able to anchor him with the first shot? If not, how far did he go?

Dave I appreciate your interest, the hunt was the experience of a lifetime. My wife was right there with me and it was something we enjoyed together. She shot an excellent gemsbok during the hunt with her 243 and I was very proud of her.

I got to camp with the two barrel set as you stated and actually just laid out the situation for the PH, Karl Stumpfe. He asked which was the most accurate offhand and I told him the 375fl. and he requested that I use it. I also told him the S&B scope was sighted for the 375fl barrel set and he urged me to use it as well. He said that the majority of his clients that had one shot elephant kills used either 375's of 9.3's. He actually told me that had I brought a 470 double with the Searcy he would have been against using the 470.

The short story is that we had a very quick shot at this bull and the rising sun was right behind him. I had been told for so long not to shoot high that I didn't, I shot about 6" low for a head-on brain shot. When the bullet hit the bull staggered and turned and I hit him again in the shoulder and the PH fired as well. As the elephant turned away we both fired at his butt end. The elephant went about 300-400yds and we came upon him turned back toward us and I fired and hit him in the spine just behind the head and brought him down. I was really glad it was the same elephant because I fired that last shot so fast that I didn't give the PH time to identify it. There was a park boundary not far away and all I could think of was getting him killed before he got back over there.

I must say that elephant hunting is the most exciting hunting I have ever done and I am looking forward to going back.

josh

Josh, Congrats and I love those kind of hunting stories...

Mike