Okay, I couldn't take it anymore. It was bad enough reading the threads here, but after seeing the article in African Expedition, I was sunk.
I just got off the phone, and Bailey will be building me a takedown 470.
It seems at least as smart as buying stock, and certainly more fun.

Marty, it will be a great rifle, and a good investment as well!

congrats....Welcome to the brotherhood! lol

Welcome to the club... I am waiting anxiously as well.

What are your barrel lengths? I am used to 24, on a traditional hinge action, but this action is shorter. Bailey says he tends toward 26. What have you guys done?

Very wise decision. I just recently received my Bradshaw SS in 275 Rigby flanged. You will NOT be disappointed.

What? Yours is done already??? BAILEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Biebs,
your's will be a little slow arriving I'm talking Bailey into letting me do the wood work!!!! I have the chain saw sharpen and everything ready to go to work on it

YIKES! On that wood?

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
YIKES! On that wood?

Whats up with your wood? when I was at the shop they had a piece of bridge timber with your name on it Beibs.

Nothing special and still rough cut-



SSR

ya I figure it will take a chain saw to get all the waxiee crude off it and get down to he real wood

Don't beleive a word from Hooker or Cross. Biebs' stock blank is one you have to sit and stare at for a while to figure out why you get the privledge and responsability of carving it. It's a stunning piece of wood.

Biebs, you are one of the leading proponents of longer barrels. Care to voice your reasoning?

yeep it is one of the nicest pieces of wood I have seen in a long long time. how many long barrel joke do you want!!!! I'm about to bust from laughing at all the jokes that come to mind .

Biebs, your up buddy why long barrels???

I like the traditional look of long barrels. Whether we will admit it or not, the reason we're drawn to DRs is because of tradition. All that crap about needing 2 quick, ultra-reliable shots to save yourself from a charging Buff or Elephant...OH PLEASE. The PH has been through more tight situations than we could ever imagine...let him take care of that. We're hunters, not charge-stoppers. Despite higher cost, our marginal ability to use open sights, and the extra weight of the rifle, we choose to hunt with doubles because they're way cool, and traditional! If you go through the loadings in Graeme Wright's book, you'll see that most of the original rifles he used for the tests had 28" or even 30" barrels. That's the way they built them, so if you want tradition, you want long barrels. Just my two cents, and waiting for change!

OK i will admit I like the long barrel look myself.

Thanks for your thoughts on barrel length. I have a little time to think on this, but I'm leaning toward the longer barrels. Nothing too radical here.
I've decided on color case hardening, embellished with a pair of tusks. Upgraded wood, and a leather pad.
Bailey has been super helpful and patient as I have been badgering him with emails and phone calls all week, asking questions and getting his thoughts on this build.
I am leaning strongly toward 470. I've been loading and shooting this cartridge for years, and what's not to like? I've thought about a 500, but realistically I probably have only a couple more elephant hunts left in me, and I'm not sure I want to bite off quite that much. I can't quite shake the notion of a 450 nitro, but other than a bit of extra nostalgia, I don't know what that will buy me.
Any thoughts on caliber selection would be appreciated.
I'm just leaning toward an uncommon rifle in a common chambering.

Marty
sounds like you have a good handle on it. good caliber choice and with Bailey you can get anything you like added on. go full pimped out with all the bells and whistles or more sedate with little touches that really catch your eye.

I prefer "understated" to "sedate" when talking about a big bore rifle. 106 grains of powder going off is NOT going to put me to sleep!
No whistles, but a few quiet bells.

Marty, with Hornady now making ammunition, the 450 NE is a great option. That was the DR caliber of choice before England banned it in the early 1900s to keep ne'er-do-wells in the colonies from getting their hands on 450 caliber bullets for their Martinis. That said, if you're familiar with the 470 and loading for it, that's always a safe (and effective) bet.

PS: Don't worry about "badgering" Bailey. With Larry as a customer, Bailey is experiencing BADGERING at a whole new level!!!

Oh well
More orders
Iam glad Bailey was hiding my piece of driftwood
Or you factory visitors would have lifted it.
Bailey don take it from under the bed till you are ready to carve it.

Larry

Larry
Cross found a ugly piece of wood an hacked it up for his tooth pick operation. come to think of it bailey did turn kinda pale when he saw what cross had done

That was the decoy piece.
He is guarding that wood like he guards his great wife.
Glad you fooled those guys Bail
Larry

Biebs actually likes the long barrels so he can touch the game with it from a long distance.
Butch

Yes, I hunt very close...like Stevie Wonder stalking Ele...when you can feel them with the end of the barrels, pull the triggers!