In Safari Rifles II, Boddington quotes a PH as saying that a double will deprive you of as many as 60% of the shots you could take with a scoped bolt gun (or scoped double, for that matter) because of the inability to pick out a precise aiming point with the iron sights. Boddington likes to get the tracker to carry a scoped .375 bolt rifle, and often used that instead of the double. So hunting with a double is really a handicap. An exception is elephant hunting in heavy cover.

What say those with experience hunting with doubles? Is it kosher to scope them? (The only DG I ever took was with a Model 70 but I'd like to get a double just because they are "cool.")

I have hunted with double rifles in, Texas, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Canada and Zimbabwe.

I have made iron sighted shots as far as 188 yards with a 450 No2.

I have made scoped shots to a little over 300 yards with a 9,3x74R.

I have NEVER had to pass on a shot because I was hunting with a double rifle.

With the exception of a few plains game I shot with my wifes Blaser 308 R 93, all the game I have taken, and all the DG, in Zim have been with a double rifle.

Let me add that I have a Master card in Long Range High Power.

There are some hunts where a bolt rifle is the rifle of choice, but I prefer to shoot my game up close if possible.

My 9,3x74R and my 450/400 3 1/4" are both scoped.

If someone told me "you can only hunt with bolt rifles or double rifles, take your pick."

I would go ALL double ALL the time.

I would agree with Boddingtons P.H. about the virtue of the optics but this is a sight VS sight issue and not a double rifle VS bolt gun issue.
Both my doube rifles have scopes mounted with claw mounts.

A low powered scope with a heavy reticle or ilumenated will be very fast. You will not want to remove the scope untill you're following something that is wounded into some heavy brush. Under these conditions the iron sights will not cause you to miss any opertunity's because it will be very close and quite possibly comming at you.

These situations typicly are handled by the guide or P.H.

I hunted driven bore one time in France. The double rifle I was useing was a Rigby 9.3x74 with a 2.5x scope on claw mounts. The boar shooting was quite fast action and I considered using the iron sights but I was not having any problem with he scope. A 1.5 would hav been better but still the 2.5 worked.

I guess boddington's P.H. was assuming that a double would not be scoped.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:

If someone told me "you can only hunt with bolt rifles or double rifles, take your pick."

I would go ALL double ALL the time.

quote:

Originally posted by Akshooter:
I guess boddington's P.H. was assuming that a double would not be scoped.

Most Likely

I believe that a scoped rifle is the better choice for the hunter seeking his first buff or intent on killing a very big buff.

You will loose opportunities without a scope, imo.

But who cares? The real trophy is the hunt, not the dead buff, no matter how wide he is.

I prefer open sighted doubles for the fun. But I am willing to pass up shots or go home with a lesser bull but a great and close hunt rather than a longer shot on perhaps a better bull.

BTW, as a frame of reference, I'd be pleased to shoot a buff with express sighta and a double rifle beyond 100yds, much longer with a scoped rifle. But neither is material since well inside 50yds is more fun and where I want to end up.

JPK

quote:

Originally posted by JPK:
I believe that a scoped rifle is the better choice for the hunter seeking his first buff or intent on killing a very big buff.

You will loose opportunities without a scope, imo.

But who cares? The real trophy is the hunt, not the dead buff, no matter how wide he is.

I prefer open sighted doubles for the fun. But I am willing to pass up shots or go home with a lesser bull but a great and close hunt rather than a longer shot on perhaps a better bull.

BTW, as a frame of reference, I'd be pleased to shoot a buff with express sighta and a double rifle beyond 100yds, much longer with a scoped rifle. But neither is material since well inside 50yds is more fun and where I want to end up.

JPK

John, my thoughts on the matter 100%

I watched Donald Trump JR. and a race car driver Cochrain, both hunted with the same PH I hunted Tanzania, and both wounded and lost their buff with double rifles.

I guess it comes down to who takes the time and effort to be proficient with a DR. The average person doesn't.

I practiced until I was comfortable shooting consistently into 6" circle @ 100 yards from sticks.

quote:

Originally posted by dirklawyer:

quote:

Originally posted by JPK:
I believe that a scoped rifle is the better choice for the hunter seeking his first buff or intent on killing a very big buff.

You will loose opportunities without a scope, imo.

But who cares? The real trophy is the hunt, not the dead buff, no matter how wide he is.

I prefer open sighted doubles for the fun. But I am willing to pass up shots or go home with a lesser bull but a great and close hunt rather than a longer shot on perhaps a better bull.

BTW, as a frame of reference, I'd be pleased to shoot a buff with express sighta and a double rifle beyond 100yds, much longer with a scoped rifle. But neither is material since well inside 50yds is more fun and where I want to end up.

JPK

John, my thoughts on the matter 100%

+2

Wow, talk about a topic that many of us struggle with! True, a double rifle just oozes African tradition and "coolness". I will admit, though, that I have taken several trophies with a magazine rifle that I would not have been able to take if I was toting a double. A double's true value is as a stopping rifle....fast and ultra-reliable availability of 2 large-caliber rounds at close range. But for hunters, that's what they pay a PH for. I've been the route of the typical rifle nut; working up to ultra-fast and accurate custom rifles where a shot at any animal within 450 yards, provided a good rest, is pretty much a gimme. Not any longer. To me, it boils down to the same reason(s) one might use a bow, muzzleloader, or handgun....to increase the challenge with a self-imposed handicap to make the hunt more sporting and exiting. I just dumped a boatload of $$$ on a Rigby 500 NE boxlock, so I need to be "selling" myself on the attributes of hunting with a double, to keep myself from jumping off a bridge!!!!!!!!

I think it boils down to what you want out of a hunt. If the biggest trophy bull you can find is your goal, then a scoped rifle, either a double or preferably a bolt rifle is the way to go. If your goal is to kill a good old bull as close as as possible then an open sighted rifle of either type is the recipe. CB is probably correct that the open sighted double is at an disadvantage in the first instances but if you end up with a charge then the bolt rifle is a disadvantage over the open sighted double.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by Indy:
In Safari Rifles II, Boddington quotes a PH as saying that a double will deprive you of as many as 60% of the shots you could take with a scoped bolt gun (or scoped double, for that matter) because of the inability to pick out a precise aiming point with the iron sights. Boddington likes to get the tracker to carry a scoped .375 bolt rifle, and often used that instead of the double. So hunting with a double is really a handicap. An exception is elephant hunting in heavy cover.

What say those with experience hunting with doubles? Is it kosher to scope them? (The only DG I ever took was with a Model 70 but I'd like to get a double just because they are "cool.")

NE 450 No2, AKshooter, Duggaboye, JPK, dirklawyer, gi, Dave Bush, beibs, all have the right answer to your question!

This is HUNTING, not target shooting! A scoped hunting rifle with a cartridge in the same class as that in a scoped double rifle, will do nothing better than the double rifle.

However when the shooting get close, and the outcome depends on fast accurate shooting to stop a mad Buffalo, the double will take care of business far better than any bolt rifle, regardless of the sights fitted.

It all boils down to the shooter knowing his rifle, whether it is a double or a bolt rifle. As AKshooter says, this is a contest between sights, not rifles. A double rifle that is regulated properly is at no disadvantage to a bolt of the same chambering for long shots, if both have the same sights. An Iron sighted bolt rifle is no better that an iron sighted double rifle, and a scoped bolt rifle of the same class cartridge holds no advantage over a scoped double rifle, again if properly loaded to shoot to the regulation built into the double rifle. NE 450 No2, has proven that on many occasions witnessed by many of the DRSS membership, myself included. I must admit here though that Tony would likely out shoot 90% + of the shooters posting on this website, with any rifle they might choose.

As gi, says it all has to do with the shooters willingness to learn to shoot his rifle, no matter the configuration. A double rifle is no less accurate than any hunting rifle regardless of type.

As JPK says who cares anyway, the trophy is the hunt!

I'll make a statement here that I have made many times! I don't think it would be a wise idea to stand at 300 yds and let me shoot my double at you, thinking I couldn't hit you, with just about any double rifle I own, even with express iron sights!

I have every respect for Boddington's, and Andrew's opinions on hunting in Africa, but I simply disagree with both on this particular subject. I have hunted all over the world with double rifles, but the largest experience by far, has been in the mountain country of the Western USA, where cross canyon shootiing is the norm, and I have never had to pass a shot with a double rifle that I wouldn't have passed with a like chambering, and sighted bolt rifle for big game, and I have never wounded an animal and lost him.

There are specialized places where a very accurate scoped rifle are the best choice, however, like P-Dog shooting, and 1000 yd paper punching, but that same rifle is not needed for shooting elk cross canyon at long range for big game hunting!

This has given me a great idea,! We need to set up a long range shoot for the DRSS, on life size big game targets at our next shoot, and film it.

It would also be neat to have a penetration box set up---

I have been nearsighted and worn glasses since the age of 5 and have NEVER been as competant with iron sights as I have with a scope especially at any range at all over point blank which for me is under 50 yards. Therefore I have used scoped rifles most of my life, doesn't make any difference to me how many barrels it had, i'm just more accurate and confident with a scope on it. Have owned doubles but don't really find them to be more than an affectation based on the CONCEPT of African hunting rather than a necessity of African hunting. Personal opinion of course as are all on this matter and everyone is entitled to one.

My personal take is to take a Double rifle and a bolt, and adapt to the conditions.

I am in the process of building a battery for Africa, and will have three double rifles (375 Flanged, 450/400 3", and a 500 NE), and bolt guns in 300 Jarrett, 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, 505 Gibbs and perhaps a 600 OK.

By taking one bolt and one double rifle you can use one or the other for the specific circumstance that you encounter.

Agree with JPK and others, I would love to pass a shot at 100 yards on a 44 inch buff, and for two reasons:
1) to have the opportunity to stalk it to 40 yards.
2) to blow that stalk and then have the opportunity to stalk a 37 inch buff another day.

If one prefers the 44 inch buff at 100 yards, it is obvious that he should get a scoped bolt action.

Going from the bow to the double has already been a huge step for me.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
I have been nearsighted and worn glasses since the age of 5 and have NEVER been as competant with iron sights as I have with a scope especially at any range at all over point blank which for me is under 50 yards. Therefore I have used scoped rifles most of my life, doesn't make any difference to me how many barrels it had, i'm just more accurate and confident with a scope on it. Have owned doubles but don't really find them to be more than an affectation based on the CONCEPT of African hunting rather than a necessity of African hunting. Personal opinion of course as are all on this matter and everyone is entitled to one.

On buff I have found the two very quick shots useful on more than one occasion. But, imo, the double rifle is really the ultimate tool for elephant hunting, far exceeding the utlility of the bolt rifle. The more elephants I hunt, the greater I see the advantage of the double.

Some other poster said it was the PH's role to stop and elephant or buff, well yes, if he has the opportunity, the shot angle, the balls to stand his ground, enough rifle, is a good enough shot... Jeez, a whole heck of a lot of ifs, eh? I've stopped two elephants; would the PH have been able to do it? Maybe, maybe not. He too is human...

JPK

JPK good post.

I have taken only doubles on all of my Safaris.

The plan was to use a scoped 9,3x74R on plains game, and the iron sighted 450 No2 on buff and elephant.

On my last Safari I took my wife and so used the 450/400 a bunch,[with scope for some animals and irons for buff and bull elephant] as I had not taken it to Africa before.

I have never had to pass up a shot at an animal because I was hunting with a double rifle.

My longest shots in Zimbabwe have been a kudu at a little over 300 yards with the scoped 9,3.

My closest shot with the 9,3 was with iron sights at an elephant at 5 yards.

With the 450 No2 the longest was a Giraffe at @188 yards. I have taken eland and wildebest with the 450 No2 as well.

The closest shot, I stepped out in front of a cow elephant at 3 yards, she stopped and leaned back and I fired at about 4 yards.

I have found the 2 quick shots of a double rifle much more "handy" than a bolt rifle with its magazine full of cartridges.

Right now, I think I have the best of both worlds. I have a Blaser R93 in 9.3X62 for a scoped rifle and a Blaser S2 .470 as one combination.

I also have a .416 Rigby and a Krieghoff .500/.416 for a second combination.

Everyone has their own view of this but I think that an open sighted heavy double works best in combination with a scope sighted bolt.

That being said, I would rather get close to a 38 inch buffalo and shoot it with a double than shoot a 42 inch buffalo at 100 or 150 yards with a scope sighted bolt. I must have read Taylor's book one too many times. To me anyway, getting up close and personal to a buff is what African hunting is all about. There is one caveat here... LIONS! I am afraid of lions!. One hundred yards is plenty close to a lion

I have two double rifles. They both have scopes mountaed. I see no handicap to a low-powered scope on doubles. With claw mounts, the scope can be dismounted instantly if needed, but reattached with no change in zero. This is definitely a sight-vs-sight issue rather than a mechanical dispute between bolt vs double.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
Everyone has their own view of this but I think that an open sighted heavy double works best in combination with a scope sighted bolt.

That being said, I would rather get close to a 38 inch buffalo and shoot it with a double than shoot a 42 inch buffalo at 100 or 150 yards with a scope sighted bolt. I must have read Taylor's book one too many times. To me anyway, getting up close and personal to a buff is what African hunting is all about. There is one caveat here... LIONS! I am afraid of lions!. One hundred yards is plenty close to a lion

We are 99% in agreement! The only thing I would change is a scoped 9.3X74R double as a second rifle,or a Ruger No1 scoped, and barreled to the same chambering as my double rifle.

Where the 110% agreement is on the lion! They scare the hell right out of me when they get close, or if I know they are there in the dark, and close!

The experience of you guys is invaluable to me. Thank you. But let me ask two more "ignorant" questions:

1. The only doubles I examined--at a store far from here--did not have scopes. Does a claw mount allow detaching the scope in such a way that the classic lines of the double are not changed?

2. I, too, hold Master's cards in NRA HIGH POWER, long range and over-the-course. I can hit within 8" of target center at 200 yards, or better, with any supported field position, including sticks, and often offhand, with aperture sights. With a 1903 Mannlicher (the only open sight rifle I had), I could shoot 6" groups offhand at 100 yards with no problem. These were on black and white targets. Now If I had a double with the same kind of open sights, why couldn't I do the same hunting? Yes, the target is not a black bullseye, but if I could see the front half of a buffalo, why couldn't I come up 1/3 of the front leg and... In other words, why would it be necessary to miss 60% of the shots due to not having a scope? Here we're talking less than 100 yards. When I hunted buffalo last year, I never saw one that far away or farther. The one I shot (with a scope) was about 30 or 40 yards away and it was dark enough that all I could discern was the black silhouette and one horn. So I'm wondering if open sights are really that much of a disadvantage at all?

quote:

Originally posted by Indy:
The experience of you guys is invaluable to me. Thank you. But let me ask two more "ignorant" questions:

1. The only doubles I examined--at a store far from here--did not have scopes. Does a claw mount allow detaching the scope in such a way that the classic lines of the double are not changed?--------

The profile changes somewhat, but properly done the mounts IMHO do not look terribly out of place.

Have shot open sights all my life , as I age I prefer apertures, but a 1X or a 1.5 X quailty scope is frankly much better.
I am also experimenting with reflex sights (FastFire)

Originally posted by Indy

quote:

The experience of you guys is invaluable to me. Thank you. But let me ask two more "ignorant" questions:

1. The only doubles I examined--at a store far from here--did not have scopes. Does a claw mount allow detaching the scope in such a way that the classic lines of the double are not changed?

I actlly think claw mounts add to the apperance of a double rifle. Maybe it's just an appreciation for the skill and laber it takes to install them

Anyway judge for yourself.

I agree with a lot of what has been said here on both sides.....because one's own opinion has a lot of merit in a "cover your arse" scenario. That being said, I took my first buff with a 470 double and very close range and my second at 150+ yards with a scoped 404 Jeff....we had NO cover to get closer. I will say that I hope to never hunt buff again unless it's up close and personal...the way I believe it should be and what makes hunting those boys so much fun. A fine fitted bolt gun and a fine fitted double will both come to the shoulder equally as well IMO...however...the bolt cannot match a close encounter where 2 VERY FAST SHOTS ARE REQUIRED. Needless to say, if time has allowed that 3rd or 4th shot...the bolt wins...at least on the 3rd.
I shoot both types equally well at ranges up to about 80 yards or so with irons.
I will say this...I recently purchased a Trijicon 1x4x24 30mm scope for my Heym 500 Jeff bolt and mounted it in EAW QD bases/rings.....on 1 power, it's cheating.....NOTHING I own or have owned is as fast for a REAL accurate shot as that thing...it's unreal...and that's with both eyes wide open. Might not be "classic"...and I consider myself for the most part to prefer classic...but that combo of rifle and scope would make for some serious trouble for a close up buff or elephant....and if a longer follow up was needed, of if a bait animal was at 130 yards....crank it up a touch and bust 'em with 535 grains.
But there IS something about that double when the brush limits your vision to feet and not yards......
I'm done rambling.......sorry.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

quote:

But there IS something about that double when the brush limits your vision to feet and not yards......

So true, eh?

For all,

Joe Smithson is making a QD base and ring set which, when the scope is removed, is all but invisible. 100% repeatability apparently. (I have found Talley to be less than 100% repeatable btw.)

I am having a set installed on my 375 A&S Farmars sidelock and will provide photos and a report on how they work out, but it been taking awhile since Joe needs a certain minimum order to make a run profitable. And they aren't cheap and require very precise machining of the rib. There is no adjustment, so the machining needs to be spot on. Joe doesn't like selling them uninstalled for this reason, but my set should be arriving any day, at my Guild member gunsmith's. He wouldn't ship them out to me.

There was a photo of Joe's bases and rings, and their all but invisible nature isn't done credit calling them bases, in "The Shooting Sportsman" about two years ago. Less obtrusive than claw mounts, 100% return to zero, no added weight. Could just be the perfect solution.

I will mount either a 1.25x4 S&B or a similar Swaro.

JPK

I think making blanket subjective statements such as the 60% comment can be misleading... i.e. it depends on circumstances. For me, the three most relevant factors would be eyesight, length of hunt, and the experience level/expected number of return trips. I feel comfortable shooting a rifle open sighted out to around 150 yards. After that, I accept that I simply don't see well enough to shoot without a scope. My wife on the other hand, who can spot a zit on a nat's ass at 150 yards, could shoot her 22 open sighted better than I can shoot any of my scoped rifles. I think there's a point at which one has to be a bit responsible and admit one's limitations (if u can shoot well with open sights at 300 yds, then u shouldn't hesitate to do so).

Another factor is expectation level/length of hunt. If you know you are only going to go buff hunting once, and you feel limited with open sights, it might not be a bad idea to take something with a scope along, as Boddington states.

I've done a lot of elk and deer hunting and I know I'll do a lot more. So, I don't feel the need to take a 300 weatherby with a 15x scope to the blind. I have the luxury of waiting on the best animal and using the gun I want to shoot (which it seems I'm getting more and more satisfaction out of as I get more into guns).

My brother and I are planning a buff hunt for 2011, and we'll be taking a scoped 404 Jeff and hopefully an open sighted 450/400 or the like. We'll try and try to get the best set up with the double, but if we're running low on days with no buff, neither of us will hesitate to "humble" ourselves by shooting a scoped gun.

If and when I get to go back and do it again, I'll likely stick with the double as I enjoy hunting more than collecting trophies (although I'm really starting to like this new Jeff). Don't think the wife is just dying for a bunch of cape buff mounts on the wall either. Already had to take down my prized aoudad and mule deer mounts.

quote:

Have owned doubles but don't really find them to be more than an affectation based on the CONCEPT of African hunting rather than a necessity of African hunting.

Sage comment Zim! I am planning what to take on my next trip, and the issue is really not what to take, but what to use! I have to admit that if I was faced with a 100 yard shot at a really good buff I would probably reach for the 416 scoped Rigby rather than either attempt the shot with my double, and run the risk of wounding, or attempt a closer stalk and run the risk of losing the animal. I would do this even if I was fairly confident of my double shooting. Why? Well most of my double shooting is done at 50 yards while most of my Rigby shooting is done at 100-200.
Peter.

quote:

The profile changes somewhat, but properly done the mounts IMHO do not look terribly out of place.

Claw mount bases look like they're supposed to be there.

Excellent thread.

I choose to hunt exclusively with a double for these reasons:

1)Hunting with an ironsighted double makes it necessary to get in close - to me that's waht hunting is all about. Getting in close and using my human brain to outsmart the quarry.

2) Doubles have fewer moving parts when it comes do to making a critical and close quarters shots. I've shot enough big stuff up close to know that a lightening fast second shot is sometimes warranted. I personally feel more confident with a double for the type of hunting that I do.

3) Weapons familiarity: I shoot skeet, sporting clays and live pigeons with a double trigger SxS. after 30 or so years of shooting DT, SxS doubles it has become instinctive for me, thus I stick with what I know. This seemingly boring methodology has paid dividends on the occasions when a bigg'n got a bit too close!

I've never failed to close on an animal because I was using an iron sighted double, but do understand Craig's point. Also, not everybody has the fitness to chase stuff around all day in order to get a close and clean shot. For that reason, I am sure that one day I'll be shooting a scope sighted double!

JW

quote:

I have made iron sighted shots as far as 188 yards with a 450 No2.

Tell us the results.


Seloushunter

I fired a right and a left at the giraffe.
Both shots hit him in the chest.

Several AR members have seen the video.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I fired a right and a left at the giraffe.
Both shots hit him in the chest.

Several AR members have seen the video.

tell the rest of the story Tony...the part about you attempting a head shot!

Just kidding! Most folks don't know how well you shoot. I would consider you to be a more advanced shooter than the average shooter. Having said this I also see little issue with using a double as a primary weapon provided the shooter is proficient an capable of stalking close to game. I expect the PH who made the comments in CB's book was talking about the large number of clients who are not proficient with large bore rifles and are not able to stalk without alarming game. Watching TAA I see much of both.

I personally have had to pass on shots that could have been made with a scoped rifle however in both cases I was able to make a later shot with my iron sight double. It took a few extra days in one case however I still killed the buffalo I was after and was glad it was done in the AM rather late evening when I first had the opportunity.

I never tried a head shot with a giraffe...

My wife did it with a 308, however.

The funny, strange, thing is, I have hunted with a double rifle for many different game animals, in conditions, where a double rifle is not the traditional weapon of choice.

I have NEVER had to pass on a shot because I was using a double rifle.

IF a rich fella stated, he would pay, for me to hunt one of EVERY game animal on the Planet Earth, with a double rifle, I would pack ammo for my 9,3x74R Chapuis and my 450/400 3 1/4".

IF I could only take one rifle, I would pack the 9,3x74R.

Doubles can be better or worse than a bolt depending upon the situation, and obviously vice versa.

Just because someone has killed a bunch of stuff with one or the other doesn't make their choice better than the other. Sometimes a double would be handy when up close and sometimes a bolt would be better.

Making blanket statements that one is always better than the other just means you haven't had much experience on using both.

For example, the first two shots from a double are faster but after that the bolt wins every time. Have you ever seen guys try to reload their doubles? With an elephant on their heels? Spare me the fast reload stories!!

how do you want to hunt your buff????????? That is the real question you need to ask yourself.If you are worried you can't make the shot because you got the double two weeks before to have your"dream hunt" then you are out of your mind!get a rifle with a scope! If you want to get up close and personel with you buf... practise with your double LOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG before you go and challenge yourself to get within twenty feet minimum and enjoy it all the more

Ditto Will

I was discussing Doubles with my PH last month in Zim. He carries a CZ bolt in 500A2. He likes doubles and doesn't mind if the client carries one, but said he would be dead if he carried one. He was charged by 3 eles at very close range and it took all 4 rounds at extremely close range to get the job done. He wouldn't have had enough time to reload the double.

quote:

Originally posted by BEGNO:
Ditto Will

I was discussing Doubles with my PH last month in Zim. He carries a CZ bolt in 500A2. He likes doubles and doesn't mind if the client carries one, but said he would be dead if he carried one. He was charged by 3 eles at very close range and it took all 4 rounds at extremely close range to get the job done. He wouldn't have had enough time to reload the double.

Being charged by more than one elephant at a time is a very rare occurance. Much more rare than being charged by one. For every story such as the above I suspect we can find several where the quick second shot of the double was needed to save the hunter.

465H&H

quote:

I was discussing Doubles with my PH last month in Zim. He carries a CZ bolt in 500A2. He likes doubles and doesn't mind if the client carries one, but said he would be dead if he carried one. He was charged by 3 eles at very close range and it took all 4 rounds at extremely close range to get the job done. He wouldn't have had enough time to reload the double

This is most likely due to the fact that your PH has become very competent with a magazine rifle. A good shooter with a DR will be as fast if not faster with a DR. It's all about what the shooter feels most comfortable and has done the most practice / real conditions shooting. He might be dead if he had chosen a DR and had not ptoperly trained himself to reload in a hurry.

JW

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Wemmer:

quote:

I was discussing Doubles with my PH last month in Zim. He carries a CZ bolt in 500A2. He likes doubles and doesn't mind if the client carries one, but said he would be dead if he carried one. He was charged by 3 eles at very close range and it took all 4 rounds at extremely close range to get the job done. He wouldn't have had enough time to reload the double

This is most likely due to the fact that your PH has become very competent with a magazine rifle. A good shooter with a DR will be as fast if not faster with a DR. It's all about what the shooter feels most comfortable and has done the most practice / real conditions shooting. He might be dead if he had chosen a DR and had not ptoperly trained himself to reload in a hurry.

JW

With all due respect, this is a load of crap.