I did a lot of shooting this weekend. On Saturday I went to American Shooting Centers and shot about 20 rounds through my 416 Rigby and 404 Jeffery from the bench, ouch!!!!! Then on Sunday (with a tender shoulder), I went to the Bayou Rifles range with Mike Jines and Bill Clayton. Mike was gracious enough to let Bill and I shoot his Elephant-Slaying 500 Nitro’s (Kriegoff and Merkel).

First, I shot his Merkel 500 offhand. Immediately after the shot, I was seeing stars and the clear blue sky looked a hazy green. I thought, “WOW!!!! This kicks a lot more than my 416 Rigby off the bench!!!” Mike asked which barrel had I fired, still seeing stars,…. I said…I’m not sure. So I opened the action to see which barrel fired. That’s when we learned I had doubled the 500. What a way to start, doubling a Merkel 500 Nitro. I have 4 two trigger double shotguns, and I have never doubled a shotgun. After the stars around my head faded away and the sky turned blue again, I thought I want to shoot it again. Shooting one barrel at a time had got to be much easier than two. And I have to say that shooting only one barrel was not all that bad. Of course I had a pretty stiff point of reference. Both the Merkel and Krieghoff were enjoyable to shoot. I would not want to shoot 40 rounds in a session, but normal practice and hunting situations would be very manageable. The power of those rifles is incredible.

I also shot Bill’s Dakota in Rigby 416 with the Swarovski Z6, 1-6x24 EE. That scope was really nice!!

Thanks Mike and Bill!!

Enjoyed it Brad. The .500 is an elephant slaying caliber par excellence . . . but preferably used one barrel at a time. I wish I could say that I have nevered doubled the .500, but the reality is that I have doubled both the Merkel and Krieghoff. When I did it I was hunting. I have to say that doing it in the field is barely even noticeable.

The best part about today, we shot a full box of .500 NE shells and I only had to shoot 4.

Brad,
You didn't fall for that old MJines trick?. . . "Hey these are special loads. They are real mild!"

Glad you have joined the "I doubled a Big Bore Club"! I doubled a 470 and a 450/400 3 1/4.

If you ever want a New Merkel 500 NE, I know where there is one for sale with BeLL Brass bullets and dies and ammo.

I hope no one minds a dumb question here from an amateur at double rifles (I have only the Searcy 400 and a little 30-30 conversion job), but - how does this doubling happen? Are you accidentally touching both triggers or is the cause "other"?

Just curious because this could come under the heading "news I can use".

Btw I have spent 40+ years shooting double shotguns with twin triggers and have also experienced doubling, but it was ONLY in the case of one gun (a 1930s A.H. Fox) that was mechanically worn out and in bad need of repair. It did this when quail shooting, and would not only double, but would open too. You should have seen that quail...it had more holes in it than it didn't..

Anyway, my DB rifles don't have intersecting sears or whatever it's called to prevent this.

I can't imagine a .500 doubling. My only expiriance with a rifle doubling was standing next to my hunting partner in Zim while he was shooting a wart hog with his 9.3x74 when both barrels went off.
He fell backwards on his butt and exclaimed what the *F* just happend.

That kind of reaction from a 9.3 makes me shudder at the thought of a .500 doing it.

If I ever make it down to Texas I'll surely have to behave myself. You guys are a lot tuffer than I am.

quote:

Originally posted by Shack:
I hope no one minds a dumb question here from an amateur at double rifles (I have only the Searcy 400 and a little 30-30 conversion job), but - how does this doubling happen? Are you accidentally touching both triggers or is the cause "other"?

It is a combination of the level of recoil and excitement (or anxiousness) in my opinion. The only time I have had it happen is when we were in very close on an elephant and it started to charge. I know that I was excited and when I pulled the front trigger, I probably did a little more than a squeeze and then with the combination of the harder than normal trigger pull and the recoil, ended up "strumming" the second trigger. It rarely happens at the range unless it is someone that is not familiar with the caliber and they are anticipating the recoil. The anxious trigger squeeze coupled with the recoil brings the trigger finger back against the second trigger. That is why some folks prefer to shoot the rear trigger first, then the front.

At a DRSS hunt someone doubled a Searcy .577 N.E. I think it was Doc's rifle. The fellow "strummed" like Mike defined. It got everyones attention, for sure. Ouch!

I believe it was PWN375 who doubled the 577?

Rusty

I believe it was 700 Nitro who doubled the 577 and PWN did it with pauls 500 Merkel.

It was quite hot that day and several guys were having trouble.

I have the dubious distinction of having doubled Paul's big 577 NE,in my case it happened because I think the gun's l.o.p was way out there for me,plus the fact that I was wearing a heavy winter jacket added to the problem,upon firing the right barrel my trigger finger slipped back onto the back trigger and kaboooom ha ha !! luckily I held onto the gun and did not clobber the person standing behind me which I would have,had the gun gone airborne,looking forward to shooting it again one of these days

I also doubled my 500 Searcy ,twice in a row,the first time I took it out after buf.
Since then I have religiously trained myself to shoot rear trigger first-no more doubling!

Thanks Roscoe! You are correct!

Here are the three victims of doubling my two DRs.

I thought Rusty doubled the 500 there too but was not sure. That was a great event...one of the most fun that I was ever a part of. The hunting was bad but we made up for it with all the shooting. Cant imaginge how much $$ we shot over the two days.

ROSCOE:

I think Rusty doubled my .500 at the first DRSS hunt I attended in Crowell, TX.

Then 700Nitro doubled the .577 at this event, then PWN375 doubled the .500 NE at this event also.

I think I double a 470. I shot your 500 and I remember saying that a doubled 470 wasn't as bad as a single 500!

Rusty:

I stand corrected, fine sir! My apologies!