Hello all. I've just returned from a hunt for wild bison, about 200 miles north-west of Fort Saint John, British Columbia. A great camp, good guides, beautiful snow-covered Rockies, and saw lots of game, including a wolverine on day one. Attached is a photo of a four-year-old bull that I took at about 120 yards with my self-built double rifle in calibre .450 #2 Nitro Express. GREAT STUFF!!!

That is just WAY COOL!!!!

Love the red pad....looks very Griffin & Howe-ish :-)

Love the picture. Thanks for sharing. Is that an average size four year old? Is it a Wood Bison?

There's a Bison there?

That double looks great!

Good hunting.

Cheers, Chris

Nothing like a good double harvest....congrats!!!

Gary

Outstanding!

Ron, Great picture! Congratulations.

I am very interested in how you made the double. What action you used; How you did the barrels: etc.

I made a .577 NE single shot with Ed Hubbel using a H&R 10 Ga. He stubbed the barrels. I imagine that making a double would be very difficult. Any tips on how to get started would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Brian

I know the area and have seen the bison.
Congratulations on the rifle and the bison.
Who the hell said doubles should only be in Africa--that they are not traditional to North America?
Bloody good show.
Cal

Really nice. Nothing better than taking game with a DR. Perfect caliber by the way.

I have seen plains bison bulls, which these are, in S. Dakota, that were twice the size of slaughter-weight steers, about 2500 to 3000 pounds. These ones were only 1500 to 2000 pounds. I've no idea why the difference, except these bison are like elk, moving off and on the high mountains with the snow.

Congratulations on your double and the hunt!

Congratulations! Like everyone else I am interested in the double!

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
I know the area and have seen the bison.
Congratulations on the rifle and the bison.
Who the hell said doubles should only be in Africa--that they are not traditional to North America?
Bloody good show.
Cal

First off let me congratulate Ron Vella for his Bison, and on the fine work he has done on his double rifle. Good show Guy!

Cal is right the double rifle is a fine hunting rifle for any country! I, and many of my friends hunt almost exclusively with our double rifles here in the USA and Africa as well. The double rifle was invented for hunting, and is very well suited for that purpose, no matter the terrain or game. The limitation is the hunter, not the rifle!

I have seen more double rifles in the USA fields in the last ten years than all the last 60 years combined. Americans have discovered the double rifle, mostly resulting from websites like AR and Nitro Express and others who have provided good info to a here to fore very misunderstood subject of how a double rifle works, dispelling the myths about them!
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Ron;

That is a great photo; and it must have been a wonderful time and hunt. I hope that all of our colleagues note that you shot this Bison at 120 yards with your highly accurate .450 #2 made by yourself. I know that you have shot a large number of large and dangerous game with the several double rifles that you have built on BRNO actions--will you list those animals for us in a reply?

I recall that on one of your hunt's you shot a game animal much further than this shot--I believe it was near 200 yards than 100 yards.

Once again thank you for sharing your experience and your most excellent riflemaking skills.

Steve Howell

quote:

Originally posted by Brian Canada:
Ron, Great picture! Congratulations.

I am very interested in how you made the double. What action you used; How you did the barrels: etc.

I made a .577 NE single shot with Ed Hubbel using a H&R 10 Ga. He stubbed the barrels. I imagine that making a double would be very difficult. Any tips on how to get started would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Brian

Brian,

Get yourself a copy of "Building Double Rifles on Shotgun Actions" by W. Ellis Brown published by Bunduki Publishing, ISBN # 2002090326

All the information is there.

Transvaal, OK, here's a list, from memory:

.303:

Russian boar-25 yds
Eland-140 yds
Grey Duiker- 80 yds
Blue Wildebeest-60 yds
Red Hartebeest-70 yds
Nyala-140 yds
Warthog-120 yds
Warthog-90 yds
Whitetail deer-120 yds

9.3x74 R:

Scimitar-Horned Oryx-140 yds

.450 #2 NE:

Russian Boar-50 yds
Cape Buffalo-75 yards
Sable-208 yds
Chobe Bushbuck-75 yds
Klipspinger-60 yds.
Bison-120 yds

Like Mac, I can't remember the last time that I used anything, anywhere, except one of my self-built doubles. One exception, an Aoudad hunt in SW Texas where possible shots might have been 500 or 600 yards. For that I used my custom Sako in .264 Win Mag.

Best to all,
Ron.

Wild Bison with a self built Double , awesome !

Lets here more about your builds and some pictures would be nice.

Great hunt! congratulations and I believe our Ken Buch also took a bison with this 450NE double.

For those of you interested, go to NitroExpress.com/Building double rifles. If you search my name you should find at least a couple of them.

Two things I should add here.

1) I agree completely with Mac. A good double, properly regulated and sighted, in the hands of a man who shoots it a lot, is easily capable of shots to 250 yards and beyond. The only time in the last 10 years that I've used a bolt gun was on a hunt in SW Texas for Aoudad. Shots could have been at 500 yards or beyond. I took my custom Sako in .264 Win Mag and killed my Aoudad at 275 yards. I could have made that shot with a double, but "who knew?".

2) I am 6 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 325 pounds. Everything that I'm photographed with looks small...go figure!!

Now that had to put a smile on your face....sure did mine!!! Thanks for posting that Ron.

Thanks to Elk Hunter and Ron for the suggestions on building a DR. Brian

Nice buff and rifle. I shot a Bison with a 450 NE once, gave him both barrels through the lungs. He just kept walking for another 50 yards and laid down and died. I knew he was dead but he didn't get the word. Turned out his aorta was blown apart too. I was using DGXs but bison ribs and lungs offer no resistance to them so they sail right through. And I have dropped them on the spot with lead bullets and black powder before.

Nicely done Ron

quote:

Originally posted by ron vella:
Two things I should add here.

2) I am 6 feet 10 inches tall and weigh 325 pounds. Everything that I'm photographed with looks small...go figure!!

Wow!
How did you find such a nice double with a 20-inch pull?
Cal

Cal,
Smart-ass!! I built this rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by ron vella:
Cal,
Smart-ass!! I built this rifle.

Seriously, how about some pics. It looks like an outstanding double. I didn't know you built doubles. Yes, I was a smart-ass about the pull as you are a tall gentleman and I would imagine finding any rifle, much less a vintage double, to fit would be about impossible. Again, I'd love to see some close up pics of the rifle.
Cal

A while ago I read through how Ron made his double rifle on the site he references. Well worth a read through if you like, own or use double rifles. It's really interesting. Just amazing the amount of work he went through, the details, quality, everything. It was enough for me to know that I won't be trying to do that anytime soon.

Congratulations on your buffalo with your DIY double rifle!

Cal,
If you double-click on the photo at the top of this thread, it will take you into my PhotoBucket gallery. There are some more photos there of this rifle and I think perhaps of one or two others that I've built as well.

Best,
Ron.

Ron:
I clicked and saw your work. Looks like an English double from the pre war era. I'm impressed. Why don't you visit AK for a shoot on May 7 and bring your treasure with you?
Thanks, Ron.
Cal

Cal,

"English doubles from the pre-war era" is what makes my world go round. As much as possible, that is the look that I've tried to capture in all of the doubles that I've built.

Congrats! I thought I was the only one! lol...Got mine in Q
Wyoming with a 700 NE Double...1000gr Woodleigh SOFT! he was going away at 50ish yds..hit right rear cheek..exited his chest!!.Looked like Thor Hammer!

I shot a big Bison some 5 or 6 years ago with my 450-400-3" with a 400 gr Woodleigh at 2120 FPS from "Sweet Thang" my Jefferys double. shot in the lungs at 125 yards, ran about 50 yards and stood for 5 minutes as the gang tried to get him to move, as usual, then he fell and the gang took off, returned twice and gave it up. Typical buffalo kill.

Cal,
I wrote the attached article a couple of years ago, for publication in the brochure for our local SCI Chapter's dinner/banquet. I think that it's the best way to explain the guns that I've built and also how passionate I am about the double rifle.
Best,
Ron.

The Side by Side Double Rifle
By Ron Vella

“I lurched up and looked at Mbogo, and Mbogo looked at me. He was 50 to 60 yards off, his head low, his eyes staring right down my soul. He looked at me as if he hated my guts. He looked as if I had despoiled his fiancée, murdered his mother and burned down his house. He looked at me as if I owed him money. I never saw such malevolence in the eyes of any animal or human being, before or since. So I shot him.”

If you are an incurable Africaphile like me, and if, like me, you grew up devouring the works of Robert Chester Ruark, then you are very familiar with this description of one of his hunts for Cape buffalo. Ruark’s words above are redolent with the inherent danger involved in hunting Africa’s “big five”. For me, and for many others, these words also evoke images of big-bore double rifles holding “panatela-sized cartridges” like the .470NE, .500 NE, .577NE, etc. Unfortunately many hunters believe that double rifles are limited in their ability to close-range shooting only. In fact, a properly regulated and properly sighted-in double is fully capable of 200 yard shots in the big bores, and of shots to 300 yards and beyond, in the flatter shooting calibers. Certainly, if one is going to hunt pronghorns on the prairies, or sheep in the mountains, where a 500 yard shot is distinctly possible, then one would be far better served with a good bolt-action or a single shot like the Ruger Number One or a European kipplaufbusche. More on this later.

For 58 of my 70 years I have been obsessed with fishing, hunting, shooting, and tinkering with firearms. For the first half of those 58 years, though I hunted with double shotguns, my rifles were all bolt or lever-action guns. Then, about 30 years ago, I had an epiphany in my thinking. I came to realize that no other rifle has the same balance, the same “between-the-hands” feel, nor the same sense of history and character, as the side by side double rifle. However, at that time double rifles were very expensive. I had three daughters in a community college, a university, and nurses’ college, respectively, and the costs associated with that made buying a double rifle unthinkable. Though it seemed at that time that I would probably never be in a position to afford to buy a double rifle, the desire never diminished, but rather it increased. I finally decided that if I were to ever own a double rifle, I would have to build one myself. Building a rifle on a shotgun action is not a decision to be taken lightly, as it is potentially fraught with danger, if not done correctly and done on a shotgun action of sufficient strength. I spent my working life as a grocery store manager, not as a machinist, but I do own a nice South Bend lathe and have taught myself to operate it fairly proficiently. Also, a good friend is a tool and die maker, as well as a shooter/hunter, and owns his own milling machine. I thought that the job was doable.

A 12 gauge double rifle seemed like the sensible project for a first attempt, as the pressures involved would be those that the gun was proved for. This would be a learning experience. I lucked into a high-grade Belgian gun that had a burst barrel. Two Hastings rifle barrels, upper and lower ribs, hundreds of hours of labour, and many trips to the shooting range for regulating, resulted in a very nice, very accurate gun. I have killed 11 whitetails and several coyotes with that first double and it is still one of my favourites. As the years went by and my eyesight deteriorated, I retrofitted a quarter-rib and scope mounts to this gun. It now wears a Leupold 1.5x-5x and is fully capable of reliable hits at 125 yards.

My next double was a .22 Hornet, built on a Zabala .410 action, with a quarter rib and another 1.5x-5x. I regulated this gun with 50 grain cast bullets at 1600 fps. Basically, it as a hot .22 long rifle. I have enjoyed many hours hunting rabbits and coyotes with it here in Ontario as well as many squirrels with friends in Mississippi and Alabama.

Number three is technically not a rifle, but rather a Cape gun. I wanted a percussion gun for hunting deer during our muzzle-loading seasons. I started with a 10 gauge Pedersoli, cut the barrels back to 26”, sleeved a .54 calibre barrel into the left side, installed a quarter rib, iron sights, scope bases, and another 1.5x-5x Vari-X III. This gun is wonderfully practical with a heavy load of “OO” buckshot in the 10-bore barrel and a 335 grain, .54 calibre bullet in the left barrel. It is also very accurate, as several coyotes have learned to their dismay.

II

About 10 years ago I got the itch to go back to Africa in order to take another Cape buffalo. What better way to do that than with a double rifle? I decided on the .450 #2 Nitro Express for its calibre, due to its relatively low pressure. I built the gun on a BRNO 12 gauge side by side with 25.5” Douglas Supreme barrels. This gun also wears a Vari-X III, 1.5x-5x scope. My load in this rifle is the Hornady 500 grain bullets at 2080 fps. It also has a second set of 12 gauge barrels, fitted to the same frame. This turned out to be a wonderfully accurate rifle for a big-bore. Last year in Zimbabwe it accounted for a sable at 208 yards, as well as buffalo, Chobe bushbuck, and a klipspringer.

The next double that I built is in caliber .303 British, using barrels from 1910 Ross rifles on a Laurona 20 gauge frame. This rifle is mounted with a Leupold 1.75x-6x scope. If I do my part, off a bench rest at 100 yards, it will group 3 rights and 3 lefts into under 2 inches. This load is the 180 grain Hawk bullets at 2150 fps. Of my 6 doubles, this is my favourite because it seems to have just the right feel and balance. A few years ago, in Tennessee, this rifle was responsible for the demise of two Russian boars. In South Africa, in 2011, the gun accounted for eland, duiker, blue wildebeest, nyala, red hartebeest and two warthogs. That eland was taken at 225 yards with one shot through the lungs on the first day of my hunt. It was plain to me why the .303 British was always one of the most popular calibers for a rifle in British Africa.

Just last week I completed my most recent build. This rifle is in caliber 9.3x74 Rimmed. It was built on a BRNO 16 gauge side by side using 26” McGowen barrels. The rifle is fitted with another 1.75x-6x Leupold. My load for this gun is the 286 grain Nosler Partition bullet at just a hair under 2300 fps. The rifle lives in a French-fitted, heavy duty aluminum case with its twin, a BRNO 16 gauge shotgun. The 9.3x74R is yet to be blooded. It will be going on a moose hunt with me in a few weeks at which time I hope to rectify that shortcoming.

My next project is a double that will be legal in southern Ontario, in caliber 6.5x57R. I have already purchased, profiled, and re-chambered a pair of arsenal-new Swedish M-38 barrels. Next week I will be taking possession of the host gun for this rifle, a Zabala in .410 calibre. This is planned to be a very lightweight rifle/shotgun as it will have two sets of barrels, one in 6.5x57R plus the original .410 barrels. More to come…

In my opening paragraph, I talked about regulation and sighting in. For those unfamiliar with doubles, these are two distinctly different processes. Regulation is the process of adjusting the left and the right barrels so that they strike at the same point at a given distance, which is often, but not necessarily, 100 yards. The adjustment may be accomplished as easily as turning a couple of screws in some doubles. In the majority of cases though, it is a labour-intensive job for a skilled craftsman, involving heating the barrels, moving an adjusting wedge, re-soldering, and sometimes re-bluing when completed. Sighting in a double differs from sighting in any other rifle in one extremely important regard. You cannot rest the fore end or barrels of your double on sandbags, or shooting sticks, or anything other than your hand. The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this article, but rest assured, your double will print to a radically different spot if fired off a rest versus off your hand. You must hold the fore end or barrels in your weak hand and rest that hand on the bags or sticks or tree, or rock, or whatever.

It should be obvious from the foregoing that I am obsessed with the side by side double rifle. If you’ve never shot one nor hunted with one, you should give it a try. There have been a lot of new entries into this market in the last 20 years. You can still spend north of $100,000 for a Holland and Holland, Purdey, Westley Richards, etc, if you’re able. At the other end of the spectrum, you can buy a new Sabatti in calibers like 7x65R, 8x57R, etc. for $3,000. $6,000 will get you a Sabatti safari in .470 NE or .500 NE. For little more there is the very fine Chapuis and the Merkel in a range of calibres. Shop around a bit and you can pick up a Kreighoff with its revolutionary safe-action for under $15,000. Also, a bit of net-surfing will turn up a few very fine used double rifles at some attractive prices. Sheldon James, who has just returned from 3 weeks in Zimbabwe and South Africa, tells me that his recently acquired Blaser S-2, in .500 Nitro, is now his favourite rifle! I won’t say more than that about his trip as I don’t want to take the wind out of his sails. I happen to know where there is a used Blaser S-2, in calibre .375 H&H , in as-new condition for only $10,000…..hmmmm!

I wish that we could talk him in making double
for us,him and Aaron can make very fine firearms..

Ron:
Amazing talent you have. I'm impressed!
For my two cents, here are two bison I shot in 2010 in South Dakota. First down is behind and the better bull is posed with myself. Rifle was a double 4-bore, made about 1890 by Robert Hughes. I shot a 1400-grain ball and either 120 grains of Blue Dot or 440 grains of FFg GOEX black. Velocity was about 1750 fps with both loads.
Cheers,
Cal

Great Pic Cal! I wish I would have taken one with my 4 Bore too!

That 4 Bore is more vella's size!

Gary