Members:
We have had some great rifles posted lately: Oz's 470 VC, Use Enough Gun 375 searcy, Rocdock's H&H barrels.
I thought I would start a post asking all who would to let's your double rifle. It does not have to be new. All are invited field grades, Sabatti, Balkis, over unders welcomed. I know Mjines has left for elephant, but will get to see his when he post his report.
Thank you

A. Hollis and Son 450/400 3 Inch NE Circa 1911-1915.


Adding the Burris Fastfire is one of the best things I could have done for my shooting of my double!

Mr. Rusty:
Very nice and thank you. Have you taken any game with it?

Rusty,

Great looking rifle! Do you know the provenance?

1902 Army Navy 450 3 1/4

Beautiful rifle! Did Joyce photograph it resting across your back?
Cal

Enough of my wit. Here are 12 of my doubles that will be at the second shoot of 2016 at 10am in Birchwood, Alaksa.

.450 bpe Reilly


.500 no2 bpe by Gye and Moncrief. Owned by a famous MD who accidentally killed himself in 1889. Brother was even more so. Developed the largest winery in the world in CA and had marital ties to General George Patton. Two tiered case with every accessory known to man within AND an original set of 12-bore shotgun barrels.


12-bore Baker.


12-bore Whistler. Most accurate bore rifle I have: six shots in one ragged hole at 35 yards.


10-bore Lang.


8-bore Locke.


4-bore Hughes.


Now, a few nitro rifles:
.350 no2 Rigby boxlock ejector. Most accurage nitro rifle I have: 6 shots in one inch at 50 yards!


.450-400 3" Harrison and Husssey boxlock ejector.
Owned my Douglas Jardine, captain of the UK cricket team. See the film Body Line about DJ. He hunted in Rhodesia in 1957 whilst fighting cancer and then contacted tick fever and died in 1958.
I've taken leopard, lion, hippo, croc, plains game, sable, white tail, and a dozen caribou with her. (and four poacher's dogs, too).


.450 no2 Lang.
This rifle spent 50 years in Kenya.
I've taken grizzly, cape buffalo, and giraffe with it.


.500 Watson Brothers box lock. Owned by Jack Lott.


.600 by John Wilkes.
I've takes several cape and water buffalo, hippo, and plains game with this one. Oh, yes, a moose!@


Thanks for looking. Some of these are for sale to thin out the herd a bit and I have 6-8 coming in this fall--a few to keep a few to sell. Thanks, in advance, George (Shootaway) for not calling my small collection garbage nor me as the "garbage collector."

Here are a few of my doubles

Searcy .500 NE sidelock rising bite




WJ Jeffery .475 No. 2 NE (Owain Lewis's rifle)


Verney Carron 450 3¼ NE




Searcy Deluxe Boxlock 470 NE

Wow, nice guys. I can't compete with these as I only have one lonely DR, a VC in 450NE purchased secondhand...

My FN-Browning CCS25 in 9,7x74R.

LHeym500-
I have taken Warthog, Greater Kudu, Eland cow, feral hog, and white tailed deer.

DSC Member-
The rifle is a Harry Leonard made rifle. Leonard made rifles for the trades, such as W.J. Jeffery.
It is a 55 Cord rifle.


Beautiful rifles guys! Doubles are things of beauty and a joy to behold!

ugh, I now have "penis envy". My 450NE Verney:



Had Americase make a case for me and I had it covered with one of my buff hides:

One of mine, where it belongs in Africa with a little honest wear.

Another one a little bit older than my K-Gun.

Circa 1907 Boswell 450-400 3 1/4"

W. J. Jeffery 450 No. 2 made in 1906, sold in Calcutta at Lyon & Lyon. A workingman's rifle.

Mr. Cal:You do not have a grabage pit up there, but a deep mine of double rifles.
Please permit me one question: Why (excluding the big Bore Rifles) are bpe rifles so much cheaper than the same makers Nitro Express rifles? They still have to be regulated and built by hand. But I have seen in the past for 12k. Is it really just a demand thing.
Mr. Rusty: Thank you for the pics of the flats (right term?). It is your rifle and you can use it as you desire, but I enjoy that you hunt with it.
PSmith: I think it is cool your for end iron is color cased under the wood. Do you think your action body was color cases and then polished gray?
Jorge: Always enjoy your 450. It looks very sleek. You take really good pictures.
Everyone: Thank you for the eye candy.

LH500

Regarding the case colors, as you can see there are still good colors on the fore end iron. The trigger guard has traces of color. The bottom of the action and top lever are blued. I do not think the action was ever case colored though, but I'm not sure. The bores on this rifle are minty, probably because it was in India just before the ban.

BTW I shot a Cape buffalo with this and hope to someday take an elephant with it.

B.Searcy 470 NE Left Hand

Besides my Searcy 375 H&H Flanged Magnum Screw Grip Double Rifle, I also have a very nice Merkel 470 that has been restocked (no pic to show yet-one elephant and one buffalo) and my Searcy 450-400 (four buffalo)pictured below: It can also be shot using iron sights, the scope or a Trijicon RMR. Love using a double rifle!

Thys 577

Greatest. Thread. Ever.

Is modern metallurgy advanced to the point that the new doubles don't need a third fastener in the form of a doll's head or crossbolt? For me it is one of the neatest thing about old doubles.

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
Mr. Cal:You do not have a grabage pit up there, but a deep mine of double rifles.
Please permit me one question: Why (excluding the big Bore Rifles) are bpe rifles so much cheaper than the same makers Nitro Express rifles? They still have to be regulated and built by hand. But I have seen in the past for 12k. Is it really just a demand thing.
Mr. Rusty: Thank you for the pics of the flats (right term?). It is your rifle and you can use it as you desire, but I enjoy that you hunt with it.
PSmith: I think it is cool your for end iron is color cased under the wood. Do you think your action body was color cases and then polished gray?
Jorge: Always enjoy your 450. It looks very sleek. You take really good pictures.
Everyone: Thank you for the eye candy.

LH:
The prices are demand and what the market will bear. There is no logic to it. I've seen nitro doubles with exposed hammers sell for less than they would if a bpe caliber. The majority of double guys don't want bpe, don't want exposed hammers or a jones under lever--regardless of caliber. Makes no sense to me that folks buy a Sabatti for 5K and could have a 120 year old .500 bpe with hand made perfection for about the same price. Even though I don't understand it, it does make good buying for the minority of men such as I what buy bpe doubles quite often and treasure them for what they are.
Cal
PS. Andre: I absolutely love your 9.3 OU.

Yes LH it is my rifle along with a Chapuis in 9.3X74R, a Bernardelli express rifle in 8X57, as well as a two Valmet barrel sets. 30-06 and 8X57.

Agreed. Best thread ever.
Cal

Thank you Mr. Cal. I am not judging anyone's choices, but I see a few bpe every year on our local show circuit. The prices are resonable (dire I say cheap) for known maker's rifles. Then again, I am guilty of it too. I let a Rigby hammer 10 bore walk for 6k. I knew the seller and wanted to move the rifle.

I believe the consensus is with new steels the third fastener is not needed. VC rifles use extra lungs instead of a third fastener. Searcy field grades did not come standard w/ third fastener. I like the Greener crossbolt.

I couldn't get the text in the right place. From the top:
Purdey 450 3 1/4: bpe
Army Navy 577 2 3/4"bpe
Chapuis 45-70

Dave

1905 Gibbs 450NE

McKay: stunning rifle any details you care to give. The engraving is stunning.
Use Enough Gun: Thank you for sharing another rifle with us. I am not asking you to choose, but I have always thought from reading the charts that the 375fm would hit harder than the 450/400. Reason being a 300 grain bullet at 2400 fps gets you to 3800plus fpe. The 400 grain at 2100 gets you 3700 plus fpe. No real difference. But given similar bullet design the 375 should penetrate a little better less resistance and more speed. My point is the 450/400 and 375fm should be viewed as equals, but the 450/400 gets the nod. I have made my arguement. I leave to the Court to decide.

Please keep them comming. Those serceys are well represented both in build and in participants showing them off.
What I like about this post is the distinction of vintage rifles, black powder rifles, and new rifles. Some like Mr. Cal and Mac could use this as a power point to a double rifle lecture.

Mr. Zephyr:
Love this rifle. When you google pics of 450ne it comes up, or at least it use to.

the real problem with McKay's rifle

is that it is not just the best looking, long legged thing out there

the sonofabitch knows how to kill elephants as well

so there is that bit to add

left to right 577ne 500 ne 50-140 sharps 450 3 1/4 ne 450-400 ne two 375 flange a drilling 9.3x72 16x16 guage and one old w richards 12 guage w 360 ne in the left barrel so light game cape gun there

Merkel Safari 500 N.E.

quote:

Originally posted by LHeym500:
McKay: stunning rifle any details you care to give. The engraving is stunning.
Use Enough Gun: Thank you for sharing another rifle with us. I am not asking you to choose, but I have always thought from reading the charts that the 375fm would hit harder than the 450/400. Reason being a 300 grain bullet at 2400 fps gets you to 3800plus fpe. The 400 grain at 2100 gets you 3700 plus fpe. No real difference. But given similar bullet design the 375 should penetrate a little better less resistance and more speed. My point is the 450/400 and 375fm should be viewed as equals, but the 450/400 gets the nod. I have made my arguement. I leave to the Court to decide.

Please keep them comming. Those serceys are well represented both in build and in participants showing them off.
What I like about this post is the distinction of vintage rifles, black powder rifles, and new rifles. Some like Mr. Cal and Mac could use this as a power point to a double rifle lecture.

Don't know much of the history. Was told would have been made in the early 80's. I have had this one maybe a little over a year. It is light, which I like. Only thing missing in my opinion is a cheek piece. Lots of fun to shoot. Could use some stock work to freshen it up just a bit and get rid of some of the small dings. Which I will tackle soon as its easy to do.

Beautiful rifles, all. Just made me realize I've no really nice photos of my Merkel. Just had it out of the safe last night for a a little reloading practice and a quick wipe down, too.

FFem: Don't worry about it. Post what you got. See pics of my new Heym in my first post. I can't or didn't take good pictures. Your Merkel will look fine.

McKay: If that stock needs refreshed, then I need to go crawl in the grave. May you take many more elephant with her.
Mr. Rusty: Please check your pm.

All garbage except the Searcy's.

Beautiful double rifles all! I'll post my Merkel as well when I have pics.

Here are two Holland & Holland back-action Paradox guns built 129 years apart.*

One is an 1887 hammer gun that was originally made for Black Powder. The first H&H Fosbery patent guns were built as prototypes at the end of 1885. They were tested and exhibited. The first 'Paradox' guns went on sale in the Spring of 1886. So, that makes this gun one of the very earliest Paradox guns.

It was later reproofed in London for nitro loads. Someone prior to me removed the original Paradox sights and fitted rifle sights. The gun went back to H&H in London a few years ago and was re-blacked and re-regulated for the current factory Paradox loads. At that time, it was discovered that the the ribs had been manufactured from Damascus steel!

The other gun is the 125th anniversary Paradox gun. It is a modern H&H round body back-action sidelock. It is the only 125th anniversary Paradox gun made. An inscription in gold on the top rib reads, "PARADOX QUASQUICENTENNARY 1886-2011". The bottom is marked "PARADOX 125 YEARS". This gun has 2-3/4" chambers but is regulated for the current 2-1/2" Paradox shells.













* Would that be paradoxes or paradoxi?

those are indeed a pair of nice sisters

Mr. Grenadier:
All I can say is wow and thank you. What is the ballistics for the 12 gauge paradox load.