How come there isn't any O/U rifles?

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whm1974

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So one the British Sportsmen used to have when going to Africa, is bring powerful side by side double barrel rifles. They might have had them in India as well, but I wouldn't know...

How come no one produced any Over/Under rifle configurations? Such shotguns are everywhere, but rifles?
 
Click on the word "Here"s" for the article.

There have been a few made, but during the hey day of SXS rifles SXS shotguns also ruled. It made sense for rifles to be configured that way because of the familiarity with shotguns. O/U shotguns are much newer and by the time they were popular most African big game hunters had moved on to bolt guns.

Even with shotguns many shooters still prefer the handling qualities of a SXS over an O/U for fast quick shots. I know I do. O/U shotguns are favored for competition, but less so for hunting.

And as the article discusses, a SXS requires less movement to reload than an O/U making it faster to reload quickly. While I've never used a SXS rifle I have used SXS and O/U shotguns. This is a real thing for me. It's not just that you have to open the action wider on a O/U, but it is a lot slower to get the shell/cartridge in the lower barrel. But not everyone agrees with that point.
 
There are a ton of O/U rifles that have been produced and some are still being produced as we speak. But as mentioned they are slower to reload than a SxS. Browning built the superposed O/U for years.
 
H&Hhunter said:
You’re not the first to mention that. Have you any experience with the Chapouis O/U’s?
Click to expand...
Only what I've heard from guys that own them, and I'm hearing they are good.

At least you have someone to go back to, if it isn't to your liking.

I know some guys have sent their Browning in and had them regulated, but it's around $700.00 to have it done right.

DM
 
There are quite a few Merkel and kreighoff models.

My understanding is it was more popular with Germanic manufacturers than UK
 
From what I have read, I think that regulating a S/S would be more difficult than an O/U. Horizontal point of impact dispersion from barrel to barrel, when game is involved, could be more of an issue than vertical dispersion at typical ranges involved. I could be wrong.
 
jmr40 said:
Click on the word "Here"s" for the article.

There have been a few made, but during the hey day of SXS rifles SXS shotguns also ruled. It made sense for rifles to be configured that way because of the familiarity with shotguns. O/U shotguns are much newer and by the time they were popular most African big game hunters had moved on to bolt guns.

Even with shotguns many shooters still prefer the handling qualities of a SXS over an O/U for fast quick shots. I know I do. O/U shotguns are favored for competition, but less so for hunting.

And as the article discusses, a SXS requires less movement to reload than an O/U making it faster to reload quickly. While I've never used a SXS rifle I have used SXS and O/U shotguns. This is a real thing for me. It's not just that you have to open the action wider on a O/U, but it is a lot slower to get the shell/cartridge in the lower barrel. But not everyone agrees with that point.
Click to expand...
Pretty much my thoughts on o/u vs sxs.
I prefer a SxS to a pump or semi auto for hunting.
 
Well, they're still made but expensive, so you don't encounter them very often. The Brits tended to favor SxS double rifles, and I think they had the right idea. SxS doubles are harder to regulate, and therefore more expensive, but far faster to reload. Many O/U double rifles are variations on combination guns, where one barrel is a shotgun and the other is rifled.

I had a cheap Baikal .308 O/U double for a time, but it was an extractor-only setup and I found that the lower barrel was too slow to reload -- in the field, basically you got your first two shots, then you had a single shot until you could take your eyes off the target. You had to break the action quite acutely to get at the lower barrel. I sold it pretty quickly.

Double.gif
 
DM~ said:
Only what I've heard from guys that own them, and I'm hearing they are good.

At least you have someone to go back to, if it isn't to your liking.

I know some guys have sent their Browning in and had them regulated, but it's around $700.00 to have it done right.

DM
Click to expand...

$700 for a re-regulation? That’s cheap in the double world!
 
H&Hhunter said:
$700 for a re-regulation? That’s cheap in the double world!
Click to expand...
Depends on who is doing it, sure if you send it to Purdy or the like, it surely will break the bank. But, that's the last quote I got from JJ Perodeau, and I'd trust him to do any work I needed on any double ect…

I went to see him last fall, his new place is pretty nice!

BTW, He's also a Chapuis dealer...

DM
 
I have two O/U rifles, one a breech loader in 308, and one, a 50 caliber muzzle loader. While I have seen an O/U in 458 Winchester, they are usually in the middle calibers, in part because the slower reload is a bigger disadvantage with dangerous game. The O/U tends to be a bit easier to regulate, but not all that much easier. Both of my O/Us have adjustable regulation. The drawback to adjustable regulation is that it spoils the clean lines of fixed barrels. The advantage is that with some fiddling it allows changing the load.
 
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