WOW!!!!
There seems to be more misinformation and misconceptions about doubles than there are about black guns. First of all not all double rifles are in the $50,000 and up category. If a guy wants a solid no frills working double rifle they start at about $8500 new.
Cheap?
No but I know lots of guys who own .50 cals and assorted other toys in that price range. heck I know guys who have more than that into race pistols. Not to mention that a guy won’t think twice about buying a $9,000 four wheeler or a $20,000 bass boat that will be worthless in two years. Because they don’t see the price only the $125.00 a month fee HELL YES we can all afford one of them.
As far as ammo. Yes if you buy it it’ll break your piggy in rapid fashion. I reload as do most serious blue collar double shooters. I’ve got my costs down to a couple of bucks a round. Kind of like shooting a .50 BMG. Huh?
As redneck mentioned a double is a gaining asset. An actual toy that retains and gains value. What a concept. If you’d have bought some of the British guns that were floating around 10 years ago in the $7,000 to $15,000 range and kept them they have increased 3-500% in value. How have your stocks and bonds done over the last 10 years?
Mr. Inquisitor states in a very rude and ungentlemanly fashion I might add :
“Sure, why not through in another one? Only 15K and it shoots a totally obsolete, impractical cartridge---AWESOME!”
This comment can only be made by man whom is totally ignorant as to the purpose and tradition of the double rifle and the cartridges they shoot. And why they are still a preferred dangerous game platform in modern African hunting.
The whole reason the double rifle was developed was so that a hunter who was far from civilization, and any ability to repair a rifle would have two separate actions incase one was to fail he wouldn’t be at the mercy of the savage wilds he was engulfed in. They are two complete rifle attached by a common rib if one fails you've still got the other. The second reason was that there was no rifle on the planet that handled pointed and delivered a second heavy caliber bullet with the speed dependability and ease as that of a heavy double rifle.
The rounds were developed to deliver a crushing blow to the heaviest of all the land mammals at close range in defense of life. They were all developed to do so with minimal case pressure so as to remain reliable in any temperature and to assure consistent extraction. Which is why the cases are so large and are inevitably rimmed cases with large a extractor grove built into the action.
All of the above factors are still true today and are the reason many professional hunters and clients alike still use double rifles.
I shoot an American made Searcy Field Grade .470 NE boxlock ejector rifle. I bought it three years ago for $8500. New. I just traded it even money for a new Searcy PH grade box lock that retails for $10,500. So in three years my rifle has gained 23% in value and that is after some serious use and abuse. To each their own I am not suggesting you should break the bank and go out and buy a double gun.
But there is no reason to get your panties in a wad over those who do.
The .470NE is the most common of the NE cartridges it fires a 500 gr bullet at 2150 FPS and does so at about 30,000 CUP.
Below are several pics of my rifle the first is with a Cape buffalo that I killed with it at spitting range during a charge in the Zambezi valley in 2004.
The next is with two hogs I killed with the ole “right & left” you hear so much about from the old time ivory hunters.
The last is a picture of a pretty rifle with the worlds ugliest shooter.
We are all on the same side or at least we damn well better be to ride the storm coming in the next few years. We hang together or we hang seperate.. I support the 2nd A and ALL types of shooting and firearms and I happen to be a hunter as well. Terms like "FUDD" do nothing to help our cause.
Some of you wayward 2nd A warriors should take a little peak and see what Mr Searcy of Searcy rifles, the largest American double rifle producer has done to support the NRA. I think you'll find that your contributions have been paltry in comparison.
I hope that this has cleared up some of the misconnceptions about the fabled double rifle.
It does not take a millionare to own and shoot a double. In fact many PH's in Africa who own and shoot doubles make less than your average janitor here in the USA. It's just like a cowboy who makes $15,000 a year owning a $3000 saddle sitting atop a $6,000 horse. Best tool for the job and all that.
