Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Double Rifles in Africa?

Gentlemen:
Any of you fine folks take a double rifle to Africa? Modern or vintage? English/Scottish or other? Just curious as doubles seem to scream "Africa" and it's a hoot to take one there and hunt with open sights. Not a plains game rifle for Namibia but doubles are more versatile than many think.
My website has some great pics of doubles and the trophies taken with them. Looking costs nothing. Go to <calpappas.com> and follow the navigation bar.
I don't know how to post photos here but I will learn to do so and would love to see some of your rifles with twin tubes.
What say you?
Cheers, mates.
Cal

Howdy Cal, didn't know you were a member here! Welcome! jorge

Cal, if you have pix, email them to me at jbieber52aol.com and I'd be happy to post 'em up for you.

Cal, just go to your website, right click on one of your pics, hit "Properties" then jus cut and paste the link on the photo icon in the reply section and you can post them all here.

Planning on taking the 470 NE Merkel to Tanzania this summer. My father has a 577 H&H Royal that he'll take. Too bad he's a lefty and I'm a righty. I will bring the 416 Rigby Dakota bolt-action, as if there is a monster 44" bull on the flood plain, I won't pass it up.

I'm already on the board with a Cape, so the double just seems to be more "Africa" to me. I don't know when I'll go back, as I am young and into the mountain hunting thing at the moment. Might as well make it count and do it right.

My father doubled his 577 into a Cape a few years ago in Zimbabwe at 20 yards. How he held onto the gun, we'll never know!

Cal,

I have taken my double a couple times as the only rifle and a couple of more times as he primary. Five trips total with the double. It is my favorite way to hunt.

First Tuskless



Trophy Buff



Non Trophy Buff



Another tuskless



And the list goes on.....


kscowboy01, how about a picture of the Left Hand 577 H&H Royal for us lefties!!!

Never been to Africa but it is a bucket list thing for me. I'm taking the Ms. to Belize this year for a week to warm up here in March. So she said some day I can go to Africa. No double rifle but fun to look at. Mike; what you doing with the tail on that Ele?

Ugly and mean, the way I like them!

Brinky,

I am cutting the tail off the elephant. It is a tradition from the old days of hunting elephants for ivory.

The act of cutting off the tail make the elephant "mine".

Mike, it's back in KS and I'm in CO! I'll see if I can track one down. One day, it will be converted to right.

Hatari, where was that bull taken? How many inches?

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Used a K-gun in 500/416 to shoot this elephant in 2005 in Zimbabwe. At the request of the farm manager I used the same gun to kill two steers some farm invader has driven onto Dollar Block Ranch, Zimbabwe in 2003. It was a very neat right and left for DRT on the bovines.

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In 2002 in South Africa I used a Pedersoli 45-70 double rifle converted to 450 NE #2 to kill this wildebeeste while he was running flat out with a fast right and left. The first shot nearly knocked him down and just as he recovered he caught the second one through the high shoulder for an instant drop spine shot.

Perry

Absolutely bring the double. I have had hunters bring a Merkel .470NE Double just for plains game. Why? Because he can.

I knew it had to be something but I had to ask the green horn question. Here goes another. Do you eat the meat? I hate to waste meat of any animal and hate the thought of just killing for a mount or the trophy. I know Kudu and other african antelope make decent fare but have always been curious of other african game like buff, rhino,hippo etc. I think a big old buff would be my personal bucket list critter and the ultimate african trophy after years of reading hunting stories about the cranky bastards. The mount would be beautiful to have and would hope it would make some decent steaks.

Everything is eaten in Africa. Nothing is wasted. Meat, stomach, intestines, liver, everything is eaten.

I have eaten elephant. It is not bad. Buffalo is good. Most of the antelope is great.

likely the average hunter in the states wastes more pounds of meat off their deer each year than gets wasted off a multi ton elephant hunted legally in Africa.....every scrap gets utilized except in very rare circumstances....every scrap including the innards gets saved and eaten by locals....

Rungwa in Tanzania. I think this one is 45"

Cal, welcome aboard.

No offense, but I beg to differ on the plains game part, and wholeheartedly agree on the versatile part.

The rifle is a Merkel .470 Nitro Express. All animals were taken with LBT WFNGC cast bullets except the blue wildebeest. The .470 was the only rifle I took to Africa.

I'm working on bullets/loads for rabbits.


First head of game in Namibia. Gnu wasn't on the menu until the shot presented itself.


Warthog in the Caprivi was next.


Baboon followed the pig.


Zebra back near Windhoek.


OK, this isn't a double, but the only reason is because my son was faster on the
draw with his '95 Winchester in .405


Domestic bovine back on the farm near Windhoek that I wrote about previously.

[img]http://i853.photobucket.com/albums/ab99/TDBall56/Prairiedog470NEresized.jpg[/img]
Not Africa, but prairie dogs are fair game.

[img]http://i853.photobucket.com/albums/ab99/TDBall56/Rabbits470NE1.jpg[/img]
Again not Africa, but rabbits are fair game as well. The .470 NE is a bit hard on
small, thin skinned game with anything less than head shots though. Even then,
it's a bit hard on them. Might have to consider switching to Hornady solids for rabbits.

[img]http://i853.photobucket.com/albums/ab99/TDBall56/RabbitFlying470NE.jpg[/img]
Sometimes the rabbit jumps the bullet and gets a second chance. Could also be
that I miss more often than I let on.

David

I wish but no money for a british double.

David......i doubt your missing much.....that rabbit photo is awesome though....

I thought so as well. My wife took that. Don't know how she managed it.