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.

Paladin:
You are correct and I wrote too soon. I have shot plains game with my doubles--.500 bpe, .450-400, and some wildebeest with my beloved .600 Wilkes. I guess I meant to say there are better choices for long range plains game.
Nice pics! Thanks.
Cal

Cal,

I would have expected you to have shot plains game as well.

Yes, one could consider other choices for long range game, but I wouldn't trade the 330 yard wildebeest I took with a .338 WinMag for any of the others with the double. For me, the long shot is killing, not hunting.

Harder hunting? You bet, and worth every minute. I think my PH got as big a kick out of me shooting the double as I did.

Glad you liked the pics.

David

David:
I'd like to chat with you more as we have a good deal in common. My bag of trophies would be much higher if I used a modern whiz-bang magnum but doubles have been my favorite rifle since 1989 and the last 5-6 years my only hunting gun. Take a look at my website to see some fine doubles.

I was in Cody many years ago when in my Winchester days but have since sold my collection of express rifles (86-76) and now doubles are what does it for me. My last five hunts I used my .600 on several buffalo, a pair of hippo, some wildebeest and a moose. I agree. Long range shooting is assassination--not really hunting. To me skill is not only the shot but getting in close. There is not much hunting skill in shooting a buffalo or a white tail at 300 yards. My longest double shot was 90+ yards and most are in the 50 yard range. My moose was far closer and my grizzly was 8 (.450 no2).

You ever gut up to Alaska? If so, stop by.
Cheers,
Cal

Cal,

I'll send you a PM with phone. Look for the flashing envelope in the tool bar later on.

I figured out the long range killing part over 40 years ago on a 630 yard whitetail. I've done others since, but only as a means of putting meat on the table, and none in I don't know how many years.

I haven't been to Alaska in almost 20 years, and then I was only passing through. I would like to hunt up there some day. Moose and bear with a double would be a hoot for sure.

David

Had always dreamed of going to Africa with a double rifle. Over the years I carried a Valmet 9.3x74r,a Merkel 470Nitro and once I actually carried a Heym 37H&H along with a 375H&H model 70. I had to do some talking to get them thru So. Africa. Killed an Elephant with the Merkel ,sold it when I returned and took my next one with my 416Rigby. JUst as much pleasure with the boltgun. Have owned many doubles just no longer intrigued by them. Far overated in my humble estimation.

Had always dreamed of going to Africa with a double rifle. Over the years I carried a Valmet 9.3x74r,a Merkel 470Nitro and once I actually carried a Heym 37H&H along with a 375H&H model 70. I had to do some talking to get them thru So. Africa. Killed an Elephant with the Merkel ,sold it when I returned and took my next one with my 416Rigby. JUst as much pleasure with the boltgun. Have owned many doubles just no longer intrigued by them. Far overated in my humble estimation.

Here are a couple of my doubles to test my abilities on how to post pics here.
Pic with green back ground is a John Wilkes from 1914 in .600 nitro express and owned by Bill Pridham, an elephant hunter in Uganda in the post WWII years. Second photo is a Watson brothers .500 nitro express from 1907. This .500 was owned by Jack Lott in his Africa days. Let's hope this works. I'm using photo bucket.
Enjoy,
Cal

Very nice!

Cal,

Looks very nice. I love the scroll engraving.

A couple of pictures of my 450-400 3 1/4 Boswell circa 1907, provenance unknown unfortunately.

Beautiful, Mike, they don't get any better.
Cal

Cal,

Those old rifles are fine pieces of art, as are some of the new ones.

Thanks for the info on the other forum. It gets a little complicated between the 3" and 2 3/4" Nitros and BPEs.

The rifle you have for sale is nice, I just always have difficulty getting around the idea of not having a left hand stock.

Beautiful rifles, gents. While I do love my bespoke Verney-Carron, there is something magical about British Double rifles. In my view the apogee of the art of riflery combined with perfection in form, fit and function..

Look at the tight, perfect metal to metal fit. This was done by some very skilled people long before the idea of CNC ever came to mind. Sweet!

It is truly nice to see fine doubles with an honest patina of use.

all ill say is that phuggin gunner500 is gonna wind up costing me some money when all is said and done for his lil stunt of letting me borrow one of his rifles

Rattler:
Very nice. Tell us about the rifle.
Cal

Doubles Work.

I took my Krieghoff in .500NE back in 2012. Worked great. Lots of fun to have. I did a few elephant stalks even though they weren't on the list. Really nice too when you come around the corner and surprised by one. It worked really well when it came to Buff.

Rodda in 303 Brit. that a member here let me use when a bunch of us got together ona hog hunt in Tennessee two years ago...not sure Jerry ever told me the year but he told me it came with a provenance that had it appraised at about what i paid for my house didnt find that fact out until after i was done hunting with it....

every so often another member here gets in a dig bout me face planting crawling in the back of a truck ovver the side of the box....my knees are phugged and every so often the nerves that tell my brain where my foot is send bad info and i trip....anyways no one in the bed of the truck made a move to help me, they saved the rifle instead.....good guys or ild still be in Oklahoma as Jerry's ranch slave paying off that screw up

Cal,

Check your PM's.

David

By all means take a double to Africa if you want. It will add much enjoyment to your hunt.
On my first Trip i took two Bolts, but my Outfitter/Booking Agent went also and I used his Merkel 9.3x74 to take a couple of animals. that seemed to be about right for plains game. On my Dangerous game hunt a few years later my PH carried a Blaser in 470NE.

Mike, thanks for sharing. Awesome photos and trophies! Can you tell us about the rifle you're using that is in the last pic?

Cheers,
Eric

Great to see these double rifle trophies.
Cal

Eric,

It is a Krieghoff double. It has a left hand stock, all blued, has no engraving, and is chambered in 470 Nitro.

Fantastic, Mike. Thank you!

Eric

One, and done!

Thanks for the pics. It is nice to see doubles used as there were used when they were made. I have Jack Lott's .500 Watson Brothers nitro double. I will take it for grizzly in the spring and buffalo in Australia during June, prior to putting the rifle up for sale later in the year.
Cheers, gents, and keep the pics coming.
Cal

Good morning, Cal. Here is John Sharp's 1926 vintage Rigby 470 NE:


And this one, belonging to Dennis Finch-Hatton has a sterling provenance:

THE HON. DENYS FINCH HATTON BIG GAME RIFLE
A CHARLES LANCASTER .450 (3 1/4IN) NITRO EXPRESS BACK-ACTION SIDELOCK EJECTOR DOUBLE RIFLE, serial no. 13315,
25in. replacement nitro chopperlump barrels (by the makers in 1929) with matt sight rib, open sights and ramp-mounted bead foresight (missing protector), barrels engraved 'CHARLES LANCASTER - 99 MOUNT STREET, BERKELEY SQUARE, LONDON', treble-grip stepped action with side-clips, carved fences, automatic safety with gold-inlaid 'SAFE' detail, elongated top-strap, Lancaster patent detachable dipped-edge back-action lockplates, engraved 'patent 64311', Rogers patent cocking levers, best bold scroll engraving, the makers name within a cartouche, retaining traces of original colour-hardening, 15in. well-figured pistolgrip stock with cheekpiece, rose gold escutcheon inscribed 'D.F.H. - NOVEMBER 1928', engraved pistolgrip-cap and chequered steel grip-strap, including 1in. rubber recoil pad, fore-end with grip release catch, weight 11lb.7oz., in its lightweight leather case, the lid initialled 'D. F-H'.
The makers have kindly confirmed that the rifle was completed in 1911, originally in .475 calibre (and subsequently rebarrelled by them to .450 calibre in 1929) for the Hon Denys Finch Hatton

Provenance: Denys Finch Hatton was born in England on April 24th 1887, the son of Henry Stormont Finch Hatton, Earl of Winchelsea and Anne Finch Hatton (nee Coddrington), a daughter of a former Admiral of the British Fleet. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, Denys was a natural sportsman and scholar of the arts. In 1911 the 24 year old Denys bought land in British East Africa as an investment which would give him the freedom to spend his time hunting. He would spend every Autumn and Winter in Africa doing just that. In 1925 he became a professional big game hunter and took numerous wealthy and distinguished clients on safari - including H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor (the then Prince of Wales). His taste for adventure led him to learn to fly, and it was on May 14th 1931 that he died in a fatal plane crash in his Gypsy Moth near what is now the Tsavo National Park, Kenya. He is buried in the Ngong Hills and an obelisk marks his grave to this day. The story of Denys Finch Hatton and his love affair with Karen Blixen (his only known romance) is immortalised by Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in the Academy Award-winning film 'Out Of Africa' (1985).

Here's an interesting article on Stewart Granger's double:

I collect single shots, but a good double is something special. A couple of members here have been kind enough to let me shoot theirs.

I'll have a good double someday. Probably not a .577, though

come on, you handled that 577 like a champ

The rifle was a real privilege to hold and shoot. But one shot made my teeth hurt.

Ken Howell recalled that Elmer Keith had made a similar comment many years ago. Something along the lines of "...a dirty, tooth rattling jar..."

Assuming I reach my goals with the .475 Turnbull, and equal .470 Nitro ballistics in a 9 lb Ruger, it will probably be the hardest kicker I ever own.

Gents:
This is straying from the original post, but the stories of the fearsome recoil of the big nitro doubles is nonsense. It began, I would guess, with gun writers needing to stretch the truth to add a hype factor to attract readers. Here is Elmer Keith in full recoil from Dr. Sutton's .600 Jeffery. Below that is Craig Boddington in full recoil from a .600 or .700 double. For some strange reason, my .600 does not see such muzzle rise and I've shot it hundreds, maybe a thousand, times. If one does not fight the recoil and has a firm hold on the rifle, the muzzles of a .600 rise 8-10 inches. Yes, if one allows the rifle to float skyward it will appear as if one is shooting ducks, but this makes for good press only and nor reality.
Cheers,
Cal

PS. When I was researching my book on the .600 rifles I came up with lots of stories about recoil--dislocated shoulder, spun around 1/2 to a full turn, lifted up off the ground to a back flip, fillings coming loose in the shooter's teeth, nose bleeds, ears bleeding, etc. Just like the stories of buffalo and elephant being lifted off their feet at the bullet's impact. Just hype for the readers. In fact, at a shoot last May a gent had my .600 double on him--320 grains of 4831 and 1800 grains of bullet. He held on to it and the muzzles rose less than in the two photos below.

<shrug> it made my teeth hurt. I don't want one. If you can handle one and enjoy it, more power to ya.

I commented to guys immediately afterward, if an elephant was charging me, and that rifle was laying in front of me, I'd have to think about it...

Was Elmer left handed?

I remember buying my first big bore, a 375 H&H, or at least back then it was a bore. Recoil was not bad.

I stepped up to a 416 Remington. I only shot the rifle 3 or 4 times because it kicked too hard. After deciding to go to Africa I thought it would be a good time to learn to shoot it. Now the recoil of the 416 is mild. I own 458s and 470 and have shoot several of the .500+ calibers and none are that bad.

Rifle fit, proper form, and practice is all it takes. I know some rifles will hammer you pretty hard but for the most part big bore recoil is not that bad.

Mike70560:
This photo of Elmer I've had in my files for decades. It may be a reverse image.
I remember in summer camp as a kid and shooting .22s, and the instructor shot his .30-30. We 7-8 year olds thought it was a cannon. You're correct on form and fit and practice. One can get used to recoil. After 6-7 months of no shooting I begin in the spring with a .400 or .500 bpe and gradually work up to the .600 and 4-bore. Now, I've built a shooting shed with a wood stove and shoot every week in the winter. Should have done this long ago.
Cheers, mate.
Cal

Cal,

Elmer may have been embarrassed to face the camera for that picture.

Cal might keep in mind there is a fair bit of size difference between tex n cal and the guy who had the 577 we are talking about made....pretty sure that 577 did not truly fit Pat, plus dont think you can hurt gunner(owner of the 577).....bullets dont bounce of him but they do just kinda stick to the outsides

he's only a foot or so taller n' me...

My only safari. Only rifle I took was a 9.3X74R.
250 grain swift a-frames.

http://www.cruisersafaris.com/newsletter_2011/jensen.html

David I'm late to the thread but was looking at your pics and have to ask was that rabbit charging ? No wonder you carry a double rifle. :^)